Here’s a 4:36 minute video and information you need. Then just go HERE to send letters to your state reps through the Secular Coalition For America. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

By now, you’ve probably heard about the Texas State Board of Education’s moves to impose educational standards into its textbooks intended to indoctrinate Texas public school students with a telling of U.S. history that is based in extremist religious ideology.

You’ve probably also heard about some of the more jaw-dropping proposed changes to the curriculum, such as booting Thomas Jefferson off of a list of influential thinkers in place of explicitly religious figures, and the totally fabricated assertion that our system of government is based specifically on the laws of Moses. This comes from the same group of theocrats who famously fought to undermine evolution in science classes and delete from science textbooks the scientific consensus on the age of the universe because they conflict with the Bible.

As terrible as this religious imposition is for Texas students, all Americans have reason to fear. Due to the size of the Texas textbook market (and because other highly populated states do not use statewide textbook contracts in the say way), the backward dictates of its theocratic school board effect textbooks used by public school students all across the country.

Someone in Congress is finally standing up to this abuse of power and unconstitutional overreach by the religious extremists on the Texas State Board of Education. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (T-DX) recently introduced a resolution (H. Res. 1593) that supports fact-based curricula in public schools without meddling by those with an avowed religious agenda. Students in Texas and all across America need to know that Congress wants them to have an education based on facts and science, not myth and religious bias.

TAKE ACTION NOW: Watch the video message above from Secular Coalition for America Executive Director Sean Faircloth supporting Rep. Johnson’s resolution, and then tell your member of Congress to become a co-sponsor.

Related posts

• Your Two Cents About the Faith Based Initiative Program (0)
• What’s Going On!? (0)
• Tell your Senator to Stop the Federal Funding of Religious Schools (0)
• Separation of church and State Benefits Everyone (26)
• Sam Harris Speaks Up About Palin (1)

Also, I don’t often talk about politics, but I told you about the federal funding of religious schools bill that Joe Lieberman was pushing. I thought you might like an update. In this case, secular values won! Woot!

Here’s what the Secular Coalition for America said about the victory:

Two weeks ago, we alerted you to Sen. Joe Lieberman’s proposed amendment to the Senate jobs bill that would reauthorize the “D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program,” an initiative that forced American taxpayers to subsidize religious institutions through school vouchers.

A July 2009 report by Rutgers University on the D.C. voucher program concluded that the way the voucher program is structured “essentially push[es] students into Christian Association and Catholic schools, pricing out independent (non-religious) schools and Hebrew schools.”

Those of us who do not wish to subsidize religion with our tax dollars would continue to be forced to do so if Senator Lieberman had his way.

Thousands of you responded, writing to your senators to tell them that public funds should be never be used to pay for anyone’s religion. The amendment never made it to the jobs bill–though Senator Lieberman promised he would bring it back as soon as he could.

So the Secular Coalition for America took your message directly to the Senate. SCA staff met personally with over fifteen key senators to make the case that our tax dollars must not be used to fund religious activities, particularly in schools.

Tonight, Senator Lieberman managed to bring the amendment to the floor, attaching it this time to a bill funding the Federal Aviation Administration. Debate was heard, votes were cast, and the amendment was defeated, 42 to 55. We worked together, and helped to stop the unconstitutional public financing of religious education.

It’s only the latest sign that the secular movement is growing. Just last month, the Secular Coalition for America and representatives of the secular movement met with the Obama administration for an official policy briefing-the first of its kind for our movement in history-opening up new lines of dialogue between our community and the White House. Many more issues lay before us, and we need your help to keep up the momentum.

If you are interested, sign up for the SCA Action Alerts. When the rights and values of nontheistic Americans are on the line and you can put in your two cents, the SCA makes it really easy.

Want to see how your senators voted on this bill? Go here. Then if they voted nay, consider going to that senator’s official contact page and thanking them for respecting the separation of church and state.

Please keep commenting about Advertisements and Logical Fallacies. I am still thinking about your input for a follow-up.

Related posts

• Tell your Senator to Stop the Federal Funding of Religious Schools (0)
• Your Two Cents About the Faith Based Initiative Program (0)
• Tell Your Representative to Stand Up For Fact-Based Education (2)
• Don’t Give Up! (2)
• Today’s Score: Atheists 2, Churches -100 (5)

By design, voucher programs aid struggling Christian schools. A July 2009 report by Rutgers University on the D.C. voucher program concluded that the way the voucher program is structured “essentially push[es] students into Christian Association and Catholic schools, pricing out independent (non-religious) schools and Hebrew schools.”

