May 2013
2 posts
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Brave Mississippi Student Stands Up for Separation... →
As you know, the American Humanist Association is suing Northwest Rankin High School (Flowood, MS) for allegedly forcing students to attend an assembly where members of Pinelake Baptist Church subjected them to proselytizing and sectarian prayer. While most of the mainstream media coverage of the suit has assumed that the plaintiff must be an atheist student, it appears that this is not the case....
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Neil Carter Interviewed for Interview an Atheist... →
Here is Neil Carter of Godless in Dixie being interviewed at the Meadowbrook Church of Christ in Jackson as part of Interview an Atheist at Church Day.
Big thanks to Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) for bringing this to my attention. He always seems to know far more about what is happening with atheists here in Mississippi than I do. Subscribe to Mississippi Atheists
April 2013
7 posts
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Public School Students in Mississippi Forced to... →
Map of Mississippi highlighting Rankin County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The separation of church and state is under attack here in Mississippi. We have teacher-led prayer taking place in our public schools in clear violation of the U.S. Constitution and considerable case law, and our elected officials seem to be determined to remove any legal obstacles to having even more of it. Under the...
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About Mayor Dupree's Prayer Breakfast - vjack →
English: Mississippi gubernatorial candidate Johnny DuPree at a forum sponsored by the Mississippi Democratic Club (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have been trying to get additional information on Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny Dupree’s prayer breakfast, which is scheduled for May 2, 2013, in spite of a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation explaining that government promotion of...
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Hattiesburg Mayor Goes Forward With Prayer... →
Here is what Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny Dupree had to say after the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to his office urging him to cancel a prayer breakfast supported with public money (i.e., our tax dollars):
Hattiesburg is a praying city. We all understand what prayer does, how powerful prayer is. Personally prayer has done so much for my family, and people that I love. So we’ll...
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A Blog's Got to Know Its Limitations - vjack →
Cover of Magnum Force (Deluxe Edition)
Some of you will recognize that the title of this post is a play on one of Clint Eastwood’s famous lines from Magnum Force: “A man’s got to know his limitations.” I am writing this post to explain some of the limitations of this blog in the hope that it will reduce some of the confusion I am encountering.
It is important that you...
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In Iain Banks, We Are Losing One of Our Own -... →
Fellow Mississippi Atheists, it seems we are losing one of our own in the sad announcement of Iain Banks’ late stage gallbladder cancer (He is marrying his longtime love as well).
I had heard of Scottish writer Iain Banks, long recommended by fellow readers, but hadn’t read him yet. First an interview with him discussing atheism, second is writer Val McDermid’s article in the...
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Atheist Rights - turniphead →
The recent attacks on Sam Harris have given me pause. I recommend you follow the links and catch up if you haven’t been following this flap. Nathan Lean’s hit piece may be read here, and Glenn Greenwald’s uncrupulous misrepresentation may be read here. Sam Harris’ response may be read here.
But the essence is just this: Harris has been misquoted and misrepresented in a...
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Will the Statement on Civility Help? - vjack →
English: Atheist Badge:The design of the A-letter originates from the outcampaign.org - “Scarlet A” Deutsch: Atheist Kennzeichnungsplakette (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
During a recent meeting of the leaders of several national secular organizations, an open letter to the secular community was drafted calling for greater civility in online communication. I posted the entire letter on...
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The Controversial Harassment Post at Atheist... →
The following post has been cross-posted at Revolutionary Atheist (Tumblr). I thought it was worth sharing since I know there is some interest in what has been happening in the larger atheist community.
I’ve been mired in a bit of a controversy over at Atheist Revolution, and here is a brief summary of what happened: I wrote a post in which I examined the legal definitions of harassment and...
March 2013
7 posts
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Test Post - vjack →
Something seems to have gone wrong with the commenting system, so I’m posting this as a quick test and will delete it as soon as I figure out what is going on.
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On Coming Out, Atheist is a Bad, Bad Word -... →
My new year’s resolution was to be out of the closet, and here it is March and I’m still on the wagon. I’ve been out in the social media, out on my personal web page, and just generally out all the way around. I’m in my mid-thirties, relatively secure in my job, my friends, my own skin, and it was time. It feels good.
One can find plenty of coming-out testimonies,...
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Activists Mobilize as Mississippi Promotes Prayer... →
American Civil Liberties Union (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As you have undoubtedly heard by now, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill requiring public schools in our state to develop policies under which students will be permitted to pray at sports events, school assemblies, and even over school intercom systems. This bill, HB 638, was passed under the guise of protecting students’...
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Update From Atheist Mom of First Grader Facing... →
Here is an update from the atheist mother of a first grader who contacted us to share her frustration about teacher-led prayer in her daughter’s public elementary school.
I just wanted to follow up as you were so kind in sharing my frustration:
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has sent a letter to the school superintendent (cc: school principal) regarding my complaint,...
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Thoughts on School Prayer From PK Atheist - vjack →
A stachue of santa claus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Here is a contribution from PK ATHEIST about the recent post on prayer in a Mississippi school.
Regarding the illegality — if she chooses to do something — I would think she would want to contact not only the Freedom from Religion Foundation but the ACLU of Mississippi and the Americans United for Separation of Church and State....
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Prayer in a Mississippi School - vjack →
I just received this post from a reader. See if you have any ideas for her. Assuming that this is a public school, I have to think what she observed was not legal. I’d consider contacting the Freedom From Religion Foundation, as I understand they can often contact the school without having to identify the family involved.
Please let me share my frustrations.
I am an atheist mom of a first...
