Secular Coalition National Weekly Update
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National Secular Movement Update
Newsletter and Call
Call Every Thursday from 12PM - 12:30PM (ET)
Phone Number: 559-726-1300 Code 953064
October 10, 2013
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Government Shutdown - Ten days into a government shutdown, with the debt ceiling in danger of being breached as early as Oct. 17, there continues to be a lot of conversation but little action. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday rejected President Obama’s offer to negotiate a long-term fiscal deal in exchange for temporary measures to end the government shutdown and lift the debt ceiling. Republicans have attempted to pass incremental bills to fund specific agencies and programs and the Democrats in the senate are refusing to go along with that strategy--asking instead for a "clean Continuing Resolution." Those involved say this shutdown is different than in the past because there is no direct communication between Republican Congressional leaders and the president.
Tax Reform: With the government shutdown in full effect, some lawmakers in the House Ways and Means committee are turning back to tax reform as a potential stepping stone toward fiscal compromise. The GOP lawmakers in the House, have been meeting on it and they have the ingredients lined up and are now trying to decide how much of each—tax cuts, tax credits, other eliminations and streamlines— is necessary.
Scorecards: The SCA published its Massachusetts 5th Congressional District Scorecard which reviews the 10 candidates vying to replace Rep. Ed Markey (D). Both Republican and Democratic candidates a reviewed. But we're not the only ones producing scorecardds! The Catholic Advocate published its scorecard for the New Jersey Senate race between Cory Booker and Steve Lonegan, endorsing Lonegan. The SCA's own scorecard on that race gave Booker an "A" grade and Lonegan an "F".
SAVE THE DATE: SCA's 2014 Lobby Day and Policy Summit - We are excited to announce the dates for the Secular Coalition's 2014 Lobby Day and Policy Summit: June 12-14, 2014! On Thursday, June 12th we will conduct our lobby training and lobby visits. On Friday the 13th, we will hold the policy portion of our event, featuring panels and discussions with the lawmakers, officials and thought leaders that directly affect public policy. Last year the Secular Coalition hosted U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), who both addressed our secular warriors directly, and discussed issues of church state separation. [View last year's schedule here] This year we plan to build on that success, including further incorporating the issues of our member organization into the lobbying topics. We've secured room rates for guests at $159 a night. June is a beautiful time to visit DC, so why not combine the the summit with your summer vacation? Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks and months.
Don't Forget:
Podcasting Feed: You can now find our calls and other SCA recordings via our podcast feed! You can find the feed on Secular News Daily, but also look for it in the iTunes store soon. You can subscribe now via iTunes or any podcasting app by adding http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/category/podcasts/feed/ as a feed.
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Table of Contents:
I. White House and Congressional Update
II. Secular Events and Calendar
III. Secular Movement in the News
IV. Legislative and Regulatory Update
V. Judicial
VI. SCA State Chapters
VII. Secular Student Movement Update
VIII. Policy and Research Documents
IX. Secular Coalition Expansion
X. SCA Member and Associated Organization Announcements
XII. Movement Charity Updates and Activities
XIII. Secular Artist of the Month
Please join our movement today! Follow this link to the SCA sign-up page.
I. White House and Congressional Update
White House: White House: President Barack Obama nominated Janet Yellen to be the next Federal Reserve chair on Wednesday. Yellen would be the first woman to lead the U.S. central bank. Although she is the current vice chair of the Fed, her confirmation is not certain. The President invited House Democrats to the White House for a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the shutdown and looming debt limit and will be inviting other caucuses in coming days. Healthcare.gov, the launching point of Obamacare, has experienced technical glitches due to the high volume of sign ups, leading to long waits and negative headlines.
House of Representatives: The House continues to move through small spending bills for individual programs focusing on education and the military. The idea of forming another Supercommittee to handle deficit and spending issues has been floated and heartily rejected by every lawmaker who’s commented. If a clean CR came up for a vote, up to 20 Republicans would be willing to vote for it according to the Washington Post.
Senate: The first proposal to deal with next week’s forecasted breach of the government’s borrowing authority comes from Senate Democrats, who are searching for the votes of six Republicans, and trying to prevent defections from their own ranks, to pass a “clean” debt limit bill to cover the government’s obligations through Dec. 31, 2014.
