The Atheist Mama

So I’ve just scheduled my recordings for the evening.

8:00 pm - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
8:30 pm - The Colbert Report
9:00 pm - The State of the Union

Popcorn and beer are on the menu.

Here is a great article by Susan Ager from the Detroit Free Press.

We live day to day, hoping to make an impact, establishing a legacy to be remembered by those who live after us. That is our afterlife.

Thanks to the Ohio Atheist Discussion Group for the tip!

Kids have been sick, and I’ve been busy.
I’ve learned a bit about my school district and the elementary school my children are to attend. I have a fight on my hands, or we have to move. :-(

Anyway, I’ll be back in full soon (probably after the State of the Union tonight).

From DC Indymedia

BORDC

Today is the day! Join the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and tens of thousands of allies throughout the U.S. in an overwhelming grassroots response to the PATRIOT Act and other governmental excesses.

Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006

From: “Bill of Rights Defense Committee”

Subject: Jan. 25 PATRIOT Act Call-In Day

January 25, National PATRIOT Act Call-In Day!

Please join the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and tens of thousands of allies throughout the U.S. in an overwhelming grassroots response to the PATRIOT Act and other governmental excesses. Your phone calls to your senators and representative can help end Big Brother run amok.

The USA PATRIOT Act gave the FBI increased authority to wiretap your phone and monitor your e-mail. It also enabled the government to demand your medical, financial and student records from third-parties such as banks, vendors, doctors’ offices, and libraries, without linking you to a terrorism investigation. Furthermore, it prevents anyone who is required to turn over your records from ever telling you or anyone else, even if the records turned up no wrongdoing.

Very soon Congress will have a chance to repair some of the PATRIOT Act’s worst excesses. In December 2005, a bipartisan group of senators filibustered to stop the passage of a bill to reauthorize the 16 PATRIOT Act provisions that would have expired, because the bill did not protect our civil liberties. Congress’s temporary extension of those provisions will run out on February 3, 2006.

Your phone calls to your senators and representative in support of meaningful reforms can make the difference in restoring our rights to privacy, free speech, and due process.

Please phone both your Senators and your Representative and urge them to work for a PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill that truly preserves privacy and free speech, and that restores checks and balances, including judicial review and much greater congressional oversight.

* Click here [ bordc.org/callin.php ] for talking points and phone numbers, and to let us know how your calls went, OR

* Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 (24 hours), and ask the operator to connect you.

Other organizations supporting the call-in day (partial list) include the Alliance for Justice, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, American Civil Liberties Union, American Library Association, Amnesty International USA, Campaign for Reader Privacy, Center for Democracy and Technology, Code Pink, Council on American-Islamic Relations, First Amendment Foundation, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Global Exchange, League of United Latin American Citizens, League of Women Voters, Liberty Coalition, MoveOn.org Political Action, National Lawyers Guild, People For the American Way, Rights Working Group, San Francisco Labor Council, True Majority, Unitarian Universalist Association, and United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America.

Tags:
politics, bill of rights, patriot act, Bush

Bad news… But I guess we all knew it was coming.

[Link]

By Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 24, 2006; 12:42 PM

By a 10-8 party line vote with sometimes bitter partisan debate, the Senate Judiciary Committee today recommended that Samuel A. Alito Jr. be confirmed by the full Senate as associate justice of the Supreme Court.

The nomination will move to the full Senate Wednesday with a vote expected by the end of the week, according to the committee chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).

The 10-8 vote on Alito compares with the 13-5 committee vote in support of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Sept. 22. Roberts was approved on the floor by a 78-22 margin on Sept. 29.

While Democrats promised to make a fight of the Alito nomination on the floor, there are no signs now of any Republican opposition and confirmation is likely.

The partisan outcome prompted ominous-sounding comments about future nominations from both sides of the aisle.

Republicans on the committee accused Democrats of falsely portraying Alito as an extremist and of politicizing the nomination process in preparation for the next election. If this is what the Democrats want in the future, said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), “We’ll clean their clock.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) held up a magazine photo of Alito’s wife in tears during the hearing, and accused Democrats of “posturing,” “name calling,” “distortion” and “smear.”

