Strong Backbone Award: High school student fights ‘In God We Trust’ bill – Berry
Berry was awarded FFRF’s Strong Backbone Award, which is $1,000, funded by an octogenarian member of FFRF (who wants to be anonymous) for her activism against the “In God We Trust” bill in Iowa.
Berry writes: “I am 14 years old, a freshman in high school in Iowa, and my pronouns are they/them. This year, I testified against a bill in Iowa that would require all public school buildings to display ‘In God We Trust’ in a prominent place. I said in my testimony that displaying that phrase on public school buildings is forced religiosity and smacks of Christian nationalism. I don’t trust in God and I have a constitutionally protected right to my own beliefs and to safety in my public school. This bill is offensive to students of diverse faith, and no faith, who are all equally protected in our country.
“I have been testifying at the Iowa Capitol for three years about bills pertaining to LGBTQ-plus and other marginalized and minority communities’ rights. I enjoy being an activist. However, as a 14-year-old, I shouldn’t have to advocate for my and others’ human and civil rights.
“I am also represented by the ACLU and Lambda Legal as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state of Iowa and several school districts against SF 496, a law passed in 2023 that bans books, bans conversation about gender and sexuality (‘don’t say gay/trans’), and forcibly outs transgender, non-binary and gender fluid students to their parents. Being involved in the lawsuit and speaking up as an activist, I am leveraging my privilege as a white teenager with accepting parents and supportive community in order to advocate for everyone, including those who aren’t as fortunate or as safe as I am.
I am thankful to the Freedom From Religion Foundation for the recognition of my activism and the Strong Backbone Award. I’m grateful for all the work that they do to advocate for everyone’s rights.”
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FFRF blasts Education Dept.’s history partnership with Christian nationalist orgs
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is deeply troubled about the Department of Education’s just-announced partnership with Christian nationalist groups to turn history curricula into propaganda.
The “America 250 Civics Education Coalition,” named for this country’s approaching 250th anniversary and unveiled yesterday on Constitution Day, is being led by the America First Policy Institute, Turning Point USA, Hillsdale College and dozens of other extremist advocacy groups, many of which are dedicated to advancing the false notion that the United States was founded as a “Christian nation.” Also included are organizations such as Alliance Defending Freedom, First Liberty Institute, the Orwellian and hypocritically named Moms for Liberty and the Heritage Foundation — all of which have long track records of working to erode church/state separation and impose religious beliefs through governmental authority.
“These are not neutral academic partners,” warns FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “These are most of the national organizations leading ongoing Christian nationalist attacks on public education, reproductive freedom, LGBTQ rights — and the very concept of a secular democracy. The Department of Education should not be handing them a megaphone to bowdlerize and rewrite our nation’s history in their own Christian nationalist image.”
Turning Point USA’s education arm openly declares that its mission is to advance “God-centered” curricula while Hillsdale College is at the center of efforts to push ideologically driven charter school programs into communities nationwide. Many of the coalition’s other partners are committed to substituting mythological “Christian nation” claims for evidence-based civics instruction.
The mission statement of Hillsdale College, a small ultraconservative Christian college in Michigan, includes a promise to furnish a “theological education” and maintain “‘by precept and example’ the immemorial teachings and practices of the Christian faith.” It was founded by individuals “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings [and] . . . the perpetuity of these blessings.” The college has been in the spotlight in recent years for playing a part in rewriting Florida’s public school civics curriculum with a historically inaccurate, Christian nationalist narrative. Seventh graders, for example, have been required to “recognize the influence of the Ten Commandments on establishing the rule of law in America,” which, actually, is none at all, since there is no reference to the Ten Commandments or a deity in our foundational document, i.e., the Constitution.
FFRF warns that the coalition’s materials will promote religious indoctrination and historically inaccurate narratives that elevate Christianity while erasing the secular foundation of the Constitution and our nation.
“The Founders explicitly created a godless and secular Constitution,” adds Gaylor. “Any government partnership that suggests otherwise is indoctrination, not education.”
