[Vision2020] vandals strike again

Paul Rumelhart godshatter at yahoo.com
Fri Nov 6 17:33:49 PST 2009


There are extremes everywhere.  I'm just saying that there is nothing 
inherent in Atheism as a world view that makes it anti-religion.  There 
is no Atheist holy book exhorting followers to do secret Black Masses, 
no commandments from spiritual beings they don't even believe exist, not 
even a pamphlet telling other Atheists how to live their lives.  You are 
a "member" just by the fact that you don't believe in gods.  They are a 
classification of people in the same way that people whose favorite 
color is orange is a valid classification of people.

Paul

lfalen wrote:
> Paul
> You would be correct in that most Atheists would agree to "Live and let live" . However there  a lot of them that want to root out all vestige's of religion.This would be a violation of freedom of religion. If you google Ken Falen you will find a radical Atheist site.  He was a cousin of dad's
> Roger
> -----Original message-----
> From: Paul Rumelhart godshatter at yahoo.com
> Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:25:54 -0800
> To: Donovan Arnold donovanjarnold2008 at yahoo.com
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] vandals strike again
>
>   
>> There is no "goal of Atheists".  They are defined simply by their lack 
>> of belief in something.  They have nothing in common other than that.  
>> Most people around here don't believe in Zeus.  With respect to Zeus, 
>> almost everyone around here is an Atheist.  That doesn't mean they have 
>> a common goal to root out Zeus-worship.
>>
>> The billboard is a reaction to the very demonization you are displaying 
>> here.  They aren't trying to anger anyone, they are just trying to make 
>> people aware that some people out there you might run into aren't 
>> religious and seem to get along fine without religion.  They make no 
>> mention of what religious people should do.  They are just hoping that 
>> people will remember that not everyone believes as the majority does, 
>> and stop trying to force their religious views on them.
>>
>> As for atheists advocating for the trashing of the Earth, Atheists don't 
>> believe there is a better world waiting for them after they are dead.  
>> That means that this world is more important to them as a consequence.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>> Donovan Arnold wrote:
>>     
>>> Selina,
>>>  
>>> Just because the Supreme Court of the United States says it is 
>>> morally correct doesn't make it anymore so. It also says the death 
>>> penalty and abortions are correct. It also suppressed the rights of 
>>> Blacks, Woman, and now Gays and Lesbians.
>>>  
>>> To say that it doesn't disturb people, is factually incorrect, as 
>>> people are destroying the signs. For every one person that vandalizes 
>>> a sign, there has to be a 1000 more that wish it so.
>>>  
>>> My argument has more to do with littering the highway with big trashy 
>>> billboards. Which the Earth itself rejects.
>>>  
>>> If the goal of Atheist are to anger the general public while trashing 
>>> the Earth, I think they have achieved their goal.
>>>  
>>> Donovan Arnold
>>>
>>> --- On *Fri, 11/6/09, Selina Davis /<selinadavis at hotmail.com>/* wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>     From: Selina Davis <selinadavis at hotmail.com>
>>>     Subject: Re: [Vision2020] vandals strike again
>>>     To: "Vision 2020 List" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>>>     Date: Friday, November 6, 2009, 1:13 AM
>>>
>>>     Donovan,
>>>
>>>     US Supreme Court precedent dealing with the First Amendment
>>>     would tend to differ with your conclusion.  The message conveyed
>>>     by the sign simply does not fall within any of the categories of
>>>     speech (true threat, incitement, hate speech, defamation,
>>>     commercial speech, purely prurient obscenity, or speech that
>>>     invades the subject's privacy) that may be regulated, prohibited,
>>>     or punished based on content.
>>>      
>>>     After two and a half years of parenting a pre-schooler who's now
>>>     in first grade, I'd say that dealing with the occasional awkward
>>>     conversation seems to come with the territory.  I doubt that any
>>>     literate child would be troubled, let alone traumatized, by that
>>>     sign, particularly if his or her parent could provide a calm and
>>>     rational response when the child asks, "What does that mean,
>>>     anyway?"  I can also honestly say that my belief in God was not
>>>     shaken in third grade, when my then-best friend shared that she
>>>     and her mother were atheists.  I just found it curious.  For what
>>>     it's worth.
