Hey Gordon Klingenschmitt, Challenge Accepted

A school in Wisconsin was recently told that they could not have their graduations in the church they'd been having them at because it was obvious violation of the Separation of Church and State.

Republican candidate for the Colorado General Assembly, Gordon Klingenschmitt, had an interesting response to this.

If the atheist complainer is so uncomfortable when they walk into a church that there's something inside of them squirming and making them feel these feelings of hatred toward the cross of Jesus Christ, don't you think it's something inside of the atheist complainer that's wrong?

I have a solution.  Let's do an exorcism and cast the Devil out of them and then they'll feel comfortable when they walk into church.

I'll leave the correcting of his errors to Hemant Mehta, who's already covered it better than I could, because I have a different response.

Challenge accepted.

I welcome Mr Klingenschmitt to come to Nebraska and perform whatever exorcism he likes (within legal & medical limits, of course) on me.  We can record the process if he wants.  I will go to any venue within 50 miles of Omaha, Nebraska for the event.  If he's any good at it, he should be guaranteed to leave the event fully satisfied that any demons currently in me have left.

While, I'm obviously comfortable enough inside a church to attend services occasionally, I am regularly offended by things I see there, and I do have my own fights on Separation of Church and State.  I challenge Klingenschmitt to come to Omaha and perform an exorcism on me.

If he has any faith his ability to exorcise demons, or in his god, he should have nothing, including failure, to fear.  Or is he afraid that I'll still be an atheist/secular activist after he gets the demons out of me?

On Picking Our Battles

Since my recent encounter with La Vista Mayor Douglas Kindig, a small part of the criticism I've received has come from other atheists.  They've joined some Christians in not understanding how Separation of Church and State works and getting the details of what happened wrong.

A post about it on Atheist Republic is a great example of atheists getting it wrong.  They got numerous small details wrong, including when I approached the mayor.  Their post claims I approached him "in the midst of" the event when I intentionally waited until the event was over.  It's a small detail, but it shows the disregard for accuracy (or perhaps honesty) that permeates that post.

But worse than the lazy writing in this hyperbolic work of click-bait, is the opinion offered by the author at the end of the post:

While I am certainly disturbed by the mayors alleged sentiments, I must in rare form disagree with the atheist activist in question about any alleged violation of separation of church and state here. While the city may have organized the event, they state that it was funded by local church groups who are not part of the government body. Additionally the event was held at a public park which is open to all the public and no one was denied entry as far as we know.

I think we need to pick our battles a bit better than this, because things of this nature give off the appearance of being petty and intentionally confrontational when no confrontation is necessary.

But that's just my two cents.

He starts by acknowledging that the city organized the event.  Nothing said after that is relevant.  Who paid for the event is not relevant.  It was exclusively and explicitly Christian, and it was part of the official La Vista event called La Vista Daze.  No effort was made to even consider anything else.  When we asked the city about it, they admitted that it had never occurred to them.    Of course the city states they didn't do anything wrong.  That's what they would be doing either way.  But one thing is key and undeniable.

The city organized the event.

The fact that it was on public property is not at all relevant.  The Constitutional issue would still be there if it had happened exactly as it did on private property.  And there would be no issue if it had been the churches having the event on their own in the same location.  The location isn't the issue.  The issue is the fact that the city organized the event.

Regarding picking our battles, the author reveals even more of his ignorance of the situation.  Ignorance that would have been avoided if he'd done 2 cents worth of research before posting.

He clearly never found my initial post on the matter, where he could have learned that I wasn't looking for a battle at all.  I attempted a civil discussion.  It only blew up because of the mayor's reaction.

He may also have learned that the response from Omaha Atheists was to use the attention educate and to reach out to believers in the community to open dialogue between our groups.

I've since had the meeting with the mayor that I was seeking that day, where he apologized in person for his outburst.  The city appears like they will be taking my concerns seriously, which at this point is all I was asking for.

I also spoke to the city council and have offered to participate in the planning of future events to help ensure inclusiveness by representing a group not currently considered.  After I spoke, the preacher who organized the event in question spoke, praising Omaha Atheists for our civility and willingness to work together.

He did get one thing right though.  No confrontation was necessary.  Other than the outburst that made news, that we've since moved beyond, no confrontation has been necessary.  So far, all parties are working together civilly.

So, who has "the appearance of being petty and intentionally confrontational when no confrontation is necessary"?  The group who is working toward a litigation free resolution to a legitimate issue or the blogger who picked a fight with a fellow atheist by writing an ill-informed, hyperbolic, and dishonest piece to get some extra hits?

If this writer at Atheist Republic gives a shit about honesty, I suggest he pick his battles better than this.