In light of this troubling announcement, FFRF will be filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain more details about the Department of Education’s role in this initiative, including what funding or resources may be involved and whether religiously motivated groups will be shaping official curricula or programming.
“Students deserve an accurate social studies education grounded in facts — not propaganda designed to enforce religious conformity,” says FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. “The Department of Education is legally barred from controlling school curriculum, yet this coalition puts the government in league with Christian nationalist groups to distort history. It’s a direct threat to genuine social studies education and to the separation of church and state.”
Other partners in this coalition include the American Center for Law & Justice (founded by evangelist Pat Robertson), the Center for Renewing America, the Liberty Council and PragerU, which is not a university but an entity producing video propaganda.
FFRF urges the Department of Education to withdraw from this unconstitutional partnership and recommit itself to supporting genuine, evidence-based civics education that reflects the true diversity of the United States — a country belonging equally to people of all religions and of no religion.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Thomas Jendrock Student Activist Award: Bible-infused lessons ignore law, hurt students – Rajasi Agarwal
Rajasi Agarwal has earned FFRF’s $1,000 Thomas Jendrock Student Activist Award for writing an op-ed that appeared in the Austin American-Statesman.
Rajasi writes: “I am a freshman at Westlake High School in Texas , where I am a reporter on the school newspaper, a member of the politics club, a delegate of Model United Nations and a violinist in an orchestra ensemble. In my free time, I love to read books. My favorite book series are Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, but my current interest is in dystopian novels. I particularly enjoy books by authors George Orwell and Suzanne Collins. Some of my other interests include keeping up with the news, playing the violin and writing opinion pieces. To me, the most interesting thing is human behavior. Why do cultures have the beliefs they do? Why do politicians do certain things? What are the dynamics within our own government? These questions are what drive me to read and write about politics.”
The following is Rajasi’s op-ed that ran in the Austin American-Statesman on March 24.
By Rajasi Agarwal
Starting this fall, a bible-influenced curriculum approved by the state Board of Education last November will be allowed in Texas public elementary schools. The lessons could reach as many as 7,000 schools and 2 million K-5 students.
As a second-generation Hindu teenager in Texas public schools, I find this curriculum worrying. Minority students can feel socially ostracized. Adding lessons that emphasize one religious tradition will increase social alienation for those who don’t identify with that faith.
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Percy Shelley Student Activist: ‘My anger is not misplaced; it is necessary’ – Kyria Santa
Below is Kyria’s talk to the “Revival of Reason” conference sponsored by Black Nonbelievers in March in Atlanta, which FFRF helped co-sponsor. FFRF is naming Kyria its first “Percy Shelley Student Activist,” a $2,000 scholarship fund set up by generous FFRF member Michael Meek, who was inspired by the poet. Shelley was kicked out of Oxford for circulating a pamphlet about the necessity of atheism.
By Kyria M. Santa
I want to thank Black Nonbelievers and Mandisa Thomas for this platform. It’s powerful to be in a space where I don’t have to explain myself, where my existence isn’t up for debate, and where I can be unapologetic.
I titled this talk “Why I’m Angry,” not from a place of rage, but from a refusal to suppress the righteous anger I feel about the oppression, ignorance and hypocrisy I witness daily. A significant part of this anger comes from my identity as an atheist.
Atheism shapes my worldview and my activism within the Black and Puerto Rican communities, where religion is pervasive. Christianity dominates Black spaces, while Catholicism, mixed with indigenous beliefs, dominates in Puerto Rican culture. This religious framework is ingrained in our history and family structures. But what happens when you say, “I don’t believe in God”? You’re treated like a traitor, as if you’ve abandoned your roots for questioning the unquestionable.
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Strong Backbone Award: Student calls out proselytizing teacher – Maddie
Maddie, a high school senior, has earned FFRF’s $1,000 Strong Backbone Activist award for her calling out of one of her teachers for overtly promoting his religious and political beliefs.