>>>      
>>>     - Selina
>>>      
>>>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>     Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 16:22:50 -0800
>>>     From: donovanjarnold2008 at yahoo.com
>>>     To: bear at moscow.com
>>>     CC: vision2020 at secure.fsr.com
>>>     Subject: Re: [Vision2020] vandals strike again
>>>
>>>     Wayne, that is remarkably simple.
>>>      
>>>     Communities should get to decide what is appropriate content for
>>>     the general public to have unwillingly thrust in their face and
>>>     the eyes of their children and where it is appropriate.
>>>      
>>>     Donovan Arnold
>>>      
>>>
>>>
>>>     --- On *Thu, 11/5/09, Wayne Price /<bear at moscow.com>/* wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>         From: Wayne Price <bear at moscow.com>
>>>         Subject: Re: [Vision2020] vandals strike again
>>>         To: "Donovan Arnold" <donovanjarnold2008 at yahoo.com>
>>>         Cc: "<vision2020 at secure.fsr.com>" <vision2020 at secure.fsr.com>
>>>         Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009, 11:08 PM
>>>
>>>         Donovan,
>>>
>>>         The problem is WHO gets to decide what is an appropriate
>>>         context?  
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>         On Nov 5, 2009, at 3:04 PM, Donovan Arnold wrote:
>>>
>>>             That's funny. I think all roadside billboards should be
>>>             taken down, they make American Roadways ugly and cause
>>>             accidents. Or at least it should be legal to have big
>>>             bushy mustaches drawn on their faces, unless it is
>>>             Geraldo, then you would have to paint over the mustache. :
>>>             V| D
>>>              
>>>             I don't think billboards announcing that Santa isn't real,
>>>             or how to use a condom is appropriate either, because
>>>             children can read those signs, and they do, and a parent
>>>             may wish to censor what ads and information their children
>>>             receive.
>>>              
>>>             Case and point; A child is coming home from their
>>>             Grandmother's funeral or a school shooting funeral. They
>>>             tell the child grandmother or friend are with God. Then
>>>             they read a sign saying, there is no God.
>>>              
>>>             I am for free speech, but always in an appropriate context.
>>>              
>>>             This is ironic too, maybe the Humanists can pray their
>>>             signs won't be vandalized. Or find a more appropriate  way
>>>             of expressing their point of view.
>>>              
>>>             Donovan Arnold
>>>
>>>
>>>             --- On *Thu, 11/5/09, Wayne Price /<bear at moscow.com
>>>             <http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bear@moscow.com>>/*
>>>             wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>                 From: Wayne Price <bear at moscow.com
>>>                 <http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bear@moscow.com>>
>>>                 Subject: Re: [Vision2020] vandals strike again
>>>                 To: "Joe Campbell" <philosopher.joe at gmail.com
>>>                 <http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=philosopher.joe@gmail.com>>
>>>                 Cc: "<vision2020 at secure.fsr.com
>>>                 <http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=vision2020@secure.fsr.com>>"
>>>                 <vision2020 at secure.fsr.com
>>>                 <http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=vision2020@secure.fsr.com>>
>>>                 Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009, 3:58 PM
>>>
>>>                 Once the Humanists  get the sign redone, and I really
>>>                 hope they do, would it be that hard to REMOVE the
>>>                 ladder leading up to the platform?
>>>                 Carrying a can of paint at night is one thing, but
>>>                 paint and a ladder?  Perhaps  the creeps could be
>>>                 caught that way.
>>>                 Or, perhaps  a camera, so the creeps could be
>>>                 identified and prosecuted?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>                 On Nov 5, 2009, at 7:47 AM, Joe Campbell wrote:
>>>
>>>                     This is against free speech, against property
>>>                     rights, and against religious freedom.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>                     On Nov 4, 2009, at 2:38 PM, keely emerinemix
>>>                     <kjajmix1 at msn.com
>>>                     <http://us..mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=kjajmix1@msn.com>>
>>>                     wrote:
>>>
>>>                         I wish whoever is doing this would knock it
>>>                         off.  If the most courageous stand you can
>>>                         make for your faith in God is to deface a
>>>                         billboard, you've really got some spiritual
>>>                         inventory to examine.
