Hershey Presents: “Out in the Silence”

A documentary film by Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer

This is the story of a small American town confronting a firestorm of controversy ignited by a same-sex wedding announcement in the local newspaper. This gripping documentary illustrates the challenges of being an outsider and the transformation that is possible when courageous people break the silence.
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Religion and birth rates – a correlation

Science Daily (one of my essential web sites) reports on on a journal story correlating teenage birth rates to religiosity in their state. The authors of the study speculate on the cause, “We conjecture that religious communities in the US are more successful in discouraging the use of contraception among their teenagers than they are in discouraging sexual intercourse itself”.

Many, many people who see this study might read into it the wrong way. The study is not causal. That is, the research can only find a relationship between two variables; it was not intended, nor can it be used to represent, the cause of the correlation. While the author’s speculation appears valid to those of us with a non-religious point of view, it may not be correct. Also, I suspect it’s not the whole story.

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Pennsylvania Rejected God in 1817

Pennsylvanians who listen to talk radio or conservative Christian clergy may get the impression that the United States was founded on God and Christianity, and that the separation of religion and government began in the 1960s when the U.S. Supreme Court banned teacher-led prayer in public classrooms.

Not so, says Pennsylvania Nonbelievers, a midstate atheist group, celebrating Constitution Day, Thursday, September 17, 2009. “While searching microfilm at the state archives this summer, we found an unexpected gem,” said Steven J. Neubauer, president of the York-based group.
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The Free Thought Forum (August 25, 2009)

Pennsylvania Nonbelievers presents the August 25, 2009 episode of “The Free Thought Forum”, our monthly cable-access TV show. Featuring Steve Neubauer and Dr. John Nernoff.

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September PANViews is now in the Library.

Sharon Hill reviews Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts. Doug Diggens talks about George Soudini. Carl Silverman reports on the Sunbury River Festival.

You can download and read it here.

More evidence that religious belief does not make you a good person

Check out this post by the Friendly Atheist.  Recoil at the horror of this episode; the hypocrisy is so apparent it burns.

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Donate your computer time for good causes!

World Community Grid is an organization that has mobilized normal people, like you and me, to donate their idle computer time to good causes. Simply download their application, tell them which causes you'd like to support, and away it runs.
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Secular Home Schooling

Did you know that there is a secular homeschooling group based in Lancaster County?

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For fun – Wiley Coyote gets the Road Runner

Looks like this one was originally from the “Family Guy” crew… If you are at work, might want to turn the speakers down, strong language.
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Idiotic Camp Hill church sign

This sign was photographed last Thursday on Market St. in Camp Hill, PA.

Please post your comments (other than the fact that the sign is filthy, and the c

hurch would be advised to spend some time with some Formula 409 prior to their posting of idiotic questions).
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