Michael Crichton dies at 66

Although I recently knocked him for his loony tripe about global warming, I grew up reading Crichton before most people knew who he was, and it is a sad day for fans of his writing.

Random items

I used to listen to Steven Curtis Chapman (when I was a Christian), so this is really sad. His teenage son ran over his youngest daughter in the family's own driveway and killed her. And I find things like this just more evidence of the lack of a caring and powerful god -- it was a complete accident, nothing to do with free will. Notifying any of the family via a messenger angel or telepathy or "prophetic" dreams that this was going to happen would not have violated anyone's freedom.

This story about another megachurch minister getting caught doing something over the top sexually (think Haggard & diving suit) reminds me of an old thread I wrote -- "Stunning hypocrisy". This guy, though, was going to meet a 13-year old girl with a box of condoms on the front seat; at least Haggard and Gary M. Aldridge were legal.

I've never taken a philosophy class, so my rambling attempts at arguing with apologists over atheistic ethics should be forgiven. That said, after reading this exposition on Rawls and social contracts, I think I see the ideal I was striving for in explaining how morality follows logically from valuing one's own life and survival. It isn't about biology or evolutionary ethics, but it doesn't have to be.

My polycarbonate bottle

So I bought a Trudeau water bottle from Target and today I was wondering if it is made with BPA. Luckily, it doesn't seem to be, given that Trudeau is a Canadian company and they've been looking into BPA for a while now.

I think the fear over BPA is a lot of hype. It's probably a good idea to buy BPA-free baby bottles, because infant development is so sensitive. However, adults should not fear. For one thing, the solubility of BPA is 120-300 mg/L at around room temperature, which basically means that it is nearly insoluble in water and thus migration from the plastic into your drink is going to be next to nonexistent.

I really love my Trudeau brand bottle -- the double wall design is very useful as it avoids all condensation and keeps your hands dry. Also, the drinking straw is wonderful because it sucks to completely unscrew and rescrew the top on a bottle for each drink. It's also proven nearly spill proof. Try one!

A few links

2007 in review for secular humanists.

This didn't surprise me much, given my experience with Todd Friel. And FYI, it's the latter, Todd.

Another unsurprising news item: Ron Paul is from Texas and is a...drum roll please...CREATIONIST.

Some quick politics notes

A round-up:

• The DADT policy came under pretty heavy fire as Retired Brig. Gen. Keith H. Kerr admitted he was gay and asked the GOP candidates during the debate why they didn't trust military servicemen and women enough to serve alongside gays & lesbians; now, a group of high-ranking officers is advising the GOP candidates to adopt a more humane and progressive policy -- i.e., to reject DADT.


• E&P:

  “Nearly two-thirds of Americans do not trust press coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign, according to a new Harvard University survey, which also revealed four out of five people believe coverage focuses too much on the trivial — and more than 60% believe coverage is politically biased.”

  You don't say?! You mean, stories on $400 haircuts aren't substantive coverage of issues?


• Last Tuesday, I mentioned something on the debate regarding Barack's lack of universal mandated coverage:
  

  ...here's someone defending his mandates for health care coverage...and someone criticizing them.

  ...on Friday, Krugman went after Barack pretty hard.


• See a cartoon here in the WaPo that castigates the Washington Post's own ludicrous article on rumors of Barack being a Muslim.


• Giuliani isn't just involved in a scandal over using tax dollars to finance his extramarital affair; he's also got a brewing scandal involving his ties to terrorists. I really think his campaign is done, kaput...or else people are ignoring the mounds of dirt on this guy. See TCR's summary of Giuliani's worst week ever.
  


• Also, on the heels of the just-passed energy bill, check out a progressive economic plan that highlights the Dems strengths in green energy and the new manufacturing jobs it will create.


• A much better answer to the GOP's race divide question (not as well known towards Swedes).

More to come.

