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 …
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 …
I thought this week I’d be writing about the Supreme Court because we are right at the end of the Court’s annual term and there are two big “religious freedom” decisions yet to be announced. There is the decision about the Postal Service employee who doesn’t want to work on Sundays, which could have much …
What happens when you order pizzas at the Rayburn House Office Building and tell secular House staff to show up for lunch? They show up! We had the first ever Secular House Staff Lunch this week so we could get to know more of them and they could get to know the Secular Coalition for …
Heretic on the Hill: Help Support Secular Treatment Programs Read More »
Celebrity candidates for office are becoming more common. When someone who spent his life coaching football is then elected to the Senate, expectations are low. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has generally met them. (He’s a celebrity in Alabama.) Shortly after his election in 2020 he identified the three branches of government as the House, …
Heretic on the Hill: Tackling White Christian Nationalism in the Military Read More »
I worked for a Senator who popularized, but maybe didn’t originate, the saying that we’re all entitled to our own opinions but not our own facts. So when there’s a new book from the political science professor who regularly takes data on religion and politics and finds something new to think about, I’m buying it. Twenty Myths …
Heretic on the Hill: Writing the Book on Religion and Politics Read More »
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