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Reason Rally (2016)
The first Reason Rally was a public gathering for secularism and religious skepticism held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on March 24, 2012. The rally was sponsored by major atheistic and secular organizations of the United States and was regarded as a "Woodstock for atheists and skeptics". A second Reason Rally was held June 4, 2016 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Speakers and performers at the first rally included biologist Richard Dawkins, physicist Lawrence M. Krauss, musician Tim Minchin, ''MythBusters'' co-host Adam Savage, actor-comedian Eddie Izzard, Paul Provenza, PZ Myers, Jessica Ahlquist, Dan Barker, and magician James Randi, and others. The punk rock band Bad Religion performed and other notables (Rep. Pete Stark, Sen. Tom Harkin, comedian Bill Maher, magician Penn Jillette) addressed the crowd by video link. Participants recited the Pledge of Allegiance, deliberately omitting the phrase "under God", which was added by the U.S. Congress in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reason Rally-Crowd-3
Reason is the capacity of Consciousness, consciously applying logic by Logical consequence, drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, language, mathematics, and art, and is normally considered to be a distinguishing ability possessed by humans. Reason is sometimes referred to as rationality. Reasoning is associated with the acts of Thought, thinking and cognition, and involves the use of one's intellect. The field of logic studies the ways in which humans can use formal reasoning to produce Validity (logic), logically valid arguments. Reasoning may be subdivided into Logical form, forms of logical reasoning, such as: deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, and abductive reasoning. Aristotle drew a distinction between logical discursive reasoning (reason proper), and Intuition (psychology), intuitive reasoning, in which the reasoning proces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jessica Ahlquist
Jessica Ahlquist (born June 21, 1995) is an American activist and public speaker who filed a lawsuit in 2012 against Cranston High School West, where she was a student, to remove a religious prayer from its auditorium. The suit, '' Ahlquist v. Cranston'', was filed with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union, and was ultimately decided in Ahlquist's favor. During the lawsuit, Ahlquist received hate mail and was verbally attacked by her peers, media outlets, and online. She received death threats, and required police escorts to and from classes. On the day following the ruling, Rhode Island State Representative Peter G. Palumbo spoke on a local radio show and referred to Ahlquist as "an evil little thing". Since the lawsuit, Ahlquist has received a variety of media attention, and she has been an invited speaker at a number of events, including the Reason Rally, the Texas Freethought Convention and Skepticon 5. Two high school students from other states have descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Unbelievers
''The Unbelievers'' is a 2013 documentary film that follows Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss as they speak publicly around the globe about the importance of science and reason in the modern world, encouraging others to cast off religious and politically motivated approaches toward what they think to be important current issues. The film includes short statements by influential people and celebrities such as Stephen Hawking, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Sam Harris, Cameron Diaz, Woody Allen, Penn Jillette, Ian McEwan, and David Silverman. Making of Gus Holwerda came to know Lawrence Krauss via Christopher Hitchens and first met him at an Origins Symposium. Being at the event, which they viewed as a kind of Woodstock for science, Gus and Luke Holwerda conceived the idea of following Krauss around on his lectures and debates and documenting his venture in the style of a rock band tour movie. The plan was not realized immediately, but Krauss approached the two when the Origins Symposium ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religion News Service
Religion News Service (RNS) is a news agency covering religion, ethics, spirituality and moral issues. It publishes news, information, and commentaries on faiths and religious movements to newspapers, magazines, broadcast organizations and religious publications. It was founded in 1934. History RNS was founded in 1934 by journalist Louis Minsky as an affiliate of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Everett R. Clinchy was the managing editor and co-founder. RNS was acquired by the United Methodist Reporter in 1983, by Newhouse News Service in 1994, then by the Religion Newswriters Foundation in 2011. In April 2015, the Catholic News Agency published an article disclosing that RNS had received a grant of $120,000 from the Arcus Foundation The Arcus Foundation is an international charitable foundation focused on issues related to LGBT rights, social justice, ape conservation, and environmental preservation. The foundation's stated mission is "to ensure that LGBT peop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, as ''The Atlantic Monthly'', a literary and cultural magazine that published leading writers' commentary on education, the abolition of slavery, and other major political issues of that time. Its founders included Francis H. Underwood and prominent writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Greenleaf Whittier. James Russell Lowell was its first editor. In addition, ''The Atlantic Monthly Almanac'' was an annual almanac published for ''Atlantic Monthly'' readers during the 19th and 20th centuries. A change of name was not officially announced when the format first changed from a strict monthly (appearing 12 times a year) to a slightly lower frequency. It was a mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Uniformed Services Oath Of Office
