Happy Haloween all.Here’s a nightmare: 2 more years of a House and Senate that doesn’t care about the encroachment of religion into our private lives. Is it a dream? a nightmare? or a reality?Today I cancelled an appointment so I’d have enough time to vote.Here’s a great scorecard to help you decide, and hopefully take an ACTIVE roll by getting others to vote as well. Vote — and wear an Atheist pin when you do it.

American Atheists Action AlertOctober 29, 2006 Defend International Free Speech, Right toQuestion and Criticize Religious Ideologies!http://www.atheists.org/action/alert-29-oct-2006.php Across the world, religious groups and their supporters are attempting to muzzle any remarks which criticize, question or “mock” their beliefs. They cite a number of disingenuous rationales — everything from combating “hate speech” to the claim that we must “respect” religious opinions. The Romanian Humanists (http://www.humanism.ro/ ) are asking for international support in their campaign to stop the latest effort by government and religious authorities to muzzle criticism of religion. That country’s Chamber of Deputies may soon adopt a rule that stipulates: “Any form, means, act or action of religious defamation and enmity, as well as any public offense against religious symbols, shall be prohibited in Romania.” An information release from the Romanian Humanists warns: “Should this article be adopted by the Chamber of Deputies, it would impose serious limitations on the fundamental liberties of the human being of freedom of speech and freedom of conscience. Books, works of art, movies, plays, concerts and rock groups could then be easily banned. To all those who treasure the freedom, the critical intellect, and religious tolerance of values which have become dominant in Europe after centuries of religious conflict and persecution, this new censorship is unacceptable.” To defend free speech, the Romanian Humanists have launched a campaign known as “Solidarity for Freedom of Conscience.” They are asking for international support, and request that e-mail be sent to :freedomofconscience@gmail.com Among the US supporters of the campaign is Dr. Fred Whitehead, Vice President of the International Committee to Protect Freethinkers (fredwh@swbell.net). He has sent the following statement: “I fully support the current protest the proposed law in Romania, which would prohibit any defamation of religion or public offense against religious symbols. This runs directly contrary to norms of freedom of press, speech and conscience, widely adopted in all civilized countries.” SPEAK OUT NOW! American Atheists urges you to join this international campaign! Express your support of the Romanian Humanists against this attempt to muzzle freedom of expression and inquiry. Send your messages to freedomofconscience@gmail.com, or visit our Action Alert page which includes an easy-to-use form at http://www.atheists.org/action/alert-29-oct-2006.php (AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

Yesterday was the first time in a very long time that I attended two religious services in one day. Whoopy.First, my wife’s cousin was bar-mitzvahed yesterday morning and he did great (I think) — the stereotypical performance of a practiced but nervous 13-year-old boy. This event took over two hours (my daughter nearly cried), during which time we, the visitors, friends, and family were implored to praise, submit to and blindly follow their god several times.A friend of mine from Grad School got married in the afternoon — a 40-minute service that included speaking parts for the audience. Every audience comment was religious in nature (“we will pray for you”, etc), and they asked us all to hold hands in prayer. My arms stayed folded.Both services inferred no visitors or outsiders, even though the very nature of these events nearly require it.Yes, we are talking about religious services in a house of worship, but you’d think that between two services that are frequented by visitors, that the visitors might be mentioned…once.

Death of Philip Paulson A Tragic Milepost in Battle toRemove Unconstitutional Christian Cross, Resist Gov’t Recalcitrance AMERICAN ATHEISTS mourns the death of Philip Kevin Paulson at 59, the man who for nearly 18 years fought to remove the Mt. Soledad Christian cross from public land overlooking San Diego, CA. Paulson was a “foxhole Atheist” who served in Vietnam, and was a committed defender of the principle of separation between church and state. He died Wednesday, October 25, 2006 after a battle with liver cancer. His case has become a landmark battle over the question of whether or not government may permit sectarian religious monuments and symbols on public property. Paulson said that the essence of his case was “equal treatment under the law, and religious neutrality.” Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, said that Paulson is a hero to Atheists and anyone else who takes a stand on behalf of the First Amendment. “Phil Paulson was passionate about freedom, and opposed to the belief that government should promote religion of any kind. He took on an unpopular battle and stood firm during years of government obfuscation and legal double-talk.” Johnson added that San Diego authorities “did all they could to find a way to keep this unconstitutional and unfair religious monument standing.” “They tried every trick in their play book, including the bogus assertion that the case had nothing to do with religion, and ended up letting the Mt. Soledad cross be handed over to the federal government in hopes of de-railing the case,” said Johnson. Congress unanimous passed legislation this summer signed by President Bush that transferred the Christian cross to the Department of Defense in hopes of preserving it as a “war memorial.” Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists, said that Paulson’s lawsuit is testament “of how one person standing alone can speaks to power.” The case continues with a new plaintiff. (AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

