We have a new leader and a new direction, and it’s your turn to say what you like/ dislike about the organization. Let Frank and the Board know what you think! We want to know!Ready? Go!
We have a new leader and a new direction, and it’s your turn to say what you like/ dislike about the organization. Let Frank and the Board know what you think! We want to know!Ready? Go!
Because you hate me.
Sniff.
Seeker:
http://www.ggstudio.org
Look under “Julio’s Work”. That’s me.
Seeker
Liberty U? Oh, dear.
You definitely have opted for the road less traveled now, haven’t you?
And why do you keep coming back here?
Because I’m here, of course!
Karen,
Keep in mind I’m 55 years old. That puts me at Liberty back before it was Liberty University.
Originally it was Lynchburg Baptist College (when I showed up on campus.) Lynchburg College was (almost) across the street. Dr. Falwell decided to change the name to Liberty Baptist College. By the time the Liberty University moniker was adopted, I was long gone.
Jie,
Thanks! I’ll have a look.
Jie,
Absolutely phenomenal!
Why not add the url to your profile?
I have always considered joining AA, however I have always hesitated.
As many have mentioned, the web design is not up to date, but what I find more troublesome, is the ads.
Does there really need to be 2 of these on the homepage?
“the atheist’s riddle
so simple, any child can understand so complex, no atheist can solve”
Seeker
There, there honey. Have a good cry. You’ll get over it.
Jie-
You freakin’ rock!
Great work, man.
I’m a fellow artist (way different than you), and I can tell you have a solid grasp of light (which is very difficult).
Here’s a suggestion for the blog. How about writing some code that will tell us when posters are using sock puppets.
Comment from: alexatheist
So Alex…you claim to believe in other life forms in the galaxy.
I’m sure you’d listen to theories of superior life forms seeding our planet…
Now…wouldn’t that be ID?
Hear, hear! Danny 419. The website is too static.
Naughtyniko
Captain
Here’s the riddle:
The Hokey Pokey: Is it really what it’s all about?
I’m sure you’d listen to theories of superior life forms seeding our planet…
Sure I’d listen to those hypotheses but unless you present some compelling evidence that aliens created life on earth the hypothesis is rubbish just like ID is. It’s a huge leap to go from believing that life has evolved outside of our own planet to declaring that these hypothetical aliens engineered life here. You just don’t get it do you, mate? It must be nice to not to have to think very hard.
Josh
Would you give some examples.
Could you provide some numbers?
Jie, could you do a quick, draft rendition of Ellen Johnson or Madalyn O’Hair a la your work at:
http://ggstudio.org/db2/00144/ggstudio.org/_uimages/Kappa.jpg
That would sure show a “new direction” for American Atheists . . .
Seeker:
Thanks for that much. Will you divulge what degree(s) you have?
I assumed that would be the next question and planned the following response:
(Ahem)
“Well, I would say I had a PhD in Theology but it wouldn’t be true.
“If I answered that it would be followed by another question infinitum.
“However, if anyone cares to pry (must be REALLY bored) consider there were only about 1,600 students at Liberty at that time. Considering about half were male, you now have it narrowed down to 800.”
Sorry. I think I’ll draw the line on prying and let phreedm take it from here.
Does a degree from liberty university count for anything? other than a good laugh?
making the bylaws available for view would be nice.i think that AA should focus on educating a targeted pop. people that actually vote.this is actually a group intel can be gathered on to put together a educational program for.
alexatheist,
Sarcasm aside, about 87 percent of Liberty law grads passed the bar exam. I think the national average is between 65 and 70 percent; 72 percent in Virginia, July 2007.
You may not like what they believe, but don’t under estimate their influence.
There were 50 law grads in 2007, the first class.
alex
i am no fan of falwell but there is no reason to knock the kids of liberty.they are at least trying to do something positive with their lives.who knows with a better understanding of the bible it may make it easier for them to accept atheism.
Please revise your definition of atheism. I think it’s strange to call it a “doctrine”. Why do you capitalize “atheist”? Nobody capitalizes “theist”.
Alex
The question should be does being a former fundamentalist Baptist pastor indicate that you are anything but slow-to-learn or somebody with a long history as a faker.
Seriously, wouldn’t a degree from liberty university be a hindrance in getting a job unless it’s with an overtly religious organisation? Even a lot of xians think jerry falwell was nuts.
Obama wins NC by landslide! In Indiana the media is presently putting Clinton ahead of Obama by two percent with 91% of precincts counted. But a county by county look shows that Obama could easily grab a huge chunk of the remaining 9% and decisively put an end to this race.
Thanks guys for the great suggestions!
Yes, I read them all, and I will funnel most of them (not Phreedm’s) to the board.
I talked to Frank at length. Yes, the reason we are being so quiet is protective in nature. We don’t want to say anything wrong, and we need to make sure everything we say is Kosher (pun intended). All will be revealed in due time, but I can’t tell you how long that is because multiple parties need to chime in.
In the mean time Frank has the daunting task of suddenly being president of AA. I will be releasing information on AA’s new direction on this blog as it solidifies.
I’ll be at the center tomorrow most of the day. Will advise.
Thanks Dave
Oh and CBS has projected Clinton as the Indiana winner. But the fat lady is still singing.
I know Hillary has put on a few pounds over the years, but I wouldn’t call her fat…
I think he was talking about McCain.
Can one really sing the blues while wearing a pantsuit?
Hillary
It’s time to call it quits.
I would like to see American Atheists join the Secular Coalition for America. They seem to be one of the few freethought organizations who has not done so.
