Y’all Come Y’hear to American Atheists Convention

AMERICAN ATHEISTS
http://www.atheists.org

The Time Is Near…
Make Your Reservations Now!

March 10, 2009 is the deadline to reserve your room at the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta, GA. for the blockbuster Freethought event of the year!

DAWKINS * GOLDBERG * TOSTI * BUCKNER * PHELPS * MORROW * THOMPSON and more…

The 35th Annual National Convention of
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
April 9-12, 2009 ATLANTA, GA.

JOIN HUNDREDS of fellow Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists and other nonbelievers for a weekend of lectures, social events and workshops. Register on-line using our secure transaction server — just visit http://www.atheists.org/events/National_Convention to sign up.

The venue is the magnificent Emory Conference Center at 1615 Clifton Road, Atlanta. We have arranged for special rates — but to take advantage, you must make your reservations directly with the hotel and tell them you are with The American Atheists National Convention. The deadline for obtaining this special rate is March 10, 2009 — so register now and contact the Emory at 404-712-6000, or visit their web site at http://emoryconferencecenter.com .

WHO & WHAT: AACON XXXV

WHERE: Atlanta, GA., The Emory Conference Center

WHEN: April 9-12, 2009 — deadline for hotel reservations is March 10, 2009

MORE INFO: http://www.atheists.org/events/National_Convention

Atheist News by Edwin Kagin

KENTUCKY ATHEISTS NEWS & NOTES Date: January 24, 2009

Kentucky Atheists, P.O. Box 666, Union, KY 41091; Email: [email protected]

Phone: (859) 384-7000; Fax: (859) 384-7324; Web: http://www.atheists.org/ky/

Editor’s personal web site: www.edwinkagin.com

Editor’s personal blog: http://edwinkagin.blogspot.com

Edited by:

Edwin Kagin, Kentucky State Director, American Atheists, Inc.

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

What Is An ATHEIST?

“ANOTHER THINKING HUMAN ENGAGED IN SEEKING TRUTH”
(Edwin Kagin, 2008)

To Unidentified Recipients:

American Atheists: Congratulations and Thanks, Mr. President

For Immediate Release

(Cranford, NJ). Americans throughout the nation’s history have included millions of Atheists and others who could be labeled as “non-believers,” in every walk of life, in military foxholes and high government offices, among the elites and among the downtrodden. Every American politician, every elected leader should routinely acknowledge us as the good, patriotic, taxpaying, and contributing citizens we have always been. Before today that routine acknowledgement has rarely been offered. As our own president, Dr. Ed Buckner, noted, “We should be able to take for granted that we will be considered as full and honorable citizens of this nation, but we usually have not been so recognized. In his Inaugural Address today, President Barack Obama finally did what many before him should have done, rightly citing the great diversity of Americans as part of the nation’s great strength—and including ‘non-believers’ in that mix. His mother would have been proud, and so are we. Congratulations and best wishes on your presidency, Mr. Obama. And thanks for including us all, right from the start.”

American Atheists Communications Director David Silverman added, “While President Obama’s words were very encouraging, we are hopeful that his actions will justify our optimism. We look forward to working with a president who understands that true religious freedom relies on true separation of religion and government.”

*** *** ***

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

American Atheists, Inc. P. O. Box 158, Cranford, NJ 07016
Tel: (908) 276-7300 Fax: (908) 276-7402

American Atheists, Inc. For more information, please contact:
http://www.atheists.org Ed Buckner, President (770) 803-5353 or (908) 499-9200
http://www.americanatheist.org Dave Silverman, Communications Director (732) 648-9333

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http://news.aol.com/main/obama-presidency/article/obamas-nonbeliever-nod-during/316339
Obama’s Nonbeliever Nod Unsettles Some
By MELINDA HENNENBERGER
AOL

(Jan. 23) – Not everyone was happy with President Barack Obama’s nod to nonbelievers and non-Christians in his inaugural address. And some of the stiff criticism about Obama’s religious inclusiveness is coming from African-American Christians who maintain that no, all faiths were actually not created equal.

“For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness,” the new president said. “We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth,” he also said. Nothing too controversial, proclaiming that America’s strength lies in its diversity.
But between those two statements, the new president got specific: “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers.”

By mentioning, for the first time in an inaugural address, the 16.1 percent of Americans who check “no”’ when asked about religion, Obama turned it into the most controversial line in his speech — praised by The New York Times editorial board and cited by some Christians as evidence that he is a heretic, and in his well-spoken way, a serious threat.

With that one line, the president “seems to be trying to redefine American culture, which is distinctively Christian,” said’ Bishop E.W. Jackson of the Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Va. “The overwhelming majority of Americans identify as Christians, and what disturbs me is that he seems to be trying to redefine who we are.’”

Earlier this week, Jackson was a guest on the popular conservative Christian radio show ‘Janet Parshall’s America,’ where a succession of callers, many of whom identified themselves as African-American, said they shared the concern, and were perplexed and put off by the president’s shout-out to nonbelievers.

Parshall noted that atheists were celebrating the unexpected mention, and indeed they were: “In his inaugural address … President Barack Obama did what many before him should have done, rightly citing the great diversity of America as part of the nation’s great strength, and including ‘nonbelievers’’ in that mix,’” said Ed Buckner of American Atheists.

“His mother would have been proud,”’ Buckner said, referring to the fact that Obama’s mother was not a church-goer. “And so are we.”

Jackson said he and others have no problem acknowledging that “this country is one in which everybody has the freedom to think what they want.’” Yet Obama crossed the line, in his view, in suggesting that all faiths (and none) were different roads to the same destination: “He made similar remarks in the campaign, and said, ‘We are no longer a Christian nation, if we ever were. We are a Jewish, Hindu and non-believing nation.'”

Not so, Jackson says: “Obviously, Jewish heritage is very much a part of Christianity; the Jewish Bible is part of our Bible. But Hindu, Muslim, and nonbelievers? I don’t think so. We are not a Muslim nation or a nonbelieving nation.”’

With all the focus on Obama as the first African-American president, the succession of black callers to Janet Parshall’s show was a reminder that the “community”’ is not a monolith, and that many socially conservative black Americans are at odds with Obama’s views, particularly on abortion and gay rights. Nor do they all define civil rights in the same way.

The Rev. Cecil Blye, pastor of More Grace Ministries Church in Louisville, Ky., said the president’s reference to nonbelievers also set off major alarm bells for him. “It’s important to understand the heritage of our country, and it’s a Judeo-Christian tradition,”’ period.

American Atheists: Well Deserved Promotion for Blair Scott
For Immediate Release

(Cranford, NJ). American Atheists, Inc., announced today that Blair Scott of Huntsville, Alabama, has been named National Affiliates Director for the group. According to AA President Ed Buckner, “Blair Scott has been working long and very effectively in this arena on our behalf as our National Outreach Director for Affiliates. He richly deserves the enhanced visibility that goes with his new, broader title.” Dave Kong of California, National Director of State Operations and Board Secretary for American Atheists, added that Scott “has earned his spurs and the respect of Atheists across the nation with his work. We expect his success, like his hard work, to continue.” (Kong has overall responsibility for state directors and thus for our relationships with state and local groups.)

Blair Scott, who already holds the title of State Director for Alabama, has succeeded in recent years in convincing dozens of local groups to adopt the “affiliates” category with the national organization. Affiliates are loosely connected to the national group, without formal or legal ties but with mutual promises of friendship and support.
http://www.atheists.org
American Atheists, Inc.
For more information, please contact:
Ed Buckner, President (770) 803-5353 or (908) 499-9200
Dave Silverman, Communications Director, (732) 648-9333
Blair Scott, Affiliates Director, (256) 701-6265
Dave Kong, Director of State Operations, (510) 836-6336 *** *** ***

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
American Atheists, Inc. P. O. Box 158, Cranford, NJ 07016

================================================================================

American Atheists

From the Office of Blair Scott

National Affiliate Outreach Director &

Alabama State Director, American Atheists, Inc.

PO Box 41, Ryland, AL 35767-2000

Office: (256) 701-6265 Cell: (256) 503-1123

[email protected] www.atheists.org/al/

ACTION ALERT: MISSISSIPPI

Proposed Mississippi legislation will put “just a theory” stickers in biology textbooks.

Representative Gary Chism from District 37 in Mississippi, has sponsored legislation to amend the state’s constitution in order to place “just a theory” stickers in Mississippi biology textbooks. The legislation, HB25, has been referred to the Education and Judiciary A committees for review and has a good chance of passing the committee for a House review.

You can read the entire proposed legislation, which will enact a constitutional amendment, online at:

http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2009/pdf/HB/0001-0099/HB0025IN.pdf

The proposed constitutional amendment includes different definitions of the word theory instead of the scientific one.

It describes evolution as a “controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things.” It goes on to state that, “No one was around when life first appeared; therefore statements about life’s origins should be considered a theory.

It then makes the statement that, “Evolution refers to the unproven belief that random undirected forces produced living things.” It then goes on to list a creationist manifesto of “problems with evolution” such as the Cambrian Explosion, “lack of new major groups of other living things appearing in the fossil record,” “lack of transitional forms,” and the “complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body” (read as Irreducible Complexity).

The proposed legislation, while unconstitutional in and of itself, is full of scientific misunderstanding, a misrepresentation of scientific theory, false statements about evolutionary biology, and a gross ignorance of the Theory of Evolution.

What can you do about it? You can contact Rep. Gary Chism and the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Education and Judiciary A committee and ask them to vote against this bill and keep it from being forwarded to the floor for a vote.

You can contact Gary Chism via email at [email protected], by phone at (662) 327-0777, or via USPS at PO Box 1018, Jackson, MS 39215. His online biography is located at: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/house/chism.xml

The Chairman of the Education Committee is Cecil Brown ([email protected] or (601) 359-3330). The Vice-Chairman of the Education Committee is Sara Thomas ([email protected]).

The Chairman of the Judiciary A Committee is Edward Blackmon, Jr. ([email protected] or (601) 859-1576). The Vice-Chairman of the Judiciary A Committee is Angel Cockerham ([email protected] or (601) 783-6600).

Make sure you reference HB25 in any email, letter, or phone call. Do not insult the Representatives or use derogatory language. Please keep letters and phone calls polite and professional.

For legal purposes, you can reference the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (http://www.pamd.uscourts.gov/kitzmiller/kitzmiller_342.pdf) and Selmer v. Cobb County Schools (http://alt.cimedia.com/ajc/pdf/evolution.pdf).

You can also contribute funds to American Atheists, Inc. to help fight legal battles just like this. You can designate your contributions to the “Legal Action Fund” and your donation will be spent exclusively on legal action against those that would infringe upon the Separation of Church and State. Please visit http://atheists.org/contribute to donate.

Thanks to Micah C. for bringing this legislation to our attention. It is the work of volunteers that help catch SOCAS violations and report them. Without the diligence of local volunteers many more violations would go unreported and unchallenged than already do.

Traditional Family Values Department:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20090124/REL.Haggard.New.allegations/

Disgraced pastor faces more gay sex accusations

DENVER — Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard’s former church disclosed Friday that the gay sex scandal that caused his downfall extends to a young male church volunteer who reported having a sexual relationship with Haggard — a revelation that comes as Haggard tries to repair his public image.

Brady Boyd, who succeeded Haggard as senior pastor of the 10,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, told The Associated Press that the man came forward to church officials in late 2006 shortly after a Denver male prostitute claimed to have had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with Haggard.

Boyd said an “overwhelming pool of evidence” pointed to an “inappropriate, consensual sexual relationship” that “went on for a long period of time … it wasn’t a one-time act.” Boyd said the man was in his early 20s at the time. He said he was certain the man was of legal age when it began.

Reached Friday night, Haggard declined to comment and said all interviews would have to be arranged through a publicist for HBO, which is airing a documentary about him this month.

Boyd said the church reached a legal settlement to pay the man for counseling and college tuition, with one condition being that none of the parties involved discuss the matter publicly.

Boyd said a Colorado Springs TV station reached him Thursday to say the young man was planning to provide a detailed report of his relationship with Haggard to the station. Boyd said the church preferred to keep the matter private, but it was the man’s decision to go public.

The disclosure comes as Haggard, 52, is about to give a series of high-profile interviews to promote the cable documentary about his time in exile. He is scheduled to appear on CNN’s Larry King Live on Thursday, the date of the documentary’s premiere, and already has taped “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

In early 2007, New Life Church disclosed that an investigation uncovered new evidence that Haggard engaged in “sordid conversation” and “improper relationships” — but didn’t go into detail. Earlier, a church board member had said there was no evidence that Haggard had sexual relations with anyone but Mike Jones, the former male prostitute.

Haggard confessed to undisclosed “sexual immorality” after Jones’ allegations and resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and from New Life Church, where he faced being fired.

Anticipating criticism of the settlement with the former church volunteer, Boyd said Friday that it was in the best interests of all involved. He would not name the volunteer or the settlement amount.

