BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//NYC Atheists - ECPv6.15.10//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:NYC Atheists X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://nycatheists.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for NYC Atheists REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20150308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20151101T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20160313T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20161106T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20170312T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20171105T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20180311T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20181104T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170910T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170910T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170829T165218Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170829T165814Z UID:36865-1505044800-1505055600@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:September Brunch & Speaker DESCRIPTION:SUBJECT: SECULAR MUSIC \nPERFORMER: SHELLEY SEGAL\, SINGER AND SONGWRITER FROM AUSTRALIA \nThe cost of this event is $20 which includes a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch followed by our guest speaker. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/brunch-2017-sept/ LOCATION:The Press Box\, 932 2nd Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10022\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Sunday Brunch and Speaker END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170727T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170727T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170705T170414Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170718T170514Z UID:36762-1501180200-1501189200@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:July Monthly Meeting DESCRIPTION:Host: Ken Bronstein \n\nSUBJECT: WILL FACEBOOK REPLACE THE CHURCH? How Facebook is like a church\, according to founder Mark Zuckerberg \nFacebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said: “Its members gather to comfort and encourage one another. They check in on the sick and struggling. They wish each other a happy birthday. But it’s not church. It’s Facebook.” \nBoth the church and Facebook are similar in the way they create community and bring people together. “We all get meaning from our communities\,” Zuckerberg said. “Whether they’re churches\, sports teams or neighborhood groups\, they give us the strength to expand our horizons and care about broader issues. Studies have proven the more connected we are\, the happier we feel and the healthier we are. People who go to church are more likely to volunteer and give to charity — not just because they’re religious\, but because they’re part of a community.” \nZuckerberg made the analogy last week as he announced the new mission of the world’s largest social network: “Bring the world closer together.” That comes as Facebook reached 2 billion users on Tuesday and expands its previous mission\, as the CEO and founder described it\, “to make the world more open and connected.” (It also comes as ProPublica published a review of internal documents shedding light on the algorithms Facebook’s censors use to determine hate speech.) \nChristian publications interpreted Zuckerberg’s remarks in different ways; some said he was suggesting the social network should draw inspiration from the church\, while others fretted he was envisioning a future where Facebook replaces the church. \nSpeaking to an audience made up of administrators of popular Facebook groups\, Zuckerberg announced a goal to connect 1 billion people via groups and encouraged the administrators to invite and care for people in theirs — much like clergy do. \n“As I’ve traveled around and learned about different places\, one theme is clear: Every great community has great leaders\,” he said. \n“Think about it. A church doesn’t just come together. It has a pastor who cares for the well-being of their congregation\, makes sure they have food and shelter. A Little League team has a coach who motivates the kids and helps them hit better. Leaders set the culture\, inspire us\, give us a safety net and look out for us.”  \nA LIVELY DISCUSSION WILL FOLLOW \n\nA $10 charge for this event is used to help cover the cost of the venue. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/monthly-meeting-2017-july/ LOCATION:SLC Conference Center\, 15 West 39th Street – 3rd Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10018\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Thursday Monthly Meeting END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170718T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170718T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170705T170038Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170706T231832Z UID:36758-1500404400-1500411600@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:July Discussion Night DESCRIPTION:Topic: Empathy and Forgiveness \nTo what degree do we empathize with our religious neighbors even when they are hostile to us? Can we forgive those same people who have harmed us in the past? \nHost:  Lee Moore \nThe event is free\, but please purchase food or drink to compensate Stone Creek for the use of their space. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/discussion-night-2017-july/ LOCATION:Stone Creek Bar and Lounge\, 140 East 27th St.