New York, Jan. 23, 2008?He was only 16 when secretly he taped his teacher telling students in a history class that if they did not believe Jesus died for their sins, they ?belong in hell.? Matthew LaClair, a Kearny, N.J. high school junior at the time, knew that what the teacher was doing was wrong?and that no one would believe him if he didn?t have evidence. The teacher also said that evolution was not scientific, that dinosaurs were aboard Noah?s ark and that only Christians had a place in heaven. When Matt, backed by his family, complained to school authorities that the teacher, David Paszkiewicz, was violating separation of church and state laws by promoting religion in a public school, Mr. Paszkiewicz, of course, denied it. Out came the eight tapes of the teacher proselytizing in class and Mr. Paszkiewicz had to do some fast backtracking. But being in the right isn?t always easy. After Matt turned the tapes over to school officials, he became the target of harassment, of a death threat and of retaliation by school officials who treated him?not the teacher?as the problem!But Matt, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, Atheist organizations and by a partner from a large Manhattan law firm, was encouraged by atheists worldwide: emails, letters and phone calls poured into the little suburban town of Kearny from all over the world. The New York Times did an article about Matt. In the end, the teacher was reprimanded and Matt was grudgingly allowed to bring speakers into the school to inform the students about Separation of Church and State laws in the U.S.On January 31, Matt will tell New York City Atheists about his fight for justice in the Kearney school system and give us a few hints about another expose? he hopes to undertake soon.EVENT SUMMARY WHAT: My Fight to Get Religion Out of Public School Classes by Matthew LaClairPlus Speak-Out to Advance Atheism: A Town Hall Meeting of Ideas WHERE: SLC Conference Center 352 Seventh Ave. (Bet. 29th & 30th St.) 16th Floor New York CityWHEN: Thursday, January 31 at 6:30 p.m.COST: We would appreciate a $5 contribution CONTACTSJane EverhartDirector of Communications212-879-2687Kenneth BronsteinNYCA President212-535-7425http://www.nyc-atheists.org

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US scientists have taken a major step toward creating the first ever artificial life form by synthetically reproducing the DNA of a bacteria, according to a study published Thursday. The move, which comes after five years of research, is seen as the penultimate stage in the endeavour to create an artificial life form based entirely on a man-made DNA genome — something which has tantalised scientists and sci-fi writers for years.”Through dedicated teamwork we have shown that building large genomes is now feasible and scalable so that important applications such as biofuels can be developed,” said Hamilton Smith, from the J. Craig Venter Institute, in the study published in Science.The research has been carried out at the laboratories of the controversial celebrity US scientist Craig Venter, who has hailed artificial life forms as a potential remedy to illness and global warming.

And the “god of the gaps” gets smaller and smaller….

Pope Boniface VIII founded La Sapienza University in 1303. The university became independent in 1870. In 1990, Cardinal Ratzinger called the 1633 trial and conviction of Galileo for the sin of contradicting the Holy Church’s belief that the Sun revolves around the Earth, rational and just. So some students and 67 professors this month protested Pope Benedict XVI’s planned visit to the famous university to mark its opening day for the 2008 academic year.Question: Is this a story of protest over the Church’s position on science; or is this a story about censorship and freedom of expression?The rector of the university thinks it is about censorship and the Catholic League’s Bill Donahue agrees. After all, some of us now know that neither the Earth nor the Church are the center of the universe. But it was a nice dream while it lasted, wasn’t it?Peter Nuhn

John McCain’s Christian Right offensive yields another endorsement, from Tom Coburn, poster child for old school Christian conservatism in the U.S. Senate. Another reminder that the fight for Palmetto State evangelicals isn’t limited to Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/godometer/2008/01/another-christian-conservative.htmlI love the God-O-Meter, but I really hate that McCain has turned out to be a McBush. I still remember him in 2000 trying to convince everyone that he really wanted Bush to win, coming out in a press conference just to say “no really, I really do endorse Governor Bush. No Really”.And now “Mr. National Hero” has turned into another religious nut job, courting the Christians, just the Christians, and ONLY the Christians — after all, we’re a Christian nation based on Christianity as set forth in the Constitution.

American Atheists Speakers BureauDAVE SILVERMAN SPEAKS WEDNESDAY(January 23, 2008) TO N.J. HUMANIST NETWORKDave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists will be the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the New Jersey Humanist Network. He’ll be sharing his thoughts on the on-going fight for the separation of church and state. The meeting begins at 7:30 PM at the PeopleCare Center, 120 Finderne Avenue, Bridgewater, NJ. Phone Lisa Ridge at 609-403-8238 if you need directions. The talk is free and open to the public, refreshments will be provided. There’s plenty of free parking behind the building.WHO & WHAT: Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists speaking to the monthly meeting of NJ Humanists WHERE: PeopleCare Center, 120 Finderne Avenue, Bridgewater, NJ.WHEN: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 beginning at 7:30 PM MORE INFO: www.njhn.org or contact Lisa Ridge, 609-403-8238 Make your next freethought meeting success! The American Atheists Speakers Bureau has qualified experts on a wide range of topical subjects including Atheism, current events, and First Amendment public policy. Visit www.atheists.org/speakers for more information.(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists, Freethinkers and other nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

Oh great. Now I need to get some thoughts together to share…