This letter will be sent to Alexander Aan via the Atheist Alliance International. Dear Alexander, Since we know you’re at least somewhat aware of some of the efforts being made on your behalf around the world by folks in the secular movement, I think I can safely assume you’ve been informed of the petition my employing organization, the Center for Inquiry, launched at the website of the White House asking the President of the United States (or his administration generally)… Read more
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Kimberly Winston attended the Atheist Film Festival in San Francisco last weekend and writes about how this isn’t just some fringe event: While the San Francisco festival is the only explicitly atheist festival in the U.S., it is part of a larger trend. Portland, Ore., hosts a Humanist Film Festival; Tampa, Fla., has an International Freethought Film Festival; and Ottawa, Canada, offers the Free Thinking Film Festival. Jews and Christians have long hosted their own film festivals, and S. Brent… Read more
Fred Clark, a Christian who’s not a Young Earth Creationist, is getting frustrated by having to deal with atheists who love quoting the Creation Museum’s Ken Ham as someone who, for all his faults, at least takes the Bible literally (as it should be, the atheists say). Fred feels like atheists and progressive Christians ought to be on the same side on that issue (“Creationism makes no sense!”). Instead, the atheists side with the Creationists (“The Bible should be taken… Read more
The Economist has attempted to paint a picture of what the Catholic Church’s finances look like, especially in light of the sexual abuse scandals. I’ll admit it. I may have salivated a bit at this paragraph: By studying court documents in bankruptcy cases, examining public records, requesting documents from local, state and federal governments, as well as talking to priests and bishops confidentially, The Economist has sought to quantify the damage. They estimate that the church spends about $171,600,000,000 a… Read more
Tony Nicklinson, an Englishman, was paralyzed from the neck down after a stroke in 2005: Tony can’t communicate other than through blinking and he wanted doctors to end his life on his own terms, instead of prolonging his suffering. Yesterday, though, the High Court ruled that he can’t do that. If doctors let him die before it’s “his time,” they will be prosecuted. Nicklinson was devastated and it’s hard not to tear up seeing his reaction to the decision: “Although… Read more
This has nothing to do with atheism. I’m just amazed by it: Tisha UnArmed shows how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when you have no arms. It gets *ridiculously* impressive at the 4:00 mark. (via Christina) Read more
Due to technicalities in Washington State law, American’s most famous Mormon, Mitt Romney, may not be on the ballot in the state come November because the Republican Party doesn’t currently qualify as a “major party” any more. The Stranger laid out the details earlier this month: RCW 29A.04.086 tells us that “”Major political party” means a political party of which at least one nominee for president, vice president, United States senator, or a statewide office received at least five percent… Read more
Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage appeared on CNN this morning in the wake of the Family Research Council shooting. Brown calls for “civil debate” on all sides of the gay rights debate… which is strange coming from a group that says so many awful things about LGBT people. (In fact, the Southern Poverty Law Center labels FRC a hate group. The reporter did the right thing at that point: She brought up the Hate Group designation and… Read more