\, New York\, NY\, 10016\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Tuesday Discussion Night END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170709T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170709T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170627T170403Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170627T170547Z UID:36734-1499601600-1499612400@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:July Brunch & Speaker DESCRIPTION:SUBJECT: MY JOURNEY OF A BANGLADESHI WOMEN FROM ISLAM TO ATHEISM \nZERIN FIROZE is an outspoken Ex-Muslim\, atheist\, feminist and human right activist. Due to her advocacy for secular\, LGBT and women’s rights\, she has received death threats from groups such as Ansar-Al-Islam\, Jamaat-Shibir\, Hefajat-e-Islami and was forced to flee Bangladesh \nThe cost of this event is $20 which includes a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch followed by our guest speaker. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/brunch-2017-july/ LOCATION:The Press Box\, 932 2nd Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10022\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Sunday Brunch and Speaker END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170708T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170708T110000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20150819T150032Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170705T165952Z UID:26470-1499511600-1499511600@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:Street Tabling DESCRIPTION:On Saturdays during the summer months\, we set up our cozy tent-covered table on the sidewalk on Columbus Circle (in front of the Time Warner Building) and chat with interested with passers-by. We don’t accost people\, but simply make ourselves available to provide information and answer questions about what we do as an organization and about atheism in general. We are always well-received and a very nice time is had by all. The people who approach us are almost always quite friendly and sincerely interested. \nWe always need volunteers. Come and join us for as much or as little time as you can! \nFirst Shift: 10:55 AM to 2 PM (extra assistance needed during setup)\nSecond Shift: 1 PM to 4 PM\nThird Shift: 2 PM to 6 PM \nIf you plan on helping out\, please drop a quick email to nycatheists@gmail.org to let us know your availability so we can schedule our staffing accordingly. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/street-tabling/ LOCATION:Columbus Circle\, 10 Columbus Circle\, New York\, NY\, 10019\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Other END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170704T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170704T170000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170616T164332Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170620T163200Z UID:36703-1499169600-1499187600@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:July 4th Picnic DESCRIPTION:NYC ATHEISTS ANNUAL JULY 4TH PICNIC\n\nJoin us in the beautiful Conservancy Garden in Central Park!\n\n\nMeeting place will be in the upstairs gazebo behind the fountain.\n\nBring your own food & drinks.\n\n(5th Ave at 105th Street)\nSubway: 6 (103rd) / 2 & 3 (110TH st) / 4 & 5 (110th)\nAfterwards we can visit the Museum Of The City Of New York.\nFor further information\, contact Larry Shaw at lshawfunny@aol.com. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/july-4th-2017/ LOCATION:Conservatory Garden\, 5TH AVE AT 105TH STREET\, New York\, NY\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Other END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170629T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170629T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170602T230920Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170606T205631Z UID:36665-1498761000-1498770000@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:June Monthly Meeting DESCRIPTION:Host: Ken Bronstein \n\nSUBJECT: WE WILL LISTEN TO WNYC’S BRIAN LEHRER INTERVIEW OF BROOKE GLADSTONE ABOUT HER NEW BOOK: The Trouble With Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time.  \nHOW fake news\, post-truth\, and why reality itself has become a hotly contested issue of our time.  \nA LIVELY DISCUSSION WILL FOLLOW \nBrooke Gladstone\, host and managing editor of WNYC’s On the Media and the author of The Trouble With Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time (Workman Publishing Company\, 2017)\, talks about fake news\, post-truth\, and why reality itself has become a hotly contested issue of our time. \n“It isn’t like there are two bubbles in this country\,” says Brooke. “I think there are as many bubbles as there are individuals. They are bespoke\, hand crafted.” \nThe remedy for reality is not so simple. “Fact checking alone won’t stop Trump\,” Brooke says\, “We are wired to lie to ourselves to keep our worlds consistent.” \nReality. It used to seem so simple—reality just was\, like the weather. Why question it\, let alone disagree about it? And then came the assault\, an unending stream of “fake news\,” “alternative facts\,” and lies disguised as truths that is overwhelming our notions of reality. Now we can’t even agree on what a fact is\, let alone what is real. How on earth did we get here?\nIn 1985\, critic and educator Neil Postman published Amusing Ourselves to Death\, the most incisive\, impassioned warning label ever issued on our media diet. To illuminate the danger\, he contrasts two pivotal works of dystopian fiction: George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.\nIn Orwell’s vision\, he notes\, we are crushed by a merciless oppression imposed by others\, whereas in Huxley’s vision\, we are seduced\, sedated\, and satiated. We enslave ourselves. \nWhat Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book\, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much information that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism.\nOrwell feared that truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared that the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared that we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared that we would become a trivial culture\, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies\, the orgy porgy and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. \nIn 1984\, Orwell added\, people are controlled by inflicting pain. \nIn Brave New World\, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short\, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us … \nOrwell\, who in 1948 was fixed on Nazi devastation and Soviet ascendancy\, seemed to have nailed it. But 37 years later\, Postman saw that in our time and place\, it’s unquestionably Huxley. He portrayed a world that leads ineluctably to the election of Donald Trump. \n\nA $10 charge for this event is used to help cover the cost of the venue. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/monthly-meeting-2017-june/ LOCATION:SLC Conference Center\, 15 West 39th Street – 3rd Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10018\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Thursday Monthly Meeting END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170613T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170613T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170602T231130Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170602T231226Z UID:36667-1497380400-1497387600@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:June Discussion Night DESCRIPTION:Topic: Climate Change \nHost:  Lee Moore \nThe event is free\, but please purchase food or drink to compensate Stone Creek for the use of their space. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/discussion-night-2017-june/ LOCATION:Stone Creek Bar and Lounge\, 140 East 27th St.\, New York\, NY\, 10016\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Tuesday Discussion Night END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170611T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170611T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170602T230550Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170606T205853Z UID:36662-1497182400-1497193200@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:June Brunch & Speaker DESCRIPTION:SUBJECT: CREATION STORIES / MYTHS \nA creation myth (also called a cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. While in popular usage the term myth often refers to false or fanciful stories\, formally\, it does not imply falsehood. Cultures generally regard their creation myths as true. In the society in which it is told\, a creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truths\, metaphorically\, symbolically and sometimes in a historical or literal sense. They are commonly\, although not always\, considered cosmogonical myths – that is\, they describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness. \nCreation myths often share a number of features. They often are considered sacred accounts and can be found in nearly all known religious traditions. They are all stories with a plot and characters who are either deities\, human-like figures\, or animals\, who often speak and transform easily. They are often set in a dim and nonspecific past that historian of religion Mircea Eliade termed in illo tempore (“at that time”). Creation myths address questions deeply meaningful to the society that shares them\, revealing their central worldview and the framework for the self-identity of the culture and individual in a universal context. \nCreation myths develop in oral traditions and therefore typically have multiple versions; found throughout human culture\, they are the most common form of myth. \n——————————–\nSPEAKER: THOMAS LEE \nRemember tin-can telephones?  As a kid I loved the way the long\, taut string would hum as it carried the voice of a distant\, unseen speaker directly into my ear. \nFor me\, storytelling is like having a tin-can telephone with a string stretching out through time: through years\, over centuries\, and across millennia. I listen while far away\, in the distant past\, someone tells me a story; their voice still hums and vibrates\, alive in my mind.\nOnce a story reaches me\, my task is to pass it on to new listeners\, young and old. I hope they will start the story vibrating down new strings\, travelling on into an unseen future. \nHOW DID YOU BECOME A STORYTELLER? \nWhile I was living in London after college\, I ran away to Scotland one summer to work as a chef in the tiny fishing village of Crinan. While there\, I became absorbed in the stories of the Brothers Grimm\, struggling to translate them from the German. When friends asked what I was reading\, I found myself caught up in recounting these amazing\, sometimes unsettling tales. \nBack in London\, where I was training in classical theater\, I began to perform these stories for a variety of audiences. I quickly discovered I had to “unlearn” some of my theater training in order to tell stories.  Stories\, I realized\, were not texts to recite so much as maps one could follow to create a unique\, shared experience with listeners. \nMy one man play “Grimm” was produced in a late-night performance at a London pub theater called\, appropriately\, The Man in the Moon. That production went on to the Edinburgh Festival and was later excerpted on BBC-TV. \nLiving in England\, I was able to spend a lot of time in Italy and other parts of Europe\, where my understanding of folk-culture and traditional stories expanded significantly. Once established\, my appetite for traditional stories became voracious. I discovered the treasures of the British Library and spent many\, many hours tracking down elusive and ancient tales. \nThis was in the late 1980s\, when storytelling was experiencing a spontaneous revival both in England and in the United States. I was fortunate to encounter many other travelers on the same path. \nWhen I returned to America and began telling stories to children\, the real power of traditional stories struck me with a tremendous force.  Children have taught me most of what I know about stories and storytelling. \nLiving in New York City in 1999\, I began telling stories at the Metropolitan Museum of Art\, where my ability to explore the connections of stories to their broader artistic heritage took on a tremendous new depth.  