June 2008 Activities of Interest to Freethinkers

June 2008
Activities of Interest to Freethinkers


Sat., June 7, 7:00pm Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St.

Sun., June 8, 2:00pm Humanist Study Group at Randy’s, 6705 E. 54th St. Normally scheduled for 1pm, meeting time changed to avoid a gap between this event and Stan’s party.

Sun., June 8, 4:00pm Stan’s party, enjoy dinner at Stan’s place, 1513 E. 3rd.

Wed., June 11, 7:30pm Atheists Meetup Mid-Month Social Dinner
See atheists.meetup.com/477 for more information.

Sat., June 14, 2 to 4pm Secular Singers at Gail’s house, 4630 S. Victor.

Sun., June 15, 1:00pm HAT Monthly Membership Meeting at Hardesty Library, 93rd and Memorial. Program Director Brian Hill will show a travelogue film on Paris, France.

Sat., June 21, 7:00pm Combination Solstice Party and Sky Party, Bradley house, 6705 E. 54th. Celebrate with us the coming of the summer solstice; if we have clear skies, we will look at some celestial objects through telescopes.

Sun., June 22, 2:00pm Atheists Meetup at Agora Coffee House, Fontana Center. See atheists.meetup.com/477 for more information.

Sat., June 28, 11:30am Food & Fellowship at The Local Table, 4329 S. Peoria.

Sat., June 28, 2 to 4pm Keystone Ancient Forest Tour (tentative; depends upon interest shown at June 15 meeting).




Questions? Call Randy at 622-6975 or Dan at 798-3629.

HAT Meeting (5-18-08) and other events

HAT held its May meeting on the 18th of the month at Hardesty Library. Attendence was ten. Brian had prepared to show a travelogue on Paris, but the conversation was going so well that when Marilyn spoke up and said lets keep this conversation going, we did just that. For the better part of two hours we sat around the table and talked.

Stan Simpson would like to invite all HAT and TAM members to a party he will host on the afternoon of June 8, which is a Sunday. You may park across the street from his house at the transmission shop. Plan to arrive around 4 pm. The Humanist Study Group will meet at 2 pm and will end in time to drive to Stan's house.

I gave a membership and financial report on our chapter. Ron McDaniel paid his dues, and John Lowerison joined our chapter at the end of the meeting. That brings our membership total for the year up to 23. In the treasury we now have $1,555.31.

I read a poem by Cathryn Essinger titled "The Man Next Door Is Teaching His Dog to Drive." Please, I would like to see a few more people read a poem (or prose selection) at future meetings.

At the Food & Fellowship gathering today, our original venue was closed (second time this has happened to us). Just like last time, we went across the street and ate at a Vietnamese restaurant, Binh-le's. Twelve people were in attendance at this event.

HAT Meeting 3.16.08

At the HAT meeting last Sunday, March 16, there were 12 people in attendance. Two of the twelve were visitors. The program was presented by our program director Brian Hill. Brian spoke on Suzanne Haneef’s book What Everyone Should Know about Islam and Muslims.
I reported that our membership for the year stood at 20. During the poetry reading segment, I read “Letter of Recommendation” by Robert B. Shaw, another poem I first heard read on Garrison Keillor’s “Writer’s Almanac.” Marilyn Clarke recited from memory lines from “The More Loving One” by W. H. Auden.

HAT Meeting 2.17.08

The meeting began with announcements of upcoming events, namely the Food & Fellowship at 11:30 am on the 23rd at Cardigan’s (6000 S. Lewis) and the Atheists Meetup at 2:00 pm on the 24th at The Hideaway (1419 E. 15th).

The new HAT librarian is Kim Burdick. Bob Hooper brought a sack of books and donated them to the Freethinker’s Library. Bob also read a selection from Skeptical Inquirer.

Brian Hill mentioned a report from the Tulsa World about a speaker coming to TU who is going to give a lecture on the “New Atheism.” Some of us plan to attend to see just how hostile the speaker will be to skeptics.

The membership approved spending $144 for a one year trial association with meetup.com. We have had such good results with meetup.com with the atheists group. Also approved was the spending of ten dollar per month on postcards to be mailed to legislators on various issues of concern to us.

I circulated a list for people who would like to take a tour of the Keystone Ancient Forest. If there is enough interest I will schedule a tour for us. There is a requirement that we have ten people minimum to go on the tour.

