Thursday, September 07, 2006
From the HAT Post Office box
I went by the HAT P.O. box today (first time in a week) and picked up the mail. We had a newsletter from the Rationalist Society of St. Louis and a newsletter from the Humanist Association of Salem, Oregon. We also had a letter from Millie Vance. Those of you who have been long-time members will remember Millie. Before moving to Washington state a few years ago, she had been for several years a member and loyal supporter of HAT. Her letter is addressed to "Fellow Humanists," and I will read it at our September general meeting (Sept. 17). She also sent a check and a photo of herself taken on her 69th birthday.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Some comments from Harold Hill
Dan:
I appreciate Brian Hill's having called our attention to the useful article and your seeing to it that all of us where thereby given an opportunity to see it.
I do wish, however, that it be clearly understood that many of the so-called "religious beliefs" are actually closely related to primitive science (magic) and do not by any means express the concepts of the educated constituency of our culture who are related to religious organizations and traditions. Many of the latter are at the forefront of theological, philosophical, scientific, social and cultural advances.
Humanists, I suggest, should take another look at the apparently common assumption that they are the only ones who are rational, logical, and intellectually honest and enlightened.
As a member of the Tulsa Humanists, I support the organizations efforts. And I care enough about the group to hope that it will get on with the business or learning in depth about what goes on in the intellectual world of theists instead of tending simply to point to the antics of the least intellectual.
On the one occasion when I was asked to speak to the group, several of those there were visitors who were, in fact, theists. Two were clergypersons.
The Humanists present were very cordial. I appreciated that. However, their questions and personal conversations with me betrayed that they had acquired little knowledge about the real world of theistic intellectuals and about serious philosophic thought.
I am frustrated that my Sunday schedule prevents my attending the society's discussions. My absence, be it understood, is due only to schedule barriers; never to lack of interest and support.
Fraternally, Harold E. Hill
I appreciate Brian Hill's having called our attention to the useful article and your seeing to it that all of us where thereby given an opportunity to see it.
I do wish, however, that it be clearly understood that many of the so-called "religious beliefs" are actually closely related to primitive science (magic) and do not by any means express the concepts of the educated constituency of our culture who are related to religious organizations and traditions. Many of the latter are at the forefront of theological, philosophical, scientific, social and cultural advances.
Humanists, I suggest, should take another look at the apparently common assumption that they are the only ones who are rational, logical, and intellectually honest and enlightened.
As a member of the Tulsa Humanists, I support the organizations efforts. And I care enough about the group to hope that it will get on with the business or learning in depth about what goes on in the intellectual world of theists instead of tending simply to point to the antics of the least intellectual.
On the one occasion when I was asked to speak to the group, several of those there were visitors who were, in fact, theists. Two were clergypersons.
The Humanists present were very cordial. I appreciated that. However, their questions and personal conversations with me betrayed that they had acquired little knowledge about the real world of theistic intellectuals and about serious philosophic thought.
I am frustrated that my Sunday schedule prevents my attending the society's discussions. My absence, be it understood, is due only to schedule barriers; never to lack of interest and support.
Fraternally, Harold E. Hill
"The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence, if they lack understanding. On the whole men are more good than bad; that, however, isn't the real point. But they are more or less ignorant, and it is this that we call vice or virtue; the most incorrigible vice being that of an ignorance which fancies it knows everything and therefore claims for itself the right to kill. There can be no true goodness, nor true love, without the utmost clear-sightedness."--Camus
Monday, August 28, 2006
Report on freethought events this past weekend
I was fortunate enough to be able to get away for a while and attend the Food and Fellowship gathering of the Humanist Assn. of Tulsa on Saturday. We met at TeKei’s, and there were twelve of us there. Attending were Larry, Julia, Polly, Randy, Elaine, Audrey, Dave, Ron, Dawn, Marilyn, Howard, and myself.
The Salmon salad I had was excellent, but even more enjoyable was being in the presence of my friends and hearing what they have been up to. We began by talking about letters which appeared in the Tulsa World that morning. Larry was the author of one of the letters, and he remarked that a small portion (in my opinion the best part) of his letter had been excised by the newspaper. I hope that Randy will be able to post the full unexpurgated text on the HAT web site.
In another letter in the same issue of the newspaper, one writer made reference to a previous letter written by Polly Mark. Polly had objected to the newspaper giving the religious affiliation of political candidates. The writer said she wanted to know the religious affiliation of candidates, presuming that if she knew what religion a candidate adhered to she would know enough about the political views of the candidate to vote either for or against the candidate.
Larry said that the drought up in Kansas was getting so bad that the Catholics were looking into converting wine into water.
Randy and Dawn talked about their climb up Pike’s Peak earlier in the month. What was it? Nine miles of walking uphill? I think of that as quite an accomplishment, especially since neither Randy nor Dawn are exactly spring chickens? Congratulation to you two on this feat of physical prowess. I am in awe of you both.
Julia told us about hunting fossils in the Dakota Badlands while deftly handling her food with chop sticks. She is pretty skillful at it. I should take up eating with chop sticks; I’m sure I would lose weight. We all learned a new word from Julia: fossiliferous. Had to look that one up in my Webster’s to see if I were spelling it correctly. I’ve found there’s a lot my spell checker doesn’t know. Fossiliferous soil is soil that contains fossils. As Will Rogers might have said, That’s a two-dollar word for a 25-cent concept. I will have to see if I can work the word into the conversation at the next meeting.
Another topic we talked about is the difference between a news article’s headline and content. Sometimes a headline seems to suggest one thing, but then when you read the article the content contradicts the headline.
Julia recommended the film V is for Vendetta. She owns a copy on DVD and has offered to bring it to Movie Night sometime. Randy said that Netflix was a good deal. It gets around the problem of going to the movie rental store and finding that the movie you want is not available.
Other conversation topics included the misreporting of the number of deaths in the Iraq War, how voting can be manipulated by voting machines, and whether people who will be supposedly “raptured” will make the journey with or without their clothes. Can’t you just visualize a church congregation floating away in the buff?
We also remarked about the fine décor in the restrooms with piped in, not music, but lessons on the Chinese language.
At the end of our meal the waitress brought us fortune cookies. One read “Skepticism is the first step toward truth.” We found that very appropriate for our group.
I am sure there were many other things we talked about, but I was seated at the north end of the table. What Audrey, Elaine, and Ron, who were seated at the south end of the table talked about, I cannot say.
Sunday morning I attended the service at All Souls Unitarian Church where the guest speaker was Bishop Carlton Pearson, formerly or Higher Dimensions Church in Tulsa, now minister of New Dimensions Church. In case you missed what happened to Pearson over the last several months, he has undergone a theological shift. He no longer believes that God operated a cosmic concentration camp where He tortures for all eternity those who beliefs are religiously incorrect. He has become a Universalist and believes all people are “saved” whether they know it or not.
The idea did not sit well with most congregants at Higher Dimensions, donations dried up, mortgage payments could not be met, and the church was lost. I guess some people are just not happy unless they can be told that a certain number of their fellow human beings are going to be tortured for being wrong about their religion. But all did not abandon Pearson. A small following stuck with him, and they meet in the sanctuary at Trinity Episcopal in downtown Tulsa on Sunday afternoons.
I thoroughly enjoyed the service. Pearson’s sermon was the best I’ve ever heard. Of course, being an atheist I’m not in the habit of taking in a lot of sermons. The place was packed. Thirty to fifty people were standing in the outside aisles.
The service began with UU minister Marvin Lavanhar telling a story to the children who gathered at the front. His story was about a frog who lived in a well. He had lived there all his life, and the well was all he knew. One day another frog falls into the well. The new frog tells the other one about the ocean, but the well frog cannot fathom the idea of a larger world outside of his well and tosses the ocean frog out of the well.
The symbolism was obvious. Pearson was a frog who had discovered a larger world – a world of a new dimension. His church and denomination had tossed him out.
