NoGodBlog.com

Talk about ROFLMAO! Read the 2006 Catholic League Report on Anti-Catholicism. I have posted a link in the title to this posting to the part of the report on activists against the Holy Church. I belong to most of the activist organizations listed there. Do you? Kinda makes me really proud to see my efforts so appreciated, and see them all listed out for me each year. Enjoy.

Peter Nuhn

The Democratic presidential front-runner and his campaign reacted strongly this week when a photo of him in Kenyan tribal garb began spreading on the Internet. And the praise he received Sunday from Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the black Muslim group Nation of Islam, prompted pointed questions during Tuesday night's presidential debate and in a private meeting over the weekend with Jewish leaders in Cleveland, Ohio.

During the debate, Obama repeated his denunciation of Farrakhan's views, which have included numerous anti-Semitic comments. And, after being pressed, he rejected Farrakhan's support in the presidential race.

The Democratic candidate says repeatedly that he is a Christian who took the oath of office on a family Bible. Yet on the Internet and on talk radio, and in a campaign introduction for Republican candidate John McCain this week, he often is depicted, falsely, as a Muslim with shadowy ties and his middle name, Hussein, is emphasized.

"If anyone is still puzzled about the facts, in fact I have never been a Muslim," he told the Jewish leaders in Cleveland, according to a transcript of the private session.

Now here's a news flash: I am not fond of Islam. In fact, I think it's barbaric and primitive, but not that much more so than other mythologies.

But this is a witch hunt, and it's wrong. It's straight out of McCarthyism.

If this statement were about him having to deny Atheism over and over, I'd be furious. This would not be good for the gander, so this goose is wrong. The BS that some bigots are circulating is wrong, and the fact that he has to deny it is wrong. This should not be an issue, and we as a nation are allowing it to become one (instead of that "war thingie").

The Children's Defense Fund has come out with the 110th Congress' scorecard on who supports children's legislation. You can read all of it in the link to this posts' title. The report also provides a listing of the best/worst Representatives and Senators.

No surprise that all 25 Senators who received 100% were Democrats and all 13 Senators who were 30% or less were Republicans. 173 Representatives received 100% and all 173 were Democrats and 132 Representatives received a score of 30% or less. Yep. All 132 were Republicans. And the Republicans want us to believe that they really support compulsory pregnancy laws because they love little babies? I think they really really love the votes they get from the crazy religious zealots on the right.

Those who support compulsory pregnancy laws voted against SCHIP and providing health care to children without health insurance. And of course the really big news of this story is that presidential candidate Senator John McCain was scored at the very bottom of the US Senate in voting to help children. So if any conservatives out there doubted Senator McCain's conservative credentials, go and doubt no more.

Also, Reps. Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo take honors for having a score of 0%. Neither one of these libertarian candidates for president voted even once to support children in the first session of the 110th Congress.

I do not know how conservative evangelicals can call themselves believers in Christ with this voting record.

Peter Nuhn

As many of you know, My full-time profession is Business Brokerage. I match sellers to buyers (quite well too, I might add). The issue has been that a lot of businesses have real estate attached to them, so I took some time off, got my real estate license, and am now an official Commercial Realtor with Re/Max.

As I was signing up, they asked me if I wanted to donate money out of each sale to the Children's Miracle Network. I'd never really done anything with/for this charity, because I had assumed it was religious in nature, simply based on the NAME of the organization.

I asked if it was religious, they said no, I asked for more info, it looked good, and I decided to donate money with the provision that I could change my mind.

Well, I looked on-line, and gee, it really looks like a worthwhile charity. Not religious at all.

Perhaps, like the Red Cross, a vague religious reference makes a charity look more charitable. To me, it raised an eyebrow -- and I had to study the charity before I could get over the name.

AMERICAN ATHEISTS
SPEAKERS BUREAU
www.atheists.org/speakers

EDWIN KAGIN AT UNIV. OF KENTUCKY FORUM
"DOES GOD EXIST? Arguments from both sides"
Monday, March 3, 2008

Edwin Kagin, National Legal Director for American Atheists will be a guest on a panel discussing "Does God Exist?" at the University of Kentucky next Monday, March 3, 2008.

The forum will also include members of the Campus Crusade for Christ, and a representative of the Muslim religion. The discussion begins at 7:30 in the University of Kentucky (Lexington) Student Center, Small Ballroom. The forum is free and open to the general public. You can find directions and other visitor information at www.uky.edu/uksb07/subpages/directions.html . Inquiries about the Forum should be directed to Bryan Kennedy at tkenn3@uky.edu">btkenn3@uky.edu .

