americanatheists

American Atheists Media AlertFebruary 12, 2007 ELLEN JOHNSON ON CNN, PAULA ZAHN SHOW TONIGHT — MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2007 — Intolerance, Hostility Against Atheists — ELLEN JOHNSON, President of American Atheists will be the guest tonight (Monday, February 12, 2007) on the Paula Zahn show airing nationwide on CNN. Ms. Johnson will be discussing the issue of intolerance and hostility against Atheists. The program begins at 8:00 PM ET — be sure to check local listings. WHO & WHAT: Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists on CNN, the Paula Zahn Show WHEN: TONIGHT, Monday February 12, 2007 beginning at 8:00 PM ET — check local listings (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.)

Announcing the Freethought Event of the Year! AACON XXXIII — The 33rd AnnualNational Convention of AMERICAN ATHEISTSApril 6-8, 2007Seattle, Washington Get ready for “the big one” in Seattle, Washington! The venue is the luxurious Renaissance Seattle Hotel located in the heart of downtown Seattle, and within walking distance from popular tourist treats like Pike Place Market. We’ve arranged a special hotel rate good from April 4 to 9, so you have time to attend the convention and check out the many exciting venues in this great city! Speakers include: * JULIA SWEENEY, actress and comedian, known for her critically acclaimed monologue God Said, Ha! * MASSIMO PIGLIUCCI, professor at SUNY, Stonybrook, instructor in evolutionary biology and the philosophy of science. * HENRY JONES, psychiatrist, speaking on “The Manufacture of Mental Illness,” a discussion of the destructiveness of religious belief. * FRANK ZINDLER, Editor of AA Press, author and expert on Biblical era languages and history. Convention events include the annual Membership Dinner, Life and Legacy Members’ Dinner, and a Sunday morning/afternoon brunch and railroad excursion. For more information, visit http://www.atheists.org/convention and download the Adobe PDF information brochure and registration. WHAT: The American Atheists National Convention WHEN: April 6-8, 2007 WHERE: The Renaissance Seattle Hotel, Seattle, Washington MORE INFO: http://www.atheists.org/convention (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.)

Thanks to NGB Members who sent this info to me!

All over the world, more and more Humanist and Rationalist groups as well as scientific institutions are putting on events to celebrate Darwin Day on 12 February, Darwin?s birthday. This celebration of science and humanity, in honour of the scientist who perhaps more than any other has altered our understanding of the world and of ourselves, whose powerful explanation of the evolution of species made creator deities redundant, is of special significance to all of us. The idea of Darwin Day as a secular celebration has been promoted by the Darwin Day Program, a non-profit organization dedicated to educational and social outreach activities aimed at widening understanding of topics related to evolution, and countering the impact of misinformation.More information about the Darwin Day Program, and a listing of events across the world, can be found at http://darwinday.org. Groups planning talks and exhibitions should contact the Program to register their event. Let?s all help to put this secular celebration on everyone?s calendar!

Please join FSGP and AHA for the official rally challenging the WhiteHouse Office of the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives! On February28, 2007, at 9:30 am we will congregate in front of the United States Supreme Court in support of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Oral arguments in their lawsuit questioning the legality of the Faith-Based Initiatives will be heard in the Court. Already confirmed rally speakers include Fred Edwords, Director of Communications for theAmerican Humanist Association; Stuart Jordan, Board Member of theWashington Area Secular Humanists; Lori Lipman-Brown, Director of the Secular Coalition of America; and Margaret Downey, President ofAtheist Alliance International and The Freethought Society of GreaterPhiladelphia (FSGP). More speakers will be added.The Faith-Based Initiatives are a clear breach of the First Amendmentprinciple of church-state separation. Make sure to join us and stand up for your rights!WHO: Freedom From Religion Foundation, The American HumanistAssociation, Secular Coalition for America, Washington Area SecularHumanists, Atheist Alliance international, FSGP and others!WHAT: Protest the Office of the Faith-Based and Community InitiativesWHEN: February 28, 2007, at 9:30 amWHERE: The Steps of the United States Supreme Court – One FirstStreet, NE Washington, DC (Closest metro stops are Capitol South onthe Blue and Orange lines and Union Station on the Red Line)

A reporter for the Baltimore Examiner is looking for Baltimore Atheists for an interview. Contact is wagginway@mindspring.com

I wonder if that’s what Jesus would do: Sell shakes to fools, use the fools’ likeness to sell more shakes, and then threaten to kill the fools when they complained.To bad Mr. Robertson can’t really predict the future, or this never would have happened!