Compare our administration to Mexico's

The Bush administration's bungled response to Hurricane Katrina resulted in well over a thousand deaths; so far, Mexico's devastating floods have affected 900,000 people and only one reported death. The utter incompetence of Bushco can never be overstated:

Two years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, “none of the 115 ‘critical priority projects’ identified by city officials” for publicly funded rebuilding efforts “has been completed.” Of the $34 billion “earmarked for long-term rebuilding,” less than half “has made its way through federal checks and balances to reach municipal projects.”

45 percent: Number of Americans who believe “at least some progress has been made” in rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. Just nine percent say there has been “a lot of progress.” Among blacks, just two percent believe there has been a lot of progress.

Keep in mind that Bush stayed on vacation for two days after the city was devastated.

UF Speaker Harun Yahya now in the NYT

Harun Yahya made NYT headlines last week for mass-mailing his book of lies to hundreds of university professors around the US.

He was at UF in February:

Breaking: Terror Plot Foiled in NJ

I don't usually try to compete with the much-more-efficient news outlets when it comes to breaking news -- I am typically interested in the analysis angle, after all.

But this story is just weird:

A tip helped authorities arrest six New Jersey men Monday night in connection to an apparent terror cell, according to NBC 10’s sister station WNBC in New York.

Five of them were arrested in Cherry Hill, according to reports.

Investigators said the men planned to use AK-47s to storm Fort Dix and open fire on soldiers and civilians stationed at the New Jersey base, noting that other military locations were scouted by the terrorist cell.

Three of the unnamed suspects are brothers who are all believed to be Islamic radicals, according to sources. Some of the six arrested men were also born in Albania and the former Yugoslavia, but they have spent a significant amount of time in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to authorities...

Fort Dix is a reserve training center, but also is home to active units, some of which focus on counter-terrorism.

Just how stupid were these people? Storming a military base???!?!?!?!

This just sounds odd, perhaps more light will be shed and it will make more sense, but at the moment, the idea of six people taking automatic rifles into a base with thousands of soldiers, all packing similar weapons and highly-trained in using them, seems very very stupid.
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Technorati tags: Politics

Quick Comparison

Yesterday, the president practically was fellated by the AGCA at the White House, and announced that he is "the commander guy," an apparent variant of "the decider." It's interesting, when some people do finally fire up their three working neurons to contemplate this, how people who support ending the war are told that they are handcuffing the "commanders on the ground," yet we all seem to forget that the ultimate "decider" of our mission in Iraq is King George.

Anyway, I digress. I bring this up because afterwards, he was asked this question:

Q I'd like to know, like a lot of other people in this room, we have family members -- we have family members who are actively involved in the security of this country in various ways. From them, we've received positive information that we consider credible, who say about the success and the good things that are happening as a result of us being in Iraq. I would like to know why and what can be done about we, the American people, receiving some of that information more from the media, or (inaudible.) (Applause.)

Now the reason I bring this up is because the military just yesterday declared that soldiers who run blogs and webpages must get permission from their commanding officers from now on before updating the content. As has been pointed out, if this is a political move, it was a stupid one: those most likely to break the rules are going to be those most disgusted with the situation, and who have the most urgent news to report on the shitty situation there, which won't make it stateside. That means they are now selecting for the bad news, basically.

So, back to the question on how the media is so shitty about getting all the good news to us -- how do you think this fits in with the "commander guy"? I mean, wouldn't he want soldiers communicating all the good news to their family and friends back home, since the media won't?

Well, apparently there's a hell of a lot more bad for the soldiers to report than good, or else the policy wouldn't have been changed (just yesterday). Now for Bush's (typical) brainless response:

THE PRESIDENT: If you're trying to goad me into attacking the media, you're crazy. (Laughter.)

It's interesting, people get their news all different kinds of ways. This is an interesting, different type of war. I mentioned asymmetrical warfare. That means an enemy can use inexpensive weapons to try to defeat expensive defensive armament. A car bomb, a suicide bomber, an IED, these are inexpensive weapons that help them achieve strategic objectives.