WHO & WHAT: Edwin Kagin, National Legal Director for American Atheists at University of Kentucky panel, "Does God Exist? Arguments from both sides..."

WHEN: Monday, March 3, 2008 beginning at 76:30 PM.

WHERE: University of Kentucky (Lexington) Student Center, Small Ballroom

MORE INFO: Directions, travel at www.uky.edu/uksb07/subpages/directions.html .

AMERICAN ATHEISTS SPEAKERS BUREAU: For your next Freethought event or meeting -- www.atheists.org/speakers .

(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists, Freethinkers and other nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/rome-unveils-rare-vatican-documents/20080222220509990001

ROME (Feb. 23) - If you are inquisitive about the Inquisition, a rare public glimpse of centuries-old Vatican documents will leave you wanting more. There are no heresy trial transcripts or descriptions of torture methods at a show on view in Rome and through March 16. Still, enough curiosities on display allow fascinating insights into how the Vatican once systematically tried to gain control over many aspects of life that had nothing to do with faith.
...
For centuries, the archives of what was once known as the Holy Office were secret. Then, in 1998, they were opened to scholars.

The intriguing show, at Rome's Central Risorgimento Museum, is the first time the public can study a sampling of what those archives preserve.
...
A 1703 list of rules spells out a crackdown on Huguenots and heretics and those sheltering them. Huguenots were persecuted French Protestants. A 1599 edict targets game hunters, bird hunters and fishermen who were poaching at a Vatican estate south of Rome.
...
The Holy Office "wanted total control," said Monsignor Alejandro Cifres, one of the show's curators and on the staff of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, previously known as the Holy Office.

The Church in past centuries had its hand in everything, ranging from "culture to literature to economics, even architecture," Cifres said. The Holy Office relied on reports from Dominicans, Franciscans and lay people, he said, and the Church had a "network" of monitors.

Good thing there's been such a change in the Vatican. Good thing they're not STILL trying to force their anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, anti-science, anti-thought drivel down our throats anymore.

OK guys we are GROWING! REALITY RULES!!
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/743/united-states-religion

DENVER - The U.S. religious marketplace is extremely volatile, with nearly half of American adults leaving the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether, a new survey finds.

The study released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is unusual for its sheer scope, relying on interviews with more than 35,000 adults to document a diverse and dynamic U.S. religious population.

While much of the study confirms earlier findings — mainline Protestant churches are in decline, non-denominational churches are gaining and the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing — it also provides a deeper look behind those trends, and of smaller religious groups.
...
The majority of the unaffiliated — 12 percent of the overall population — describe their religion as "nothing in particular," and about half of those say faith is at least somewhat important to them. Atheists or agnostics account for 4 percent of the total population.
...
One in four adults ages 18 to 29 claim no affiliation with a religious institution.
...
More people in the survey pool identified themselves as Buddhist than Muslim, although both populations were small — less than 1 percent of the total population. By contrast, Jews accounted for 1.7 percent of the overall population

So, on average, people know at least twice as many Atheists as they know Jews, right?

Check out all the links from this site trying to convince people of faith that their faith is not misplaced. These organizations across the entire USA are actually trying to prove mythology scientifically. If you didn't think they were wacko before, now you have no choice.

Who knew?

Peter Nuhn

Yeah, those ads over there on the right. Kelly from RRS, Ben Stein's stupidity movie, take this test to find Atheist singles.

I hope they generate good money into American Atheists. But what do you think of them? Should we allow Christians to advertise, even if they offer more money (they do)?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader said on Sunday that he is launching another long shot independent campaign for president of the United States.

Nader, who will turn 74 this week, announced his presidential bid on NBC's "Meet the Press" saying that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are addressing the problems facing Americans.

Nader also ran for president in 2000 when he got about 2.7 percent of the national vote as the Green Party candidate and played a role in deciding the final presidential outcome. He also ran as an independent in 2004 and got only a tiny fraction of the vote.

Many Democrats blame Nader's participation in the close race between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George Bush in 2000 for tipping the election in favor of Bush. They believe that but for Nader's name on the ballot in Florida, Gore would have been the clear winner and president today instead of Bush.

Nader called Washington "corporate occupied territory" that turns the government against the interest of its own people.

