americanatheists

Forwarded from the Kentucky State Director for American Atheists and theNational Legal Director:The second live production of thesoon-to-be-award-wining call in Internet radio showAnswers in AtheismWill air tonight, Thursday, September 20, 2007, at 7:00 pm. Eastern Time.See www.answersinatheism.net for details.Call in at 859.384.7000Or email us at: theshow@answersinatheism.netWe really do need you to call. Makes for a much better show.If the line is busy, please call back. The first show is archived at www.answersinatheism.net

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The defendant in a state senator’s lawsuit is accused of causing untold death and horror and threatening to cause more still. He can be sued in Douglas County, the legislator claims, because He’s everywhere. State Sen. Ernie Chambers sued God last week. Angered by another lawsuit he considers frivolous, Chambers says he’s trying to make the point that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody. Chambers says in his lawsuit that God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and caused “widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth’s inhabitants.” The Omaha senator, who skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticizes Christians, also says God has caused “fearsome floods … horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes.” He’s seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty. Chambers said the lawsuit was triggered by a federal suit filed against a judge who recently barred words such as “rape” and “victim” from a sexual assault trial. The accuser in the criminal case, Tory Bowen, sued Lancaster District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront, claiming that he violated her free speech rights.

http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2007/09/17/nebraska-state-senator-sues-godToo bad he forgot to include Tsunamis and Republicans. Not really Atheism related, but dern funny!

The answer: Neocons don’t believe in light bulbs, they declare war on evil and set the house on fire.

I don’t have one but two stories to bring to you, but I think they are linked in a way. The first is about fundamentalism in the military and the second one is about how neocons stopped UCI from appointing one of the best law school professors in the country from being hired as the first Dean of their planned law school.

Since George W. Bush came to power, the religious right has been set free to use overt religious language, missionizing language that actually moves from “freedom” to “salvation,” as a justification for American power. We cast ourselves against Saddam Hussein entirely in terms of a binary evil-versus-good contest. Bush’s appeals to evil were a staple of his speechmaking from the earliest days of this war. The purpose of his war was, he told us, not just to spread democracy, but to end evil. You see what’s happening. We’ve moved into specifically religious categories and that was all right in America.

said James Carroll, an anti-war former Catholic priest who has written a book about TEAM JESUS in the Air Force Academy.Yes the war in Iraq is a crusade just as Bush said early on and in the Pentagon, the officers are actively proselytizing to create a Fundamentalist war machine. Meanwhile a Duke University law professor, Erwin Chemerinsky, chosen to be the first dean of a law school at UCI had his offer withdrawn after UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake started receiving messages from California neocons to withdraw his job offer to Chemerinsky.Among the problems listed with Chemerinsky was: “He (Antonovich)clashed with Chemerinsky in the past when the professor supported the removal of a cross from the county seal.” My favorite line from the neocons in opposition to Chemerinsky was: “Making Chemerinsky the head of the law school “would be like appointing al-Qaida in charge of homeland security,” Michael Antonovich, a longtime Republican member of the county Board of Supervisors, said in a voicemail left with The Associated Press.”The attacks on us are growing daily and we are the evil that Bush and the neocons are ready to destroy. The war is on and it isn’t against al-Qaida, it is against Americans.Peter Nuhn

Perhaps the most defining response came from Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists. In a news release, Johnson called for a boycott of the Emmy awards. Distraught that the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, a private organization, is choosing not to offend 85% of Americans by broadcasting an anti-Christian rant, Johnson wailed, “this is something I’d expect in a nation like Saudi Arabia or Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.” Someone needs to give her a copy of the First Amendment – it protects our right to protest objectionable speech.

This quote from Mr. Donahue of the Catholic League, who somehow thinks this is all about them. It’s not. It’s not AT ALL about the Catholic League. It’s about the Emmys not allowing freedom of speech. Sure, the CL can protest speech they find objectionable, BUT they can’t silence it.BTW, Kathy Griffin will be on Larry King tomorrow night.