February 2013
4 posts
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Complain Now to Create the Future You Want - vjack →
Future Music Festival 2011 (Photo credit: Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer)
Every single time I have ever complained about a church-state violation to someone in a position capable to doing something about it, the immediate response with which I have been greeted has been the same: surprise followed by the statement, “Nobody has ever complained before.” I suspect...
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Dan Barker to Speak in Hattiesburg - vjack →
University of Southern Mississippi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dan Barker, Co-President of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, will present “Losing Faith in Faith” (his personal story of moving from Christian pastor to atheist), on Saturday, February 23, at 3:00 pm in the Gonzales Auditorium (Liberal Arts Building 108) at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS....
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Operation Christmas Child: Harmless Charity or... →
Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes ready for shipping. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)A post from tduck, a new contributor who resides in northeast Mississippi: Operation Christmas Child is a “global Christmas gift exchange” project created in, 1990, by Dave Cook and operated by Samaritan’s Purse. Those who Participate in Operation Christmas Child are asked to pack a shoe box with a variety of...
“Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky,...”
– George Carlin (via reichs-fuhrer)
May 2011
10 posts
Evangelicals and Atheists Have Something in Common →
I was at work yesterday when the tornado siren went off. We had a tornado warning in the Hattiesburg area, and people are clearly taking these more seriously after all the damage seen recently…
Bastrop High School Goes Ahead With Graduation... →
In spite of Damon Folwer’s brave efforts, the advice of an attorney the school consulted, and a prior agreement to cancel plans to pray, prayer did in fact occur at the Bastrop High School…
Louisiana High School Student Ends Graduation... →
Something will be different about the graduation ceremony tomorrow night at Bastrop High School in Louisiana. Prayer will not be part of the ceremony. According to the Bastrop Daily…
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Congress is Not Supposed to Represent Only the... →
This post was written for Mississippi Atheists by PK ATHEIST. The state has not the right to leave every man free to profess and embrace whatever religion he shall deem true. — Pope Pius IX,…
Steve Schlict: A Mississippi Atheist With Much to... →
As some of you know, Mims Carter is the Biloxi Skepticism Examiner, bringing the light of reason to the dark reaches of Biloxi, MS. In this post, I’d like to bring your attention to a recent…
Rep. Palazzo Opposes Reproductive Rights for... →
As promised, here is Rep. Palazzo’s (R-MS) response to Mims’ letter about HR 3:Thank you for contacting me regarding the rights of the unborn. As your Congressman, I am committed to putting the…
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Hattiesburg Mayor Uses Office to Promote Religion →
Johnny Dupree is running for Mississippi governor as a Democrat. Unfortunately, he’s working hard to alienate our state’s secular voters.
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“Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible...”
– Thomas Jefferson (via reasonoverreligion)
Happy Mother's Day, Mississippi →
I like Mother’s Day. Yes, it has been turned into a “Hallmark holiday” a bit much for my tastes, but this has to be balanced with the fact that it is one of the few holidays that doesn’t end…
April 2011
7 posts
Agnostic or Atheist: Lets All Start Using the... →
This post was contributed by Emo. I hear people all the time using phrases like, “I’m not an atheist, I’m an agnostic”. It really bothers me to hear people say things like this. (A)gnostic…
If There is No God to Punish You, Why Be Moral? →
This post was submitted by DocMcC1 of Ocean Springs, MS. In the strictest sense, I am not an atheist. I am an agnostic, but I’m sure many of you would acknowledge that there is little…
Starting a Secular Student Alliance Group in... →
Efforts are underway to start a chapter of the Secular Student Alliance at the University of Southern Mississippi. What the group-in-the-making most needs now are Southern Miss students who…
Yesterday Was Interesting Day on Facebook →
For those of you who are on Facebook, I wonder if you found yesterday as interesting as I did. Many of my Christian friends evidently decided that yesterday was the perfect day to share…
Central MS Atheists Announce May Meetup →
Central MS Atheists are planning their May meetup for Sunday, May 15 at 3:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Jackson. For details, see their meetup.com page. Subscribe to…
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South Still Sympathizes With Confederacy
It did not surprise me to learn that a CNN poll found that Tea Party Republicans are more likely to support the Confederacy in the Civil War than Independents or Democrats. What did surprise me, at least a little, is that roughly 40% of White Southerners reported sympathizing with the Confederacy more than the Union.
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March 2011
6 posts
Finding Good Atheist Blogs →
A reader sent me a link to a post she wrote about the top 25 atheist blogs. I know that many of you already read atheist blogs (or else you probably wouldn’t be here, would you?), but I know how…
You Could Win a Trip to Netroots Nation in... →
If you are a political progressive in Mississippi and have always wanted to attend Netroots Nation but haven’t had the money to do so, you should know that Democracy for America is trying to…
Education News: Budget Cuts and No Condoms →
I’ve got a couple bits of education news from our state today, and neither are especially positive. First, the controversial plan of state Republicans to count $65 million in federal money as part…
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Haley Barbour Accused Obama of Wanting Higher Gas... →
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“To say that atheism requires faith is as dim-witted as saying that disbelief in...”
– Geoff Mather (via atheistinspiration)
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Self-Described Christian Patriot Arrested for... →
I had planned to let this one go. I really had. It has been covered on so many other atheist blog that I figured I’d just steer clear of it. But the more I think about it, the more important…
February 2011
24 posts
1 tag
These Mississippi Christians Are Absolutely Right... →
I don’t get to highlight my agreement with Christians in Mississippi very often, so why not take advantage of one such opportunity? According to the Clarion-Ledger leaders from four…
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Louisiana High School Student Takes Stand Against... →
As far too many adults in Louisiana seem determined to push their fundamentalist Christianity on the state’s children, it has fallen to a high school student to fight for reality-based science…
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“The fruits of Christianity were religious wars, butcheries, crusades,...”
– Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
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