So, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s latest book Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier comes out next week! (And, says one commenter, it’s already available on Kindle.) Who’s excited? You’re excited. The book explores “NASA and the future of space travel.” Dr. Tyson referenced some of the contents of the book in an interview for this site last summer. Read more
A man named Leonard Presberg was recently elected to the Fayette County Board of Education (in Georgia). That was back in November. In January, he was named Chairman of the board. What are his views on education? You would think that’s the only point of concern for local residents… but at a school board meeting last week, resident David Barlow spoke out against Presberg… not because of any particular educational policy they disagreed about, but because it appears that Presberg… Read more
Email conversation I had earlier today (slightly paraphrased): Random Guy: I was gonna donate to Jessica Ahlquist’s scholarship fund but my money said “In God We Trust” and I knew you wouldn’t like that, so forget it. Me: I didn’t know credit cards said “In God We Trust” on them. BOOYA! And then I did a little dance. Actually, with the recent influx of articles about the fund, I’ve been getting more-than-usual amounts of emails from crazy people. A lot… Read more
For those of you who want an appetizer to the Reason Rally on March 24th or for those of you who can’t go and want another chance to meet other atheists, the Center for Inquiry is hosting a conference in Orlando, Florida called “Moving Secularism Forward” next week (March 1st – 4th). The speakers are excellent ones (Hi, Jessica!) and you can get $100 off the registration cost if you sign up now. (via Center for Inquiry) … On another… Read more
I think The Onion found out how to read the minds of all those Christians who pray before city council meetings or who demand that a prayer banner should stay up at a public school: (Thanks to Alan for the link!) Read more
I’m always amazed when first-year college atheist groups manage to put together a popular event but Matthew Knowles and Thomas Wobby just began the Secular Association of Skeptical Students at Colgate University (in New York) and their Darwin Day celebration last week was a hit, getting them front-page coverage in their campus newspaper: Wobby and Knowles appealed to University Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister Mark Shiner about a group on campus, leading to the formation of the new secular group,… Read more
The Wichita Coalition of Reason is planning a free conference April 21st-22nd — call it a sequel to last year’s Rapture Day conference. They have some great speakers for the occasion, too. Even though it’s a free conference, it takes money to put it all together and Phil Ferguson is matching all money raised for the event (up to $1,000) through the end of the week. Consider chipping in because these free conferences expose our message to a lot of… Read more
This is a recurring theme: Parking meters exist to generate revenue for the city, but the city council alters the time the meters are in effect to accommodate local churches. It’s happened in Chicago and Philadelphia. Now, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is going after the city council (PDF) in San Luis Obispo, California. In short, the meters are in operation every day between 9:00a and 6:00p. On Sundays, even though local businesses open at 11:00a, the meters don’t go… Read more
Carrie Poppy was feeling sick a month ago, so she (knowingly) purchased ColdCalm, a homeopathic “remedy” that has no actual potency to it. Actually, she took a lot of it. Double the dosage. To no one’s surprise, nothing bad happened to her. But, since Carrie’s a wonderful skeptic, she called both the poison control center and Boiron Laboratories (which makes ColdCalm) to hear what they had to say about her overdose. She also got it all on video 🙂 There’s… Read more
