Terry Firma, though born and Journalism-school-educated in Europe, has lived in the U.S. for the past 20-odd years. Stateside, his feature articles have been published in the New York Times, Reason, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Wired. Terry was the founder and Main Mischief Maker of Moral Compass, a now-dormant site that pokes fun at the delusional claim by people of faith that a belief in God equips them with superior moral standards. He was the Editor-in-Chief of two Manhattan-based magazines until he decided to give up commercial publishing for professional photography... with a lot of blogging on the side. These days, he lives in an old seaside farmhouse in Maine with his wife, three kids, and two big dogs.
The country of Luxembourg, population just 525,000 (but an international powerhouse of finance), just became the first nation in the world whose top two leaders are openly gay. While I imagine that few local voters care with whom prime minister Xavier Bettel (left) and vice prime minister Etienne Schneider share their beds, one of Bettel’s proposals may ignite controversy: Read more
The author of an opinion piece on Coloradoan.com asserts that By removing God little by little from the public square, the courts — note, not Congress — are in fact establishing the religion of atheism as our national religion. I fond both that snippet and the headline pretty funny: Atheism Becoming National Religion of U.S. Read more
Were he a faceless Internet commenter rather than a five-term member of the House for Texas’ first congressional district, the technical term for Louie Gohmert would be “troll.” Here’s the man’s latest emission: If atheists wish to continue to be free to profess their unbelief in God, they must help Jesus flourish by encouraging Christians to worship. That’s because only Judeo-Christian values can guarantee atheists’ freedom to be godless jackasses Americans. That, in a nutshell, is what Gohmert said on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday. Here’s the video, courtesy of C-SPAN and Mediaite: Read more
Andre Oliver is a young filmmaker from Canton, Ohio who just finished his first autobiographical documentary, Stray From the Flock: The Story of a Black Atheist. It’s not a slick film, but it’s heartfelt and genuine. I think it’s going to stay with me for a long time, which is refreshing amidst so much polished but forgettable movie tripe. Going by the old auteur’s adage to “write what you know,” Andre makes good use of his easy access to his own extended family. His uncles and cousins and nieces, and his mom, are all pretty comfortable in front of the camera, and they don’t hold back when Andre asks them probing questions about belief and non-belief. See for yourself (this is the whole 51-minute film, not just an excerpt): Read more
Hug your kids, ’cause you just never know, Karen Dunlop reminds us in the Onion: As a parent, worrying is second nature. You’re constantly afraid that something could go wrong. Your child could get sick, or get in an accident, or even just not fit in at school. Sure, there’s joy and pride and fulfillment, but there’s also an unavoidable stream of dread. And all of these worries of course pale in comparison to every parent’s worst nightmare: losing your… Read more