By continuing this program, those of us who do not wish to subsidize someone else’s church will continue to be forced to do so through our federal tax dollars.

The vote will occur sometime today. Please take five minutes and email your Senators below and tell them to vote against this amendment that would re-authorize this program.

The Secular Coalition for America opposes the use of government funds for religious purposes, including vouchers for religious schools. We agree with the founders of the United States that no individual taxpayer should be required to pay for someone else’s religion. We agree with James Madison. Senator Lieberman wants us to go in a different direction.

The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship, with your tax money, funds and enables proselytizing and religious discrimination. Recipients of the vouchers who attend religious schools are not even allowed to opt out of religious activities at their school—a direct affront to religious freedom.

It is critical that you write your Senators today and ask them to oppose Sen. Lieberman’s amendment that would re-authorize this program and spend your taxes to fund the religious education of children in D.C.

Go to Secular Coalition for America to send a letter today.

Related posts

• What’s Going On!? (0)
• Your Two Cents About the Faith Based Initiative Program (0)
• Tell Your Representative to Stand Up For Fact-Based Education (2)
• Don’t Give Up! (2)
• Today’s Score: Atheists 2, Churches -100 (5)

Seriously, this country was founded on the incredibly important idea of religion and politics being separate. If you want to see a country where there is no separation, just go to Iran. I’m pretty sure they are a theocracy. Don’t hold me to that, though. My world politics skills have never been very sharp.

Anyway, I think letter writing campaigns work best when the people or organization targeted gets absolutely inundated from all over the place with the same request. Here is what the Secular Coalition for America says:

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama promised to abide by “a few basic principles” that would protect the constitutional separation of church and state in his plan for an expanded faith based initiative program. He was specific: “First, if you get a federal grant, you can’t use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can’t discriminate against them – or against the people you hire – on the basis of their religion. Second, federal dollars that go directly to churches, temples, and mosques can only be used on secular programs.”

On February 5, 2009 President Obama issued his Executive Order establishing his Faith Based Intiative program. Twelve months later at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama claimed that his administration had “turned the faith-based initiative around” from its misuse during the Bush administration. But it appears the only thing President Obama has changed about how millions of federal dollars are spent is that the office guiding the direct funding of houses of worship is now called the “White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships” rather than the “Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives.” Twelve months, Two words. That’s not a turn around, it’s a re-branding.

Go Here to Send a Letter to Obama through the Secular Coalition of America. Hey, maybe if enough of us say something it might just make a difference.The Secular Coalition for America has called for reform and oversight of the Office and the agencies that it oversees for years. Government reports and hearings have documented the constitutional problems and gross abuses rampant in this program, but a year later all Americans continue to have their federal dollars used for government-condoned religious discrimination, while reforms to prohibit proselytizing in these purportedly secular social service programs have still not been enacted.

No law is required to fix this – simply the stroke of a Presidential pen.

America’s Founding Fathers strongly believed in a clear separation between church and state. They gave us a Constitution that forbids government to support or oppose any religion, leaving Americans free to follow their own consciences when it comes to matters of faith. In the words of the First Amendment, government shall make “no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”

Churches and other houses of worship are free to spread their beliefs. But they are expected to raise their own funds through the voluntary contributions of the faithful. Taxation to support religion and religious endeavors was forbidden under the Founders’ constitutional framework. No American should be compelled through taxation to subsidize any religion. Twelve months, Two words.

I will resist the urge to climb up on my tallest soapbox and rail against the machine and leave you with another lolcat lolbear.

Related posts

• What’s Going On!? (0)
• Tell your Senator to Stop the Federal Funding of Religious Schools (0)
• Remaking America – Day One (4)
• My Letter To President Obama (0)
• Tell Your Representative to Stand Up For Fact-Based Education (2)

Pharyngula wrote about this the other night and noted that the giveaway is now 100,000 books at 100 universities, that Darwin’s text will remain intact, and the 50 page foreword will be rewritten to be more fair to atheists. (Does that mean it will be 50 blank pages?)

Here’s what I would love to see happen:

• Atheists, heathens, skeptics and science lovers go to the universities where these books are being given out, kindly receive the free book and walk away.
• (The next bit is optional) Then meet the other local atheists, walk back to the people giving the books away en masse, and quietly and politely rip out the intro, throw it in the trash and smile.
• (The next bit is also optional) Then get into a friendly debate with the Comfort/Cameron folks, always staying pleasant and friendly, but defeat them with logic, reason and science facts.