The program for the day was a reading of some of our favorite jokes.

HAT Meeting 1.20.08

We had a very good turn out at today's HAT meeting with 19 present. Randy even pondered what we might do should our remarkable growth continue. Pictured here you see Marilyn Clarke who spoke about the article "Hot Air Gods" from a recent issue of Harper's magazine.

Randy read a poem by Thomas Hardy entitled "The Dance Continued", and I read "An Overdue Visit from Old St. Nick" which appeared in the December issue of The Oklahoma Observer.

I mentioned the two remaining events of the month: the Food & Fellowship gathering at The Local Table on Saturday, January 26, and the Atheists Meetup on Sunday, January 27 at The Hideaway.

I mentioned that a calendar of our activities can be found at www.atheists.meetup.com/477/calendar. If you lose the monthly list of activities I send out by e-mail, you can always go to this calendar.

Randy asked the group if they had any objection to telling jokes as the program for the February HAT meeting. Most people were in favor of the idea, so come prepared with your favorite jokes next month.

Barbara mentioned that Stan had been in hospital, but he was expected to be discharged today. Howard just had his 90th birthday last Friday and is now under hospice care.

Marilyn related some personal experiences, including the influence of an uncle. We later learned that Richard had had a similar experience in his formative years. The subject of atheism versus agnosticism arose once again. The usual defenses for each position were voiced. Discussion was lively, ranging from national economic policy to where people get their concept of God. We continued on past our normal ending time of 3 pm. Randy checked to make sure no one was outside waiting to use the room.

This was our first membership meeting of 2008, and, being the treasurer, I was in a dues collecting frame of mind. By the end of the meeting I had collected $72 in membership dues.

January 2008 Calendar

January 2008
Activities of Interest to Freethinkers

Sat., Jan. 5, 7:00pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St.

Sat., Jan. 12, 2:00pm
Secular Singers at Gail Storey’s house, 4630 S. Victor Ave.

Sun., Jan. 13, 1:00pm
Humanist Study Group at Randy’s, 6705 E. 54th St. Topic: “A Brief History of Disbelief” DVD

Wed., Jan. 16, 6:30pm
Atheists Meetup Social at The Hideaway restaurant, 1419 E. 15th St.

Sun., Jan. 20, 1:00pm
HAT Monthly Membership Meeting at Hardesty Library, 93rd and Memorial. Speaker: Marilyn Clarke on “Hot Air Gods”

Sat., Jan. 26, 11:30am
Food & Fellowship at The Local Table, 46th and Peoria.

Sun., Jan. 27, 2:00pm
Atheists Meetup at The Hideaway Restaurant, 1419 E. 15th St.


Questions? Call Randy at 622-6975 or Dan at 798-3629.

HAT Announcements, Nov. 2007

Since we ran out of time today, and since we reversed the usual order of business (guest speaker spoke first), I am sending the announcements, plus the other items of business, by this e-mail.

There were 14 of us at the meeting today: Karl, Sonia, Randy, Brian, Polly, Mary, Richard, Kimberly, Marilyn, Ron, Jan, two visitors whose names I failed to record, and myself.

The treasury was at $1391.44; membership stood at 32. (We picked up four new members today, bringing the total now to 36. The new members are Karl and Sonia Sniderman, Kimberly Burdick, and Mary Kay Maule.)

We have three events remaining on the calendar for this month.
(1) On Wed., Nov. 21, at 11:20 am is the ALGAE luncheon at White River Fish Market
(2) On Sat., Nov 24, at 11:30 am is our Food & Fellowship at The Local Table, 4329 S. Peoria.
(3) On Sun., Nov. 25, 2:00 pm is the Atheists Meetup at The Hideaway, 1419 E. 15th St.

November is the month we accept nominations to fill the offices for 2008. The current officers are agreeable to continuing on for another year. If anyone would like to place his or her name in nomination for any office, please e-mail me and I will see that you are nominated.

I had intended to see if there is any interest in taking a walking tour of the Keystone Ancient Forest near Lake Keystone (www.sandspringsok.org), but I will bring this item up at the next meeting.

Finally, the new Members Directory is ready. If you did not pick one up today, I will have them available at the next meeting.