Following the frog story, the New Dimensions Chorale sang. There were just twelve people in the choir, but they sounded like 40. They sang with strong, powerful voices. Their singing reminded me of the group Sweet Honey in the Rock. At the end of their first song the room erupted in applause as everyone jumped to their feet to give the singers a standing ovation.
The pianist was quite good as he sprinkled in jazz riffs in the selections the choir sang. I would love to hear this choir perform again.
Pearson’s sermon was titled “Get the Hell Out of my Bible.” I tried to take notes but found it difficult to listen and write at the same time. I hope the talk will be made available in transcript or on audiotape.
He spoke of dual loyalties to Jehovah and to Satan. There is the inspired word of God and the expired word of God. He said there is a little bit of Hitler in all of us. He spoke of moral dysfunctionalism and of deacon possessed churches.
As he wound down, his pianist came in on cue and Pearson broke into song. Pearson is also known for his singing, having made several vocal albums. The song was “I Can See Clearly Now.” He sang a verse and then asked the congregation to join him in singing the verse again.
It took quite a while for the sanctuary to empty since many people stood in line to shake Pearson’s hand.
I must say I felt somewhat abandoned in the afternoon at the Atheist Meetup at Border’s on 21st St. You never can predict how many people will come out to support this event. As it turned out, there was just Ron, Elaine, and myself. We talked a bit about various freethought organizations and their publications.
I read two selections. The first was the poem “Sarah” by Philip Appleman. In this poem we have Sarah, wife of Abraham, recounting some of the history of her times. She tells of Abraham’s courage in bargaining with God in an attempt to save Sodom and Gemorrah from destruction. Starting with an agreement to spare the cities if 50 righteous people can be found in them, God eventually agrees to spare the cities if only 10 righteous people can be found. If it seems that God is too easily persuaded to spare the cities, it is because he has no intention of keeping his word. Yes, God lied to Abraham, and it’s there in the Old Testament as well as in Appleman’s poem.
The poem ends with these words:
I also read an essay by James Haught titled “Why Would God Drown Children?” Haught asked why some 80,000 children lost their lives as a result of the tsunami which struck Asia the day after Christmas in 2004. He quotes John Scarp as saying, “Natural disasters like this reveal the ultimate weakness of nearly all religions…. The desperate attempts of religion to justify them as part of God’s plan simply reveal the delusional nature of religious belief.”
I appeal to you, my fellow freethinkers, to support freethought activities, to keep freethought alive, with your attendance at freethought events.
The Salmon salad I had was excellent, but even more enjoyable was being in the presence of my friends and hearing what they have been up to. We began by talking about letters which appeared in the Tulsa World that morning. Larry was the author of one of the letters, and he remarked that a small portion (in my opinion the best part) of his letter had been excised by the newspaper. I hope that Randy will be able to post the full unexpurgated text on the HAT web site.
In another letter in the same issue of the newspaper, one writer made reference to a previous letter written by Polly Mark. Polly had objected to the newspaper giving the religious affiliation of political candidates. The writer said she wanted to know the religious affiliation of candidates, presuming that if she knew what religion a candidate adhered to she would know enough about the political views of the candidate to vote either for or against the candidate.
Larry said that the drought up in Kansas was getting so bad that the Catholics were looking into converting wine into water.
Randy and Dawn talked about their climb up Pike’s Peak earlier in the month. What was it? Nine miles of walking uphill? I think of that as quite an accomplishment, especially since neither Randy nor Dawn are exactly spring chickens? Congratulation to you two on this feat of physical prowess. I am in awe of you both.
Julia told us about hunting fossils in the Dakota Badlands while deftly handling her food with chop sticks. She is pretty skillful at it. I should take up eating with chop sticks; I’m sure I would lose weight. We all learned a new word from Julia: fossiliferous. Had to look that one up in my Webster’s to see if I were spelling it correctly. I’ve found there’s a lot my spell checker doesn’t know. Fossiliferous soil is soil that contains fossils. As Will Rogers might have said, That’s a two-dollar word for a 25-cent concept. I will have to see if I can work the word into the conversation at the next meeting.
Another topic we talked about is the difference between a news article’s headline and content. Sometimes a headline seems to suggest one thing, but then when you read the article the content contradicts the headline.
Julia recommended the film V is for Vendetta. She owns a copy on DVD and has offered to bring it to Movie Night sometime. Randy said that Netflix was a good deal. It gets around the problem of going to the movie rental store and finding that the movie you want is not available.
Other conversation topics included the misreporting of the number of deaths in the Iraq War, how voting can be manipulated by voting machines, and whether people who will be supposedly “raptured” will make the journey with or without their clothes. Can’t you just visualize a church congregation floating away in the buff?
We also remarked about the fine décor in the restrooms with piped in, not music, but lessons on the Chinese language.
At the end of our meal the waitress brought us fortune cookies. One read “Skepticism is the first step toward truth.” We found that very appropriate for our group.
I am sure there were many other things we talked about, but I was seated at the north end of the table. What Audrey, Elaine, and Ron, who were seated at the south end of the table talked about, I cannot say.
Sunday morning I attended the service at All Souls Unitarian Church where the guest speaker was Bishop Carlton Pearson, formerly or Higher Dimensions Church in Tulsa, now minister of New Dimensions Church. In case you missed what happened to Pearson over the last several months, he has undergone a theological shift. He no longer believes that God operated a cosmic concentration camp where He tortures for all eternity those who beliefs are religiously incorrect. He has become a Universalist and believes all people are “saved” whether they know it or not.
The idea did not sit well with most congregants at Higher Dimensions, donations dried up, mortgage payments could not be met, and the church was lost. I guess some people are just not happy unless they can be told that a certain number of their fellow human beings are going to be tortured for being wrong about their religion. But all did not abandon Pearson. A small following stuck with him, and they meet in the sanctuary at Trinity Episcopal in downtown Tulsa on Sunday afternoons.
I thoroughly enjoyed the service. Pearson’s sermon was the best I’ve ever heard. Of course, being an atheist I’m not in the habit of taking in a lot of sermons. The place was packed. Thirty to fifty people were standing in the outside aisles.
The service began with UU minister Marvin Lavanhar telling a story to the children who gathered at the front. His story was about a frog who lived in a well. He had lived there all his life, and the well was all he knew. One day another frog falls into the well. The new frog tells the other one about the ocean, but the well frog cannot fathom the idea of a larger world outside of his well and tosses the ocean frog out of the well.
The symbolism was obvious. Pearson was a frog who had discovered a larger world – a world of a new dimension. His church and denomination had tossed him out.
Following the frog story, the New Dimensions Chorale sang. There were just twelve people in the choir, but they sounded like 40. They sang with strong, powerful voices. Their singing reminded me of the group Sweet Honey in the Rock. At the end of their first song the room erupted in applause as everyone jumped to their feet to give the singers a standing ovation.
The pianist was quite good as he sprinkled in jazz riffs in the selections the choir sang. I would love to hear this choir perform again.
Pearson’s sermon was titled “Get the Hell Out of my Bible.” I tried to take notes but found it difficult to listen and write at the same time. I hope the talk will be made available in transcript or on audiotape.
He spoke of dual loyalties to Jehovah and to Satan. There is the inspired word of God and the expired word of God. He said there is a little bit of Hitler in all of us. He spoke of moral dysfunctionalism and of deacon possessed churches.
As he wound down, his pianist came in on cue and Pearson broke into song. Pearson is also known for his singing, having made several vocal albums. The song was “I Can See Clearly Now.” He sang a verse and then asked the congregation to join him in singing the verse again.
It took quite a while for the sanctuary to empty since many people stood in line to shake Pearson’s hand.
I must say I felt somewhat abandoned in the afternoon at the Atheist Meetup at Border’s on 21st St. You never can predict how many people will come out to support this event. As it turned out, there was just Ron, Elaine, and myself. We talked a bit about various freethought organizations and their publications.