Maddie writes: “A teacher of mine was continuously using his authority to promote his personal political and religious beliefs in an academic setting. There was an incident where he discriminated against me in the classroom because of my atheism. I felt disrespected and humiliated. My mom reached out to FFRF and, within days, we had a resolution that will hopefully result in no other students experiencing what I did. I am so grateful to FFRF.”
The following is FFRF’s press release from that interaction.
FFRF commends district for protecting atheist students
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is applauding the Tulare Joint Union High School District’s quick response to its complaint that a high school teacher was promoting religion in class and bullying nonreligious students.
FFRF recently reported that a teacher at Mission Oak High School in Tulare, Calif., had been using his position to promote his personal religious views to a captive audience of students. FFRF’s complainant reported that the teacher had placed several inappropriate religious and political displays, including on a fridge in his classroom, reading “Pray without ceasing,” “Unborn Lives Matter” and “Let’s Go Brandon,” a euphemism for “F… Joe Biden.” Additionally, the teacher reportedly instigated a discussion with students about “666” being the “devil’s number,” which led to a student revealing their atheism. The teacher responded that an atheist is “a fool,” and students in the class reportedly made signs in the air of crosses or of praying.
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Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Mariajose Leones
I am 18 years old and graduated from King/Drew Magnet High School this year. I will be attending the University of California, Davis this fall. I intend to declare my major as psychology and plan to become a social worker. I especially want to help those in marginalized communities and those who are not privileged. I formerly served as the vice president of WLP for the 2025 school year. In my time with WLP, I was given many opportunities, including when I got to speak to Los Angeles City Council members about our group’s #Standing4BlackGirls demands. Another notable event was when I attended a #Standing4BlackGirls rally. When our group marched, I felt empowered. This was the first time I ever truly attended a rally, and this experience allowed me to understand the importance of taking action and demanding action from our local government. Being a member of the Women’s Leadership Project helped me grow as a person, and especially as an activist and advocate. Before, I would have been too shy to speak in front of a powerful group from my local government, but I found power and my voice with WLP.
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Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship Awardee: Kaysea Duarte
I’m an 18-year-old graduate of King Drew Medical Magnet High School. On Aug. 19, I will begin my service in the United States Navy, where I plan to earn my bachelor’s degree in biomedicine. My goal is to attend graduate school and become a physician assistant specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. Throughout high school, I was deeply involved in the Women’s Leadership Project, starting as a freshman presenting to other freshmen an experience that was extremely out of my comfort zone, but helped me grow into the mentor and advocate that I now am. WLP taught me the importance of addressing the common struggle of being misunderstood and allowed me to be part of building a bridge toward better understanding within my community. I presented to students, teachers, staff, and even my counselor, which helped me realize that the issues people face are not just about age, race, gender or sexual orientation, but are rooted in systemic inequality. Through my time in WLP, I’ve gained the confidence to speak up and stay true to myself, no matter the circumstance.
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Freethought Radio – September 18, 2025
We celebrate a court victory in Arkansas where a federal court issued a second preliminary injunction blocking a state law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. We criticize a “faith-based disaster recovery event” at the National Mall in which Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner proclaimed that “faith is back in our government.” We speak with Rep. Mark Pocan about the whitewashing of history in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder and the ever-growing importance of the separation between church and state.
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‘We Dissent’ celebrates Scopes Trial centennial
“We Dissent” discusses a historic trial — and its lasting impact on science education and the law.
On Episode 46, FFRF Deputy Legal Director Liz Cavell and Americans United Legal Director Rebecca Markert commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Trial. They talk about the infamous “monkey” trial and the history of teaching evolution in public schools. In an “everything old is new again” episode, they examine the impact of the trial throughout the last century and delve into the latest attempts by Christian nationalists to incorporate religious teachings into science curricula.
“We Dissent,” which first aired in May 2022, is a legal affairs show for atheists, agnostics and humanists, offering legal wisdom from the secular viewpoint of women lawyers. The show is a collaboration of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United.
