AMERICAN ATHEISTS NATIONAL CONVENTIONAPRIL 9, 10, 11, 12, 2009ATLANTA, GEORGIAEmory Conference Center Hotel/Emory Inn 1615 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30329The 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: (404 712-6000 Visit the Emory Conference Center Hotel/Emory Inn at www.emoryconferencecenter.comConfirmed Speakers at this time: (Read Bios)Ed Buckner: President, American Atheists, Inc.Richard Dawkins: Evolutionist/recognized authorMike Malloy: Nationally-syndicated talk radio personalityJim Morrow: Award winning Novelist(D)evangelical Comedy Troupe: Stand Up Comedy TroupeDr. J. Anderson Thomson: Psychiatrist, researcher, authorNate Phelps: Estranged son of Pastor Fred Phelps (”God Hates Fags”)John Lombard: Helped found the first Critical Thinking organization in ChinaSpecial Event: “Mass De-baptism Ceremony” Folks, we expect to sell out this year. The sheer combination of speakers is broad enough to attract a very wide audience. There are also more speakers you don’t know about yet. Translation: — check out the details and register on-line today.http://www.atheists.org/events/National_Convention
Dawkins is an idol of mine, every word he says sounds so intelligent and interconnected, logical. I would love to get a chance to ask him a couple of questions.
The rest of the featured speakers sound great too, I wish I could go. But, reality has no vacations in it any time soon. It’s going to be tough enough to survive at home. Good luck with your convention, I hope it achieves everything you hope for.
NeoWolfe
PS It would be great to get a chance to to meet you in person as well. The way you put a face to a name, I could put a handshake to your face! Ow! LOL! Seriously, it would be great to talk shop if we ever get a chance.
That’s the best part of these events — faces to e-names!
Do I have to get tickets or do I just waltz right in?
A mass-de-baptism ceremony! Yesss! It’s about time too! AA conventions are always so much fun, and this will add a lot to it.
Our de-baptism here in Austin went very well. Got it all on video too.
Rock on!
Joe Zamecki
Austin, Texas
Man I wish I could attend….religious people are annoying the hell back into me right now….
Does anyone else find the process of posting here cumbersome….My typing seems to disappear in the right margin….
and Dave, if I had the pleasure…I would introduce myself to you as Charlie or Chuck….most likely Charlie though
Wow…everyone must be celebrating the 12 days of Christmas…
Dave…if AA is attempting to pride itself on knowledge and science, why would you allow your national “party” become a circus (although at midnight they might appear to be the same thing) with a “de-baptism”?
Or was this Mr. Ed’s idea…?
How about offering the Smalkowskis’ some honorary tickets. You could take some of your winnings from the Oklahoma case and buy their plane tickets…
OFF Topic:
http://www.wlky.com/news/18401793/detail.html
Isn’t Kentucky the state protected by gawd?
For those who weren’t on this blog at the time, or don’t remember, I posted the url to the video of the de-baptism that took place at the 2008 Texas Freethought Convention.
We did the de-baptism just like Ed Kagin did it a few months previous, only we got much more video of it as it happened.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0Yn6vjktN0
Since one of the event organizers donated his time and paper to printing up all of the de-baptism certificates we gave out, this cost the event committee nothing. For the amount of fun and the level of energy in the room during this part of the day, it was VERY cost-effective.
We only had around 130 people at our state convention, so with a few hundred more in attendence at an American Atheists convention, the de-baptism there should be much more sizeable and enjoyable.
Joe Zamecki
Austin, Texas
Joe Z.
You referred to:
” de-baptism that took place at the 2008 Texas Freethought Convention.”
Maybe I’m the black sheep of the family, especially since I’m agnostic, but when plant forms like “What” start questioning what a “freethinker” is, why can’t I get a witness?
As humans, even freethinkers piece together their vision of the universe in individual ways, but at least we’ve risen to a level where we can intelligently compare our reason to perceive.
When I hear Dawkins speaking, that’s a free thinker, even though we don’t agree on everything. Where are the rest of the free thinkers? Atheism is worthless unless you can replace religion with something better. Clear minds making clear decisions and unifying on a rational course.
You must know that ninety five percent of the species that ever lived on earth are extinct. It almost implies that extinction is inevitable, and maybe it is, but if it’s not, if as a race, we can get a reprieve, for even just a while, we have arrived at that crossroads. Time to FOCUS!!!!!!!!!!!
NeoWolfe
neowolfe said: “Atheism is worthless unless you can replace religion with something better.”
This idea always boggles my mind. What would you replace cancer with? A rock? Some Sea Monkeys? You should be happy with replacing sickness with nothing more than good health.
If religion ever dies out, I’d prefer it be from lack of interest, not force or law. What replaces religion automatically is more rational thought. More of what we already do, but some of us humans don’t think rationally often enough. I believe religion simply pushes out a certain amount of clear thinking from the mind of every religious person, and replaces it with a child-like mythology.
I would replace religion with living rationally, saving money in December, sleeping in on Sundays, and spending time with military friends of mine who wouldn’t be involved in a religious war.
We need to realize that religion is FAR more harm than good, and it isn’t getting any less harmful these days. I’d replace that harm with help.
As far as church buildings, I’ve always felt that you could build a really really tall series of bookshelves inside the average large church building, since the ceilings are typically raised up high. Turn it into a big library. Plus we could probably build a dozen hospitals using only the wood from crosses inside churches in the US of A. Christians prefer to use that wood to promote a torturous execution. Even if we have nothing to replace that with, it needs to end eventually.
Of course clear thinking is a very helpful activity, so we do have something to replace religion with.
Joe Zamecki
Austin, Texas
Joe Z.
Great post! I think it’s the best I remember reading on this site. Introduction, logical support, and well supported conclusion.
Not in rebuttal, but to add, let me quote you:
“Of course clear thinking is a very helpful activity, so we do have something to replace religion with.”
Very true, but, does “we” refer to atheists or freethinkers? Several of my previous posts have pointed out that the fact that you don’t believe in god or any form of organized religion, does not necessarily make you an enlightened person or a freethinker, and I have pointed out clearly racist ideas as proof.
You point to an idealistic timeline when humans finally become bored with religion, and given the right course of events, you and I both know it would be inevitable. The fly in the ointment is fundamentalists sitting in power by election who would really like to get their hands on a nuke, and have the oil money to make it happen.
I think that the difference between my mindset and yours is the sense of URGENCY!!! I believe we don’t have the option to let reality set in. If we wait for religion to die, they will have killed us long before such a reality has a chance to manifest.
But, it’s not just religion, but the greed of those we believed would carefully act in their own self interest, and maybe they really did. The government, contrary to anti-trust laws, had let lending institutions become so large that they could not be allowed to collapse without bankrupting the country in the process. You think the banks have YOU by the balls?, they are thumbing their nose at Congress, basically saying, fuck you, you can’t afford to let us collapse, therefore, we will spend the money as we wish, and if we want more, you WILL give it to us. True or no?
That’s where we are in time. Waiting for religion to die is not an answer. Clear heads need to prevail now, or everything our parents built, and that we built for our children is gone.
NeoWolfe
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