Guns, Gays, and God? Must be election time in America. Forget the Iraq war, trillions in debt to China, millions of children without any health care and the vast majority of those in poverty are children. If America was really a Christian Nation as Dobson and Perkins claim, then why are so many children barely alive in poverty? Where the hell are all these so-called Christians?But forget all that and so much more, such as the loss of our civil liberties in this country, the elimination of Habeous Corpus, incarceration of American citizens without charges and without any court hearing to determine guilt or innocence, and of course, the all time favorite of our sitting president, torturing the hell out of Americans.The Christians in their all consuming hunger for dominion, excuse all of that. God bless the New Jersey Supreme Court for getting their base out to vote to reelect the most morally corrupt politicians in America, i.e., the Gay Republicans. Don’t let the bastards win. Get Out The Vote (GOTV) GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! Peter Nuhn

This past weekend I had the pleasure of getting together with Ellen Johnson.Ellen has always held that people should come out of the closet wherever possible, but that “we’d rather have employed closeted Atheists than unemployed outed Atheists”, and that Atheists in potentially uncomfortable situations should keep quiet until things get better. Y’know what? I disagree.Fear of reprisal has been exaggerated, and has kept us silent long enough. I’ve never been silent, and yes there have been some repercussions but nothing major. Living in NJ, I know I am among the more tolerant sector of society, but I’d be just as “out” in Alabama or Mississippi.Given that we have soldiers giving their lives in a war, I find it hard to stomach that Atheists here in America are often unwilling to take even the slightest risk to defend their right to think and live free of religion. Sure, there are extreme cases, but most Atheists are not in such situations, and they need to do what I see as their duty to themselves and their country.Things will not get better unless and until we make them better. I think it’s time to become less tolerant of closeted Atheists. I think it’s time for them to step up. En masse. Now.

No link today, just discussion. Halloween is here and with it is a bunch of Christians boycotting it, and others still with fake haunted houses that push Christian dogma.So here’s a question for Atheists. I know some Atheists don’t get married because of its religious roots. I know some Christians dislike Halloween for similar reasons. Are there any Atheists out there that boycott Halloween? I see no religion here… just making sure I’m not alone.

OK I defended the Catholics in the last post (priest: “We only fondled each other”), so now I’m going to make up for it.Limbo has returned.Yes, the perfect and infallible Catholic Church has stated that unbaptized babies are NOT in Hell after all, that they are in a state of perpetual happiness in Limbo. Previously, the church had stated that Limbo does not exist, and that unbaptized babies were in hell. However, while perfect and correct, it is more perfecter and correcter to have a happy image, so now Limbo exists again. I guess the babies that had gone to Hell are now in Limbo — supposedly a much better place, and a much better image for the Catholic sheep to picture. And we won’t talk about original sin.OK I lied. We will talk about original sin, the sin that sits over us from the instant of our conception thanks to the (Fall of Man). I guess the unbaptized babies are not victims of this unearthly grudge that God holds against us all. What about unbaptized 2-year-olds? 5-year-olds? Do 10-year-olds go to hell (eternal torment) or Limbo (eternal contentment)?

Okay, I have heard it all now. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said: “He (Rumsfield) leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country,” said Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.So I guess that means that the “good Lord” is the one who motivates Rumsfailed to go after the oil under Iraq’s sand for all us SUV lovers.I sure wish the “good Lord” would hate us a little more, cause I really do not think we are going to have any canon-fodder children left, if the “good Lord” continues his “good loving” of us.Peter Nuhn

Priest Denies Having Sex With FoleyBy FRANCES D’EMILIO, APROME (Oct. 19) – An elderly priest acknowledged Thursday that he was naked in saunas with Mark Foley decades ago when the former congressman was a boy in Florida, but denied that the two had sex

Lame excuse: “Yes it’s true I have sex with underage boys, but it’s not my fault. 40 years ago I was molested, so now I need to go into rehab for my alcoholism (which also caused me to be a pedophile). Please note that I am NOT responsible for my own actions”Sure, it’s possible the priest raped the congressman. Lots of kids were raped by priests (thanks Benedict), but only a select few a-holes become pedophiles. As much as I would love to pin this on the church, this is Foley’s problem. And it’s not alcoholism, it’s perversion!