BURGESS HILL, England — Every morning on his walk to work, high school teacher Graham Wright recited a favorite Anglican prayer and asked God for strength in the day ahead. Then two years ago, he just stopped.Wright, 59, said he was overwhelmed by a feeling that religion had become a negative influence in his life and the world. Although he once considered becoming an Anglican vicar, he suddenly found that religion represented nothing he believed in, from Muslim extremists blowing themselves up in God’s name to Christians condemning gays, contraception and stem cell research.”I stopped praying because I lost my faith,” said Wright, 59, a thoughtful man with graying hair and clear blue eyes. “Now I truly loathe any sight or sound of religion. I blush at what I used to believe.”Wright is now an avowed atheist and part of a growing number of vocal nonbelievers in Europe and the United States. On both sides of the Atlantic, membership in once-quiet groups of nonbelievers is rising, and books attempting to debunk religion have been surprise bestsellers, including “The God Delusion,” by Oxford University professor Richard Dawkins.New groups of nonbelievers are sprouting on college campuses, anti-religious blogs are expanding across the Internet, and in general, more people are publicly saying they have no religious faith.More than three out of four people in the world consider themselves religious, and those with no faith are a distinct minority. But especially in richer nations, and nowhere more than in Europe, growing numbers of people are actively saying they don’t believe there is a heaven or a hell or anything other than this life.Many analysts trace the rise of what some are calling the “nonreligious movement” to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The sight of religious fanatics killing 3,000 people caused many to begin questioning — and rejecting — all religion.”This is overwhelmingly the topic of the moment,” said Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society of Britain. “Religion in this country was very quiet until September 11, and now it is at the center of everything.”

Thanks Johnathan for sending this encouraging article.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091402501.html?referrer=emailarticle

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695209108,00.html

LDS CHURCH FINALLY ISSUES APOLOGY FOR FAITH-BASED MASSACRE”The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued along-awaited apology today for the massacre of an immigrantwagon train by local church members 150 years ago in southwesternUtah. Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve read thechurch’s statement on assignment from the church’s governing FirstPresidency during a memorial ceremony at the grave site of some ofthe massacre victims at Mountain Meadows, about 35 miles northwestof St. George. The statement also places blame for the Sept. 11,1857, massacre on the local church leaders at the time and churchmembers who followed their orders to murder some 120 unarmed men,women and children. “

No. Mitt had nothing to do with this, and probably does not condone masacre (see! I’m getting better). BUT, for the record, he wears magic underwear. Just thought I’d mention it.

Boy, those Jesus Freaks love raping kids, don’t they? Cloak it any way you like, this is rape, this is condoning rape, this is condoning and committing rape in the name of a god, and this is VILE STUFF!This is stupid. This is barbaric. This is animalistic. This is primitive.

ST. GEORGE, Utah (Sept. 14) – A former follower of a polygamous sect leader claims she was acting to preserve her eternal salvation when she obeyed his command and married her cousin at age 14. Now 21, the woman was married in a 2001 religious ceremony to her 19-year-old cousin, then followed the counsel of Warren Jeffs to submit to her husband “mind, body and soul.” Jeffs, 51, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, went on trial Thursday on two counts of rape as an accomplice for using his church authority to coerce the marriage. The bride was the first witness in the trial and was expected to return to the stand Friday. On Thursday, she testified that Jeffs has long been an authority figure in her life. In 2001, he was a high-ranking church counselor and had been the girl’s teacher and principal at an FLDS-run school, teaching children principles of the faith. In 2002, Jeffs became church president, or “prophet,” succeeding his father. “The prophet was as God to us. He was God on Earth and his counselors were pretty much the same, so they had jurisdiction over us,” she said. The Associated Press generally does not name people alleging sexual abuse. Prosecutors played a tape of a marriage lesson recorded by Jeffs in 1997 to emphasize the point that obedience by women of the faith was expected. “Give yourself to him, that means full obedience to righteous principles. No half way, no holding back,” Jeffs said on the tape.

