Penn and Teller AIDS Walk - April 15th

April 20-22, 2007 – Center for Inquiry Florida Convention

National Day of Reason – May 3

What are you Doing on the Day of Reason?

Mark your calendars. May 3, is the National Day of Reason.

The National Day of Reason Web Project (online at
www.nationaldayofre ason.org ) explains the reason for the Reason:

"The goal of this effort is to celebrate reason - a concept all Americans
can support - and to raise public awareness about the persistent threat to
religious liberty posed by government intrusion into the private sphere of
worship."

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines the word
reason as follows: "The capacity for logical, rational, and analytic
thought; intelligence. "

The National Day of Reason is being held on the National Day of Prayer, a
project of the Religious Right that is used to promote the establishment of
religion by government officials in deliberate defiance of the guarantees of
the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Across the country,
huge numbers of politicians attend and promote National Day of Prayer
events, using their power in public office to advocate for the agenda of the
right wing agenda of the National Day of Prayer.

The National Day of Prayer organization is especially intent on promoting a
right wing religious presence into public schools. The group promotes a
revisionist religious curriculum for history classes, "a new, cutting-edge,
multi-media curriculum that teaches the history of our nation from a
Christian Worldview." The National Day of Prayer also promotes the activist
See You At The Pole movement, which seeks create social pressure for
students to pray in public schools.

The National Day of Prayer also takes strong right wing political stands
against sex education, complaining that "Condom distribution, and a refusal
to acknowledge God have become commonplace in our institutions of learning
today. As a result, our children are entering the 'real world' knowing more
about politically correct ideas than they do about reading or science! Pray
that your schools will get 'back to basics' when it comes to educating our
children, instilling the leaders of tomorrow with a respect for the
Judeo-Christian values upon which our nation was founded." The National Day
of Prayer organization can't resist making attacks against gays and
lesbians, and their supposed "sexual immorality" either.

The National Day of Prayer organization raises funds by selling right wing
political books like "True Freedom" by Oliver North. You remember Oliver
North, don't you? He's the man who sold U.S. government weapons to the
Iranian government and then used the money to fund right wing death squads
in Central America.

The National Day of Prayer activists don't even just promote the mixing of
religion in general into the government of the United States of America.
Rather, in their vision of an America without the First Amendment, only
Christianity and Judaism are welcome.

In spite of this radical anti-democratic agenda, and in spite of its the
organization' s clear efforts to promote some religions to the detriment of
others, the Bush White House has been using the power of the government to
promote the National Day of Prayer, and attempt to elevate it to the status
of a government-recogniz ed holiday. George W. Bush has issued official
proclaimations as President of the United States, declaring the National Day
of Prayer to be supported by the federal government.

President Bush has made official speeches, recorded on the White House
government web site, preaching and declaring particular theological concepts
to be those of the American government:

"Prayer is a gift from Almighty God that transforms us, whether we bow our
heads in solitude, or offer swift and silent prayers in times of trial.
Prayer humbles us by reminding us of our place in creation. Prayer
strengthens us by reminding us that God loves and cares for each and every
soul in His creation. And prayer blesses us by reminding us that there is a
divine plan that stands above all human plans. In the stillness and peace of
prayer we surrender our will to God's will, and we learn to serve His
eternal purposes."

We all know what George W. Bush believes about God's will and the supposed divine plan. President Bush believes that he was commanded by God to go to
war.

In spite of what the Religious Right's propaganda suggests, the National Day
of Prayer does not unite Americans. It divides us. With its harsh,
theocratic political agenda, the National Day of Prayer attacks the rights
of non-Christian, non-Jewish, non-heterosexual Americans to live as equals
within the United States of America.

The National Day of Reason is intended as a counter to that agenda. Please,
on May 3rd this year, consider taking part in a National Day of Reason event
near you.

Rep. Stark comes out as a Non-Theist. Send him an email thanking him!

Debate on the Existence of God at UCF

On March 29, the Campus Freethought Alliance will sponsor a debate about the existence of God, which will pit Edward Tabash of the Center for Inquiry against Rev. Joel A. Reif from the First United Church of Christ of Orlando. The debate will be a five-part question-and-answer format, with the speakers fielding questions from each other and audience members.
The CFA is an organization devoted to reaching out to students, the religious and secular alike.
Ken Swan, vice president of CFA, says the purpose is primarily to promote science, the separation of church and state and an inquiry into all areas of human interest where no question is off limits.
"We are open-minded," Swan said. "We are not a group of atheists who are only trying to promote themselves. We are a group who wants to discuss everything, and we are always willing to discuss any viewpoint that is brought to the table. We are open-minded toward other religions, but we do not allow faith to be a conversation stopper."
Costas Efthimiou, assistant professor of physics, founder of the UCF chapter of the CFA and the adviser to the group, believes that there is a need on campus for the CFA. According to the Science and Engineering Indicators' research on public attitudes toward science and the pseudoscience, more than 50 percent of Americans hold beliefs in at least two pseudosciences.
Pseudoscience, as defined by the American Heritage dictionary, is a theory, methodology or practice that is considered to be without scientific foundation. Efthimiou said that with these high levels of beliefs in pseudoscience, there is a need for public education on what real science is. The CFA seeks to interpret the world without the interference of the supernatural and superstitions.
CFA meetings are round-table discussions and are held bimonthly on the first and third Wednesday of every month. Swan says the group doesn't do rallies or protests but is more interested in debate and discussion.

MARCH FOR PEACE

Check out this profile and this link to United for Peace, for information on how to get involved with a Peace March on or around March 17th, to mark the fourth year of the war in Iraq. Just insert your zip.