Democrats were equally critical of the president for nominating a man they consider a polarizing force. “I wish we could have someone who has the support of all Americans,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.,) the committee’s ranking Democrat. “There are many, many, many people in this country who would have had 90 to 100 votes in the Senate.”

“This is not just any nomination,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.). “This is going to tip the balance.”

The difference in the Roberts and Alito votes is in part a result of the fact that Alito, perceived as a conservative, is replacing a centrist swing vote, Sandra Day O’Connor, and could thus significantly alter the direction of the court, whereas Roberts replaced a conservative.

Alito also has a much more extensive public record than did Roberts, including statements critical of Roe v. Wade , the 1973 decision legalizing abortion, and a long history disliked by liberals on the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Alito’s confirmation would allow O’Connor to finally achieve her goal of retiring, albeit months later than she had anticipated when she announced her departure on July 1. O’Connor, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1981, is 75.

It would also complete one of the most controversy-filled years in recent memory for the court and for the nomination process. Both political camps have described the contests as among the most important to them in decades.

Roberts was originally nominated to replace O’Connor. But after the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, Bush instead named Roberts to replace Rehnquist and nominated his White House counsel, Harriet Miers for the O’Connor spot.

Under intense pressure from his conservative base, which doubted Miers’ credentials as a conservative and her intellectual skills, Miers withdrew her name on Oct. 27. Bush then nominated Alito, a former Reagan administration lawyer and an appeals court judge for 15 years.

Tags:
supreme court, samuel alito, Politics, News

My father left for Iraq yesterday (Jan 21) morning. He has been retired from the military for about 10 years now.
He’ll be there for 6 months. It’s really strange. He’s 49. He’s had (and beaten) throat cancer. He’s a very intelligent guy. I just can’t believe that they are sending him to Iraq.

Here’s a picture of my father and my son from Dec. 24, 2005.

My brother spent a year in Iraq. He came home about 4 months ago. He was actually in combat. We’re hoping that he doesn’t go back, but there’s a chance that he will. He’s newly married (he and his wife actually got married when he was home from Iraq on leave).

Here’s a picture of my brother (he’s 24), his wife and my boys from Dec. 24, 2005.

Anyway, just sharing. It was easier on me for my brother to be in Iraq than my father. I mean, my brother is young and healthy and gung ho. My father, well, it’s not that he’s old. He’s in great shape and in great health (now, after the cancer) but he’s almost 50! 50 year olds don’t belong in war. Not that I think that anyone does, but there’s a difference between a 50 year old and a 23 year old, know what I mean?

Tags:
war, Iraq, Military, Politics, Bush

Last night I went to a book club meeting at a local library held by The Humanist Community of Central Ohio. It was really great to get out and have some adult interaction.
While I’m not really reading a book, I did mention Bad Astronomy.
I got to hear reviews on The End of Faith by Sam Harris, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, A Box of Matches by Nicholson Baker, The Collapsing Universe by Isaac Asimov, and Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, just to name a few (that I can remember). Amazing… Where these guys find the time to read!!
Anyway, it was a good time with great people, and I decided to join today.

Strength in numbers people!! :-)

Go and check it out at Skeptics Rant. It’s very nicely done! (but if you are having problems viewing it, here’s a link to the text)
Phil Plait from Bad Astronomy has an entry that is really great.

Shepherd Church of the Nazarene in Gahanna, OH says:

District 6 (Franklin County), this is your representative.

[Link]

• Elected board member Michael Cochran of Blacklick “cross-examined” a string of witnesses, including a graduate student, who criticized the 10 thgrade biology plan.

• Elected board member Deborah Owens Fink of Richfield questioned the character of a witness by producing an e-mail he wrote to a colleague that ridicules a supporter of intelligent design.

• One person declined to testify, citing attacks on previous witnesses.

• Cochran and appointed board member Richard E. Baker of Hollansburg showed their apparent lack of interest by reading a newspaper during the testimony.

This is absolutely disgusting. Michael Cochran is the man that *we* elected to represent us and our children? He is making decisions about our children and their education?

I URGE you to write this man and express your disgust!

Read the article here or visit the link above to The Dispatch.

