National Atheist Registry

I just came across something kind of scary today. There's this fellow named Pastor Mike who wants all atheists put on a national registry like sex offenders!

Pastor Mike's blog only allows members of his blog to comment so I guess I'll comment on his blog post here on mine. As to why atheists don't want to be put on a national registry - why on earth would we want to be put on a conservative Christian target list? We already get threats galore from such groups. Some conservative Christian who is also mentally unwell is apt to start killing people on the list!

So, in case anything happens to me or any other outspoken atheist you know, please direct the FBI to Pastor Mike.

Update: It looks as if Pastor Mike began to feel shame for posting hate speech on his blog so now his blog can only be accessed by its members. So here's a link to someone who quoted a big hunk of the text of Pastor Mike's post and actually deserves to get views on his blog.

Agnostic Atheists

You probably already know what an agnostic atheist is if you follow my blog. In fact, you may just be one yourself. However, I'm thinking about people who don't already know what an agnostic atheist is.

I created an experimental page on which I explain what an agnostic atheist is. What I'm hoping you'll do is read it and get back to me if you can't understand what the blue blazes I'm trying to say or if you can think of a better way to say it.

Here's the page: What is an Agnostic Atheist?

All of My Atheist Editorials, All in One Place!

Well, they aren't just quite yet, but eventually, they will be. So far, I've organized about twenty-five of my atheist relevant articles and editorials on a Squidoo webpage. Links to the editorials and articles are arranged by topic.

As time permits, I will be adding more links to Kylyssa's Atheist Editorials. Please stop by and have a look.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated so if you have any suggestions for making the page easier to use or better looking please let me know!

What Has That Atheist Bitch Been Up To?

Well, I've been pretty darned sick for the last few months so a lot of what I've been doing has been just trying to get by. I'm still fighting pneumonia and the whatever-it-is that causes my high fevers and severe muscular pain.

There is good news though and I'm starting to feel as if I'm on the mend. Little by little, my strength is coming back and my chest has healed enough from the torn muscles and ligaments that I can once again sleep on my back for short periods of time. I still need a spare pillow or two to buttress my chest when I lay on either side but that is getting better, too.

In other good news, I took on a client who seems to be the elusive and much desired best client ever in that they are great communicators and respectful of my expertise as a (retired) professional floral designer. They are also the only Internet floral delivery service I've ever found that actually saves people money and doesn't deliver limp flowers in a cardboard box! You can check out what I've written for them so far on their blog. I don't have to pander or try to sell specific things, I just use their product photos to illustrate the articles. I don't have to say anything I disagree with or find to be questionable. As I said- best client ever!

In other writing adventures, I've been slowly removing all atheist related content from Yahoo Contributors Network (formerly known as Associated Content) and re-working it into Squidoo pages. As some of you may already know, Associated Content appears to have fallen on the wrong side of Google's Panda update and into the realm of content farms. You can find almost every atheist relevant article I used to have up there on one of my atheist relevant Squidoo pages. When I'm finished (or nearly finished or just pretty far along...) I may create a page or blog post which identifies and links to the individual articles so they easier to find.

I've also been writing more short stories and doing a spectacular job of getting them rejected by every major science fiction and speculative fiction publication. Well, not every one, I've avoided submitting them to the big two, Analog and IASFM. I'm working up the chutzpah to give it a shot. One can't get anymore rejected than rejected so aiming high hurts no more than aiming low, now does it?

I've also been working on (and should get my charcoal dusted fingers back to ASAP) art for my partner's subversive, liberal, alternative rock/folk CD, due out a little later this year. There is much ado about mastering at the moment. You can hear an early version of one of the songs that will be on it here.

I have a doctor's appointment on the 31st at which, I hope, my test results from the last visit will shed some light on wtf is wrong with me. The doc was very thorough and apparently tested me for everything from HIV to malaria.

Atheist Chaplains, Really?

I just started reading all the buzz about atheist chaplains. At first, I didn't know exactly what was being proposed. After a little research I got to the bottom of this weird sounding phrase.

It looks like atheist soldiers are pushing to get an atheist in as a member of the military chaplain program. You can read more about it in this article in The New York Times.