I read two selections. The first was the poem “Sarah” by Philip Appleman. In this poem we have Sarah, wife of Abraham, recounting some of the history of her times. She tells of Abraham’s courage in bargaining with God in an attempt to save Sodom and Gemorrah from destruction. Starting with an agreement to spare the cities if 50 righteous people can be found in them, God eventually agrees to spare the cities if only 10 righteous people can be found. If it seems that God is too easily persuaded to spare the cities, it is because he has no intention of keeping his word. Yes, God lied to Abraham, and it’s there in the Old Testament as well as in Appleman’s poem.
The poem ends with these words:
But whenever I think of Sodom…Well,
what had those people done that was so bad,
anyway—some dice and booze,
some frisky girls, willing boys,
a little fooling around—I know
it’s not exactly orthodox, but
to kill them all? To peel
the cooked flesh off those one-year olds,
just learning their first words?
All I can say is,
God must have a weird set of values,
and if there’s a Judgment Day,
as some folks think,
He’s going to have a lot to answer for.
I also read an essay by James Haught titled “Why Would God Drown Children?” Haught asked why some 80,000 children lost their lives as a result of the tsunami which struck Asia the day after Christmas in 2004. He quotes John Scarp as saying, “Natural disasters like this reveal the ultimate weakness of nearly all religions…. The desperate attempts of religion to justify them as part of God’s plan simply reveal the delusional nature of religious belief.”
I appeal to you, my fellow freethinkers, to support freethought activities, to keep freethought alive, with your attendance at freethought events.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Quote from Sharon Nichols
"Tyranny of the majority is the most insidious tyranny of all--and leads to the worst oppression. The only innoculation against this tyranny is to follow Thomas Paine's injuncture so that no minority group, however much detested by the majority, will ever fall victim to the tyranny of the majority. Protecting the Constitutional rights of all citizens is our greatest duty as citizens, for it is all that separates us from despots and dictatorships." Sharon Nichols
Monday, August 21, 2006
Minutes of HAT meeting, 8.20.06
There were 17 people at the HAT meeting yesterday. It was good to see so many attending on that hot Sunday afternoon.
In the business part of the meeting we approved spending $100 for an honorarium for Sharon Nichols to come to Tulsa and speak to our membership about her experiences regarding her lawsuit to force the removal of a Ten Commandments marker from the lawn of the Haskell County courthouse in Stigler. I don’t yet know whether Sharon will be interested in accepting this offer. I e-mailed her yesterday but don’t yet have a reply.
This month’s Food & Fellowship will be at Te’Kei’s at 1616 S. Utica on Saturday, August 26, starting at 11:30 am.
We gained a new member yesterday: Bob Freeman. Welcome to Bob. We now have 24 dues-paying members.
We will soon be losing one of our members: Harold Dundee, who will be moving to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Harold is retired from Tulane University where he taught biology for 30 years. Harold came to Tulsa last year about the time hurricane Katrina devastated a large part of New Orleans. In Baton Rouge he will have the opportunity to stay active in his professional life.
The program was presented by Marilyn Clarke. Her presentation was based upon an article from The Journal of Psychohistory. She related much of the article to current events, especially to the behavior of the Bush administration.
Somehow we got off to talking about the growth of the Christ legend and the history of the Bible. “A fun story,” commented Glenn Visher. Glenn spoke of the Greek influence upon the Apostle Paul.
Other topics of discussion which sprung from Marilyn’s talk were child abuse, parenting, abortion, and God as a parent figure.
As always, feel free to add comments of your own about the meeting using the comments feature of this blog.
In the business part of the meeting we approved spending $100 for an honorarium for Sharon Nichols to come to Tulsa and speak to our membership about her experiences regarding her lawsuit to force the removal of a Ten Commandments marker from the lawn of the Haskell County courthouse in Stigler. I don’t yet know whether Sharon will be interested in accepting this offer. I e-mailed her yesterday but don’t yet have a reply.
This month’s Food & Fellowship will be at Te’Kei’s at 1616 S. Utica on Saturday, August 26, starting at 11:30 am.
We gained a new member yesterday: Bob Freeman. Welcome to Bob. We now have 24 dues-paying members.
We will soon be losing one of our members: Harold Dundee, who will be moving to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Harold is retired from Tulane University where he taught biology for 30 years. Harold came to Tulsa last year about the time hurricane Katrina devastated a large part of New Orleans. In Baton Rouge he will have the opportunity to stay active in his professional life.
The program was presented by Marilyn Clarke. Her presentation was based upon an article from The Journal of Psychohistory. She related much of the article to current events, especially to the behavior of the Bush administration.
Somehow we got off to talking about the growth of the Christ legend and the history of the Bible. “A fun story,” commented Glenn Visher. Glenn spoke of the Greek influence upon the Apostle Paul.
Other topics of discussion which sprung from Marilyn’s talk were child abuse, parenting, abortion, and God as a parent figure.
As always, feel free to add comments of your own about the meeting using the comments feature of this blog.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Larry Forrest on the war in Iraq
The writer of this piece, Larry Forrest, is currently living in Norman but has plans to move back to Tulsa.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072206G.shtml
I am so goddamned tired of this nanny-state bullshit! It's not enough that naughty words be bleeped, but the speaker's mouth has to be blurred so as to keep lipreaders from being corrupted. Worse, our foul-mouthed, hypocritical Prude-in-Chief signed legislation in June that increases the fine to $325,000 for each instance of broadcast indecency.
What insane culture we live in. The whole damn country has a conniption fit over the quickie revelation of one female breast during a Super Bowl halftime show, but we fall for the neocon job that landed us in Iraq, and we allow that illegal, immoral, and irresponsible war to continue. That, my friends, is the real obscenity.
Of course we all know that Dubya cusses a blue streak, and that if he were fined for every expletive he fails to delete he'd be in hock to the FCC for millions of dollars. Yet that son of Bush can sign legislation that effectively chills broadcasters from using his favorite cuss words. Hey, I'm all for little children not being exposed to vulgar language, but that's why parents and channel changers exist. If the former can master operation of the latter, then their children will be spared a life of crime resulting from hearing such shitty words as spurt forth from the mouth of our Pastor-in-Chief. Look, it's just not the responsibility of Uncle Sam to censor every program so that it will [be] acceptable to the most prudish of prudes.
Rather than censor documentaries about war, or the daily coverage of the gory carnage in the Middle East, I think we should show it in all its realistic horror. Show the bloody corpses, show the decapitated heads, show the wounded in hospitals--let's hear their screams of agony (the universal language), let's hear our troops cursing the enemy, the weather, and--yea verily--even our leaders in Washington, DC.
I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I read that somewhere in Iraq a teenage girl was murdered, decapitated, and the head of a dog sown on her neck. If this is so, a photo should be taken and shown on every goddamn media outlet: it should be on the front page of The New York Times; it should be on billboards all across the country; it should be on milk cartons. The caption would read: "This is your fucking war, America! This is what your tax dollars are buying. This is what happens when you go to war with barbarian religious fanatics who are happy to die for their barbarian God and happier still to murder for Him. This is what happens when you don't pay attention to what the hell is going on around you. This is what happens when you allow yourselves to be seduced by all the flag-waving, jingoistic bullshit your "Christian" leaders flummoxed you with. Wake up, you dumbshit assholes, before it's too late!"
Whew! I really went off on a rant there, didn't I? But it's hard not to be blind with anger when you consider the blatant stupidity being practiced right before our unbelieving eyes. As Bob Dole put it during the 1996 presidential race: "Where's the outrage?" Relatively speaking, there was very little then to be outraged about. Now, however, there's a flaming shitload.
Wait a minute: what am I upset about? Maybe the FCC is right. Maybe, in fact, it doesn't go far enough. Concerning the WWII documentary: sure, let's mute the sound and pixilate the mouths of those who swear. But more than that, we shouldn't allow people to see that most common outcome of war: dead bodies. Instead, let's superimpose cute little teddy bears and ducks and bunny wabbits and TeleTubbies on all those ugly corpses. We certainly don't want people to get the impression that war is hell, particularly when it's being fought for a noble cause, like the war in Iraq. Yes, I can see so much better now.