It's also different in that this is a volunteer army that we have fielded. And, therefore, the role of government is to make sure that our families are well-supported -- our military families are well-supported, that the veterans get everything they deserve, and that the health care is perfect as possibly can be. And we're working toward it.

By the way, I was proud of our Secretary of Defense the other day. When he found inadequate health care, he responded, because he knows -- and the Congress shares the same view -- is that when we have somebody volunteering to be in combat, they and their families deserve the best that we can possibly provide.

Thirdly, back to your question. You thought I was kind of doing one of these -- (laughter) -- Washington, D.C. dodges. (Laughter.) I talk to a lot of families who have got a loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan, or anywhere else in this global war on terror, and they are in constant communication with their loved one. That's amazing, isn't it. You've got a kid in Iraq who is emailing mom daily, talking about the realities of what he or she sees. Information is moving -- you know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets. It's amazing how many emails I see from people that are writing in what they think and what they hear.

We've all got -- those of us who believe that we're doing the right thing must continually speak. Joe Lieberman has been great about continually speaking about the consequences. (Applause.) Wait a minute -- you didn't give me a chance to say something nice about Chairman Warner. (Laughter.) He, too, has been strong. (Applause.)

It's just a -- I can't answer your question beyond that people just need to be -- the best messenger, by the way, for us is David Petraeus, because he's actually there in Baghdad, and Ryan Crocker who is actually -- he's the ambassador who is there in Baghdad. And freedom of the press is a valuable freedom here, and it's just something that we've all got to live with and value it for what it is, and just continue to speak the truth as best as we can without trying to -- without trying to gloss over the inherent dangers.

The interesting thing I find is that our -- as the president here mentioned, there have been multiple rotations. People have gone back to Iraq. In other words, they've re-upped. And the re-enlistment rate is high. People are signing up for the first time, as well. And it's just an interesting statement, isn't it, about the character of our military, a character which is -- says that we've got people willing to serve a cause greater than themselves.

I saw a Marine yesterday -- came out of Anbar. His brother, who was in the Army, was lost. And I was comforting his family as best as I possibly can, or could. And he said, we're making great progress in Anbar, I just wanted to tell you that, President. You know, is he the kind of guy that tells the President what he wants to hear? I don't know. All I can tell you is what he told me. And I told that to David Petraeus, who confirmed it.

But slowly but surely, the truth will be known. Either we'll succeed, or we won't succeed. And the definition of success as I described is sectarian violence down. Success is not, no violence. There are parts of our own country that have got a certain level of violence to it. But success is a level of violence where the people feel comfortable about living their daily lives. And that's what we're trying to achieve.

I'm asked all the time about strategies. I liked what James A. Baker and Lee Hamilton reported back after a serious investigation of Iraq. I liked their ideas. And it's something that we should seriously consider. And their idea was, is that at some point in time, it makes sense to have a U.S. presence configured this way, embedded with Iraqi forces, training Iraqi forces, over-the-horizon presence to provide enough security to know that people will have help if they need it, but put the -- more onus on a sovereign government of Iraq, a presence to keep the territorial integrity of Iraq intact, a special ops presence to go after these killers who have got their intentions on America. It's an interesting idea.

By the way, in the report it said, it is -- the government may have to put in more troops to be able to get to that position. And that's what we do. We put in more troops to get to a position where we can be in some other place. The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear -- I'm the commander guy.

Yes, sir.

[Bold emphasis added]

Telling, isn't it, as we compare the Q&A to the new military policy? Indeed.
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Technorati tags: Politics

Cho Seung-hui Had a MySpace Page

I was wrong about this -- turned out to be a fake page.

