By Ken Bronstein. In our July / August 2016 NYC Atheists newsletter we explained the critical importance of being a single-ticket voter in November. Only an across-the-board Democratic victory can prevent a Republican-controlled Congress from approving conservative Justices (like Antonin Scalia) to the Supreme Court. Note: there may be as many as four seats in…
By Ken Bronstein. The conventions are coming! From July 18-21 in Cleveland (Republican) and July 25-28 in Philadelphia (Democratic), delegates will confirm their Presidential nominees—Trump and Clinton. They will also confirm the vice-Presidential running mates. Their other important business will be to write and ratify their party’s platform. Pay close attention to it—for yourself and…
By Ken Bronstein. Last fall I asked our members to contribute their time and energy, and got them, in spades: Our dynamic newsletter and web site redesigns have drawn increased attention, commitment, and new members. In November/December’s sermon, I pointed out the enormous importance of the single-issue (Separation of Church and State) 2016 voter campaign…
By Ken Bronstein. Societal change takes time and effort. We sometimes forget that the NAACP, one of the early movements to improve the lot of African Americans, has been going for more than 100 years. For Atheists, separation of church and state has become the important cause to defend as our nation has moved relentlessly…
By Ken Bronstein. Now we’re talking—and doing, too! I asked for help, ideas, and energy, and you produced them. I’m proud of the membership for pitching in, and excited about where that will take us. Of course you’ve noticed Edwin Vazquez’s brilliant design of our newsletter; what a difference it makes! And you can read…
By Ken Bronstein. President Obama is not mincing words: At his White House press conference following the massacre of nine students in Oregon, he stated “Our thoughts and prayers are not enough! For those who want to see tighter gun laws, we must become ‘single-issue voters.” The president predicted there would be little action in…
We have our work cut out for us: with the 2016 presidential election and its crowded, combative field full of Religious Rightists dedicated to ending the Separation of Church and State, it’s time for us fight back—hard. We need to be at the table when decisions are made by our elected officials. We need strategies,…
As reported on December 2, 2014 in the Religious News Service (RNS): Should clergy divorce themselves from civil marriage? In a survey of 2,000 American adults, the Nashville-based Christian research company (LifeWay Research) found that 36 percent of them said that clergy should no longer be involved in the stateʼs licensing of marriage. LifeWay also…
DESTROYING SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE BEGINS AT HOME Recent news articles have reported that Mayor de Blasio, attempting to expand his pre-Kindergarten school program for four-year-olds, has invited the participation of New York’s Hasidic Jewish community. Mayor de Blasio with pre-kindergarten students As a condition of their participation, the community’s Yeshivas (schools for Orthodox…
Somewhere in my 10-year tenure as president of NYC Atheists, it occurred to me that I am basically an Atheist “activist.” And that NYCA is a group composed mainly of Atheist activists. Oh, not that reading Atheist books or listening to Atheist lectures isn’t worthy in itself; in fact, we do plenty of that. Lectures…