Thank you for inserting the brain probe into the back of my skull, you kind and patriotic FBI agents.
I love Big Brother.
Jingoistically,
Larry
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072206G.shtml
I am so goddamned tired of this nanny-state bullshit! It's not enough that naughty words be bleeped, but the speaker's mouth has to be blurred so as to keep lipreaders from being corrupted. Worse, our foul-mouthed, hypocritical Prude-in-Chief signed legislation in June that increases the fine to $325,000 for each instance of broadcast indecency.
What insane culture we live in. The whole damn country has a conniption fit over the quickie revelation of one female breast during a Super Bowl halftime show, but we fall for the neocon job that landed us in Iraq, and we allow that illegal, immoral, and irresponsible war to continue. That, my friends, is the real obscenity.
Of course we all know that Dubya cusses a blue streak, and that if he were fined for every expletive he fails to delete he'd be in hock to the FCC for millions of dollars. Yet that son of Bush can sign legislation that effectively chills broadcasters from using his favorite cuss words. Hey, I'm all for little children not being exposed to vulgar language, but that's why parents and channel changers exist. If the former can master operation of the latter, then their children will be spared a life of crime resulting from hearing such shitty words as spurt forth from the mouth of our Pastor-in-Chief. Look, it's just not the responsibility of Uncle Sam to censor every program so that it will [be] acceptable to the most prudish of prudes.
Rather than censor documentaries about war, or the daily coverage of the gory carnage in the Middle East, I think we should show it in all its realistic horror. Show the bloody corpses, show the decapitated heads, show the wounded in hospitals--let's hear their screams of agony (the universal language), let's hear our troops cursing the enemy, the weather, and--yea verily--even our leaders in Washington, DC.
I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I read that somewhere in Iraq a teenage girl was murdered, decapitated, and the head of a dog sown on her neck. If this is so, a photo should be taken and shown on every goddamn media outlet: it should be on the front page of The New York Times; it should be on billboards all across the country; it should be on milk cartons. The caption would read: "This is your fucking war, America! This is what your tax dollars are buying. This is what happens when you go to war with barbarian religious fanatics who are happy to die for their barbarian God and happier still to murder for Him. This is what happens when you don't pay attention to what the hell is going on around you. This is what happens when you allow yourselves to be seduced by all the flag-waving, jingoistic bullshit your "Christian" leaders flummoxed you with. Wake up, you dumbshit assholes, before it's too late!"
Whew! I really went off on a rant there, didn't I? But it's hard not to be blind with anger when you consider the blatant stupidity being practiced right before our unbelieving eyes. As Bob Dole put it during the 1996 presidential race: "Where's the outrage?" Relatively speaking, there was very little then to be outraged about. Now, however, there's a flaming shitload.
Wait a minute: what am I upset about? Maybe the FCC is right. Maybe, in fact, it doesn't go far enough. Concerning the WWII documentary: sure, let's mute the sound and pixilate the mouths of those who swear. But more than that, we shouldn't allow people to see that most common outcome of war: dead bodies. Instead, let's superimpose cute little teddy bears and ducks and bunny wabbits and TeleTubbies on all those ugly corpses. We certainly don't want people to get the impression that war is hell, particularly when it's being fought for a noble cause, like the war in Iraq. Yes, I can see so much better now.
Thank you for inserting the brain probe into the back of my skull, you kind and patriotic FBI agents.
I love Big Brother.
Jingoistically,
Larry
Sunday, July 16, 2006
HAT Minutes 7.16.06
There were 16 people in attendance at today's HAT meeting at Hardesty Library. Attending were Stan, Larry Hi, Randy, Polly, Brian, Gail, Ron, Jean, Harold, Mary, Russ, Elaine, Marilyn, Audrey, Don and myself. We gained two new members today: Ron McDaniel and Elaine Liddell. Welcome to you both.
Due to the annoyance of the music at Border's on 81st St., those who attended the Humanist Study Group meeting on July 9 at Border's decided to change the venue for the next several HSG meetings to Hardesty Library. Polly took the initiative of reserving a meeting room at Hardesty for the HSG. I can't recall if the meeting time is the same or not, but I will check with Polly and get the word out about the change.
[Polly says the new meeting time is 1pm.]
There is also a change in venue for the Food & Fellowship gathering this Saturday, July 22. Originally set for Furr's Cafeteria, the F&F venue will now be a Chinese restaurant on 71st St. I think the name of the restaurant is Hong Kong, but I will have to check with Polly, who is reserving a meeting room there for us, to get the correct name and address.
[Polly says, Hong Kong on Memorial at 73rd.]
Following the F&F, Stan is hosting a showing of a film produced by the ACLU. The showing will be at the Tulsa Central Library. More details will be sent to members as they become available. As of now, Stan is still trying to obtain a copy of the video. He has ordered a copy, but it has not arrived yet.
I read a short piece at the meeting by William Falk, editor of The Week, a newsmagazine. The jist of the piece is that there have always been crackpots predicting the end of the world, but now some of today's crackpots have access to weapons which could kill hundreds of thousands of people. I also read a satirical piece by George Carlin from his book When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?
Randy will not be able to host Movie Night on Saturday, August 5. We are looking for a volunteer to host that Movie Night. Anyone willing to host it should contact either Randy or Dan.
The program was presented by Harold Dundee. It was a chapter by chapter overview of the book The Naked Mind by Shelton Gottlieb. It was quite an interesting presentation, made even moreso thanks to Harold's personal acquaintance with the author.
As always, feel free to emend these minutes by adding your own commentary using the comments option. I try to be complete, but I usually forget to include something that was talked about.
Due to the annoyance of the music at Border's on 81st St., those who attended the Humanist Study Group meeting on July 9 at Border's decided to change the venue for the next several HSG meetings to Hardesty Library. Polly took the initiative of reserving a meeting room at Hardesty for the HSG. I can't recall if the meeting time is the same or not, but I will check with Polly and get the word out about the change.
[Polly says the new meeting time is 1pm.]
There is also a change in venue for the Food & Fellowship gathering this Saturday, July 22. Originally set for Furr's Cafeteria, the F&F venue will now be a Chinese restaurant on 71st St. I think the name of the restaurant is Hong Kong, but I will have to check with Polly, who is reserving a meeting room there for us, to get the correct name and address.
[Polly says, Hong Kong on Memorial at 73rd.]
Following the F&F, Stan is hosting a showing of a film produced by the ACLU. The showing will be at the Tulsa Central Library. More details will be sent to members as they become available. As of now, Stan is still trying to obtain a copy of the video. He has ordered a copy, but it has not arrived yet.
I read a short piece at the meeting by William Falk, editor of The Week, a newsmagazine. The jist of the piece is that there have always been crackpots predicting the end of the world, but now some of today's crackpots have access to weapons which could kill hundreds of thousands of people. I also read a satirical piece by George Carlin from his book When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?
Randy will not be able to host Movie Night on Saturday, August 5. We are looking for a volunteer to host that Movie Night. Anyone willing to host it should contact either Randy or Dan.
The program was presented by Harold Dundee. It was a chapter by chapter overview of the book The Naked Mind by Shelton Gottlieb. It was quite an interesting presentation, made even moreso thanks to Harold's personal acquaintance with the author.
As always, feel free to emend these minutes by adding your own commentary using the comments option. I try to be complete, but I usually forget to include something that was talked about.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Freethought Events for July 2006
July 2006 Activities of Interest to Freethinkers
Sat., July 1, 7pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St.
Sat., July 8, 10am
Secular Singers at the Bradleys. All are welcome. If you play an instrument (lightweight and portable), bring it.