International: In case you missed it, several secularist organizations -- the Center for Inquiry, Secular Coalition for America, and American Humanist Association -- joined more than a dozen individuals and organizations in writing to leaders in the United States government with specific recommendations to more effectively address the recent crackdown on civil society and religious freedom in Russia. You can read the letter here. Also, those of you in or near New York City might want to save the date of October 30. The UN NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief is organizing an event that will feature several speakers, including Heiner Bielefeldt, the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief. Bielefeldt will be discussing his new report on the relationship between freedom of religion or belief and gender equality, which he will present to the UN General Assembly the day prior. More details on the event and the report to come soon.
Upcoming Hill Events
October 21- SCA's Sex Education Capitol Hill Briefings with Marty Klein and Phil Harvey
June 12-14 2014- SCA's Lobby Day and Policy Summit
If you are interested in attending one of these meetings, please contact Director of Federal and State Affairs, Kelly@secular.org. For UN-related questions or remarks for these meetings can email Michael DeDora at the Center for Inquiry at mdedora@centerforinquiry.net. More information on the Committee and all its events can be found at http://unforb.wordpress.com/ (Thank you to Michael DeDora for this update, mdedora@centerforinquiry.net, 646.706.6080). Otherwise, contact Edwina Rogers, Executive Director, Edwina Rogers, at Edwina@secular.org or by phone at 202-299-101 ext. 207 or cell: 202-674-7800.
II. Secular Events and Calendar
Oct. 11 -Richard Dawkins at Portland State University (with Peter Boghossian) (Portland, OR)
Oct. 12- Sacramento Freethought Day, (Sacramento, CA)
Oct. 18 -Richard Dawkins at University of Southern California (with DJ Grothe) (Los Angeles, CA)
Oct.19 - Secular Assembly for the North East, (West Haven, CT)
Oct. 20 - Richard Dawkins at Cal Tech (with Michael Shermer) (Pasadena, CA)
Oct. 21 - House & Senate Hill Briefings on Sex Education with Marty Klein and Phil Harvey
Oct. 24-27: CFI Summit (Tacoma, WA)
Oct. 26 - Kentucky Freethought Convention, (Louisville, KY)
Oct. 26-27 - Reason in the Rock, (Little Rock, AK)
Anything to add? Contact Communications Manager, Lauren Anderson Youngblood at lauren@secular.org. Please let us know if you'd like to attend one of these meetings: If you are interested, please contact Director of Federal and State Affairs, Kelly Damerow at kelly@secular.org for anything legislation-related.
III. Secular Movement In the News
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and check out Secular News Daily for even more!
Secular Coalition in the News
Massachusetts State Senator William Brownsberger, a Candidate for Congress, Outs Himself as a Humanist (Friendly Athiest)
A Secular America: The Thinking Atheist (David Niose on Blog Talk Radio)
That’s an atheist thing to do, Pope Francis (Herb Silverman for the Washington Post)
SCORECARD: 2013 Massachusetts Special Election - 5th Congressional District
Press Release: Atheists Grade Massachusetts Congressional District
Pope Francis interview and Virginia governor’s race raise atheists’ profile (Washington Post)
Dawkins on Capitol Hill: ‘Ignoramus’ Christian creationists are holding America back (The Raw Story)
Dawkins & Pinker in DC
PHOTOS: Secular Coalition’s Capitol Hill Breifings and Lobbying Visits with Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker
VIDEO: Richard Dawkins & Steven Pinker: US House Briefing
Also view photo albums on our Facebook page!
Secular and Related News
Meet the Evangelical Cabal Orchestrating the Shutdown (The Nation)
Senate Chaplain Shows His Disapproval During Morning Prayer (New York Times)
Science Suffers In Unseen Ways From Government Dysfunction (NPR)
In Conversation: Antonin Scalia (New York Magazine)
US Supreme Court to Hear Public Prayer, Abortion, 'Obamacare' Cases as New Term Begins (Christian Post)
Sense and Superstition (NYTimes)
Republicans’ latest antics are repelling women (Salon)
(VA) Jackson calls for “divine intervention” in budget crisis (Times Dispatch)
Girl Scouts: An Un-Christian Sex Ed Agenda (christian Post)
Scalia talks religion at UVa (Daily Progress)
Religious and Nonreligious Dreamers (Huffington Post)
Earth’s Oxygen: A Mystery Easy to Take for Granted (New York Times)
Want daily updates? Click "update subscription preferences" at the bottom of this email and select "Morning Links." You can also view the Morning Read at Secular News Daily.