HAT Meeting 10.21.07

There were eleven people present at today's HAT meeting: Bob, Ron, Brian, Larry, Phil, Audrey, Kimberly, Marilyn, Polly, Randy and myself. I reported our membership now stands at 30, and the treasury is at $1395.81

We had a surprise guest speaker at today's HAT meeting -- Phil Ferguson from Arkansas. We actually had two speakers at today's meeting. Our own Brian Hill reviewed the book Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism by Arthur Brooks. Next Phil Ferguson of Arkansas made a special trip to Tulsa to report on his activities.

Due to the length of today's programs, the usual poetry readings were postponed until next meeting.

While Phil searched the library for the equipment he needed, Brian presented his book review -- another excellent job by Brian. Some of the audience voiced some skepticism about the author's objectivity regarding his findings.

Phil had a remarkable presentation, complete with a Powerpoint presentation. His presentation lasted the better part of a hour. Phil had just recently attended the FFRF Convention in Madison and was still fired up from hearing Christopher Hitchens inspired speech.

Phil showed a Powerpoint presentation making use of the Brick Testament, a project of Brendon Powell Smith. It is Smith's goal to reproduce the entire Bible with illustrations created from Lego blocks.

The part of the Bible Phil chose to show (via Brick Testament illustrations) came from the Old Testament story about Lot and his daughters. You remember the story of the angst created in Lot's daughters when they realize that the only way they are going to get pregnant (and thus continue the line leading up to Jesus) is to get their father drunk and have sex with him.

Phil said that he is sometimes accused of taking passages of the Bible out of context. But he points out that when you read the pages before and after the questionable passage, nothing is resolved but more (sometimes embarrasing) questions arise.

Another video Phil chose to show was part of a gut-busting comedy routine by George Carlin. Carlin is known for his no-holds-barred critique of religion.

Following the presentation I asked Phil if he would be willing to come back to Tulsa for an encore presentation for the Atheists Meetup. Today's presentation was his third or fourth before other freethought groups. He said he would be glad to give the presentation again.

Freethought Weekend - 9/22-23/07

There were two events which made up this freethought weekend: the Food & Fellowship at Helen of Troy and the Atheists Meetup at Border’s.

Helen of Troy serves Mediterranean Food. When Jan said she did not know what the various seasoning were, the waiter was kind enough to bring her four small cups for her to sample each. I had the chicken in pita bread; Jan had the Chicken Shish-Ka-Bob. There were 13 of us all together. We had a room to ourselves in the back. It was a small establishment, and the staff were happy to see us.

The next day 20 of us assembled at Border’s for the monthly Atheists Meetup. I led off with the reading of a poem by Philip Appleman: “Last-Minute Message for a Time Capsule.” Discussion was lively, picking up with last month’s talk about what we can do to become more visible. I suggested we create a video and upload it to You Tube. This would be minimal as for as expense goes. Three people volunteered to work on this project. Beth has a camera which we can use. Noel has video software and volunteered to do the editing. Bob H. agreed to coordinate it all through e-mail. I will be in touch with this team shortly, sharing e-mail addresses.

Weekend Events

Our first event of this weekend was our monthly Food & Fellowship which this month was held at Billy Ray’s Barbecue on Southwest Blvd. I wonder if anyone else saw the sign which read “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.” I can remember the first time I saw a sign with that message. It was in the Park Hotel in Amory, Mississippi, circa 1961. I could not understand why a business would want to refuse service to anybody. You would think a restaurant would want as many customers as they could attract. Then someone explained to me the racial implications of the message.

I’m not sure that Billy Ray’s has the right to refuse service to black people. Perhaps they are just pandering to the redneck element of society. Whatever the situation, I will not be choosing this restaurant again for our Food & Fellowship gatherings.

The next day was our Atheists Meetup at Border’s. The meeting was well attended with 18 people showing up. I began by reading a poem by Philip Appleman. The poem was “Fleas,” which contains the memorable lines “for God concocted pox to mock us,/staph and syph and streptococcus:/poems are made by bards or hacks,/but only God makes cardiacs.”

Then we began discussion. The question was posed: How to get the word out about our existence. One person suggested the possibility of low power radio. What would that cost? Some have heard that the cost is high; others that the cost is low. The potential audience for such a venture is unknown. What would be the reach? In other words, how far would the transmission reach? Another idea raised was to buy time on a commercial station. How much would an ad cost? Would any station sell ad time to an atheist group.

We are going to explore these questions and post the findings on the Meetup message board.

