http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/07/proof-of-heaven-a-doctor-s-experience-with-the-afterlife.html

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As a…

For those of you who don't live in the United States, you should know that we actually have 2 species of coyote in this country: The Western Coyote and the Eastern Coyote. (Wiley Coyote from Looney Toons is a Western Coyote). 

Coyotes of both kinds have always been with us here. They have roamed this land since the days that Native American tribes wandered the trails. But... apparently Eastern Coyotes are causing a new problem for the modern world.

The Western Coyote is the one…

I got an automated call today from a stupid far-right fundraising crowd claiming to be behind Newt Gingrich. I'm disappointed the whole thing was automated... I REALLY wanted to have fun with these morons.

"We have reserved a copy of our DVD Documentary "Bringing America Back to God" (or something like that... I don't remember what it was actually called) so that you can help us to fight back against the power of the godless left and teach children the truth about why god was central…

No one knows what set him off. But apparently on March 27th Pilot Captian Clayton F. Osbon lost his head completely. Although most of his ranting was incoherent, a lot of it appeared to be religious in nature. The flight was supposed to be traveling from New York to Las Vegas. However, Captain Osbon stated in the middle of the flight '"we're not going to vegas' because of its 'sins' and used the radio to admonish air traffic controllers to 'be quiet." - Source: NY Times National Issue…

A recent show on the science channel alerted me to an interesting new hypothesis about the evolution of homosexuality. Contrary to popular thought, it does not appear to be an accident. (If anyone can find documentation about this new hypothesis... let me know). Particularly interesting is the behavior of primate males in family groups. As is well known, apes (such as chimanzees, bonobos, and gorillas) that live in family groups consist of many females, one dominant male that gets exclusive…

I can't count how many times I've been told I'm going to burn in Hell. Sometimes the voice that tells me is concerned, other times it is gleeful. But.... you don't need to disbelieve in Hell because no one REALLY knows what happens after we die. No... you can make a Christian's argument collapse in on itself through a basic thought experiment that anyone with a high school education can understand.

Let's engage in that thought experiment, shall we?

Let's say that Mr. Christian…

The biggest event in secular world history is coming up fast! The Reason Rally is happening on MARCH 24! It is CRITICAL that we get as many atheists to attend as possible! The purpose of the reason rally is both a celebration of life without god AND an increase to the visibility of American atheists! PLEASE ATTEND! Atheist organizations have worked VERY hard to make it easy and cheap to travel and get a hotel room! RICHARD DAWKINS AND ADAM SAVAGE (MYTHBUSTERS) WILL BE FEATURED…

If you recieved comprehensive sex education in high school... you know... where they told you anything worth hearing, then... you were lucky.

I... and millions of other current teen and young adult Americans... are not so lucky.

I was a victim of Abstinence-Only Sex Education. Yes, I said VICTIM. Why? Because not only do these programs teach us absolutely nothing worth knowing... they also can cause significant situational and/ or psychological harm!

As a…

Shortly after Barack Obama was elected, a bizarre phenomenon came, seemingly out of nowhere. Suddenly the news was full of stories and images of a group of angry protesters calling themselves "The Tea Party." Although they claimed to be "populist" and "non-partisan" it should be obvious to anyone who has been following their political positions and the candidates they choose (all hard-right republicans) that they aren't "progressive" nor "populist"; and they are especially not…

Most of the time when I watch "real haunting" shows, I do so because either 1. someone else turned it on and I'm too lazy to leave the room or procrastinating or 2. I go looking for logical fallacies and things to laugh at.

But... do you know what I don't find funny about those shows? Exorcisms! Why do these people call exorcists? Usually it seems to be because their family member is acting strangely in a destructive way and their religious beliefs tell them that the most…

In a country that is becoming increasingly theocratic, there may be hope on the horizon. I am 22 years old, part of Generation Y, which has now been named "The Millennials" (because most of us have come of age - 18 years old - in the first decade of the new millennium.). The Millennials are defined as anyone who was born since 1982. Most Millennials are now in middle school, high school, college, or the young adult world. Most of us are not even married yet. We don't hold the reigns of power…

As a woman who grew up religious in a highly religious city I had gotten so used to the sexism and sexual harrassment that I started to expect it, and later... to distrust men as a whole. Most of the Christian men I met had very unfair rules about what I should do with my life, how many kids I should have, what type of sexual activity I could engage in without being dehumanized, and that if I was to have a career, I would still have to do all the housework once married. I began to resent…

I'm currently reading "The Mothman Prophesies" by John A. Keel. [I know... you can laugh at me]. I chose to read it because despite my being an atheist who is an extreme skeptic of anything supernatural... I haven't lost my taste for a good spooky tale. Being the thrill-chaser that I am, I enjoy all sorts of things that give a good scare... horror movies, rollar coasters, ghost stories, urban legends... and [as I apparently found out last Monday] scaling the side of a 15-foot [~4.6 m] rocky…

This kid was from my old high school and he seems genuinely worried, so I was nice to him, but still... 

[Welcome to theists in my facebook inbox - sigh]…

My generation has been dubbed "the millenials" because we seem to have "come of age" [roughly] in the first decade or so of the new millenium. I am in the "generation y" part of this large generation of young people who face a problem that our parents didn't face to nearly the degree we do now. Funding College. In America it doesn't seem to matter whether the millenial kids go to public or private 4-year colleges, make no mistake! Unless you are REALLY poor, REALLY lucky, or REALLY a "when…

For me deconversion was the most powerful moment of my life.

I was a Christian in the Presbyterian church for 16 years. I was baptised as an infant and when, in May of 2004 I took the vows of my confirmation and became a member of the church, it was the proudest moment of my life [or so I thought]. I thought that the voice of Jesus Christ spoke to me in my head, especially when I took communion. When my best friend revealed to me that she was no longer Christian I left a little prayer…

This is a part of my memoire, and one of my most powerful personal arguments against the existence of God. It details a newborn infant fighting desperately for her life and her victory, not through a god, but through humanity and lucky chance.

          That night of November 20^th, my grandmother made dinner and Rob and Grampa and I sat down anxiously awaiting news. The news came late into the night. I wasn’t…

American education has a reputation for being abysmal for a developed country. There are many factors that go into this... but one that is not addressed enough is the problem of "parrot learning." In recent years american citizens, parents, and educators have started to learn about this deep problem [at least they have found the tip of the iceberg] - standardized tests. The SAT has come under fire - which it deserves - because it promotes parrot learning. It encourages children to memorize…