"In that context I have decided to run for president," Nader said. (Reporting by Donna Smith; Editing by David Wiessler)

I voted for Nader in 2000. The reason may sound familiar: Neither of the two major candidates were addressing, or even acknowledging, the separation of church and state, or nonreligious people. Gore and Bush were, on my issues, too similar. I simply won't vote for a candidate who doesn't even acknowledge my main concerns.

Here we are again. Mr. Nader supported the correct position in 2000, and I ASSUME he still does, but these issues are not on his list of issues at http://www.votenader.org/issues/

I've contacted Mr. Nader's camp to request a statement. I'll let you know if I get one, but I suggest we all send him an email to the same effect. http://www.votenader.org/contact/

THIS APPEARANCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED

ELLEN JOHNSON ON CBS EARLY SHOW
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2008
Exorcism, Bronze Age Superstition, Beelzebub & More!

ELLEN JOHNSON, President of American Atheists, will be the guest on the CBS television network news program "The Early Show" airing nationwide this Monday, February 25, 2008.

Hosted by veteran newscasters Harry Smith and Julie Chen, this segment will examine the resurgence of Exorcism, a religious rite which claims to "cast out" demons and devils who supposedly afflict human beings. The practice was popularized by the 1973 hit movie "The Exorcist" based on the novel by William Peter Blatty. Recently, the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Ratzinger-Benedict has placed new emphasis on the superstition, and is training squads of professional exorcists to confront the imaginary Beelzebub and his underlings.

Ms. Johnson, a veteran Atheist and First Amendment activist usually comments in the media on serious topics such as political and social policy. She may just burst into laughter, though, when asked about the topic of Exorcism.

(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists, Freethinkers and other nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

The above sentiment was seen on signs at the Alamo in San Antonio, TX, for a Huckabee rally. You can read the article linked to in the title to this post.

Among the crowd, Lorraine Cheeseman, wearing Huckabee stickers and pins, said she liked the symbolism. "He needs to stick with it to the very end," she said. "Next time I see him as president, I'll say, 'Remember the Alamo!' " And does she expect that day to come? "Miracles happen," Lorraine said.

But my real point in posting this story is about the wrongful deference that Huck gives to the Alamo. When we say Remember the Alamo, it should mean remember that those Texans who fought for independence were fighting for independence from the anti-slavery state of Mexico, who sent Santa Ana north to enforce the anti-slavery laws.

So when Huck said: "You don't engage in your battles only because you anticipate that you're going to win them; you engage in your battles because you believe they're right," everyone should remember that the right thing he is fighting for is more racism. Racism has been the main ingredient of the Southern Baptist Convention since it was started right before the Civil War over the question of slavery and animosity against the abolitionist American Baptist Churches.

So Huck's conservative deference paid to the Alamo shows me where he stands on the age old problem of racism in the United States. Remember the Alamo.

Peter Nuhn

John McCain, the probable Republican presidential nominee, has been forced to deny having an affair eight years ago with a lobbyist whose clients had business with the senate committee that he chaired.

A report in the New York Times claimed that aides to the 71-year-old Arizona senator were so worried by the amount of contact he had with Vicki Iseman, 40, that she was asked to stay away from him. Ms Iseman also denied any romantic relationship.

The report could possibly delay John McCain's assumption of the Republican nomination

Senator McCain followed up with "Let me make this perfectly clear. I have never had sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lew... I mean Ms. Iseman". The Senator also pointed out that sex with a condom isn't really sex because there is no skin contact, that oral sex isn't sex at all, and that he didn't inhale (he just kinda threw that one in).

H. Res. 888 now has 72 sponsors and is still an abomination with all its lies. It should be called the Pandering Congressmen's Pro-Christian Resolution (PCP).

Chris Rodda with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation writing on the Talk2action.org site has been instrumental in providing the debunking of the numerous Whereas' in this resolution that provide a revisionist history of religion in the US.

Please join American Atheists in fighting this despicable and deplorable resolution in the House of Representatives.

Thanks for you do to promote and maintain our Constitutional rights to freedom of religion and freedom from religion.

Peter Nuhn

God doesn't want NJ to see the eclipse, but he might let you. Check it out at moonrise if you have clear skies.

Leesburg, VA has banned the American Library Association's number one banned book for 2006. That's right, the story of a gay family of penquins in the Central Park Zoo in NYC. So we got to have a damn constitutional amendment to stop gay penquins from destroying our way of life? If two damn penquins can destroy our entire way of life, I say we deserve to be destroyed. I know, let's just have those two penquins destroy Leesburg.