Following this meeting, six of us met at Panera Bread on 41st to have dinner and conversation. Joining us was Bob’s wife – Susan.

Next we traveled to Tulsa University for a speech given by Steven Smith. The speech was follow by a Q & A period. I think there were 6 or 8 of us HAT folks there. Randy said following the speech, “It’s not the speech I would have like to have heard.”

HAT meeting, 8/19/07

Eighteen people attended today’s HAT meeting at Hardesty Library. Present were Brian, Randy, Ron, Bob H., Bob N., Polly, Kirby, Sharon G., Marilyn, Mary, Larry, Richard, Jeff, Bea, Keith, Gail, Jan, and Dan.

Randy read a poem of his choice and I did likewise a bit later. I had four items of business to present to the chapter. I read a letter from Grassroots Coordinator Michael Friedman regarding (1) Americans United’s First Freedom First Campaign (2) Jonathan Miller’s video series A Brief History of Disbelief, and (3) Dr. Stephen Frederick Uhl’s donation of two copies of his book Imagine No Superstition.

Next, I read a letter from Sarah Burgess, a First Freedom First Intern who is working to promote the film Jesus Camp. Her letter offered to loan us a copy of the film, plus a few other things, including a disposable camera. In return, we would have to send the film back after viewing, along with the petitions and camera.

Following this I read a letter titled “Tabling Material for Events.” The letter listed various materials which are available for free from the AHA. I will order some of these materials. We need to identify some upcoming events at which we can set up a table to distribute these materials.

Next, I read a letter from Dr. Stephen Uhl who is offering his book Imagine No Superstition for just a buck per copy. There were about a half dozen people who gave me a dollar for a copy. I will order a few extra copies just to have on hand.

Finally, Brian Hill gave his usual excellent presentation – a review of the book The WalMart Effect: How It’s Transforming the American Economy written by Charles Fishman.

ALGAE Outcome

Nine people attended the ALGAE luncheon at White River Fish Market last Wednesday. In attendance were Gail, Keith and Bea, Dave, Sharon, Julia, John, and Dan and Jan. I found it a good opportunity to catch up on the lives of some of the members while enjoying some of the best seafood in Tulsa. (Confession: I had red beans and rice.)

Numerous topics were discussed including the Secular Singers. There was talk of holding the next rehearsal at my house, with perhaps each member choosing one song. This way, with just four or five songs, we should be able to get our rehearsal time down to one hour. We talked about improving the quality of our singing. There is no Secular Singers rehearsal set for this month, but we will resume in September. New members and “listeners” are always welcome to come.

Julia announced that she will be moving to Washington, D.C. She will be missed.

Another topic discussed was the loneliness of atheists.

We spent close to two hours at the restaurant in conversation. Many topics were talked about that are not included in this report.

Dan

HAT meeting, 7/15/06

Eleven people attended the HAT meeting on Sunday, July 15, 2007 at Hardesty Library. Those present were Marilyn, Glenn, Ron, Ken, Gail, Mary, Polly, Julia S., Julia K., Jan, and Dan. I reported that we currently have 28 members and that the treasury stands at $1396.82. Continuing with our tradition of poetry reading, I read “The Tuft of Flowers” by Robert Frost.

The program was presented by Marilyn, who led us in a discussion of I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter. It is a fascinating yet difficult book to grasp. What does it mean to say that consciousness is an illusion? Does that mean it is less than real? Throughout the book Hofstadter speaks of consciousness as an illusion or a mirage. Take for example this passage:

One day when I was around sixteen or seventeen, musing intensely on these swirling clouds of ideas that gripped me emotionally no less than intellectually, it dawned on me -- and it has seemed ever since to me – that what we called “consciousness” was a kind of mirage. It had to be a very peculiar kind of mirage, to be sure, since it was a mirage that perceived itself, and of course it didn’t believe that it was perceiving a mirage, but no matter – it still was a mirage.
It was almost as if this slippery phenomenom called “consciousness” lifted itself up by its own bootstraps, almost as if it made itself out of nothing, and then disintegrated back into nothing whenever one looked at it more closely.

In other news, Glenn sought input from the group on what book might become the subject of the next Humanist Study Group.

Today's HAT meeting

At today’s HAT meeting there were 10 members and one visitor present. Members present were Dan N., Gail S., Larry H., Russ B., Mary C., Brian H., Ron McD., Marilyn C., Julia S., and Randy B. The visitor was Ken B.