“It wasn’t at all a settlement to make him be quiet or not tell his story,” Boyd said. “Our desire was to help him. Here was a young man who wanted to get on with his life. We considered it more compassionate assistance — certainly not hush money. I know what’s what everyone will want to say because that’s the most salacious thing to say, but that’s not at all what it was.”

He said that “secondarily, it’s not great for our church either” that the story be told. Boyd said Haggard knew about the settlement two years ago.

In a letter e-mailed Friday to New Life Church members, Boyd said of the settlement and agreement not to talk: “This decision was made not as an attempt to conceal wrongdoings, but to protect him from those who would seek to exploit him. His actions now suggest that he has changed his mind.”

The letter said the church “received reports of a number of incidents of inappropriate behavior” after Haggard’s fall. “In each case, we have tried our very best to do the right thing each time, including disciplinary action when appropriate.”

Boyd said the “inappropriate behavior” referred to the man who was the volunteer involved with Haggard. After Haggard’s fall, another church staff member resigned after admitting to what was described as “sexual misconduct.”

Boyd said the church will not take action against the man if he tells his story in the press.

“We have legal standing to do that, but not the desire to,” he said.

Boyd said he had spoken to the man once and came away with the impression that he was speaking out because of the documentary. “I think what caused this young man to be a bit aggravated was Ted being seen as a victim, when he himself had experienced a great deal of hurt,” Boyd said. “I seriously doubt this man would have come forward if the documentary had not been made.”

A spokeswoman for the documentary, “The Trials of Ted Haggard,” declined to comment Friday.

David Clohessy, national director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests — which has largely focused on the Catholic sexual abuse scandal but also speaks out on cases involving Protestant clergy — said the new disclosures about Haggard are more disturbing because they involves a church volunteer.

“Technically, legally, they were both adults,” Clohessy said. “Psychologically and emotionally, Haggard was dramatically more powerful. … By definition, any sexual contact between a congregant and minister is inherently abusive and manipulative.”

In an AP interview this month before an appearance in front of TV critics in California, Haggard described his sexuality as complex and something that can’t be put into “stereotypical boxes.”

Inauguration

We had seen sights, but this mocked our imaginations

We had used words, but this defied our metaphors

We had once been, our heritage proclaimed,

“One Nation Indivisible,” and “Out of Many, One”

Until smallness of soul began to smother dreams.

Then, suddenly, sorely profaned, and wounded, soon to die

Our nation did an unimagined thing

We rolled away the stone

We shook the heels of history upon retreating wrongs

We watched as hope, long dormant, bloomed

And, through eyes blurred with tears,

We went outside and raised the flag.

Edwin Kagin

January 20, 2009

Inauguration by Edwin Kagin

Inauguration

We had seen sights, but this mocked our imaginations

We had used words, but this defied our metaphors

We had once been, our heritage proclaimed,

“One Nation Indivisible,” and “Out of Many, One”

Until smallness of soul began to smother dreams.

Then, suddenly, sorely profaned, and wounded, soon to die

Our nation did an unimagined thing

We rolled away the stone

We shook the heels of history upon retreating wrongs

We watched as hope, long dormant, bloomed

And, through eyes blurred with tears,

We went outside and raised the flag.

Edwin Kagin

January 20, 2009

On the Legal Philosophy of American Atheists by Edwin Kagin

On the Legal Philosophy of American Atheists

As Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. observed, the law “is not a brooding omnipresence in the sky…” Understanding this basic truth can prevent much confusion in thinking about the law.

Most people would not be so uninformed, or so foolish, as to think they know more than their doctor if told they need to have heart surgery or die. Yet the same people will, without skipping a beat, presume that they know what the law is, how the law works, and what a proper legal judgment should be. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the law, and if one’s grocer unlawfully provides legal advice, the average person is likely to give that view some undeserved merit. A few years ago, a young counselor at Camp Quest informed me, with proud conviction, that “possession is 90% of the law.” I told him that this was a testable hypothesis. All he needed to do was to take someone’s car without their permission, drive it around until he was stopped by the police, and then argue that the car was his by right of possession. He is now a fine young lawyer who does not now issue those kinds of incorrect generalities. Be assured that almost everything you think you know “for certain” about the law is almost certainly wrong.

It has fallen my lot in history, and it is my honor, as National Legal Director for American Atheists, to set forth the current legal philosophy for the organization. An understanding and acceptance of this will answer many questions, and hopefully prevent any hard feelings, in that the national office receives daily requests for legal advice and requests for help on issues involving matters of church state separation, only a fraction of which can be addressed. A process is required to aid in deciding with which cases American Atheists should become involved. This is not to say that a perceived problem is without merit. Most claims sent in do have merit. The problem is that there is not world enough or time or money available to deal with any but a few of them. The assaults on our First Amendment freedoms must be triaged.

What is “the law” anyhow? Even that is not a simple answer. For openers, it consists of written statutes and local ordinances, both federal and state. We have a system of United States Courts, created by the Constitution of the United States, that deals with matters of federal law. The judges are appointed by the President of the United States, to serve “during good behavior,” or essentially for life. Each state has its own laws, courts, and court rules—occasionally wildly at variance one with another. Behavior lawful in one state can get you thrown in the slammer in another. The judges are usually elected or appointed, or a combination of both, for a fixed term of years. Additionally, individual counties and cities can make their own laws, or ordinances, provided a grant of authority has been given by the state or federal government to do so. There are methods of appeal from the ruling of judges to higher courts. Each state has its own appellant system; the courts of the United States have another, both ending at the United States Supreme Court. One does not, despite their bravado, “take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.” No one “takes” a case to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). One petitions SCOTUS to hear a case, and the odds are several thousand to one against a given case being granted review. If the high court does take a care, and makes a ruling, whether the case comes up through the federal or state system, the holdings of the court make legal rulings that become “precedents” that are binding in every court of the United States. A ruling of SCOTUS may not be correct, but it is final.

In addition to the written laws, the concept of “the law” also encompasses the “common law” as it has developed over centuries. This is the body of law, the corpus juris, as decided in actual justicible cases by courts of record, and the law requires that such rulings are to be followed until changed by a higher court. And the rulings of appeal courts do change. One day “separate but equal schools” may be constitutional and, upon a different ruling of SCOTUS, the law is changed, and separate but equal schools is an unlawful concept. One day abortion may be unlawful, while the next ruling might permit abortion, and SCOTUS has the power to reverse that ruling at any time.

The scope of a given court ruling depends on the “jurisdiction” of the court, or the area over which that court has power. A city court ruling might only affect the city in which it is made, and a state court holding, or a federal opinion, affects only the area served by that court. The appeal courts have a wider net. The Supreme Court of a state can make precedents that bind all courts of that state. A federal court usually covers a specific geographical portion of a state. A United States Court of Appeal covers several states. If, by way of example, a bad decision is made in a federal court in Louisville, Kentucky, it only has binding application in about half of the state of Kentucky. If that horribly bad holding is appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers all of the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, and that bad ruling should be affirmed, the party taking the appeal has thereby managed to expand a horror story from their own back yard into bad law for four states. If SCOTUS should take the case, and affirm the bad ruling, then a major legal disaster has occurred that affects the way the law will be decided in the future throughout the entire United States and in every court therein. If one has any concern for the future of our freedoms, one should proceed with caution. This is not a suitable sport for amateurs.

Bad facts make bad law. It should be considered an act of legal negligence for one to take a case to a higher court where it is completely predestined that the court will rule against a meritorious cause, and thereby make bad law not only in that case, in that region of the country, but, depending on which appellate court is chosen, make bad law for a much wider area, where the bad ruling will be the law until the case in question is ultimately, if ever, overruled. By building on bad precedents, in time the very concept of separation of religion and government could be destroyed. The religious right understands this. We would be well advised to understand it as well.

The elected legislative bodies, both nationally, and in each state, create the written statutory law. Judges, who are required to be fair minded and objective, rule on the interpretation of the laws passed by these legislative bodies and state, in appropriate cases, whether or not a given law is or is not unconstitutional. The Constitution of the United States, and its Amendments, is the supreme law of our land, followed by Treaties between nations, and then by statutory laws. An independent judiciary decides if a given law is constitutional and, if so, how it is to be interpreted. The Legislative and Judicial branches of government are both created by the Constitution, as is the third branch of government, the Executive, consisting of the elected President of the United States, or the Governor of a state or commonwealth. Neither the Congress of the United States, nor the legislative body of any state, may lawfully pass legislation that is contrary to the Constitution of the United States, nor may the Executive branch lawfully enforce such laws.

If all of this is not confusing enough, consider the fact that the prejudices, beliefs, politics, religion, etc. of the judges on a court determine in large measure how they will view a given legal question. They may or may not be conscious of these factors, but they are there nevertheless. It has something to do with being human. Thus judges with liberal backgrounds are likely to decide an issue one way and judges who are proudly conservative will decide the same issue another way. And there are many highly emotionally charged, and controversial, issues around these days, issues for which there is no plain and clear answer, like “gay marriage.” In such cases, only the personal architecture of the individual judges deciding the questions will form the basis for decision. The Constitution could not predict, and give answers for, every fact situation that might arise in our nation’s history. This is where mature, well grounded, legal judgment is needed. There can be law quoted to support any kind of idea, noble or base, that anyone might ever present to a court. Go to a law library and look at the rows of stacks of law books containing written decisions. Someone lost every one of those cases.

It is the philosophy of American Atheists to win cases and to create favorable law. This is a change from the policy of the organization in the past. That philosophy was to file the case, no matter how unlikely a court victory might seem, to make the point urged. If something was wrong, it was felt that action should be taken, regardless of the immediate outcome. That philosophy had merit when different people were on the higher courts of our land. In the 1960s, a lawyer could bring a case of civil rights violation before the courts, be quite sloppy in pleading practice and, in the interests of substantial justice, the courts might well carve out an opinion that granted relief and that comported with basic due process of law considerations and with the guarantees of our Bill of Rights. This was a golden age of civil rights litigation. And the religious right hated every moment of it.

Things have changed. The persons of high vision on our highest court have gone to honored places in the history of the law. Justices Black, Douglass, Warren, Marshall and many other great defenders of freedom are no more. By virtue of the philosophy of their appointers, persons of less noble character and less shining intellect, have taken their places. The past few years have seen an erosion of civil liberties, and a battering against the Wall of Separation between Church and State that is without equal in our history. Irreparable damage to the First Amendment has been done that may not be repaired within the life span of our republic. The forces that would establish a theocracy in our free land are not only beating on the gates of freedom, they are trying to pull down the wall of separation from within. Mean spirited people are in positions of power, and those who would destroy us are able to vote and to sit on juries. Sadly, many are able to rule on legal cases and to create binding precedent.

The Constitution is not a suicide pact. We do not have to take every wrong to court and thereby give some theocrat the right to say that the wrongful behavior is lawful and to let that vile ruling become part of the body of the law that future judges are required to follow. This is both the glory and the danger of the legal doctrine of stare decisis, which means to “stand on the decisions” that have gone before. Brilliant, bold, freedom friendly rulings of prior courts are being systematically swept away by courts that are rendering disastrous rulings in cases with poor facts that provide them with seemingly rational reasons to rule in abominable ways.

American Atheists declines to give those theocrats now in power the ability to destroy the dream of our founders that citizens of our nation would enjoy the right to not be religious.

We will respectfully decline to do battle on any issues other than those where the facts and the law will compel a favorable ruling, no matter how biased the court against us. And thus we will, brick by brick, rebuild the Wall.

For every case presented to us, we must ask, “Is this a hill worth dying on?”

Litigation is expensive. We do not need to waste thousands of dollars on lawsuits that, given the facts at issue, the state of the law at this time, and the disposition of a given court, are doomed to certain failure. And in losing such actions, we do not need to be in the position of creating even more bad law for our descendents to clean up. We cannot make good law and ensure freedom within our nation by litigating bad, or even marginal, facts. And we will not gain credibility by losing cases and thereby permitting the other side to mock our efforts and to laugh at us. “There go those Atheists again. They will lose like they always lose. When will they learn to sit down and shut up?” We must not give them that ammunition.

There are plenty of civil liberties abuses against Atheists around these days. Far more than we can handle. Many abuses are better addressed by protests, letter writing, political action, interviews, debates, oratory and by using all of the free speech options still left to us, rather than by reflexively resorting to legal actions.

We can afford to be picky and wait for those fact situations that fit clearly into the entire body of both written law and common law. In short, we should wait for cases that we can win based on the present state of the law. Then we can make some positive changes. We can cause even the most blinded-by-heavenly-light jurists to see that the actions complained of in our lawsuits are unlawful and are not to be permitted in a free nation that, in its founding document, prohibited its government from engaging in making laws “respecting an establishment of religion.”

There of course may be certain exceptions to this policy. We will litigate, regardless of consequences, if a situation should arise that is so egregious we cannot let it pass unchallenged. We will litigate if the perceived consequences of not litigating would be worse than the possible adverse consequences of litigating. This will have to be based on sound legal judgment and decided on a case by case basis.

