We got our message out
We at the Freedom From Religion Foundation believe in getting our message out in as many ways as possible — and we did particularly well with that this week.
Debating on Fox
Our Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel was on “Fox & Friends” (reportedly a favorite of President Trump) the past weekend, and he acquitted himself admirably.
“‘Fox & Friends’ brought on Freedom From Religion Foundation attorney Andrew Seidel yesterday to discuss the infusion of Christianity in the government,” writes Hemant Mehta on his Friendly Atheist blog. “Unfortunately for the host and the other guest, Andrew actually knew what he was talking about.”
A Fox host gets his comeuppance
FFRF Co-President Dan Barker had a less pleasant experience on Fox a few years ago, but the host who was unjust to him has gotten his comeuppance.
“The man who kicked me off his Fox News show for ‘denigrating the name of Jesus’ has now been suspended from Fox News for allegedly sexually harassing co-workers,” Dan blogged recently.
Blogging away
We have a team of bloggers here at the office, and our attorneys, too, did not miss a chance to use the medium.
“With the world nearing the nuclear brink, megachurch preacher Robert Jeffress can scarcely contain his apocalyptic glee,” Andrew began his evisceration of a particularly egregious evangelical adviser to Trump.
Andrew was on a roll this week. He also blogged a warning about supposedly pro bono Christian apologist legal firms that end up costing communities tons of money.
“Taxpayers and their elected officials need to be leery of friendly spiders that come along offering to defend losing cases,” he cautioned. “Don’t get caught up in their web.”
And FFRF Legal Fellow Chris Line wrote about a bit of good news (excuse the overpunning!) out of the Upper Midwest: “Amid all the bleakness, there is a bit of good news: The Good News Club, which aims to ‘save’ children, is having a hard time in Milwaukee.
Memphis paper notices our tanglings
We were able to get notice of our efforts in prominent print media publications, as well.
“The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation is tangling with Mississippi schools again, this time over ‘prayer walks,’” the Memphis paper recently wrote. “The group, which has butted heads with school systems in DeSoto County and elsewhere around the state in recent years, claims the walks are essentially group prayers staged and led by school faculty on public property.”
Communicating with you
And then there were our efforts to directly communicate with you. In our Newsbite video segment, Dan and Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor talked about an incredible conference of ex-Muslims they attended in London — and how it ties in to our own conference next month. On our “Ask an Atheist” feature, they segued to the broader issues raised by the conference, discussing blasphemy and why it is a victimless crime.
A couple of constitutional wins
Along the way, we were busy with our regular work — even notching up a few victories for the Constitution.
Our letter persuaded a Virginia county to cover up a religious proclamation at the courthouse. “Months after it first was uncovered as part of a renovation project, the Nelson County Board of Supervisors decided publicly Tuesday to cover temporarily historic lettering with religious connotations inside the Nelson County Circuit Courtroom,” the local newspaper reported.
And a state-run criminal justice academy in Maine has agreed to address problematic group prayers after we contacted them about the practice. “The academy could easily remedy concerns by simply discontinuing mealtime prayers,” Annie Laurie is urging them.
No doling out money to churches
All the way down the East Coast, we asked a Florida county to cease doling out taxpayer money to a Tampa church, which has already received tens of thousands of dollars. We reminded officials of a case we’re fighting in the New Jersey Supreme Court regarding similarly unconstitutional funding of churches in that state.
We’re a bit old fashioned
In some ways, we’re old fashioned — we still believe in hoary entities such as radio and baseball. That’s why we have a regular radio show, on which this week Annie Laurie and Dan play highlights from the London ex-Muslim conference and talk with a Guatemalan humanist. And this is the reason we’re co-sponsoring a unique ballgame in the Twin Cities this Saturday starting at 7 p.m. The St. Paul Saints minor league baseball team will play the Sioux Falls Canaries as part of our annual “Atheist Night.” Hope to see you there!
Television, blogs, newspapers, radio, baseball — all these are different avenues for us to spread our freethought “gospel.” And all of it is made possible only due to you and your generosity.