Sun., July 9, 2pm
Humanist Study Group at Border’s, 81st & Yale. Topic: American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips. Discussion leader: Dan Nerren. Read chapters 5, 6, and 7.
Sun., July 16, 1pm
HAT Monthly Membership Meeting at Hardesty Regional Library. Speaker: Harold Dundee on The Naked Mind by Sheldon F. Gottlieb.
Wed., July 19, 11:23am
ALGAE (A Little Group of Atheists Eating), luncheon at White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan.
Sat., July 22, 11:30am
Food & Fellowship at Furr’s Cafeteria in The Farm shopping center.
Sun., July 23, 2pm
Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous/Tulsa Atheist Meetup Meet at Border’s Bookstore on 21st St., second floor. (Go to www.atheists.meetup.com to sign up for meetups.)
Questions? Call Dan at 798-3629
Sat., July 1, 7pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St.
Sat., July 8, 10am
Secular Singers at the Bradleys. All are welcome. If you play an instrument (lightweight and portable), bring it.
Sun., July 9, 2pm
Humanist Study Group at Border’s, 81st & Yale. Topic: American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips. Discussion leader: Dan Nerren. Read chapters 5, 6, and 7.
Sun., July 16, 1pm
HAT Monthly Membership Meeting at Hardesty Regional Library. Speaker: Harold Dundee on The Naked Mind by Sheldon F. Gottlieb.
Wed., July 19, 11:23am
ALGAE (A Little Group of Atheists Eating), luncheon at White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan.
Sat., July 22, 11:30am
Food & Fellowship at Furr’s Cafeteria in The Farm shopping center.
Sun., July 23, 2pm
Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous/Tulsa Atheist Meetup Meet at Border’s Bookstore on 21st St., second floor. (Go to www.atheists.meetup.com to sign up for meetups.)
Questions? Call Dan at 798-3629
Monday, June 19, 2006
About the Nonviolent Communication Training Course
I am hoping that sometime later on this year HAT and TPF can present this course at the Tulsa Peace House. The course is recorded on nine audio CDs. Here is a little about each disc:
Disc 1. ORIGINS OF NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION
The purpose of NVC
Compassionate giving
A radical transformation of language
Refraining from criticism making demands
Disc 2. APPLYING NVC WITHIN OURSELVES
Four friends: anger, depression, guilt, and shame
Becoming literate in a “language of life”
From self-judgment to self-forgivness
Disc 3. A RADICALLY DIFFERENT KIND OF HONESTY
Evaluation without blame
How to make clear requests
How to choose the right strategies for getting your needs met
Disc 4. EMPATHICALLY CONNECTING WITH OTHERS
The dynamics of empathy
Connecting in the now
How to respond with NVC when you are judged
Dics 5. MEETING OUR NEEDS IN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS
The difficulties of expressing the need for love
How to use NVC to declare your intimate needs
Communicating about sexuality
Vulnerable self-expression
Disc 6. EXPERIENCING AND EXERCISING AUTHORITY
Authority, fear, and respect
Influence vs. control
The person behind the title
How labels affect behavior
Standing up to authority
Disc 7. HEALING, MEDIATION, AND RECONCILIATION
How empathy supports healing
Mediating “impossible” conflicts
Reconciliation and harmony through NVC
Disc 8. HOW NVC SUPPORTS SOCIAL CHANGE
How to make powerful requests
The protective use of force
Restorative justice in action
Beyond punishment and reward
Disc 9. LIVING COMPASSIONATELY WITH CELEBRATION AND GRATITUDE
Creating the conditions for compassionate giving
Gratitude you can trust
Recognizing opportunities to give and receive sincere gratitude
Disc 1. ORIGINS OF NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION
The purpose of NVC
Compassionate giving
A radical transformation of language
Refraining from criticism making demands
Disc 2. APPLYING NVC WITHIN OURSELVES
Four friends: anger, depression, guilt, and shame
Becoming literate in a “language of life”
From self-judgment to self-forgivness
Disc 3. A RADICALLY DIFFERENT KIND OF HONESTY
Evaluation without blame
How to make clear requests
How to choose the right strategies for getting your needs met
Disc 4. EMPATHICALLY CONNECTING WITH OTHERS
The dynamics of empathy
Connecting in the now
How to respond with NVC when you are judged
Dics 5. MEETING OUR NEEDS IN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS
The difficulties of expressing the need for love
How to use NVC to declare your intimate needs
Communicating about sexuality
Vulnerable self-expression
Disc 6. EXPERIENCING AND EXERCISING AUTHORITY
Authority, fear, and respect
Influence vs. control
The person behind the title
How labels affect behavior
Standing up to authority
Disc 7. HEALING, MEDIATION, AND RECONCILIATION
How empathy supports healing
Mediating “impossible” conflicts
Reconciliation and harmony through NVC
Disc 8. HOW NVC SUPPORTS SOCIAL CHANGE
How to make powerful requests
The protective use of force
Restorative justice in action
Beyond punishment and reward
Disc 9. LIVING COMPASSIONATELY WITH CELEBRATION AND GRATITUDE
Creating the conditions for compassionate giving
Gratitude you can trust
Recognizing opportunities to give and receive sincere gratitude
Sunday, June 18, 2006
HAT Minutes 6.18.06
The June HAT meeting was held at Randy and Dawn Bradley’s house. Charcoal hamburgers were served to the ten people in attendance: Brian, Harold, Bea, Phil, Gail, Marilyn, Polly, Dawn, Randy, and myself. Phil was a first-time guest at our meeting. Phil mentioned, among other things, the excellent freethought programming available at www.pointofinquiry.org.
We ate in the backyard underneath the shade trees. The Bradleys’ son, Patrick, assisted in serving the food. Following the hamburgers, we ate watermelon and brownies.
A lot of the conversation dealt with this question: Are we too focused upon our atheism? Are we turning people off because we talk about atheism? Most present expressed this idea: the role HAT serves is to bring together like-minded people, which gives us the opportunity to give and receive love from each other. No one objected to this idea. I read newsletters and web sites from other freethought groups. You can pick up from these sources what other groups find important to them. For some it is combating the Religious Right; others focus upon philosophy. The focus of our group seems to be on loving and supporting one another.
Gail mentioned that she likes the oral reading of freethought writings. I concur; the oral reading of freethought writings is probably the best way of keeping them alive.
Harold mentioned that he would be moving to Baton Rouge, although I don’t recall if he said when this would happen.
I informed the group that Susan Singh of the Tulsa Peace Fellowship has offered to loan us the Nonviolent Communication Training Course. I am hoping we can work in conjunction with the Tulsa Peace Fellowship and offer the course (one day per week for nine weeks) to HAT and TPF members. I will cooperate with Susan to see if we can set up the course at the new Tulsa Peace House.
I forgot to mention at the meeting, although I may have mentioned it in an e-mail, that supporter Larry Forrest (presently in Norman) has given us a DVD which we will view at an upcoming Movie Night. The DVD is “A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly.” It runs 72 minutes – about the ideal time for a Movie Night presentation. Larry intends to move back to Tulsa soon. Larry, an excellent wordsmith, was an integral part of HAT when he lived in Tulsa in the 1990s. He moved to Norman to become caregiver for HAT member Patti Reames who was stricken with MS. Patti died last December.
As always, if I failed to mention something I should have, feel free to add your own comment in the comment section.
We ate in the backyard underneath the shade trees. The Bradleys’ son, Patrick, assisted in serving the food. Following the hamburgers, we ate watermelon and brownies.
A lot of the conversation dealt with this question: Are we too focused upon our atheism? Are we turning people off because we talk about atheism? Most present expressed this idea: the role HAT serves is to bring together like-minded people, which gives us the opportunity to give and receive love from each other. No one objected to this idea. I read newsletters and web sites from other freethought groups. You can pick up from these sources what other groups find important to them. For some it is combating the Religious Right; others focus upon philosophy. The focus of our group seems to be on loving and supporting one another.
