You Can Now Get Months in the Pokey For Forcing Prayer in School

I found this article in the Wasthington Post:

Students, teachers and local pastors are protesting over a court case involving a northern Florida school principal and an athletic director who are facing criminal charges and up to six months in jail over their offer of a mealtime prayer.

I guess this is not the first time the school and or district has done something like this:

An ACLU official said the school district has allowed "flagrant" violations
of the First Amendment for years.

"The defendants all admitted wrongdoing," said Daniel Mach, director of litigation for its freedom of religion program. "For example, the Pace High School teachers handbook asks teachers to 'embrace every opportunity to inculcate, by precept and example, the practice of every Christian virtue.' "

The fight involving the ACLU, the school district and several devout Christian employees began last August when the ACLU sued Santa Rosa County Schools on behalf of two students who had complained privately to the group's Florida affiliate, claiming some teachers and administrators were allowing prayers at school events such as graduations, orchestrating separate religiously themed graduation services, and "proselytizing" students during class and after school.

In January, the Santa Rosa County School District settled out of court with the ACLU, agreeing to several things, including a provision to bar all school employees from promoting or sponsoring prayers during school-sponsored events; holding school events at church venues when a secular alternative was available; or promoting their religious beliefs or attempting to convert students in class or during school-sponsored events.

Well its pretty clear that the school and the district are clearly thumbing their noses at the settlement that they preciously reached with the ACLU and I’m not sure what the laws are in Florida but I would imagine that school led prayer (in class or at school functions) is not allowed. I think both the Principal and Athletic director clearly broke the law and should definitely be fired and the school should possibly even be fined but that being said six months in prison seems to be a bit ridiculous, especially when the same state just gave a man 30 days for man slaughter while driving under the influence.

Oxymoron?

I had to chuckle at this one…A reader at unreasonablefaith.com recently saw and advertisement for the Creation Museum while watching the Science Channel.

I'm sure this is the result of some bean counter not really paying attention to the commercials subject matter or just an Ad exec who has a good sense of humor.

Ahhhhhhh! He Has A Banana!

I know this will be keeping me up at nights!

Well not really... What the video fails to mention is that the banana he is holding has been genetically engineered over the last few hundred years through selective breading to become the delightful fruit it is today, in reality a wild banana really looks like this.

It looks like man was the creator of this the perfect fruit.

Happy April Fools Day!

For those of you who may not know April Fools Day has become one of the few widely known Atheist hollidays. It all started with a story (which turned out to be not ture) about a judge in Florida.

In Florida , an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring," Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my Client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

The joke was originally told by Christians but Atheist just took it and ran with it. So happy April Fools Day everyone! Go out and celebrate your fools heart!

Quote of the week!

"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."

Seneca the Younger

Representative Thomson explains why he wanted to Ban Dawkins from speaking at OU.

Drum roll please….

“I am trying to promote freethinking,” said Thomsen when asked about the resolution.“I strongly oppose the Department of Zoology for their unwillingness to lead our state in this discussion and not have opposing views in this matter.”

I’m scratching my head on this one…he wants to promote freethinking by censoring who can and cannot speak at the University…hmmmm does something sound odd about that to you?

I’m also not exactly sure what Representative Thomson would like for Oklahoma University’s Zoology department to do. Are they suppose to ignore all of the evidence that has been collected for the past 15 decades that supports evolution and start to make arguments of ID for the sole reason of having opposing view even if there is no scientific evidence to support it?

There is a very g00d article about this in the Oklahoma Daily.

Religion in Decline in the US?

Well atleast according to this article from Fox News:

A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.

Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.

Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state.

We are growing!

Looks Like Obama Will Take the Boy Scouts Up on Their Offer...

From the American Humanist Association:

(Washington, D.C., March 03, 2009) Humanists are reacting to a comment today from a Boy Scouts of America spokesperson stating that President Barack Obama has indicated he will accept the title of honorary president of the BSA.

