On Saturday, July 30th, atheists are gathering in Tulsa for the Oklahoma Freethought Convention (called FreeOK). Speakers currently include Matt Dillahunty, AronRa, and The Thinking Atheist. You can RSVP here — tickets are $10. Bring friends! When you’re in the Bible Belt, there aren’t a lot of opportunities to meet several atheists in one place — but this is one of them. Take advantage of it! (Thanks to William for the link) Read more
If you haven’t heard the song “Hasa Diga Eebowai” from The Book of Mormon musical yet, set aside a few minutes and take a listen. It’s exactly what you secretly wish people with miserable lives would say. Lyrics can be found here. (Thanks to Daniel for the link!) Read more
A number of SkeptiCamps have popped up over the past few years — it’s a day-long, community-organized event where people give short talks on whatever skeptically-related subject they’re passionate about. Kind of like a fast-paced version of TED Talks. One’s taking place in Vancouver, Canada on Saturday, August 6th — it’s actually their fifth year of the event. Admission is free and a limited number of speaking slots are still open so sign up to speak or watch! (via Canadian… Read more
To those who say the Harry Potter books are somehow wicked… I think there’s a lot of truth to this postcard someone sent in to PostSecret: I’m sure there’s supposed to be a connection between God and Dumbledore in the series… but Snape seems like more of the God-like person to me: Deep down, he has good intentions, but you would never know it because of all the shitty things he does to the people he supposedly cares about. Also,… Read more
Remember how Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s Mayor Linda Thompson was planning “a three-day fast and prayer campaign to cure the city’s daunting money woes”? Well, members of the Pennsylvania Nonbelievers were joined by American Atheists president Dave Silverman on Friday during a protest outside Harrisburg’s City Hall: (Image credit: Shannon Fields) Justin Vacula has done a nice job covering the issue at Examiner.com. He spoke to both the protesters and government officials: One of the main criticisms from atheists was that Thompson… Read more
The Tutor is back and she’s teaching Bible verses from Leviticus, Timothy, and Revelation… to senior citizens (“they have so little time left… it’s like throwing a Hail Mary pass to get them into Heaven!”): (via HighpantsResistance) Read more
Hmm… it turns out when you pretend like the Miss USA contestants were asked whether gravity should be taught in public schools (instead of evolution, which they were asked about), they sound equally idiotic: (Thanks to Jon for the link!) … ZOMGitsCriss also offers extended commentary on the original video: Read more
The state of Georgia is holding an online vote to decide its next license plate: The winning design will be displayed on millions of vehicles in Georgia and wherever Georgia vehicles travel nationwide. Wouldn’t you know it, a few of the designs happen to mention God… Thankfully, they’re not all that silly. But just in case they change the order of the plates around, I suggest you go to the site and vote for this one featuring a couple Georgia… Read more
Reader Chas was ordained online to perform weddings and he’s done a few of them to this point. But, in an email, he asked about another aspect of marriage that I didn’t have an answer to: Our local county offers a discount on marriage license fees for people who go through about 12 hours of premarital counseling, so I also wish there were local secular classes I could refer prospective couples to for secular pre-marital counseling since I’m certainly not… Read more
When a state government is run mostly by theists who know how to set aside their silly religious beliefs for the good of society, you get progress… as we saw in New York last night. When a state government is run by theists who are guided by nothing but their religious beliefs… well, you’re now in Kansas. That’s where abortion clinics must now undergo a special licensing process in order to stay in business. As of now, there are only… Read more
