americanatheists

From our friends at AU:

The Rev. Jerry Falwell and his Religious Right cohorts have been complaining for weeks now about government agencies and store clerks saying ?Happy Holidays? instead of ?Merry Christmas? but it looks like Falwell forgot to tell President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and the Republican National Committee about the preferred religiously correct greeting.The White House?s 2005 holiday card is just out, and it doesn?t mention the word ?Christmas? once.The card, mailed under the auspices of the Republican National Committee and signed by the president and his wife, reads, ?With best wishes for a holiday season of hope and happiness 2005.? It also includes a passage from the Old Testament Book of Psalms.The front cover is an artist?s rendition of the White House and grounds covered with snow while the presidential pets, two dogs and a cat, frolic on the lawn. It contains no religious symbolism.

There will be a lot of talk about Xmas this year, but now we have GW on our side, doing the ungodly — saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Xmas”. Fallwell must hate that.So must Hannity and O’Reilly. We at American Atheists get a lot of calls from conservative talk shows during this season, mostly complaining about Xmas vs Holiday, completely ignoring the bigger issues. Sometimes, the issues are so silly we turn down the interview.I remember last year I did Hannity and Colmes about some mall in Florida calling their Easter Bunny the “Garden Bunny”. Not my idea, not our issue, but it certainly seemed like it on the show!I understand the need to remain topical, but come on folks, we need to worry about important things. Xmas v. Holiday is a small symptom of a major problem — the forced Christianization of America. Let’s work the cause, not the symptom.

What’s your favorite TV show? The reason I ask is that I’ve never seen statistics relating Atheists to TV shows, And I’m curious — how many of you know a Cylon from a Vorlon? DOOL from OLTL? SVU vs CSI? Lost vs Survivor?For me, I’m a sci-fi guy, and can be seen and heard on the Trekkies movie that came out a few years back (my first public appearance). The funny thing is I’m more of a B5 person, and I’m hopelessly addicted to Lost.Sure, it’s a fluff topic. I’ve had a rough day. Work with me!!!

Watch our friends the Finleys (The Infidel Guy) on Wife Swap tonight on ABC at 8pm! Hopefully, they won’t edit the show to make them look bad.

Ahh the day after Thanksgiving. Triptifan (sp?) wearing off, and only 20 shopping days to Christmas.Does it tick you off when someone says “Merry Christmas”? It’s usually said with good intentions, but it certainly irks me a little when everyone seems to ASSUME Christianity.I always reply “Thanks — Merry Solstice to you too!” with a big smile. I get Good looks!

http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20051123/D8E1TTI82.htmlJust in time for Thanksgiving, we can always look to the Vatican for reasons to be thankful that you’re not Catholic.Vatican to reaffirm that you have to be straight for three years before you can rape boys. Yeah, I went there.

Check out http://www.njfordemocracy.org/, and fill out “Dave Silverman” after checking the “Other” box. Spread the word! Let’s see how many votes we can get if we all try together.No, I’m not actually thinking Gov-elect Corzine would pick me to be a Senator, but it wouldn’t be bad if I got a few hundred votes, now would it?ADDENDUM — The Poll is now closed

Yum. I can taste it now, the True Holy Day approaches! Fiest, friends, and football.Thanksgiving is a big deal at chez Silverman, where we traditionally do what everyone else does — we go to Mom’s. Mom likes go around the table and have everyone say what they’re thankful for. Some people are thankful to God, but I make it a point to be thankful to people at the table. I’m not thankful to God for my wife, I’m thankful to my wife for all she does for me. You get the picture. Works great — I sound more heartfelt and sincere (because I am), and never acknowledge a deity.So here’s a good subject for the day! Tell us your stories and give advice on Atheist/theist family events. Are you dreading Thanksgiving because maybe religion will come up? Do you have advice for people who do? Spread the wisdom on this thread!

http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/calvi5.htmThis is straight out of the Godfather. Religion, murger, conspiracy, money, it’d be a really cool movie if it wasn’t true!

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051117071809990002Here’s an article about a church complaining that it may lose its exempt status because it preached politics.Wah, wahh, wahh! There are more religious organizations in this country than there are pizza places. They own almost as much land as the government, and the pay no property taxes.Then they cry and whine when they break the law and get caught. Waahhhhh!There is no reason a club should have tax exemption unless it serves the community as a whole — not just its members. Tax exemption is a privilege, not a right, and thinking there is a magic man in the sky doesn’t change that.American Atheists works hard to serve its community beyond its membership (such as having a fantastic free research library and championing civil rights for all Atheists) to keep its nonprofit status. For a church to do nothing to keep similar benefits, and then to complain when they lose those benefits because they KNOWINGLY BROKE THE LAW (allegedly), well, boo-freaking-hoo!

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051118013809990001Today, 80+ people died while peacefully praying in their mosques — killed by people of the same religion.My biggest problem with all these suicide bombings is that I’m getting used to it. 80 lives are gone — 80 families impacted. It’s happening so often that I am beginning to feel less horrified when it happens. I’m actually becoming more accustomed to it. Not the person I want to be.I’m reminded of the IRA bombing of a bus several years back that resulted in children dying — it was a turning point in support for the IRA. They never recovered. How long before these sub-humans lose their support as well?