When: 5/20/2012

RSVP at: http://www.meetup.com/Pittsburgh-Secular-Freethinkers/events/63455852/

Welcome to the PSF Ladies Meetup! :)

We had such a great time at our first ladies meetups, we’re meeting monthly.  Also, one of our members suggested we try a different restaurant each month–a great idea!  The location this month by popular request is Eat Unique in Oakland.  FYI, at Eat Unique you go up to the counter to order.  Seating is in the front of the restaurant or in the additional seating area in the attached building…so just look for our mascot, The Brain statue, and you’ll find our table. 

See you there!

Sunday, May 20 at 2:00 PM

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Pittsburgh-Secular-Freethinkers/events/63455852/

When: 5/18/2012

RSVP at: http://www.meetup.com/Steel-City-Skeptics/events/61764092/

We will be meeting at the Double Wide Grill, 2339 E. Carson Street, inside, in the large back room.  There is no specific topic.  It is just an open discussion among fellow freethinkers about science, religion, skepticism, beer, life and leisure.  Teetotalers and those who imbibe are equally welcomed.

We start gathering at 7pm, but latecomers are more than welcome. About half the attendees register through Meetup and half through Facebook, so don’t be surprised to see more than sign up here.  Hope to see you on Friday night!

Friday, May 18 at 7:00 PM

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Steel-City-Skeptics/events/61764092/

When: 5/18/2012

RSVP at: http://www.meetup.com/Pittsburgh-Secular-Freethinkers/events/57998152/

Join us on May 18-20, 2012, for the “Women in Secularism” conference, sponsored by the Center for Inquiry. This historic conference will discuss and celebrate the many contributions women have made to the secular movement, while critically examining both the successes and failures of secularism in addressing women’s concerns.  Here is a list of the speakers.  Click here to register ($219 for general admission; $195 for CFI members).

http://www.womeninsec…

The conference will be held in the Crystal City Marriott at Reagan National Airport, just steps away from fantastic restaurants, theaters, and shops, and a short Metro ride away from Washington, DC. Room reservations can be made at a steep discount by calling 1-800-228-9290 and mentioning the “Women in Secularism” conference, or booking online using Group Code: CFICFIA.

See you there!

Arlington, VA 22202 – USA

Friday, May 18 at 6:00 PM

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Pittsburgh-Secular-Freethinkers/events/57998152/

O’Donnell’s presentation was magnificent in the way he not only gave a fairly sophisticated presentation of marriage as it has evolved throughout the course of human history but he also managed to get in a heap of evolutionary references to the development of humankind along the way and, at the very same, managed to beat the livin’ freakin’ shit out of Tony Perkins and all those who might be inclined to subscribe to his form of mental illness.

It’s an absolutely, positively must-see!

Filed under: Uncategorized ]]> http://steelcityskeptics.net/2012/05/11/marriage-has-always-been-between-one-man-and-one-woman/feed/ 1 revelmundo Rewrite http://steelcityskeptics.net/2012/05/10/cfis-monthly-meeting-at-the-science-center-7pm-today-at-carnegie-science-center-3/ http://steelcityskeptics.net/2012/05/10/cfis-monthly-meeting-at-the-science-center-7pm-today-at-carnegie-science-center-3/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 13:00:07 +0000 BillC http://steelcityskeptics.wordpress.com/?p=2394 Continue reading →]]> Where: Carnegie Science Center (1 Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212)

When: 7PM TODAY

RSVP at: http://www.meetup.com/Steel-City-Skeptics/events/63330462/

Our regular monthly meeting. Details yet to be announced for April. Admission is free, but donations are very appreciated. Parking is 3 dollars.

Thursday, May 10 at 7:00 PM

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Steel-City-Skeptics/events/63330462/

“These Fifteen…Oy!”
“These Ten commandments!”

In the meantime, I am sure both sides are keeping their eyes on a related case in Giles County, VA where the ACLU has sued to remove the Ten Commandments from  the hallways of Narrows High School.  In surprise move this week, Judge Michael Urbanski decided not hear case immediately, but instead recommended mediation as a way to resolve the differences. It was hard to imagine what there was to mediate; Either the commandments stay or the they go.  However, the judge offered a middle ground, suggesting that another option would be to remove the first four commandments, which mention God, and leave the last six, sparking visions of Mel Brooks from the History of the World, Part I.

