Fortney Hillman "Pete" Stark, Jr. (born November 11, 1931) is an American politician from the state of California. A Democrat, he has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1973 (37 years), currently representing California's 13th congressional district in southwestern Alameda County. Currently he is the sixth most senior Representative as well as 8th most… Continue

I am an American.

On top of that I am also a Texan.

I was born in Texas and can trace my family coming to Texas in the 1850’s.

Most of my family came from the United Kingdom. The rest came from Europe.

Some have been in the United States since the early 1700’s. Some fought in the American Revolution against England.

For what I can tell, they all were “Christians” of some sort or another.

I am an Atheist.

I’ve been an Atheist since the age of six.…

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Yet again, I'm proud to be from Connecticut. We have gay marriage and rational judges. Continue

This is the latest action alert from the Secular Coalition for America. Click here now to write to Congress!

Join the official SCA Think Atheist group here. …

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Today, the Texas State Board of Education voted on curriculum standards of social studies for the Texan public school system. As I am sure most of you are aware, these standards will affect many other states as publishers will often tailor textbooks specifically to meet Texan requirements. This vote followed several days of debate as final amendments were proposed.



Cynthia Dunbar, one of the strongest voices for the SBOE's conservative voting block, decided that a nice, long… Continue

I live in Romania, Europe and I continue to be amazed by the irrationality that seems to govern this country. The Romanian Constitution stipulates that Romania is a secular state, but it certainly doesn't act as it should.

Let's start with the religion that is being taught in schools. No, not private, faith schools, but public schools. Romania, a secular state, preaches students religion, not for one or two years, but for... twelve. I said "preaches" and not "teaches",…

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There are few things that can get under my skin like the education system in America. We do not do enough to teach our kids about the real wonders in the world through logical inspection and we fail miserably to teach them to respect or understand history. Schools that respect the secular requirements of our government fail to impart the importance of these subjects. What education are we denying children when they are educated by a school district that makes “belief in god” a goal in their… Continue

I apologize if this blog is scatter-brained. My mind is racing and I am still seething from class this evening.



I started my Biology of Human Sexuality class last Wednesday. Right off the bat I wasn't a fan of my professor. She doesn't seem to know the material. She answers questions like a politician, she simply skates around the initial question and gives back a bunch of BS. When explaining a process...she literally ends it in "blah blah blah". I find this irritating in a normal… Continue

Today (May 7, 2009) is the "National Day of Prayer", which became a law in 1952 under President Harry Truman after Rev. Billy Graham lead a six-week crusade in Washington. Believers and nonbelievers alike have spoken out against a government sanctioned day of prayer.



J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, said "it is not the government's job to tell the American people what, where or when… Continue

Hey gang, here are some highlights from my column at Examiner.com over the past week!



* I insist that it's okay to be judgmental about things really are bad

* I worry over… Continue

Why should we care about the separation of church and state? Is the division of government and religion a good thing? What does this concept even mean?

The term “separation of church and state” does not appear anywhere in the US Constitution. What does appear, however, are these words in the First Amendment, stating that “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …”

So, people are…

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