Having Privilege Is Mundane, Challenging Privilege Is Not

While being interviewed about her experience surviving the Moore, Oklahoma tornado, Rebecca Vitsmun outed herself after Wolf Blitzer incorrectly assumed she had "thanked the lord".

This story is a perfect example of how Christian privilege works in our society.  A national reporter thought it was appropriate to just assume a random person was Christian.  The fact that she was willing to say on national television that she's actually an atheist resulted in national attention because it's a big deal to be willing to be openly atheist.  Even when it shouldn't be.

What Rebecca did was mundane.  Or least it should have been.  It was anything but mundane, and that's the problem.  A lot of atheists are afraid to do this.  Even Rebecca was afraid to do it.  But it was either that or lie.

Her story has been in the back of my mind during the last week since my encounter with my town's mayor.  It's why I wore the shirt with her quote at today's rally at La Vista City Hall.

This shirt exists because people rallied around Rebecca to support her.

What I did should have been mundane.  I was a citizen approaching an elected official with a valid concern.  But, like Rebecca's situation, what should have been mundane was not.  The story went national extremely quickly, starting with The Friendly Atheist and followed by Raw Story, Washington Times, Christian Post, The Blaze, and others.

I know the attention I've had from it, so I can only imagine the focus that's been on Mayor Kindig's office.  I've had a lot of atheists (and some believers) thanking for me for what I did.  But on its own, what I did was not anything special.   It was only special because our culture is constantly telling atheists to shut up and stay hidden, and I refused to do so.  Atheists being open about being atheists is seen as a challenge to the Christian privilege that permeates our culture.

Christian privilege is what had La Vista defaulting directly to the event being overtly Christian, rather than secular or inclusive of other religious viewpoints.  Christian privilege is what let Mayor Kindig feel safe in dismissing my concerns so hastily.

Today's rally was to show that my concerns are not mine alone and that we will not sit idly by while those concerns are dismissed in favor of Christian privilege.

Photo Credit:  Amanda Knief

It shows government officials that they're not free to insert their religion into government without someone standing up to them.  And it shows atheists that if they are that person standing up, they will not be doing so alone.  They will have groups like Omaha Atheists and American Atheists supporting them, just like I've had over the last week.

La Vista, Nebraska Mayor: "Minorities Will Not Run My Town"

My father was in the Air Force for 20 years, and continued to serve after his retirement until his premature death.  I have numerous other friends & family who have served.  I had intended to join the military myself until various health issues took that option away from me. 

So I have nothing against people honoring the sacrifices of those who did not make it home how they fit, on their own.  If people want to do this in a religious service, they should definitely be allowed to do this.  But not government.

The City of La Vista (the suburb of Omaha I live in) disagrees.

This kind of religious service is particularly offensive because they're using Memorial Day to get away with it.  They started by having a police captain read the names of soldiers who had died in the line of duty.

As I took this, he got to the name Lonnie Allen, who I went to 6th grade with. The street up to Birchcrest Elementary in Bellevue is named for him.  I don't claim to have been close to him.  But I knew him and liked him.  I was sad when I learned he had died.

On the way out, I attempted to discuss the issue with my mayor, so a civil resolution to this violation of the Constitution could be reached.  His immediate response was, "Take me to fucking court because I don't care."

I responded to that by saying that I was hoping to resolve this civilly.  His response to that was to walk away from me while saying "Minorities are not going to run my city."

Thanks to Be Secular for the perfect shirt for this

When (not if) I challenge this, I'll be accused of not supporting the troops.  The fact that it's not true won't matter.

I'll be told that this is a Christian nation.  The fact that it's not true won't matter.

I'll be accused of trying to force my atheism on them.  The fact I am just as opposed to an atheist government as I am a Christian government won't matter.

I'll be accused of violating their religious freedom.  The fact that this city sponsored church service is not within their religious freedom won't matter.  The fact that this service violates my religious freedom won't matter.

But none of that matters to me.  I can take the abuse from the Christians.  What matters to me is that is wrong.  What matters to me is that my minority status is irrelevant.  Civil rights and the Constitution are for everyone, not just the majority.

They're free to worship as they wish.  Just keep it out of my government.

I don't want to sue my own city any more than I wanted to cussed at and demeaned by my mayor.  Hopefully he'll be more open to having civil discussion before we get to that point.

My Elected Representative Does Not Understand What Religious Freedom Is

My Congressional Representative, Lee Terry, posted this statement about Hobby Lobby's Supreme Court case.