Wired News and others have asked about the shooter's online writings. I may be the first person to have found what appears to be Cho Seung-hui's MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/choseunghui

I wrote a message to this account to accuse anyone who may have opened this after-the-fact of being a macabre and heartless soul. I think it's authentic, because it's set to private -- who would open it and label it with "Ismail Ax" but not try to throw crap out there for attention? I can't verify this independently, of course, but someone will.

**UPDATE: Check out the video page of this MySpace user. I exploited a small privacy weakness on MySpace which allows you to view the video page of any user, whether their profile is set to private or to public. Interestingly, it says, "California, US" as the location. It doesn't yet appear that he ever lived there, but I don't know how significant this would be, since the red "Ismail Ax" appears on the front page. If this page was modified since the shooting, then we know this page is a fake. If not, then we have a high degree of certainty that it is genuine -- the "Ismail Ax" is a clincher piece of evidence. I wrote to MySpace using their contact form and asked them to see if the page had been modified since the shooting, since this would appear to impinge on their identity theft policy, not to mention being a cruel hoax. If anyone hacks the page, please let me know, since I seem to be the first person to have found this.**

**UPDATE 2 (12:50 pm): Commenter Max below alerted me that the source code on the MySpace page in question (CTRL-U shows the source code of the page you're looking at) says that the last login was today (4-18-07). I did notify the MySpace authorities earlier this morning, so I wonder if they logged in to the account; I'd love to hear back from them to find out what is going on -- whether that login was them checking the profile or what. For now I'll play it safe and remove the wikipedia reference.

**UPDATE 3 (2pm): Exploiting another weakness in the MySpace privacy system, which I don't care to elaborate on, I found the following information:

First Name: Seung-Hui
Orientation: No Answer
Motive: Friends
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Location: , California, US
Profile Updated: Apr 17, 2007 7:22 PM

Therefore, this page is a fake. These people doing this are just fucktards. Please, send them a message telling them so.

**Final Update: I just received the following email from MySpace

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	RE: Not Found (2) - Imposter Profile
Date:	Fri, 20 Apr 2007 03:17:36 -0700
From:	Imposter Report, imposterreport@support.myspace.com

Hello,

Thank you for reporting this profile. The profile in question is
scheduled to be deleted.

Thank you,

MySpace.com

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Technorati tags: Virginia Tech, Hokies

This Hokie Grieves

Tragic.

Heads are going to roll, unfortunately.
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Technorati tags: Virginia Tech, Hokies

Shooting at My Alma Mater -- Virginia Tech

It appears that many people dead in Blacksburg due to someone's rage. I graduated from VT in May '04 (BS Biochemistry, BA Chemistry). So sad. Tragic.

As of now, the news is multiple fatalities (at least 20) and that the shooter is dead. Here is some of the earliest YouTube footage.

Keep up with breaking developments on it here.
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Technorati tags: News

Humanist News: Year in Review

A repost of this article:

Atheists Agenda swaps bibles for porn
Jan. 11, 2006

A group of students at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) made national headlines with a "Smut for Smut" campaign, in which they traded porn magazines for any religious scripture. In this column Tony Castaldo, a member of UTSA's Atheist Agenda, shares the story of this project and its results. He also responds to other freethinkers who were critical of this effort. MORE...

FEBRUARY

Election report from the Great White North
Feb 2, 2006

After the 2006 Canadian election, the prime minster elect ended his victory speech with, "God Bless Canada." To HNN's Ontario columnist, Doug Thomas, this spelled trouble for humanists in Canada. MORE...

So, is humanism losing ground in Canada?
Feb. 2. 2006

How did Québécois citizens feel about the 2006 Canadian elections? Michel Virard, of Montreal, explains. MORE...