I reported that we now have 27 dues-paying members. The treasury now stands at $1389.69.

Marilyn said she would be leading the discussion at the next Humanist Study Group as well at the next third Sunday meeting. The subject will be Douglas Hofstadter’s new book I am a Strange Loop.

Today's program was an excellent presentation by Brian Hill, who spoke on the book The War on Our Freedoms: Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism.

Among other books and web sites mentioned were The Jovial Atheist by Thomas Blaylock, Born Screaming in America by Bill Hicks, The Assault on Reason by Al Gore, and Just Progress.

As always, feel free to add your own comments to what I have written.

Minutes for HAT Meeting, 5/20/07

We began with announcements of future meetings. The Food & Fellowship gathering will be this Saturday, at 11:30 pm, 5/26/07, at Thai Siam on 31st. The Atheists Meetup will be next Sunday, 5/27/07, at 2:00 pm at Border’s on 21st St. We will focus upon the question, How does one talk with a Christian believer? These are the last two activities of interest to freethinkers this month of which I am aware.

And since, to quote from a Paul Kurtz document, “[w]e are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences,” we next moved to the reading of literary selections. Randy read the poem “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats, followed by my reading of “Silver Jack,” an anonymous poem.

Attending today beside Randy and myself were Jan, Marilyn, Polly, Mary, and Brian. Today’s program was presented by Brian Hill. It was an excellent review of the book Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Susan Jacoby. Brian spoke about the book for about a half hour and then answered some questions from the audience.

Sex and Movie Night

It was good to see Bill & Sue Forney at Movie Night tonight at the Bradleys. We had a total of nine people there. I brought a DVD of Neil Young and Prairie Fire, and Gail brought a DVD about owls, but both of those DVDs would have to wait for another Movie Night. What we watched was The Education of Shelby Knox. This documentary tracked the (unsuccessful) efforts of Lubbock, Texas teenage Shelby Knox to bring sex education to her high school. A half-hour discussion (mostly about sex) followed the showing of the documentary. We also talked about NetFlix and the advantages of renting DVDs through that source versus a local DVD rental store.

Join us Saturday, February 3 for the next Movie Night. Bring you favorite DVD and we might vote to watch it.

January Freethought Activities

January 2007
Activities of Interest to Freethinkers

Sat., Jan. 6, 7:00pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St. Feature presentation to be chosen that night.

Sun., Jan. 7, 1:00 pm
Either a Dennett or Dawkins DVD will be shown in one of the meeting rooms at Hardesty Library starting at 1:00 pm. This showing is being arranged by Nicole of the young atheists of Tulsa Atheists Meetup.

Sun., Jan 14, 1:00pm
Humanist Study Group at Hardesty Library, on 93rd near Memorial. Topic: Humanism and the science of happiness. Read the article at http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=bupp_26_6&back=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.secularhumanism.org%2Flib%2Flist.php%3Fpublication%3Dfi

Wed., Jan. 17, 11:20am
ALGAE (A Little Group of Atheists Eating), luncheon at White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan.

Sat., Jan. 20, 10:00am
Volunteer work at Food Bank, 1150 N. Iroquois, Tulsa. Call Randy (622-6975) or Julia (582-6322) for more information.

Sun., Jan. 21, 1:00pm
HAT Monthly Membership Meeting at Hardesty Library, 93rd and Memorial. Brian Hill will review the book Jesus in America by Richard W. Fox.

Sat., Jan. 27, 11:30am
Food & Fellowship at LaRoma’s Gourmet Pizza, 6027 S. Sheridan.

Sun., Jan 28, 2:00pm
Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous/Tulsa Atheist Meetup We will meet at Border’s Bookstore on 21st St. near BA Expy on the second floor near the computer books. Additional details will be posted later at http://atheists.meetup.com/477 and www.tulsaar.blogspot.com.


Secular Singers will not meet in January.

Questions? Call Dan at 798-3629

HAT Minutes for 12.16.06 meeting

The December HAT meeting was held this year at the Bradleys’ house. It was our annual observance of HumanLight. There were about 20 people present.

We began the afternoon by reading the first act of the play Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge. After the first act we paused for our meal. We had a great meal of chicken and rice with sweet potatoes and several desserts, including some delicious chocolate cake balls covered in semi-sweet chocolate made by Julia.