I really wish people would stop listening to the histrionics of televangelists who continually misinterpret the OT. If anyone really wants to understand the OT, then go ask a Rabbi, not a Southern Baptist.

Come on, when God told the Hebrew tribes they had to marry women, well that was back in the Bronze Age. I mean, most men wanted to marry their camels.

Young men were constantly bringing to the tent some cute hump and saying: "Mom, she has your eyes, doesn't she?" So they really needed a religious tenet to tell them to reproduce with women and not the livestock. Even though the livestock were more plentiful and a hell of a lot easier to get into bed, if you know what I mean.

Today, we don't have exactly that much livestock around anymore in our urban world so I doubt that all of us still need to have a religious tenet to tell us to marry women. But when I look at our current leadership in Washington, I am not so certain that just maybe the GOP, Southern Baptists, and most of those in the Bible Belt just might need a constitutional amendment, in addition to a religious tenet, telling them they can only wed women. I mean do they really look smart enough to figure that out on their own? Really?

Peter Nuhn

The following comes from an old friend of mine, who shall remain nameless. But she is wrong.

Scientology is NOT a cult -- it's a scam. A money-making scam, not even worth the label of "cult". Challenging the tax-exempt status of a scam seems like a worthwhile cause to me...

On February 10, 2008, over 9000 people worldwide joined in mass demonstrations at Scientology centers. These people are known as "Anonymous." "Anonymous" has no structure, hierarchy, website, group, or leaders. People who call themselves "Anons" are sometimes internet pranksters, and some self-described "Anons" have engaged in unlawful activities against some groups or websites, such as creating "Denial of Service" attacks to shut the websites down. However, most "Anons" are just average internet users who can be found on "futaba"-based imageboards, where they post anonymously. They are known to ridicule and mock anything they do not like or agree with. They are known for spreading silly memes and creating many inside jokes.

The events leading up to the February 10 protests were the leaking of several videos from inside the Scientology group. In one video, actor Tom Cruise rambled on about how "LRH Tech" (L. Ron Hubbard Technology) can "save the world." In another video, Scientology leader David Miscavige used inflammatory language along with video imagery of hand grenades and explosions to describe how Scientology would "destroy" psychiatry (see www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvlFh7nPkZE). As these videos made their way around the internet, the Scientologists began issuing legal threats about copyright violations, trying to get the videos removed. They were unsuccessful. "Anonymous" became outraged by the Scientologists' actions, and vowed to "bring down the CoS."

A website called "Enturbulation.org" (http://www.enturbulation.org/) was created to harness the energy of "Anonymous." Videos "from Anonymous to Anonymous" were spread virally in chat rooms and on YouTube. Many "Anons" decided to join in the "real life" demonstration scheduled for February 10, some "for the lulz" (for laughs), and some who truly oppose Scientology.

The demonstrations were successful. There are pictures and videos all over the internet. Thousands of people joined in. I myself forwarded some info to some atheist listservs I'm on, and I attended the February 10 event in Philadelphia. I wanted to see if internet trolls would really leave their computers to demonstrate against the CoS. They did.

At the demonstration, people had signs reading "Google Lisa McPherson" (she was a member of the "Church" who died when Scientologists denied her medical treatment), and "Google Paulette Cooper/Operation Freakout" (Scientologists tried to silence this critic by framing her; they tried to have her incarcerated). The signs directed people to visit websites such as Xenu.net and WhyAreTheyDead.net. I visited all of these sites and I was amazed by what I learned. Scientology is not a religion in the traditional sense of the word, it is indeed a cult that brainwashes its members, steals their money, and destroys their families.

Since Sunday, I have learned much more information about Scientology and why people think it is a dangerous cult. Unlike most religions, Scientology charges exorbitant fees for participating and advancing in the "Church." The "Church" interferes with families, attacks those who leave it or who speak out against it. They have had their tax-exempt status revoked in the past, and they were found guilty of interfering with the IRS.

Members of "Anonymous" have suddenly become activists, challenging the most wealthy and insidious cult in the world. They are staging another worldwide demonstration on Saturday March 15, 2008, from 11am-4pm local time, to draw public attention to the dangers of Scientology, the threat to psychiatry, and the CoS tax fraud scheme.

There are organizational threads on Enturbulation.org, where you can find more information if you are interested. Or email me directly if you have any questions.

www.sptimes.com/2008/02/11/Northpinellas/Protesters_poke_at_Sc.shtml
www.pointofinquiry.org/tory_christman_anti_science_scientology
youfoundthecard.com/.