The Heckler's Veto and the Muslim World
Feb. 8, 2006

Some of the most shocking events in 2006 were the violent riots and the sacking of European embassies in the Middle East in response to some cartoons that mocked the prophet Mohammed. The cartoons originally appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. They were subsequently republished by many Western media outlets. The situation tested the limits of free speech and religious tolerance. In this column, Dr. Tim Gordinier, public policy director of the Institute for Humanist Studies, evaluates the cartoon controversy from a humanist perspective. MORE...

eBay atheist...sold to the highest bidder
Feb. 8, 2006

Hemant Mehta, a 22-year-old atheist in Chicago, offered the highest bidder on ebay the opportunity to send him to the church of his or her choosing for one hour per $10. Jim Henderson of www.Off-the-map.org, a Christian group, won the auction with a $504.00 bid. The strange auction landed Hemant on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. MORE...

Secular Coalition keeps growing, and growing...
Feb. 8, 2006
Two more national freethought organizations joined the Secular Coalition for America (SCA). The SCA is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization that represents humanists, atheists and freethinkers in Washington D.C. Former Nevada State Senator Lori Lipman Brown is the director/lobbyist of the SCA. MORE...

Letters to the Editor
Feb. 15, 2006
HNN readers reacted to the now historic Muhammed cartoon controversy in many ways. Some felt the cartoons were offensive, while others thought they were necessary in order to point out the deadly results of religious extremism. MORE...

MARCH

Court: Schools can't turn away military recruiters for anti-gay policy
March 8, 2006

The military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy resurfaced in the news with the U.S. Supreme Court case Rumsfeld v. FAIR. According to a unanimous Supreme Court, Congress can require colleges to give access to the military even without providing federal aid to the school. But the court also ruled that colleges can protest the presence of military recruiters on campus without forfeiting federal aid. MORE...

Sexual Intelligence: UK tears off American gag
March 22, 2006

In 2001, President George W. Bush instituted America's Global Gag Rule, cutting off family planning assistance to any international group that even discusses abortion using their non-U.S. funds. To make up for Bush's restrictions, the U.K. gave $5 million to a new Global Safe Abortion Program. MORE...

APRIL

Newdow, SNL's Sweeney join Secular Coalition advisory board
April 19, 2006

Two famous atheists, Michael Newdow and Julia Sweeney, recently joined the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America (SCA). The SCA is a national 501(c)(4) lobbying organization that represents the rights of humanists and atheists in Washington DC. MORE...

MAY

Norway Moves Toward Disestablishment
May 3, 2006

This May, Norway opened a series of hearings on Monday to consider a separation of church and state after 469 years of Lutheranism as the official religion. In December, the Lutheran Church of Norway had voted to separate itself from the state after 500 years of establishment. MORE...

Crisis Pregnancy Centers: More Tools in the Anti-Choice Arsenal
May 10, 2006

Anti-choice crusaders have been using fake "clinics" to deceive women about abortion. HNN Editor Elaine Friedman investigated how this is affecting women. MORE...

Forced Worship in Schools to Be Further Tightened
May 10, 2006

Churches in England pressured the government to enforce a law that requires all schools to hold an act of mainly Christian collective worship every day. The National Secular Society (U.K.) spoke out about this indoctrination, calling it an abuse of human rights that denies the nearly 60 percent of British students who are atheist or agnostic to exercise their freedom of conscience. MORE...

Same-Sex Marriage Comes Before N.Y.S Court of Appeals and U.S. Congress
May 17, 2006

As the New York Court of Appeals and the U.S. Congress prepared to debate same-sex marriage this May, HNN interviewed two lobbyists working to support same-sex marriage and one woman waiting to legally marry another in New York. MORE...

Secularity of Public Space Becoming an Issue in Quebec
May 17, 2006

HNN correspondent Michel Virard of Montreal investigated several court cases in Quebec involving religion intruding upon public spaces in Quebec. MORE...

Humanist Re-elected President of UN Religion Committee
May 31, 2006

Matt Cherry, IHS executive director, was re-elected for a second term as president of the United Nations NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Cherry, a humanist and an atheist, is the first nonreligious person to hold this rank. MORE...

