The Jewmanist

I know this story is a few days old, but- wow.

NEW YORK — Bicyclists planning a protest ride through New York City are calling it their “Freedom Ride” – free of clothing, that is. The removal of clothing during Saturday’s ride is meant as a protest over the removal of a bike lane in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

Bicycling advocates say the city erased the bike lane from the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood because some conservative residents were upset about seeing women in skimpy clothing ride by every day.

The conservative Jewish faithful say that’s not the issue. They say it’s about safety. A Bloomberg spokesman notes that there is another bike lane nearby that is separated from car traffic.

The naked protesters, meanwhile, will face some fierce weather Saturday: Forecasters are predicting snow and brisk winds.

[Read more.]

Well, if it’s all about safety, I get it. But really?

[More photos]

Vjack writes an important and moving post concerning the implications for atheists from the Proposition 8 California Supreme Court Ruling.

Proposition 8 should be a nightmare scenario for any atheist because it shows us that well-funded religious groups can essentially mold the law to enforce their bigotry. They believed that same-sex marriage is immoral on the basis of their religion, and they effectively banned it.

History provides numerous examples of where privileged Christians have legislated their view of morality. Whether we think of prohibition, anti-miscegenation laws, or efforts to censor certain forms of music in the 1980s and 1990s, we see a common theme emerging. These groups want to force their religion on others through theocratic means. They threaten everything that makes America worthwhile.

It seems that many of my atheist bloggers haven’t covered the Anonymous Protest against Scientology. (The name is copyrighted… and quite frankly I have heard frightening stories of their lawyers harassing just about anyone who criticizes this “religion”.) Read more at Xenu.net.

As you may or may not be aware, I do have some issues with actual religions but I do have respect for them at the same time. That is to say, I respect that no one’s reputation is ruined for dissenting from other churches, except for (at most) being ostracized from that particular community. Even the Catholic church doesn’t have lawyers and people watching you. Sure they’ll do there own version of “brain washing”, or whatever you’d like to call it, but not the sort of preying on the emotionally weak as these Scientologists like to do. Sure, many of them are trying to help and just can’t see from outside the box.