AMERICAN ATHEISTS NATIONAL CONVENTIONAPRIL 9, 10, 11, 12, 2009ATLANTA, GEORGIAEmory Conference Center Hotel/Emory Inn 1615 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30329Said to be the ?Best Kept Secret? in Georgia the Emory is a hidden oasis as its? Frank Lloyd Wright inspired architecture and serene wooded views combine diverse meeting space, beautiful gardens, walking trails, and much more to create a one of a kind experience.The Emory is just 20 minutes from Atlanta?s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The downtown business district and vibrant Buckhead are less than 12 minutes from the hotel. Complimentary on site parking is an added bonus.The Emory offers a two-tiered guest room rate. Guest rooms in the hotel are $109 plus tax for single/double. Guest rooms in the inn (directly connected to the hotel) are $89 plus tax for single/double and include breakfast. You must make your reservations directly with the hotel/inn on or before March 10, 2009 to enjoy our special convention rate. Be sure to tell them you are with the American Atheist convention. Emory Hotel/Inn reservations: 1-800-933-6679. Visit the Emory Conference Center Hotel/Emory Inn at www.emoryconferencecenter.com Confirmed Speakers at this time:Ed Buckner: President, American Atheists, Inc.Richard Dawkins: Evolutionist/recognized authorMike Malloy: Nationally-syndicated talk radio personalityJim Morrow: Writer(D)evangelical: Stand Up Comedy Troupe Thursday, April 9th, 6:00 ? 9:00 PM – Great Hearth Room: Registration and informal reception with cash bar.*Friday, April 10th, 10:00 AM ? 6:00 PM Lullwater Ballroom7:00 ? 11:00 PM Silverbell Room, Open Banquet, Award Ceremony, Members Meeting* Saturday, April 11th10:00 AM ? 6:00 PM, Lullwater Ballroom7:00 ? 11:00 PM Silverbell Room, Open Banquet, Honor Lifetime/Gift and Legacy Members* Sunday, April 12thDining Rm; Hosted Breakfast. Arrive anytime between 8:00 and 11:00 AM and be greeted by your board members and state directors who will be eager to chat with you, enjoy a cup of coffee together or maybe a place at you breakfast table.*Sunday afternoon group outing. Destination and time to be announced * * * Of course, our convention will feature a host of speakers, entertainment, books, products, various vendors, endless conversations, greeting old friends and making new friends.

http://defamer.com/5091224/south-park-creators-mormon-musical-to-light-up-broadway-with-magical-underwearFile this under “good timing”: just as the passage Proposition 8 ignited a gays vs. Mormons clash so intense that only David Archuleta can mediate a resolution, word has leaked about the next project from South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, a Broadway-bound show entitled Mormon Musical. The two have set openly gay Xanadu alum Cheyenne Jackson to star, and Jackson opened up to Pop Wrap about what to expect (besides, obviously, the angel Moroni slathered in gold body glitter):”It’s hilarious – very acerbic and biting. It offends everybody but does what ‘South Park’ does best, which is by the end it comes around and has something great to say,” Cheyenne told Pop Wrap.”I play the main missionary, Elder something,” he said, straining to recall the name of his character. But the biggest unknown still is who else will be joining the cast. When I asked Cheyenne which other actors would be co-starring, all he would say (through the world’s largest grin) is, “a lot of people – all amazing.” …The show starts rehearsals in December, so expect to see it on the Great White Way sometime in 2009!Finally, a way for gays to get inside Mormons that doesn’t involve three Sprite Zeros and some balled-up long underwear! At Defamer HQ, we’re especially excited for the original soundtrack; we’ve heard that even Sondheim can’t top the Joseph Smith love theme, “I Do, I Do, I Do (to You, and You, and You).”

NOTE: Meet Margaret Downey at our Winter Solstice Party!

By Tom KrattenmakerBeing an atheist is not easy in this age of great public religiosity in America. Not when the overwhelming majority of Americans profess some form of belief in God. Not when many believers equate non-belief with immorality. Not when more people would automatically disqualify an atheist for the presidency (53%, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll) than a gay candidate (43%), for example, or a Mormon (24%).(snip)Mindful of atheism’s reviled reputation, a new current in non-belief is intent on showing the public what atheists are for. You might be surprised by what’s on their short list. Because, save for the belief-in-a-deity part, it sounds a lot like what most Americans value. Care for one’s community and fellow human beings, love of country and cherished American principles, the pursuit and expansion of knowledge ? these are the elements of the new “positive atheism.”A new faceThe reputation of atheists has not been well-served by the surly attacks on religion by some of atheism’s highest-profile torch carriers. From the best-selling atheist manifestos of recent years to Bill Maher’s new Religulous movie, the loudest voices of non-belief have exhibited much of the same stridency and flair for polemics as the religious fundamentalists they excoriate.But if Margaret Downey keeps making progress with her campaign to show a different face of atheism, it’s possible to imagine the day when avowing one’s non-belief will not be political suicide. (It seems to be just that today, given that only one member of Congress, Rep. Pete Stark of California, has revealed that he does not believe in a deity; in view of polling data suggesting that some 5% to 15% of Americans are atheists and agnostics, it seems certain there are at least a few more non-believing senators and representatives in the halls ? and closets ? of Congress.) Downey, having recently finished a stint as president of the Atheist Alliance International, is now organizing a non-believers’ unity convention to take place in 2011. She is the poster person for positive atheism, a term she uses for a new face of atheism that emphasizes the good things in which non-believers do believe.Downey does not move in the ways of the late atheist spokesperson Madalyn Murray O’Hair, who was known for her caustic mockery of religion and its followers. And despite Downey’s friendship with the outspoken atheist author Richard Dawkins, of The God Delusion fame (who likens the religious indoctrination of kids to child abuse), Downey is more interested in building bridges than walls.

From: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122696699813835335.html?mod=article-outset-box The Wall Street Journal Online 11/18/08Atheists Reach Out — Just Don’t Call It Proselytizing Nonbelievers Think the Time Is Right to Better Organize Their Nonreligion and Swell the Membership; ‘Reason’s Greetings’ During the past three years, membership has grown in local and national associations of nonbelievers. Books attacking faith as a delusion shot up best-seller lists. For the first time, the faithless even raised enough funds to hire a congressional lobbyist.Building on that momentum, nonbelievers have begun a very public campaign to win broad acceptance. On billboards and bus ads, radio commercials and the Internet, atheists are coming forward to declare, quite simply: We’re here. And we’re just like you. “We’ve had an undercurrent of emotional and academic support, but we’ve been waiting to make a movement happen,” said Joe Zamecki, an Austin landscaper who recently organized Texas’ first statewide convention of nonbelievers. “It’s a very new age.”

I’ve always held the position that the best term to describe myself is “Atheist”, arguing that there is no ambiguity in the term. I’ve stated that using terms like Secular Humanist or Freethinker just muddies the waters and allows the ignorant masses to say “well, at least he’s not an Atheist”.After the Dole commercial, I’m considering going GODLESS.Godless also has no ambiguity, and leaves no room for debate as to what I mean or how I think. It also, perhaps, has an even more negative meaning than Atheist — thereby allowing me to do more damage to other people’s thought processes by showing how nice a godless guy can be.And, while we can debate the definitions of Atheist and Agnostic all night, Godless seems a broader term, encompassing more people who don’t like the A-word, but cannot deny the G-word.Perhaps we should take our cue from the bigoted former senator. Should we take back Godless?