"If President Obama does this, it will send an implicit message to nontheists that discrimination against them is permissible," said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association.

In a White House meeting this afternoon, Obama officially received the Boy Scouts' 2008 Report to the Nation. Every U.S. president since William Howard Taft has served as honorary head of the Boy Scouts.

As I stated before I was a scout for much of my youth and loved every minute of it but that was really before the Mormon Church took over and started to exclude Atheists and Homosexuals.

I'm a bit disappointed in this I really thought that Obama may reject the scouts offer due to his mother beliefs (or lack there of). The only way that the boy scouts will change is with public pressure. We have to take a stand and take back scouting from the church. One of Americas best institutions for children is teaching them intolerance and we cannot stand for that. It kills me that something so important to me now wants to exclude people like me.

Dawkins Responds to Oklahoma State Resolution

Here's the opening of his talk at the University of Oklahoma.



Dawkins also donated $5,000 to the Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education.

Dawkins Banned from the OK State?

Well maybe not that state itself but at least from the states most well known university, the University of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma State Reprehensive Mike Thompson Todd Thomsen has put forth House Resolution 1015 which opposes the invitation to Richard Dawkins to speak on the University of Oklahoma campus and encourages the University of Oklahoma to engage in a certain discussion of certain scientific theories; and directing distribution.

This resolution is in response to Oxford University Professor and Darwin Chair Richard Dawkins benign invited to speak at the University of Oklahoma’s a year-long celebration of Darwin’s 200th Birthday and the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Dawkins is known as one of the leading experts on Darwin’s theories of evolution and one of the most respected Zoologists in the world.

The resolution sites Dawkins 2006 book The God Delusion as the main reason as to why they do not see it fit for him to speak at the university.

WHEREAS, the University of Oklahoma, as a part of the Darwin 2009 Project, has
invited as a public speaker on campus, Richard Dawkins of Oxford University, whose published opinions, as represented in his 2006 book “The God Delusion”, and public statements on the theory of evolution demonstrate an intolerance for cultural diversity and diversity of thinking and are views that are not shared and are not representative of the thinking of a majority of the citizens of Oklahoma; and

WHEREAS, the invitation for Richard Dawkins to speak on the campus of the University of Oklahoma on Friday, March 6, 2009, will only serve to present a biased philosophy on the theory of evolution to the exclusion of all other divergent considerations rather than teaching a scientific concept.

This is complete and utter bullshit, not only does it present freedom of speech and expression issues, it is also incredibly hypocritical saying that they feel that all view should be expressed at the university yet they are trying to censor the purely scientific view in which they do not agree with.

Kirk Cameron asks "Have you questioned your faith in Atheism?"

Yes our favorite late 80's trouble maker has a message for you!

You may think I posted this video as a joke and in a way I guess I kind of did but the truth is he does have a point, if you don’t question your beliefs (or lack there of) then are you really any better than any of the dogmatic religious folks that we look down upon? I guess what I’m trying to say is that I agree with Kirk you shouldn’t be an atheist because you think its cool (which it totally is) you should be one because that is the logical conclusion that you have come to. Look at the facts and then make your choice. I think it’s a rather easy one to make but everyone is different. If the Atheist Bible can change your opinion on weather or not there is a god then you were probably never really never that solid in your beliefs to begin with.

Quote of the week.

There has really not been a whole lot to post about this week so I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite authors:

"I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world."
- Richard Dawkins

Bus ads hit Madison

The Freedom From Religion Foundation debuted six free thinking bus ads last week in Madison Wisconsin. The ads took quotes from six famous freethinkers or skeptics of history including Clarence Darrow, Emily Dickinson, Butterfly McQueen, Mark Twain and Richard Dawkins. If you are riding a bus in Madison within the next few months you may look up and see this:

This is not the first bus ad that the Freedom From Religion Foundation has had with Madison Metro. In 1983 after stopping a state/church violation involving Madison Metro placing free ads saying, "Keep Christ in Christmas," for the Knights of Columbus the Foundation's got equal time with it’s first bus add which read: "The Bible: A Grim Fairy Tale." In 1984, the Foundation placed a second bus sign, showing a delighted Mary running out of the stable exclaiming, "It's a Girl!"

