2007 has been a milestone for us at the American Atheist Center! Let me tell you just some of the things we have accomplished – and why your continued support is so necessary. * We’re getting our message out! I remember when using “the A-word” was a near-impossible obstacle when courting the media or trying to give our position on social issues to lawmakers and other politicians. That has changed! In 2007, thanks to rallies, news interviews and other outreach programs, American Atheists reached record numbers of viewers, opinion makers and officials with our message! I personally appeared on CNN’s Glen Beck Show, “Paula Zahn Now” (four times!), “The Live Desk” at Fox News, “20/20″, a and the prestigious CBS Sunday Morning program. Representatives of American Atheists were interviewed in the media an average of ten times a month on different issues. In the last two months that number has jumped to 25 interviews a month! They also made public appearances across the country before civic, educational and other organizations. Greg McDowell spoke at the University of South Florida, and Arlene-Marie, our capable activist State Director in Michigan addressed a freethought organization at Wayne State University. Dave Silverman (National Communications Director) and our Washington, DC Representative Rick Wingrove also gave speeches. At the American Atheist Center, we receive a constant flow of inquiries from students who are doing school reports on Atheism, state-church separation, Madalyn O’Hair and other topics. We also receive e-mails and letters about an overwhelming amount of e-mails from Atheists who have questions, have legal problems and who just need some advice concerned with being an Atheist. Richard Andrews, a veteran Atheist activist who serves as our Utah State Director helps by personally answers dozens of these kinds of questions every month because we think it’s important to answers as many e-mails as possible. I host our monthly Atheist Viewpoint cable television program which is carried throughout the country. As you probably know, the cable TV industry has been rolling back the “public access” component of their operation; but we managed to add five new networks, including the “in house” station operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections! The Viewpoint is also available on the internet and as a podcast. I also do a brief weekly commentary on our web site at http://www.atheists.org which is posted to the ever-popular YouTube website. * Activism Counts! Our national network of State Directors worked throughout the past year with local Atheist, Freethought and other nonbelievers groups to impact their communities and keep our issues “front and center” in the media! Let me give you just a couple of outstanding examples of what these hard-working volunteers have accomplished. — In Kentucky, State Director Edwin Kagin (who also serves as National Legal Director for American Atheists) organized a “Rally for Reason” at the opening of the Creationist Museum in Petersburg, KY. Over 400 people attended throughout the day carrying banners and signs with messages like “Support Real Science.” Mr. Kagin and others with the R4R gave dozens of interviews to a small army of international media. — Joe Zamecki, our new Texas Director organized the first Texas State Rally for the Separation of Church & State held in early September on the steps of the Capitol in Austin, TX. Atheist and other nonbeliever groups came together to speak out against a slew of “religious enabling” bills by the state legislature, including provisions requiring students in Lone Star public schools to swear allegiance to a “god.” On the legal front. With the help of attorney and National Legal Director Edwin Kagin, American Atheists continues to expand our litigation in defense of Atheists civil rights and the First Amendment separation of church and state. In the last ten months, we have responded to over one hundred legal inquiries from members and other concerned citizens about possible state-church violations in the military, workplace, schools, prisons and other public venues. You know, of course, that the founder of American Atheists Madalyn O’Hair was a plaintiff in the historic MURRAY v. CURLETT case that challenged organized prayer and Bible verse recitation in our nation’s public schools. The number of requests for legal assistance pouring in to the American Atheists Center confirms to me that even after more than forty years and some significant courtroom victories, religious groups continue a relentless campaign to erode our First Amendment rights. Their resources are seemingly endless. The Alliance Defense Fund, Pat Robertson’s American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) and other pro-religion advocacy groups have hundreds of attorneys and plenty of money to spend defending unconstitutional practices in court. I’m happy to report, though, that even with this formidable challenge, American Atheists continues to enjoy success on the legal front. We received a favorable, mediated settlement in AMERICAN ATHEISTS v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, FL where we contested the use of public funds to organize a municipal “prayer rally” ostensible to reduce the crime rate. We successfully challenged the placement of an enormous Christian cross on city property in Stark, Florida. This case could have implications regarding other religious symbols on government land and buildings elsewhere. We filed amicus briefs, including one in a challenge to President Bush’s federal faith-based initiative. As this fundraiser is being sent out, we are continuing the fight in a Detroit, Michigan lawsuit contesting the use of taxpayer money for building improvements to two churches. And American Atheists just won a lawsuit which challenged a Boone County, Kentucky policy of giving tax exemptions to clergy. We have two lawsuits in Utah and another in Oklahoma. Your memberships and financial support make it all possible. At the American Atheist Center we house the Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library and Archives which contains over 20,000 books and thousands of Atheist, Humanist and other Freethought periodicals. Some of our materials date back to the 1700′s. This is only part of what we do at American Atheists. YOU have made our work all possible. For that we are very grateful. A membership in American Atheists gives you privileges, discounts and our monthly magazine. You can view a sample copy at http://atheists.org/aam/ A donation to American Atheists allows us to continue to work for you. We support you, we defend your civil rights and we celebrate you in our magazine. You can complain about the power of religion in our society or you can do something about it by supporting American Atheists. Fight back! Please send a donation to American Atheists today! You’ll be glad you did. Thanking you in advance, ELLEN JOHNSON, President, AMERICAN ATHEISTS American Atheists PO Box 5733, Parsippany, NJ 07054-6733 Information about Tax Deductions IRS rules state that the tax-deductible portion of membership dues can be found by subtracting the fair-market value of any goods or services that you receive in return. For most of our membership types, your dues are actually LESS than the fair-market value ($40 per year) of a subscription to our magazine. This means that your membership dues are NOT tax-deductible. Life membership dues are also NOT tax-deductible. (If we sold Life magazine subscriptions, they would cost at least as much as life memberships.) The only membership type that is fully tax-deductible is the Associate membership because Associate members do not receive a magazine subscription. For the Couple/Family ($60) and Wall-Builder ($150) membership types, $40 covers your magazine subscription. The remainder of your dues ($20 for Couple/Family and $110 for Wall-Builder) are considered to be a tax-deductible donation. For multiple-year memberships, the same fraction of your dues (1/3 for Couple/Family and 11/15 for Wall-Builder) is tax-deductible (in the year that those membership dues were paid). Also, any donations that you make IN ADDITION TO your membership dues are fully tax-deductible.

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