Apparently, while 70% of US soldiers identify as Christian, 90% of military chaplains are Christian. There are a few Jewish and Muslim chaplains, a single Buddhist chaplain and a few chaplains of other religions but the largest single minority in the military, those unaffiliated with any religion, is not represented at all. Having a non-religious chaplain to talk to, especially in the evangelism ridden setting of the US military, would probably be of great benefit to those unaffiliated soldiers.

To be clear, chaplains are not called "Christian chaplains" or "Jewish chaplains" or "Muslim chaplains" so the appellation "Atheist chaplain" is a bit odd. However, I think I understand why it is being used in this case.

I think that use of the term atheist chaplain is intended to get people talking. It's working.

Atheist billboards and bus ads have started dialogues about acceptance and tolerance of atheists in the general population; use of the term atheist chaplain is starting a dialogue about doing the same in the military.

Illness Update

So I went to the med center yesterday. Apparently I've got pneumonia as well as torn muscles (on the outside of my chest cavity) and injured pleura. No wonder I've felt like crap! I've got antibiotics in my system so I should be better in almost no time. I was glad to learn that I hadn't cracked a rib coughing after all.

Back After an Illness

Hello, folks, I just wanted to post a line to let you know I'm back at the blog after a bit of being sick. Other things were going on, too, but mostly I've been too sick to expend effort on any writing that doesn't pay.

Having autoimmune diseases sucks. Any little cold bug sets them off. The good news is that I have a doctor's appointment on April 27th. The bad news is that I think the latest cold invited in a bacterial infection who brought along a case of bronchitis as a date. I get testy when I can't breathe.

Anyway, enough of my complaining. It looks like I'll live. I'll be back here writing blogs full of atheisty goodness in no time.

An Atheist View is Recognized!

It's just an on-site award but it means someone on Squidoo who had gotten an award themselves nominated An Atheist View for what is called a Purple Star and then a staff member approved it. Purple Stars confer a little lensrank boost to the pages they are on and are meant to designate a page that is up to a high standard of excellence. I've gotten a few of these awards in the past but not on anything about atheism. It speaks of a very open-minded attitude among the staff that they approved a page about being an atheist.

Squidoo also recently created a sub-category for atheism and agnosticism that is not under religion! My atheist relevant pages are usually a collection of editorials about atheism that I've written and placed on a single page. They do well in the rankings and now even have a non-religion category to be in. If you are interested in putting up your own page (atheist themed or not) you can easily join Squidoo. The payout for top tier lenses is getting quite substantial. Last month it was $30.95.

If you are feeling charitable, please visit my Purple Star atheist lens and maybe your views will bring it to the front page of Squidoo! You can also find links to more of my atheist relevant pages on the right sidebar of this blog.

Denying The Right To Dictate and Discriminate

It seems like every other atheism related conversation I've been involved in lately touches on this one weird thread. This is not a new thought by any means but, why do so many people think that, by denying them the right to take away the rights of others their religious freedom is being denied? How is it that they can equate not having the right to discriminate against others because of their religious beliefs with persecution?

For instance, some Christian groups on college campuses call persecution when they are not allowed to discriminate against people who want to join. Others insist their freedom of religion rights is being violated when marriage equality legislation passes because they are denied the right to enforce the tenets of their religion on others.

What's up with that?

Atheist Condolences

I was a florist for 18 years. I dealt with many grieving families as they ordered flowers for their loved ones. It showed me how much grief is set in a religious framework in our culture. This presents some difficulty to non-religious people.

While our friends and loved ones are grieving, we want to express our sympathies but there's a 900 lb gorilla in the room, at least for me. I believe death is the end but most people around me believe it is a beginning. It can be hard to support religious friends and family during times of grief and loss simply because the words used to express sympathy in a non-religious way are seldom heard. If we learn by example, who is the example for sharing non-religious condolences?

I know of quite a few atheists who deal with religious grief by staying silent. It gives the impression they are cold and uncaring even if their heart is breaking for their religious loved one.

To help non-religious people share their sympathy and comfort with religious people during times of loss, I wrote Sympathy 101 for Atheists. Please let me know what you think of it. I'd also love it if you'd share how you express your sympathy in non-religious ways.