This would serve several purposes:

• It would keep the sullied copies of Darwin’s Origin of Species out of the hands of young people who are just learning to think a bit more critically and may not understand that the foreword is complete lies and bullshit
• It would make a statement
• It would show that Atheists CAN unite for a common cause, for one short afternoon, to do a good deed
• If the atheists are polite, friendly and well-spoken, it will show people that we are good, friendly people, not monsters.
• It will really upset Comfort and Cameron, which is great fun.

Here’s what you can do:

• Contact your local atheist/brights/freethinkers/skeptical/science/physics/logic/critical thinker, etc. group and talk to them about getting a group together to meet, receive a book, and perhaps make a statement with it en masse once you all have a copy.
• Help us find out what schools the books will be handed out at so we know where to go. I am not sure how to find this out.
• Go to your university on November 19 and at least get your copy of the book.

I think if possible (and yes, I know I’m publishing this to my blog), we would best be served if we kept this a bit quiet, at least for now. But spread the word, tell all your evolution-loving, blasphemous, hell-bound heathen friends and family about it.

We can disseminate information through here for now, so let us know if you have any ideas, suggestions and updates about the event, as well as if anyone can find out at which schools the books will be given out.

EDIT: Here is the pdf of Comfort’s 50 page foreword. I think this is the original one. When his revised version comes out, let me know so I can link it here!

Related posts

• We Are Lions! (4)
• Separation of church and State Benefits Everyone (26)
• Podcasts and Internet Radio Stations You May Enjoy (0)
• Here We Go Again… (125)
• Evolution Before Darwin (0)

There is a difference between patriotism and nationalism:

• Patriotism: devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty.
• Nationalism: same as patriotism but also the idea that your national culture and interests are superior to any other.

While I am patriotic and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather move to, we can’t sit back on our laurels from previous generations and just let this fine country continue to rot in its own arrogance and ignorance.

My husband Butch said it clearly (with copious amounts of swearing, be warned) in his post titled Another Lesson in Differences. Regarding nationalism:

… That is what most people in Amerika consider patriotic: unwavering support for their country & its leaders, regardless of what those “leaders” think, do or say. A bunch of drunk fratboys bleating out chants of “U S A” & “We’re Number One” while certainly embarrassing, is neither true or patriotic. Blind faith in anything just means you’re willing to abdicate responsibility for your actions to someone you don’t even know. That doesn’t make you anything but a fucking sheep, which explains the repetitive bleating.

I stole the picture from Butch’s post too (thanks, honey). Teddy Roosevelt said it perfectly:

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.

We are not free like we think we are. We are not the best in anything except arrogance these days. How could we be as great as we think we are when ignorance is considered cool? I’m sure we’re number one in apathy though. Yeah, that’s something to be proud of.

Hopefully after the worst presidency in the history of America, Obama can start to turn things around. I have a slim glimmer of hope that he’ll roll up his sleeves and get dirty, making tough decisions that might not be fun in the short term but will help us get back on track. It’s a tall order. I hope for our sake he’s up to the task and we can find some vestige of wisdom that accepts the changes we so desperately need.

Related posts

• What Makes Us Uniquely Human? (2)
• What Are You Doing November 19? (10)
• Separation of church and State Benefits Everyone (26)
• Let’s Stop Coddling The Ignorant (3)
• I’m Godless And I Want My Freedom (2)

I’ve seen his videos in the past, but I didn’t realize he has been so prolific. (I know, I live under a rock). He did this latest video about a month ago and it’s awesome, as usual. I decided to do a transcript mainly for myself because I agreed with just about everything he said. So I thought I’d add it here. Thanks Pat, you really did nail what I think!

Godless and Free by Pat Condell

Somebody pointed out to me recently that by focusing on what I don’t want, namely religion, I’m attracting more of it into my life, which I agree would be a very unfortunate irony if not for the fact that I’m focusing on what I do want, and that’s freedom, and lots of it.

You see, I make these videos not because I despise religion as humanity’s way of poking itself in the eye with a sharp stick for no reason, although obviously I do, but because I want to live in a free world full of free people who can say whatever they want to say and who can be whoever they want to be one thousand percent fo the time, and where nobody is allowed to shut them up because their crackpot religious beliefs have been offended.

I don’t care at all about theology, unless it threatens that freedom, and then I care about it the way I care about rabies or typhoid. So you could say that I’m not so much anti-religion as pro-freedom. Indeed if religion was pro-freedom, I wouldn’t have such a problem with it. But then if religion was pro-freedom it wouldn’t exist.