Find previous episodes here, which examine developments affecting the separation of church and state, particularly in the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts. Past episodes have included discussions about court reform, religion behind bars and abortion, and feature a range of expert guests.
Episodes are available at the “We Dissent” website, YouTube channel, Spotify or wherever your podcasts are found. Be sure to stay up to date with the “We Dissent” podcast on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bluesky.
Tune in regularly at “We Dissent” for compelling legal discussion and insights!
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FFRF successfully defends Ga. students’ right to be free from religious recitation
Photo by Chelaxy Designs on Unsplash
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has ensured that a teacher in Georgia’s Jenkins County School System will not be able to force first-grade students to recite a prayer right before lunch.
A concerned parent informed the state/church watchdog that a first-grade teacher at Jenkins County Elementary School (in Millen, Ga.) was leading her students in prayer every day before they went to the cafeteria for lunch. FFRF learned that the teacher directed students to recite this explicitly religious prayer:
God is great. God is good. We will thank Him for our food. ABCEDFG. Thank you, God, for feeding me.
The parent who contacted FFRF explained that the situation “floored” them and their spouse as the teacher’s actions felt “so blatant.” “Whether Christian, another religion, or not religious, parents deserve to be in the driver’s seat of their child’s spiritual education. Math isn’t personal. Religion is,” the parent stated.
FFRF asked the district to investigate the situation and take immediate action to ensure that the teacher stopped leading her students in prayer.
“The Jenkins County School System has an obligation under the law to make certain that its teachers are not violating students’ rights by proselytizing or leading children in prayer,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district.
The teacher crossed the constitutional line by directing first-grade students to pray before every lunch, FFRF pointed out. Her actions signaled clear government favoritism toward religion over nonreligion, and Christianity above all other faiths. Students in first grade, as young as 6 years old, are extraordinarily impressionable and vulnerable to teacher influence.
Thankfully, the district was willing to listen to reason.
A letter from the school’s legal counsel confirms that the district took corrective action.
“The superintendent and elementary school administration met with [the teacher] to discuss and explain the First Amendment as it relates to the Free Exercise Clause and how requiring children to pray prior to lunch could be a violation,” Cory O. Kirby has responded. “[The teacher] has agreed to refrain from requiring any such student recitation.”
FFRF is always pleased to remedy First Amendment violations.
“It is an abuse of authority for any teacher to subject a captive audience of children in our public schools to religious worship, but the extreme youth of these students makes this situation especially egregious,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor states. “Our nation’s separation between religion and government was designed to protect students from this exact sort of coercive proselytizing. Religious instruction belongs with parents, not our public schools.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 42,000 members nationwide, including more than 600 members in the state of Georgia. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
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September 25, 2025 – Why Courts Matter: Webinar on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, Featuring FFRF’s Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Jayne (Virtual)
The Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania will host a free webinar, Why Courts Matter, on Thursday, September 25, at 6:00 p.m. (EST). The event will explore the critical role of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, with a special focus on environmental issues and the upcoming retention vote on Tuesday, November 4, when Pennsylvanians will decide whether to retain several justices on the state’s highest court.
Featured speakers include Ryan Jayne, Senior Policy Counsel at the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), who will discuss the court’s role in protecting civil rights and upholding science-based laws.
For more details and to register, click here.
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DTI Comic Book Investigation for the week of September 18, 2025
Here are all the comics printed this week in years past.
Davis v. Guerrero (2025)
On September 11, 2025, FFRF filed an amicus brief with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Davis v. Guerrero, challenging the state of Texas’ unconstitutional use of a defendant’s religious beliefs at sentencing. Texas prosecutors introduced evidence at sentencing that the defendant read satanic literature and was briefly a member in the Church of Satan. The jury then sentenced Davis to death. Texas implicitly argued that since some satanists committed violence in the name of Satan, Davis was a future danger. Since Davis is entitled to a sentencing hearing that is free of religious bias, FFRF contends that Davis’ death sentence should be vacated.
