Editor’s Note: The following was just a little off in predicting a government shutdown on October 1st. No one expected that Kevin McCarthy would wake up on September 30 and realize that he would never be able to satisfy the demands of the 20 or so arsonists in the ultraconservative wing of the House Republicans. Some of …
This week SCA’s executive director Steven Emmert and I attended a briefing for Members of Congress and government affairs staff from secular organizations on the issue of humanist chaplains in the military, or the lack of them. The briefing was organized by our coalition member the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAF) and their government affairs …
By now, I’m sure you have heard that Woody Kaplan died last month. Woody was a great friend of the Secular Coalition for America and all of our member organizations. I first met Woody in 2000, when the national ACLU sent him to Charleston, South Carolina to try to teach our state chapter how …
Herb Silverman’s Letter: Honoring the Legacy of Woody Kaplan Read More »
It’s Labor Day Weekend again. I’ll be at a Labor Day picnic sponsored by one of the local political parties and attended by some of the local politicians. (Protecting the rights of nonreligious Americans is somewhat easier if you aren’t blatantly a member of one party or the other.) So in observance of Labor Day …
Heretic on the Hill: Delivering Bad News for Secular Workers Read More »
I had some concerns about finding a topic this week for two reasons. First, Congress has been out of session this month so there’s not much going on. And second, I’m on vacation and didn’t want to have to knock myself out on it. I just needed someone in Congress to introduce a bill so blatantly …
Heretic on the Hill: Say Hell No! to the School Prayer Bill Read More »
It’s a sad day at the Secular Coalition for America. Our long-time supporter, adviser, board member, mentor, and friend Woody Kaplan lost his battle with cancer. He was also active with and a supporter of American Atheists, the ACLU, the American Humanist Association, and several other civil liberties groups. Woody knew many members of Congress …
Heretic on the Hill: When Therapy Doesn’t Convert, Just Stop It Read More »
At SCA’s last executive committee meeting as he shared news of his prognosis, he asked those in the meeting not to be sad, only saying, “I had a great time.” It is with the heaviest of hearts in sharing the sad news that Woody Kaplan, chair of the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for …
It’s mid-summer so Congress is focusing on defense policy for a week. The House and Senate are both considering their annual defense authorization bills which set policy on how many ships the Navy needs, what aircraft to buy, how many troops we need, and many, many smaller decisions as well. With 1.4 million active duty …
Four amateur lobbyists, five meetings on Capitol Hill, and one goal: build support for the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act (SCERT). That was my team at the Secular Coalition’s first in-person lobby day in four years. The event began with a reception last Thursday evening which featured remarks from Congressman Jared Huffman, who …
I was pleased to see this article in The New Republic this week because the title is “Sorry Clarence Thomas but Supreme Court Ethics Reform Is on the Table.” I’m pleased because that is exactly the issue we will be advocating for on Capitol Hill at SCA’s Lobby Day on Friday. We have SCA supporters flying in to ask their representatives …
Heretic on the Hill: The Supreme Court Needs Some Sunshine Read More »
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