The Judge in a rather intriguing statement said:

“If indeed this issue is not about God, why wouldn’t it make sense for Giles County to say, ‘Let’s go back and just post the bottom six?’” Urbanski asked during a motions hearing in U.S. District Court in Roanoke. “But if it’s really about God, then they wouldn’t be willing to do that.”

Of course, it really is about God.  Consider the idea of posting without context:

• Honor your father and your mother
• Thou shalt not kill
• Thou shalt not commit adultery
• Thou shalt not steal
• Thou shalt not bear false witness
• Thou shalt not covet your neighbor’s wife

As rules for the students to live by, this list is very odd.  How about “Study hard” or “Do not cheat on exams”.  More to the point, the Ten Commandments are there not because of what they say, but because of what they imply.  They are an arbitrary list of rules that are important to the religious, as they establish the precedent that certain rules transcend humans and come directly from a god.  To accept the Commandments is to accept your god as the ultimate decider. The judge even mocked the school board in their disingenuous comments:

Urbanski noted how one board member thanked the crowd for turning out to support the commandments. “That’s not an endorsement of religion?” he said. “Come on. “It’s clear to me that when the school board voted, there was only one thing on their mind. And that was God.”

It is very unlikely that mediation will work, but we will find out in the coming weeks. Assuming it fails , Urbanski will hear the case, which will most likely result in a victory for the ACLU and a large bill for the school district to pay, as well as a bunch of angry residents who have no understanding the First Amendment.

At that point, the focus will be on New Kensington to do the right thing and remove their illegal display from in front of the school.  Oy … 10 … I mean 6 … I mean 0 Commandments left.

When: 12PM TODAY

RSVP at: http://www.meetup.com/Steel-City-Skeptics/events/61834492/

Come brunch and have great conversations with like minded individuals.

Sunday, May 6 at 12:00 PM

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Steel-City-Skeptics/events/61834492/

When: 5/10/2012

RSVP at: http://www.meetup.com/Steel-City-Skeptics/events/63330462/

Our regular monthly meeting. Details yet to be announced for April. Admission is free, but donations are very appreciated. Parking is 3 dollars.

Thursday, May 10 at 7:00 PM

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Steel-City-Skeptics/events/63330462/

When: 7PM TODAY

RSVP at: http://www.meetup.com/Pittsburgh-Secular-Freethinkers/events/59488232/

Hi Everyone,

This is our monthly discussion group at the Quiet Storm Coffeehouse in the East End.  They have a great menu that’s veggie and vegan friendly if you get hungry.

This month’s topic is activism.  We’ll follow up on the Reason Rally–those of us who were there can talk about what we liked and what we want to see more of–and we’ll make some lists!  I would like to make two lists:

1) A list of action items for our group.  This is mainly for volunteering ideas (e.g. tree planting, voter registration events, etc.)–anything you would like to see us do in the community.

2) A list of nontheist resources for activism.  These are the places we go to feel like we aren’t alone and to make positive change happen.  Here is an example.  What are yours?

See you there!

Please note:  The Quiet Storm continues to be a wonderful meetup site for us.  Out of respect for the servers and for everyone’s convenience, please approach the front counter to order and pay (and tip) for your food or drink separately and not all at once.  In this way we will avoid combined checks and interruptions to the group, and they can ensure we get the best service and individual attention.  Thanks! :)

Thursday, May 3 at 7:00 PM

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Pittsburgh-Secular-Freethinkers/events/59488232/

But even though I think their contributions to my understanding of 21st-century swamp people culture were significant, that little voice in the back of my head keeps gnawing away at me, relentlessly bangin’ against the side of my cranium sayin’, “Yea,  what they’re sayin’ is pretty much gospel alright, but still, I feel, there’s just got to be a higher, more metadumbical explanation that I’m not seein’ and that neatly ties the scholarly explanations of the people I so respect all together in sort of a neat theory of everything that’s universally perceived as unbelievably stupid.”

Today, one of my dearest cyberpals sent me a link to a U-Boob video someone had made that does indeed tie everything together that Jacoby, Bageant and others have offered.  And it manages to do it in under five minutes too!

As a public service, I hereby present the theory of everything insane without further ado.

Filed under: Uncategorized ]]> http://steelcityskeptics.net/2012/05/01/examining-the-not-so-hidden-factors-of-reality/feed/ 0 revelmundo Repuplican Wisdom