Gail mentioned that she likes the oral reading of freethought writings. I concur; the oral reading of freethought writings is probably the best way of keeping them alive.
Harold mentioned that he would be moving to Baton Rouge, although I don’t recall if he said when this would happen.
I informed the group that Susan Singh of the Tulsa Peace Fellowship has offered to loan us the Nonviolent Communication Training Course. I am hoping we can work in conjunction with the Tulsa Peace Fellowship and offer the course (one day per week for nine weeks) to HAT and TPF members. I will cooperate with Susan to see if we can set up the course at the new Tulsa Peace House.
I forgot to mention at the meeting, although I may have mentioned it in an e-mail, that supporter Larry Forrest (presently in Norman) has given us a DVD which we will view at an upcoming Movie Night. The DVD is “A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly.” It runs 72 minutes – about the ideal time for a Movie Night presentation. Larry intends to move back to Tulsa soon. Larry, an excellent wordsmith, was an integral part of HAT when he lived in Tulsa in the 1990s. He moved to Norman to become caregiver for HAT member Patti Reames who was stricken with MS. Patti died last December.
As always, if I failed to mention something I should have, feel free to add your own comment in the comment section.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
HAT News
Last Saturday, Bea, Randy, and I met at Randy’s house for the monthly Secular Singers get-together. Randy baked cinnamon rolls, and the three of us selected twelve songs for a “standard” presentation. The songs chosen will be worked up and serve as a core repertoire. Randy will send a list of these songs to all members of Secular Singers by e-mail. Meanwhile, I will make a list of all songs the group has performed in the past. This also will be distributed by e-mail to those on the Secular Singers e-mail list. If you are not already on the Secular Singers e-mail list and would like to be added, please let me know.
Then last Sunday, six HAT members took part in the monthly Humanist Study Group which met at Border’s Bookstore on Yale. Attending were Richard, Randy, Larry Hi, Marilyn, Mary, and myself. The focus of the discussion was chapter four of American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips. We were a small, but intimate, group. The camaraderie was palpable. Perhaps that explains why we stayed so long – a full two and a half hours. The group wishes to continue with this book at the next HSG in July. We will talk about chapters five, six, and seven. The group also called upon me to again lead the discussion.
I will try once again to prepare a list of discussion questions. I will send out the questions by e-mail. (Due to a lack of time, last Sunday’s questions were distributed on paper at the time of the discussion.) Two of us at the meeting had recently read Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism by Michelle Goldberg. We recommend this book for a future HSG.
In other news, the HAT Board decided to purchase “The Nonviolent Communication Training Course” by Marshall Rosenberg. The course comes on nine one-hour audio CDs. We hope to offer this course to all interested persons at the new Tulsa Peace House in partnership with Tulsa Peace Fellowship.
We also talked about some movies we would like to view at our monthly Movie Night. Three that were recommended were An Inconvenient Truth, A Prairie Home Companion, and Neil Young: Heart of Gold.
Then last Sunday, six HAT members took part in the monthly Humanist Study Group which met at Border’s Bookstore on Yale. Attending were Richard, Randy, Larry Hi, Marilyn, Mary, and myself. The focus of the discussion was chapter four of American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips. We were a small, but intimate, group. The camaraderie was palpable. Perhaps that explains why we stayed so long – a full two and a half hours. The group wishes to continue with this book at the next HSG in July. We will talk about chapters five, six, and seven. The group also called upon me to again lead the discussion.
I will try once again to prepare a list of discussion questions. I will send out the questions by e-mail. (Due to a lack of time, last Sunday’s questions were distributed on paper at the time of the discussion.) Two of us at the meeting had recently read Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism by Michelle Goldberg. We recommend this book for a future HSG.
In other news, the HAT Board decided to purchase “The Nonviolent Communication Training Course” by Marshall Rosenberg. The course comes on nine one-hour audio CDs. We hope to offer this course to all interested persons at the new Tulsa Peace House in partnership with Tulsa Peace Fellowship.
We also talked about some movies we would like to view at our monthly Movie Night. Three that were recommended were An Inconvenient Truth, A Prairie Home Companion, and Neil Young: Heart of Gold.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Minutes of HAT meeting, 5.21.06
Attending the HAT meeting today at Hardesty Library were Brian, Harold, Dana, Marilyn, Randy, Mary, Paula, Don, and myself. There are now 19 dues-paying members in HAT. The HAT treasury stands at $1,186.76.
I received an e-mail from the Colorado Coalition of Reason (COCORE) seeking support for the distribution of a DVD the group has produced. It is my understanding that all money donated toward this project will be applied to mailing the DVD to high schools. I inquired of them if we could select high schools to receive the DVD. They responded by e-mailing me a list of all public schools in Oklahoma and inviting me to designate which schools we would like to have receive the DVD.
Someone asked: If we pay the postage to have a DVD mailed to a school, what are the chances the DVD will actually be shown to students at that school? That’s a good question. I guess we will never know. However, COCORE is willing to pay for the production of the DVDs. I would like to see us spend a little toward the distribution of the DVDs.
The DVD runs 38 minutes and will be shown at the June HAT meeting.
The outline of the DVD from its storage case is as follows:
1. Definitions of basic terms about nonbelievers.
2. Are there different kinds of atheists.
3. The secular humanist’s view of space.
4. Don’t freethinkers fear hell?
5. Doesn’t ID prove that God exists.
6. Where do you think we came from?
7. Isn’t America a Christian nation?
8. Do nonbelievers believe in good and evil?
9. Isn’t atheism a religion?
10. Comments about school harassment.
11. An end-of-life view from a freethinker.
The June HAT meeting will be held at Randy’s house and will be combined with a celebration of the Summer Solstice. The date of that meeting will be Sunday, June 18 – a few days before the actual solstice.
Also discussed was a request made earlier by Polly that we talk about atheism versus agnosticism. Each person who would like to speak to this subject will be given time to do so at a future meeting. We talked about doing it in June, but I don’t think any firm decision was reached on when it would be. Brian also had a proposal to address certain other questions.
After the Summer Solstice Celebration/cookout at the Bradley’s and the COCORE DVD viewing, there will not be much time remaining for any other activity, I would guess.
Among other ideas discussed was the preparation of press releases by the board on an ad hoc basis to be distributed to local media outlets whenever some issue that is of interest to our group is in the news.
Following the business meeting Brian Hill gave a descriptive talk on the book You’re Wearing That? by Deborah Tannen.
I have most likely overlooked something about today’s meeting. If you were at the meeting, let me invite you to add your own observations by appending a comment to this posting.
I received an e-mail from the Colorado Coalition of Reason (COCORE) seeking support for the distribution of a DVD the group has produced. It is my understanding that all money donated toward this project will be applied to mailing the DVD to high schools. I inquired of them if we could select high schools to receive the DVD. They responded by e-mailing me a list of all public schools in Oklahoma and inviting me to designate which schools we would like to have receive the DVD.
Someone asked: If we pay the postage to have a DVD mailed to a school, what are the chances the DVD will actually be shown to students at that school? That’s a good question. I guess we will never know. However, COCORE is willing to pay for the production of the DVDs. I would like to see us spend a little toward the distribution of the DVDs.
The DVD runs 38 minutes and will be shown at the June HAT meeting.
The outline of the DVD from its storage case is as follows:
1. Definitions of basic terms about nonbelievers.
2. Are there different kinds of atheists.
3. The secular humanist’s view of space.
4. Don’t freethinkers fear hell?
5. Doesn’t ID prove that God exists.
6. Where do you think we came from?
7. Isn’t America a Christian nation?
8. Do nonbelievers believe in good and evil?
9. Isn’t atheism a religion?
10. Comments about school harassment.
11. An end-of-life view from a freethinker.
The June HAT meeting will be held at Randy’s house and will be combined with a celebration of the Summer Solstice. The date of that meeting will be Sunday, June 18 – a few days before the actual solstice.
