americanatheists

I didn’t know until I read this article.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Rudy Giuliani tried to find peace with a restless bloc of the Republican Party Saturday, telling religious conservatives not to fear him for his stand on issues such as abortion or expect he would change purely for political advantage. The GOP presidential candidate won praise for simply showing up before an audience that has been casting about for the best social conservative in the Republican field. But two former governors, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, shared the limelight with the former New York mayor, handily winning the top two spots in a straw poll of “values voters” conducted by the conservative Family Research Council. Giuliani sought common ground with Christian conservatives by casting himself as an imperfect man who has asked for guidance through prayer. He recalled crossing himself during his first day of law school after 16 years of attending Catholic schools. He offered assurances that despite his support for abortion rights, he would seek to lower the number of abortions. He pledged that if elected, he would appoint conservative judges, support school choice and insist on victory in Iraq – all issues important to the audience at the Values Voter Summit. ( ED NOTE: “School Choice” is a euphamism for illegal private school voucher schemes)… “My belief in God and reliance on his guidance is at the core of who I am, I can assure you of that,”

WARSAW, Poland (AP) ? A photo of a bonfire taken by a Polish construction worker is creating a stir for the resemblance of the flames to a silhouette of the country’s beloved son, the late Pope John Paul II.The picture of the flames ? said to resemble a silhouette of the pope bending in a gesture of blessing ? has been featured in newspapers across Poland and other countries, including Germany and Italy.

Actually it looks like a little old lady hailing a cab, but OK, so the Pope is burning in Hell. Maybe its because the Catholic Church is the tool of Satan (duh).

This posting from me is a personal one and I will set it up as follows. When atheists and Christians debate the subject of whether the United States is a Christian nation or not, we hear all about the Treaty of Tripoli and quotes from Jefferson and Mason, etc. from the atheists, while the Christians spout on and on about the original discoverers claimed this land in the name of God, King and Country, etc.I personally do not give a rats ass about what 18th Century slave owning anti-tax property owners have to say. Not germane to my life, yours? I doubt it seriously. And I really don’t care about the colonizers from Spain, France and England who claimed a land that was already settled and had been lived on for centuries.My problem is this, the Christians claim that this country is a Christian one because the majority of the citizens according to them claim to be Christians. I contend that if anyone is going to claim the United States of America is a Christian nation, then damn it, it ought to at least act Christian or develop Christian policies. Well, during my lifetime, this country has done a lot of things that I wouldn’t personally consider to be very moral. Actually, I would call a lot of my history to be pretty damn immoral. One instance would be the bombing of Hanoi on Christmas morning back in ‘71 or ‘72 or both. After fighting the Christian nation of France, that really was Catholic back in the late 40s and 50s, the French Indochina citizens came to rely on their colonizing enemies to stop fighting on one day each year, December 25th. The Americans who followed the same course of action against the Communists in Vietnam until Nixon and Kissinger (who got a Nobel Peace Award for this) decided to drop ordinance on the women and children in Hanoi who came out to shop on the day that their enemies celebrated the holy birth of their Lord and Savior. Until Nixon, it was apparently a sin for us Christian nations to kill children on our Savior’s Birthday. Seems silly to me and it apparently did to Nixon and Kissinger as well. So does that prove we are Christian? Is bombing women and children in order to prove you are serious about ending a war proof that you are Christian or are not?Does a country that kidnaps a citizen and engages in rendition and torture prove that the United States is a Christian nation or is not?Does a country whose leaders veto and sustain that veto that would have provided the funds necessary to provide medical care to ten million children who don’t have insurance prove the United States is a Christian nation or is not?This list can go on and on and I really do not know whether the facts mentioned above prove we are Christian or not. Really. I am not a Christian and was never reared in any religious organization. All of these actions could very well demonstrate what Christianity is all about. Given its history from 300 CE to the present, I’d have to say these seem to be very Christian acts.Okay, discuss among yourselves and have fun.Peter Nuhn

From a Duke student doing a study. please post your opinions.

Palliative care, as you probably know, is started when individuals are approaching death. It is where treatment of the disease is stopped, and treatment of pain and symptoms are made the focus.Some may see palliative care as ‘giving-up’ and accepting death. When palliative care is mentioned, often there are other options of very aggressive treatment with small success rates. With this in mind…1) Would an atheist be less likely to accept palliative care as an option?2) If accepting palliative care and knowing that death within a few short weeks or months was nearly inevitable, would an atheist have a harder time dealing with this end of life process? I know its hard to generalize about ‘all atheists’, however I am trying to get a feel for how one who believes in atheism would deal with the process of death.