Congressman Lee Terry (R-NE) today made the following statement on the oral arguments before the Supreme Court today on the Hobby Lobby case in the support of religious freedom:

“Today, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments on behalf of individuals who under Obamacare feel that their constitutional right to religious freedom has been violated.

“Our nation’s motto is ‘In God We Trust’ and it couldn’t be more clear. Every single American should have the freedom to practice their faith and protect their conscious separate from cumbersome federal mandates. I want to add my voice in support of these Americans who have unjustly been coerced by an overreaching Administration and forced to choose between their God and their government.”

I'll ignore the many issues just in his invocation (pun intended) of "In God We Trust", or his less than subtle presumption that all Americans believe in a god, for now.  That's another fight for another day.

The issue for today is Hobby Lobby, who is demanding the right to ignore the ACA mandate to cover birth control within health insurance for its employees.  They are demanding that the religion of their owners limit the healthcare options of their employees.

To illustrate the problem with that, here's something from Keith Lowell Jensen.

That is not religion freedom.  That is religious oppression.  It's a violation of the religious freedom of every employee of Hobby Lobby.  No one should be forced to find another job, or go without proper healthcare, just because their employer doesn't want to follow the law.

From the comments of Terry's statement:

Hobby Lobby is not requesting religious freedom.  They're demanding special privilege to ignore the law.

By supporting Hobby Lobby, Lee Terry is supporting religious oppression. Not religious freedom. Religious freedom would be everyone following the same laws, regardless of their religion. Religious freedom is NOT everyone but Christians following the law.

My representation in Washington DC needs a grade school level civics lesson.

Greece v Galloway Plaintiff Joins Secular Coalition For America Weekly Conference Call

The Secular Coalition For America^[1] does a weekly conference call each Thursday at noon (Eastern time).  This week, they were joined by Linda Stephens,^[2] one of the plaintiffs for Greece v. Galloway^[3], a case challenging prayer in public meetings which has been taken all way to the Supreme Court^[4].

Stephens talked about how prayer, and Christianity has apparently been used in the town of Greece by a town official to increase his own political power, including how a mega church in town passes out biased voter guides.  I only have her word to go on here, but it's definitely something worth investigating further for anyone in the area who cares about Church, State Separation.

It's not far fetched to think what Stephens said is happening could be true.  It's not like churches aren't doing shady things in regards to elections^[5].

She also spoke briefly about some of the harassment she and Susan Galloway received as a result of the case, including mentioning that the harassment made one of the other plaintiffs back out.  This also isn't unsurprising, considering what happens to atheists who don't want to pray even without suing^[6].  And we all know Jessica Ahlquist's story^[7].

For more on the case, see Americans United^[8].  For updates, follow SCOTUS Blog^[9].  Or just pay attention, because once the decision is announced, it'll be hard to miss.  Especially if they actually do the right thing, which would cause Fox News, and the rest of the right wing media, to lose their minds.

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1.  http://secular.org/
2.  http://secular.org/event/national-secular-movement-update-call-48
3.  http://www.pewforum.org/2013/11/04/in-brief-supreme-court-revisits-legislative-prayer-in-town-of-greece-v-galloway/
4.  http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/12-696_6j37.pdf
5.  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2013/11/i-suspect-theres-no-way-this-is-legal-theres-certainly-no-way-its-ethical/
6.  http://youtu.be/sTRDRP2n4Sk
7.  http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/09/atheist-student-who-sued-school-you-cant-imagine-the-things-ive-heard/
8.  https://www.au.org/our-work/legal/lawsuits/galloway-v-town-of-greece
9.  http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/town-of-greece-v-galloway/

Such Christian Responses To The Atheist Monument

The first ever atheist monument to be on government property went up this weekend in Florida^[1].

[2]

Hemant covered the events quite well^[3].  And of course, there were protesters^[4].  I've been at plenty of atheist events that had protesters, but never one with such blatantly racist protesters.

I think I'll just leave the response to Amanda Knief's tweets^[5] on the matter since she said what I was thinking.

"Don't like Christian culture, go home!" What! Wait--I was born here; I am home. Where the hell should I go? #standmyground #StarkeContrast
— Amanda Knief (@mzdameanor) June 29, 2013

"The South is a Christian nation." Um, update: you lost that war a while ago & the South is NOT a nation. #realitycheck #StarkeContrast
— Amanda Knief (@mzdameanor) June 29, 2013

Only racists who don't know who won the Civil War could be the most ridiculous thing at a place Eric Hovind^[6] was.

[7]

I love this picture for a number of reasons.  It illustrates how disrespectful Eric Hovind is.  It would be rude stand up there if it was a random bench and it wasn't David Silverman sitting there.  No matter who was sitting there, it would be incredibly rude to stand right next to their head.

