Four show for TAR meeting

There were four of us at the TAR meeting today. I'm starting to get discouraged, but we will give this venture some more time before calling it quits. The four attending today were Brian, Harold, Larry Ho, and myself.

It has been my desire to offer a sense of community to those with the courage to meet under the rubric "atheist." There seems to be no shortage of people who tell me: "If you want to increase your numbers, you should avoid the word 'atheist.'" But I am loathe to make that kind of compromise. I would rather have people in our group who have the courage to call a spade a spade, rather than hiding behind euphemistic language.

So if this group fails because atheists lack the courage to be forthright about themselves, then so be it.

But more of a problem than our choice of terminology is our lack of publicity. I will look into purchasing some ads, but since we have no treasury (i.e., no money) we may not get very far with this route. But we'll see.

TAR Meeting Today -- Sunday, Jan. 22

TAR meets today at Barnes & Noble Bookstore on 41st St. starting at 2:00 PM. Look for us in the cafe area.

Intelligent Design bill

I found the following posted at the Oklahoma Atheists Forum.

STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 50th Legislature (2006)
HOUSE BILL 2526 By: Deutschendorf

AS INTRODUCED



BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section <>11-103.11> of Title <>70>, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
In any public school instruction concerning the theories of the origin of man and the earth which includes the theory commonly known as evolution, a board of education of a school district may include, as a portion of such instruction, the theory of intelligent design. Upon approval of the board of education, a teacher in the school district may use supporting evidence deemed necessary for instruction on the theory of intelligent design. When providing supporting evidence on the theory of intelligent design, a teacher in a public school shall not stress any particular denominational, sectarian, or religious doctrine or belief.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective <>July 1, 2006>.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.

Getting together

I enjoyed getting together at the White River Fish Market and Restaurant with some fellow atheists yesterday. Thank you Larry, Dana, Mary, and Julia for taking the time to have lunch together. I love being with you guys.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all this Sunday (Jan. 22), at 2:00 PM at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore (cafe area) on 41st St.

Michael Fortier and God

Michael Fortier is in the news again. Fortier, you may recall, knew that McVeigh and Nichols were planning to bomb the federal building in OKC; and although he did not take part in the bombing, he failed to divulge the plot. Had he talked, 168 people would not have lost their lives.

Likewise, God knew what McVeigh and Nichols were up to. Like Fortier, he kept mum. Had he tipped off the authorities as to what was about to take place, 168 lives could have been spared.

Many people condemn Fortier for his silence, but have you heard anyone criticizing God for his silence? Why not? Do you think that deep down most people realize that God is just a fictional character?

Joke

One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books - the Bible and Darwin's Origin of Species.

Surprised, he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books?"

"Well," said the orangutan, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper or my keeper's brother."

Changes in TAR meetings

Effective immediately Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous is changing meeting date, time, and venue.

New day for meeting: Fourth Sunday of the month (Next meeting will be January 22.)

New time: 2:00 PM

New venue: Barnes & Noble Bookstore on 41st Street (near Yale). Meet in cafe area.