By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 17, 6:19 PM EThttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071017/ap_on_re_us/vaccine_skepticsBOSTON – Sabrina Rahim doesn’t practice any particular faith, but she had no problem signing a letter declaring that because of her deeply held religious beliefs, her 4-year-old son should be exempt from the vaccinations required to enter preschool. She is among a small but growing number of parents around the country who are claiming religious exemptions to avoid vaccinating their children when the real reason may be skepticism of the shots or concern they can cause other illnesses. Some of these parents say they are being forced to lie because of the way the vaccination laws are written in their states.”It’s misleading,” Rahim admitted, but she said she fears that earlier vaccinations may be to blame for her son’s autism. “I find it very troubling, but for my son’s safety, I feel this is the only option we have.”

There is a two-tiered system in this country — religious people are allowed certain rights that nonreligious people do not have. Declaring one’s religiousity — even if false — is sometimes the only way to get the same rights. Lie or lose.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071014/COL01/710140649I think this piece of crap when to college with me. I think I know him. I feel somehow dirty.I am sooo sick of ijits like ol’ Mitch, blaming music and ::ghasp:: ATHEISTS for the school shooting in Cleveland. They are so quick to point at the rise of Atheism, but kinda forget that the shooters themselves have invariably been religious to some extent. In fact, I think the boy in Peducah was the son of a preacher, and the boys in Jonesboro asked to see their minister as soon as they were arrested. Can anyone confirm this?Let’s try to show my old friend where he should be pointing his fingers. Can anyone find information as to the religious upbringing of any school shooters?NEW CONTESTS: Free 6-month membership to American Atheists for the person who finds the most crimes committed by religious children, whether it be in the name of the religion or not. Omit massive holocausts like Darfur or Germany. Concentrate on school shootings anad gang activity.ANOTHER contest will be awarded to the one who finds crimes committed by Atheist children, for whatever reason. Again think individual or small group activity.Ready? GO

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Vatican official suspended after being caught on hidden camera making advances to a young man said in an interview published Sunday that he is not gay and was only pretending to be gay as part of his work. Stenico was suspended by the Vatican after he was caught on tape making sexual advances at a young man. In an interview with La Repubblica newspaper, Monsignor Tommaso Stenico said he frequented online gay chat rooms and met with gay men as part of his work as a psychoanalyst.He said that he pretended to be gay in order to gather information about “those who damage the image of the Church with homosexual activity.”

OK I already blogged this — I just thought it was funny.

http://www.al.com/huntsvilletimes/stories/index.ssf?/base/living/119159190395050.xml&coll=1 GODLESS SOLDIERSMany soldiers say they face harassment from Christian comradesBy KAY CAMPBELLkay.campbell@htimes.com In the midst of their fight to bring freedom to Iraq and Afghanistan, some American soldiers are finding their own freedoms threatened by the troops on their own side.Though the U.S. Constitution mandates that the government apply no test of faith for employment – and, one presumes, deployment – of American citizens, soldiers who are open about being non-believers can face harassment and ostracizing from fellow troops and their officers, some say.”We didn’t let anyone know we were atheists,” said Steve Moore of Huntsville, who served two tours in Iraq as an Army staff sergeant.Moore and his wife, Renee, also an Army veteran, were taking a break a couple of weeks ago from packing goody boxes for non-believing soldiers for the project Operation Foxhole Atheist sponsored by the North Alabama Freethought Association.”We didn’t want any stigma to thwart our career,” Moore said. “There is nothing more frightening than a radical fundamentalist with an assault rifle.”

This is too easy. All I have to do to hear about a new Christian sex scandal is listen to the radio for a few minutes.Maybe we should compile a list of Christians who ARE NOT somehow connected to a sex scandal. That may be easier.

Springfield man, a former cop and clown, faces child-porn charges Oct 10, 2007 @ 09:30 AM By Sarah Antonacci GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE SPRINGFIELD – http://www.rrstar.com/homepage/x368603386 A Springfield man who has been a clown, magician, police officer, minister, youth counselor and Big Brother volunteer was arrested Tuesday on charges of sex tourism and possessing child pornography. A. Paul Carlock Jr., 57, of the 2300 block of Hedge Lane was arrested in Springfield after an investigation sparked by immigration and Homeland Security officers in June upon his return to the United States from a trip to the Philippines.

VATICAN CITY (AP) – The Vatican said Saturday it has suspended a monsignor from a senior post at the Holy See after an Italian TV program using a hidden camera recorded him making advances to a young man and asserting that gay sex was not sinful. The Vatican did not identify the monsignor by name. But Monsignor Tommaso Stenico confirmed in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that he had been suspended from his post at the Vatican ’s Congregation for Clergy, an office which aims to ensure proper conduct by priests. “Don’t condemn me,” Stenico said, adding that the program “was done fraudulently” because it used a hidden camera.

THESE ARE FAKE CHRISTIANS! They don’t believe what they spew! How many more are there?

I am very pleased to announce the American Atheists Scholarship has been improved (thanks to our spectacular donors).The FOUNDER’S Scholarship has been increased to $2500, with a NEW SECOND PLACE $1000 Prize.The CHINN Scholarship (Gay/Lesbian) Scholarship remians at $1000.This means American Atheists now offers three prizes for young Atheist activists! Spread the word!