By Jim Dugan, NOSHA Board Member If you’re not up on Louisiana’s new voucher system, let me start by filling in a few details. The voucher program is supposed to expand parental choice as to which schools their kids can go to. A parent who wants to send his or her child to a private school can get a voucher for a fixed amount from the state. The parent can give the voucher to the school in payment or partial […]
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If you have delayed registering for the American Humanist Conference in New Orleans, here are the rates for June 7-10. If you want to attend but can’t swing the full registration, there’s an “a la carte” price list: $179 = Full Registration Only (access to all breakout sessions, no meals) $60 = Day Pass (access to all breakout sessions for one day, no meals) $20 = Single Session Pass, Award Ceremony Pass (attendance at one session or one award ceremony, no […]
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For anyone who has followed Jessica Ahlquist’s endeavor to remove a religious banner in her public high school in Cranston, RI, (and followed it in the recent NOSHA spring newsletter), you’re no doubt familiar with the other bizarre twist that occurred as a result: “Floristgate”. Various secular organizations tried to send Jessica a spray of flowers to celebrate her legal victory and found that several of the florists refused to comply with their order, saying because they didn’t agree with […]
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I came across this by chance the end of December and had intended to post it sooner. (You can see the original post by Faisal Saeed Al Mutar.) It reminds me how lucky I am, we all are, in fact, and is something that I should read every once in a while when I’m feeling stressed about what I’d like my world to be. Doesn’t Monty Python have something similar to say? But Richard Dawkins is eloquent in his observations and everyone […]
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“Isn’t that so sad,” I said more as a declaration than expecting someone to agree. “Well, not really. I mean, it was expected,” said my always witty friend, so matter-of-factly. “It would have been sad if it wasn’t, don’t you think?” I had to admit, my friend was right and his perspective made me pause to think more about the heartache that was palpable on the web. It would have been stupefying if he had passed away suddenly […]
Read moreOr do you know of someone local who might be an excellent candidate? The AHA is proud to hold its 71st Annual Conference in the great city of New Orleans, hosted by the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association (NOSHA). Call for Speakers Now Open If you are interested in leading a breakout session, speaking on a panel, of if you are an entertainer, send a proposal, outline, complete text, audio, video or web link to Brian Magee at bmagee@americanhumanist.org (Please include […]
Read moreThis article is too important not to pass on to anyone and everyone who can read above a 3rd grade level. And because the original link to the article is botched, I wanted to make sure that everything came through with ease. If I find a llink that works, I’ll repost it. Because death with dignity is a hallmark of most secular creeds that I’m familiar with, we are constantly fighting the interference of religious people who feel they have the answer about death […]
Read moreBelow is the American Family Association’s Statement of Faith, which was mentioned in an article on Rick Perry’s prayer rally a few months back. My friend, Will, made some changes to it which are worth passing along. AFA STATEMENT OF FAITH 1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God. 2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 3. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus […]
Read moreRusty, a friend of mine from our secular humanist group, wrote an interesting piece that several people think is a pretty good challenge to non-believers: “Are you a Freethinker? A Freethinker is a person who thinks free from delusion, deception, misperception, fantasy, fiction and religious, political, cultural and even familial bias. For the sake of this discussion we will simplify it to freedom from religious philosophy. There are two primary Christian philosophical concepts: 1. The obsessive and debilitating fear of Yahweh and Hell. 2. […]
Read moreThat was the essay question posed by NOSHA at our “Left Behind” party in May. You know the day the world was supposed to end? We even awarded prizes for some of the best submissions written that wacky evening. Here’s the winning entry submitted by Betty of New Orleans: 1ST PLACE How will I cope? What will I do? In a word: very dry martinis. Wait! That’s three words. How irrelevant. But then, when it’s all over – everything is irrelevant. So […]
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