An atheist's Christmas tree ornament tattoo
Religion News Service
As an atheist who grew up in a nonreligious household that celebrated Christmas with gusto—for us it was about food, family, and Santa, but not about Jesus—I've always loved the holiday. As a child this was partially due to the “magic” of the season ...

Morton Grove Library Board rejects $3K donation from atheist
Highland Park News
Comments on a Facebook page, including one that said “[expletive] God,” led Morton Grove Library trustees to reject a $3,000 donation that was made to support Park Board member Dan Ashta's Pledge of Allegiance boycott. The money was raised by atheist ...

In science we often get together with other scientists and present preliminary results before the publication of the manuscript.  I think that attending meetings is an excellent opportunity to learn what other people are working on, share the research that I am currently engaged in, and both give and receive feedback about the analysis and interpretations. In this case, I presented a poster at the scientific meeting I attended, the 2013 annual meeting of the... M. Wilson Sayres http://mathbionerd.blogspot.com

Town Hall
VIDEO: What Do New Yorkers Think About Atheist Christmas Billboards?
Town Hall
Generally speaking, they didn't seem to think too highly of them. Last week MRCTV's Dan Joseph traveled to the Big Apple to ask pedestrians and city dwellers alike what they thought about an anti-Christian electric billboard which read: “Who needs ...

and more »

Soapbox: Atheist maintains there's lots to be thankful for in the secular world
The Coloradoan
Almost every year around this time, I am accosted by at least one or two religious friends, acquaintances or coworkers (but not usually family — they tend to pointedly avoid the subject while in my presence), who seem to think that, as an atheist, I ...

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Be sure to show them this picture!

Atheist maintains there's lots to be thankful for in the Secular world
The Coloradoan
Almost every year around this time, I am accosted by at least one or two religious friends, acquaintances or coworkers (but not usually family — they tend to pointedly avoid the subject while in my presence), who seem to think that, as an atheist, I ...

International Business Times
Atheist Threatens To Sue Town For Putting Up Nativity Scene, But Not Festivus ...
Huffington Post
Chaz Stevens, the atheist responsible for erecting a Festivus pole made of beer cans in the Florida capitol, is now threatening to sue the town of Deerfield Beach for displaying a nativity scene, according to a video he posted to YouTube. "People don't ...
Florida Festivus Lawsuit: Chaz Stevens, 'Militant Atheist,' Wants Pabst Blue ...International Business Times
Florida town erects last-minute Nativity scene after ban to keep out Festivus poleRaw Story

all 8 news articles »

Salon
My atheist Christmas in China
Salon
Growing up Jewish in North Carolina, Christmas was a drag. Stores were closed, friends couldn't play, random strangers on the street would shout, “Merry Christmas, Jesus loves you!” “Be polite,” my mother would whisper when I made faces in response ...

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When an Atheist Encounters God
Charisma News
Growing up in rural Alabama in the 1960s, Dr. Reggie Anderson's childhood sounds like a script from a Hallmark movie. He was raised in a Christian home, and life on the farm was innocent and honest. God was as real to him as the clay beneath his feet, ...

International Business Times
Florida Festivus Lawsuit: Chaz Stevens, 'Militant Atheist,' Wants Pabst Blue ...
International Business Times
Fervent Festivus supporter and self-described “militant atheist” Chaz Stevens is threatening to sue a Florida city for not erecting a Festivus pole alongside its Nativity display. Florida Festivus Lawsuit: Chaz Stevens, 'Militant Atheist,' Wants Pabst ...
Florida town erects last-minute Nativity scene after ban to keep out Festivus poleRaw Story

all 5 news articles »

Another Bill O'Reilly Christmas Victory? Atheist Sign Is Torched!
News Hounds
As part of his annual Holy Ghost inspired crusade to save Christmas, Bill O'Reilly directs much of his Christmas venom towards atheists who, given the hysteria surrounding their holiday signs, must really present a threat to O'Reilly's supposedly ...

