Americans United for Separation of Church and State has filed a lawsuit against Medina Valley Independent School District in Castroville, Texas because they have every intention to say a prayer during a June 4th graduation ceremony. This comes after a more polite letter was ignored by district officials: Americans United filed the lawsuit on behalf of Christa and Danny Schultz, who have two children in the district, including a son who is scheduled to graduate this year. Members of the… Read more
Jason Childs, the founder of the Center for Progress in Alabama, used to be a “Liberty University-trained evangelical pastor.” He has since left that life behind. After a divorce, and not being allowed back into the church because of that, he began driving a truck and seeing the country. Now, he’s trying to warn us about what the Religious Right is trying to do: I was sure that I was right and that every other person not of my faith… Read more
As I mentioned the other day, the Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy is giving their Humanist of the Year award to Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy and American Dad! There’s been a date change to the event — it’s now Saturday, June 4th — and tickets are available now. I’m sure they’ll be sold out soon, so get on that if you’re interested. Read more
PZ Myers knows he can’t beat the horde of bloggers trying to raise more money than him for Camp Quest… So now, he says he’s throwing the challenge and encouraging people to donate to us! He’s just trying to save face, so that when he loses, he can say he wanted to lose… Fine by me. Whatever it takes for him to shave most of his beard. (Which my side will then auction off to the highest bidder. Just to… Read more
Illinois will begin allowing civil unions on Wednesday. It’s not gay marriage, but that’s a different debate. Still, Catholic Charities of Rockford is so afraid that it’ll now have to place foster children in the homes of gay couples (PDF), that it’s going to shut down it’s state-funded adoption services altogether: In Rockford, the decision could displace about 350 foster children served by Catholic Charities and put 58 employees out of work. … Without a specific provision protecting religious agencies,… Read more
Jon Husted, the Ohio Secretary of State, wants natives to vote on the “I Voted” sticker that will be given out at polling booths this November: Two of the stickers, however, feature the line “With God, All Things Are Possible.” (***Update***: Commenters point out it’s the state’s motto.) Let’s vote them out of existence. Go to ElectYourSticker. You’ll need to enter an Ohio zip code… like 45482… or something like that. (Because, you know, you’ll all Ohioans.) I suggest voting… Read more
Zack Kopplin, the student leading the fight to repeal the misnamed “Louisiana Science Education Act,” appeared on Hardball last night and did one hell of a nice job: You can read Zack’s challenge to Rep. Michele Bachmann here. Even FSM prophet Bobby Henderson sends along his praises: All in all it was an excellent appearance. Zack deserves a lot of credit for his work. I for one am very impressed and I’m confident he has a bright future ahead of… Read more
Just thought you’d all like to know… The Damon Fowler fund has just surpassed the $25,000 mark! (Thanks, Greta Christina!) And Foundation Beyond Belief, the group that encourages atheists to give to various secular charities, is about to hit the $150,000 mark in donations! (Disclosure: I’m on the FBB board.) We’re preparing for an exciting announcement about FBB in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that! It feels good to be a part of such a generous atheist community… Read more
From a reader: Reading about Damon Fowler reminded me of an issue I’ve been thinking about a lot over the years. Damon is lucky to have his brother to take him in and defend him, but many teenagers coming out as an atheist or LGBT don’t have a safe place to get away from abusive parents outside of a court order. I remember a friend of mine in my home town who came out as gay when he was 16…. Read more
I’ll be giving a talk in Grand Rapids soon and you’re all invited! Where: Women’s City Club, 254 E. Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, MI When: Wednesday, June 8th, at 7:00p. Cost: $6.00 for general admission and free for Friends of the Center. More information can be found here. If you don’t attend, I’ll spend the first 20 minutes of the talk sitting in the fetal position, sucking on my thumb. You don’t want to be the cause of that, do… Read more
