This post is by Jesse Galef — We humans are so intent on finding meaning in things that we have a tendency to find it even where none was intended. It’s what we call a false positive and it happens all the time. We often hear about people seeing the Jesus or the virgin Mary in a particular piece of toast, water stain, or IKEA bathroom woodwork. But we usually associate it with images, not words, making this story about… Read more
This post is by Jesse Galef, who is stepping in today. — I know they do things differently “across the pond” but I was still surprised to read that in a legal case in England, climate change belief was given the same legal status as religion. No joke. Tim Nicholson is a strong environmentalist to the point that he refuses to travel by air. He believes this was a factor in his recent termination and wants to sue for wrongful… Read more
This post is by Jesse Galef, who is stepping in today. — I’m overwhelmed by the irony of religious individuals committing crimes to proclaim the morality of religion. Once again, one of our most non-confrontational billboards has been vandalized. The billboard reading “Millions are good without God” in Moscow, Idaho had the ‘out’ in ‘without’ painted over with blue paint: Image from KHQ06 website The statement being made is arguably true: millions of people are good with God -… Read more
You’ll all be happy to know that this conversation took place in my classroom yesterday: Me: …and that’s how you do a Geometry proof. Any questions? [Male student raises hand] Me: Yes…? Student How does a tampon work? I can’t figure it out! Me: FML… Good times. On top of that, I was at school all night for parent-teacher conferences. So I’m a little exhausted. I did have some exciting news to share about the current SSA fundraiser and I… Read more
For the second year in a row, atheists in Texas are organizing a Texas Freethought Convention. This year, it’ll take place on November 14th in San Antonio. Speakers include Victor Stenger and Dan Barker. Also noteworthy: the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center will be on hand conducting a blood drive. Next year, I say they bring a surgeon to the scene to do on-site organ donations. That. Would. Rock. Ticket information and more details can be found here. (Thanks… Read more
A privately-run prison that will only hire Christian staffers is getting a lot of support from Wakita, Oklahoma officials. It could be up and running in 16 months. “The staff, being all born-again believers, will see this as a mission,” [founder of Corrections Concepts Inc. Bill Robinson] says. That, he says, is “about changing criminals into citizens.” The prison would accept only inmates near the end of their sentences who volunteer to attend and sign an agreement to participate, the… Read more
After decades in which Christian crosses were placed in public school classrooms in Italy, it looks like they’ll finally be taken down. The decision was handed down by a panel of seven judges at the court in Strasbourg. They said that the display of crucifixes, which is common but not mandatory in Italian schools, violated the principle of secular education and might be intimidating for children from other faiths. “The presence of the crucifix could be … disturbing for pupils… Read more
This Sunday, Joe Zamecki and other atheists in the Austin, TX area are conducting a wonderful service project: they’re giving away free toiletries to homeless people. We’ve received donations of money and items to give away from all over the nation, but we need more. We need to let more Atheists know about this project, so we can help more homeless folks. The goals of this project are, in order of priority: 1 To help some folks in need, 2… Read more
A billboard reading, “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone” has gone up in Lakeland, Florida (near Tampa), courtesy of the Atheists of Florida: A local news channel ran a piece on the story. About 1:10 into it, they interview a couple very entertaining anti-atheist folks about it. One guy just calls it stupid. An older lady says it’s bad because children shouldn’t be raised like that, without a god. (But the Catholic Church is ok?) Publicity is the… Read more
I know there are more important elections happening out there right now (you did vote No on 1 if you live in Maine, right?), but there’s an update on the City Council race in Asheville, NC. This was the race in which atheist Cecil Bothwell was up against forces using his non-theism against him. So what happened? Challengers Esther Manheimer, Gordon Smith and Cecil Bothwell are virtually assured of election in the race for three open seats on City Council… Read more