In my first project there I was invited to tell a version of “Gilgamesh” based on  a new translation of three-thousand year old cuneiform tablets. \nIn 2005 I became the director of arts VOYAGE\, an arts-integration program at Spencertown Academy in Spencertown\, New York.  This program is an amazing opportunity to synthesize visual art\, history\, story\, and learning while working with many wonderful teachers and students. \nIn 2008 I was invited to be the storyteller-in-residence at R.J. Kinsella Magnet School of the Performing Arts\, in Hartford\, Connecticut.  This is a wonderful learning community where storytelling serves to enrich students’ lives in many artistic forms. \nHaving worked extensively and intensively with students and children for twenty years\, I now find myself turning back to adult audiences as often as possible.  I particularly enjoy bringing storytelling to new listeners –  adults who may not have had a story told to them for many years. \nWhen I’m not telling or researching stories\, I find myself propping up my century old farmhouse in beautiful Chester\, Connecticut\, or gardening with an amateur’s zeal. Further afield\, I visit my family on Cape Cod or\, when time and budget allow\, return to my old haunts in England and Italy. \nOne never knows where the next story might be found! \nThe cost of this event is $20 which includes a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch followed by our guest speaker. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/brunch-2017-june/ LOCATION:The Press Box\, 932 2nd Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10022\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Sunday Brunch and Speaker END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170525T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170525T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170503T163924Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170523T012146Z UID:36553-1495737000-1495746000@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:May Monthly Meeting DESCRIPTION:Host: Ken Bronstein \n\nSPEAKER: Lee Moore \nTOPIC: Lee will lead a discussion on how we can make a difference by becoming more effective and successful activists\, both individually and as an organization. \n\nA $10 charge for this event is used to help cover the cost of the venue. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/monthly-meeting-2017-may/ LOCATION:SLC Conference Center\, 15 West 39th Street – 3rd Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10018\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Thursday Monthly Meeting END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170516T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170516T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170503T163932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170503T164310Z UID:36554-1494961200-1494968400@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:May Discussion Night DESCRIPTION:Topic: WHERE DO WE AS ATHEISTS STAND ON THE SUBJECT OF RACE\, AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO COUNTER RACISM IN AMERICA \nHost:  Lee Moore \nThe event is free\, but please purchase food or drink to compensate Stone Creek for the use of their space. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/discussion-night-2017-may/ LOCATION:Stone Creek Bar and Lounge\, 140 East 27th St.\, New York\, NY\, 10016\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Tuesday Discussion Night END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170514T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170514T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170502T170150Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170502T170533Z UID:36548-1494763200-1494774000@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:May Brunch & Speaker DESCRIPTION:SUBJECT: Fake News – Repetition Becomes Fact \nVIDEO: The Brainwashing of My Dad \nExamines the Influence of the “vast right-wing conspiracy” News Media. How right-wing news programs\, talk shows and internet sites turned her once reasonable father into a raging embodiment of intolerance and suspicion. It warns of how generations of Americans have been tricked into an angry cult-like devotion to a new conservative lord and savior: Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. \nThe cost of this event is $20 which includes a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch followed by our guest speaker. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/brunch-2017-may/ LOCATION:The Press Box\, 932 2nd Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10022\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Sunday Brunch and Speaker END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170427T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170427T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170402T032214Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170402T032636Z UID:36478-1493317800-1493326800@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:April Monthly Meeting DESCRIPTION:Host: Ken Bronstein \n\nSPEAKER: Mercer Brugler\, Ph.D.\nAssistant Professor of Organismal Biology – NYC College of Technology \nTOPIC: Explore the beautiful and unusual lifeforms that thrive on the sea floor! \nCruise with Dr. Brugler as he explores the unusual and beautiful life-forms that thrive on the ocean floor. Dive to ocean depths where no light penetrates and chemicals bubbling from cold seeps fuel strange ecosystems and undersea microbes convert methane into food via chemosynthesis. \n\nA $10 charge for this event is used to help cover the cost of the venue. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/monthly-meeting-2017-april/ LOCATION:SLC Conference Center\, 15 West 39th Street – 3rd Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10018\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Thursday Monthly Meeting END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170418T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170418T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170402T032203Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170409T213838Z UID:36477-1492542000-1492549200@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:April Discussion Night DESCRIPTION:Topic: The Trump Presidency: How Do We Fight Back? \nHost:  Lee Moore \nThe event is free\, but please purchase food or drink to compensate Stone Creek for the use of their space. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/april-2017-discussion-night/ LOCATION:Stone Creek Bar and Lounge\, 140 East 27th St.\, New York\, NY\, 10016\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Tuesday Discussion Night END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170416T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170416T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170402T031255Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170402T032138Z UID:36474-1492344000-1492354800@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:April Brunch & Speaker DESCRIPTION:SPEAKER: Katherine Stewart\nPresident\, American Atheists \nSUBJECT: Betsy DeVos and the Republican Plan to Make Charters Available for Religious Schools \nAUTHOR: The Good News Club – The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children \nA chilling exposé of the well-funded\, highly coordinated effort by Christian Nationalists to use public schools to advance a fundamentalist agenda. \nKatherine Stewart’s chilling exposé of the well-funded\, highly coordinated effort by Christian Nationalists to use public schools to advance a fundamentalist agenda. \n“Even those well-versed in the religious right’s attempt to Christianize American institutions will likely be shocked by The Good News Club. Katherine Stewart’s book about the fundamentalist assault on public education is lucid\, alarming\, and very important.” -MICHELLE GOLDBERG\, author of Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism. \nIn 2009\, the Good News Club came to the public elementary school where journalist Katherine Stewart sent her children. The Club\, which is sponsored by the Child Evangelism Fellowship\, bills itself as an after-school program of “Bible study.” But Stewart soon discovered that the Club’s real mission is to convert children to fundamentalist Christianity and encourage them to proselytize to their “unchurched” peers\, all the while promoting the natural but false impression among the children that its activities are endorsed by the school. \nAstonished to discover that the U.S. Supreme Court has deemed this—and other forms of religious activity in public schools—legal\, Stewart set off on an investigative journey to dozens of cities and towns across the nation to document the impact. In this book she demonstrates that there is more religion in America’s public schools today than there has been for the past 100 years. The movement driving this agenda is stealthy. It is aggressive. It has our children in its sights. And its ultimate aim is to destroy the system of public education as we know it. \nThe cost of this event is $20 which includes a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch followed by our guest speaker. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/brunch-2017-april/ LOCATION:The Press Box\, 932 2nd Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10022\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Sunday Brunch and Speaker END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170330T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170330T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170301T182400Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170301T183335Z UID:36423-1490898600-1490907600@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:March Monthly Meeting DESCRIPTION:Host: Ken Bronstein \n\nSPEAKER: Rafael O’Halloran\nAssistant Professor of Radiology\, Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai \nTOPIC: Brain Imaging Technology\, Neurological and Psychological Diseases \n\nA $10 charge for this event is used to help cover the cost of the venue. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/monthly-meeting-2017-march/ LOCATION:SLC Conference Center\, 15 West 39th Street – 3rd Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10018\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Thursday Monthly Meeting END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170314T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170314T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170301T182354Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170309T171714Z UID:36422-1489518000-1489525200@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:March Discussion Night DESCRIPTION:Topic: Scientology\, How Can We Oppose This Blight on Our Culture? \nHost:  Lee Moore \nThe event is free\, but please purchase food or drink to compensate Stone Creek for the use of their space. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/march-2017-discussion-night/ LOCATION:Stone Creek Bar and Lounge\, 140 East 27th St.\, New York\, NY\, 10016\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Tuesday Discussion Night END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170312T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170312T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170301T182336Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170301T182736Z UID:36421-1489320000-1489330800@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:March Brunch & Speaker DESCRIPTION:SPEAKER: Dave Silverman\nPresident\, American Atheists \nSUBJECT: American Atheists’ Trump Action – How NYCA and AA Can Work Together \nThe cost of this event is $20 which includes a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch followed by our guest speaker. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/brunch-2017-march/ LOCATION:The Press Box\, 932 2nd Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10022\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Sunday Brunch and Speaker END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170223T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170223T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170127T074309Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170127T074645Z UID:36170-1487874600-1487883600@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:February Monthly Meeting DESCRIPTION:Host: Ken Bronstein \n\nSPEAKER: KAREN GARST\, Ph.D \nShe recently retired as executive director of the Oregon State Bar. She has a blog at http://www.faithlessfeminist.com and is on Facebook and YouTube as the Faithless Feminist. \n—————————————- \nBOOK: Women Beyond Belief: Discovering Life without Religion \nThe book is a collection of personal essays from 22 women from diverse backgrounds who tell their stories of leaving religion. From various Judeo-Christian traditions\, they talk about the shame\, guilt\, and oppression religion imposed on them and how they freed themselves from its grip. \n\nA $10 charge for this event is used to help cover the cost of the venue. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/monthly-meeting-2017-february/ LOCATION:SLC Conference Center\, 15 West 39th Street – 3rd Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10018\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Thursday Monthly Meeting END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170221T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170221T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170128T014000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170215T215847Z UID:36174-1487703600-1487710800@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:February Discussion Night DESCRIPTION:Topic: Should folks from Islamic nations be denied entry into the US or welcomed? \nHost:  Lee Moore \nThe event is free\, but please purchase food or drink to compensate Stone Creek for the use of their space. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/february-2017-discussion-night/ LOCATION:Stone Creek Bar and Lounge\, 140 East 27th St.\, New York\, NY\, 10016\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Tuesday Discussion Night END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170212T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170212T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170127T073817Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170127T074138Z UID:36167-1486900800-1486911600@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:February Brunch & Speaker DESCRIPTION:SPEAKER: JOANNE SOUZA\, Ph.D\nDirector\, Biology Online / Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology / STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY \nSUBJECT: DARWIN: One of Darwin’s unanswered questions: In what ways are humans unique among animals and how did we get that way within the process of evolution by natural selection? \nDESCRIPTION: Charles Darwin’s major contribution to science was his theory of evolution explaining biological change over time made possible by the process of natural selection. His science predicting that all life shares a common ancestor shook the religious belief systems at the time and continues to do so today. His theory was not only disruptive of traditional belief\, but also scientifically revolutionary. He started scientists in a direction that would allow them to continue to gain more insight into biological life\, culminating in the contemporary molecular revolution and initial breakthroughs in social and behavioral evolution\, including development of kin-selection theory by Bill Hamilton\, George C. Williams and others. However\, could natural selection explain the apparently unprecedented properties of humans? Could it explain that we even comprehend our own ultimate origins\, that we are highly intelligent\, and have a strong ethical and moral system? Could natural selection explain our uniquely large degree of social cooperation between non-closely related individuals\, a cooperative scale that has continued to grow in size over our ~2 million year history as a species? Could it explain our expanded language capabilities which extend far beyond those of non-human animals? Could it explain the evolution of human emotions such as guilt and moral outrage? Could it explain our ability to put a man on the Moon? We have now progressed to the point in our understanding of evolution to say\, yes\, evolution by natural selection could and did produce such a human animal. Come\, enjoy the science and contribute to a discussion on this new scientific understanding. \nThe cost of this event is $20 which includes a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch followed by our guest speaker. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/brunch-2017-february/ LOCATION:The Press Box\, 932 2nd Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10022\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Sunday Brunch and Speaker END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170126T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170126T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20161207T052846Z LAST-MODIFIED:20161219T185015Z UID:36038-1485455400-1485464400@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:January Monthly Meeting DESCRIPTION:Host: Ken Bronstein \n\nSpeaker: Julien Musolino Ph.D.\, Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics at Rutgers University \nTopic: The Soul Fallacy: What Science Shows We Gain From Letting Go of Our Soul Beliefs \n\nA $10 charge for this event is used to help cover the cost of the venue. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/monthly-meeting-2017-january/ LOCATION:SLC Conference Center\, 15 West 39th Street – 3rd Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10018\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Thursday Monthly Meeting END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170122T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170122T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20170117T233124Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170117T233426Z UID:36147-1485086400-1485097200@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:Anti-Trump Demonstration DESCRIPTION:NYC Atheists whose primary mission is the separation of church and state\, will be demonstrating against President Trump’s pledged policies that undermine those protections: \n§  Pledge to appoint conservative judges on the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal benches. (As The Washington Post reports\, there are more than 100 vacancies on the federal bench\, \n§  Backing of efforts to allow discrimination based upon religious and moral conviction against LGBTQ citizens. \n§  His vow to repeal the Johnson Amendment\, a provision in federal law that prohibits non-profits\, including houses of worship\, from endorsing or opposing political candidates. \n§  The defunding of Planned Parenthood. \n§  The expansion of private school voucher plans that would direct tax dollars to religious schools. \nLOCATION: 5TH AVENUE / 57TH STREET – NORTHEAST CORNER URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/anti-trump-demonstration/ LOCATION:NY CATEGORIES:ALL,Other END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170117T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170117T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20161219T185121Z LAST-MODIFIED:20170109T193547Z UID:36067-1484679600-1484686800@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:January Discussion Night DESCRIPTION:Topic: \nWhat can the Atheist community do to combat Sexism\, Racism\, and\nany other form of discrimination in our nation?  Should we take up\nthese issues as passionately as we fight for the separation of church\nand state? \nHost:  Lee Moore \nThe event is free\, but please purchase food or drink to compensate Stone Creek for the use of their space. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/december-2017-discussion-night/ LOCATION:Stone Creek Bar and Lounge\, 140 East 27th St.\, New York\, NY\, 10016\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Tuesday Discussion Night END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20170108T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20170108T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20161219T183501Z LAST-MODIFIED:20161219T184629Z UID:36062-1483876800-1483887600@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:January Brunch & Speaker DESCRIPTION:Speaker:  Barbara Mancini \nTopic: The Legal Battles Over Assisted Suicide \n\nA Pennsylvania county judge has thrown out an assisted suicide case against a 58-year-old nurse named Barbara Mancini\, who was accused of homicide last year for allegedly handing her 93-year-old father a bottle of morphine. This case was also featured story on CBS’ 60 minutes. \nMs. Mancini is an advocate for Compassion & Choices\, the nation’s oldest\, largest and most active nonprofit organization committed to improving care and expanding choice at the end of life. Across the nation\, They work ensure healthcare providers honor and enable patients’ decisions about their care. \nThe cost of this event is $20 which includes a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch followed by our guest speaker. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/brunch-2017-january/ LOCATION:The Press Box\, 932 2nd Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10022\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Sunday Brunch and Speaker END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20161227T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20161227T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20161207T052440Z LAST-MODIFIED:20161207T052746Z UID:36035-1482865200-1482872400@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:December Discussion Night DESCRIPTION:Subject: Atheism and the Holidays \nShould we atheists celebrate religious holidays? Should we change them? Should we start our own? \nHost:  Lee Moore \nThe event is free\, but please purchase food or drink to compensate Stone Creek for the use of their space. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/december-discussion-night/ LOCATION:Stone Creek Bar and Lounge\, 140 East 27th St.\, New York\, NY\, 10016\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Tuesday Discussion Night END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20161211T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20161211T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20161202T173637Z LAST-MODIFIED:20161202T174444Z UID:36021-1481457600-1481468400@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:December Brunch & Speaker DESCRIPTION:Video:  Written\, directed\, and produced by Roderick Bradford \nTopic: The Truth Seeker: D.M. Bennett \n\nD.M. BENNETT (1818-1882) was pronounced guilty for violating the Comstock Law in New York on March 21\, 1879. “The trial of Dr. Bennett for sending obscene matter through the mails is one of the most important of the day\,” declared The New York Sun. The judge’s ruling\, a Washington Capitol newspaper reporter opined\, “surpassed anything of the sort since Pontius Pilate\, and would make it dangerous to mail a Bible or a copy of Shakespeare to anyone.” \nOn June 5\, 1879\, the editor of The Truth Seeker was fined $300 and confinement at hard labor for thirteen months to be executed in the Albany Penitentiary. (A twelve-month sentence would have allowed the 60-year-old writer to remain incarcerated in New York City where friends and family could have visited.) “There was malice in that thirteen month sentence\,” wrote future Truth Seeker editor George Macdonald. The judge also denied D.M. Bennett’s request to have the sentence deferred until the Supreme Court could hear the case. \nD.M. Bennett was imprisoned for mailing Cupid’s Yokes\, a polemical pamphlet written by free-love advocate Ezra Heywood which promoted