NORFOLK, Va. (Feb. 9) – A Texas bodybuilder suing Pat Robertson contends the religious broadcaster walked into federal court for a legal proceeding and told him: “I am going to kill you and your family.”According to a complaint Phillip Busch filed with the Norfolk police, Robertson made the threat when he entered a room in the courthouse Wednesday to be questioned for a deposition.”There was no such threat,” said Robertson’s attorney, Glen Huff.Busch is suing Robertson for what he says is misappropriation of his image to promote Robertson’s protein diet shake.Robertson has been touting his “age-defying” weight-loss shake for five years on his Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network talk show “The 700 Club,” offering the recipe free to any viewer who requested it.Busch contacted the show in 2005, saying he had slimmed down from 400 to 200 pounds by drinking the shake. CBN showed his before-and-after photos 20 times in a promotional spot and flew Busch to Virginia Beach for a live TV interview with Robertson.Busch says he didn’t know when he contacted CBN that Robertson recently had licensed his shake for commercial distribution by a nationwide health-food chain. He sued Robertson in September 2005, alleging that the broadcaster used his image for a commercial purpose without compensating him.

… From Austin Cline:

You may already be aware of the recent Paula Zahn show which included a segment discussing hatred of atheists and ended up being an example of how to get anti-atheist bigotry promoted in the national media. Just in case you haven’t seen the story yet, though, I wanted to bring it to your attention.I wrote about the January 31 show back on February 1 (the post has since been updated):http://atheism.about.com/b/a/258728.htmThere have been a lot of reactions to the story on atheist blogs and discussion groups. I have a collection of links and quotes here:http://atheism.about.com/b/a/258735.htmI hope you’ll have time to bring this to your readers’ attention.Regards,Austin ClineAbout Agnosticism / Atheismhttp://atheism.about.com

Yes, The program to which I was once addicted is on again tonight. I’ll watch it, but after last season I’m not confident it will survive its death-spiral.The writers and producers have issued a statement “We absolutely promise that during the next 16 episodes something may indeed happen, that at least one question on a side-plot may be answered, and the plot may show a hint of progress”. OK, they didn’t say that — it’s just what I hear when they speak.We thought Lost was another Babylon 5, but it’s just another X-files. More questions and loose ends that can – or will — ever be answered.I’ll give it two episodes before I totally give up on the series. Battlestar and Heros are satisfying my “good show” needs anyway.

Okay, I really do dislike this guy William Donohue of the Catholic League every bit as much as all the WASP fundamental dominionists. But now he thinks he can tell presidential candidates who to fire on their staff because of their religious views. In the article linked to this post’s title is his argument against one of the women bloggers, Amanda Marcotte for what she wrote on the Pandagon blog on Dec. 26th. She mainly blogs on reproductive health issues. In this post is a defense of Dr. Tiller who was being harassed by a US Attorney for conducting late second trimester abortions and early third trimester ones for reasons of the health of the pregnant teenagers, and in one case, a 10-year old girl. Favorite paragraph:

Emphasis mine, because it?s a classic example of how anti-choice philosophy is built on a foundation of misogyny. In Kline?s world, a woman?s mind is not a relevant part of her functionality as a person, so long as the uterus is working fine. Who cares if a 10-year-old suffers irreversible mental damage from bearing a child almost surely conceived by rape, so long as her uterus is working?

You can find the entire entry at:http://pandagon.net/2006/12/26/some-reproductive-rights-links-to-consider-while-digesting-christmas-leftovers/EnjoyPeter Nuhn

I was watching a great Superbowl yesterday when suddenly my wife (the Jew) exclaimed “my god, Jesus is in the fire!”And so he was. There in the back of my fireplace, Jesus’ face appeared unto us. In fact, He is still there now. This is a true miracle — complete 100% proof positive that the invisible all-powerful ruler of the Universe exists, and lives in my fireplace.Just look at His loving Face — the love, the passion, the soot. The fire was especially warm, not because of the extra logs I threw on, but from the warmth generated by Jesus’s jesusness.If you’d like to donate money to.. um… “charity”, I take Paypal, MC, and Visa.

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis church on Friday said it will defy the NFL’s demand that churches not use projectors to show the Super Bowl, saying it is taking “a stand for what’s right.”Second Baptist Church, located at 3705 Kessler Blvd. North Drive, will show the game Sunday — using a projector and a screen — following an afternoon service, an assistant to the church’s senior pastor told 6News.The decision to proceed with the plan came after the NFL told a different Indianapolis church not to use a wall projector to show the game, citing copyright laws

http://www.theindychannel.com/sports/10916537/detail.htmlFor a change, I think the church is right. The NFL doesn’t get in the way of sports bars or other superbowl parties, so why say it can’t happen for religionists? As much as I hate the fact that churches enjoy special privelidges and tax-exempt status, and as repugnant as I think it is to use the Superbowl as a means to lure people to church to preach at them, I can’t see where it’s ethical to disallow a group from having an event based solely on their mythological beliefs.Restrictions on viewership should be based on the number of people in attendance, not the intent or philosophy of the viewers. Restricting it by screen size while allowing multple screens (which allows for more people than a single large screen) seems arbitrary.BUT, when the Colts win, it won’t be because of prayer or the will of a god. It will be because the Bears suck (IMO).