>>>
>>>                         Keely
>>>                         www.keely-prevailingwinds.com
>>>                         <http://www.keely-prevailingwinds.com/>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>                         ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>                         From: london at moscow.com
>>>                         <http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=london@moscow.com>
>>>                         To: vision2020 at secure.fsr.com
>>>                         <http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo..com/mc/compose?to=vision2020@secure.fsr.com>
>>>                         Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 12:13:55 -0800
>>>                         Subject: [Vision2020] vandals strike again
>>>
>>>                         Humanist Billboard Vandalized in Moscow,
>>>                         Idaho…Again
>>>
>>>                         (Washington, D.C, November 4, 2009) An
>>>                         individual or individuals have
>>>                         defaced a billboard in Moscow, Idaho… again.
>>>                         The billboard originally
>>>                         read "Millions are good without God" but was
>>>                         partially obscured with
>>>                         blue paint to now read “Millions are good with
>>>                         God”. It's the second
>>>                         time the American Humanist Association
>>>                         (AHA)-sponsored billboard has
>>>                         been vandalized in two weeks. In the first
>>>                         instance the word "without"
>>>                         was completely blacked out, after which the
>>>                         AHA quickly replaced the
>>>                         billboard. The advertisement, which was
>>>                         originally placed
>>>                         mid-September, is part of an American Humanist
>>>                         Association advertising
>>>                         campaign to spread awareness about being good
>>>                         without God. It's the
>>>                         third billboard advertisement the organization
>>>                         has displayed in the
>>>                         Moscow area and similar ads have been put up
>>>                         around the country.
>>>
>>>                         A picture of the vandalized billboard can be
>>>                         found here:
>>>                         http://www.americanhumanist.org/system/storage/29/1225/Picture_002.jpg.
>>>                         The billboard can be found on Highway 95, just
>>>                         south of Moscow near
>>>                         the Sweet Avenue cross street, facing
>>>                         northbound traffic.
>>>
>>>                         "The irony here is worth noting," said David
>>>                         Niose, president of the
>>>                         American Humanist Association. "Some
>>>                         individuals are committing
>>>                         criminal acts while apparently claiming that
>>>                         their religious view of
>>>                         the world leads to good behavior. It's not a
>>>                         very convincing argument
>>>                         on their part."
>>>
>>>                         "This is not just vandalism, it is religiously
>>>                         motivated vandalism
>>>                         which attempts to silence a minority
>>>                         viewpoint," added Niose.
>>>                         "Everyone, not just humanists, should be
>>>                         concerned about such acts."
>>>
>>>                         The Moscow Police Department notified the AHA
>>>                         this morning. They
>>>                         believe the ad defaced between 1 and 3 am. The
>>>                         AHA has alerted the
>>>                         billboard company who leased the space, Lamar
>>>                         Outdoor, who said they
>>>                         will start leaving the lights on round the
>>>                         clock. The AHA will be
>>>                         replacing the billboard but hasn't yet decided
>>>                         whether to go with the
>>>                         same design.
>>>
>>>                         "I’m disturbed that this happened again," said
>>>                         Roy Speckhardt,
>>>                         executive director of the American Humanist
>>>                         Association. "Two
>>>                         consecutive crimes in a town where the last
>>>                         incidence of billboard
>>>                         vandalism was years ago makes it obvious that
>>>                         humanists and our
>>>                         message are being targeted.”
>>>
>>>                         The American Humanist Association
>>>                         (www.americanhumanist.org
>>>                         <http://www.americanhumanist.org/>) advocates
>>>                         for the rights and viewpoints of humanists.
>>>                         Founded in 1941 and
>>>                         headquartered in Washington, D.C., its work is
>>>                         extended through more
>>>                         than 100 local chapters and affiliates across
>>>                         the United States.
>>>
>>>                         Humanism is the idea that you can be good
>>>                         without a belief in God.
>>>
>>>                         #
>>>
>>>                         Contact:
>>>                         Karen Frantz
>>>                         202-238-9088
>>>                         cell: 703-725-4112
>>>                         kfrantz at americanhumanist.org
>>>                         <http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=kfrantz@americanhumanist.org>
>>>
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