ZINDLER, PRAGER DEBATE RUMBLE AT
AMERICAN ATHEISTS CONFERENCE
March 21- 23, 2008 ~ Minneapolis, MN.
Resolved: The Jewish God Exists ...

Is there evidence or reason to support the claim that the deity worshipped by the Jews and described in the Hebrew scriptures exists? Scientist and linguist Frank Zindler and nationally-syndicated talk-show host Dennis Prager will argue this topic in its historical, scientific, and logical aspects. The dialogue will explore the boundary between faith and reason.

It all happens at the 2008 American Atheists Conference March 21-23, 2008 in Minneapolis, MN. Atheists and other non-believers from across the country will be gathering for three days of exciting talks, panels, workshops and social events, as well as the Thursday night (March 20) jumpstart event at the conference venue -- the luxurious Minneapolis Marriott City Center. There's a special convention room rate of only $99. And there's also a blockbuster line-up of impressive speakers, including:

* RICHARD DAWKINS
* DR. JACK DAVID ELLER
* DR. LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS
* ELLEN JOHNSON
* ROBERT LANHAM
* RENE SALM
* GREYDON SQUARE
* MARY STANTON
* EDDIE TABASH
* LOIS UTLEY

Register on-line using our secure transaction server at www.atheists.org/conference . There, you'll find background on speakers, along with a schedule of events and links to local tourism and other activities. We'll see you in Minneapolis, MN March 21-23, 2008!

WHO & WHAT: Debate between Frank Zindler and Dennis Prager ~ RESOLVED: THE JEWISH GOD EXISTS

WHEN & WHERE: The American Atheists National Conference, March 21-23, 2008, Minneapolis, MN.

MORE INFO and to REGISTER: www.atheists.org/conference

(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists, Freethinkers and other nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

The Liberty Science Center is a museum in NJ (near the Statue of Liberty) that concentrates on science education for young people. It's very large, and just underwent a large renovation last year, and my daughter loves it. And when you're a science-geek, and your little girl wants to go to a science museum, you take her as often as you can.

Most of their exhibits are static, but some change from time to time. The last time we went, one of those roving exhibits really disturbed be -- an exhibit detailing all the scientific and mathematical concepts that came from the Arabic world over the past millennium or so, which is good, but it credited all those advancements to ISLAM, which is BS. Islam doesn't push science, but many advances were made by Muslims (others were made by Jews, Christians, and Atheists). There's a difference. In the literal shadow of the WTC, I thought it was pandering and propaganda at its peak.

Now, that display has been totally replaced with an exhibit on race. What is a race, how are races viewed by other races, and what makes a person one race over another. Very interesting.

At one point in the display they have pictures of people of different ethnicities, with handwritten notes about their respective races. One lady of "mixed race", the one who inspired this post, wrote simply "I am the Big Bang".

What a wonderful sentiment.

Here's a great definition of the idiocy we face from SOME of our religious brethen.

The FFRF posted this Billboard:

And the religious zealots, not willing to address the issue, let our opinion stand, or even use any neurons in their pseudo-brains at all, came back with this billboard.

It truly sickens me -- not that some asses would hate us just for our beliefs, and not that they would put up a bigoted billboard. What sickens me is that there is so little outcry from the local people. They take it for granted that the FFRF billboard is "offensive" and the Christian slander is relevant.

There IS some negative response, but not nearly enough. This is why we fight, and this is why we shout.

My suggestion: Get some religious people to speak out about this. We need to tear this kind of bigotry down from within.

Valentines Day. An artificial holiday that screams "if you love your wife, you won't stop spending money after Xmas".

I have a strong aversion to the day, not for the romance, but for the underlying message -- capitalism begets capitalism.

So we ignore it in the Silverman household. I'm romantic enough.

'n you?

That's the question posed by the President of American Atheists Ellen Johnson on our web site www.atheists.org.

Should we vote for the least undesirable candidate, even though NONE of them have reached out to the secular community -- even in the slightest?

Or should we not vote at all?

I'm not going to chime in here -- yet. I'll let you do it. Click the link, watch the video, and post your comments here.

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:

The Free Inquiry Group of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, Inc. (FIG) is pleased to announce that the Honorable Mark Mallory, Mayor of the City of Cincinnati, has proclaimed February 12, 2008 as “DARWIN DAY.”