Calendar Events
October 15 - Ada Lovelace Day (to honor women in science)
October 20 - John Dewey’s birthday (1859)
November 9 - Carl Sagan’s birthday (1934)
November 21 - Voltaire’s birthday (1694)
November 24 - Publication date of “The Origin of Species” (1859)
Are there any upcoming anniversaries, days of note, holidays or events that the movement needs to coordinate press around? Contact Communications Manager, Lauren Anderson Youngblood at lauren@secular.org.
IV. Legislative and Regulatory Update
Federal
Government Shutdown -In a rare Saturday session, the House adopted House Concurrent Resolution 58 to affirm the right of military chaplains to conduct services during the government shutdown. Adopted 400-1 the resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the armed forces should have continued availability to religious services, even though some chaplains have been furloughed due to the shutdown. The lone “No” vote came from Rep. Bill Enyart (D-Ill). A former adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard, he backed up his vote stating “I am not going to vote for any more bills designed to allow people to hide behind the flag – or the cross.” On the measure Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) claimed military chaplains were being “arrested” for administering religious services. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) called out the inaccurate statement, saying “nobody is getting arrested for praying. I really wish we could keep the debate here in the realm of reality.”
National Defense Authorization and Appropriations -The House and Senate Armed Services Committees have begun preliminary and informal discussions on the two chambers’ versions of the fiscal 2014 defense authorization bill. Senate consideration of the fiscal 2014 defense authorization bill has been bumped off the legislative agenda until later this year. Senate floor debate typically involves dozens of new amendments to the bill, including the potential introduction of an amendment to support allowing Humanist chaplains in the military. Early talks help to clear away non-controversial issues and the SCA is hopeful Senators will reject a group of amendments that purport to expand religious freedom, but actually use it as a justification for discrimination.
Secular Tax Reform -Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) resumed behind-the-scenes talks on a tax reforms that could deliver new revenue that proves crucial to solving the budget standoff. The House Ways and Means Committee staff is reportedly finishing their draft bill on tax reform for release in the fall. The Secular Coalition’s recommendations were included in the suggestions submitted to the Ways and Means Committee by the Joint Committee on Taxation. The included recommendations were to “eliminate the following three special rules for churches: (1) the exemption of churches from the requirement that section 501(c)(3) organizations apply for tax exempt status; (2) the exemption of churches from the requirement that section 501(c)(3) organizations file an annual Form 990 series return; and (3) the restrictions on church tax inquiries and audits under section 7611.”
Contact Kelly Damerow, Director of Federal and State Affairs, with additional suggestions or information at Kelly@secular.org.
V. Judicial
Presented this week by Bill Burgess of the American Humanist Association.
OH School Jesus Portrait Case Settled. A federal district court has accepted a settlement in an Establishment Clause challenge to a portrait of Jesus displayed on an entrance wall at an Ohio middle school. Under the settlement, the school board has agreed to keep the picture off of school district property. It is also paying $3,000 in damages to each of the 5 anonymous plaintiffs and $80,000 in attorneys’ fees.
AZ Appeals Court Upholds School Voucher Program. The Arizona Court of Appeals has upheld a state “empowerment scholarship” account program that provides school vouchers for students with disabilities. The vouchers can be used for tuition to private religious schools. The court found that the program did not violate the state constitution provision that provides that public money cannot “be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise, or instruction.” The court held that the money only flowed to religious schools due to the “independent private choices” of parents.
KS Suit Challenges Adoption of National Science Standards. A Kansas anti-evolution group has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state board of education’s adoption of the National Academy of Sciences’ framework for K-12 science education. The complaint claims that this violates the Establishment Clause Kansas because it endorses a nontheistic worldview.
If you have any additions, questions or submissions for inclusion on the judicial section for next week, contact Bill Burgess, BBurgess@americanhumanist.org, 202-238-9088 or Rebecca S. Markert, rmarkert@ffrf.org, with the Freedom From Religion Foundation at (608) 256-8900.