There are in fact some hills worth dying on.

And the word will get out to those bent on imposing their religion upon us that, if American Atheists threatens a lawsuit, they had best pay attention. Because they will know from our record that American Atheists will probably win.

Because American Atheists has a history of winning.

And that is a lot more powerful than having a history of losing.

Edwin Kagin
National Legal Director
American Atheists.

January 01, 2009

On the Legal Philosophy of American Atheists by Edwin Kagin

On the Legal Philosophy of American Atheists

Bad facts make bad law. It should be considered an act of legal negligence for one to take a case to a higher court where it is completely predestined that the court will rule against a meritorious cause, and thereby make bad law not only in that case, in that region of the country, but, depending on which appellant court is chosen, make bad law for a much wider area, where the bad ruling will be the law until the case in question is ultimately, if ever, overruled. By building on bad precedents, in time the very concept of separation of religion and government could be destroyed. The religious right understands this. We would be well advised to understand it as well.

It is the philosophy of American Atheists to win cases and to create favorable law. This is a change from the policy of the organization in the past. That philosophy was to file the case, no matter how unlikely a court victory might seem, to make the point urged. If something was wrong, it was felt that action should be taken, regardless of the immediate outcome. That philosophy had merit when different people were on the higher courts of our land. In the 1960s, a lawyer could bring a case of civil rights violation before the courts, be quite sloppy in pleading practice and, in the interests of substantial justice, the courts might well carve out an opinion that granted relief and that comported with basis due process of law considerations and with the guarantees of our Bill of Rights. This was a golden age of civil rights litigation. And the religious right hated every moment of it.

American Atheists declines to give those theocrats now in power the ability to destroy the dream of our founders that citizens of our nation would enjoy the right to not be religious.

For every case presented to us, we must ask, “Is this a hill worth dying on?”

There are in fact some hills worth dying on.

Because American Atheists has a history of winning.

And that is a lot more powerful than having a history of losing.

Edwin Kagin
National Legal Director
American Atheists.

Christmas Letter by Edwin Kagin

Christmas Letter.

Dearest Beloved of Our Family in Christ,

There have been many changes this year for our family.

Our beloved 17 year old daughter suffered blindness and paralysis after being struck by a drunk driver on her way home from Wednesday night church services.

Aunt Polly died of liver cancer, following a long and painful illness.

The family cat was smashed by a UPS truck.

Mabel’s M.S. is getting worse and she can hardly do anything much anymore.

Father had to have a triple bypass operation, and now uses a breathing tube.

The house was burned down by sparks from the torching of Harry Potter books in our yard.

Little Marvin got a chicken bone stuck in his throat at a church picnic and was rushed to the hospital where doctors had to remove his voice box. Although he can never talk again, our God miraculously saved him.

Miranda is now being home schooled after she left eighth grade to become a single mother. An abortion was out of the question, and we know God has given us a hydrocephalic grandchild for his own good and perfect reasons.

Our oldest son had his left foot blown off in an ambush in Iraq while helping to bring Christ and Democracy to those poor heathens.

We rejoice in the wisdom of our God, in His gifts, and in His plan for our lives.

We bear grateful witness to all that our great and merciful God has done for us in the past year, and we praise the works of His hand.

Oh, almost forgot. The dog died.

In His Holy Name,

The Fundangelical Family

(by Edwin Kagin. Permission to reproduce without profit is given. If you make money on this, I want some of it. Edwin)

On Christmas, or No Virginia There Is No Santa Claus, by Edwin Kagin

What Is An ATHEIST?

“ANOTHER THINKING HUMAN ENGAGED IN SEEKING TRUTH” (Edwin Kagin, 2008)

To Unidentified Recipients:
Here, once again please find reproduced, (which may also be found at http://www.edwinkagin.com/columns/christmas.htm ,and in the work Baubles of Blasphemy, one day to perhaps maybe be printed in a Second Edition, depending perchance in some measure on the pleas for such to the editors of American Atheists Press) that seasonal classic:

ON CHRISTMAS, or
“NO, VIRGINIA, THERE IS NO SANTA CLAUS”
If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with “Merry Christmas” on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!
Uncle Ebenezer Scrooge (not to be confused with Uncle Scrooge McDuck)

I can’t prove that no ungulate unit of reindeer persuasion can fly, any more than you can prove I don’t have two invisible unicorns that frolic in benign innocence at Camp Quest. I can’t prove there are no living dinosaurs (as the arkonuts challenge the skeptical to do) anymore than the arkonuts can prove the English text of Genesis they rely on is identical to the original version they hold was dictated, or inspired, by god. But if one says that all crows are black, there is no need to check every crow to falsify that assertion. All that is needed is to find one white crow, or any crow of a different color. Similarly, Santa skepticism can be soundly silenced by the production of one flying reindeer. Yet Christmasterians insist doubters disprove Santa, sleigh, and such, or keep silent, lest they destroy a child’s simple (mindless) faith. This method of proof proves useful later, as children, programmed to believe fantasy is truth, grow to adultery and unquestioningly follow the fantastic follies of faith of their fathers (and mothers–political correctness must not be permitted to fall down a personhole).
To be sure, Plato (not to be confused with Mickey Mouse’s dog) argued that, to conceive of something that is real, one must somehow get the perfect idea of that something from the place it really exits, to wit, the world of forms–a place somewhere that no one has ever seen. Reality alone wouldn’t do. Thus, everyone but philosophers know what a horse looks like, and kids know all about Santa without having to survive Philosophy 101.
Can we imagine, or even believe in, something that doesn’t exist? Sure we can. Just talk with those who have been abducted by aliens. If some unseen thing is believed by many, e.g., angels, it is called faith. If a thing is believed by only one, and is wildly outside the gates of common sense and experience, then the belief, e.g., suddenly realizing that one’s guardian angel is made of grape jelly and having him (there are no female angels–check your bible, you can win bets on this) on toast, it is called psychosis. The problem is that the invisible and the non-existence look much the same. Christmas beliefs fall somewhere between the province of priest and psychiatrist.
Christmas combines two contradictory images of godlike characters: Jesus, the Christ, who taught that to be saved one should sell all of their property and give it to the poor (the church later declared belief in this teaching a heresy), and Claus, the Santa, to whom children are taught to write letters requesting property–believed to be given by Santa, in one night, to those children of the world found worthy–in direct challenge to the counsel of the Christ. One should note, before teaching the latter belief system, that an anagram of Santa is Satan.
The day itself, meaning Christ’s Mass, is the same day the Romans used to honor their sun god with gift giving and feasting. Christmas is quite pagan. Its secular celebration involves rituals specifically forbidden by holy writ, like hewing down a tree, bringing it inside the house, decorating it, and praising it. This is as clear a violation of divine decree as public prayer, or celebrating the Sabbath on the first day of the week instead of on the seventh day as ordered (Commandment IV). No wonder we are in such trouble these days with crime, inflation, and teenage pregnancies.
Unfortunate cultural consequences flow from the forced frivolity and jejune joy Christmas creates and requires. People get depressed when they don’t feel happy as they should, when they do not have their artificial expectations fulfilled, and when they cannot meet the unreasonable artificial seasonal needs of others–like their mercenary relatives, and their materialistic, greedy, spoiled children–and get even deeper in debt by trying to behave as expected. Thanks to Tom Flynn, and his wonderful heresy The Trouble With Christmas, I chucked the whole thing a few years ago, and lived. Try it. You will feel better for it.
Should I be granted a Christmas wish, it would be that the holiday be canceled, and that the whole show appertaining to this business of Christmas not be done at all. Please understand that I do not care if others celebrate Christmas if they wish, nor would I suggest that they be prevented from doing so. I just don’t want the holiday to be compulsory for me or anyone else–any more than I want other people’s prayers, that they have an absolute right to pray, to be forced upon me by public officials or upon children by public schools. One who would rather decline gets somewhat tired of listening to those who absolutely and uncritically assume all good people celebrate Christmas, and that something is horribly wrong with anyone who ignores the invitation to attend their compulsory party. Failing the unlikely event of Christmas being made optional, I would alternatively wish, in seasonal answer to Virginia’s famous question, that we might see something in the public press, for innocent children, like:
Dear Virginia,
No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus. It is a myth that has been cruelly used to deceive children for the pleasure of adults who unwittingly destroy children’s sense of basic trust by teaching them that the world is something other than it really is.
I know this news must be a shock to you, and I am truly sorry for your discomfort. But it is not my fault. The person who tells you the truth should never be blamed for the hurt that comes from learning that others have lied.
You should not believe in Santa Claus any more than you should believe in fairies, or in demons waiting around to pull you under the earth, or in angels lurking about to transport you above it. People do not need to believe foolish things to have love and compassion and caring, any more than they need a special season or holiday to be nice to one another.
If things believed prove false, does that mean peace, and sharing, and kindness must dissolve like mist along with the untrue things? Of course not! We don’t need magic to have happiness, and wonder, and joy. Our beautiful world is full of these things, and they are very real, and our real world holds more interesting and wonderful people and things than any fairyland anyone could ever even imagine.
Some adults are afraid of things they don’t understand, and they teach children to believe in magic. But the truth is really far more exciting. Wouldn’t you rather learn what is on real planets, that are millions of miles away, than believe reindeer can fly? Have you ever seen the northern lights? I have, and I can tell you they are more beautiful, more mysterious, and more wonderful than any pretend story anyone could ever invent about elves that have workshops at the North Pole.
Is it okay to pretend and to believe things we know are not true? Of course it is! And it can be a lot of fun. Intelligent people love to play. Any time you watch a movie or a play or go to a costume party you are playing and pretending something is so that is not.
We know those aren’t real people in the TV–only images of them–but we know we are pretending, and this is fun and much different from believing a falsehood. Would it be wrong to tell a friend of yours, who firmly believed there were really small people inside the television set, that his or her belief was not true? Would it be right for you to be condemned for destroying that friend’s childlike faith? What if several of your best friends thought they could fly, and set off for a bridge over a 600 foot deep gorge to prove it? Would it be wrong for you to politely try to convince them that they just might be mistaken, no matter how firmly they believe they are right? Would you be destroying their childhood or saving their future?
Follow the truth, no matter where it may take you. And don’t pay any attention to those who think comforting falsehoods are better than understanding the world as it is. If you ever have children, teach them trust by telling them the truth. By the way, just in case you didn’t know, the stork didn’t bring you. You are here because your parents had sex.
Keep questioning, Virginia, and don’t feel it is the least bit wrong to demand correct answers.
Asking questions is what makes us human.
Your friend,
Uncle Edwin

Fan Letters from Christians by Edwin Kagin

What Is An ATHEIST?

“ANOTHER THINKING HUMAN ENGAGED IN SEEKING TRUTH” (Edwin Kagin, 2008)

To Unidentified Recipients:

Here is the lawsuit filed by American Atheists and eleven named plaintiffs: http://www.edwinkagin.com/First_Amended_Complaint.pdf

In the past TWO DAYS, American Atheists, and my office, have been flooded with hate emails. To be sure there have been some nice emails, but they are far outnumbered by the hate filled ones.

They are not calculated to make Atheists feel comfortable in our free land.

I am not redacting the contact information of the senders. If they want to act like this, they should not expect privacy. You may want to write some of them.

The following speak, so to speak, for themselves.

What would Jesus do?

Edwin.

From: igotskillz.com [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 9:59 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject:

You have the right P.O box

I have personally seen God.

You are an arrogant piece of shit.

If it we legal, I would delight in ripping you to pieces.

Have a nice day, shitbag
________________________________________
From: bobbie storrs [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 12:48 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Kentucky

No one really cares what such a small, insignificant group such as yours wants. Atheists are such a small minority, why should the rest of America be ruled by what you believe? Do you really have nothing better to do than to waste so much time and so many resources on fighting this? My goodness. Go volunteer for a local homeless shelter or something if you have this much time on your hands instead of letting your life be ruined by hate. On your death bed, do you really believe you’ll look back and think you made a difference by doing nothing more than fighting to have something, that so many people believe in, and find comfort in, removed from government? Find something to do so that will make you a productive member of society and not just a hemorrhoid.

From: Greg Deer [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 12:51 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Your jewish ancestors turn in the grave.

Because of the Jews like you who stink with an ego and mediocrity the world that searches for the Light on to the nations (People of the book) runs into
a dark tunnel of hate. You assult the ability to believe.

People who do not belive create death everywhere – Russia, Kombodia, China – name it.

Your spirital father Marx would be proud of you. But when the hell breaks loose for you
you will see that you squandered G-d given talent for the sake of your immorality that you seem to be justifing.

Study Greek philosophers, you will hopefully understand, that by attempting to redefine the essence you do not touch it but the one who is listening.

You do not believe that you were created and the infinite complexity of you DNA and RNA and protein folds are working correctly.

So let the Almighty show you that when one of the quadrillions of mechanisms in the body fails to do its job (atheists worship statistics )a person may regreat he was put on Earth – the act that he did not choose.

regards my philosopher

From: Jesse Barczynski [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 12:57 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject:

Hey Edwin:

This is very simple. If you do not like America, One Nation Under God, Go to a godless country. Any other country is fine. But rest assured, when you die, which from your website picture, isn’t to far off, you Will SEE Jesus Christ. I know you don’t believe me, you don’t have to. But you will see him. I will pray for your conversion before you die, but it still is very simple. Go to russia or any other place & they will tell you what to do, where to go, and how much you have. If you look for Jesus you will find him. Hey, even the devil believes in God. So you must not believe in him either. There is good & bad in the world. How you choose to accept these things will tell you where you will be when you die. Praying for your conversion, I am Jesse Barczynski

From the office of Jesse Barczynski. www.bsgband.com www.divinemercy.org

________________________________________
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 1:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject:

You don’t have the right to tell us what is legal or what is illegal. This country was founded on Christian values and morals. We the people, the vast majority of American people will not let you under mind the principles this country was founded on.
I don’t hate you, you are a very wise person, you know this is a Christian country, you live in it, accept it, your views are not shared by 80% – 90% of the people in America. Conform to that 10%, sorry, be quiet while you talk, sorry.
Jesus loves you and so do I
John Schille

‘Worry looks around,
Sorry looks back, Faith looks up.’

________________________________________
From: larry & ganell [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 7:49 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: your stupidity

Quit infringing on our right to believe. Sit down & shut up!!!

From: Phillip Van Niekerk [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 3:49 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Need Help Urgent!

Hallo Satan,

Did you know that God already defeated you? So why are you trying to stop him? Shame, you poor old Bastard. Leave Edwin alone. He is an innocent child who doesnʼt need your hell.

—–Original Message—–
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 3:32 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Potential Client Inquiry for Edwin F. Kagin, Attorney at Law from Findlaw

I just read a article on WKYT web page regarding that a group of ATHEISTS filed a lawsuit in KY seeking to remove GOD for the state’s homeland security detail. I am very upset about this and the so called Atheistis. Tell me what you need me to do to help with this law suit. I can get petitions signed or do whatever needs to be done to stop this lawsuit. The United States was founded on Christianity and I am so fed up with this so call Atheists group.

Thanks

From: ~Crushed~ [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 5:43 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Your cause

Dear Mr Kagin,
Dear sir, I feel sorry for you and the way you spend your time pushing your self serving beliefs on the rest of the God believing world. I have to wonder what went so wrong in your life that you feel the need to try and erase those 3 letters that are a common binder for all walks of life, even people like yourself that wake up forcing themselves to believe theres no God in this entire picture of life and then go out of their way to do whatever is possible to make sure those letters are erased for all others to see.
I guess what makes me sad about people like yourself is the simple fact that in this day and age and of all the things going wrong in the world let alone just your place of living you feel the need to use your energy and mind to bring the end to the word God instead of trying to better the living conditions of the poor, the hungry and even the homeless. Things that I’m sure are more worthy of your time and talents.
I’m also sure that this isnt the first nor the last time your going to be chastised for your beliefs and I’m just as sure that this is only getting you abit hot about “your” rights not to believe, but tell me, who made you the watchdog of whats right or wrong with those 3 letters of our alphabet… G..O..D…

I’m going to go now but I want you to know this, before I close my eyes today to get some sleep I’m going to ask God to try and understand you so that you too can someday ask his forgivness as you get ready to depart this sad world we live in.

R.W.Assumpcao Jr

________________________________________
From: Thomas Hart [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 6:06 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject:

Dear Edwin, I respect the face that you are an atheist but why must you degrade people who believe in god. Does the sign in Kentucky really piss you off that much? Say you do get it removed will the world be a better place? Why don’t you stop bitching and complaining and do something that is worth -while instead of leading a crusade against god. Yelling long enough and loud enough does not validate facts. Whether we consider the origin of the Solar System, man and animals, plants and rock formations, or read “Evolution,” F.H.T. Rhodes book of “proofs,” the theory of evolution never sprouted a leg to stand on.

Evolution is not fact! It is not even science!

It cannot stand up to the first two laws of Thermodynamics and the process has only been theorized, but never proved. As a propaganda device devised by those who rejected God while seeking human answers for man’s origin, it’s a classic. Humanistic evolution is a religion and I agree that it needs to be expelled from school.

In a society that trumpets diversity, open forums and free-thinking, why has creationism been disallowed in the unleveled arena of most public educational systems? Granted it takes faith to believe that, “In the beginning (time) God (intelligent designer) created the heaven (space) and the earth” (matter and activated these with light. But to believe that nothing packed itself into a compact ball of nothingness (why?) and exploded (how? by what?) thus producing hydrogen and helium (from where?) causing meteors (from what?) to fly into frictionless space spinning in different directions thus accidentally forming our perfectly balanced and ordered universe so that after billions of years man evolved from a rock or some primordial soup and somehow whole swimming in water (?) adapted a lung and limbs to crawl up on “land?” that takes faith, a whole lot of faith!

Sincerely,
Tom

From: Schane [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 8:46 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Kentucky Office of Homeland Security.

Edwin,

Do you have nothing better to do in life? I am just wondering as I read an article regarding your filing suit to remove part of a state anti-terrorism law requiring Kentucky’s Office of Homeland Security to acknowledge that it can’t keep the state without God’s help. I mean really, why on Earth do these words really matter to you. Are there not better things in life to deal with, like loving your children, your grand-children, maybe your neighbor, than filing idiotic suits against the Kentucky State government?

I am not a practicing religious man. I have had my bouts with wondering if there is a God. To this day I wonder if there is a God and have always thought of the Big Bang as the true origin of life. This just makes since to me. To me that is my belief and others have theirs. Does it really kill you to let other people believe something different than you? Do you really think you are going to “teach somebody” something by filing this lawsuit? Is it really worth your time to work on this? I mean really, what are you going to get out of it?

I guess I am just writing because I am confused as to why someone would waste one minute of their life trying to do something like this when there is so much more out there to do. If you are bored, I have plenty of extra things that I can not get done because I am running around providing for a family of five. Please feel free to come visit me in Lexington and I will find something more meaningful for you to do with your time.

William S. Simpson

First Name: Steve
Last Name: Carey
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Benefits of memebership, Ha. Why don’t all
you non-believers move to your own Island or
state, and leave the rest of us alone. You
are nothing but a bunch of unhappy, faithless
people without purpose and need. Good luck,
but keep this rediclious argument out of the
court system.

First Name: Kevin
Last Name: Mckee
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Do you not understand that you are the same concept as any religion, creed,
or belief system? Without religion in society there never would have been a
basic moralistic structure…period. Godless soceties are thought of as evil
throughout history, and any evil empires such as Rome or Nazi Germany
were athiests like yourselves who used religeon to control the masses
because it was the fastest way to reach their goals of complete dominance.
You think your enlightened but truly enlightened people strive for higher
knowlege without petty persuits such as court battles over what a group of
people can display on a wall! It in no way encumbers your rights or has any
effect on your personal being. It’s a frivolous endevour and certainly not one
of higher thinking. All societies who were a god unto themselves quickly
digressed into anarchy and self destructed. If you are able to think moments
before you die you will come to the realization that all your efforts to dispell
so called “mythical creatures” has been in vain and you’ll close your eyes
then wake up with God on your mind and not the absence thereof…Deep
down your guilt will finally win out over your denial. Good day.

First Name: Mark
Last Name: Lutner
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I am a Christian and have been all my life
without question. I read a disturbing article
today about your organizations attempt to sue
the state of Kentucky for having God mentioned
as a part of their homeland security statement.

I would like to know why it is that you feel
you must force the ideas of few upon the
many. I respect your right to be atheist, as
you should respect my right to be Christian.
The vast majority of all people in this world
believe in some form of divine power. Why
does your organization treat all of these
people as ignorant? Are we all supposed
to “wake up” and see that 4 billion of us are
wrong and the members of your group are
correct?

I just wanted to let you know how I feel about
this topic and would like to hear your
response to the questions I asked.

My the Lord bless you and keep you safe.

Respectfully,

Mark Lutner

First Name: Mike
Last Name: Perez
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I read Mr. Kagan’s comments abotu suing
Kentucky Homeland Security. You all are
idiots.

The Constitution of the United States, in
spite of the activists on the Supreme Court,
provides for freedom OF religion, not freedom
FROM religion. The Constitution does not give
rights; it guarantees ones given by GOD to all
men which cannot be touched or taken away,
even by you. Your ignorance and arrogance is
astounding. You want people to accept your
beliefs, but you are intolerant of others’
beliefs, what is the majority of America and
is its very foundation – Christianity. There
were even aethiests among the Founding
Fathers, and Jews, and others. But BY GOD,
they didn’t demand God to be wiped from
society or public. In fact, they credited and
gave thanks to GOD for their freedom,
Christians and non-Christians alike. That
means you, too. Don’t like it, leave the
country. But I bet you’ll be the first ones
screaming for someone to protect you when
there’s another terrorist attack. Are you
going to demand they turn from God first
before they protect you? Or are you going to
let them turn to the One who can protect them
as they save your sorry asses?

I’m all for your freedom to do as you wish. I
am not for your demands that I cannot worship
in public as I wish and as is guaranteed under
the Constitution.

First Name: Cecil
Last Name: Wheeler
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I’m glad fox news did the report on your fight
in kentucky. Sense you felt to the need to get
organized and fight something you were better
off to leave alone, it brought to my attention
the fact that I need’d to do the same. So I
wanted to say thank you. Me and my church will
do our best to keep you out of kentucky. we
have to many idiots in america as it is, time
for fools like you to leave, or at least start
losing your fights. oh, and being christian
I’m not adverse to telling you where to go but
sense your trying your best to get there I
really dont have to.

First Name: kay
Last Name: m
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Wow- your eyes of understanding will be
opened. And when it is, tell everyone. God
bless. No need to write me back

First Name: Pat
Last Name: Taylor
Email: [email protected]

Comment: My precious friends – My God lives!!! Oh that
you will come to that realization before you
stand before our Almighty God in eternity!!!

First Name: Chris
Last Name: Johnson
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I just needed to write and tell you guys GET A
LIFE. Actually do something with your time
then to ruin everyone else’s lifer. Lawsuit
for god being in homeland secuirty well you
need god in your life.
CAUSE YOUR SO STUPID AND YOUR WASTING YOUR
TIME AND EVERYONE ELSES. This is AMERICA, we
have the right to be opinionated and freedom
of speech. People like you people want to
ruin everyone elses life by telling them what
they can and can not say. WELL GOD is REAL
and you are all a joke. I cant even believe a
organization like you evenn exit. Retards. I
hope you lose your law suits fags!

First Name: David
Last Name: Johnson
Email: [email protected]

Comment: What do you care if a majority of the US wants
God in their lives. Leave it alone and get on
with your own lives!

First Name: debi
Last Name: risinger
Email: [email protected]

Comment: as you well know, Christmas is a celebration of
the birth of Jesus Christ. No one is forcing
this celebration on anyone and you can choose
to continue to work or do whatever you want.
If it wasn’t for Jesus you would not even have
a holiday. This country was founded as a
result of a break from the English ruling
through the church. The pilgrims wanted
religious freedom. As a minoirity, you are
trying to dictate the will of at least 86% of
the population. Don’t believe, but leave our
God alone!

First Name: Bruce
Last Name: Hensley
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Dear American Idiots,

For a group that doesn’t believe in God
you sure do spend a lot of time acknowledging
Him and battling Him in court.
Another select group of people who don’t
believe in God (for if they truly did I don’t
believe they would do what they have done
and/or continue to do) are the “Islamic”
terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden.
Congratulations, you are in “good”
company.

American Defender

First Name: janet
Last Name: allan
Email: [email protected]

Comment: you are such a bunch of losers. why don’t you
do this, instead of making laws how about you
and everyone that follows your stupid thinking
board a plane,boat, anything, find your own
island or area where you can do what you want
when you want and how you want. do you not
think that there are much bigger problems in
this world than what you think? i am so sick
of your stupidity that is makes me wish all of
you would leave our country. we are much
better off with people to have faith, hope and
belief. your ways have been practiced for way
too long now, and obviously it does not work.
do us all a favor – go where you can make all
your own rules with everyone that wants to
believe that way – or keep your junk to
yourself. i have to put up with you not by
choice…..

First Name: CINDY
Last Name: RAMIREZ
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I WILL BE
PRAYING TO OUR GOD ALMIGHTY TO HAVE MERCY ON
YOU AND YOUR FOLLOWERS. ALSO FOR HIM TO HELP
YOU FIND OUT THE REAL TRUTH.
HAVE A GREAT AND BLESSED DAY!

