The monthly potluck social for March will be at the home of Gary Betchan and Rebecca Hale April is up in the air until somebody volunteers. The socials normally takes place on the second Saturday of each month. April's on Saturday, April 10th. Unfortunately, if no one volunteers to host a social in a given month, there is no social that month. If you'd be interested in hosting an upcoming social, please call Rich at 719.594.4506.

The February 2010 Freethinkers of Colorado Springs Board of Directors Meeting occured on February 19, 2010. 

Freethinkers of Colorado Springs (FTCS) Board of Directors Members Deborah Daly, Ken Fulton, Fred Kormos, Harvey LeCato, Douglas Schrepel and Groff Schroeder attended the meeting and constituted a quorum.  Member Bret Stageberg resigned prior to the meeting and the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs Board of Directors extends its thanks to Bret for his participation in the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs Board of Directors. 

Last November, with the Thanksgiving holiday bearing down on me, I awoke to a sensational media claim (again).  A 46-year-old Brussels man named Rom Houben, presumed to be in a coma for the last 23 years, had in fact been fully conscious for most of that time.  There was the evidence, right in front of me!  Mr. Houben was communicating with the aid of a computer.  Well, almost.  His right hand, firmly held by a “speech therapist,” with index finger extended, was typing on a computer keyboard.  The therapist was acting as a facilitator, sensing Mr.

Today people throughout the world are celebrating the birthday of a great man of science, Charles Darwin. Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection has been hailed as one of the greatest scientific theories of all time. In a nutshell, Darwin discovered that all species that exist on the earth today, including man, all are descendants of a common ancestor that had been endlessly modified over time through natural selection.

War makes it legal to kill people on the industrial scale. Success is uncertain, and killing both “combatants” (formerly soldiers) and “non-combatants” (formerly civilians) is acceptable - under certain circumstances. International law(1) and ethical ideals forbid "pre-emptive" war against people who might attack in the future – but allows people under attack to defend themselves with defensive and aggressive deadly force. Therefore, pre-emptive war appears to facilitate, if not guarantee, the outcome it supposedly prevents.

Freethinkers have their very own on the ground helping in Haiti.Humanist Charities(HC)is working with Sebastian Velez, evolutionary biologist at Harvard University and director of the Children of the Border project.
Mr. Velez is currently in Haiti assessing the situation and will report back to Humanist Charities an organization that can receive funds directly to help with relief efforts. If none is found, HC will make a donation to the American Red Cross' International Response Fund on your behalf.

The Pikes Peak Skeptics Society is holding their monthly Drinking Skeptically event.

Drinking Skeptically is an informal social event designed to promote fellowship and networking among skeptics, critical-thinkers, and like-minded individuals.

Drinking Skeptically provides an opportunity for skeptics to talk, share ideas (and yes, drink) in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. We discuss the issues of the day and whatever else is on our minds. Most of all this event is about having fun.

Everyone is welcome even if you do not drink.

For more information please check out:

http://www.meetup.com/pikespeakskeptics/

Weather permitting, there will be a hike on Sunday, January 17th. The hike will be the trails around Ute Valley Park. There are several trails from which to choose. They are all relatively easy trails. The parking lot is off Vindicator Drive a bit east of Centennial Blvd, but is very small and very crowded on weekends. Therefore, we will carpool from the Woodmen Valley park-n-ride, which is just south off of Woodmen Road just west of interstate 25. We will leave the Woodmen Valley park-n-ride at 10:00 AM.

Margaret Downey is one of the great activists of the Freethought movement. She has served on the boards of almost all of the national organizations and is immediate past president of Atheist Alliance International.

For millennia, humans have celebrated the winter solstice (the actual "reason for the seasons") at this time of year.

National Geographic: Winter Solstice 2009: Facts on Shortest Day of the Year