AMERICAN ATHEISTS ACTION ALERT9/13/07Speak Out for Atheist Free Speech! Support Kathy Griffin, Target of Catholic League Bullying, Emmy Academy Cowardice!http://www.atheists.org/action/alert-13-sep-2007.html A monologue by comedienne Kathy Griffin delivered at her acceptance of a creative arts Emmy award will be heavily censored when the program airs this Saturday on the E! entertainment channel. The move comes after the Academy for Television Arts & Sciences caved-in to demands from the Catholic League that Ms. Griffin be chastised for a ?vulgar, in-your-face brand of hate speech? and ?blasphemous? remarks.Ms. Griffin, who is an open Atheist, told those attending the awards ceremony that ?a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus ? Can you believe this shit? Hell has frozen over. Suck it, Jesus, this award is my god now.?Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, told reporters, ?It?s permissible to make religious comments at the Emmy Awards and other public events as long as they do not criticize or threaten the self-appointed ?Religion Police.? Celebrities can go on national television to ?thank? Jesus, or Allah, or Scientology for their success, but an Atheist cannot make an honest and forthright statement that their success came from developing their talents and working hard??SUPPORT KATHY GRIFFIN, CONTACT THE ACADEMYAmerican Atheists is asking all free expression to speak out on this important issue! Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists and other nonbelievers deserve equal rights, and the opportunity to express out opinions in respect to religion. The Academy ?caved in? to a Roman Catholic pressure group known for making extreme and unwarranted comments about artists, writers and political figures who criticize, protest, ?insult? or make humorous remarks about religion, specifically Catholicism.Here?s what we can do?SUPPORT KATHY GRIFFIN. You may sent a comment via Ms. Griffin?s web site. We suggest that you identify yourself as an Atheist or some other appropriate appellation, and tell her that you oppose the ?religious bullying? of the Catholic League. You may also wish to copy your message to her agent, Mr. Tim Curtis, at the William Morris Agency: tc@wma.com. THE ACADEMY FOR TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES needs to hear from Atheists and other nonbelievers throughout America! Tell the Academy that they cannot selectively pro-religion remarks, while censoring humorous comments or other monologues made by Atheists! The Academy can be reached at: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences5220 Lankershim Blvd.North Hollywood, CA 91601-3109Phone: (818)754-2800Fax: (818)761-2827E-mail: webmaster@emmys.org Please be polite when contacting the Academy! Encourage them to reconsider their hasty decision to censor Ms. Griffin?s remarks, and urge them to run the full text of her monologue when the awards ceremony airs this Saturday night on the E! network. Read the American Atheists Press Release — Visit http://www.atheists.org Share your letters and replies with us Spread this Action Alert! 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.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-11-amendment_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Most Americans believe the nation’s founders wrote Christianity into the Constitution, and people are less likely to say freedom to worship covers religious groups they consider extreme, a poll out today finds.The survey measuring attitudes toward freedom of religion, speech and the press found that 55% believe erroneously that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation. In the survey, which is conducted annually by the First Amendment Center, a non-partisan educational group, three out of four people who identify themselves as evangelical or Republican believe that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation. About half of Democrats and independents do.

Later in this article, Gene Policinski laments that its a result of year of not teaching the First Amendment in school. He’s right, but incomplete.Our kids say the Pledge of Allegaince and sing the National Anthem, but they are completely ignorant about WHY this country is great. The reason is simple: The Separation of Church and State.C/S assures all people are equal, no matter what they think about gods. That’s important! Any deviation from absolute separation is a reduction in religious freedom, since some people will inherently have more rights than others, based simply on thought.The solution is simple: Include the Treaty of Tripoli in the schools, and educate the children on it’s intent.

Sure, the Emmy’s are boring. Indeed, they are so boring people make jokes AT the Award show about how boring it is.But now, the Emmys are bigoted. Say what you want about God and Jesus, as long as it’s positive and thankful. If it’s positive and thankful, it doesn’t matter who gets offended or left out.BUT… disavow Jesus, and you might as well be swearing, and you’ll get bleeped.Folks, this is discrimination, pure and simple. Theistic talk is welcome, Atheistic talk is not. Truly an uneven playing field, from the good folks who gave us the most boring television in the world.Dave Says: Watch something else.

LOS ANGELES – Before Kathy Griffin won a creative arts Emmy last weekend for her reality show, “My Life on the D-List,” she joked that an award would move her to the C-list. She was right: “C” as in censored. The TV academy said her raucous acceptance speech will be edited when the event, which was taped, is shown Saturday on the E! channel. The main prime-time Emmy Awards air the next night on Fox.”Kathy Griffin’s offensive remarks will not be part of the E! telecast on Saturday night,” the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said in a statement Monday.In her speech, Griffin said that “a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.”She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ and proclaim, “This award is my god now!”The comedian’s remarks were condemned Monday by Catholic League President Bill Donohue, who called them a “vulgar, in-your-face brand of hate speech.”According to the TV academy and E!, when the four hour-plus ceremony is edited into a two-hour program, Griffin’s remarks will be shown in “an abbreviated version” in which some language may be bleeped. SEND EMAIL TO TELL THEM WHAT YOU THINK

No Mr. Donohue, Hate is when you turn away from people being raped repeatedly over decades, or siding with Nazis, or holding onto your money while people die of starvation. This is Kathy’s personal Atheistic opinion, and last time I checked that was still allowed.