VI. State Chapters
Upcoming State Calls: Join the call for your state chapter by dialing in: Call in number: (530) 881-1400 - Participant code: 978895.
Today: Illinois at 2 pm CT; Connecticut at 6 pm ET
Friday, October 11: New Hampshire at 12 pm ET; Wisconsin at 1 pm CT; Oklahoma at 5 pm CT
Sunday, October 13: Nevada at 2 pm PT; Montana at 4 pm MT
Monday, October 14: Tennessee at 4 pm ET/3 pm CT; Virginia at 6 pm ET
Tuesday, October 15: Mississippi at 12 pm CT; Delaware at 5 pm ET
Wednesday, October 16: Rhode Island at 7:30 pm ET
STATE LEGISLATURES
Currently, 6 out of 50 state legislatures are meeting in regular session, as well as the District of Columbia council.
Michigan, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are in session.
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, and New Hampshire are accepting prefiled bills.
Alabama
HB 15 - This bill would allow each school district to educate students about the history of traditional winter celebrations and allow students and district staff to offer traditional greetings regarding the celebrations.
Florida
HB 85 - Allows for faith-based organizations to be eligible for a literacy jump start pilot program; specifies if a faith-based organization is selected, funds cannot be used for religious indoctrination.
Massachusetts
A hearing for HB 382, which would require all public high schools to teach courses on the bible and international religions as required subjects to promote morality and brotherhood, is scheduled for Thursday, October 31, at 10 am with the Joint Committee on Education.
Michigan
SB 568 - This bill, among other things, creates a 24 hour waiting period before an abortion can be performed. This bill was referred to the Committee on Health Policy.
New York
SB 5900 - Requires public schools in any city with a population over one million that have at least 25% of students practicing Halal to offer Halal food options during lunch.
Ohio
HB 280 - To repeal certain amendments and enactments included in Am. Sub. H.B. 59 of the 130th General Assembly regarding the Rape Crisis Program trustfund, the Ohio Parenting and Pregnancy program, ambulatory surgical facilities, abortion, and the distribution of family planning services funds.
Pennsylvania
HB 1686 - An Act amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for definitions; providing for same-sex marriages; and making a repeal.
State Events
Sacramento Freethought Day, October 12 (Sacramento, CA)
Secular Assembly for the North East, October 19 (West Haven, CT)
Reason in the Rock, October 26-27 (Little Rock, AK)
Kentucky Freethought Convention, October 26 (Louisville, KY)
Florida Freethought Conference, November 2-3 (Orlando, FL)
More Information on States
Legislation tracking is now available on the chapter pages of all officially launched Secular Coalition chapters sites!
We encourage everyone to “like” the Facebook pages of their state chapter, listed as “Secular Coalition for [State].
Get the latest updates and sign up to receive emails about the chapter forming in your state on the state chapter’s page on our website.
If you have seen any bills that concern secular issues in your state, please email Diana Castillo, Lobby Assistant for the Secular Coalition for America at diana@secular.org with the state and bill number in the subject line.
VII. Secular Student Movement Update
The Secular Student Alliance will rejoin us next week!
October 1-7th was Hug an Atheist Week, in which various campus groups will be holding events to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, based on the Illini Secular Student Alliance's success last year. The Stiefel Freethought Foundation has pledged to reward any groups that send in videos of their events. The Secular Safe Zone is still gaining momentum, with 60 Allies signed up and more coverage from an article in The Washington Times. The growth Judaism9;t come without controversy, and one of our Allies at the Ohio State University reports that his Secular Safe Zone sign has already been vandalized.
For more information, questions, comments or additions to student-led efforts in the secular movement, Contact Jesse Galef, communications manager with the Secular Student Alliance at jesse@secularstudents.org.
VIII. Policy and Research Documents
Survey Finds People Who Believe in God Less Likely to Believe in Extraterrestrials (VIDEO) - A new survey shows that atheists and agnostics are 76 percent more likely than Christians to believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life. Overall 37 percent of those surveyed were willing to say they believed in the existence of extraterrestrial life, only 21 percent said they did not believe. However, most people (42 percent) were reticent to commit either way, saying they just aren't sure.
