Joe Muto, an “an NPR-listening, Obama-loving liberal,” worked at FOX News Channel for years. Last month, he took on a role as the “Fox Mole,” reporting from the “inside” for Gawker. Not long after, he was caught, got fired, etc. Now, Muto has sold a book proposal about his time there. The tentative title: An Atheist in the Foxhole. Which carries the unwelcome implication that atheists aren’t normally in foxholes… (Unless he means there are actually *lots* of moles at… Read more
Remember Krystal Myers? She’s the teenager who wrote an article for her school newspaper entitled “No Rights: The Life of an Atheist,” about how her school actively promoted religion and discriminated against atheists… only to have her administration tell her the article would not be allowed to run because… well… you know. Her school, Lenior City High School, is back in the news. Once again, it’s not for a good reason… When the yearbooks were distributed last Friday, they included… Read more
I didn’t realize until after I put up the previous post that another city (and state!) also issued proclamations for the National Day of Reason. Governor Dave Heineman gave them the state seal in honor of the occasion: … I do hereby encourage all citizens, residents and visitors to join in observing this day and focusing upon the employment of reason, critical thought, the scientific method and free inquiry to the resolution of human problems and for the welfare of… Read more
The City Council members in New Orleans, as they’ve done in the past, issued a proclamation declaring today a “Day of Reason in New Orleans.” Charlotte, North Carolina’s mayor Anthony Foxx did the same thing: Charlotte got a gold seal. They win! Read more
A lot of you have been asking me how you can help some of the pastors who are now coming clean about their atheism. Here’s one way. The Humanists of Florida Association has set up a collection to help Teresa MacBain, who was featured in this NPR story. Mark Palmer, the Executive Director of that group tells me (via email): A few generous members of the HFA have agreed to pay (and have begun paying) about $4,000 but we are… Read more
Whenever there’s a list of Christians who are embarrassments to the “other” Christians, you see the same names over and over: Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Mark Driscoll, James Dobson, Ted Haggard, etc… Billy Graham is rarely on that list. Christians almost universally praise him. He sticks to the message, doesn’t play politics, isn’t controversial, etc. Well, he’s spending the end of his life making sure bigotry is a part of his legacy. His ministry plans to place this ad in… Read more
The National Atheist Party has been asking various U.S. Representatives, Senators, Governors and candidates for those offices what they will do for atheist voters. Such a simple thing to do and yet so few have ever taken the initiative… Quietly, they’ve been posting the responses on their website. There’s not much in the way of “Here’s how we’ll help atheists,” but there’s a lot of support for church/state separation and equality for all from the people who have responded. Below… Read more
What prompted hundreds of people to rally outside Town Hall in Falmouth, Massachusetts earlier this week? Was it corruption by the mayor? No. Was it anger about a policy decision? No. Were they protesting against the 1%? No. They were pissed off because Melissa Freitag, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Selectmen (a.k.a. City Council), was stepping in for the Chairman (who was out for medical reasons) and — wait for it — she decided not to say the… Read more
… and my interview with her is below. … After Sean Faircloth left his post as Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America last September to begin working for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS), SCA leaders have been on the search for their next director. Today, they’re announcing their selection. She’s a bold choice, sure to grab headlines, and she may just be the ideal person for the job. Edwina Rogers has spent twenty years… Read more
There’s a memorial in Woonsocket, Rhode Island dedicated to local veterans killed in World Wars I and II. It was built in 1921. It sits on government property. And it looks like this: My first thought when I heard about the story was that it was similar to the 9/11 Cross and Seven in Heaven Way. Basically, it was a delicate issue. For a lot of people in the community, this was less a Christian symbol than a symbol of… Read more