The Foundation is also known for its national billboard campaign which they started in late 2007 and have already reached about a third of the states. The billboards have several different messages such as: "Imagine No Religion," "Beware of Dogma," "Praise Darwin: Evolve Beyond Belief" and "Keep Religion OUT of Politics."

Ok here’s my take on all of this…I love that they started a national billboard champing in 2007 to me this is the best way to get our message out there, but once again I have an issue with placing the ads on a bus that is owned and operated by the state. In 83 they sued the state of Wisconsin because they ran a Christian ad so now isn’t it a bit hypocritical to place an ad about religion in 09? If you want to keep church and state seperate then you need to keep your own church seperate (or lack there of) as well.

And this is why Church and State don't mix...

As you know I have been following the Canadian atheist bus add story pretty closely and I have expressed my concerns about putting a religious (or lack there of) message on a state owned vehicle. Well this is exactly why I questioned the idea:

From the Edmonton Sun:

The Roman Catholics have talked about wanting equal space for their perspective and now the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada says they’re planning to buy their own bus ads promoting an all-faith approach to religion.

“It’s not an appropriate place (for the debate) but the other group decided to take this path,” Imam Syed Sohawardy said Thursday.

“We would love to have them in our places of worship and in our community centres so we can sit down and talk.”

The Islamic council already has the funding to place ads on five buses and it’s hoping to raise more money to buy more advertising space.

“It should be some slogan like, `God is merciful, God is with you and enjoy your life,’ ” said Sohawardy.

This puts TTC in a tough spot because they now need to give equal time and space to any religion that wants to be heard. Instead of promoting a positive view on atheism it has created more of a battleground for ad space. I guess this is not a terrible thing for TTC I'm sure with the economy in its current state ad sales have dropped a bit and this will provide them an entirely new client base but you have to ask your self do you really want various religious groups being that large of a client to a government run program?

You can ask why is this a bad thing it’s getting a ton of publicity and all publicity is good publicity right? Well yes if you’re an out of work actor who is looking to get their name out there but in this case I think it’s a bad thing it will only galvanize religious groups against atheists which will only tighten their grip on their followers by giving them another reason to fight against us.

If this was done on a privately owned billboard this would be a non-issue, the ads could stay up as long as there was funding to pay the rent and it would be up to the owners discretion if they wanted to give equal time and space to other groups. Church and state will never mix well because the state ahs to be fair to all of its citizens (in theory) while the church does not.

Don't Exist T-Shirts are now available!

If you would like to show your disbelief in style head over to Café Press and get your very own Don’t Exist T-Shirt!

http://www.cafepress.com/AtheistThought

Darwin Posters & T-Shirts

Mikero.com has developed several Darwin graphics which they are selling as T-shirts, posters, and other fun things with all of the proceeds going to NCSE. If you like what you see please visit thier online store.

Good News For People Living in Arkansas

You may be able to run for office soon!

A representative in Arkansas has submitted a bill to the state legislator to amend the Arkansas constitution and remove the law which prohibits atheists from running for office. The bill was submitted to the house on February 11 by Representative Richard Carroll. I'm not sure when the bill will go to vote or what the odds are that it will even pass but im sure I will post about when something does happen.

I live in California and don't really follow other states politics so I was completely shocked when I found out that a state actually had a law that banned it’s non-believing citizens from running for public office, well I did a little more research and found out that there are actually seven states which don’t allow atheists to run for office. Yes if you are an atheist and live in Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas you can’t technicaly run for public office. I’m not a lawyer but aren’t these laws clearly unconstitutional?

