I was delighted to hear that Arlon Specter is changing from Republican to Democrat. That means that the Senate Democrats now have a filibuster-proof majority and can essentially ignore the Republicans. When I heard this I laughed out loud thinking of how people like Bill Reilly and Rush Limbaugh would react. I wonder if there are other Republicans thinking of jumping the sinking Republican ship.
So, now is the time to push the defense of the non-religious even harder with respect to various government figures. Write, email, phone, make yourself the wheel that squeaks.
An article in the paper reports a survey of religious affiliation in 2009. About half of all US adults have changed their religious affiliation at least once. That suggests that religious commitment is not terribly strong among such changers. The article also reports that most people leaving their native church did so when they were young. Half of all unaffiliated people cite a belief that religious people are hypocritical, judgemental or insincere. They also said that religions focus too much on rules and that religious leaders are too focussed on money and power. If we atheists wish to undermine the delusions of the religious perhaps we should emphasize these failings of organized religion rather than the contradictions and absurdities of religious doctrines. Hypocracy, sanctimonious sniffing of "sin", insincerity, authoritarianism, and lust for money and power: these are the achilles heels of organized religion. Let us emulate Paris and loose our arrows at this achilles heel.

I attended a meeting of the Tucson Atheists a few days ago and found it very satisfying. Aside from their shared denial of supernaturals the members are all over the intellectual map, of course, but that just makes it more interesting. As usual I tried to rev up interest in atheists becoming more politically aware and active, with limited success so far. But at least I planted the seed and I am not entirely alone in this group. I met a young man named Andrew who is also politically aware and he gave me some good tips to follow. The group seemed interested in what I had to say and showed respect for my academic credentials. I am very encouraged by Obama's retrenchment about not persecuting torturers. Pressing the Washington set to go after the Bush thugs is basic. As a member of one of the most hated minorities in the country, I find it easy to imagine a future in which torture of atheists is considered okay, especially if the fundamentalists gain power. As far as my work goes, I have one more color to run and I will have finished the current print. I am not at all sure that I have achieved the best color scheme possible, but I can't be sure until I see the finished product.

A Bishop in Germany recently told his "flock" (I can't believe they admit they think of their parishioners as sheep) that atheists are like Nazis and Communists and that without religion society would become lawless and savage. I have two observations to make in response to that. First, I am an atheist and I think I am probably considerably more moral than most Christians, Muslims or Jews. I have worked and raised a family and obeyed the law and been good to my fellow man in a way that many Christians certainly hve not. Almost all politicians, for instance, claim to be religious. And, on Wall Street, where is the "Protestant ethic?" I don't see any ethic at all. Secondly, the German Bishop has only to look to the neighboring country to the north to see that his claim is a lie. In Denmark people are so little religious that Christians often hide their religion from their friends and fellow workers, or admit they are religious reluctantly and apologetically. Denmark has become essentially a non-religious society. It also happens to be, by a number of measures and studies, one of the happiest and most moral societies in the world. This is not because Danes are naturally peaceful, kind and rational. In the old days many of them were Vikings. Religion is clearly unnecessary to a well ordered society, and in fact is usually a source of strife, guilt, ignorance and bigotry, not to mention bad public policy.

My name is Wes Jernigan. I am a retired archaeologist, anthropologist, art historian and artist. I presently make silkscreen prints. I have written and illustrated a number of scholarly works and also a number of children's books with my wife. My purpose in establishing this blog (the word sounds vaguely unsavory, like "blotch", but I must adapt to the new ways) is mainly to urge people who do not accept the existence of supernatural entities to make their politicians and leaders aware of our numbers and voting potential. Or, indeed, to urge anyone who is neither Christian nor Jewish nor Muslim to press politicians to stop acting as though they are controlled by ancient Middle Eastern religions. I have been an atheist for as long as I can remember. I can remember sitting in a church Sunday School listening to the teacher relate Bible stories and wondering if she was serious. Fortunately the commitment of my parents to Christianity was at best sporadic so I did not have to suffer often the inexpressible tedium of listening to a preacher trying to make sense of the King James Bible. There are many issues that I consider related to non-belief such as science and the scientific way of thinking, environmentalism, the existence of morality without religion, the aesthetic appreciation of the nature of existence and the beauty of the Earth and all of nature. With respect to all of these questions we thinking people must strive to get politicians, who are obviously very slow to understand the nature of the profound changes that are occuring, to at least face up to their existence and urgency. I will make a more detailed set of appeals later, after I have established some rudimentary mastery over the blog process. Wish me luck.