Reminder: The Open Access on-line Research Library at the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society & Culture, Trinity College, Hartford, CT is available to everyone in the movement. Go to www.secularisminstitute.org. This is the academic website for ISSSC. From there you can access (top right) all the reports and materials on the American Religious Identification Survey series since 1990.
Contact Barry Kosmin (barry.kosmin@trincoll.edu) Director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society or Jenny Kalmanson (jenny_kalmanson@hotmail.com), who sits on the Board of the American Humanist Association, with any additions or suggestions for this list. Powerpoints, brochures, scorecards, and other resources are now available on the website. These speeches will be free and available to everyone in the movement. The Secular Coalition is looking for helpful research papers, to link to from our website and to determine where additional research needs to be done. If you are aware of any, please send information to kelly@secular.org
IX. Secular Coalition Expansion
Coalition expansion drive underway! We are looking to add Endorsing and Allied organizations through additional website sign up opportunities and meetings. Please recommend any non-movement groups we should meet with to discuss common ground.
We had 34 endorsing organizations in May of 2012; we now have 148.
Northern Ohio Freethought Society
Atheists of Columbus
Divorce Beyond Belief
X. SCA Member and Associated Organization Announcements
Thirteen year old girl, Sushma Verma begins microbiology masters in India, supported by her hardworking family. To see more stories of dedicated fathers standing for their daughters. Read more at.
Check out the new Google Groups "Life Atheist" group, promoting "A Better Life through an Enlightened Humanity." This list serve will be a forum where health, fitness, atheism, and ethics will become integrated by way of discussion into a lifestyle idea that will help bind together the Atheist community providing a common bond of positive direction. Sign up to be part of the list serve here.
Want to share your organization's efforts with the SCA? Email updates, alerts, announcements or other items you'd like to share with the community to lauren@secular.org.
XII. Movement Charity Updates and Activities:
The Foundation Beyond Belief has just announced its five beneficiaries for the new quarter — each charity will likely receive several thousands of dollars, courtesy of atheist donors:
POVERTY & HEALTH: Water Ecuador
HUMAN RIGHTS: Apopo
CHALLENGE THE GAP: Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
EDUCATION: Roots and Wings International
THE NATURAL WORLD: Bat Conservation International
SMALL GRANT: Kiva microfinance
Foundation Beyond Belief is raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! We are encouraging the secular movement to take part in their Light The Night Walks and help raise money through the Foundation Beyond Belief team. More information at http://foundationbeyondbelief.org/LLS-lightthenight. Foundation Beyond Belief staff will be reaching out to other secular organizations in hopes of incorporating their charity efforts into this report, and to provide a year-end summary of non-theist charity giving. The LLS LTN initiative headed by Todd Stiefel and supported by many national secular organizations has made it extremely likely that nontheists will reach $1 million in organized charitable giving in 2012.
Please contact Dale McGowan at dale@foundationbeyondbelief.org if you would like your group's charity effort to be included.
XIII. Secular Artist of the Month: October
Filmmaker: Jeremiah Camara
Jeremiah Camara is an author, international speaker, activist, mini-movie and documentary filmmaker. He is the author of the books Holy Lockdown: Does the Church Limit Black Progress? and The New Doubting Thomas: The Bible, Black Folks & Blind Belief. Camara received national attention during his appearances on the Michael Baisden Show. Camara is the creator of the acclaimed video series Slave Sermons. Slave Sermons addresses the perils of religious intoxication and the consequences of being theologically conditioned to rely upon supernaturalism and divine intervention to deal with critical issues. In 1989, Camara created a roughly edited video documentary titled Psychological Wars, which examined subliminal messages in sitcoms, cartoons and commercials that negatively impacted the psyche of African Americans. Psychological Wars was endorsed by noted Black educators Na’im Akbar and Jawanza Kunjufu.
His Newest Film: "Contradiction"
Currently, Camara has produced a full-length documentary film entitled Contradiction [VIEW TRAILER HERE]. Contradiction explores the impact of religious loyalty and how an unyielding commitment to faith in an omniscient and omnipotent being is affecting society, particularly the African American segment. Contradiction seeks to understand the paradox