The Proclamation reads as follows:

Proclamation
City of Cincinnati

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Be It Proclaimed:
WHEREAS, The City of Cincinnati has always been at the forefront of scientific research, medicine, and academia; and
WHEREAS, The City will continue to support the sciences at all levels of education; and
WHEREAS, many scientific advancements can be traced back to the work of Charles Darwin and his groundbreaking discovery 150 years ago, that living things change over time, or evolve, in response to selective pressure of their environment; and

WHEREAS, Darwin's theory redefined the direction of research and progress, and has since been the cornerstone of the biological sciences that have brought advancement in medicine, agriculture, zoology, paleontology, and conservation, to name a few, to benefit us all; and
WHEREAS, Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, and
WHEREAS, February 12 is a world-wide Darwin Day Celebration; and

Now, Therefore, I, Mark Mallory,
Mayor of the City of Cincinnati do hereby proclaim
February 12, 2008,
as
"DARWIN DAY"
in Cincinnati.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John Welte, Sr., President of FIG, who had requested the Proclamation, said he was very gratified to see the City of Cincinnati continue its historic support of science, reason, and free inquiry. “This is particularly important in light of the fact that there are constant attacks on the evidence of evolution by the ‘Creation Museum’ here in our area, by educators who want to allow the religious viewpoint called ‘Creationism’ to be taught in our schools, and even by candidates for the Presidency of the United States. Evolution has been clearly established as one of the most robust of scientific facts,” Welte said.

Darwin Day is an international celebration of science and humanity held on or around February 12, the day that Charles Darwin was born on in 1809. Specifically, it celebrates the discoveries and life of Charles Darwin -- the man who first described biological evolution via natural selection with scientific rigor. More generally, Darwin Day expresses gratitude for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge, acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity, has contributed to the advancement of humanity.

The Darwin Day Celebration website provides resources and publicity for individuals and institutions across the world to celebrate science and humanity every year, on, or near, February 12, Darwin's birthday. In addition to information about the life and legacy of Charles Darwin, this website provides practical examples, advice and templates for organizing and publicizing Darwin Day events. It also provides a directory of events where you can find celebrations taking place near you or register your own event for others to find.

The pontiff's planned appearance at Rome's prestigious La Sapienza university is called off after students and professors object.

By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 16, 2008
ROME -- It's a big deal when the pope agrees to speak at an event that isn't church-related.

It's an even bigger deal when public protest forces him to cancel.

Veteran Vatican-watchers said they'd never seen anything quite like it. Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday abruptly called off plans to speak at Rome's prestigious La Sapienza university, after students and professors rallied to proclaim him pontiff non grata.

More than 60 professors signed a letter to the public school's rector saying the pope's appearance, which had been scheduled for the opening of the academic year Thursday, was an affront to people of science and to the "secular" nature of the institution.

Students staged a sit-in Tuesday, waving banners with angry slogans ("Knowledge needs neither fathers nor priests") and launching what they dubbed "anti-cleric week."

"This pope unfortunately is not particularly friendly to science," physics professor Andrea Frova, one of the La Sapienza academics who signed the petition, said in an interview.

Frova and the others said they were offended by a comment made by the pope 17 years ago, when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, that called the heresy trial of 17th century astronomer Galileo "reasonable." (In fact, Ratzinger was quoting another philosopher in that passage, part of a long speech on the Roman Catholic Church and Europe.)

The issue goes beyond Galileo, Frova said, and to the church's position today on stem cell research, evolution and genetic engineering.

"History changes; the scientific problems are different today than in the time of Galileo, but the attitudes of the church stay the same," he said.

The pope would be welcome at the university to debate these issues, Frova said, but not to deliver a speech in which there would be no opportunity for discussion or response.

Given the incidents of the last few days, a brief Vatican press statement said, "it was considered opportune" to scrap the event.

Is the pope hostile toward science? Benedict is a strong intellectual who has emphasized the importance of reason in the practice of faith. Yet he also says evolution is the work of a divine creator, and helped defeat Italian laws that liberalized scientifically assisted fertility.

Italy lives in the shadow of the Vatican, and mainstream politicians rarely challenge or criticize the pope. Officials in both the government and the opposition were quick to lament the protests that waylaid Benedict.

Prime Minister Romano Prodi expressed "solidarity" with the pope and condemned the "unacceptable attitudes of intolerance."

The left-wing minister for family policy, Rosy Bindi, who has clashed with the church on reproductive health and similar issues, said she was "very saddened" by the episode. "This is not a pretty day for our democratic republic," she said.

