After Local Fire, An Atheist Finds Ways to Show her Thanks
Last month, a house burst into flames four doors down from blogger Leia. Thankfully, no one lived in it, but several firefighters had to spend several hours putting it out.
As an ex-Mormon, Leia writes that her first thoughts were all religious in nature but, as an atheist, she decided to do something more than just thank God for keeping everyone safe:
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Godfellas
The Photoshop Phriday challenge: Remove one letter from the name of a movie and redesign the poster.
Of course, that led to Godfellas:
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Texas Set to Pass Bill Protecting the Phrase ‘Merry Christmas’ from… Well… No One, Really
Texas Governor Rick Perry is set to sign a bill (HB 308) that will allow teachers and students to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah” or “happy holidays” without repercussion.
Even though no one was ever trying to stop them.
The same bill allows for holiday displays, too:
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Vatican Representative: Just to Be Clear, Atheists Are Still Going to Hell
Yesterday, I posted about something interesting Pope Francis said in a recent homily — namely, that even atheists could be “redeemed” if they were good people.
Many atheists thought it was pretty damn nice of the Pope to say that… even if the idea of being “saved” or “redeemed” thanks to Christ’s death is all made up.
We all knew that sense of one-ness and actions-speak-louder-than-prayers wasn’t going to last very long. As the Pope’s words made their way around the world, a Vatican spokesman had to do some damage control and remind everybody that atheists, in fact, are going to hell unless they accept Jesus:
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Lawrence O’Donnell Talks About Atheism Popping Up in the Least Expected Places
Earlier tonight, MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell spoke about atheists popping up in the least expected places — in Oklahoma, in a talk by the Pope, and in the Arizona House of Representatives:
Okay, so he called Rep. Juan Mendez “Rep. Menendez” at one point… but I’ll let it slide 
Kentucky State Senator Criticizes New Science Standards for Emphasizing Evolution and Climate Change
Here’s some advice to politicians out there: If you’re going to say something stupid, don’t do it in writing where all of us can see it.
Mike Wilson, a Republican state senator from Kentucky, not only ignored that wisdom, he doubled down on his ignorance in an op-ed for the (Louisville) Courier-Journal in which he railed against recently-released “Next Generation Science Standards” for promoting human activity as a factor in climate change and — wait for it — evolution:
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Glenn Beck: Wolf Blitzer’s Conversation with an Atheist Was a Setup
Glenn Beck, the professional conspiracy theorist, said on his show last night that Wolf Blitzer‘s conversation with Oklahoman Rebecca Vitsmun was pre-planned by a producer clearly sympathetic to atheists:
Sure… and while we’re at it, the tornado was all part of the environmentalists’ plan to make God look evil, right?
Boy Scouts of America Will Now Allow Gay Youth, but Gay Leaders and Atheists Are Still Banned
The Boy Scouts of America just approved a resolution allowing gay youths to be part of the organization.
The Boy Scouts of America will accept openly gay Scouts but not gay adult Scout Leaders. Because who wants kids to grow up to be leaders?
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) May 23, 2013
Yep, once you turn 18, gay scouts are kicked right back out. And if you’re an open atheist, you’re still never allowed to be a scout in the first place.
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Idaho Resident Gets Crosses Removed from Water Tower
If you saw the side of the water tower in Roberts, Idaho last week, you would’ve seen this cross (and two others):
But they’re not there anymore thanks to Joe Cohea, who lives in the small town. With the help of the ACLU, Joe got the city to replace the crosses with flags:
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Illinois Family Institute: If Gays Aren’t Jumping at Civil Unions, Why Bother with Gay Marriage?
The Illinois Family Institute’s David E. Smith and Andrew Willis have used their incredible wisdom and logic to poke a hole in the idea that gay and lesbian couples in Illinois really want to get married.
Here’s how their argument goes: According to the census, very few gay and lesbian couples in Illinois got “civil unionized” in 2012. Therefore, why would they fight so hard for marriage equality?!
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A California State Senator’s Luncheon to Honor Students Begins with Christian Prayer
Over the weekend, California State Senator Roderick D. Wright (a Democrat) hosted a luncheon for high school honors students in his district. The invitation letter, sent out last month, was pretty straightforward and it sounded like a really nice gesture from a local politician:
Bob Smith (a pseudonym) was one of the attendees — his niece was being honored — but when the luncheon started, things got very quiet and very religious.
Beginning at the 0:48 mark in Smith’s video below, you can hear the person introducing Wright — Carson City Councilmember Mike Gipson — leading the crowd in a Christian prayer:
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‘I’m Actually An Atheist’ Shirts Being Sold to Help Out Atheist Who Spoke to Wolf Blitzer
The organizers of the FreeOK Oklahoma Freethought Convention are doing a nifty fundraiser to help out Rebecca Vitsmun, the atheist who told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer “I’m actually an atheist” in response to his question about whether she thanked God in the wake of the recent tornado.
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Should We Care That Pope Francis Said That Atheists, Too, Can Be Redeemed?
During yesterday’s Mass in Rome, Pope Francis made some noteworthy remarks that go against the Protestant notion that only those who believe in Christ’s divinity can be saved. (Sure, he’s Catholic, and this belief is nothing new, but we’re still not used to hearing it from someone in his position.)
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The Birth of Anteater Jesus
A female anteater at a zoo in Greenwich, Connecticut gave birth to a baby last month.
That sounds perfectly normal.
Until you realize that female anteaters have a six month gestation period, and a male anteater hadn’t been in the same pen with her for over eight months…
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