Also discussed was a request made earlier by Polly that we talk about atheism versus agnosticism. Each person who would like to speak to this subject will be given time to do so at a future meeting. We talked about doing it in June, but I don’t think any firm decision was reached on when it would be. Brian also had a proposal to address certain other questions.
After the Summer Solstice Celebration/cookout at the Bradley’s and the COCORE DVD viewing, there will not be much time remaining for any other activity, I would guess.
Among other ideas discussed was the preparation of press releases by the board on an ad hoc basis to be distributed to local media outlets whenever some issue that is of interest to our group is in the news.
Following the business meeting Brian Hill gave a descriptive talk on the book You’re Wearing That? by Deborah Tannen.
I have most likely overlooked something about today’s meeting. If you were at the meeting, let me invite you to add your own observations by appending a comment to this posting.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
A Little Group of Atheists Eating
Question: What HAT member hopped a freight train back in 1934 in order to be able to go to Chicago and see the World’s Fair? Answer: It was Howard Kelley. This was the first of many freight train rides Howard took back in the days of his youth. Howard entertained us with stories of riding the rails at today’s ALGAE luncheon.
In addition to Howard there was Larry, Dana, Julia, Mary, Gail, Jan, and myself. It was good to see so many friends once again. Other topics of discussion included the book The DaVinci Code, the book Who’s Who in Hell, church camps and homesickness, the Girl Scout camp murders, authors and geographical places associated with them, the treatment of books, Civil War markers and monuments, and The Hobo’s Hornbook.
If you missed the gathering today, you will have an opportunity to be with your humanist friends this Sunday, 1:00 PM, at Hardesty Library.
See you there.
In addition to Howard there was Larry, Dana, Julia, Mary, Gail, Jan, and myself. It was good to see so many friends once again. Other topics of discussion included the book The DaVinci Code, the book Who’s Who in Hell, church camps and homesickness, the Girl Scout camp murders, authors and geographical places associated with them, the treatment of books, Civil War markers and monuments, and The Hobo’s Hornbook.
If you missed the gathering today, you will have an opportunity to be with your humanist friends this Sunday, 1:00 PM, at Hardesty Library.
See you there.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
May Activities for Freethinkers
Sat., May 6, 7pm Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St.
Sat., May 13, 10am Secular Singers at the Bradleys. All are welcome.
Sun., May 14, 2pm Humanist Study Group at Border’s, 81st & Yale. Topic: Leo Strauss. Discussion to be led by Randy Bradley. Read material to be distributed by e-mail.
Wed., May 17, 11:30am ALGAE (A Little Group of Atheists Eating), luncheon at White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan.
Sun., May 21, 1pm HAT Monthly Membership Meeting at Hardesty Regional Library. Program: Brian Hill will speak on the book You’re Wearing That? by Deborah Tanner.
Sat., May 27, 11:30am Food & Fellowship at Panera Bread, 5601 E. 41st St.
Sun., May 28, 2pm Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous/Tulsa Atheist Meetup Meet at Panera Bread, 5601 E. 41st St., near Southroads. (Go to www.atheists.meetup.com to sign up for meetups.) Randy Bradley will be leading this rendezvous/meetup.
Questions? Call Dan at 798-3629
Sat., May 13, 10am Secular Singers at the Bradleys. All are welcome.
Sun., May 14, 2pm Humanist Study Group at Border’s, 81st & Yale. Topic: Leo Strauss. Discussion to be led by Randy Bradley. Read material to be distributed by e-mail.
Wed., May 17, 11:30am ALGAE (A Little Group of Atheists Eating), luncheon at White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan.
Sun., May 21, 1pm HAT Monthly Membership Meeting at Hardesty Regional Library. Program: Brian Hill will speak on the book You’re Wearing That? by Deborah Tanner.
Sat., May 27, 11:30am Food & Fellowship at Panera Bread, 5601 E. 41st St.
Sun., May 28, 2pm Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous/Tulsa Atheist Meetup Meet at Panera Bread, 5601 E. 41st St., near Southroads. (Go to www.atheists.meetup.com to sign up for meetups.) Randy Bradley will be leading this rendezvous/meetup.
Questions? Call Dan at 798-3629
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Info from Harold
Harold Dundee sent the following information.
The AARP Bulletin v.47, no. 4 (just arrived) carries an article about a
Florida pharmacist who says most prescription drugs are completely safe to use long after the stated expiration date. He says manufacturers set dates short so that they can make more sales. He has gotten the Florida
Legislature to tell the Florida Board of Pharmacy that it could no longer
require phamacists to use discard-after dates on prescription labels as it
had done since 1993.
The US Food and Drug Administration has determined that many drugs remain effective, often for many years after the stated expiration date. FDA does, however, warn against drugs stored in steamy bathrooms or hot cars. [I am aware of the recommendation that drugs be stored at temperatures below 76 degrees F. Accordingly, when I travel I keep my medications in a small styrofoan box with a bottle of ice in it so that the drugs will stay cool--HD]
I learned from my second wife who was a pharmacist that with aspirin, you can tell when it has aged beyond reliability. Sniff the bottle of aspirin. If it smells of acetic acid (vinegar smell) then it has lost much of it
efficacity.
Later Harold added this:
The recommendation is to keep drugs under 86 degrees F., not 76 as I
stated. Of course the cooler, usually the better.
One response that I had said, "When I have an expired medication I call
the pharmacist and he/she tells me if it can be used or not. I had some
things that were 10 years old and still good, just had to use a double dose because they weakened with time.
The AARP Bulletin v.47, no. 4 (just arrived) carries an article about a
Florida pharmacist who says most prescription drugs are completely safe to use long after the stated expiration date. He says manufacturers set dates short so that they can make more sales. He has gotten the Florida
Legislature to tell the Florida Board of Pharmacy that it could no longer
require phamacists to use discard-after dates on prescription labels as it
had done since 1993.
The US Food and Drug Administration has determined that many drugs remain effective, often for many years after the stated expiration date. FDA does, however, warn against drugs stored in steamy bathrooms or hot cars. [I am aware of the recommendation that drugs be stored at temperatures below 76 degrees F. Accordingly, when I travel I keep my medications in a small styrofoan box with a bottle of ice in it so that the drugs will stay cool--HD]
I learned from my second wife who was a pharmacist that with aspirin, you can tell when it has aged beyond reliability. Sniff the bottle of aspirin. If it smells of acetic acid (vinegar smell) then it has lost much of it
efficacity.
Later Harold added this:
The recommendation is to keep drugs under 86 degrees F., not 76 as I
stated. Of course the cooler, usually the better.
One response that I had said, "When I have an expired medication I call
the pharmacist and he/she tells me if it can be used or not. I had some
things that were 10 years old and still good, just had to use a double dose because they weakened with time.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Music, videos, and wine
HAT held its first monthly Movie Night at the Bradleys last Saturday, April 1. About a dozen of us were there. We began with a piano duet. Gail and I played a Sonatina by Czerny.
Among the principles listed in The Affirmations of Humanism is this one: "We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences." Quite often in the past, we in HAT have neglected the arts, prefering instead to focus on the sciences. I would like to bring some emphasis to the arts within HAT. Performing piano duets is just one way of doing this. Another way of putting this principle into action is through the oral recitation of poetry. After hearing Mary McAnally's message Sunday at Church of the Restoration, I am inspired to bring more oral poetry readings to HAT events.
Following the piano duet, we listened to a portion of an audio program produced by The Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York. We heard Daniel Dennett being interviewed by D. J. Grothe. The interview focused on Dennett's most recent book Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. We briefly talked about some of the points addressed in the interview. The book is to be discussed more thoroughly at this Sunday's Humanist Study Group.
Next we moved to the Bradley's media center where we viewed two episodes from the Penn & Teller Showtime series "Bullshit." One episode focused on the question of the accuracy of the Bible; the other looked at the creationist movement. Oft times the best way to deal with bullshit is just to laugh at it.