It being a monument that was making history and the person sitting there being the head of the organization who made it happen makes it that much more rude.  The fact that it's an extremely rare thing for any religious view that isn't Christianity to get any positive attention makes it even worse for him to be so brazenly arrogant.

And still, he has the right to do it.

I'm glad that @SyeTenB and @erichovind exercised their free speech. Might I suggest that you go ahead and wear that toilet seat as necklace?
— Matt Dillahunty (@Matt_Dillahunty) June 30, 2013

If only Christians were better able to show such respect^[8].

It's incredibly disturbing how often I see Christians portray the Bible commandment against murder as the only thing keeping people from killing.

I guess that's better.  He's only threatening to beat us up instead of kill us.  But one more had something to say about killing.

Instead of threatening us, he's pretending we did the threatening.  But, ...

Exactly.  So, I'll leave it at that and move on the more fun comments.

Chris is right.  Plus, regarding tolerance see the tweet of Matt Dillahunty's that I shared above^[9].

I wish I could expect that response to make the guy understand that being atheist doesn't make you a nihilist.

I also wish I could write off the hate as trolls.  But it's all consistent with what I see happen every time.  It happens online and in person.  Christian privilege in America leaves no room for anything else.  So they freak the fuck out^[10] anytime anyone else exercises their rights.

This last one is one I really hope is a Poe, but sadly, that kind of crazy shit is sometimes real too.

Just a hunch, but I suspect this guy might be a tad racist.  Either way, I'm sticking with the idea that the crazier they get, the more it means we're winning^[11].

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1.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/atheists-unveil-monument-next-to-ten-commandments-at-florida-courthouse/2013/06/29/f226a614-e10c-11e2-86b4-4efb8c53d62b_story.html
2.  https://twitter.com/AmericanAtheist/status/351024379854983168
3.  https://twitter.com/hemantmehta/status/351021011761762305
4.  https://twitter.com/jteberhard/status/351071613707485186
5.  https://twitter.com/mzdameanor
6.  http://aparticularblogbyaparticularatheist.blogspot.com/2012/11/eric-hovind-i-have-question-for-you.html
7.  I lost track of who gets credit for the picture.
8.  https://twitter.com/Matt_Dillahunty/status/351327995878846465
9.  https://twitter.com/Matt_Dillahunty/status/351184669334716416
10.  http://aparticularblogbyaparticularatheist.blogspot.com/2012/07/uncontroversial-billboard-is.html
11.  http://aparticularblogbyaparticularatheist.blogspot.com/2013/06/bryan-fischer-being-unhappy-makes-me.html

Christians Prove My Point About Secular Money

I've recently taken to saying that instead of contesting Ten Commandments monuments on public land, we should find a way to get Christians to fight with each other over which version^[1] is up.  Some Christians have recently done a good job of illustrating why I think that would work when one found something on their money that they did not like^[2].

The obvious guess is that this was done by a Muslim, but whoever did it appears to also have a problem with "In God We Trust" being on our money.  I'm one of those atheists who marks out "In God We Trust" from his money^[3], but I like this because it makes my point even better than I do with the Sharpie because of how much the Christians hate Allah being on their money.

These are starting to show up all around our country!

After dinner she took a $1 dollar bill out of her purse and displayed it on the table. Underneath the words "In God We Trust" someone had stamped the dollar bill in red ink---

NO GOD BUT ALLAH.

We asked her where she had gotten this dollar bill.  She said it was part of her change in Alamosa , CO .

We took a picture of her dollar bill. If anyone tries to give you one of these dollar bills as change, please refuse it and ask them to give you a dollar bill that has not been defaced.

Send this on to everyone you can. God bless our USA !

And, He'd better bless it quickly before what we know and love is forever gone!

They don't like someone else's religion being pushed on their money.  And, of course, some particularly despise Islam on their money.

Pity that so few of them get it.  The problem they have with Allah being on money is exactly why their god shouldn't be on it either.  At least one about a thousand people who found the post get it, even if it's less than the amount who liked the Islamophobic comment.

And that's why I only cross out the unconstitutional phrase instead of putting something atheist on it.  Because I'm not a hypocrite like the Christians whining about the wrong god being on their money.

It's supposed to be secular, with absolutely no mention of god, and this shit is why.

(Thanks to Meagan for the link.)

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1.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments#Enumeration_of_the_Ten_Commandments
2.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4465897337273&set=a.1073276483872.2011172.1584985366&type=1&ref=nf
3.  http://aparticularblogbyaparticularatheist.blogspot.com/2013/03/why-i-carry-sharpie.html

Why I Carry A Sharpie

When the United States of America was founded, it was given the motto "E pluribus unum"^[1].  Out of many, one^[2].  It's a beautifully simple phrase to describe what America was all about.  Thirteen colonies united to stand up to the oppression of a monarchy, to become one united nation.  And after earning their Independence, they created the world's first secular nation.  A nation that valued freedom and justice, even despite our recent many failures in both arenas.

What dollar bills looked before 1957

We remained united for over a century and a half.  Perhaps it's fitting that the Civil War is when the eventual end of "E pluribus unum" was put into motion^[3].

The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase received many appeals from devout persons throughout the country, urging that the United States recognize the Deity on United States coins. From Treasury Department records, it appears that the first such appeal came in a letter dated November 13, 1861. It was written to Secretary Chase by Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, and read:

Dear Sir: You are about to submit your annual report to the Congress respecting the affairs of the national finances.

One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.

You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were not shattered beyond reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation? What I propose is that instead of the goddess of liberty we shall have next inside the 13 stars a ring inscribed with the words PERPETUAL UNION; within the ring the allseeing eye, crowned with a halo; beneath this eye the American flag, bearing in its field stars equal to the number of the States united; in the folds of the bars the words GOD, LIBERTY, LAW.

This would make a beautiful coin, to which no possible citizen could object. This would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed. From my hearth I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters.

To you first I address a subject that must be agitated.

In other words, "In God We Trust" on our money is explicitly Christian in origin.

Even as a child, I knew it was wrong that our money referenced a god.  I would have also stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance^[4] too, if I hadn't already stopped because it was so creepy^[5].

Our government is supposed to be entirely neutral on the subject of religion.  This is what ensures our Freedom of Religion, including my Freedom From Religion.  I was able to figure that out long before I ever learned of Teddy Roosevelt's thoughts on the matter^[6].

I hold that in this country there must be complete severance of Church and State; that public moneys shall not be used for the purpose of advancing any particular creed; and therefore that the public schools shall be non-sectarian and no public moneys appropriated for sectarian schools. (Address, New York, October 12, 1915).

This is also why when I do mark my money, which is always, I make a point to never make it specifically atheist.  That would be just as wrong as what our government is currently doing with the money.  For example, I'm against stuff like this^[7].

No one's religion, or lack thereof, has any place in anything to do with our government.  Our government is supposed to be secular.  Not Christian.  Not Muslim.  Not atheist.  Our government should have nothing to say on the matter whatsoever.  Secular.  Instead, we overreacted to "atheist" Communism during the Cold War and forced it back onto our money and made it our national motto^[8].

Today, the "America is a Christian nation" crowd regularly uses that motto, and all the other ways they've forced their god into our society^[9][10] as a way to justify that ridiculous claim.  They've rewritten history enough that many teenagers don't realize reality^[11].  Its presence on our money is not without consequence.

And that is why I carry a Sharpie^[12].

I prefer the Sharpie because it's portable.  But another option is the stamp a friend had made for a few of us using VistaPrint^[13] and this image^[14][15].

I'm not foolish enough to think the relatively small amount of bills I mark will solve the problem of religion being forced into our government, but I simply cannot accept the alternative of leaving my money broken when I know I can fix it.

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1.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_pluribus_unum
2.  http://greatseal.com/mottoes/unum.html
3.  http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx
4.  http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/usconstitution/a/pledgehist.htm
5.  http://youtu.be/618U-_8o31k
6.  http://archive.adl.org/nr/exeres/9ecd82de-51a2-4779-a95d-d047eaafa37d?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_3
7.  http://www.evolvefish.com/fish/product1719.html
8.  http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/05/16/communism-atheism-and-placing-in-god-we-trust-on-the-u-s-dollar/
9.  http://aclj.org/in-god-we-trust/complete-idiots-guide-religious-heritage (ACLJ is the right wing's response to the ACLU)
10.  http://youtu.be/YXtIm4m0k8I
11.  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2013/03/a-letter-to-kenzie/
12.  http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=367391293373651&set=a.219436308169151.47488.219432208169561&type=1
13.  http://www.vistaprint.com
14.  http://www.thinkatheist.com/photo/dollar-bill-stamp-covers-in-god-we-trust
15.  http://www.thinkatheist.com/photo/freedom-money?context=album&albumId=1982180%3AAlbum%3A1102836

Zack Kopplin Gets It

When you see a stand you know needs to be taken, you have two options.  You can wait and hope someone does something.  Or you can do something yourself.  The first option is by far the easier one.  Doing something yourself is much harder, but it's also what gets results.

