Halton Catholic School's Censor Fantasy Series, Still Allow Bible

http://theframeproblem.wordpress.com/2007/12/20/halton-district-catholic-school-board-officially-bans-pullman-books/

Halton District Catholic School Board Officially Bans Pullman Books
Posted by ronbrown on December 20, 2007

For daring to criticize Catholicism, Philip Pullman’s books have officially been banned from Halton Catholic School shelves. The most notable of the three books is The Golden Compass, which has recently been made into a movie and has been dignified by readers around the world as the best children’s book in the last 70 years.

“After yanking The Golden Compass from its library shelves for review, a Toronto-area Catholic school board has decided to make the removal permanent.
At a board meeting Tuesday evening, the trustees of the Halton District Catholic School Board voted to ban the title as well as the remaining two books in atheist author Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy: The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.
A committee struck to review The Golden Compass had proposed moving the book to the young adult section of school libraries, but the trustees rejected that proposition and approved a ban instead.”

Something tells me that the Halton Board probably would not be in as much of a rush to ban books condemnatory of other religious or secular groups. It’s seems, to me, to be an incredible sign of weakness that rather than simply presenting an alternative perspective to what is being said or implied in Pullman’s books, the board feels that it needs to ban the book altogether. I only hope that this results in more of their students wanting to read it just because they’ve been discouraged from doing it.

On the plus side, this turn of events will probably increase the number and vigor of Ontarians against the public funding of Catholic schools, which was already a majority. So a big “Thank You” to the Halton District Catholic School Board! Your spineless insecurity and Big Brotherish ways are a continuing source of inspiration.

Why the "War on Christmas" Won't Stop . . . and Why it Should

Interesting article on OpEdNews.com by Donna Halper. Includes the surprising origin of the 'War on Christmas.'

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_donna_ha_071226_why_the__22war_on_chri.htm

Scared of Santa

A gallery of pictures of children being terrified by Santa. Really reminds you what this season is all about: scarring children for life.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/holiday/sfl-scaredofsanta-ugc,0,7181908.ugcphotogallery

MI State Representative to follow Ernest's lead in saving Christmas

This is an interesting one right in our own backyard . . .

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=85310

Jesusland Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VMnFYQ_35Y

Green Bay Votes to Respect an Establishment of Religion Despite Pesky Constitution

Click the link to check out the audio, it's even more horrifying than it sounds. Mayor Schmitt appears to be painfully clueless about, well, everything.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17416043&ft=1&f=2

All Things Considered, December 19, 2007 · Melissa Block talks with Green Bay, Wis., Mayor Jim Schmitt about Tuesday night's 6-6 vote by the city council on whether to keep in place a nativity display adorning the roof of City Hall.

Schmitt cast the tie-breaking "yes" vote to let the nativity stand and bar other holiday symbols until guidelines for future displays are approved.

The council's president installed the nativity earlier this month, and it quickly drew criticism, praise and requests for other symbols, including a Pagan Yule wreath with a five-pointed Wiccan pentacle. Days after being installed, the wreath was torn down and was found in bushes nearby.

Teacher sued for exposing religious bigotry

http://presscue.com/node/29804

World History with the Pope

http://www.mattbors.com/strips/321.gif

Fortune Teller Fraud

If only it were Sylvia Browne . . .

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22133229/

Holy Mitt!

Did you catch Mitt Romney's speech yesterday? Yeah, me neither. That's what they make the Internet for.

Here's my favorite quote: "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."

As a friend of mine said: "I wonder what Saudi Arabia has to say about religion perishing without freedom?"

Here's an article comparing Romney's speech vs. Kennedy's:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/6/144038/828/298/418716

Oh, and CNN was running the headline: "Romney barely says 'Mormon'" . . . so, did he say "Morm . . ." and then trail off?

Fletch blogs CFI's Conference

After attending CFI New York City's recent conference (Secular Society and Its Enemies), I did a blog series over at Bathtub Jeff is Watching

It's a lot of material, and a lot of it is irrelevant to the topic at hand, but just in case any of you were interested in my experiences in NYC, I thought I'd post some linkage.

Parts 3, 4 & 5 are probably the most relevant, the rest is mostly for shits and giggles.

Part I: Coming and Going
Part II: New York, New York
Part III: The Conference
Part IV: My Generation
Part V: Prologue

Tonight "Separation on State Street" Sneak Preview

To our listeners/readers in the west Michigan area, tonight at 8:00 the Microcinema in Grand Rapids will be showing Rob St. Mary's new film "The Separation on State Street."
Tickets will be 5$. Its a local film with a great message. Don't miss it. The Microcinema is located at 470 Market S.W. Grand Rapids, MI 49503.