Anywho I hope this bill passes, either way I plan on contacting Representive Caroll’s office and thank him for proposing this bill. I have to admit the guy has a lot of balls proposing a bill like this in a state like Arkansas especialy while he is in his first term.

Protestants More Loyal to Toothpaste Brand Than Church?

From USA Today:

According to a Phoenix-based research firm, 16% of Protestants say they would consider only one denomination, while 22% of them would use only one brand of toothpaste and 19% would use just one brand of bathroom tissue.

"When you have a whole bunch of different brands out there and not a lot of differentiation among some of them — and not a lot of knowledge about them — the denominational world is facing the same problem as many other brands," said Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, which conducted the survey.

Obviously this is just fun with numbers and probably taken somewhat out of context but I’m pretty sure I would consider switching to Crest before I decided to switch to god...but thats just me.

Ottawa Says "Just Kidding"

So it appears that the Ottawa transit authority will not be putting any ads on their buses that promote Atheiss....

The “atheist bus” campaign was momentarily bound for Ottawa, but OC Transpo has ruled out allowing provocative advertisements bearing a no-god message.

The group posted an email response it received from OC Transpo regarding the proposed ad: “The advertising standards section of our contract specifically excludes religious advertising which might be offensive to transit users, so we cannot approve this ad.

Article from: Centertown News

Im actually ok with this, as I stated yesterday since the buses are owned and operated by the city it may bring up certain church and state issues, I know if it was a pro-theism ad I would definitely not be ok with it.

Also the City of Ottawa pulling away from running the ads is probably generating more publicity for the cause than the ads on the bus ever would.

Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign Expanding

The Freethought Association of Canada started running the following bus adds in Toronto and Calgary earlier this month and plan on expanding their campaign to Ottawa next.

If you would like to donate to the ad campaign please visit their website.

First off I would like to applaud the Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa transit authorities for allowing the Freethought Association of Canada to run these adds. They did not let the fear of religious protests of their systems scare them away from allowing free speech to continue.

The one issue I have with these adds are that they are being run on government owned and operated busses, subways and streetcars. I am somewhat conflicted about this because if there were a pro-theism adds being run on a government owned property I would be strongly opposed to it due to my belief in separation between church and state. While I love that this add campaign is going on and that people are doing something to get the freethought message out there I do wish that they would not utilize government owned property to do so.

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Gets Some National Love on MSNBC

Rachel Maddow of MSNBC talks about the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster on Darwins Birthday:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

If you have not heard of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster I highly recommend that you visit the churches website. The church gained national notoriety when they sent this letter to the Kansas School Board challenging that if they incorporate intelligent design into their schools curriculum that they must also incorporate their churches theory of creation as well.

President-Elect Obama Asked to Turn Down Boy Scouts of America

Here is an intersecting article that I found on Americanhumanist.org

The American Humanist Association, in conjunction with eighteen other nontheistic (atheist and agnostic) organizations, sent a letter today to President-Elect Barack Obama urging him to decline the title and role of honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America. BSA policy is to deny the participation of nontheistic members and employees and expel those already involved. Thus the letter asks Obama to break with tradition because taking on the title of honorary president would send a message that discrimination against atheists and agnostics is acceptable.

I was a Boy Scout/Cub Scout for eight years and I loved every minute of it. It got me out of the house and into nature, it taught me how to do cool stuff like light fires and tie knots, it taught me personal qualities like respect and leadership which are two things that I use every day. But that was a different time no one ever asked me what religion I adhered too or what sex I find the most attractive. It was just a group of young men and their fathers doing something other than watching TV or playing video games on a Saturday afternoon.

I often wonder if I will ever be able to share the same experiences with my kid(s) that my dad and I shared when I was a scout. But every time I read an article like this that dream slips away a bit more. Sure I could always not share my non-theistic way of life with the troop but what’s the point if you know you are not truly wanted?

Blog Logo's

Thought I would kick off the blog with a logo I just made for it...