americanatheists

http://humaniststudies.org/enews/At the recent AAI convention, Sam Harris dropped a bit of a bombshell — He doesn’t like to use the word “Atheist” and he thinks we should not use it, due to the stigma associated with it. He proposed no alternative. The auditorium was mostly silent.I gotta admire a man who would take a minority position, but I must disagree. Not to kiss butt, but I am totally with Ellen on this one. The word Atheist has a stigma, but it also has a power. It raises eyebrows. It makes conversation, and this is how you beat bigotry.Check the link to see the arguments and chime in — let us know what you think!(thx janet)

And the Number One most Challenged Book in America for 2006: (a little drum roll if you please)…….. “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Not only can God not stand same sex parenting by homo sapiens, he can’t even stand same sex parenting by penguins, now. Kinda makes you wonder why he made them in the first place, doesn’t it?From Wikipedia we learn the following about Tango: “In 2006 it was named an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book. It received the APCSA’s Henry Bergh Award and the Gustavus Myer Outstanding Book Award. It was named a Nick Jr. Family Magazine Best Book of the Year, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, a Cooperative Children’s Book Council Choice, and a CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book. Tango was also a finalist for the 2006 Lambda Literary Award.”And this book joins three others in the top ten most banned books for 2006 that were condemned for homosexual content. Toni Morrison gets honorable mention for having two books on the list of the top ten most banned books in America due to sexual content and inappropriate language.Good news, after who knows how many years, “Catcher in the Rye” and “of Mice and Men” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” failed to make the list.I am really glad the American Library Association takes the time to bring us this list and that the religious organizations work so hard to identify these books for us. If it weren’t for the banned book list, I wouldn’t know what to read.

“And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group; “Gossip Girls” series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language; “Alice” series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language; “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things” by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group; “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group; “Scary Stories” series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity; “Athletic Shorts” by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language; “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group; “Beloved” by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group; “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.

Peter Nuhn