Comment from: David Silverman
Hey Dave…it’s ok to state this in public. You and I both know you’ll be discussing some of my ideas…
In other words…we can’t tell you out of fear of being sued…
Bottom line…I’ll make a prediction. Nothing will change…
Sorry Karen…was that inflammatory?
Say “What”…
Can you say 1972?
Fear the Osama/bama. You think Bush ran amok with government spending? Wait until all the kickbacks start with nationalised health care.
mxracer652
you are so right.furthermore the federal constitution leaves this area to the states.i say to What and other likeminded people build your public health service at the state level.
If I could give anyone advice, it would be this- “and this too shall pass.”
I think some positive things will come out of this for all parties.
This organization needs a kick in the ass to do something that will inspire it’s members, and I also think Ellen needed a kick in the ass to make some personal changes.
I like Ellen very much, but she does not have that “certain something” to move this organization forward. This organization desperately needs someone like Christopher Hitchins to lead it, someone that has his ideas and speaking ability. Ellen is a wonderful person, but through no fault of her own, does not have the “oomph” to motivate people to get off their Atheist asses and do something.
We need an Atheist “JFK” or “MLK” to inspire and motivate.
I think we need to do less fighting over things like crosses and nativity scenes on public lands and do more to publicize the persecution of atheists (especially younger atheists) at the hands of Christians. Fighting over crosses emboldens the enemy and provides them with ammunition to further stereotype us to people on the fence, whereas showing the enemy for the judgmental hypocrites that they are in the press helps us.
I for one am glad Ellen is gone. I thought she represented atheists terribly whenever she was on TV.
I also don’t think we need someone like Hitchens, who comes off as a jerk and couldn’t even beat Al Sharpton in debate. We need someone like Dawkins, because he’s eloquent, charismatic, and funny.
What,
It certainly can indicate something other than those two traits. Indoctrination is a powerful drug, I wouldn’t discount it out of hand. Seeker’s status as a former fundamentalist Baptist is strong evidence for the power of indoctrination if that’s the reason he became a preacher.
Until he states otherwise, I think that’s the simplest and most likely explanation.
My advice is, focus on picking apart his arguments, that’s what you’re good at. Calling him a faker all the time comes across as ego-stroking and insulting for no useful purpose that I can perceive.
Alatham
I always enjoy reading your posts and for good reason – your clarity of thought.
What,
Thank you. I enjoy reading yours as well, but not when they’re more inflaming than enlightening.
Alatham
We simply disagree on how to handle Seeker’s posts.
Seeker
If you can’t stand the heat don’t walk into the kitchen and with a flame thrower (your ten commandments).
Ernesto
I hope you accept my apologies. I obviously mistook you for another poster.
As far as the site not being updated often, it looks like this organization has the same problem a lot of organizations have… not enough time in the day and it’s not easy enough to update the site.
For what it’s worth, I’d suggest you look at an Expression Engine/Wordpress/Joomla or Drupal content management system. There’s a number of things that can automate dynamic content, especially to the home page, which should act as a portal. Imagine on the home page where it picks up on the most recent topics on this blog and draws users to it from the home page of the atheist site. You may also consider RSS readers to dynamically display related content.
If you were to designate one page for a person in your organization to update and have that content dynamically drawn to the home page and other pages and you have 4 or 5 people doing that, then you get a lot of dynamic content that is simple for people to keep up to date. We’ve found that if you give a person with not a lot of time just one page to update… their page… it actually happens.
You should also consider community building for the site. You could do profiles of every day atheists and the great things they’re doing. I know that DVan has some great artwork. Others of you have talents and interesting ideas that could be highlighted. The goal is to show that atheists are doing wonderful and positive things. You could also highlight and help organize other atheist organizations throughout the country. Are there atheist charities? If there are, they should certainly be on the site and highlighted in some way.
Just my 2 cents. Sorry, I eat, drink and breath this stuff all day.
Now that all our laundery has been aired out, I think it is time we thank Ellen for what she has done, get behind Frank to guide our future and cease this internal bickering ( it only feeds fuel for our brethen theists ).
and damn those heathen theist…..especially phreedm ;\….
Thank You Ellen
I guess I have one more thing before I call it quits.
The participants on this blog are only a very tiny portion of the AA membership. If the AA Board Of Directors really wants some direction from its members, it should survey the entire membership by mail. They could do a separate mailing or as an insert in the next edition of the magazine.
I think this would be well worth the expense.
I suppose the board has already thought of this, but you never know.
Noel
But the laundry has not been aired. We still do not know the boards reasons for giving Ellen the axe and we have not heard from Ellen. In fact we don’t know much more now than we did when this “transition” was announced.
I have been a member for three years. The lack of any information regarding the internal finances and workings of the organization bothered me. Last December, I donated several hundred dollars on-line and didn’t receive a receipt on-line that indicated that I had donated. I didn’t receive a letter from the organization as required by the IRS to prove I had donated, much less a thank you letter. I won’t donate again until I know how my money is being used and until I can get a proper receipt.
I appreciate Ms Johnson’s efforts. Running any non-profit is hard work and sometimes thankless. However, I didn’t feel she did a particularly good job representing atheist viewpoints on TV the few times that I saw her. I agree with previous comments that the website and magazine could be improved.
Personally, I would like to see a more proactive organization that reaches out more and lets people know their doubts about god are justified and offers them support. I would also like the organization to organize public service events to show the world that atheists aren’t just negative, uncaring people. How about requesting some “faith based initiative” public funding for this?
Seeker is the most interesting poster in the entire blogosphere.