AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) – The Texas Supreme Court on Friday rejected a jury award over injuries a 17-year-old girl suffered in an exorcism conducted by members of the church she attended.The justices ruled that the exorcism was a matter of church doctrine and subject to certain First Amendment religious protections, and thus the case would “unconstitutionally entangle the court in matters of church doctrine.”In its 6-3 decision, the high court ruled that a lower court erred when it said the Pleasant Glade Assembly of God’s First Amendment rights regarding freedom of religion did not prevent the church from being held liable for mental distress brought on by a “hyper-spiritualistic environment.”Laura Schubert sued the Colleyville, Texas, church in 2002, claiming she was cut and bruised and later experienced hallucinations after the church members performed an exorcism on her in 1996, when she was 17.

And this again is where the separation of church and state (and freedom of religion) needs to end — where the safety of children begins. This church participated in child abuse, and the Supreme Court says that’s OK because it was religious.Now if atheists had committed the exact same atrocities, then they’d go to jail for child abuse. See that? Same crime, one gets punished, and one escapes punishment altogether, because the latter did it for religious reasons.That is the exact opposite of freedom of religion. That is YOU, dear reader, having fewer rights (rights no moral person would want, but rights nonetheless) than religious people.And while we’re on the subject of Christians

McCain Meets With Billy And Franklin GrahamJohn McCain met today with Billy Graham and his son Franklin, himself an influential Christian, in an opportunity to reach out to Christian conservatives who have tended to mistrust him over the years. Fun fact: In 2003, Franklin Graham looked forward to the Iraq War as an opportunity to spread Christianity in the Middle East.

fromFrank R. Zindler, Acting PresidentAmerican Atheists, Inc.Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library & Archives, Inc.Dear Ellen,I am writing to you in this open forum simply because it appears virtually impossible to communicate with you via certified mail or other normal channels. I am writing to appeal to your sense of honesty and your sense of what is best for the cause of Atheism. I am asking you to return to the Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library & Archives (CESAALA) the diaries of Madalyn Murray O’Hair over which you have control. The diaries cover the period from the late 1950s, through the 1960s, into the early 1970s. Especially in need of return is the diary containing the entries for June of 1963, recording the period of the ruling in Murray v. Curlett. On a number of occasions you have told me and other members of the board and staff that you have these diaries in your possession, and so I would not expect you to dispute the facts of my request.As you know, the joint will of Madalyn Murray O’Hair, Jon Garth Murray, and Robin Eileen Murray-O’Hair specifies that all their personal property shall become the property of CESAALA upon their decease. As Acting President of CESAALA, it is my fiduciary duty to seek the return of property rightfully belonging to the corporation. I ask that the diaries be returned immediately, without further delay. I do not wish to insult you, but I must nevertheless remind you that many ? indeed, the vast majority ? of the people who are still supporting you and are sympathetic to your cause are men and women of great integrity as well as intelligence. Can you suppose that they would continue to support you if all the facts could be made to show that you are illegally in possession of CESAALA property ? precious reminders not only of our own organizational history but of the course of First-Amendment jurisprudence as well? I seriously doubt it. They are men and women of integrity who expect you to be at least their equal.I suspect too that your colleagues in GAMPAC would not be pleased to learn that you have not returned property belonging to a corporation to which you previously owed allegiance and for which you claimed to be fulfilling your fiduciary responsibilities. Would they be wise to trust you as their chief executive?I hope that the next few days will witness the return of these important and valuable documents to our library in Cranford.For Reason,Frank R. Zindler

SANTA FE, N.M. (June 28) – A New Mexico appeals court on Friday ruled against a Los Alamos man who wanted to change his name to a phrase containing a popular four-letter obscenity.The man appealed after a state district judge in Bernalillo County refused his request to change his name to “F— Censorship!”Judge Nan Nash ruled that the proposed name change was “obscene, offensive and would not comport with common decency.”

OK here’s the contest. Winner gets and eternal bliss after death, so give it some thought.What’s the best name for an Atheist? The catch is you have to get it past Judge Nash.

This morning at 8:37am, my daughter came back from Camp Quest. It is now 6pm and she has yet to stop smiling. She had a wonderful time, including a zero-gravity plane trip! I’d like to take a moment to give a shout out to August, Amanda, and the entire staff of Camp Quest for giving my Atheist child a great place to have fun with other Atheists. http://www.camp-quest.org If you have a child, I fully recommend you give CG some serious consideration! Lifelong friends and memories!

WASHINGTON (June 26) – Silent on central questions of gun control for two centuries, the Supreme Court found its voice Thursday in a decision affirming the right to have guns for self-defense in the home and addressing a constitutional riddle almost as old as the republic over what it means to say the people may keep and bear arms.The court’s 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns and imperiled similar prohibitions in other cities, Chicago and San Francisco among them. Federal gun restrictions, however, were expected to remain largely intact.

I often talk about my first Atheist event — the event that got me started down the road to activism — the PromiseKeepers (bankrupt Christian man-cult) event in DC. At this event, I learned what it was like to meet other Atheists. I learned how it felt to be in front of a TV camera. Finally, I learned how to get a whole bunch of Atheists pissed off at each other: Mention gun control.We have a few resident posters from all sides of the fence. Let’s see who agrees with whom now.