Tags:
intelligent design, evolution, Science, Creationism, atheism, atheist, Christian, darwinism, columbusblogger, ohio, education
(more…)

Find your elected member of the State Board of Education.

How did they vote on the issue of Intelligent Design on January 12, 2006?

Yes (Remove the Lesson)
Martha Wise (elected)
Sam Schloemer (elected)
Lou Ann Harrold (elected) NEW
Rob Hovis (appointed)
Note: Mr. Hovis was defeated by Ohio voters in the 2004 election (by a significant margin) for district 5, but was immediately reappointed to the board by Gov. Taft. Thus, he only represents Governor Taft, not Ohio constituents. He has become a primary spokesperson for the supporters of evolution.
Stephen Millett (appointed)
Eric Okerson (appointed) NEW
Jane Sonenshein (elected) NEW
Jennifer Stewart (elected)

No (Keep Intelligent Design in Science Classrooms)
Richard Baker (appointed)
Michael Cochran (elected)
Jim Craig (elected)
Colleen Grady (elected) NEW
Deborah Owens Fink (elected)
Emerson Ross (appointed)
Jennifer Sheets (appointed)
Sue Westendorf (appointed)
Carl Wick (appointed)

Absent
Virgil Brown (elected)
John Griffin (elected)
Note: On January 12, 2006 the Columbus Dispatch quoted Mr. Brown as saying that he stands ready to “withdraw or amend the lesson plan.” He also stated, “My feeling all along was that intelligent design is not a scientific theory and does not belong in a science classroom or science lesson.”
Board member John Griffin has been absent for many months due to his recovery from a stroke.

Contact your Board Member today and either thank them for their vote in favor of removing the lesson, or express your concern for their vote if they voted to keep ID in schools.

Thanks to Jill at Writes Like She Talks for her post on contacting Virgil Brown (one of the members absent from this meeting).

Thanks to Ohio Roundtable for the information on votes.

Tags:
intelligent design, evolution, Science, Creationism, atheism, atheist, Christian, darwinism, columbusblogger, ohio, education

The Bible and its Influence by the Bible Literacy Project is the book that juniors and seniors who elect to take this class (named for the book) will be given. The book is said to cover the Bible’s impact on art, literature and popular culture. The Bible and its Influence was written by 43 authors. It took five years and $2 million to produce. It sells for $67.95 retail and $50 for school orders.

On January 16th, the School Board in New Braunfels Independent School District voted 6-1 in favor of this adding this class to their offered courses paying $58,000 for the new course. They will more than likely have to hire a new teacher who is qualified to teach both Social Studies and English.

It is claimed that this course will be taught from a secular point of view, and that it will also cover other religions. I wonder how much truth there is to that. As a student brought up at the board meeting, can a teacher really stay objective on this subject?

Interestingly enough, if you go to MySA.com (San Antonio News) and look under the Education section of the News, you’ll find an article on the subject if you scroll down a bit. However, look in the Religion section of the News, and what will you find front and center? One has to wonder… Is this a victory for Education or the Church? Hmmmm….

I honestly find myself on the fence on this subject. I don’t think I have a problem with it being offered as an elective, as long as it’s limited to junior and seniors. But then again, what will be suffering because of the cost of the class? I also can’t help but see this as just another way to sneak Christianity into schools. A little creationism here, a little Bible there… They’ll have our kids brainwashed yet!!

It will be interesting to see where this leads. Alabama is pushing for Bible Study in their schools as well. In late 2005 House Bill 58 was introduced, “authorizing local boards of education to offer in public high schools Grades 9 to 12, inclusive, a course entitled “The Bible and Its Influence”; and to specify the course textbook.”

Thanks to Pharyngula for the tip!

Tags:
Bible, Christianity, Politics, Religion, books, Education, atheism, atheist

I’ve just finished (I think) a long overdue redesign. Please let me know if something looks off to you. I’m using Ubuntu and Firefox, and I’m checking things on a Windows machine on IE, and all seems well. But let me know if something is not right.
Thanks!!

“For Oregon’s physicians and pharmacists, as well as patients and their families, today’s ruling confirms that Oregon’s law is valid and that they can act under it without fear of federal sanctions,” said state Solicitor General Mary Williams.

