Author: Adam Lee

A recent column by Stanley Fish concerns the relationship between believers and the state, specifically how far the state should go in accommodating the beliefs of religious communities – such as Muslims who want to live under sharia law. Although Fish never explicitly states his own views, he gives the strong impression that he’s on…

The 2010 midterms are over and done with, and the results speak for themselves. I wanted to say a few words about how we came to this. Over the past two years, the Democrats had historic majorities, and they utterly squandered them. Except for health care, all the major progressive policy initiatives that should have…

Welcome to the convention! Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton addresses the convention on the first night. The FFRF also gave an Emperor Has No Clothes award to Rep. Pete Stark, the only openly nontheist U.S. congressperson, who accepted in a pretaped message. Linda Greenhouse discusses the Supreme Court. Dan Barker presents the Emperor Has No…

A gust of stinging wind assailed me as soon as I passed through the portal, blowing fine grit into my face. I coughed and staggered back a step, tasting a bitterness in my mouth. It was a few moments before I could clear my eyes and look up, and when I did, the lay of…

The sun beat down, hot and harsh, from a lead-colored sky. I stood at the end of a dusty, winding trail. Behind me lay gray marsh and scrubland, grassy plains, forest and woodland, and finally the rivers and gardens of my home. But before me was a harsh, arid land, parched and withered and hostile,…

Hey, folks – I’m typing this from the airport in Madison, Wisconsin, waiting for my flight home from the 33rd annual convention of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which I attended this weekend. I’ve had a fantastic time, and I still feel happy, relaxed and full of energy. I need to go to these events…

So, you may have heard that Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret, has a new book on the same subject, called The Power. Personally, I’m bewildered. Her first book promised to tell you how to get everything you’ve ever wanted. What possible room could there be for a sequel? You might also have heard of…

Michael Egnor, a creationist working for the Discovery Institute, has posted a list of questions for atheists (HT: Sandwalk). Ironically, the post which contains the questions has comments disabled, so it’s impossible to answer Egnor directly. This is probably another piece of evidence for whether whether creationists actually want answers to the questions they ask.…

You may have heard that the scientific community is buzzing with excitement over the discovery of Gliese 581g, an Earth-sized planet circling the red dwarf star Gliese 581, 20 light-years from Earth in the constellation Libra. Five other planets orbiting this star were already known, but what’s exciting is that the new one is smack…

Bridge in autumn, Iowa, October 2010. Photo credit: Peter Nothnagle. Click for larger version.