I would much rather not have to fight with religious people.  My preference would be to not counter protest anti-choice people^[1].  I would rather not constantly fight for science to be taught in science class instead of Creationism.  It's exhausting.

But the alternative is letting them win.  The alternative is giving (more) power to people like Rick Santorum & Pat Robertson.  The alternative is letting terrible laws like the Louisiana Science Education Act stand.

Zack Kopplin chose to do something about it.  However, that wasn't his first choice.

No one was more surprised of his becoming a science advocate than Kopplin himself. In fact, after writing his English paper in 2008 — when he was just 14-years-old — he assumed that someone else would publicly take on the law. But no one did.

Now the law has a chance to be repealed, thanks in large part to Kopplin's efforts.  Like other young atheist activists, he stood up for what was right.  And like the others, Christians have tried to vilify him for it.

His efforts, needless to say, have not gone unnoticed — particularly by his opponents. He's been called the Anti-Christ, a stooge of "godless liberal college professors," and was even accused of causing Hurricane Katrina. Kopplin cooly brushes these incidents aside, saying they're just silly distractions.

They are indeed silly distractions.  It's meant to distract from the real issue, their blatant violations of the Constitution.  It's meant to intimidate us into silence.  Good for Kopplin for recognizing this and keeping up the good fight.

Unfortunately, Texas might need even more of a fight.

(Found via @rdfrs)

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1.  They call themselves "Pro-Life", but we all know that's a canard, so I call them what they really are.  Anti-choice.

Twelve Apostates - Michael Newdow

Somehow, I made it to over 30 before I met another atheist (who I knew was atheist) in person.  I'm not sure how long I made it before discovering another person who was openly atheist at all, but I do know it was a very long time.  I later learned that one my closest friends since junior high was an atheist but hadn't said anything to me about until 18 years later, but that's a story for another day.

Even by the time I learned about the lawsuits Michael Newdow was filing  I didn't know about many atheists.  I had been an atheist my entire life, and the word atheist was still quite foreign to me.  I was barely even really that aware of the existence of other atheists.

I had long since stopped saying the Pledge, for two different reasons.  I didn't know the term "nationalism" then, but I apparently could recognize it when I saw it, and, to me, t felt creepy   

My other problem with the Pledge was the same problem most atheists have with it.  The phrase "under God".  Having learned about the Freedom of Religion, I knew religion and government were supposed to stay out of each other's business.  It bothered me, but I never did anything about it.

Michael Newdow did.  He sued to try force his daughter's school to do the right thing.  

He gave rational reasons for why he thought this fight was worth fighting and why he was on the right side of it.  But, like everyone else on the right side of this fight, he was vilified for it. 

He hasn't won the overall fight, but he hasn't stopped fighting it.  Among his other activities, he is currently on the Advisory Board for the Secular Coalition for America.  The Secular Coalition for America is fighting a fight that shouldn't even need to be fought, considering the answer is in the Constitution our opposition pretends to revere.  But I'm sure glad they're fighting it.

Twelve Apostates - Young Atheist Activists

At Skepticon 5, I met young girl who responded to something on the table about prayer in schools.  She mentioned her school had Christian prayers displayed was visibly upset by it.  Her mother mentioned wanting to do something about it, but she also mentioned her son's opposition to it.  He didn't want to make waves.  This took place a few hours before Jessica Ahlquist was scheduled to speak.

They weren't that familiar with Ahlquist's case or that she was speaking later the same day.  I hope they stuck around to see Ahlquist speak, and more so, I hope they got a chance to speak to her.

Kids like Jessica Ahlquist and Damon Fowler go through tremendous turmoil for standing up for what is right.  They get treated like freaks for daring to stand up to religion being put into public schools in violation of the Constitution.

Damon Fowler, an atheist student at Bastrop High School in Louisiana, was about to graduate. His public school was planning to have a prayer as part of the graduation ceremony: as they traditionally did, as so many public schools around the country do every year. But Fowler -- knowing that government-sponsored prayer in the public schools is  unconstitutional and legally forbidden -- contacted the school superintendent to let him know that he opposed the prayer, and would be contacting the ACLU if it happened. The school -- at first, anyway -- agreed, and canceled the prayer.

Then Fowler's name, and his role in this incident, was leaked. As a direct result:

1) Fowler has been hounded, pilloried, and ostracized by his community.

2) One of Fowler's teachers has publicly demeaned him.

3) Fowler has been physically threatened. Students have threatened to "jump him" at graduation practice, and he has received multiple threats of bodily harm, and even death threats.

4) Fowler's parents have cut off his financial support, kicked him out of the house, and thrown his belongings onto the front porch.