"You don't have to agree with what he says, but the right to speak must not be denied to anyone," Universities Minister Fabio Mussi said, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.

Pier Ferdinando Casini, head of a main Christian Democratic party, said that with professors like this, "we must fear for the future of our children."

The students who led the protests celebrated their "victory for laicism," whereas the rector of La Sapienza, Renato Guarini, said he was dismayed that a "small publicity-seeking minority" had managed to derail a papal visit to an institution founded, as it happens, by one of Benedict's predecessors, Pope Boniface VIII -- 700 years ago.

OK Dave's opinion here. I have no knowledge about nuthin', buuut..

A man like Mitt Romney, who didn't win Super Tuesday but wasn't out yet (like Huckabee is) doesn't pull out of the race without a really good reason. Someone somewhere found a skeleton, or the church did not want people really looking at Mormonism, or the magic in his underwear ran out.

Whatever it was, I'm good with it. But my suspicion is we won't be seeing much of Mitt anymore.

Now all we have to do is convince Mr. McBush that America is NOT a Christian Nation.

I wanted to post about WorldnetDaily writing about Witches in America, but then I saw this article by Mariah Blake in Mother Jones -- Let there be light crude.

If I hadn't been told that this was non-fiction, I really wouldn't have believed it. I mean the main antagonist is "Hayseed" Stephens, a Texan oilman who goes around selling stock in a oil company that is supposed to drill for oil in the Dead Sea, drain off all the oil from under the Arab nations, thus causing them to start a war with Israel and bring about Armageddon and the End Times.

And they made millions. Millions. Millions. Scams... Cons... Fraud... Christianity... Pretty much all the same thing, as far as I can tell.

Peter Nuhn

I missed this one. First "An Inconvenient Truth" won an Oscar, then Al received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Now he has finished the year with the 2007 Baptist of the Year Award.

Here he is receiving a green bible at the "New Baptist Covenant Celebration" in Atlanta on January 31st.

I really liked the comment from the presenter Robert Parham: "We have with us today a Baptist prophet who is so unacceptable that the Baptist establishment in his hometown of Nashville neither acknowledged his winning the Nobel Peace Prize nor honored with coverage his notable Nobel lecture," Parham said. "Prophets are unacceptable because their truth is inconvenient."

So is ecology, global warming, reduction of our carbon usage, etc. a moral issue? Do you support the Greens? Why do the conservative members of the Southern Baptist Convention work so hard with the conservative industrial polluters to destroy our ecology?

Peter Nuhn

You know how those in the Religious Right are constantly directing God to strike down those they don't like? Isn't what's good for one, also good for the other then? Actually, God didn't strike down the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez or the pro-Roe v Wade Justices. But a couple of years ago he did strike down all the Republican districts in Florida with several hurricanes and then came yesterday.

The Washington Post reports that 44 persons died yesterday in storms that swept throughout the South, mostly in the states of Tennessee and Arkansas just hours after those states finished voting for Mike Huckabee to be the Republican candidate for President.

I would quit invoking the name of God like the Religious Right keeps doing if I was them. God did say, don't use his name in vain. Good for us, bad for them if they keep refusing to learn their own lessons. I'll be okay since I was never going to vote for Huckabee anyways. But if I was a Christian, I'd think twice before pressing that little button for Mike in the future primaries.

Peter Nuhn

Did you vote? For whom, and why?

Blind man, 92, hits a hole-in-one

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) -- Hitting a hole-in-one is hard enough. Now consider that Leo Fiyalko is 92 years old and blind.

"I was just trying to put the ball on the green," he said.

Fiyalko, who has macular degeneration and has been golfing for 60 years, scored the ace with a 5-iron on the 110-yard fifth hole at Cove Cay Country Club on Jan. 10.

Fiyalko tees off every Thursday with a group of golfers ranging in age from 70 to more than 90. He used to have a 7 handicap, but now needs help lining up shots and finding golf balls because he has peripheral vision only in his right eye.

Jean Gehring was in Fiyalko's foursome and watched his swing on the hole-in-one.

"I could tell it went on the green," Gehring said. "When we got up there I didn't see it. I looked in the hole and there it was."

Gehring said Fiyalko was modest about the shot and had to be prodded to tell his wife about it after the round. Fiyalko's friends at the club presented him with a plaque last week to commemorate the feat.

Sorry about your Pats, Dave.

Peter Nuhn

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10248489

Acting greats Marlon Brando and Henry Fonda have Omaha streets named in their honor.

