On this anniversary of 9/11, I think this Giant If comic is close to how I feel:
Never forget…that we invaded a country that didn’t attack us without congresssional authorization based on a lie and which cost us 20 years, over 100,000 lives, at least $2 trillion, and many of our freedoms that we will probabily never get back.
They talked me into doing the second episode of Freethought Blog’s Podish-Sortacast! We’ll go live at the top of the hour:
Join the members of Freethought Blogs, including me, as we reflect on the 10th anniversary of the network. From its beginnings as a general atheist blog to its current reputation as the home for socially conscious bloggers. It’s been through the Deep Rift, the Trump Administration, and many personnel changes. It’s had quite a history. The one thing that has stayed consistent, in my opinion, are the bloggers’ desire to work for change, both in terms of speaking out for atheists, and advocating for a just world. Because there is no invisible hand bending the arc of justice. Humans have to work to bend it.
It will be live at 16:00 Central Time. Come join us and feel free to ask your (reasonable) questions, or add a comment.
As some of you know, I’ve been working on a novel for several years based on my Bolingbrook Babbler stories. I don’t regret taking a long time to write it, but sometimes I’ve wondered if the Winds of Winter would come out before I published The Rift.
Now the story is close to a publishable form, I’m going to take the rest of June off to focus on editing the novel. I’ll resume posting here in early July, hopefully after I’ve sent the draft to my editor.
It’s been quite a journey writing this story, but a journey has to end eventually. Hopefully, the destination is a book most of you will like.
On the eve of the first Juneteenth Holiday, Rabbi Adam Chalom, the rabbi of Kol Hadash and the North American Dean of International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, discussed the history of slavery and the Jewish people. As he describes, the Jewish people neither dominated the slave trade nor were they all abolitionists. Instead, some Jewish people were involved with the slave trade, and some sought to abolish slavery in the United States. It is a complicated legacy.
As PZ announced, Freethought Blogs has paid off its legal debt related to Richard Carrier’s SLAPP suit.
We’ve been plugging away at out part — witness the various fundraisers we’ve put on — and then, in the last few weeks, we received some substantial donations from various anonymous and wonderful donors, including one for $8K, and … we paid off everything we owed.
If any of my readers donated, thank you! You’ve helped all the bloggers here and made a stand against people who abuse the legal process to silence their critics. Thank you, again.
Now I can finally go back to forgetting Richard Carrier and his quest to prove there never was a historical Jesus.
Jey McCreight Ph.D., a science writer for 23andMe and a former member of Freethought Blogs, has a post on the 23andMe Blog supporting Trans Health Care:
People who fear or distrust trans people often use “biology” as a justification for attacking this community. But the reality is that the biology of sex and gender is more complicated than a simple binary. The science shows us that sex itself is not binary, but rather bimodal, with a range of diversity between the categories of male or female. Scientific research also supports the existence of trans and non-binary gender identities as a natural part of human diversity that have existed throughout history.
But it is not enough to simply say “trans people exist.” Science also shows that trans people who are accepted and affirmed have better health outcomes and quality of life.
Jey stresses the importance of gender-affirming health care and how people using the phrase “trust the science” to justify transphobic legislation aren’t really trusting what science has to say. While scientific evidence isn’t required to accept trans people, the abuse of science to promote transphobia shouldn’t be tolerated. As Jey points out:
Regardless of what science says, everyone should still treat trans people with respect because it’s just the right thing to do. But if you want to claim you “trust the science” in order to attack trans people, then sorry – the science says that trans rights are human rights.
As I promised, I went to the 5/25/21 Bolingbrook Board meeting to ask a question:
Shortly before I arrived, I decided to praise the board for proclaiming June as Pride Month. Before 2018, it was unthinkable that anything LGBTQ+ related would occur in Bolingbrook. Through Bolingbrook Pride’s activism, that’s changed, and this is the first year Bolingbrook has issued a proclamation recognizing Pride Month. Good behavior should be rewarded. I could have gone on about homophobia, but I think Bolingbrook Pride’s representative and the text of the proclamation did a better job than I would have.
As for my question about the candidate for acting trustee, I sincerely want to know what the candidate selection process is. When I used to attend board meetings in person, I was there to hear what the leadership (Roger) had to say, and learn their reasons for their actions. I never went there to create a scene (like certain watchdogs like to do.) It was a great way to get story ideas and still is, though I’ve had to switch to watching over the Internet due to the travel time.
I will admit, I was a bit concerned about how the trustees would react to my in-person visit since 2017. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. Deputy Mayor Michael Lawler greeted me and worked with me on when I could deliver my comment. The rest didn’t say anything. Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta was out, as was Trustee Maria Zarate. Former Mayor Roger Claar wasn’t there. I felt I had the opportunity to recalibrate the fictional versions I write about, and it was a chance to remind ourselves that we’re real humans.
So while it wasn’t my best public speech, it was worth the trip back to Village Hall. If Alexander-Basta answers my question, I’ll write about her answer here.
Join us for a Livestream as PZ Myers and the rest of the Freethought Blogs crew thank our readers for a very successful fundraising campaign:
The Mother’s Day fundraiser may be over, but the donation link is still active. Unfortunately, the need to pay off the legal debts from the SLAPP is still there.
I plan to attend the chat, but if I don’t, I want to thank everyone who donated or shared a link about the fundraiser. Your support will help FTB move past this legal mess. And a big thank you to all of our readers. There are so many options on the Internet, and I’m honored that you’ve chosen to stop by. Thank you.
When I announced the Freethought Blogs Mother’s Day Fundraiser, I added if it reached a certain amount, I would go to a Bolingbrook Villiage Board meeting and ask a question during public comments. Well, I’m happy to announce that we hit that goal, and I will keep my word. So sometime after May 11, I will keep my word.
I haven’t attended a board meeting in person for various reasons, but I’ll make an exception for this. All I can say is that it will be a serious question, and I’ll stay quiet for the rest. I’m not sure how the Mayor and trustees will react, but we’ll find out. If it goes well, I’ll post the video.
Until then, if you haven’t donated yet, please do. Freethought Blogs settled a lawsuit, but victory was expensive. You can also check out the other special posts my fellow bloggers created for this event, including a new short story set in the same universe as the upcoming Bolingbrook Babbler novel.