For more about the movie or to see the trailer go to www.knowsaint.com

Pope Blinded by Plank in Eye Carefully Notes Speck in Atheists'

In a controversial new move, the Pope has declared that he prefers theism over atheism. Read all about it:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL3016839520071130

Daily Doubt

On arguing...Another great comic from the Cectic. I'm not sure how he does it, but nearly every comic manages to make a finer point of skeptical argumentation get across simply and humorously.

News

• Association for Christian Retail Sells Crosses Made in Chinese Sweatshops. From Podcast friend, Ed Brayton's Blog "Dispatches from the Culture Wars"

Science

• A New Scenario For a Key Step in the Emergence of Life on Earth...silly scientists. All that time wasted searching for answers when they could have just read Genesis.
  

Daily Doubt

Beginning today were going to try to have a short daily (more like quasi-daily) post with links to articles religious skeptics may find of interest.

News:

• Virginia Governor Says No More Tax Funds For Religious Right Sex Education

• Embattled Oral Roberts president resigns.
  

Cool Stuff:

• The Atheism Tapes: full interviews from Jonathan Miller's A Rough History of Disbelief

  (I didn't care much for the series but the interviews were great, especially those with Daniel Dennett and Colin McGinn)
  

Fletch Hits the Big Apple

RD co-host David Fletcher is spreading his charismatic wit around NYC this weekend. He's at CFI's "The Secular Society and it's Enemies" conference, spreading the gospel of doubt and rubbing elbows with some of my personal heroes; Peter Singer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan. Of coarse I'm insanely jealous. But Dave is above rubbing it in my face. Instead he wrote me a nice email this morning.


"So, uh, I don't want to brag or anything, but I got Ann Druyan's card
and she told me to call her about the podcast.

Oh, and dinner with Dawkins? Sounds like that's going to happen tonight.

What's going on in Grand Rapids?"

~Fletch

...Laugh it up fanboy.

Fundies Say the Darndest Things

This website has a seemingly endless supply of the kinds of loving and intelligent things Fundamentalists have to say.

Hours of amusement or a lifetime of therapy.

http://www.fstdt.com/

Dance, Monkeys, Dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a15KgyXBX24

Bible Fight!

From Adult Swim.com, your source for psychotic online gaming. Play as Eve, Noah, Moses, Jesus, Mary, Satan and God himself. Hours of sacrilegious fun.

Check it out:

http://www.adultswim.com/games/biblefight/index.html

Phelps Family to Pay $10.9 Million

http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSN3134225120071031

Kansas church liable in Marine funeral protest
Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:24pm
EDTBy Jon Hurdle

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A jury on Wednesday ordered an anti-gay Kansas church to pay $10.9 million in damages to relatives of a U.S. Marine who died in Iraq after church members cheered his death at his funeral.

Church members said Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder's death was God's punishment of America for tolerating homosexuality, and they attended his 2006 funeral in Maryland with signs saying "You're going to hell" and "God hates you."

The federal jury determined the Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, and three of its principals invaded the privacy of the dead man's family and inflicted emotional distress.

Albert Snyder, the Marine's father, testified that his son was not gay, but the church targeted the military as a symbol of America's tolerance of gays. Matthew Snyder died in combat in Iraq in March 2006.

The jury awarded Snyder's family $2.9 million in compensatory damages plus $8 million in punitive damages in the first civil suit against the church, which has demonstrated at some 300 military funerals the past two years.

The lawsuit said church Web sites vilified U.S. soldiers, accusing them of being indoctrinated by "fag propaganda."

"I hope it's enough to deter them from doing this to other families. It was not about the money. It was about getting them to stop," said Snyder, of York, Pennsylvania.

The church, which is unaffiliated with any major denomination, is headed by Rev. Fred Phelps, who has led a campaign against homosexuality for years. Most of the estimated 70 members of the church belong to his extended family.

"It will take the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals a few minutes to reverse this silly thing," Phelps said.

His daughter and co-defendant, Shirley Phelps-Roper, vowed to continue protesting military funerals and called the court's decision a blow against free speech.

Outside court on Wednesday, Phelps and his children waved placards with slogans such as "Pray for more dead kids" and "God hates fag enablers," while passing drivers and pedestrians shouted abuse at them.

Defense attorney Jonathan Katz urged jurors not to award punitive damages because the $2.9 million in compensatory damages was already three times the defendants' net worth.

"It's enough already to bankrupt them and financially destroy them," Katz said.

Craig Trebilcock, an attorney for Snyder, said jurors should award sufficient punitive damages to deter Westboro from repeating its actions.