December 21, by Groff Schroeder: Freethought Views, December 2021

December 21

by Groff Schroeder

We humans have long gazed into the night sky at beautiful objects we, at first, did not understand. Late at night and far from artificial light, you can still see them. The inky black sky, split by a diagonal, thickened band of seemingly infinite, shimmering points of light we called stars. Fleeting streaks of light. Rarely, a star grows suddenly very bright, then fades away. The moon, first full bright, then cyclically darkening, as if being eaten by an impossibly large mouth. Several lights were especially bright and moved faster than the others - sometimes in inexplicable ways. We called them planets - and thought them gods. And every day, the bright, warming sun seems to rise in the east, arcs across the sky, then sets in the west. The seasons came and went. The flowering of spring, the growth of summer, the chilling fall, the cold of winter. Time after time. Year after year. When the food moved or the climate changed, so did we. And from the beginning, many of our lives depended upon predicting the changing of the seasons.

Thwarted Freedoms, by Groff Schroeder: Freethought Views, September October 2021

Thwarted Freedoms

By Groff Schroeder

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that adolescent girls visit a gynecologist by age thirteen. In Texas today, this medically important and once deeply private coming of age event for adolescent girls and their families presents significant financial and personal risk. In apparent violation of their oaths of office under the United States Constitution, on September 1, 2021, conservative fundamentalist Texas politicians advanced Law SB 8 into force. On the same day, also in apparent violation of their oaths of office, five justices of the United States Supreme Court allowed SB 8 to become law, ignoring the fact that SB 8 uses circuitous means to thwart many civil rights and human freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights. Specifically, SB 8 makes most abortions illegal, enlists “any person” to enforce Texas law (aka vigilantes) through civil suit, pays court fees and at least $10,000 if they prevail, eliminates double jeopardy protection and most legal defenses for the accused, and establishes state law enforced, de facto reproductive enslavement of women and girls to rapists. SB 8 grants sweeping new powers over the lives, bodies, and reproductive processes of women and girls to state government, vigilantes, rapists, and basically anyone and everyone - except women and girls.

Freethinker discussion Humanist Ukraine aid

  We recently read about a Humanist group in Poland helping Ukraine refugees.
We have been donating money through the usual corporate groups, but give
to a like mind group of people who are in the right position to help  also
sounded nice.  Becky checked with her Humanist International friends and confirmed
the group's identity and history.
  They have some good pictures of they folks they are helping on their web site.

Religious exemptions: An excess of privilege, by Ken Burrows: Freethought Views, November 2021

Religious exemptions: An excess of privilege

By Ken Burrows

More than a century ago, in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) upheld a state’s mandatory smallpox vaccination law over the objection of a pastor who claimed the law violated his religious freedom. The Court stated: “Upon the principle of self-defense, of paramount necessity, a community has the right to protect itself against an epidemic of disease which threatens the safety of its members.”

Freethinkers Women's group meeting

It is great to see the enthusiasm! At our FIRST TWO meetings we have seen dozens of new members step forward to get active with this group.   Today there are some concerns about the COVID rise in our area and others who are finding it challenging to get out in the evening, so we are going to try a hybrid model for this month's meeting.
Those who want to meet in person, show up as usual. Those who would rather not meet in person, please join us Join Zoom Meeting :

Another Religion, by Groff Schroeder: Freethought Views, October 2020

Another Religion

by Groff Schroeder

 

Since the dawn of time, spontaneous abortion (“miscarriage”), defects, illness, inadequate finances or support etc. have created life and death medical necessities related to problem and unintended pregnancies. Today, numerous effective forms of birth control help to reduce both pregnancy and abortion. Planned Parenthood and other medical care providers provide not only various forms of low cost preventative health care, but also free and reduced cost birth control, and between 2009 and 2017, participation in Colorado's pioneering LARC (long acting reversible contraception) experiment yielded a 35% decrease in birth rate and a 41% decrease in abortion for women ages 20 and 24 years, and a 50% decrease in birth rate and a 60% decrease in abortion for women between 16 and 19.

 

The limits to religious freedom, by Ken Burrows: Freethought Views, September 2020

The limits to religious freedom

By Ken Burrows

 

The novel coronavirus pandemic has told us a lot about the origins of disease agents, infection risks, society’s response to an outbreak, and more. Less prominent in the headlines has been a separate but pivotal COVID-19 risk issue: the danger of allowing “religious freedom” claims to pose virus-related harm to others.

Goodbye Jan Brazill

Goodbye Jan Brazill

Jan Brazill, a lifelong voice for women’s rights and for separation of church and state passed away on May 15th 2020 at the age of 93. Jan was a long-time member and enthusiastic supporter of the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs.

TAKING ACTION by Jim "Hawk" Hawkins

TAKING ACTION

by Jim "Hawk" Hawkins

 

We are aware of the urgencies facing our nation and the world. The American Humanist Association publishes resolutions on key issuesi which address the critical issues of climate change, affirming human rights, fighting for voting rights and the equal rights amendment for women’s equality, and protecting ourselves (especially our children) from gun violence. Such urgencies cause a variety of responses from each of us, from indifference to protest to outright civic disobedience, and the activity of the people will range from apathy to activism.