Read the story here.

I think that this is excellent. It would be nice if other states started to follow suit, but I know that’s wishful thinking.

I worked in nursing homes for several years and a couple of residents actually begged me to help them die. It was absolutely horrible seeing so many lonely people, depressed, sick and in pain. A lot of them had no family to visit them. I was an activity director, so it was my job to make sure that they had something to look forward to, and something to live for. Not easy… especially when some wouldn’t leave their beds (even when physically, they could).

Tags:
oregon, assisted suicide, Supreme Court

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is pleased to announce the appointment of Rick Wingrove as its new Washington, D.C. lobbyist.
More here.

Tags:
atheist, atheism, Politics, lobbyist

I thought this was pretty funny…

WHEN GOD GET’S BORED

Many times, in the times of the universe, God gets tired of every day things. Or… for his case, every year things.
This has happened once every ten thousand years, or so. Give or take a millenium. So, what does he do when he gets bored? Who knows?
Not me. Or anyone. But God. Anyway. Here you will find what he had done in the past to make himself… er… un… board… yes. Unboard. Or, simply, to entertain himself.
(more…)

Today marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin.
- Thanks to AU’s blog for the tip!

From FFRF’s Freethought of the Day -

“On this date in 1706, Benjamin Franklin was born. The Boston-born printer, publisher, inventor, author, aphorist and statesman quit the Presbyterian Church in 1734, according to his Autobiography. Franklin was a Deist in the mode of the Enlightenment, retaining only a belief in a god and future life. After the Constitutional Convention of 1787 had been underway for a month, the octogenarian Franklin suggested that the so-far secular convention conduct a prayer. Records show that Franklin’s proposal created polite embarrassment, and that the convention adjourned without any vote on the motion. Franklin was part of a distinguished committee, including Adams and Jefferson, which adopted the United States’ secular motto, “E Pluribus Unum” (From many, [come] one). At one point, the pragmatic Franklin suggested currency contain the phrase “Mind your business.” D. 1790.”

“When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for help of the civil power, ’tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one.â€Â?
– Benjamin Franklin, Works, Vol. XIII, p. 506

My first son Jesse was named after Benjamin Franklin. We named him Jesse Franklin Cox.
My husband is a direct descendant of Ben. His grandmother’s maiden name is actually Franklin. She has all of the family history documented. I will soon be the proud owner of the documentation. I can’t wait… I’d really like to get some sort of a family tree together. They are also related to Ceasar Rodney so it should be an interesting project when I have the honor of taking it on.

Happy Birthday Mr. Franklin!!

My Letter to the Editor was published in the Sunday Edition of The Columbus Dispatch!

[Link]

Sunday, January 15, 2006

I am disappointed in the State Board of Education and its decision to keep the “critical analysis of evolution” lesson plan (or the promotion of intelligent design) in our science classrooms.

How can we expect our 10 th-grade students (typically 15 or 16 years old) to make a separation between critical analysis of evolution and intelligent design, and between intelligent design and creationism? How can students be expected to critically analyze the theory of evolution without God being discussed?

Bringing ID into our science classrooms puts teachers on that slippery slope of God being brought into the classroom. It increases the likelihood that students, classrooms and high schools will be divided – where will it end?

The bottom line is that intelligent design is not science. ID involves a “maker.” Science is about nature, not the supernatural.

As a mother, I worry about our children and the quality of education here in Ohio. Time in science class is best spent on academics, not mythology. The money that will be spent in court as a result of this decision would be better spent on keeping schools in Columbus open.

CASSANDRA COX

Gahanna

Tags:
atheism, atheist, Christian, intelligent design, Creationism, evolution, darwinism, columbusblogger, ohio

Thanks to We The People, I came across the Ohio State Constitution.

Preamble -

We, the people of the State of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and promote our common welfare, do establish this Constitution.

Interesting, huh?

Finished it. Finally. It’s amazing… The number of commas, the amount of capitalized words, the wording of some of these sentences. Wow.

Well, my brain is FRIED for the evening. Guinness #2 isn’t helping, but it tastes damn good.

I met my goal for the night. Wooo Hooo!!