The Cowtown Humanist

A chapter of the American Humanist Association and The Alliance of Secular Humanist Societies.

http://www.hofw.org

May 2002   Volume 4,  No. 2

 

This Month

Our meeting will be 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at Westside Unitarian Universalist Church, 6901 South McCart. Dr. Joe Barnhart of the University of North Texas will be the speaker. See below for details.

 

 

Last month

At the last meeting, we completed our plans on how to take over the world. Or at least, that's what the Christian conservatives would say. In the last two meetings, we have been learning about the "Mind Seige" movement, which is basically the newest attack on freethinkers and others of our ilk. In March, we got to see the video being circulated by our esteemed adversaries; in April, we got to see the response from Paul Kurtz, head of the Council for Secular Humanism.

 

As you would expect, it was jolly good fun hearing Kurtz take apart their arguments -- even if he didn't have to work very hard to do it. It was another informative and entertaining meeting. And if you missed it, you may still be able to borrow the video . . . just check with fellow member George Cramer. Sorry, we don't have a DVD version available yet . . ..

 

 

Last Call

The American Humanist Associations' National Conference will be held May 10-12 in Houston. The AHA has a great lineup of programs and speakers, including Steven Weinberg, 1979 Nobel Laureate and 2002 Humanist of the Year.

 

If you are interested in attending, please send a message to the Yahoo Group. And to make reservations on your own, call 800-228-9290 and mention the American Humanist Association. For more information on the conference,  visit the AHA website, www.americanhumanist.org or call AHA at (800) 837-3792 or email aha@americanhumanist.org.

 

 

Digging through the bushes

Also in keeping with our civic Humanist duty, we just completed another trip down our Adopt-a-Street, Granbury Road. We had a great turnout, nice weather, and, I must say, the job was a snap -- we finished in about as much time as it takes to say a rosary. Thanks to the members who pitched in: Michael Haney, Don and Dolores Ruhs, George Cramer, Lenni Lissberger, Shane Taylor, Bruce Berggren, Brenda Baldwin, and yours truly. And special commendation to Wallace Harrison, who helped with the clean-up -- and then graciously agreed to serve us breakfast at him home afterward. It was a great time for everyone, and we plan to be back at Wallace's house very soon; he just doesn't know it yet.

 

 

Don't pray, don't tell

Well, the issue over prayer in public schools is nothing new. But if you thought it was losing steam, you're in for quite a surprise. Joe Barnhart, a professor of Philosophy and Religion Studies at the University of North Texas in Denton, will have an update for us on a battle that just keeps getting bigger. 

 

Professor Barnhart spoke to our group a few years back, and he does a wonderful job. In addition to his teaching, he also has written extensively on cool religion topics; his books include "The Billy Graham Religion," "Religion and the Challenge of Philosophy" and "The Southern Baptist Holy War." This promises to be another intriguing presentation for us, and we hope you will want to be there for it.

 

 

Chow, baby

Finally, as has become our custom, we will gather before the meeting for dinner, fellowship and signs of food poisoning. Continuing our "Taste of Fort Worth" tour, this month we will dine at Bamboo Garden, 6415 McCart Ave. Sharp-eyed readers will note that this is the same street as the church is on -- always nice to cut down on fuel costs and toxic emissions, ya know. We'll convene at 5:30 -- plenty of time to enjoy a meal, and still get the dishes done. Hope you'll want to join us!

 

 

Just for fun

A young man went into a drug store to buy condoms. He asks the pharmacist for help, and the pharmacist tells him that the condoms come in packs of 3, 9 or 12. 


"Well," the kid said, "maybe I should get the 12-pack."

 

"Really?" the pharmacist said, raising an eyebrow.

 

"Yeah," the kid said. "I just started seeing this girl, and she's really hot. Tonight I'm having dinner with her parents, and after that we're going out. And I've got a feeling I'm gonna get lucky . . . I'll be doing the nasty with her all night long, every way possible. So you'd better give me the 12 pack."


So the young man made his purchase and left. Later that evening, he arrived at the girl's house, and she lead him into the dining room to sit down for dinner. The boy asked if he might give the blessing, and everyone agreed. So he began praying, and kept right on going for several minutes.

 

Eventually the girl leaned over and whispered, "You never told me that you were so religious."

 

And the kid whispered back, "And you never told me that your father was a pharmacist."

 

Hope to see you Wednesday,

 

Jeff

 

 

How to reach us

 

Shane Taylor, Chairman

282-3997

s-t-t@juno.com

 

Mike Haney, Vice Chairman
mhaneyinfw@charter.net

 

Reed Bilz, Secretary

rbilz@earthlink.net

 

Dolores Ruhs, Treasurer

rhusd@myexecl.com

 

Jeff Rodriguez, Newsletter Editor

817-732-4235

jeff@appifw.org