Secular Coalition National Weekly Update: NEW CALL-IN CODE!
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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
September 12, 2013
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
NEW DIAL-IN CODE FOR CONFERENCE CALL: Please be advised that there is a new "participant code" for all callers to the National Movement Call beginning today. Going forward to join the calls dial (559)726-1300, participant code 953064. Unfortunately, the old number was retired due to issues beyond our control. We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this change may have caused.
Syria Crisis: Syrian President Bashar Assad confirmed this morning that Syria will put its chemical weapons arsenal under international control, but said the move is in response to a Russian proposal and not the threat of a U.S. military strike. The development came as Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva where he will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the Moscow-sponsored proposal that would potentially ward off military strikes. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote a New York Times opinion piece urging President Obama's administration to exercise caution over the situation in Syria. The crisis in Syria in recent weeks has captivated the attention of lawmakers in Washington and delayed other legislation.
Inside the Beltway: Senate consideration of the fiscal 2014 defense authorization bill has been bumped off the legislative agenda until late October. President Obama yesterday marked the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by observing a moment of silence on the South Lawn, attending a ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial and participating in a service project in the Washington, D.C. area. He also proclaimed Friday, September 6 through Sunday, September 8, 2013, as "National Days of Prayer and Remembrance."
Humanist Chaplains: Rep. Collins (R-GA) spoke on the House floor on Tuesday about "Religious Freedom" in the military. "Recently members of the House of Representatives repelled an attack on the Chaplain Corps, led by senior leaders in the Pentagon. Leaders in the Pentagon attempted to circumvent current DoD regulations by allowing Atheist Chaplains to serve in the military. Such a policy destroys the historical intent of the Corps, and its current ability to address service member’s spiritual needs." "Congress needs to adhere to a new battle cry; «faith» under fire is «faith» worth fighting for." We are working towards the introduction of an amendment to support allowing Humanist chaplains in the military and blocking amendments which intend shield service members from ordinary repercussions for discriminatory actions if they are religiously motivated.
SCA News:
State Chapter Calls: There is a call for every state chapter in September. Mark your calendar now and join the call.
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.
Don't Forget:
State websites are up! Find your state site now and get plugged in to your very own network of secular activists across the country.
Update your subscription preferences to pick and choose which emails you get from the Secular Coalition.
Hill Briefing: House & Senate, Science Education briefings with Richard Dawkins on Monday September 30th.
Hill Briefing: House & Senate, Sex Education briefings with Marty Klein on Monday October 21st.
THIS WEEKEND: Pennsylvania State Atheist/Humanists 2013 Conference, September 13-15 (Philadelphia, PA)
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: Obama marked the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by observing a moment of silence on the South Lawn, attending a ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial and participating in a service project in the Washington, D.C. area. The President proclaimed Friday, September 6 through Sunday, September 8, 2013, as National Days of Prayer and Remembrance.
House of Representatives: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) are pushing ahead on tax reform. Concerning the looming funding debate, the GOP caucus is split over a leadership plan to bring a separate resolution withdrawing funding for implementation of the health care law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152) and requiring the Senate to vote on that measure before the chamber could vote on a CR.
Senate: The chamber is holding off on consideration of the motion to proceed to a joint resolution (S J Res 21) that would authorize the use of force against Syria. Regarding the budget, Senate Democrats say they are ready to move forward with a simple extension of spending at the annual level used in fiscal 2013.
International: The situation regarding four bloggers in Bangladesh who have been critical of the confluence of religious dogma and politics took an unexpected turn for the worse earlier this week when a court in Dhaka, the capital, indicted the bloggers for making derogatory comments about Islam and Muhammad and insulting religious sentiments. They are currently out on bail but face between 7 and 14 years in prison. CFI has been in touch with the bloggers about assistance and is working to figure out how the broader secular movement might help. Also this week, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson Cook gave a presentation at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations on the work of her office, the State Department Office on International Religious Freedom. One of her slides stated that her office works to "protect the rights of religious minorities and non-believers" -- a point she made often throughout the talk. This is undoubtedly a sign of progress for the non-religious, one that can most likely be traced back to a productive meeting several secularist groups had with the Ambassador and her staff last August. Bangladesh: http://bit.ly/17TTblZ, Ambassador event: http://bit.ly/15RrMFi.