First Name: yank
Last Name: yourself
Email: [email protected]

Comment: wow you are so freaking stupid. mytholigical
creatures? yes that is what you are. and your
all fat, and you eat cat turds. how are those
cat turds by the way? is this why you are so
stupid? doest the cat eat things they find in
the fields that when it craps it out and you
run over and eat it, it makes you stupid? you
could just stop eating those cat turds then
you wouldn’t have to be atheist anymore. you
could believe in something other than the
stupid rants of hollywood. stop eating those
cat turds my good friends. no need. waist not
your lives on the runny sloppy cat turds you
enjoy so much. they have brought you down low
low low my bro. maybe you’ll loose some fat as
well if you lay of those turds. maybe the
smell of you will go away. yes try the
spaggetti and be not a fat stinky stupid.

First Name: Darla
Last Name: Smith
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I was just reading about the Law suit filed
about Kentucky law referring to relying on
God……I must say I am sick to death of
these frivolous lawsuits! Our constitution
was based on the Christian belief that Our
trust as a nation is placed in God. It gives
citizens a choice as to what they wish to
believe but it does NOT give them the right to
change its foundation! I think if you don’t
like the fact that our country was formed
UNDER God then leave it and go somewhere
else. We are one Nation under God! That is
what our forefathers believed. They would be
rolling over in their graves to see what we
have done to this country. If we kept our
sights on what our foundation was, we would
not be in the state we are now. You do not
have to believe, but don’t try to change what
the rest of us do believe in and that is the
original trust in God. God has not destroyed
this country…we have. Seems no atheist has
any trouble spending the money we use with the
words IN God WE Trust. That is unless God is
money to you. It just makes me angry that in
a world in such despair people like you have
nothing better to do than file law suits for
such nonsense. Believe what you want, but
leave our foundation alone! In God we trust
and apart from him we can do nothing. Do you
believe in Satan? If you do then you have to
believe in God. Even Satan believes in God.
If you do not like the laws that reference God
then go somewhere else. We need to take our
country back to where it was originated.
Founded on the belief and trust in God.

First Name: Some
Last Name: One
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Well, I see that you are suing to have God
removed from Kentucky’s homeland security.
Since Homeland Security only came about due to
us being attacked by Islamic terrorists, a
group who do what they do for their God, I
think that you should sue them also to have
them remove their God from their manifest. I
mean it’s only fair if we can’t have our God
because of you, neither can they. 🙂

First Name: mike
Last Name: anderson
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Two things. First, your page reads like a
teenaged heavy metal fan wrote it. Stating the
new President is a “hardcore” athiest is
pointless. It just sounds childish. Second,
this anti-symbolism campaign for Christmas.
This attitude is also held by the ACLU. Here
is why it is a danger to us as a nation. You
want to take all the Christian symbology away
from the season according to the article on
your site. I get it. You think there is no God
because you can’t prove it, and the Bible has
to many “false hoods”. Like I said, I get it.
Now, what if we completly abolished all things
christmas? Why even have the holiday since
none of its’ real anyway? I mean the date was
taken from the pagens right? Destroy the myth
of Christmas, according to you, then Santa
Clause, who is only a German interpretation
for children to acknowledge God. (everyone
gets a gift) Now after that, imagine how our
economy would stagnate even further? If any
atheist recieves or accepts a gift during the
season, you are a hypocrite. Shouldn’t you
just sit back and revel in the fact that you
know the right answer to life and everyone
else is lost? Isn’t that enough? However,
thank you for your efforts to abolish God. By
being visible in the media, you strengthen the
resolve of Christians in this trying time.
Keep up the good work!

First Name: David
Last Name: Wilson
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I read on Fox News where your organization has filed suit to remove
the reference to God from the Kentucky Department of Homeland
Security. I respect your right to practice your form of religion. I do
disagree with your organization pushing your beliefs on the majority
of Americans.

If you are a scholar at all, you will see that the United States of
America was founded upon Christianity. There are many references to
God in the Constitution and other founding documents.

If you feel strongly about removing God from the foundation of the
USA, I would suggest that you build your own form of government
outside of the USA.

Why is it that you expect the majority to accommodate the minority?
No one is telling you that you must believe in God. Why not allow
those of us who do to continue so without your interference.

God Bless!

David Wilson

First Name: M
Last Name: D
Email: [email protected]

Comment: how far can you go and hard do you need to
work to continue in your lie saying ‘God does
not exist’? Even in your statements and
mindsets you know there is a God. Without
the One who loves you and created you
standing by your side to guide you and
protect you it is a dangerous place to be!
God is real. Satan is real. Just look in
the mirror or look outside to what God has
created. Listen to the words that come out
of your mouth and you will hear the lies that
you have believed!
Merry Christmas and God Bless you!

First Name: Paul
Last Name: Pennington
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I just read an article that said you are suing
the State of Kentucky’s Department of Homeland
Security because they have used “God” in their
printed material. I think to call yourself an
American Atheist is ironic, given that America
was established for those seeking refuge from
Christian persecution. America was
established by Christians, for Christians. A
country seperated from God will fall. Look at
Rome, Russia and China for example. These
countries fought and persecuted to remove God
and they have suffered for it. People, like
your group, have fought to remove God from
America and then when situations occur like
Sept. 11th or Hurricane Katrina people
ask, “where is God?” and “why would he allow
this to happen?” I don’t understand why you
feel you have the right to complain that
Christians have pushed their beliefs on you,
but in turn, you are doing the same thing by
pushing your non-beliefs on people. I know my
email will not change your mind, but I do
believe it’s time for Christians to stand up
and say that “One nation under God” is our
right and our demand. And unless you fight to
have the two times God is mentioned in the
Declaration of Independence be removed, that
is the right set forth at the forming of our
nation.

Thank you for your time,
Paul

First Name: Paul
Last Name: Pennington
Email: [email protected]

Thank you for your time,
Paul

First Name: Sheila
Last Name: Hanson
Email: [email protected]

Comment: F.Y.I.
1. atheists are in the minority in this country
2. there is NO separation of Church and State
in the Constitution, never has been.
3.your organization is founded on a myth
4. the MAJORITY rules in a republic style of
government
5.If there was NO GOD, how do you explain how
you were born?
6.You and your organization are proof positive
of what happens when uneducated and ill
informed people are given free speech rights.
You use them for evil instead of doing good.

First Name: Sherry
Last Name: Berry
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I am a Christian and a believer. I was just
reading the article on the controversy in KY>

I have just one question. What does it hurt
to ask God for help in protecting our nation?
The humans are not doing to good a job. Since
God was taken out of our schools, the country
as a whole has went to the pits. Check out
crime rates, and all kinds of lawlessness
since Madelyn O’Hare had her way.

The bottom line is, as Christians, we are
taught to love, not hate, to help, not destroy.
We do not infringe on your right to be a non
believer, why can’t you just turn you head
when you see any kind of Christian symbol or
scripture. It certainly would not hurt to ask
for devine help in these terrible times that
are facing our nation.

In Christian love.
Sherry Berry

First Name: Ronald
Last Name: Williams
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Separation of church and state is a primary
clause in the Constitution. That’s a given.
But, even if their is no God, Budda, Mohammed
etc. humans, by definition, must believe that
there is something beyond death, or what is
the point of life. To be an atheist makes
life, meaningless. Atheist are a small
minority. but have the power of the
Constitution behind them. But, this country
was founded on religious freedom and majority
rule. You can try to exclude a God from public
life but you can’t stamp it out. It’s to
pervasive. You atheist must be very unhappy
people having nothing to believe in.
Personaly, I don’t care one way of the other.

First Name: John
Last Name: Drezen
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Its amazing how an agency such as your still exists.
You want a divison between state and God but you
seem to forget that the tax dollars that purchase
the land, the buildings and all other physical
structures are paid for by CHRISTIANS, NOT ATHIESTS!

If I believe in a supreme being and I die to find
out none exists, well so be it, but if you go
through life not believing, then die and find out
there is a supreme being, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU
GOING TO DO?

First Name: daniel
Last Name: murphy
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Do you guys realize that you are as wacky as
the religious right?!

First Name: Jason
Last Name: F
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Atheism is the fear of allowing a supreme
being save your soul. God will pass judgement
and every atheist will burn in the lake of
fire with satan!!
Repent and be saved now, may God have mercy on
you.

First Name: TOM
Last Name: TOM
Email: [email protected]

Comment: IF YOU DON’T LIKE GOD IN OUR COUNTRY THEN
LEAVE AND FIND YOURSELF A GODLESS COUNTRY TO
LIVE IN. THERE ARE PLENTY OF THEM OUT THERE.
WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO
REMOVE GOD FROM PUBLIC PLACES? YOU WANT A
FIGHT? WE WILL FIGHT YOU.

First Name: Brad
Last Name: Anderson
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Hello I was wondering what your beliefs are so
I decided to read a little on your website.I
am probably wasting my time but you should
really read this. You make logical points but
I am a Christian and there IS a GOD, as you
know he sent Jesus here to earth to pay for
what you and I do wrong. I see what you
believe but our belief is based on faith and
you have to have it. Please explain to me if
anyone even reads these messages, how a lady
in our church could be eaten up with cancer,
go through a few treatments and now be cancer
free. Yes the chemo took care of it, I know
that’s what you will say and it may have bit
also it may have been GOD. Another work of GOD
was a lady we knew was going to have to have
both legs removed because of plaque build up
in her arteries, both legs now. When the
doctor checked a couple of days later before
surgery, no plaque could be found in the lady
anywhere, it’s called faith and I will pray
you will find it and Jesus also. May GOD help
you.

Brad from Geogia

First Name: cheryl
Last Name: Plowden
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I understand you have your “non-beliefs”, and
I respect that. What I have a problem with is
the fact that you are trying to take away OUR
GOD just because you do not believe. If you
do not like seeing his name or believe in him,
then don’t read anything that contains his
information. By you filing lawsuits about
this that and the other, to have it removed
from this and that, you are violating MY
Constitutional Right as well as my children,
family and friends. Is it going to take
someone filing a suit against your group for
being Unconstitutional by preventing us from
practicing our beliefs and taking our GOD
away. We can all live here together, you
worship yours and we will worship ours.
Again, if you do not like God or believe in
his, just remove yourself from where he is and
do not read items that represent him.

First Name: Chris
Last Name: Kline
Email: [email protected]

Comment: If you athiests and non-believers always
insist on getting YOUR way, do we Christians
and believers not have ANY rights????? You
want God taken out of everything–what about
those of us who love and worship God. This is
a free country–worship what you want and we
will worship WHO we want. If you want to
totally obliterate every mention of God, go to
a country where it is punishable to mention
God!!

First Name: william
Last Name: douglas
Email: [email protected]

Comment: attn ed buckner,its a disgrace that you an
your cohorts want to bring this country down.
you have a right to practice your believe but
you have no right to shove it down someone
else throat.this GREAT COUNTRY WAS BUILT BY
GOD HIMSELF AN SOON YOU WILL FAIL IN ALL YOUR
ENDEAVORS AGAINST THE FATHER.THY WILL NOT LET
YOU DEFILE HIM.SO PRACTICE YOUR BELIEF AN
LEAVE THE COUNTRIES BELIEF IN GOD THE FATHER
ARE PROTECTOR ALONE.GOD the father will show
you within this year your mistakes in
defiling his graces an you will finally
believe. WATCH.AN I WISH YOU NO HARM JUST FOR
YOU TO HAVE THE PLANK TAKEN OUT OF YOUR
EYES,SO YOU CAN SEE CLEARLY. GOD BLESS YOU
ALL I PRAY

First Name: kelly
Last Name: cat
Email: [email protected]

Comment: We can all have our opinion on whether there
is a God or not. There is a God and His son
will be coming again. This country was
founded by our forefathers with God in mind.
That’s how God got on our money, in our Pledge
of Allegiance, and in many other things. The
pilgrims were from England and were
Christians. I will pray for you and all
around the world that God might have mercy on
your souls. He is a loving and forgiving God
that created all that is seen and unseen. God
bless!

First Name: Travis
Last Name: Beaman
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I am not trying to step on anyones toes I am
just tryin to understand your positions. You
are sueing the KY government to get rid of
the “God’s help” out of the Homeland Security
creed or whatever. I am just wondering Why?
What is it hurting? I take no position on the
issue because I could really care less one
way or the other.

I guess the irony is that in the constituion
there is a seperation between church and
state. But the underlying problem is that it
is the state who decides when that sepeation
applies. Sort of an oxymoron I guess.

So in all seriousness (without trying to
patronize or condescend) why do you care if
the word God is in something or not. Or in
the schools. It seems to me that people (who
are atheist) could just teach their children
their values and beliefs and have them ignore
it. At the same time faithful people could be
able to remove the word with no problem. From
what I understand faith is a feeling not a
visual thing.

Either way you look at it one side is forcing
their beliefs on the other. The pro-God side
by trying to keep it in the open therefor
making the atheist confront it. While the
other (atheist side) is forcing the pro-God
side to give up their right to see it. I mean
sometimes concessions need to be made. Who is
really hurt if God is removed from public
buildings? Also who is really hurt if it
stays?

As I said I don’t care either way but I would
like a response please because it intrigues
me to no end.

