In case you missed it, about a month ago, the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s co-president Dan Barker appeared on The Daily Show to talk about the group’s campaign to fight the Mother Teresa stamp. Here’s how it played out: The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon – Thurs 11p / 10c Read more
David Seidman has written books all over the young adult spectrum ranging from one about an American Idol contestant to a Spider-Man story to more serious subjects such as teenage life in Iran and South Africa. He has also written for the Los Angeles Times. His latest project is one that I am really optimistic about. Seidman wants to write about life as a teenage atheist (or Agnostic, non-theist, etc.) and he needs your help. He would like to talk… Read more
Comedian David Cross’ new standup CD Bigger and Blackerer goes on sale at the end of May. I can’t wait to get it. And by “get it,” I mean download the torrent I would never download a torrent, only watch it through legitimate means. (Though I’d still love to see him perform live!) (via Atheist Media Blog) Read more
Dear Richard, I have been an atheist for several years now. I have three younger children, all under the age of ten. I grew up a fundamentalist Christian in a “spirit filled” evangelical church. Everyone I have ever known was a Christian. I live in a small town and the closest group of atheists is an hour’s drive. My attempts to create an atheist social group in my area have failed. However, there is a Unitarian Universalist church in the… Read more
Last year, Christian Nathan Campbell posted a list of “Five things that would make atheists seem nicer” and got properly “pissed on” by PZ. Nathan says he’s been one of those Christians who comments on atheist blogs in order to present an alternative perspective to readers — but now, he’s “on the verge of giving up.” And there are 8 reasons why. He goes into more detail on his website, but my responses to the main claims are below. 1…. Read more
Moscow, Idaho gets all the fun humanist billboards. But this one may be my favorite: “This billboard nicely sums up two of the main messages of the American Humanist Association,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the AHA. “First, that you don’t have to believe in God to be good — in fact, humanists and other nontheists see being good as one of the most important of responsibilities in our one and only life. Second, that church and state should… Read more
Usually, all you have to do to get a campus group started at any university is fill out some paperwork — identify your officers, get a faculty sponsor, and agree to some basic rules (i.e. you promise not be be discriminatory, you won’t be a hate group, etc). Things like that. You don’t need to be “recognized” by the campus in order to meet, but recognition opens the door to several perks — like free meeting space, the opportunity to… Read more
… mostly because Neil deGrasse Tyson is there. That man is made of awesome. Hell, everyone else is pretty great, too. (Click to enlarge:) You can see the full list of guests here. As poster creator Nick Farrantello says: Each of the people in this picture has accomplished more for humanity then any of the guys in that other painting. (via Skeptic Money) Read more
It would be great if religious people could break out of the box. It’d be even better if they could remove the shackles of religion altogether. (via nakedpastor, who has been on a *roll* lately with his cartoons) Read more
Actress Dixie Carter passed away over the weekend. She played an actress on the show “Designing Women,” and in one particular episode from 1988, her character Julia Sugarbaker ran for a seat on a local board of commissioners. Here’s her taking part in a debate where a question comes up about whether children should recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school: How great was that? Hopefully, the other remembrances of her will be similar to the one in the New… Read more