Negligible Knowledge Base

On the evening of December 25th, I managed to get completely caught up on my web reading via my RSS Reader, a circumstance so unprecedented that I actually tweeted to that effect.  Since then, however, I’ve fallen behind again, so it’s no surprise that I missed this last week.  vjack of Atheist Revolution, Welcome to New Readers:
If some [...]

This excellent post by David Silverman at the NoGodBlog: Not Just Christmas really nails the issue:
OK Folks one more time: Christmas is secularizing BECAUSE it was made a national holiday. This is ONLY happening to Christmas because it is the ONLY religious holiday that has been nationalized — e.g, made mandatory for all Americans. I [...]

vjack of Atheist Revolution, War on Christmas Over, Christians Victorious:
In fact, it turns out that the only combatant in this bitter dispute, a handful of dimwitted Christians, have finally achieved victory over themselves. They have made a thorough mockery of the very holiday they were allegedly defending from imagined threats.
I’ll just bet Bill O’Reilly is thrilled [...]

Hell yeah! Americans United for Separation of Church and State yesterday announced:
A federal judge today ruled that the state of South Carolina may not issue a special “Christian” license plate featuring a cross, a stained-glass window and the words “I Believe.”
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which sponsored the litigation to stop [...]

TechSkeptic has an updated list of atheist charities, which TechSkeptic defines as any charitable organization that does not promote a specific religion. Check it out, it’s quite a list. Many, if not most, of the organizations I support are on the list (and a few are in the comments).

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has installed a sign in the Washington State Capitol alongside a Christmas tree and nativity scene. The sign reads:
At this season of the Winter Solstice may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth [...]

vjack writing at Atheist Revolution, Anti-Atheist Bigotry as a Political Tactic:
We are at an important crossroads. Do we keep our heads down and hope nobody finds out what we really think, or are we willing to take what will surely be a risky stand? As much as I have struggled with my own misgivings around [...]

Another insightful post in vjack’s excellent series on atheist activism, over at Atheist Revolution.
On a personal note, this is exactly why I never patronize Chik-fil-A. I tried to go to Chik-fil-A once on a Sunday after church and AH-HAH! — Oh OK, just making sure you were paying attention…
But seriously, I know [...]

I’ve been out of town for almost two weeks, returning home only a couple days ago.  My mother, who has been in deteriorating health since taking a fall in February, wound up in the hospital a couple weekends ago, and the initial report from the emergency room doctor was very, very bleak: catastrophic stroke with [...]

Saw this on a T-shirt at lunch:
Gods Don’t Kill People,
People With Gods Kill People.