Because religion feeds on a broken spirit, and that’s why it tries to break your spirit the moment you come into contact with it.

Submit. Obey. Do not question.

Those words should be chiseled above the entrance of every church and every mosque. Because that’s the only message religion has, when it comes right down to it – Praise the lord, or else.

The pope spelled it out for American catholics when he told them, “Obedience to the doctrine of the church is the foundation of your faith.” That’s what he said. There was no mention of enlightenment or spirituality or any of these things, because he’s not in this business. He’s in the obedience business, the only business where the customer is always wrong.

Clergy are the only salesmen who don’t have to justify or prove any of the outrageous claims they make for the product they’re hustling, and this leaves them free to engage in the kind of open fraud which in any other walk of life would be a criminal offence.

For the level of investment they demand from us I believe we’re entitled to expect actual enlightenment and wisdom in return. Instead, what do we get? We get dogma, crude coercion, and endless empty pieties about the love of a god who clearly loves us the way a violent husband loves the woman sitting next to him with two black eyes. If we step out of line we pay in the most brutal way.

And it’s this crass violence at the heart of religion which I believe makes it truly evil, and also furnishes proof, as if proof were needed, that this is an entirely manmade phenomenon with nothing divine about it, otherwise it wouldn’t be so damned ugly.

The god of the desert is transparently a false god. He’s a puppet who speaks with the voice of ignorant men who are afraid of knowledge and afraid of freedom and who therefore need desperately to control the thoughts of others for their own miserable survival.

They need us to believe that we’re less than we are, and to diminish ourselves in our own minds, to feel small and helpless, in need of salvation. So what do they tell us? They tell us that strength and virtue lie in submission. Yes, of course they do. With our faces in the dust we are invincible, isn’t that right?

And of course we live forever, either in eternal bliss or in eternal torment, but that’s entirely up to us. Eternal bliss requires that you wear a straitjacket of blind faith, not permanently, just from now until you die, whereas living a joyful, humane, compassionate, but godless life will get you horribly tortured for all eternity.
Fear is religion’s currency of choice. It’s the lowest of human emotions because it’s the most crippling emotion and this is why it’s religion’s currency of choice. It’s pretty obvious when you think about it, but hey, don’t strain yourselves.

But actually it’s religion that has everything to fear because it depends on maintaining the illusion, maintaining the spell, and hoping that nobody manages to burst its artificial bubble of faith, and this is exactly why it wages such determined war on our basic freedoms of thought and speech.

But it’s losing this war, because every day more and more of us are waking up to the damage that this nonsense is doing to our world. We can see our societies being twisted out of shape, being injected with false values that pander to bigotry and superstition, and we’ve realized that this god of the desert has outstayed his welcome and become a liability, and quite frankly he needs us a lot more than we need him.

Because we’ve moved on from the desert, and we’ve discovered a few things about the world, and the universe, and our place in it, and we’re no longer afraid of the thunder and the lightning. Our world is no longer populated by demons and hobgoblins, and we no longer need to be led around by the nose for the benefit of clergy.

And they know this, just as they know that their god’s very existence depends entirely on our belief – belief without evidence and belief that defies reason – and when that belief disappears, as one day it certainly will, this ridiculous god will disappear with it, instantly and forever.

He won’t be able to vent his wrath or visit retribution on anyone, because he won’t exist. He’ll evaporate quicker than common sense in a creation museum, and his vast army of controlling parasitical clergy will find themselves briefly, cartoon-like in mid air, before dropping like fleas into a bucket.

That’s what I’m looking forward to, and that’s what I’m focused on, and it’s why I make these videos, because I think we’re better than this. And I know we’ve got the power to withdraw our belief, and our consent, and put a stop to this nonsense.

All we need is the courage.

Peace and freedom. Let’s not forget the freedom.

This is just brilliant. I wish I had the sunny optimism Pat expresses in this video. I can’t say that I do, but it sure would be nice if people could find the courage and the wherewithall to break free of the shackles of blind faith and dogma.

I want to point out one thing. The argument Pat talks about in the beginning is flawed. He said that someone told him that by focusing on what he doesn’t want in his life, he’s attracting more of it. This is called the Law of Attraction and it’s completely bogus. I’ll write more about it later. Remind me if I forget.

Related posts

• Religulous: We’re On The Road To Nowhere (3)
• Belief, Unbelief and The Scientific Method (24)
• Coming Out of the Religious Closet and a Great Survey For Atheists (3)
• What Would It Take To Make Me Believe In God? (10)
• What Is Atheism To You? Conversations With Craig the Christian 1 (36)