Upcoming Hill Events
September 30 - Supporting Science Education Hill Briefing featuring Richard Dawkins
October 21 - Medically Accurate Sex Education Hill Briefing featuring Marty Klein
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 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
Sept. 13-14 - 2013 Pennsylvania State Atheist/Humanist Conference
Sept. 14 - 5th Annual Atheist Film Festival
Sept. 15 - CFI DEBATE: Does God Exist? (Miami, FL)
Sept. 20 - Apostacon
Sept. 21 -Secular Parenting Forum: Raising Kids to Be Good Grown-Ups! (Garden City, NY)
Sept. 27-28 - Freedom From Religion Foundation 36th Annual Convention (Madison, WI)
September 27-29 - 2013 Texas Tribune Festival, (Austin, TX)
Sept. 30 - House & Senate Hill Briefings on Science Education with Richard Dawkins
Oct. 21 - House & Senate Hill Briefings on Sex Education with Marty Klein
October 24-27: CFI Summit (Tacoma, WA)
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
Atheists Give Cuccinelli an "F" and McAuliffe an "A" in VA Gubernatorial Candidate Scorecard
High holidays for Jewish atheists (Herb Silverman for Washington Post)
SCA's David Niose Makes Oral Arguments in the Massachusetts Pledge of Allegiance Case [VIDEO]
Secular and Related News
Atheists challenge the Pledge of Allegiance (Salon)
(VA) Schapiro: For Cuccinelli, it’s dogma over doctrine (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Michele Bachmann: 'If We Cry Out To God,' We Can Stop Hillary Clinton In 2016 (Huffington Post)
Atheist Morality vs. Religious Morality: Which Is Superior? (Youtube)
American Parents Convicted of Manslaughter in Death of Adopted Ethiopian Daughter (Christian Post)
SE Cupp: `Conservative atheist' is not a contradiction (CNN)
High Court Indicates Support for Indian Teacher’s Right Not to Pray (Friendly Atheist)
Bride Aged 8 Dies After Suffering Internal Sexual Injuries During Wedding Night With Man, 40 (Huffington Post)
NFL Running Back Arian Foster Says He’ll Teach His Daughter About the Flying Spaghetti Monster (Friendly Atheist)
Let's be rational about death-care reform (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Why Does The Military Need Humanist Chaplains? (The Dish)
New laws relax oversight of home-schoolers (The Gazette)
Mexico’s Abortion Wars, American-Style (RH Reality Check)
Congress cannot ignore violence against women in Syria (Washington Post)
Man found guilty of murdering atheist friend in argument over existence of God (The Independent)
Atheists Have Stronger Family Values Than Evangelical Christians (Care 2)
We don’t trust in god, or Hobby Lobby: How accurate was Hobby Lobby’s July 4th Ad? (FFRF)
The Jews Who Pray Like Muslims (New York Times)
Kazakhstan - Authorities again urged to drop all charges against atheist blogger (Reuters)
TYT The Point talks humanist values with Todd Steifel
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
Sept. 17 - Constitution Day
Sept. 23 - Blasphemy Day
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
National Defense Authorization and Appropriations
Senate consideration of the fiscal 2014 defense authorization bill has been bumped off the legislative agenda until late October. We are working towards the introduction of an amendment to support allowing Humanist chaplains in the military and blocking amendments which intend shield servicemembers from ordinary repercussions for discriminatory actions if they are religiously motivated.
Rep. Collins (R-GA) spoke on the House floor on Tuesday about "Religious Freedom" in the military. "Recently members of the House of Representatives repelled an attack on the Chaplain Corps, led by senior leaders in the Pentagon. Leaders in the Pentagon attempted to circumvent current DoD regulations by allowing Atheist Chaplains to serve in the military. Such a policy destroys the historical intent of the Corps, and its current ability to address service member’s spiritual needs." "Congress needs to adhere to a new battle cry; «faith» under fire is «faith» worth fighting for."
Secular Tax Reform
Tax Reform Tour- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.)are taking their tax reform inquiries to the people on a Tax Reform Tour. They visited Pennsylvania and California so far. We'll keep you updated as dates are released. We highly encourage our supporters to attend these events and speak up about unfair religious privileging in the tax code!
Taxreform.gov was launched to receive public input on comprehensive tax reform through a joint effort by the Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.). Visit secular.org/taxreform for more information.
Employment Non Discrimination Act
The SCA joined a working group with prominent LGBT coalitions working to support ENDA with the most limited religious exemptions possible. We successfully stopped an expansion of the exemption. The bill is expected to come up for a vote in the fall.
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 American Humanist Association.
AHA Presents Arguments in Pledge Case to MA Supreme Court. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts heard oral arguments last week in a case brought by AHA on behalf of local humanist students challenging the requirement of a state statute that requires a daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public school classrooms. The suit alleges that the practice violates the state constitution’s prohibition on discrimination on the basis of religious “creed” because it subject students with nontheistic religious beliefs to a daily, teacher-led classroom exercises that asserts that there is a god and conflates god-belief with patriotic loyalty to country. The court, which granted an expedited appeal because it considered the case one of particular importance, is not expected to issue a ruling for several months.
NY Court Rejects Challenge To “In God We Trust” On Currency. A New York federal district court has rejected Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause and RFRA challenges to the use of the phrase “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency brought by FFRF and Mike Newdow. The decision to dismiss the case accords with previous decisions of the 5th, 9th, 10th and D.C. Circuits (and dicta in Supreme Court decisions).
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. SCA State Chapters
The Secular Coalition has released its Virginia gubernatorial scorecard! See what ratings we gave the candidates on issues relating to the separation of church and state by clicking here. We'll be releasing the New Jersey Senate and gubernatorial scorecards later this fall.
Our state websites are officially launched! You can find your state at secular.org/states
The Secular Coalition will be putting together scorecards for Virginia and New Jersey--the only two states to hold gubernatorial elections this year. We will review the gubernatorial candidates and problematic state legislators. To see other scorecards such as the scorecard for the Massachusetts special Senate Election visit Secular.org for more.
Upcoming State Calls:
There are calls scheduled for every state across the country this month. This week's calls are listed below. Find your state's call time here.
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, September 13: Wisconsin at 12 pm CT; Oklahoma at 3 pm CT
Saturday, September 14: Minnesota at 11 am CT; Alaska at 12 pm AKT
Monday, September 16: Nebraska at 3 pm CT; Ohio at 6 pm ET
Tuesday, September 17: Mississippi at 12 pm CT; Delaware at 5 pm ET
Wednesday, September 18: Oregon at 12 pm PT; Rhode Island at 7:30 pm ET
STATE LEGISLATURES
Currently, 7 out of 50 state legislatures are meeting in regular session.
California, Michigan, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are in session.
Montana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida are accepting prefiled bills. Governor Ambercrombie of Hawaii called for a special session, to start in October, to discuss a same-sex marriage bill. Click here for a printer-friendly chart.
California
AB 980 - This bill requires abortion facilities to adhere to the same standards as primary care facilities. This has passed in the Senate and is awaiting a new vote in the Assembly.
Michigan
HB 4927 - This bill would allow licensure of child placing agency that objects to placements on religious or moral grounds. This bill is currently in committee.
Ohio
SB 186 - This bill would create the "Knights of Columbus" license plate.
SB 188 - This bill would prohibit persons licensed or certified, or in training to be licensed or certified, in occupations that provide professional counseling from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with a person under eighteen years of age.
Oklahoma
HB 1017 - This bill would require certain emergency contraception to be dispensed by pharmacists to certain individuals without a prescription.
State Events
Pennsylvania State Atheist/Humanists 2013 Conference, September 13-15 (Philadelphia, PA)
Edie Tabash Florida Tour: September 15 CFI Ft. Lauderdale; September 17 CFI Tampa Bay; September 18 CFI Daytona; and September 19 CFI Tallahassee
Apostacon, September 20-22 (Omaha, NE)
2013 Carolinas Secular Conference, October 4-6 (Charlotte, NC)
2013 Texas Tribune Festival, September 27-29 (Austin, TX)
Secular Assembly for the North East, October 19 (New Haven, CT)
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@secular.org with the state and bill number in the subject line.If you have seen any bills that concern secular issues in your state, please email diana@secular.org with the state and bill number in the subject line.
VII. Secular Student Movement Update
Students are hosting the Carolinas Secular Student Summit this weekend, a free event that brings together secular leaders from the Carolinas and surrounding areas. It's a student-led and organized conference supported by the Triangle Freethoughts Society, the local off-campus group.
Matt Skeens, a secular student in Tennessee was just featured in the news for charitable works supporting the Ronald McDonald House, where he used to stay while receiving cancer treatments for Hodgkins lymphoma. For the past two years, Matt has organized members of the community to save aluminum can tabs to sell to a recycling facility.
The Secular Student Alliance at the University of Michigan received a Heart of Humanism Award from the Foundation Beyond Belief. As part of the Volunteers Beyond Belief program, they were presented with a Campus All-Star Award for Outstanding Student Team and received a grant. They also got special thanks for their participation in the Light The Night participatio
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
Too much religion can harm a society’s economy by undermining the drive for financial success, according to a new study released last month in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. The study of almost 190,000 people from 11 religiously diverse cultures is raising eyebrows among some of England’s religious leaders for suggesting Judaism and Christianity have anti-wealth norms. Written by academics at University of Southampton in England and the Humboldt University of Berlin, the study found that religious people in religious cultures reported better psychological adjustment when their income was low.
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 135.
Wise Free Thinkers & Skeptics (Decatur, TX)
University of Northern Iowa Freethinkers and Inquirers
X. SCA Member and Associated Organization Announcements
The American Humanist Association (AHA) released an action alert this week urging its members to contact their Senators and ask that they support S. Res. 218, which would honor civil rights activist and humanist leader Asa Philip Randolph. Matthew Bulger, the AHA's legislative associate, met this week with the offices of Representatives Rush Holt and Jared Polis to discuss the cuts to scientific research.Roy Speckhardt, the AHA's executive director, published an article in the Huffington Post entitled "Where Do We Draw The Line On Religious Abuse".
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:
Foundation Beyond Belief has launched an urgent fund drive to help those displaced by the war in Syria. Two million refugees have fled Syria into neighboring countries and another 4.5 million people are internally displaced. The funds will go to the International Rescue Committee, which is active in the surrounding countries helping those refugees with food, clean water, medical supplies and other assistance. IRC puts a particular focus on protecting women and children, who are often victimized in refugee camps. We would ask our fellow atheist and humanist organizations to urge their members to contribute to this fund drive if they are able to. Here is the link to more information:
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