A Thought-Provoking Evening with Rob Rogers: Social, Political, and Religious Insights

Join us for an engaging and informative evening with Rob Rogers, a prominent local activist, and political candidate, as he shares his insights and concerns about the current social, political, and religious landscape in the United States. The event will commence with a 20-30 minute presentation by Mr. Rogers, followed by a moderated discussion in which all attendees are encouraged to participate.

Date & Time: May 10th, 6:00 PMLocation: Ruth Holley Library, 685 N Murray Blvd, near Platte.

Freethinkers Potluck social, food,drink conversation

Freethinkers Social for conversation, new friends and food !

Our Freethinkers Social will be Saturday April 8 from 5pm to 8ish pm at a members home near Academy Blvd and Dublin Road in northern Colorado Springs. This a monthly gathering ( 2nd Saturday each month) for rational, religiously doubting, Freethinking individuals to gather with like-minded people and share their liberal, progressive outlooks toward our world. This event is open to everyone.

March Freethinker Social and Dinner 5pm

Our March 11th Freethinkers Social will be Saturday from 5 to 8ish pm at a member's home near Academy Blvd and Austin Bluffs. We ask everyone to bring a food dish or drink to share, but if you would rather NOT join that practice, feel free to eat before you come and just enjoy the conversation. Wine and beer are always popular. The house usually provides coffee and water. For those who enjoy a true potluck, you'll find an amazing selection of casseroles, meat dishes, vegetable only dishes, salads, deserts, sliced veggies, and Dave's reliable Costco Pizza.

Women's rally and March, Sat. Jan 21 at 11 am

Bigger Than Roe Colorado Springs

We are ALL born free and equal in dignity and rights. The Supreme Court of the U.S. and the United States Congress have failed in their obligation to protect, respect, and uphold our human rights. The women's wave delivered a blow to anti-freedom politicians in the 2022 midterms, and now we are taking the fight out of D.C. and into every single state in this country.

Triumph of Reason: The Scientific Method by Groff Schroeder: Freethought Views, March 31, 2021

Triumph of Reason: The Scientific Method

by Groff Schroeder

All modern technology stems from the scientific method. Misrepresented by detractors as everything from fraud to religion, the scientific method defines a group of repeatable, verifiable and predictive practices that have led humans to the pinnacle of technology upon which we now stand. From its first inception in the work of Archimedes, the use of measurement and experiment to unlock the secrets of nature has resulted in some of the most important advancements in history.

Religion’s limits, by Ken Burrows: Freethought Views, November 2020

Religion’s limits

By Ken Burrows

 

While the Constitution guarantees rights such as free speech, gun ownership, peaceable assembly, and free exercise of religion, these and most other rights have limits. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes notably said in 1919 that it is not permissible to yell “fire!” in a crowded theater and cause a panic—a now popularly quoted limit on free speech. When the Supreme Court in 2008 broadened the individual’s right to bear arms, Justice Antonin Scalia noted: “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited. [It is] not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever.” Courts have ruled that the right to peaceably assemble can be limited if it can be demonstrated that a gathering raises a clear and present danger of violence or similar threat to public safety.

 

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Thank you for your interest in the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs.

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Join the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs, support the publication of the Freethought Views column in the Colorado Springs Independent, participate in Freethinkers of Colorado Springs events (most are free anyway), and receive a monthly newsletter.

 

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Propaganda Techniques

Propaganda Techniques

Organized techniques of propaganda (a.k.a. weaponized deception) have been successfully applied in politics and war since at least World War One - and probably since the dawn of war.  Although few people understand propaganda today, books on propaganda and were best sellers in the 1920's.  Propaganda is so powerful it was used to trick the educated and egalitarian people of Germany into a disastrous Second World War some 20 years later after their disastrous participation in the First World War. 

Thank you

 

Thank You

The Freethinkers of Colorado Springs is a 100% volunteer Colorado nonprofit charitable organization and a US IRS 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 1993 in response to Colorado's infamous "Amendment 2," which amended the Colorado Constitution to prohibit "any statute, regulation, ordinance or policy" through which gays, lesbians, or bisexuals could "have or claim any minority status, quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination." Amendment 2 (also known as "Initiative 2") was adopted after a voter referendum, and remains a part of the Colorado Constitution to this day as Section 30b. However, Amendment 2 never became law in Colorado because an emergency injunction prevented it from being enacted initially, and Section 30b of the Colorado Constitution was declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. The 1996 Romer vs. Evans Supreme Court Decision ruled (6-3) that Amendment 2 violated the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution because it explicit[ly] "prohibits all legislative, executive or judicial action at any level of state or local government designed to protect the named class."

God's Words?

God’s Words?

by David Eckert

     Many religious belief systems represent their gods as benevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent, and their religion's holy texts as "the word of God."

Goodbye Jan Brazill

Goodbye Jan Brazill

Jan Brazill, a lifelong voice for women’s rights and for separation of church and state passed away on May 15th 2020 at the age of 93. Jan was a long-time member and enthusiastic supporter of the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs.

Respect for Whose Life? by Jan Brazill

Respect for Whose Life?

by Jan Brazill

March 1, 2017

 

Our newly elected president has just rushed to reinstate the “Mexico City policy,” otherwise known as the “global gag rule.” This prevents non-governmental organizations working abroad from receiving federal funding for family planning if they perform abortions or even talk to their clients about abortion. (The rule applies even though clinics are prohibited from using US funds for abortions anyway.)

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