SSA Conference!

Just a short post, as I'm leaving soonish and still need to pack (curse you, procrastination!), but I'm heading off to the Secular Student Alliance's annual conference in Columbus, Ohio today, and I am excited!

As far as what I hope to get out of this, I'd really like to learn more about how to make a group female-friendly... but not in a way that's just targeting females. I'd also like to hear any opinions on making to whole "ladies' issues" engaging to guys without resorting to "it might get you laid." Quite frankly, I'm of the opinion that most problems are "human issues," rather than men's or women's specifically, but there I don't run into a whole lot of agreement on this.

To put it frankly, how the hell do I get a (mostly male) group to talk about something like the proposed requirement for health insurance providers to provide birth control free of charge without having them think that the only reason it's important is because they're less likely to knock someone up if it's put into effect?

Also, how to run better events. How to strike the right balance between what some people want and what others disagree with. How to forge good relations with faith-based groups. How to figure out whether something's a rumor or not, and how to keep it from spreading while we find out (more on this later). And whether anyone knows if Rock Beyond Belief is actually going to happen (seriously, I want to go)!

All that said, I'm mostly excited to meet everyone else there. I mean, c'mon, it's a conference which, if I extrapolate based on previous experiences with the Freethinkers, will be full of awesome people. Also, the awesome speaker list.

And I can't lie; I really just want to hug PZ Myers.... he just looks so huggable!

Lipstick Feminism, or Why Dressing Like a Prostitute Still Promotes Sexism

I'm sure by now everyone and their mother has heard about the whole "Elevatorgate" thing, and the ensuing blogoshpere explosion over... well, everything involved (if you didn't – and I'll admit, I was in the dark for a while myself on this one – you can learn more about the whole controversy via Jen McCreight's blogpost on the matter or Greta Christina's great piece on why it's important, or really, just about any blog with any kind of opinions on atheism/feminism). Maybe you also saw Matt Dillahunty's awesome first (and probably only) go at drag this week on Atheist Experience.

With all that as a lead-in (and also because I feel like it), I figured now would be a great time to talk about how pissed it makes me when people either claim that feminists are manhating ugly women who need to get laid, or make the seemingly opposite claim that women embracing the culturally-prescribed social norm of looking hot will magically make misogyny a thing of the past.

Actually, now that I think about it, I really don't have to talk much about that first thing other than to say, "That's wrong, as well as stupid." Feminism opposes misogyny, but this is not the same as hating men; wanting to take privilege out of the equation doesn't mean feminists think males are inferior, but rather that we'd all like to be equal, thank you very much. Feminists aren't uglier than non-feminists any more than atheists are uglier than theists (though Conservapedia would have you think we're all fatties). Feminism is not restricted to females, just as advocating for gay rights isn't restricted to people who identify as LGBTetc. As regards to getting laid, well,  I doubt we need it any more desperately than anyone else, and certainly less than some!

I'm Still Alive, I Swear

Well, I am apparently ill-suited to regular updates in the summer. I suspect it's the lack of structure in my schedule; I feel like I have more time than I really do, so I keep putting things off. This is clearly something I need to work on.

Basically, this is post is just an update on my personal life combined with a promise of actual posts to come. I promise! I'll write something! Maybe even this week!

All in all, this summer has been completely awesome. It's also been busier than any summer except, perhaps, for the one prior to my senior year of high school. This summer, I have done the following:

Giles County's Unconstitutional Ten Commandments Decision

I know everyone thought I'd been raptured, since I've been terribly neglectful of this blog for the last month, but I promise, I'm still here, and still in Blacksburg, even.

In fact, I'm still meeting up with the Freethinkers, and we are doing epic things this summer! Yesterday's epic adventure was our trip out to the Giles County School Board Meeting to show our support for keeping the “historical documents” display – the one that includes the Ten Commandments – out of public schools. This has apparently been an issue since at least 2004, and probably much longer.

Just to be clear, in my personal opinion, the Ten Commandments has no place in a display of historical documents that were instrumental in the formation of American law. In fact, 70% of the Ten Commandments aren't addressed at all in American law codes. Last I checked, we were still allowed to disrespect whomever we pleased, have whatever deities or idols (or lack thereof!) we care to have (in whatever order we want), party all day on Sundays, swear however we like, covet anything we damn well want, and, in many states, have sex with anyone willing and of age and sound mind (at any rate, there's no federal law governing adultery); only murder, theft, and bearing false witness are illegal on a federal level. Beyond that, I think I can go out on a limb and say that most – if not all – legal codes have always and still do include admonishments against murder, theft, and lying to get other people in trouble and/or cover your own ass. There is no real evidence or support for the claim that the Ten Commandments are historically significant in the codification of United States law.

On a related note, I'd like to put forth that if they wanted to put up something really old that influenced United States legal tradition (and probably legal traditions in much of the modern world), they need look no further than the Code of Hammurabi. It is the oldest recorded legal code ever discovered, after all, and it even covers murder, theft, and false witness.

National Day of... Really, Guys?

So, I can't pretend I've actually been paying a whole lot of attention (what with studying for exams and writing end-of-term papers taking precedence over even my blog-reading addiction), but even I know that today was the National Day of Prayer.

A friend of mine put forth the opinion that given that today is Cinco de Mayo, the National Day of Prayer probably should've come afterward, so that folks could easily repent for their tequila-fueled transgressions.

Of course, I opined that the whole thing was planned on the fifth on purpose so as to try to offset some of the terribly unamerican partying that goes on. I mean, what's less American than celebrating a Mexican holiday?? We'll only encourage illegal immigrants like that! Clearly we should all get down on our knees and pray for those damn dirty Mexicans to get out of our country and stop doing the jobs no one else wants to do. Like construction. Or farm work. You know, all those unnecessary things that we couldn't possibly pay a fair wage for.

To be quite serious, though, government sponsorship of this kind of event is unconstitutional and divisive. I'd also suggest that the people in charge of this nonsense bone up on classics like the Treaty of Tripoli. Not that they'd actually give a damn about anything that didn't support their desire to push their beliefs on others.

And it's not that I've really got much hope left for politicians, especially any in the "moral" majority, but somehow my opinion of the government just keeps sinking and sinking. Oh well, I'm surely getting old and jaded.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the little protest at the Planned Parenthood here in Blacksburg. Because just praying for all the poor little bunches of cells isn't enough.

Sigh.