The End of an Era in Nepal
May 31, 2006

This year Nepal transitioned from a Hindu kingdom to a secular state. King Gyanendra caved in to popular opposition and turned over responsibility for the country's future to the ministers and parliament. MORE...

Free Expression Under Threat in Europe, Warn Secularists
May 31, 2006

Although blasphemy is no longer the repressive tool that it once was in Europe, it is sneaking back in a new guise: "respect." MORE...

JUNE

Court of Appeals Hears Arguments for Same-Sex Marriage
June 7, 2006

Arguments were made in the NY Court of Appeals for and against same-sex marriage in June. Six weeks later, the court ruled that the state constitution does not grant the right of same sex couples to marry. MORE...

25th Anniversary of AIDS Highlights Failure of US Policy
June 7, 2006

The 25th anniversary of AIDS brings attention to the failure Bush's abstinence-only policies. MORE...

Court Rulings: The Good and the Bad
June 21, 2006

A United States district court judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a California atheist against the US government for its use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on its coins and currency. MORE...

Moral Choices and the HPV Vaccine
June 21

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the primary cause of cervical cancer, which afflicts 10,000 American women a year. This year, an HPV vaccine made headlines but so did opposition to the vaccine. Because the vaccine can be administered to teenagers before they become sexually active, some Christians believe the vaccine will provide teenagers and young adults with a false sense of security, leading them to engage in sexual activity before marriage. MORE...

JULY

Another Defeat for Medical Marijuana
July 5, 2006

The U.S. government voted to continue to allow prosecution of those who use marijuana for medical purposes. MORE...

The Perfect Storm
July 5, 2006

The Bush White House launched an unprecedented effort to involve churches and other religious groups in emergency relief programs -- all at public expense. MORE...

Atheist Activism Stifled in Italy
July 5, 2006

Luigi Cascioli, a 72-year-old atheist from Viterbo, Italy who brought a lawsuit against an Italian priest in January, was fined by an appeals court in Rome for bringing a fraudulent suit. By insisting that Jesus Christ existed, son of a virgin, miracle worker and God incarnate, Cascioli alleges that the Church creates a mythical person, an act that amounts to impersonation, which is a crime in Italy. MORE...

Religious Criticism Is Not Religious Hatred
July 12, 2006

Human rights abusers who are part of the UN Human Rights Council insisted that their religion not be criticized. Roy Brown, president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union challenged the notion of granting unfair privileges for states that violate human rights in the name of religion. MORE...

Humanist Philanthropy
July 19, 2006

Warren Buffett joined a list of philanthropists -- who are also atheists -- using his fortune to make the world a better place. Buffett, the world's second-richest man, stunned the world by announcing that he will begin donating $37 billion of his fortune to five foundations. Five-sixths of the money will go to The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, run by Bill Gates, the world's richest man (an agnostic). MORE...

AUGUST

Good News and Bad News for Reproductive Rights
Aug. 2, 2006

While the FDA may finally act responsibly regarding over-the-counter emergency contraception, the religious right continues to influence reproductive policy. MORE...

Double Jeopardy for the First Amendment -- Congress Mulls Scheme to Save Mt. Soledad Cross, Discourage State-Church Litigation
Aug. 2, 2006

Lawmakers attempted to authorize the federal government to purchase the controversial Mt. Soledad Christian cross in San Diego, Calif. and discourage litigation over other First Amendment issues by ending compensatory attorney fees even if the government is found at fault. Freethinkers around the country opposed the move. MORE...

Suffer the Children: The U.S. and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child
Aug. 9, 2006

Why won't the U.S. ratify the "United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child" which protects children from executions? MORE...

Australian Youth Follow the Secular Trend
Aug. 16, 2006

A study found that less than half Australia's young people say they believe in a god, and many believe there is little truth in religion. MORE...

Is the International AIDS Conference too Political?
Aug. 23, 2006

Prime Minister Harper loses a good opportunity to fulfill Canadian commitments due to political expediency. MORE...