Photograph by Erik Duerr. Photography contest, Honorable Mention. Megadyptes antipodes, yellow-eyed penguin, Sandfly Bay, South Island, New Zealand. Mr. Duerr writes, “The yellow-eyed penguin is probably the world’s rarest (population ~4000) and most ancient (i.e., created slightly before the others on Day 5). It’s IUCN listed as endangered, with habitat degradation and predation by exotic predators among the primary reasons. The photograph actually isn’t great because the light was low and I don’t have the... Matt Young http://www.mines.edu/~mmyoung

Sven Axelsson

This is Thunderdome, the unmoderated open thread on Pharyngula. Say what you want, how you want.

Status: UNMODERATED; Previous thread

Edward Snowden has been unfavorably compared to Daniel Ellsberg: both leaked classified documents that exposed government wrongdoing, but Ellsberg was brave enough to stand and face the legal system. Now Ellsberg himself repudiates that argument. America has changed over the last 40 years. We now live in a country that actively suppresses whistle-blowers, with a lapdog media that colludes in maintaining government secrecy.

I hope Snowden’s revelations will spark a movement to rescue our democracy, but he could not be part of that movement had he stayed here. There is zero chance that he would be allowed out on bail if he returned now and close to no chance that, had he not left the country, he would have been granted bail. Instead, he would be in a prison cell like Bradley Manning, incommunicado.

He would almost certainly be confined in total isolation, even longer than the more than eight months Manning suffered during his three years of imprisonment before his trial began recently. The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Torture described Manning’s conditions as “cruel, inhuman and degrading.” (That realistic prospect, by itself, is grounds for most countries granting Snowden asylum, if they could withstand bullying and bribery from the United States.)

Snowden believes that he has done nothing wrong. I agree wholeheartedly. More than 40 years after my unauthorized disclosure of the Pentagon Papers, such leaks remain the lifeblood of a free press and our republic. One lesson of the Pentagon Papers and Snowden’s leaks is simple: secrecy corrupts, just as power corrupts.

I remember the Nixon years, and thinking it was a disgrace to be living in a crook’s regime. Who would have thought I’d someday be living in that same country, with a slightly more liberal Democratic president, and be pining for the days before Reagan?

I don’t know about this. We’re at my daughter’s house for Christmas, and she and my wife obviously conspired to force this on me. Only good thing about it is that it accurately portrays the feline attitude: slitted, angry eyes, sneakily trying to get into the Christmas presents early.

Midnight making mischief

Least I could do

Liberals Are Cool

The Digital Cuttlefish read the federal ruling striking down Utah’s gay discrimination laws, and makes an interesting point: Utah’s arguments were stupid. Not just poorly reasoned, but youtube-comment-grade stupid.

You’d think after all these years of clever people trying to rationalize their religious beliefs into law, you’d think someone would have said something that would make you stop and think, “Hmm, that’s a tough one…I’m going to have to think for a few minutes to counter that.” But no, they haven’t. And the court ruling goes through them all and points out how superficial and foolish Utah’s lawyers were.

By the way, if you want to get married in Utah today, Equality Utah has recommendations. Work fast — there are forces in Utah working to block this decision.

Also, “work fast” is bad advice about something as serious as getting married. Only move quickly if you’re already in a committed relationship and have wanted this for some time.

Atheists, Christians Clash at Daley Plaza's Christmas Display in Chicago (VIDEO)
ChicagoNow (blog)
Chicago, Illinois, December 23, 2013 - In this just released video, watch as atheists and Christians clash at Daley Plaza's Christmas Display in Chicago. Christian demonstrators had just unfurled a large banner with the words, "A is for Angels" in ...

International Business Times
Atheist Threatens To Sue Town For Putting Up Nativity Scene, But Not Festivus ...
Huffington Post
Chaz Stevens, the atheist responsible for erecting a Festivus pole made of beer cans in the Florida capitol, is now threatening to sue the town of Deerfield Beach for displaying a nativity scene, according to a video he posted to YouTube. "People don't ...
Florida Festivus Lawsuit: Chaz Stevens, 'Militant Atheist,' Wants Pabst Blue ...International Business Times
Florida town erects last-minute Nativity scene after ban to keep out Festivus poleRaw Story
Florida Town Puts Up Last-Minute Nativity After Banning Holiday Displays ...Opposing Views

all 5 news articles »