Recent Articles
The White Elephant in the Room
An annual tradition in many American households is the ‘White Elephant’ gift exchange. Everyone brings an anonymous gift and a rambunctious game of thievery ensues; there’s usually a broad range of great gifts to vie for, and almost always a gag gift or two mixed in. This year’s game at the annual family Christmas party [...]
Atheists in Fox Houses
Imagine the following: You’re fifteen, bored and begrudgingly sitting with your family on the living room sofa, putzing around on MineCraft Pocket Edition while your folks watch Fox. For the past year, you’ve held your tongue, not commenting on their faith, their friends, or their frenzied fear mongering towards anyone “brown” or non-Christian. It was [...]
The Merry Christmas Bill
State Rep. Dwayne Bohac, a Republican from Houston (my hometown) has recently proposed a bill that aims to blur the line of church-state separation in Texas schools. After his elementary school-aged son declared that his class was decorating a “holiday tree,” Bohac decided that he wanted to “provide students, parents, teachers and administrators a safe [...]
What Kind of god?
Propagandists manipulate emotions to spread a simple idea. For instance, politicians bring up 9/11 when they want to sway an audience on foreign policy issues. The religious use this strategy at every national tragedy and disaster that presents itself. If that fails, they embellish or outright fabricate stories to stir emotion. Stepping in to proselytize [...]
Starting Point: Diversity
I think you would be loathe to find many individuals in the atheist/skeptic/humanist movement who believe that everyone except non-White males should be disenfranchised. I don’t think anyone wants people to feel unsafe. If you are in this super small minority that believes otherwise (that only White males should have a voice and safety is not a [...]
A View from Afar, with Rory Fenton
According to statistics, the vast majority who frequent this blog are from within the United States. Often, we Americans can become so steeped in our own media and local paradigms, that it becomes challenging to see a clear image of ourselves as a nation. In this blog series, you will be offered a ‘view from [...]
Label Reads: Disposable
Three days ago a friend (acquaintance or online friend might be a better descriptor) made a comment about my chest. I replied that “the feminist in me was offended by that”. I was actually joking because, in reality, I think my boobs are fabulous and feminist or not I don’t have a problem discussing them. [...]
Locked & Loaded for the Lord
TheDaily‘s J.Silverman recently wrote an article alerting us to an alarming trend about how some churches are aiming to increase the size of their congregations. Arming themselves against named foes and evils unseen, some churches are offering concealed firearms training and encouraging parishioners to conceal carry. In an interview with NRA News, when asked what [...]
V is for Vagina
“Teacher, my vagina hurts.” These were the words I spoke to one of my preschool teachers when I came out of the bathroom one morning. Alarmed, my teacher called my mother to come to the preschool. When my mom arrived, she was concerned because she hadn’t received much word on why she needed to get [...]
A View from Afar, with Sylvia Broeckx
According to statistics, the vast majority who frequent this blog are from within the United States. Often, we Americans can become so steeped in our own media and local paradigms, that it becomes challenging to see a clear image of ourselves as a nation. In this blog series, you will be offered a ‘view from [...]
