Joe Zamecki and fellow atheists in Austin, Texas have been helping the homeless a number of times over the past few years. During their 34th giveaway this past weekend, a news crew from Your News Now (YNN) documented the experience and you can see the report up at their site. In the meantime, this is how the Atheists Helping the Homeless event went: It’s nice to see the volunteers finally getting a bit of media coverage for all the good… Read more
A couple of days ago, Laci Green posted a video explaining the clitoris: It was quickly flagged as inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. To which Laci responded: Keeping information a secret never helped ANYONE. You are only hurting those you are trying to “protect”. The idea that discussing female anatomy & pleasure is something “18+” is nothing short of oppressive…ESPECIALLY since none of my videos addressing male anatomy & pleasure ever get flagged. Pleasure is for everybody…. Read more
If you read this blog (or any atheist media) and you haven’t heard about Jessica Ahlquist’s lawsuit win yet, then you probably live under a rock. Jessica, an insanely courageous 16 year-old high school student, did what some of us only dream of having the strength to do – standing up for what is right in the monstrous face of adversity and being the verbal punching bag for those who have no idea how to spell “constitutional” let alone know what it… Read more
Florida legislators — led by Florida Senator Gary Siplin (D-Orlando) and Rep. Charles Van Zant (R-Keystone Heights) — want to make praying at public school events completely legal. That’s what House Bill 317 and Senate Bill 98 are all about: Any district school board may adopt a resolution allowing the use of an inspirational message, including, but not limited to, prayers of invocation or benediction, at secondary school commencement exercises or any other noncompulsory student assembly. But don’t freak out,… Read more
Jessica Ahlquist, who now has the best YouTube screenname ever, answered a number of questions in a video for Reddit: In case you’re wondering, there has been some follow-up about the threats being made against her: The school district’s operating officer, Ray Votto Jr., told The Providence Journal… that a student faced internal discipline, typically a form of detention, for online comments. The student wasn’t named. In other news, the Jessica Ahlquist Scholarship Fund has topped $20,000! Can we make… Read more
In 2009, Dorota Rabczewska (better known as the singer Doda) said some *really* unpopular things about the Bible: [Doda] said in a 2009 interview that she doubted the Bible “because it’s hard to believe in something that was written by someone drunk on wine and smoking some herbs.” Sounds harmless, but it offended “Catholic sensitivities” in Poland. Earlier today, more than two years after that harmless insinuation was uttered, a Polish court fined her 5,000 zlotys ($1,450) for the crime… Read more
Over at Mormon Stories, there’s a compelling story of a husband and wife who left the Mormon church after many years: In this episode we interview John and Brooke McLay. John served for 14 years as an employee of the LDS Church Education System (CES). In this capacity he served as: a seminary teacher and principal, an institute teacher and director, a BYU Education Week speaker and an EFY Director. John also served as a member of a stake high… Read more
Recently, I posted a White House Petition (on the intolerably slow whitehouse.gov site) to remove the requirement for service members to choose a religious preference. Military personnel could always state a preference on their records if they felt strongly about the issue, but it wouldn’t be a requirement to state a preference. As part of this, there’s also a recommendation to add “humanist,” which isn’t currently an option. A writer at the Burn Pit, a blog at the American Legion… Read more
Note: Letter writers’ names are changed to protect their privacy. Dear Richard, My high school has recently been shocked by the suicide of one of my fellow students. Though I did not know him extremely well, I knew that he was an atheist like myself. This has not only made me wish I had known him better, but since his death I have taken a keen interest over his Facebook page, which has exploded with prayers and blessings in the… Read more