women’s rights and criticized puritanical obscenity laws. As an American citizen––and a passionate opponent of censorship––Bennett believed that he had the right to challenge the ill-defined Comstock Law and sell the pamphlet. \nD.M. Bennett’s conviction and imprisonment became a cause célèbre for freethinkers and free-speech advocates. Authors\, abolitionists\, physicians\, reformers\, scientists and suffragists supported Bennett’s fight for freedom of the press. A petition with more than 200\,000 names––the largest petition campaign of the 19th century––was sent to President Rutherford B. Hayes asking for a pardon for the elderly editor. \nD.M. Bennett languished in the Albany Penitentiary where\, despite suffering from the stigma attached to selling alleged “obscenity” and near death from harsh prison conditions\, he managed to write numerous unrepentant letters published in The Truth Seeker and later compiled in a book. Robert G. Ingersoll––The Great Agnostic tried to persuade his fellow Republican to pardon the gravely ill editor. The eminent attorney provided the president with a list of New York booksellers who openly sold the ubiquitous pamphlet. According to his presidential diary\, Hayes was already aware that Cupid’s Yokes was sold “by the thousand” at bookstores. \nOn his annual spring visit to observe prison conditions at Albany Penitentiary\, the Attorney General’s Acting Commissioner C. K. Chase informed Bennett that Attorney General Devens\, and every man that was prominently connected with the government had pronounced his imprisonment a “gross outrage.” Chase added\, “Yes\, that is just the way it is; every man I know of connected with the government is in favor of your liberation\, except the president\, and him alone. The fact is\, Bennett\, the church is too strong for you; that influence has secured the cooperation of the president\, and it is too strong for you.” \nChase was correct\, “every man” was in favor of Bennett’s liberation. But not the First Lady who was lobbying her “Ruddy” in the White House. Lucy Hayes a devout Methodist known to have considerable influence over her husband received advice from her pastor and along petition from Sunday school students opposing a pardon. “There is great heat on both sides of the question” Hayes wrote in his diary. “The religious world are against the pardon\, the unbelievers are for it.” Cupid’s Yokes author Ezra Heywood was also convicted\, imprisoned\, and pardoned. President Rutherford B. Hayes––pardoned the author of the pamphlet––but refused to pardon a man who merely sold it. On March 27\, 1892––a decade after D.M. Bennett’s death––Hayes confessed in his diary: “I was never satisfied\, as I would wish with the correctness of the result to which I came chiefly in deference to the courts. ‘Cupid’s Yokes’ was a free-love pamphlet of bad principles\, and in bad taste\, but Colonel Ingersoll had abundant reason for his argument that it was not\, in the legal sense\, ‘an obscene publication.’” We firmly believe that after 138 years\, D.M. Bennett deserves to be unequivocally exonerated for mailing a pamphlet which he did not write and was not obscene. Therefore\, we are asking New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to grant a posthumous pardon to D.M. Bennett: THE TRUTH SEEKER. \nThe cost of this event is $20 which includes a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch followed by our guest speaker. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/brunch-2016-december/ LOCATION:The Press Box\, 932 2nd Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10022\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Sunday Brunch and Speaker END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20161122T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20161122T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20161105T140650Z LAST-MODIFIED:20161105T140830Z UID:35962-1479841200-1479848400@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:November Discussion Night DESCRIPTION:Subject: TBA \nHost:  Lee Moore \nThe event is free\, but please purchase food or drink to compensate Stone Creek for the use of their space. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/november-discussion-night/ LOCATION:Stone Creek Bar and Lounge\, 140 East 27th St.\, New York\, NY\, 10016\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Tuesday Discussion Night END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20161117T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20161117T210000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20161105T140917Z LAST-MODIFIED:20161105T141134Z UID:35964-1479407400-1479416400@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:November Monthly Meeting DESCRIPTION:Host: Ken Bronstein \n\nSpeaker: Jon McGinn \nTopic: CRISPR: All about this world-changing genome editing technique. \n\nA $10 charge for this event is used to help cover the cost of the venue. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/monthly-meeting-2016-november/ LOCATION:SLC Conference Center\, 15 West 39th Street – 3rd Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10018\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Thursday Monthly Meeting END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20161113T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20161113T150000 DTSTAMP:20260420T025537 CREATED:20161102T150944Z LAST-MODIFIED:20161102T151147Z UID:35951-1479038400-1479049200@nycatheists.org SUMMARY:November Brunch & Speaker DESCRIPTION:Speaker:  Panel Discussion \nTopic: What should be the atheist agenda after the election? \n\nThe cost of this event is $20 which includes a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch followed by our guest speaker. URL:https://nycatheists.org/event/brunch-2016-november/ LOCATION:The Press Box\, 932 2nd Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10022\, United States CATEGORIES:ALL,Sunday Brunch and Speaker END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR