Reflections on Atheism (VIII)

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OK… I’ve seen the atheist community on the web raise money for Camp Quest and I’ve seen it come together to support Damon Fowler and provide him with money for college. Great job, y’all.

Here’s my question: how have you rallied to do something like tornado relief? I’ve heard people call in on KLOVE and Air1 with a message like “I live in [small town] and I’ve got an empty 56-foot truck/am collecting diapers for kids in Joplin/am doing [insert good deed] and I wanted to let people know that if they wanted to help, they can contact [that person]. Is there some way that y’all get information on a national level? I’m not assuming that religious radio is the only way to do this — I’m just wondering how y’all would do it because I don’t know of non-satellite radio stations that broadcast nationally that would rally the atheist community.

As usual, I’d love comments.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 30, 2011

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY May 30, 2011

Outside my window… cloudy and cool. We’re supposed to have a weather system off the coast and it’s giving me a headache.

I am thinking… about Daniel’s MRI appointment tomorrow.

I am thankful for… a visit with family. Daniel and I went down to San Jose on Saturday afternoon and spent time with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and my aunt and her boyfriend who were on their way back up from Anaheim where my youngest cousin had competed in choral and band competitions with her high school. My aunt and her boyfriend were driving the instruments back up to Washington.

From the kitchen… nothing homemade. Tonight was Hawaiian pizza from Round Table.

I am wearing… a blue shirt and my penguin pajama bottoms.

I am creating… this entry.

I am going… to Sacramento tomorrow for Daniel’s appointment and a few other places this week though I’m not entirely sure yet.

I am reading… The Alpine Uproar by Mary Daheim.

I am hoping… Daniel’s MRI comes out clean.

I am hearing… a neighbor trimming their lawn or leaf-blowing or something.

Around the house… clean thanks to Jon.

One of my favorite things… Hawaiian pizza from Round Table. I had forgotten how good their pizza is.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Daniel’s MRI tomorrow, Ladies’ Night Out for church on Wednesday, and errands TBA for the rest of the week.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… I’m unfortunately out of pictures at the moment. 🙁

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7 Quick Takes Friday — Good Things About the Rapture Not Happening/Being Postponed

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7 Quick Takes

In response to last week, here are some positives about the Rapture *not* happening.

–1–

Getting to see Daniel grow up. I’m kind of looking forward to seeing where my adventures with Daniel lead. He’s such a cute little boy and it’s so fun to watch him learn new things and grow.

–2–

Getting to joke with my family about which city would be annihilated next. It was entertaining on Saturday to do this with my family. Do I feel bad for those duped by Harold Camping? Yes. Does it mean I can’t have a sense of humor? No.

–3–

Not being “left behind”. It would suck as tornadoes and earthquakes and tsunamis hit and destroyed — wait, that happens anyway. Never mind. And seriously… what’s with the tornadoes south of Chico?!?!?!? This is California, not the Midwest.

–4–

Getting to see multiple episodes of “The Big Bang Theory” this week. I’m sure heaven would have been great but dude… 4 episodes of “The Big Bang Theory” this week that weren’t just for those with cable/satellite.

–5–

Getting to meet Kym tonight. I got to meet my wonderful online friend Kym tonight. I just wish it had been better circumstances. (I was visiting her in the hospital.)

–6–

Getting to watch “The Biggest Loser” finale. I’ve been seriously cheering for Olivia and Hannah. So glad they make it to the final and that Olivia won.

–7–

Getting to do this quick takes post. OK… cheap one here but it’s nice to still be able to blog.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 23, 2011

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY May 23, 2011

Outside my window… sunny and LOTS of pollen.

I am thinking… about Ann of House of Estrogen and what she’s going through. Also about an article I read on reforming youth sports and how one of our former parishioners in Minnesota is the poster child for WHY they need to be reformed.

I am thankful for… being able to get together with my heathen family at my brother’s house for the communal birthday gathering. There was some joking around about which city was going to be annihilated next in the Rapture (Christians do have senses of humor — really, we do) and lots of Daniel fun.

From the kitchen… ramen for lunch.

I am wearing… brown polo shirt and khaki capris.

I am creating… this entry. 🙂

I am going… hopefully nowhere else today though I may have to take Mr. Grumpy out for a drive or something to get him to calm down.

I am reading… The Body in the Boullion by Katherine Hall Page. I’m liking her mysteries and I’m thinking that I need to carve out more time to read them.

I am hoping… the pollen abates or it rains. Serious misery here on my part.

I am hearing… Daniel grumping about something.

Around the house… lots of cleaning for Daniel’s 6-month Regional Center eval tomorrow.

One of my favorite things… playing the “yogurt snack game” with Daniel. (He drops the bag in my lap. I say “thank you”. He stands up or crawls in my lap. I put the yogurt snack in my closed hand. He uncurls my fingers and gets his snack.)

A few plans for the rest of the week: Daniel’s 6-month eval, getting some car stuff arranged, and hopefully a lot of unscheduled days.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… My grandfather and I watching cows when I was 5. I chose this because I miss my grandfather and when Daniel gets grumpy in the evening, I stick him in the car and we go “cow-hunting”. Watching cows is a special pastime shared in my generation by my cousins Kristin and Sarah who are 12 and 13 years younger than me. (*sniffs* Kristin is now 19 and Sarah will be 18 this year.)

Cow-watching with my grandpa.

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Reflections on Atheism (VII)

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I reading my Twitter feed a few days ago and saw some tweets from Jen McCreight of BlagHag who was frothing at the mouth with anger. Why pray tell? (No pun intended. Seriously.) A student at a Louisiana high school had protested against a school-sponsored prayer being offered at graduation and was receiving death threats. (Hemant Mehta of Friendly Atheist has a timeline of the events.) His parents have disowned him and he has moved to be with his brother in Texas.

Oh boy…

As I’m all about providing fair and balanced commentary on this blog, let’s look at both sides of the coin.

HEADS!
As irritating as it might be for Damon Fowler to have to sit through a prayer to a deity in which he doesn’t believe, his classmates’ wishes for their graduation ceremony got ignored because one person felt their rights were violated. It sounds like those students who planned the graduation and chose the speakers *WANTED* this prayer to be part of it and the majority of their classmates agreed. It’s unfair that the desires of many got ignored to appease one person and I understand people being upset over it.

TAILS!
This is a *PUBLIC* school and having a prayer at graduation is a violation of Lousiana state law and a violation of the First Amendment. Yes, this is the Bible Belt and yes, the vast majority of people are Christian but it’s a public ceremony and Damon should not have had to participate in something that violated his right to freedom of religion.

My Take
Neither side is in the right here. Damon should not have reacted as he did but… he also didn’t deserve to receive death threats, his family disowning him, one of the teachers from the school making some really nasty comments about him and how he “hasn’t contributed anything to graduation or to [his] classmates”, or any of the bad things that have happened to him. It is really tragic that these things had to happen.

Update and a Compromise
Hemant put up a ChipIn widget on his blog to create a scholarship for Damon and as I’m blogging this, people have donated $6,657 toward Damon’s education. Duuuuuude… The Freedom From Religion Foundation has also given him a $1000 scholarship. In other words, people are making sure he’s being taken care of during all of this. His sister and older brother have gotten (or are getting him) to Texas to live with his older brother.

OK… so here’s the compromise that could theoretically have happened if all parties had reacted rationally and not emotionally: the prayer could have been replaced with an invocation that was some other creative form like a poem, a song, or even a reading from a famous speech. For example, the San Jose City Council has an invocation before every meeting and I’ve never seen it actually be a prayer given by a clergy person. Then again, this is northern California and hardly a stop on the Bible Belt so people would probably not tolerate a prayer being given. (I live in a rural community here so it could theoretically happen.) Another alternative would be to have a baccalaureate service separate from the graduation where the student giving the prayer was invited to participate in the service.

As I said before, it is tragic that things had to turn out this way.

7 Quick Takes Friday — Positives If Apocalypse Happens Tomorrow

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7 Quick Takes

According to Harold Camping at Family Radio, the world is ending tomorrow. With my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, here are the positives of the apocalypse if it does indeed happen tomorrow.

–1–

No campaigning for the Republican ticket in 2012. The election isn’t until next November. I don’t give a rat’s butt about who is running and who isn’t. And seriously, I don’t think the Republican Party can put forth a candidate that I’ll actually *like*.

–2–

No more “Real Housewives of ______”. The mere teasers for the shows make me turn off the TV and run screaming. I’m looking forward to less botox, less hair-pulling, and less DRAMA in heaven.

–3–

Getting to see my deceased loved ones again. I am missing my grandfather (who is in the picture in the frame holding my hand when I was five years old) a lot and the Rapture would mean that I’d get to see him. There are some other people I’d be excited to see as well.

–4–

No more fibromyalgia pain. I’m not going to lie — Revelation 22 describing no more pain and suffering is really tempting when random parts of your body start hurting at bizarre times.

–5–

No more church politics. I’m getting kind of sick of churches splitting left and right and hearing how ________ aren’t Christians or how ________ are deluded. C’mon people! We love Jesus. Let’s focus on that!

–6–

No more Fox News and Bill O’Reilly and all the talking heads. Enough said.

–7–

It’s giving Christians a chance to laugh at ourselves and joke about things. I can’t think of anyone in my Christian circle of friends who believes that the world is going to end tomorrow. However, it doesn’t mean that we’re not enjoying the opportunity to laugh at ourselves a bit while feeling embarrassed about being associated with the Family Radio crowd. It was actually one of my pastor friends who alerted me to the post-Rapture looting plans on Facebook. 🙂

(For more of this, head to Conversion Diary.)

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 16, 2011

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window… rain that started around 5:30 this evening.

I am thinking… about some tenuous situations going on right now.

I am thankful for… my snuggle time with Daniel every morning while watching PBS cartoons.

From the kitchen… veggie chips and pub cheese from Trader Joe’s. (It’s comfort food.)

I am wearing… an old blue shirt and black sweats

I am creating… this entry and plans for global domination.

I am going… to UCD Medical Center at some point this week for Daniel’s bloodwork.

I am reading… The Body in the Belfry by Katherine Hall Page.

I am hoping… the birthday gathering happens on Saturday and we’re not all raptured away. [/sarcasm]

I am hearing… He Man and the Masters of the Universe on TV.

Around the house… trying not to think about this.

One of my favorite things… Trader Joe’s Iced Tea and Lemonade

A few plans for the rest of the week: my birthday on Thursday and whatever comes of the situations.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… Long long ago in a galaxy far far away… (My parents are still bitter about having to give up their tickets for The Empire Strikes Back because my brother and I came two days early.)

Sean and I as babies.

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