All officers of the eight uniformed services of the United States swear or affirm an oath of office upon commissioning. It differs from that of the oath of enlistment that enlisted members recite when they enter the service. It is required by statute, the oath being prescribed by Section 3331, Title 5, United States Code. It is traditional for officers to recite the oath upon promotion but as long as the officer's service is continuous this is not required., ''Acceptance of promotions; oath of office''. Text of the Oath The oath is for an indeterminate period; no duration is specifically defined. Officers of the National Guard of the various States, however, take an additional oath: Commissioned officers O-1 (second lieutenant or ensign) through O-10 (general or admiral) and W-2 through W-5 (chief warrant officers) are commissioned under the authority of the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate; warrant officers (W-1) rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United States Constitution (1789). See alsTitle 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001 The oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed 14 June 1775 to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army.Library of CongressJournals of the Continental Congress, Volume 27/ref> The United States Army considers itself to be a continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pledge Of Allegiance (United States)
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used at present, was written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army officer in the Civil War who later authored a book on how to teach patriotism to children in public schools. In 1892, Francis Bellamy revised Balch's verse as part of a magazine promotion surrounding the World's Columbian Exposition, which celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas. Bellamy, the circulation manager for ''The Youth's Companion'' magazine, helped persuade President Benjamin Harrison to institute Columbus Day as a national holiday and lobbied Congress for a national school celebration of the day. The magazine sent leaflets containing part of Bellamy's Pledge of Allegiance to schools across the country and on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penn Jillette
Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured in numerous stage and television shows, such as '' Penn & Teller: Fool Us'' and '' Penn & Teller: Bullshit!'', and is currently headlining in Las Vegas at The Rio. Jillette serves as the act's orator and raconteur. Jillette has published eight books, including the ''New York Times'' Bestseller, '' God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales''. He is also known for his advocacy of atheism, scientific skepticism, the First Amendment, as well as previously identifying as a libertarian, and supporting free-market capitalism. Early life Jillette was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts. His mother, Valda Rudolph Jillette (née Parks; 1909–2000),Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Maher
William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar late-night show called ''Politically Incorrect'' (1993–2002), originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC. In 2022, Maher started the podcast ''Club Random''. Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary. He targets many topics including religion, political correctness, and the mass media. His critical views of religion were the basis for his 2008 documentary film ''Religulous''. He is a supporter of animal rights, having served on the board of PETA since 1997, and is an advisory board member of Project Reason. Maher supports the legalization of cannabis, serving on the advisory board of NORML. In 2005, Maher ranked at number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time. He received a Holl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Harkin
Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa's 5th congressional district from 1975 to 1985. He is the longest-serving senator to spend his whole tenure as a state's junior senator. Born in Cumming, Iowa, Harkin graduated from Iowa State University and The Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law. He served in the United States Navy as an active-duty jet pilot (1962–1967). After serving as a congressional aide for several years, he made two runs for the U.S. House of Representatives, losing in 1972 but winning in 1974. He went on to serve five terms in the House. Harkin won a race for U.S. Senate in 1984 by a wide margin. He was an early frontrunner for his party's presidential nomination in 1992, but he dropped out in support of eventual winner Bill Clinton. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pete Stark
Fortney Hillman Stark Jr. (November 11, 1931 – January 24, 2020), known as Pete Stark, was an American businessman and politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 2013. A Democrat from California, Stark's district— during his last two decades in Congress—was in southwestern Alameda County and included Alameda, Union City, Hayward, Newark, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, and Fremont (his residence during the early part of his tenure), as well as parts of Oakland and Pleasanton. At the time he left office in 2013, he was the fifth most senior Representative, as well as sixth most senior member of Congress overall. He was also the dean of California's 53-member Congressional delegation, and the only openly atheist member of Congress. After 2010 redistricting, Stark's district was renumbered as the 15th district for the 2012 election. He narrowly finished first in the primary ahead of fellow Democrat Eric Swalwell, but lost to Swalwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
