(CN) – An insurance company will pay $74,000 to settle a claim that it discriminated against agnostics and atheists. Des Moines-based GuideOne Mutual Insurance offered homebuyers, owners and renters in 19 states special benefits and discounts if they were churchgoers.
The United States’ lawsuit against GuideOne and two of its offices stemmed from complaints filed by an atheist, an agnostic, and the Lexington, Ky., Fair Housing Council, in Louisville Federal Court.
The defendants agreed to pay a total of $29,500 to three plaintiffs and a $45,000 civil penalty.

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So what we’ve got here is a nice little case we can all use as backup should we ever face hard-core discrimination. This should be saved, printed, and filed by every reader. If you ever find someone discriminating against atheists, it it ILLEGAL, and you can sue and win. Of course, just faxing this article will probably yielded the desired result.

ATHEISTS OPPOSE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE “FAITH HEALING” PROVISIONS IN HEALTH CARE REFORM BILLS

An Atheist public policy organization today called for elimination of requirements in Senate legislation which would reimburse faith-based “healers” for their services.

The Senate Finance Committee has taken up the America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 which has an amendment titled “Religious Non-discrimination in Healthcare. The provision bans insurance companies from denying patients “benefits for religious or spiritual healthcare. Similar legislation, the Affordable Health Choices Act, has already cleared the U.S. Senate, and has a similar provision.

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, warned that the measure amounts to a public subsidy for certain religious groups.

“Any adult in the legislative or executive branch of the federal government, or of any state government, who wants to use unproven, unscientific ‘remedies’ should be free to do so,” said Buckner. “But support for such irrational nonsense violates the separation of religion and government and the canons of good sense. Including faith-healing or other non-medical ‘treatment’ in health care legislation must be rejected.”

Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists, said that Christian Science and other faith-based healers already receive public money, and that the policy is not based on good science.

“We need to spend that money on providing solid, fact-based medicine. Reimbursing the faith-healing industry wastes precious resources, and violates the separation of church and state.”

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First
Amendment public policy.
American Atheists, Inc.
PO BOX 158
Cranford, NJ 07016
Tel.: (908) 276-7300
Fax: (908) 276-7402

The Supreme Court is expected to take the Mojave Case this term. As reported by AP:

Mojave cross: For most of the past 75 years, a cross on public land in a remote part of the Mojave National Preserve has stood as a memorial to World War I soldiers. The court takes up a long-running legal fight over whether the cross, which Congress declared a national memorial, violates First Amendment religious protections despite Congress’ decision to transfer the land to private ownership.

So the question is whether a public entity like a school or a town can sell a 1×1 piece of land to a church, who can then erect a huge cross on this “private” land. We’ve seen it before in our case in San Francisco at Mt. Soledad. This is a very obvious way of usurping the Equal Access Law. We hope the SCOTUS votes correctly on this one!

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In particular, the site OkCupid, which has a handy rundown of which words and phrases are most likely to garner a reply to an initial contact. (Via FlowingData.) The average response rate is 32%, so you can see how using some specific word increases or decreases your chances of success. Apparently mentioning “God” is a big turn-off, although calling Him by a proper name is slightly helpful. But nothing works at turning a stranger’s head quite like bringing up His complete lack of existence.

Yes, to those singles out there looking for love on-line, the wost thing to do is be closeted! Shout your atheism and find love!

Why? Logical people use computers. That’s all. Computers are all about logic, and that’s why logical people use them.

This isn’t brain surgery. Atheism reflects knowledge and education, and it’s sexy. Use it, and remember to always use a condom.

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In a series of studies published in the Oct. 2 special issue of Science — 11 papers by a total of 47 authors from 10 countries — researchers unveiled Ardi, a 125-piece hominid skeleton that is 1.2 million years older than the celebrated Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) and by far the oldest one ever found. Tim White of the University of California, Berkeley, a co-leader of the Middle Awash research team that discovered and studied the new fossils, says, “To understand the biology, the parts you really want are the skull and teeth, the pelvis, the limbs and the hands and the feet. And we have all of them.”

How little these stupid scientists know. The earth is only 7000 years old, so that disproves everything they say. La la la I can’t hear you!