So does slain civil rights leader Malcolm X.

Commemorative street signs also bear the names of more than a few neighborhood activists.

An Omaha man wants to add another name to the list, but the moniker likely won't instantly ring a bell with most people.

Raymond Zbylut has asked the city to erect a commemorative street sign for Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists and the plaintiff in the 1960s U.S. Supreme Court case that ended daily prayer in public schools.

Murray O'Hair, who was murdered in 1995, does not have specific ties to Omaha, but Zbylut said she deserves to be commemorated for her efforts to protect the rights of Americans who don't believe in God.

"It's about time that godless Americans have someone who has been beneficial to the movement brought to the surface," said Zbylut, a self-professed atheist. Zbylut wants a commemorative street sign for O'Hair on 108th Street between Bedford Avenue and West Maple Road, in part because he lives nearby.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the matter Tuesday. If approved, a commemorative sign would be put up, but the name of the street would remain 108th.

Convincing the council to approve a commemorative street sign for a leader of the atheist movement will likely be a tough sell for Zbylut. The council begins its weekly meetings with an invocation, and each of the seven members has delivered the opening prayer at some point.

"I'm going to need more information about this," Council President Dan Welch said Friday. "Based on what I know, I would be strongly inclined to vote against it."

Councilman Chuck Sigerson, who represents the area where the proposed sign would go, said he has several objections to the plan. One is that religion or lack of religion should not be the basis for street commemorations.

"We have to be careful when it comes to something like this," he said. "We try to keep religion out of it."

Sigerson said he would listen to Zbylut's arguments Tuesday, but he would not vote for the Murray O'Hair sign.

Ellen Johnson, the leader of American Atheists, said she isn't optimistic that Omaha will go forward with a commemoration of Murray O'Hair. No other city has named a public street or facility for her, but Johnson said she hopes the idea will at least spark serious discussion.

"(Murray O'Hair's lawsuit) opened the nation's public schools to all our children, and that's a wonderful thing," Johnson said. "Lesser people have had streets and ballparks named after them."

Zbylut said he's not just trying to spark a discussion — he wants the sign to go up.

Once and for all, tomorrow we will find out if Tom Brady is God. A perfect season? Totally Divine in nature. I may have to retire if the Pats win.

On a more serious note, I hope the players don't thank God because they caught the pass, kicked the field goal, or ran for a touchdown. I find that crass, and really quite pathetic.

Go Pats.

BEFORE DAWKINS AND KRAUSS AND
LANHAM, OH MY!

Thursday Night Jump Start (March 20, 2008) at
American Atheists Conference -- Rock the Night Away!
"Minnesota Freethought Band," "Kwang" and
"The Blue Rose Rocket Band"

The 34th annual national conference of American Atheists will take place in Minneapolis, MN. and feature a blockbuster line-up of famous speakers, including Richard Dawkins -- author of "The God Delusion" -- and astronomer/author Lawrence Krauss ("The Physics of Star Trek"). Before the Friday morning session begins, though, check out the Thursday night (March 20, 2008) Jump Start event at the conference venue, the Minneapolis Marriott City Center Hotel.

Rock the night away starting at 7:00 PM with the "Minnesota Freethought Band." Beginning at 8:00 PM, we'll feature the Kings of Minneapolis Rock, "Kwang" -- http://www.kwang.com . And from 9:30 PM to 11:30 PM, boogie with "The Blue Rose Rocket Band." All are welcome, and there's no cover charge.

We've arranged special "shoulder dates" for the conference room rate with the Minneapolis Marriott. That allows you to arrive two days before or after the regular conference and get the exclusive rate! Check out http://www.atheists.org/conference for more details and to register on line using our secure transaction server.

We'll see you in Minneapolis for the Freethought Event of 2008!

WHO & WHAT: Rock the Night Away at the Thursday Night Jump Start, American Atheists Conference

WHEN: Thursday, March 20, 2008 7:00 PM - 11:30 PM

WHERE: American Atheists Conference, Minneapolis Marriott Center City Hotel, Minneapolis MN.

FEATURING: "Minnesota Freethought Band, starting at 7:00 PM at 8:00 PM, we'll feature the Kings of Minneapolis Rock, "Kwang" -- http://www.kwang.com . And from 9:30 PM to 11:30 PM, boogie with "The Blue Rose Rocket Band." All are welcome, and there's no cover charge.

MORE INFO: www.atheists.org/conference

(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists, Freethinkers and other nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)