Being flexible and open to change, we substituted the Dennett interview and the Penn & Teller programs for the movie we had planned to show. But the movie is still available for showing at a later date.
Among the principles listed in The Affirmations of Humanism is this one: "We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences." Quite often in the past, we in HAT have neglected the arts, prefering instead to focus on the sciences. I would like to bring some emphasis to the arts within HAT. Performing piano duets is just one way of doing this. Another way of putting this principle into action is through the oral recitation of poetry. After hearing Mary McAnally's message Sunday at Church of the Restoration, I am inspired to bring more oral poetry readings to HAT events.
Following the piano duet, we listened to a portion of an audio program produced by The Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York. We heard Daniel Dennett being interviewed by D. J. Grothe. The interview focused on Dennett's most recent book Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. We briefly talked about some of the points addressed in the interview. The book is to be discussed more thoroughly at this Sunday's Humanist Study Group.
Next we moved to the Bradley's media center where we viewed two episodes from the Penn & Teller Showtime series "Bullshit." One episode focused on the question of the accuracy of the Bible; the other looked at the creationist movement. Oft times the best way to deal with bullshit is just to laugh at it.
Being flexible and open to change, we substituted the Dennett interview and the Penn & Teller programs for the movie we had planned to show. But the movie is still available for showing at a later date.
Friday, March 31, 2006
April Activities for Freethinkers
April 2006
Activities of Interest to Freethinkers
Sat., Apr. 1, 7pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St. Featured film is Heart of the Beholder. The American Dream that became a holy nightmare. Prior to the running of the movie, the duo of Gail Storey and Dan Nerren will entertain at the piano.
Sun., Apr. 9, 2pm
Humanist Study Group at Border’s, 81st & Yale. Topic: Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. Dennett. See discussion questions distributed by e-mail.
Sun., Apr. 16, 1pm
HAT Monthly Membership Meeting at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St. Due to the Hardesty Library being closed because of Easter, we have had to change the venue for this meeting.
Wed., Apr. 19, 11:30am
ALGAE (A Little Group of Atheists Eating) luncheon at White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan.
Sat., Apr. 22, 11:30am
Food & Fellowship at Tekei’s, 1616 S. Utica.
Sun., Apr. 23, 2pm
Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous See www.tulsaar.blogspot.com closer to the date of meeting for venue and agenda.
Secular Singers will not meet in April.
Questions? Call Dan at 798-3629
Activities of Interest to Freethinkers
Sat., Apr. 1, 7pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St. Featured film is Heart of the Beholder. The American Dream that became a holy nightmare. Prior to the running of the movie, the duo of Gail Storey and Dan Nerren will entertain at the piano.
Sun., Apr. 9, 2pm
Humanist Study Group at Border’s, 81st & Yale. Topic: Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. Dennett. See discussion questions distributed by e-mail.
Sun., Apr. 16, 1pm
HAT Monthly Membership Meeting at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St. Due to the Hardesty Library being closed because of Easter, we have had to change the venue for this meeting.
Wed., Apr. 19, 11:30am
ALGAE (A Little Group of Atheists Eating) luncheon at White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan.
Sat., Apr. 22, 11:30am
Food & Fellowship at Tekei’s, 1616 S. Utica.
Sun., Apr. 23, 2pm
Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous See www.tulsaar.blogspot.com closer to the date of meeting for venue and agenda.
Secular Singers will not meet in April.
Questions? Call Dan at 798-3629
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Humor from Harold
Harold Dundee sent in the following:
Of this poem I consider that we secular humanists are taking a stand, but it is a stand contrary to that inferred in the poem. When I was a youngster one saying was that if you kept claiming that the moon was made of greenish cheese, people would eventually come to believe that it was true. If we keep offering our views and are tenacious about them we will eventually get believers to wake up. We will leave huge footprints, footprints of rationality.
FATE OF ATHEISTS
One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the seaboard.
But then some stranger prints appeared...
And I asked the Lord,"What have we here?
"Those prints are large and round and neat,
But Lord,they are too big for feet."
"My child," He said in sober tones,"
For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."
"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith you would not know...
So I got tired,I got fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt."
"Because in life there comes a time
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise, and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."
--Author Unknown
Of this poem I consider that we secular humanists are taking a stand, but it is a stand contrary to that inferred in the poem. When I was a youngster one saying was that if you kept claiming that the moon was made of greenish cheese, people would eventually come to believe that it was true. If we keep offering our views and are tenacious about them we will eventually get believers to wake up. We will leave huge footprints, footprints of rationality.
FATE OF ATHEISTS
One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the seaboard.
But then some stranger prints appeared...
And I asked the Lord,"What have we here?
"Those prints are large and round and neat,
But Lord,they are too big for feet."
"My child," He said in sober tones,"
For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."
"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith you would not know...
So I got tired,I got fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt."
"Because in life there comes a time
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise, and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."
--Author Unknown
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Good Crowd at Today's Food & Fellowship
The March Food & Fellowship was held today at The Royal Dragon restaurant. The Food & Fellowship gatherings have proven to be HAT's most popular event. There were 14 people at today's F&F. Present were Mary, Polly, Dawn, Randy, Sharon, Brian, Audrey, Jan, Marilyn, Howard, Barbara, Dan, Larry, and Harold.
Today's gathering was the last HAT event for this month, but if you like gathering with freethinkers please consider coming to the Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous tomorrow (3/26/06) at 2pm at Barnes & Noble on 41st (cafe area). It is my desire to give life to freethought writings by having them read aloud in public settings. I intend to read Philip Appleman's poem "Noah." If you would like to read something, please bring it.
The next HAT event is set for Saturday, April 1 (a week from today). This is a new event we are adding to our monthly calendar. It is a Movie Night at the Bradleys'. Randy and Dawn Bradley will be hosting a monthly movie night on the first Saturday of each month in their home starting at 7:00 PM. Saturday's movie will be announced later.
Today's gathering was the last HAT event for this month, but if you like gathering with freethinkers please consider coming to the Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous tomorrow (3/26/06) at 2pm at Barnes & Noble on 41st (cafe area). It is my desire to give life to freethought writings by having them read aloud in public settings. I intend to read Philip Appleman's poem "Noah." If you would like to read something, please bring it.
The next HAT event is set for Saturday, April 1 (a week from today). This is a new event we are adding to our monthly calendar. It is a Movie Night at the Bradleys'. Randy and Dawn Bradley will be hosting a monthly movie night on the first Saturday of each month in their home starting at 7:00 PM. Saturday's movie will be announced later.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Minutes for HAT meeting, March 19, 2006
Today was a chilly, wet day. Nine people turned out for the HAT meeting. Present were Howard, Harold, Polly, Brian, Marilyn, Stan, Randy, Jan, and myself. We divided into two teams and played a quiz game. Brian officiated the game.
We talked a bit about brochures HAT recently purchased from the Council for Secular Humanism: "The Affirmations of Humanism: A Statement of Principles." The brochure was first brought to my attention a few months back by Harold Dundee. We have a hundred of the brochures, but as of yet we have no plan on how they are to be used. I expect we will mail the brochure to inquirers who contact HAT.
Randy announced that he will be hosting a monthly movie night at his house starting Saturday, April 1. These gatherings will take place on the first Saturday evening of each month beginning at 7:00 PM.
If I have left anything out, feel free to add your own comments.
We talked a bit about brochures HAT recently purchased from the Council for Secular Humanism: "The Affirmations of Humanism: A Statement of Principles." The brochure was first brought to my attention a few months back by Harold Dundee. We have a hundred of the brochures, but as of yet we have no plan on how they are to be used. I expect we will mail the brochure to inquirers who contact HAT.
Randy announced that he will be hosting a monthly movie night at his house starting Saturday, April 1. These gatherings will take place on the first Saturday evening of each month beginning at 7:00 PM.
If I have left anything out, feel free to add your own comments.
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