First Name: casey
Last Name: mincer
Email: [email protected]

Comment: i really dont know where to start.i must say
that Jesus is real and God is real.why is it
that we need some sort of proof?you will never
know how bold a thing that is to ask of our
lord.i am not a blind zombie for our father
and nor does he want me to be.i truly believe
with all my heart and in truth i dont even
live the way i should but i still
believe.their is no way you can tell me we
came from apes,their is no way i can believe
when we die thats it,their is no way you can
tell me that people who get away with all sort
of horrific crimes dont pay by going to hell.i
pray to God in the name of Jesus that he shows
you he is real so that you as a people will
change your ways b4 it is to late.no man is
worthy of a sign from God so i ask that he
gives you a light slap in the face so brace
yourself.is it so wrong to believe that their
is something out their bigger than you,are the
things God ask of us so awful to you.LEAN NOT
TO THY OWN UNDERSTANDING.i mean no harm i am
just talking.just think about it, man from ape
dont you here God laughing.evolution omg you
must escape your own wisdom if you want to
find God.man from ape wow!!YOU REALLY CANT
HERE gOD LAUGHING.

First Name: Brad
Last Name: Swidzinski
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Hilarious.

Have you guys ever bothered to even read your
Web site? The contradictions, leaps of logic
and out-right assumptions make this thing a
comedy and not much more.

Keep it up. This is a better defence of
religion than any priest could ever come up
with.

First Name: danny
Last Name: Woodruff
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Leave Ky alone this is a free country you
better read the Constitution take heed To
this warning we don’t fear you or you
legislation only God how can you stop God
you will die eventualy and face the fact God
wont wait, stop this before its to late

First Name: dave
Last Name: mccoy
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I would like to thank you for being another
dumb ass group to try and force your views on
everyone else.If you don`t belive in God,thats
fine,your opinion,but why not just keep YOUR
views to yourself.We never had the problems
with our children when religion was spoke of
in schools.How do you know God can`t help
protect this country,you have no proof,so how
can you waste the tax payers money on
something as stupid as this.It is groups like
yours that have,well since you don`t believe
in God,FUCKED MY COUNTRY UP.Why not just teach
your children what you believe in so they have
no spiritual guidance,and leave every other
God fairing family out of your stupid shit.

First Name: gary
Last Name: houston
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Do the words “BRAINLESS IDIOTS” strike a
chord with you fools? I find people of your
ilk to be so beneath contempt and bereft of
common sense to be laughable.

Why can’t you leave absolutely
inconsequential things alone? Such as the
Kentucky Homeland law?

I find it despicable that an organization
whose average member’s IQ can’t exceed 100
points finds it necessary to use the court
system to force it’s inane viewpoints on a
populace whose beliefs, for the most part,
stand in direct contravention of your own
pathetic worldview.

Please, why don’t you morons find a nice rock
to sequester yourselves beneath?

First Name: H
Last Name: Young
Email: [email protected]

Comment: I just finished reading the news article on
your recent objections in Kentucky for
referencing God as a source of keeping one of
their cities safe.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t our
ancestors take a stand and break free from
England’s monarchy for freedom of religion,
among other things? Doesn’t that make
freedom of religion part of the main basis for
the U.S.?

Your quest to erase the element of God from
all American society resembles the extreme
muslim terrorist groups who are traveling the
globe attempting to abliterate all are not
muslim from the earth. You are promoting your
work through the legal system but the goals
are not different than theirs.

You are living in a Christian based country. A
country that fought for rights of ALL
religious beliefs, or in your case none.
Wouldn’t the world actually be a better place
if everyone, including you, preached
TOLERANCE, tolerance for that which isn’t your
own?

I for one, do not share your beliefs BUT I do
not condemn you or make attempts to eliminate
you.

Please help promote peace and tolerance.

First Name: John
Last Name: Williams
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Which god are you trying to get out of
Kentucky? There is NO GOD at this time in
history, but the Creator of all things; the
first created of all things created. And he is
NO GOD at this time, just a creator. The day
has not come when he will be a God to the
earth peoples, and they will be a people to
him. That day has not come yet. So which god
are you trying to get out of Kentucky when
there is no god at this time. You will rot in
the earth as all peoples do, when you die.
What you are doing now is a waste of your
time, and energy. GET A LIFE.

First Name: Jerry
Last Name: Wright
Email: [email protected]

Comment: Folks, I will support to the death your right
to believe, or not to believe, in anything you
want. You can also speak out publicly in
support of your stance on any subject you
like. I’m pretty sick of ANY vocal minority
trying to impose its view of the world on the
rest of the world, though. America has long
considered itself to be a Christian nation;
our founding fathers often referred to God, as
do the documents that formed our very young
nation. We indeed have freedom of religion
here, and that includes the freedom from
religion, but nothing in the Constitution says
our government is forbidden from mentioning
any opinion about the existence of God, or any
gods, or asking for God’s help under the
presumption there may be a God. What we are
guaranteed is that our government will not
force a religion on us, or allow only one
favored religion to be practiced. That’s it.
Get used to it, and get over it. Specifically,
if the Commonwealth of Kentucky wants to ask
God to help its Homeland Security group do
their jobs, let them. It really doesn’t hurt
you at all if they do, and while logic is on
your side, they could still be right. I say
let’s accept help from whatever quarter and
pick nits later.

These are only a few.

There are more. There are a lot more.

Join American Atheists. For your own safety’s sake.

The people who wrote these emails can vote and they can sit on juries.

It is okay to be an Atheist.

It is okay not to believe in god.

Get real clear on that.

It is not okay for the government to try to establish a religion.

Be afraid; be very afraid.

What can you do? You can write letters to the paper. You can talk to people.

You can send us money to help protect your rights.

And after you have become very afraid you can refuse to be afraid.

Here is the simple truth: We are right and they are wrong.

Educate when you can and survive when you must.

And join American Atheists. www.atheists.org

You will feel better for it.

You are not alone.

Edwin.

Atheist News from Edwin Kagin

What Is An ATHEIST?

“ANOTHER THINKING HUMAN ENGAGED IN SEEKING TRUTH” (Edwin Kagin, 2008)

To Unidentified Recipients:

The lawsuit filed today, “American Atheists, et al vs Commonwealth of Kentucky, et al,” can be found here: http://www.atheists.org/upload/aavky.pdf

The media is going into a feeding frenzy. You are encouraged to write letters to Kentucky papers and papers everywhere on this one.

Some have actually suggested that the Atheists are doing this as part of their annual “War on Christmas,” whatever that is.

Stay tuned.

Edwin.

=================================================================================================================================================

Louisville Courier-Journal

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
Law’s use of God challenged
Security bill subject of suit
By Peter Smith • [email protected] • December 2, 2008

Ten Kentucky residents and the national American Atheists Inc. are suing to overturn Kentucky legislation “stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth.”

The suit says the legislation, passed with little notice in 2006 to create the Kentucky Office ofHomeland Security
, is “grossly, and outrageously, at variance with” with Kentucky and U.S. constitutional bans on government-sponsored religion.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
In addition to seeking to have the legislation overturned, the plaintiffs are seeking financial damages, saying they “suffer anxiety from the belief that the existence of these unconstitutional laws suggest that their very safety as residents of Kentucky may be in the hands of fanatics, traitors, or fools.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
At issue are two clauses inserted in a floor amendment by state Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, and approved by lawmakers.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
One clause says the “safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God” and cites statements to that effect by Presidents Abraham Lincolnand John F. Kennedy.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
A permanent plaque quoting that text is posted at the state’s Emergency Operations Center, as required by the clause.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
The other clause, listing the executive director’s duties, begins with a requirement to publicize “the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
Edwin Kagin — an attorney in Union, Ky., who also is the national legal director of American Atheists — said he mailed the lawsuit to Franklin Circuit Court overnight and expects it to be filed today.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
The suit names as defendants the commonwealth, state Attorney General Jack Conway, the stateHomeland Security office and its director, Thomas Preston.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
Riner and spokespeople for Conway and Preston did not immediately return calls about the suit.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
The individual plaintiffs are identified as Michael G. Christerson, James F. Coffman, Lucinda Hedden Coffman, Jan Ewing, Emmett F. Fields, Alex Grigg, Edwin Hensley, Helen Kagin, David Ryan and James K. Willmot. All are U.S. citizens except Kagin, a Canadian who is a permanent resident here.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
“I’m joining in because I think it’s the right thing for me to do as an American,” said Hensley, an atheist. “One of the most precious gifts of our founding fathers is the freedom of religion.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
The New Jersey-based American Atheists says it’s representing those atheists reluctant to come forward for fear of retaliation.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
The legislation drew little attention until it was spotlighted Friday in an article in the Lexington Herald-Leader.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
Former Gov. Ernie Fletcher gave prominent credit to God in his annual reports, but Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration did not do so in its latest annual Homeland Security report.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
“We certainly expect it to be there, of course,” Riner, a pastor, told the Herald-Leader.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
Preston said last week he would “not try to supplant almighty God. All I do is try to obey the dictates of the Kentucky General Assembly. I really don’t know what their motivation was for this. They obviously felt strongly about it.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
Riner said last week the language showed “government itself, apart from God, cannot close the security gap.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
The lawsuit says the Homeland Security office was created in response to — the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — which it called a “faith-based initiative” — and that including the religious language discriminates against those who don’t believe in a deity.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
It says the plaintiffs have suffered “somatic discomforts, and mental pain and anguish, from the knowledge that they are made to feel officially excluded from the ranks of citizens who share the belief in a god that is required by the challenged statutes.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
The lawsuit isn’t the only source of criticism directed at the law.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
Such laws “raise serious constitutional questions about their validity,” said attorney William Sharp of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
The Rev. Paul Simmons of Louisville, chairman of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, urged Beshear and lawmakers to overturn the legislation, saying the Office of Homeland Security “is not in the business of promoting religion” but of “securing all citizens against harm from enemies.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
And Rabbi David Saperstein, national director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued a statement saying the law amounts to religious discrimination because the Homeland Security office’s director is required to credit “God’s power as protector of the state.”
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
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http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
From reader Jayne:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
In the 1700s, a group of English men, disciples of the French enlightenment, created the USA, never mentioning God in the Constitution. Washington, in his letter to the Jewish community of Newport, RI, did refer to “the Father” in his well wishes, but also affirmed that being a part of the USA “requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.” KY has violated our founder’s principles by requiring an acknowledgement of “God” in the work of a government office. If this means the God of Abraham, only Christians, Jews or Muslims may now work at the Office of Homeland Security; citizens who are atheists, agnostics, or members of non-monotheist religions may not. Is the religious faith of KY Christians so weak that they must force others to bow to their sect, instituting government-backed religious coercion found in oppressive states such as Saudi Arabia? How shameful. How un-American.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
—————————————————————————-
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
From reader Jim:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
Dear Mr. Riner,

Your successful attempt to link our country’s fight against terrorism to faith is not only unconstitutional but also fool-hardy. The success of western democracies is due (in part) to the separation of church and state where people are free to practice whatever faith they wish (including no faith) and government plays no role in such practice. Contrary to your suggestion that the citizens of Kentucky must recognize the ‘Almighty’ as a starting point in fighting terrorism, I suggest that it is extreme belief in God, belief that God is on their side and belief that others must believe as they do that leads people to commit acts of terrorism. How can we condemn the idiots that think they are performing god’s will by terrorist acts when we contend that no, it is our god that is the true god and our citizen’s must recognize faith as fact? Your faith may indeed be helpful to you, but that does not make it true. Might I suggest you save up your money, travel outside the US a bit, read a few books other than the Bible, and learn about how western democracies (by the way, the west includes Europe) have flourished despite religion, and not because of it.

Regards,

Jim Willmot
Prospect, KY

PS: Please do not put me on a watchlist since it is my right and duty as an American citizen to speak up when injustices occur. I hope you agree that it is my right to dissent. Legislating that all Kentucky citizens must recognize your sky-god is an injustice and must be reversed.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812020431
The time is near…
So spread the word!

The 2008 AMERICAN ATHEISTS
Winter Solstice Bash & Open House

Friday Dec. 12 – Saturday Dec.13
Featuring
ED BUCKNER * EDDIE TABASH *
MARGARET DOWNEY * EDWIN &
HELEN KAGIN * DAVE SILVERMAN
* WOODY KAPLAN * FRANK ZINDLER
AND MORE!

Imagine an entire weekend when you can visit New York City, get together with fellow Atheists and other nonbelievers, see the largest private archive of Atheist/Freethought books, and stay in a magnificent hotel convenient to these sites and activities — and more! That’s what we’ve got for you at the 2008 Winter Solstice Bash weekend!

* On Friday, Dec. 12, tour the American Atheist Center and the Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library & Archives. This Open House event runs from 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM with a special ribbon cutting event at 1:30 to dedicate the new Eddie Tabash Conference and Media Studio. Complimentary treats, beverages and more, with an opportunity to meet Eddie Tabash and the new President of American Atheists, Ed Buckner! The Center is located at 225 Cristiani St. in Cranford, NJ 07016, and is convenient to the Garden State Parkway and the host Crowne Plaza Hotel. Visit Mapquest for directions.