Founder of Atheist Centre Dies at 94
Aug. 23 2006

Saraswathi Gora may be gone but her legacy lives on. MORE...

SEPTEMBER

With God on Their Side: The New U.S. Military
Sept. 6, 2006

Evangelical organizations used aggressive tactics to encourage religious coercion and proselytizing in the military. MORE...

A Prayer Service by Any Other Name: A Report on NOSHA v. the City of New Orleans
Sept. 6, 2006

The city of New Orleans tried to silence and exclude humanists from its city sponsored prayer service. But Harry Greenberger of the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association stood up for humanist ideas at Katrina commemoration events. After all, there are atheists in hurricane zones! MORE...

Religious Proselytizing: An Emerging Phenomenon in Nepal
Sept. 6, 2006

Nepal is a recently formed secular state. But already Christian and Muslim fundamentalists are posing a threat to this new secular society. MORE...

The Brights: Where Are They Now?
Sept. 13, 2006

The Brights came onto the freethought scene three years ago and caused quite a stir. They generated a tremendous amount of positive publicity for their naturalist movement. Many atheists and other freethinkers did not like the notion of calling oneself a "bright". But that was three years ago! Elaine Friendman, HNN editor, spoke to the Brights to see what they've done lately. MORE...

OCTOBER

Separation of Church and State: An Important Victory in Quebec
Oct. 4, 2006

Canadian secularists win a court case involving public prayer. MORE...

President Bush's "Third Awakening" and the Mixing of Church and State
Oct. 4, 2006

The debate in the United States is not really between believers and secularists, but rather between believers and believers, with some nonbelievers in the mix. MORE...

Find Elected Atheist, Win $1000
Oct. 11, 2006

Name the highest ranking elected official in the U.S. who is openly non-theistic and win $1,000. The Secular Coalition for America is holding a contest. Deadline Dec. 31. MORE...

Hope for Expanding the Rights of the Non-Religious
Oct. 11, 2006

Speaking at a banquet to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) said he would introduce an amendment to the Senate to expand the scope of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998 to include the U.S. If passed, a new standard may offer significant benefits to campaigners for the rights of the non-religious. MORE...

A Nation of 300 Million: Cause for Celebration or Alarm?
Oct. 18, 2006

At 7:46 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Oct. 17, the United States officially became a nation of 300 million people. Is that too many people? Or are too few people hogging too many resources? MORE...

NOVEMBER

The U.S. Election: What's Next for Humanist Issues?
Nov. 8, 2006

Midterm election reaction from atheist lobbyist Lori Lipman Brown of the Secular Coalition for America. MORE...

Sexual Intelligence: "Them" or "Us?"
Nov. 8, 2006

Republican Congressman Mark Foley made headlines with a scandal in which he made inappropriate sexual advances toward his male teenage paige. Foley is gay, but the Religious Right confused being gay with being a pedophile. Sex therapist Marty Klein sets the record straight with this installment of "Sexual Intelligence." MORE...

The Culture War at the Polls
Nov. 15, 2006

Was the recent U.S. election a victory for humanists in the Culture War? On key humanist issues, such as keeping religion out of government and protecting freedom of conscience, we saw some successful referendum results and promising election returns. MORE...

The Bush Backlash
Nov. 22, 2006

The Bush administration has appointed a new chief of family-planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who believes in abstinence-only sexual education. He works at a Christian pregnancy-counseling organization that regards the distribution of contraceptives as "demeaning to women." MORE...

DECEMBER

Humanists Sue to Stop Voting in Religious Venues
Dec. 13, 2006

The newly opened Appignani Humanist Legal Center has filed a case against churches that used religious propaganda at polling stations. MORE...

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Technorati tags: God, Religion, Atheism, Church-state, Politics, Philosophy, Intelligent Design, Evolution, Creationism