Oh, and by the way? They went ahead and had the graduation prayer anyway.

Even considering that, I hope that family I met at Skepticon ends up standing up to the school's violation of our Constitution, but I certainly won't blame them if they do not go through all the drama that would entail.  I'm not really sure what I would have done if there had been a prayer banner up in my high school.

I suspect the most likely possibility is that I would have said something to a few people, never gotten any support, given up, and been annoyed as shit by it until graduation.  I already went that far without speaking up about how much the Pledge of Allegiance bothered me.  "Under God" first bothered me at least as far back as 3rd grade, but I never said anything about it until I had already graduated.  I never even really considered saying something about it.

Ahlquist and Fowler did what many teenage atheist have not done, and many cannot do it for fear of repercussions even worse than they felt.  They took stands many adults aren't even willing or able to take.  They are to be praised.  They are to be emulated.

And most importantly, their successors are to be supported.  If you know an atheist in their situation, child or adult, please do whatever you can to support them.  Help them to take that stand against religious violations of the Separation of Church and State.  Be there for them when the attacks come from the followers of Jesus.

The world needs more kids following in their footsteps.  Maybe the more we help them along, the less necessary it will be for this fight to have to be fought.

Seven Countries For Atheists To Know About

I do a lot of complaining about how atheists are treated in America.  This could be confused for a lack of appreciation for the freedoms that come with having been born here.  It's quite the opposite though.  My disdain for the way many American Christians behave is because of my fondness for our Separation of Church and State.

My complaints about American Christians may also be seen as me ignoring how it is in some other countries.  I'm well aware of how poorly many countries treat atheists and sometimes even other believers.  For instance, there are seven countries where being atheist can be punishable by death.

The report tracks, among other things, which countries have laws explicitly targeting atheists. There are not many, but the states that forbid non-religiousness – typically as part of “anti-blasphemy” legislation – include seven nations where atheism is punishable by death. All seven establish Islam as the state religion. Though that list includes some dictatorships, the country that appears to most frequently condemn atheists to death for their beliefs is actually a democracy, if a frail one: Pakistan. Others include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, the West African state of Mauritania, and the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. These countries are colored red on the above map.

Pakistan

Saudi Arabia

Iran

Afghanistan

Sudan

Mauritania

The Maldives

As much as I hate how many Christians behave in America, we do have it better than any of those seven countries.

This certainly doesn't mean I'll lay off the American Christians though.  Our fight against their efforts to force their religion onto us and into our government is all that is keeping our country from being added to that map.

Credit:  @MidUSAtheist/@omarbaddar

Their Religion Is Discrimination

Earlier this year, the Omaha City Council passed an ordinance to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of reasons people cannot legally be fired by their employers.  I was there that day, in support of the ordinance, because I happen to think discrimination is a bad thing.  Some Omaha Christians disagree.

Since it was passed, they've been working to undo it.  One of the groups behind this called the Nebraska Heritage Coalition.  They oppose these basic civil rights and have even succeeded in getting it reviewed by the Nebraska Legislature.

This is exactly what I meant when I said opposition to marriage equality is almost entirely religious.  Their very first  instruction on their page on the hearing tomorrow is to pray.

1.   Pray NOW – also about joining us at City Hall to “Watch & Pray”

• Pray for Divine intervention.

• Pray for God’s people to repent of apathy and our sins then rise up and publicly stand for righteousness.

• Pray that our leaders hear our testimony and fear God.

They go on to claim the ordinance's prohibition of discrimination is itself discrimination against their religious freedom.

Testimony should focus on: "Sexual orientation and gender identity are not civil rights issues." and/or that it that it also threatens our religious freedoms.

...

 2.   This type of legislation, wherever passed, discriminates against many people of faith and threatens our religious liberties. 

• The First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion to individuals, not just to religious organizations. 

• This type of legislation violates separation of church and state as the state rules that selected aspects our faith to be “Hate Speech,” a violation of diversity, promoting a hostile environment, or in this case a violation of civil rights.

Apparently, creating a law that entirely ignores their religion is a violation of the Separation of Church and State.  Apparently, it's a violation of the Separation of Church to see hate speech and call it hate speech, even if someone wants to use their religion to justify it and pretend it's not hate speech.  Apparently, the rights of Christians are being violated unless we all conform to how they say we should live.

So remember, don't do what you think is right or what works for you.  Do exactly what these Christians say you should do.  Otherwise, you're an oppressive bigot who hates freedom.

Credit:  Progressive Oasis

Atheists Are Blockheads

Atheists are blockheads.  At least, we are according to Liberty Counsel.  Apparently only a blockhead would choose to uphold the Constitution, in their view.