* Saturday, Dec. 13, join us at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in nearby Clark, NJ for the annual Winter Solstice Gala featuring a lavish lunch buffet, open cash bar, talks and much more, hosted by AA Communications Director Dave Silverman. The fun begins at 11:30 AM. You can still sign up by visiting http://www.atheists.org/wintersolstice.html .

* See New York City and regional attractions thanks to a special rate of only $109 plus tax at the Crowne Plaza. This special rate is in effect from Thursday through Tuesday. You must make your reservations directly with the hotel, by calling 732-574-0100; and be sure to mention that you are with the American Atheists celebration.

* After the Winter Solstice Bash, join us at the American Atheist Center in nearby Cranford for a live taping of The Atheist Viewpoint television show, and more tours of the Eddie Tabash Conference and Media Studio and CESAALA.

THE TIME IS NEAR — SO BE SURE TO JOIN US DEC. 12-13
FOR THE 2008 AMERICAN ATHEISTS WINTER SOLSTICE BASH
AND OPEN HOUSE!
http://www.atheists.org/wintersolstice.html

AMERICAN ATHEISTS — 225 Cristiani St. — Cranford, NJ 07016
908-276-7300
(American Atheists is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

======================================================================================================================================================================
http://www.atheists.org/wintersolstice.html
From Blair Scott, American Atheists Affiliate Outreach Director
http://www.atheists.org/wintersolstice.html
Subject: New American Atheists Affiliates
http://www.atheists.org/wintersolstice.html
Hello American Atheists!
http://www.atheists.org/wintersolstice.html
I am incredibly proud to announce a lot of new Affiliates to the Affiliate program! I will be making these announcements from now on as new Affiliates join. Please take the time if it so pleases you to contact them and welcome them to the Affiliate program. American Atheists continues to be proud of the Affiliate program and the individual Affiliates that make the program work!
http://www.atheists.org/wintersolstice.html
Also new is the clickable Affiliates Map on the NAOD Web Page. Members and Affiliates have asked me to make finding a local Affiliate easier and complained about scrolling down a long list of states and names, so we’ve upgrade the Web Page to a clickable map. You can check out the new page at http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://atheists.org%2Faffiliation. To go directly to the new clickable map please go to http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://alabamaatheist.org%2Fnaod%2Faffiliates.html.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://alabamaatheist.org%2Fnaod%2Faffiliates.html
As always, my door is open and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns via any of the methods below.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://alabamaatheist.org%2Fnaod%2Faffiliates.html
New Affiliates (in alphabetical order):
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://alabamaatheist.org%2Fnaod%2Faffiliates.html
Atheists for Human Rights (national group): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://atheistsforhumanrights.org%2C [email protected]
Atheists United for a Rational America (national group): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://rationalamerica.com%2C [email protected] Kansas Freethought Society (Kansas City, KS): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://atheists.meetup.com%2F642%2C [email protected] Las Vegas Freethought Society (Las Vegas, NV): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://lvfs.org%2C [email protected] Memphis Freethought Society (Memphis, TN): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://memphisfreethought.com%2C [email protected] Miami County Kansas Freethinkers Meetup (Kansas City, KS): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://atheists.meetup.com%2F733%2C [email protected] Mid-South Humanist Society (Southaven, MS): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://midsouth-humanist-society.org
Nashville Secular Life (Nashville, TN): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://atheists.meetup.com%2F699
Northeast Pennsylvania Freethought Society (Scranton, PA): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://atheists.meetup.com%2F622%2C [email protected] Rational Response Squad at George Mason University (Fairfax, VA): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.myspace.com%2Frrs%40gmu%2C [email protected] Rhode Island Atheist Society (Providence, RI): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://riatheist.com%2C [email protected] Science Club of Long Island (Huntington, NY): http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://sciencecluboflongisland.com%2C [email protected]
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://sciencecluboflongisland.com%2C
—
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://sciencecluboflongisland.com%2C
In reason,
Blair Scott
National Affiliate Outreach Director, American Atheists Alabama State Director, American Atheists
Online: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://atheists.org%2Fal and http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://alabamaatheist.org%2Fnaod
Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Pri Phone: (256) 701-6265 Sec Phone: (256) 503-1123
Postal: PO Box 41, Ryland, AL 35767-2000
MySpace: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://myspace.com%2Falabamaatheist
YouTube: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://youtube.com%2Fblairscott
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://youtube.com%2Fblairscott
American Atheists is a nationwide movement which defends the civil rights of nonbelievers, works for the separation of church and state, and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy. American Atheists, Inc. PO Box 158, Cranford, NJ 07016, Tel: (908) 276-7300 Fax: (908) 276-7402
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://youtube.com%2Fblairscott
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http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20081202/NEWS01/812020317

Kentucky Enquirer, December 2,2008
Creation Museum deal ends
Co-promotion of events produces uproar
By Dan Horn • [email protected] • December 2, 2008
The Cincinnati Zoo and the Creation Museum launched a joint promotional deal last week to draw attention to their holiday attractions.
It worked, but not the way zoo and museum officials had hoped.
The zoo pulled out of the deal Monday after receiving dozens of angry calls and e-mails about the partnership, which offered reduced prices to anyone who bought tickets to the zoo’s Festival of Lights and the museum’s Christmas celebration, Bethlehem’s Blessing.
Most of the protests echoed the same theme: The Creation Museum promotes a religious point of view that conflicts with the zoo’s scientific mission.
Some complained that the zoo, which receives public support through a tax levy, should not become involved with a private museum dedicated to the teachings of the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Others said a scientific institution shouldn’t link itself to a place that argues man once lived side by side with dinosaurs.
“They seem like diametrically opposed institutions,” said Dr. James Leach, a Cincinnati radiologist who e-mailed zoo officials about his concerns. “The Cincinnati Zoo is one of this city’s treasures. The Creation Museum is an international laughingstock.”
Zoo officials said they considered the promotion – dubbed “Two Great Attractions, One Great Deal” – a marketing deal no different than cross-promotions they do with the Cincinnati Reds and other institutions.
Instead, they found themselves mired in a heated debate between creationists and evolutionists over the origins of mankind. Thanks to the Internet, the opposition needed only a few days to organize a worldwide e-mail campaign and to set up a zoo boycott through blogs and a Facebook page.
“It’s not about us endorsing them or them endorsing us,” Chad Yelton, a zoo spokesman, said. “That wasn’t the intention of anything we were doing.”
The Creation Museum’s founder, Ken Ham, said the Petersburg museum and the zoo spent months preparing the cross-promotion package.
He said the zoo’s decision to cut ties after two days was disappointing and a missed opportunity to boost regional tourism.
Ham said he was “personally saddened” by the negative response.
“It’s a pity that intolerant people have pushed for our expulsion simply because of our Christian faith,” Ham said in a statement. “Some of their comments … reveal great intolerance for anything having to do with Christianity.”
The museum, which opened in May 2007, has been praised by supporters as a bulwark against evolutionary teachings. It also has been ridiculed by critics who say its displays, including a triceratops with a saddle on its back, are based on pseudoscience.
The ticket deal first appeared on Web sites for both institutions Friday, offering a price of $25.95 for one ticket to both the Festival of Lights and Bethlehem’s Blessing, which features a live Nativity scene and a recreation of the streets of Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.
But Yelton said the uproar became such a distraction by Monday morning that zoo officials decided to pull it from the Web site.
No package deals had been sold, so no refunds will be necessary.
“When we partner with the Reds, we don’t get these kinds of e-mails,” Yelton said. “It’s pretty clear this is more of a distraction.”
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://youtube.com%2Fblairscott
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://youtube.com%2Fblairscott

Kentucky News from Edwin Kagin

KENTUCKY ATHEISTS NEWS & NOTES Date: November 28, 2008

Kentucky Atheists, P.O. Box 666, Union, KY 41091; Email: [email protected]

Phone: (859) 384-7000; Fax: (859) 384-7324; Web: http://www.atheists.org/ky/

Editor’s personal web site: www.edwinkagin.com

Editor’s personal blog: http://edwinkagin.blogspot.com

Edited by:

Edwin Kagin, Kentucky State Director, American Atheists, Inc.

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

What Is An ATHEIST?

“ANOTHER THINKING HUMAN ENGAGED IN SEEKING TRUTH” (Edwin Kagin, 2008)

To Unidentified Recipients:

American Atheists now has official pages on MySpace and Facebook.

If you are a member of Facebook or MySpace we would be honored if you sent us a Friend Request!

MySpace: http://myspace.com/americanatheists
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=51502800791

ACTION ALERT:

Please note, heed, and react to the following outrageous situation in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Anyone who is a resident of Kentucky and might be interested in being a plaintiff in a major legal challenge to this attempt to establish religion in Kentucky is invited to contact me.

You are also encouraged to write letters to members of the Kentucky Legislature, the Governor of Kentucky, and to Kentucky newspapers.

See: http://www.lrc.ky.gov

For other resources, see: www.edwinkagin.com

Edwin.

Edwin Kagin
National Legal Director
American Atheists, Inc.
P.O. Box 666
Union, KY 41091
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (859) 384-7000
Fax: (859) 384-7324

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http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/608641.html

Posted on Fri, Nov. 28, 2008
Kentucky law requires Homeland Security credit God
The Associated Press
Kentucky’s Homeland Security office must publicize God’s benevolent protection of the state in its reports under the 2006 law that organized the department.
Under the law, Homeland Security’s religious duties come before anything else the department does, including distribution of millions of dollars in federal grants and analyzing possible threats.
The law lists the office’s initial duty as “stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth.”
State Rep. Tom Riner of Louisville, who pushed for the religious requirement, told The Lexington Herald-Leader it was appropriate because government alone cannot protect the state.
State Sen. Kathy Stein of Lexington said the religious requirement takes away from the department’s mission.
Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com
© 2008 Kentucky.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
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http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/608229.html

Posted on Fri, Nov. 28, 2008
Anti-terror law requires God be acknowledged
By John Cheves
[email protected]
Under state law, God is Kentucky’s first line of defense against terrorism.
The 2006 law organizing the state Office of Homeland Security lists its initial duty as “stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth.”
Specifically, Homeland Security is ordered to publicize God’s benevolent protection in its reports, and it must post a plaque at the entrance to the state Emergency Operations Center with an 88-word statement that begins, “The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God.”
State Rep. Tom Riner, a Southern Baptist minister, tucked the God provision into Homeland Security legislation as a floor amendment that lawmakers overwhelmingly approved two years ago.
As amended, Homeland Security’s religious duties now come before all else, including its distribution of millions of dollars in federal grants and its analysis of possible threats.
The time and energy spent crediting God are appropriate, said Riner, D-Louisville, in an interview this week.
“This is recognition that government alone cannot guarantee the perfect safety of the people of Kentucky,” Riner said. “Government itself, apart from God, cannot close the security gap. The job is too big for government.”
Nonetheless, it is government that operates the Office of Homeland Security in Frankfort, with a budget this year of about $28 million, mostly federal funds. And some administrations are more religious than others.
Under previous Gov. Ernie Fletcher, a lay Baptist preacher, Homeland Security interpreted the law at face value, prominently crediting God in its annual reports to state leaders and posting the required plaque.
Under Gov. Steve Beshear, officials this week said they didn’t know about the plaque until the Herald-Leader called to ask whether it’s still there. (They checked; it is.) The 2008 Homeland Security report, issued a month ago, did not credit God, but it did complain about a decline in federal funding from Washington.
Thomas Preston, Beshear’s Homeland Security chief, said he isn’t interested in stepping into a religious debate, and he hasn’t given this part of his duties much thought.
“I will not try to supplant almighty God,” Preston said. “All I do is try to obey the dictates of the Kentucky General Assembly. I really don’t know what their motivation was for this. They obviously felt strongly about it.”
There is no reference to God in Homeland Security’s current mission statement or on its Web site, which displeases Riner.
“We certainly expect it to be there, of course,” Riner said.
But state Sen. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, said Homeland Security should worry about public safety threats instead of preaching religious homilies.
“It’s very sad to me that we do this sort of thing,” said Stein, a frequent critic of efforts to mix religion and government. “It takes away from the seriousness of the public discussion over security, and it clearly hurts the credibility of this office if it’s supposed to be depending on God, first and foremost.”
© 2008 Kentucky.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.kentucky.com

—————————————————————————————————————–

Here is the relevant Kentucky Law:

39G.010 Kentucky Office of Homeland Security executive director — Duties — Delegation of duties — Notification of disaster or emergency.

(1) The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security shall be attached to the Office of the Governor and shall be headed by an executive director appointed

by the Governor.

(2) The executive director shall:

(a) Publicize the findings of the General Assembly stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth by

including the provisions of KRS 39A.285(3) in its agency training and educational materials. The executive director shall also be responsible for

prominently displaying a permanent plaque at the entrance to the state’s Emergency Operations Center stating the text of KRS 39A.285(3). . . . .

And KRS 39A.285 (3) says:

39A.285 Legislative findings.