In the business part of the gathering while we were still seated at the dining table, we elected our officers for 2007. They are Randy Bradley, president; Marilyn Clarke, vice-president; Dan Nerren, secretary/treasurer, and Brian Hill, program director. Randy presented Dan Nerren a gift from the chapter as a token of appreciation for his years of service to the Humanist chapter in Tulsa. On the outside of the box is a quotation from Albert Einstein: “Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own heart.” Inside the box is this inscription: “Presented with gratitude and affection by the members of the Humanist Association of Tulsa. Winter Solstice – 2006”

Following the meal we read the second act of the play. Then the Secular Singers sang some seasonal songs, including “Human Light,” which is what the whole event was about. Some of those present joined in with the singing.

Julia said that she had communicated with someone at the Eastern Oklahoma Food Bank about HAT volunteering there. We will work at the food bank on the third Saturday of the month. In January that will be the 20th. Expect to be contacted to see if you can volunteers for this community service project.

9/11 Conspiracy Theory Questions Answered

One of my favorite quotations is by philosopher George Santayana, and it goes something like this: “Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer.” When it comes to 9/11 conspiracies, I find that many people have jettisoned their skepticism and swallowed a conspiracy theory, hook, line, and sinker.

If you have bought into the idea that the events of 9/11 were perpetrated by our own government as a pretext for other actions, I beg you to read pages 30 through 44 of the current issue of Skeptic magazine (Vol. 12, No. 4). The various claims of the 9/11 Truth Movement are examined, some of which are shown to be untruthful. Many of the unanswered questions about the events of that day are addressed (e.g., Why did WTC building number 7 collapse if it was not struck by a plane?, If the temperature from the fires did not get high enough to melt steel, why did the buildings collapse?, Are the squibs shown in film of the damaged towers evidence of demolition charges?, Did the collapse of the towers look exactly like a controlled demolition?, Did WTC leaseholder Larry Silverstein actually confess to destroying WTC 7?

Toward the end of the first article, author Phil Molé poses this question: Why do so many intelligent and promising people find these theories so compelling. Molé then offers possible answers.

The magazine may be purchased at Border’s and Barnes & Noble, among other shops, for $5.95.

News from this weekend

Secular Singers

The Secular Singers met at Randy’s for a practice session Saturday evening in preparation for a musical presentation at our annual HumanLight celebration on December 16 this year. We practiced our songs and refined the program as we went through the material. We are hoping we have a good showing at this year’s observance.

Randy and Dawn Bradley will be preparing a meal of chicken and rice. Everyone is welcome to bring a side dish or dessert, if they are so inclined. Following the meal we have two entertainment events planned. We have about 15 songs of the season we have been rehearsing, but there may not be time enough for all songs. For a couple of the songs (“Jingle Bells” and “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”), you will be invited to sing along with us.

Humanist Study Group

The Humanist Study Group met briefly before those present jumped ship to see a “9/11 conspiracy” film being shown elsewhere in the library. I knew that the meeting was a lost cause when two of our friends came into the room only to announce they were leaving to go to another room to watch the conspiracy film. So Glenn (our discussion leader) postponed the discussion until next month and most of us went to the room showing the conspiracy film. The postponement will give us time to read the book Flow, if we wish, which is the subject of the article for discussion.

Someone from the group showing the film said it was 50-minutes long, but when the film ran past an hour I asked how long the film was and was told two hours. Since I had seen previously two other films arguing for a 9/11 conspiracy and had spent an hour and 15 minutes watching this film, I decided to leave. The films I have seen on this subject, including the one today, do not strike me as an objective examination of events. Rather they seem to me to be aimed at emotionally exciting the viewer. They appeal to emotion rather than intellect. If the films should happen to contain some accurate explanation of events, I am too skeptical of their claims since their credibility has been lost with me. I am no fan of Bush and company, but when these films devolve into a vehicle to verbally attack the Bush administration, I have to question their motive and objectivity. What are they really after? According to the film I viewed today, our government, or its allies, is behind a whole host of calamities including the London bombings, the Madrid bombings, and the bombing of the Murrah building in OKC.

AHA Survey

I received by e-mail today a survey from two members of the AHA Chapter Assembly regarding our chapter and our activities. I responded and forwarded the survey with my responses to the Board. If anyone else would like to read the survey and my responses, please let me know and I will forward the same to you.

If anyone would like to comment on anything I have written, just click on the comment option feature of this blog.