Liberty Counsel has offered pro bono legal counsel and, if needed, legal defense to the Little Rock Superintendent of Schools and Agape Church to defend the right of students to attend the “Merry Christmas Charlie Brown” play at a local church.

Isn't that nice of them.  The organization who's goal is to push their religion wherever they can is being generous enough to defend the people who were pushing their religion.

 “Neither the school nor the church should back down. There is no constitutional violation when the Charlie Brown Christmas play is held off campus with parental consent. ‘Good grief,’ as Lucy would say. These atheists are ‘blockheads,’” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.

Except that it is a Constitutional violation.  It's a public school sending kids to a blatantly Christian event at a Christian church.  The notion that some kids could opt out doesn't make it any less unconstitutional.  It's still the government giving tacit endorsement of a religion.  I think we all know how the defenders of this transgression would react if they had instead gone to a Muslim or atheist event.

All the opt-out does is give them a way to pretend they're not actually in violation, while still being able to push their religion even more effectively as they could if it were mandatory.  With the opt-out, they get the added bonus of peer pressure and shame.  From the article about the incident:

While district officials tell Fox News that they don't see any controversy since trip attendance is voluntary, one displeased mother took the issue to the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers, saying that she is reluctantly allowing her child to attend the performance for fear of being ridiculed or bullied otherwise.

It's not much of a freedom of choice when there's only one choice that won't result in negative consequences.  Although, I think everyone involved already knows that.  It's a pity that they care so little about the Constitution, that gives them the right practice to their religion as they please, that they are unwilling to respect the rights of the rest of us.  Luckily, atheists still give a damn about defending freedom.

Credit:  @americnhumanist

Heroes Take Many Forms

For years, I've heard hints of religious fundamentalism running rampant in the American military.  Beyond the forced prayer, I've seen accusations of promotions being withheld, less favored duties assigned, requests for help stonewalled.  This week, we got a solid example of this being highlighted by (former) West Point Cadet Blake Page, who has left West Point because of this discrimination and written about it on Huffington Post.

The core of his complaint comes down to this:

While there are certainly numerous problems with the developmental program at West Point and all service academies, the tipping point of my decision to resign was the realization that countless officers here and throughout the military are guilty of blatantly violating the oaths they swore to defend the Constitution. These men and women are criminals, complicit in light of day defiance of the Uniform Code of Military Justice through unconstitutional proselytism, discrimination against the non-religious and establishing formal policies to reward, encourage and even at times require sectarian religious participation. These transgressions are nearly always committed in the name of fundamentalist evangelical Christianity. The sparse leaders who object to these egregious violations are relegated to the position of silent bystanders, because they understand all too well the potential ramifications of publicly expressing their loyalty to the laws of our country. These are strong words that I do not use lightly, but after years of clear personal observation I am certain that they are true.

And he's right.  Putting religion into our military in such a manner is unconstitutional.  But the people doing it don't care.  I'm not sure even the ones who understand that they're violating the Constitution actually care that they are.  Good for Page for making such a big sacrifice in order to take a stand and call attention to such an egregious desecration of our Constitution and accompanying freedoms, by the very people who get the most credit for defending it, mostly because they are literally sworn to defend it.

And shame on every single member of our Armed Forces who cares more about pushing their religion than respecting the religion, or lack thereof, of their fellow soldiers.  They should be ashamed of themselves, and do not deserve the honor that normally, and otherwise deservedly, comes with their service to our country.

Credit:  @HuffPostRelig: & @ThinkAtheist

Quotes On The Separation Of Church And State

Earlier this year, The Examiner published an article on the issue of Church and State.  It features quotes from history in defense of this foundation of American freedom.

The two worth sharing, to me, are:

4. "I hold that in this country there must be complete severance of Church and State; that public moneys shall not be used for the purpose of advancing any particular creed; and therefore that the public schools shall be nonsectarian and no public moneys appropriated for sectarian schools." - President Teddy Roosevelt, Carnegie Hall address, October 12, 1915

and

7. "We should not have teacher-led prayers in public schools, and school officials should never favor one religion over another, or favor religion over no religion" - President George W. Bush 2000

I'm admittedly biased toward Roosevelt's because TR is one my favorite people in history.  But the fact that even George "God told me to invade Iraq" Bush respected the Separation of Church and state when it came to prayer and endorsement of religion in public schools is noteworthy.

We have so many people hellbent (pun intended) on pushing Christianity in public schools, and even Dubya knows they're wrong.  That's how grotesquely wrong they are.  If only they were capable of recognizing it.  Or least cared whether or not they were wrong.

(Found via Godless Heathens of America)