The General Assembly hereby finds that:

(1) No government by itself can guarantee perfect security from acts of war or terrorism.

(2) The security and well-being of the public depend not just on government, but rest in large measure upon individual citizens of the Commonwealth and their level of understanding, preparation, and vigilance.

(3) The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God as set forth in the public speeches and proclamations of American Presidents, including Abraham Lincoln’s historic

March 30, 1863, Presidential Proclamation urging Americans to pray and fast during one of the most dangerous hours in American history, and the text of President John F. Kennedy’s November 22, 1963, national security

speech which concluded: “For as was written long ago: ‘Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.’ ”

Effective: March 28, 2002
History: Created 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 82, sec. 2, effective March 28, 2002.

===================================================================================================================================================

Go Prez!

American Atheist President Ed Buckner exchanges electrons with a writer who, in the battle of wits, goes largely unarmed.

Just how should one answer a person who calls them a “weasel worder?”

I do not think C.S. Lewis would have cared much for this Paul person.

This hostile control freak is welcome to design his own symbols and start his own organization.

What is truly frightening is that these people are permitted to vote and to sit on juries.

Try to get all of the sane people you know to join American Atheists while they still can.

For your own safety’s sake.

Edwin.

———————————————————

Well, Paul, you’re making me see red–see below for an example or two. But you’re not making enough sense to be worth continuing to “exchange” thoughts with. (Fiercely asserted assertions don’t count for much.) I’ve read Mere Christianity and found it singularly unpersuasive. Please let us not waste each other’s time any further–please don’t reply until and unless you can keep a civil tongue in your head, as my mother–a big fan of Mere Christianity, for what that’s worth–used to say.

Ed B.
——————————————————-
On Nov 26, 2008, at 6:06 PM, Paul Trombley wrote:
Let’s try this again, Ed: You think that materialism is true and that atheism is entailed by it. Right? Ok, so, if you were disabused of your materialism or were shown that (gasp) it’s false, then you’d start believing in a god. That’s the structure and the content of your thought, isn’t it?

Now, if you abandoned your materialism right now, what then would you have? Well, before you came around to theism you’d have an amoral, rudderless belief in nothing, and probably an aversion to any suggestion that there is an objective right and wrong. Isn’t that right? And since you aren’t trained in philosophy you’d be groping in the dark throughout the experience and flip-flopping around from one vague idea to the next.

Ever heard of C.S. Lewis, author of Mere Christianity? He indicates that before his conversion to Christianity he was an atheist like your selves, thinking: either (1) there is a creator god or a ruler god or (2) materialism is true, and, furthermore, since materialism (in your view) is true, all religions are wrong all through. But you haven’t let Jesus into your heart yet, so all you really have (apart from the unsubstantiated exclusive disjunction) is epistemic nihilism. That, nihilism, is the real agenda and goal of AA. So the comment “not all the answers are in” is misleading, for you think that no matter what the subject, the answers aren’t and won’t ever be in. The trouble with Lewis is that even after his conversion, he was still slippery, as reading the preface and just a few pages of that book reveals. You’ll be the same way if you convert.

So, do you believe that there is an objective right and wrong (whether grounded on absolutist, consequentialist, or other grounds)? Do you believe in anything…anything at all..other than repeating insipid rhetoric about free inquiry? Or are you just a weasel worder who refuses to take a stand on anything but wishy-washy uncertainty? In fact, you have an embarrasing motive for your nihilism. That motive is just pride, Ed. You find it irksome to suppose that you have ever done something seriously wrong or have a character flaw, so you run what amounts to Nihilistic American Materialists. Pride is also what keeps you from changing the logo.

You wrote that your “symbol is…not intended…to be a depiction of how electrons work”, but that comment, too, was mealy-mouthed claptrap. The “atomic whirl” is a depiction–an innaccurate, irresponsible one–of how electrons were once thought to work. Your self-absorbed, idiosyncratic thinking to the contrary doesn’t change that fact, and you are simply instilling a false and misleading impression in the minds of people who don’t know any better than to look to you for guidance. Now, if the “atomic whirl” is not meant to depict how electrons work, then why don’t you change the logo to a tree or an automobile wheel and then claim that that isn’t supposed to depict how electrons work? Scientists study trees, and engineers make use of scientific discoveries. So you’d still get to claim that it’s meant to suggest or evoke ideas and commentary. Even better, pines and spruces have the shape of an ‘A’, and you could just put a subscript below it to indicate nationality. Or you could make the logo a montage of a microscope, the fundamental theorem of calculus, and a book. Wouldn’t that evoke commentary and suggest the spirit of inquiry? Well, yes. But you don’t change the logo, and the reason is obvious: You want to evoke materialism and equate it with atheism (which itself doesn’t entail materialism). This is how I know that your reply is deceitful nonsense.

Ed, the world does not need your amorality, your nihilism, your slippery rhetoric, or your misguided materialism. Please do the right thing: Shut down your operation.

By the way, my own position is irrelevant for the purpose of determining the position of AA, or rather, the postion of American Materialists, and the reason for my inquiry (1) is that you invited it by publishing an e-mail address, and (2) is evident from the questions which you didn’t answer. Why can’t you comprehend that?

Thanks,

Paul

—————————————————————

From: prez buckner
To: Paul Trombley
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 9:51:38 PM
Subject: Re: a few questions: please reply

Paul Trombley,

Our philosophies vary somewhat, but most of us could reasonably be called materialists, in the sense a philosopher would use the term. We like the term “Atheist” just fine, however, and don’t our think our name mis-describes us at all. We find no evidence or logic that supports any beliefs in any gods, including those alluded to in the Christian Bible. If you want more than that, I suggest you spend a few days browsing our website and reading any of the many fine books from Atheist Press (you might start with Atheism Advanced by David Eller–which I’m now reading and enjoying). If you have any serious follow-up questions, please include a synopsis of your own position and your reason(s) for your inquiries.

Our symbol is a symbol–not intended, of course, to be a depiction of how electrons work, but rather intended to evoke or suggest ideas and commentary:

THE AMERICAN ATHEISTS SYMBOL
An international symbol for Atheism has long been needed. When American Atheists was formed in 1963, a contemporary scientific symbol was chosen; this acknowledges that only through the use of scientific analysis and free, open inquiry can humankind reach out for a better life.

Recognizing the new atomic era, but also emphasizing the truths of older scientific findings, the atomic whirl was chosen. The atom is still a distinguishing unit of all matter, the smallest particle of an element that can exist and still retain the properties of that element.

You may notice that one of the orbital in our symbol is broken, or open-ended. This demonstrates that while Atheists rely on the scientific method for learning about the cosmos and increasing our knowledge about nature, we know that “not all of the answers are in.” We recognize that with new knowledge come new questions and areas for human inquiry and exploration.

That open orbital forms an “A” to represent Atheism. The small letter in the center represents of the first letter of the country in which an affiliated group is located. In our case, the “A” signifies American, and the symbol thus represents American Atheists.

Be well,

Ed B.
Ed Buckner
President
American Atheists
www.atheists.org
[email protected]

—————————————————————-

On Nov 20, 2008, at 8:33 PM, Paul Trombley wrote:

> Hello, AA.
>
> Please clarify your conception of atheism.
>
> (1) Does the management of American Atheists believe more or less as follows?
>
> (P1) If materialism is true, then there is no god such as that of Genesis 1:1.
> (P2) Materialism is true.
> (C) Therefore, there is no god such as that of Genesis 1:1.
>
> Furthermore, does the management of AA believe that if given P1 above, then if materialism were not true, then it would not be true that there is no god such as that of Genesis 1:1?
>
> (2) Does AA believe that either materialism or theism (as of Gen. 1:1) must be true? and that there are no other options available to the ontologist?
>
> (3) Are the management and staff of American Atheists basically materialists (in the philosopher’s sense of the term) and atheists second such that a more accurate name for AA would be “American Materialists”?
>
> (4) Why does AA use as its logo a depiction of the planetary hypothesis of electron orbits? Is that how electrons really work or is it misleading? Wasn’t that conception rejected during the lifetime of Rutherford? College-level physics and chemistry textbooks published as long as 20 years ago did not use such a depiction but rather the concept of a cloud. Does AA think that incorrect?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Paul
>
>
>
> —– Forwarded Message —-
> From: Paul Trombley
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 11:49:10 AM
> Subject: refutation of Aquinas’ five ways and other questions
>
> Dr. Buckner,
>
> Do you know of a succinct refutation of each of Aquinas’ five ways (in Latin: quinque viae) of proving the existence of God? If so, please let me know. Wikipedia has a short introduction the five ways at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinquae_viae.
>
> Also, why does AA use as its logo a depiction of the planetary hypothesis of electron orbits? Rutherford, as I recall, advocated it, but it was shown to be inadequate to explain atomic behavior. Of course, there is also the concept of orbitals (s, p, d, f,…) to describe the wave-like character of electron orbits.
>
> Finally, did O’Hair believe that atheism entails materialism, the doctrine that matter is the only reality or the foundation of reality, or something akin to either of these ideas?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Paul
>

And then we have this exchange, which should be helpful to many of our readers who doubtless encounter similar inquiries.

However, we still await Mr. Ed Buckner’s proof, if any he has to offer or can offer, that there are not two invisible unicorns at Camp Quest.

Edwin.

————————————————

On Nov 28, 2008, at 3:14 PM, Nathan Smith wrote:

> Dear Sir, or Mrs.
>
> It has come to my attention that nothing on your site has any proof
> to disproving the existence of God. How would you explain to someone
> who used the Ontological Argument against your theories? that’s all
> you have are theories. That’s all Evolution is, a theory. Descartes
> provided the existence of the external world very well, by saying
> that; 1. God exists, 2. as All-Perfect God is truthful, and cannot
> deceive, 3. we have a natural belief in the external world, 4.
> Therefore, since God cannot be a deceiver, our natural belief in the
> external world MUST be true. How do you respond to something like
> that? Descartes also said that we (humans) must make a wager. Heads,
> God exists. Tails, God does not exist. If you say why must you wager,
> you must; your life will reflect your choice. This is how it comes
> down, If God exists, Atheists=Infinite Loss, Theists=Infinite Gain. If
> God does not exist, Atheists GAIN NOTHING. Theists LOSE NOTHING. I
> thank you for your time. please reply if possible.
>
>
>
>                                                        Sincerely,
>
>
>                                                 Nathan Smith

———————————————

Mr. Smith,

You need to work on both your logical thinking and on your knowledge of the history of philosophy. You cannot prove, no matter how hard you try, that the 5,000 cubic meters at the core of the planet Mars is not made of low grade uranium mixed 50/50 with popcorn salt–but that hardly counts as evidence that the proposition is true, does it?

And, while Descartes did draw some of the conclusions you cite (his conclusions have been refuted long since), it was actually Blaise Pascal who is famous for the bogus wager you propose (though he didn’t originate it, either–see below). I’d suggest you do some reading–start with David Eller’s excellent recent book from American Atheist Press, Atheism Advanced–and some critical thinking.

You can also consider a very short essay I wrote on the subject years ago–I’ve pasted it in below.

Read. Think.

Regards,

Ed B.
Ed Buckner
President
American Atheists
www.atheists.org
[email protected]

———————————————

“Why not believe in God, since the only way you lose is by not
believing?”

The short-hand description for the claim behind this question is
“Pascal’s Wager.” Blaise Pascal, French philosopher and mathematician
of the 1600s, gets credit for this one, though it probably was asked in
various forms long before him. The essential claim is that we should
all believe in God, since not believing can cause us to go to Hell if
we’re wrong, while believing is harmless if we happen to be wrong in
doing so.

There are many problems with this claim so there are many answers to
the question:

· It’s not really a fifty/fifty choice at all. There are
thousands of religions/gods, and presumably you’d have to pick the
right one if there is a right one. So your odds are thousands to one
against you, no matter what the truth is.

· Belief is not really something you can simply choose to have
or not have. Any omniscient god worth his salt would know if you were
just pretending to believe, and surely that would void your contract,
as it were. Sincere belief can only be held by someone who has been
convinced (by evidence, emotion, or just by not questioning what one
was taught as a child).

· There is in fact a great deal to lose by believing in a
non-existent god: aside from time and money wasted in religious
activities, self-delusion can be quite destructive, potentially leading
to many mistakes, lack of self-reliance, and considerable unhappiness
in one’s life. If we only have one life, we can make the best of it
only by recognizing that.

· And my favorite answer, initially implausible but in fact no
more illogical than Pascal’s Wager: What if “God” in her almighty
wisdom only wants to have in her heaven (to keep her company and
entertain her) curious, skeptical, intelligent beings? People who are
wise enough to not accept her existence without good reasons or
evidence? Then, of course, all of us secular humanists and freethinkers
will be “in” while D. James Kennedy and Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson
will only make it if they are in fact charlatans who don’t really
believe any of the baloney they peddle.

For more on the subject, see Section II, pp. 55-104, in An Anthology of
Atheism and Rationalism, edited by Gordon Stein and published by
Prometheus Books, 1980.

————————————-

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