FFRF outlines three main arguments in its brief. First, Texas was hostile to a minority religion and violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause by using Davis’ religious beliefs as a factor in sentencing him to death. Second, inviting a jury to determine core tenets of a religion excessively entangles the government with that religion, violating the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. In doing this, the penalty hearing was transformed into an unconstitutional heresy trial. And third, the state’s evidence cited in the case is true of nearly any religion, and was introduced for shock value.
This brief was drafted by FFRF Legal Fellow Hirsh M. Joshi with assistance from Staff Attorney Samantha Lawrence.
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Constitution Day marred by administration’s whitewashing of slavery history
Today, Constitution Day, is the anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution in 1789. It is also ironically the Trump administration’s day to start removing “inappropriate” content that runs afoul of a March 27 executive order titled: “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”
Truth seems to be the first casualty here. The Trump II administration, with this date in mind, has been doubling down on its directives to remove or cover up displays by the National Park Service that “inappropriately disparage Americans.”
Among recent demands, the administration ordered the removal of an iconic 1863 photograph from Fort Pulaski National Monument in Georgia (pictured above), showing the horribly scarred back of a survivor of American slavery that became a symbol of abolition and is known as “The Scourged Back.”
How does this photo “inappropriately disparage Americans”? Is the Trump administration worried about the delicate sensibilities of dead enslavers? Does the administration think slavery should not be disparaged? Apparently so.
The executive order is also directed at the capital’s fabled Smithsonian museums, which attract about 17 million tourists from around the world. The order prohibits “expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy.”
The order has a broad geographical scope. The New York Times reports that Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia is planning to alter an exhibit that features nine individuals enslaved by George Washington. The executive order singled it out along with the Biden administration’s so-called “corrosive ideology” supposedly teaching visitors that “America is purportedly racist.” In addition, the Trump administration is ordering the excision of the following sentences from a booklet for children given out at the historic home in Virginia of Confederate commander Robert E. Lee: “In 1829, Robert E. Lee promised to serve the Army and protect the United States. In 1861, he broke his promise and fought for slavery.”
The Trump administration’s campaign is part of a white Christian nationalist agenda to whitewash U.S. history. Let’s take a quick look at that history. The bloody Civil War was fought, in part, because of the bible and the church. Although some denominations and religionists spoke out against slavery, most were late in the game (except Quakers and Unitarians, who were vilified for their abolitionist views). It was the freethinkers and the unorthodox who led the fight in the United States until abolition became more widely accepted. Abolitionist and Unitarian Theodore Parker was oft-quoted remarking that if the whole of American churchdom had “dropped through the continent and disappeared altogether, the anti-slavery cause would have been further on.”
Pro-slaverers like Rev. James Henley Thornwell of South Carolina, in his “The Rights and Duties of Masters,” denounced abolitionists as atheists: “The parties in this conflict are not merely abolitionists and slaveholders — they are atheists, socialists, communists, red republicans, jacobins, on the one side, and the friends of order and regulated freedom on the other. In one word, the world is the battleground — Christianity and Atheism the combatants; and the progress of humanity the stake.”
Barbaric rules for slavery appear in Mosaic law, including Exodus 21. In the New Testament, Jesus leaves the laws of slavery untouched. Paul, in I Timothy, tells slaves to honor their owners, and Ephesians 6:5 warns them to be obedient “with fear and trembling.” Titus 2:9 says servants must obey and please their owners in “all things.” I Peter 2:18 exhorts, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear.”
These verses were invoked from countless pulpits to sanctify slavery. The Southern Baptist Convention was created in 1845 expressly to uphold the institution of slavery.
It is a supreme insult that the Trump administration chose Constitution Day as the day to start purging factual references and displays about slavery (along with Native Americans, some women and transgender individuals).
On Constitution Day we should be celebrating the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution that, respectively, abolished slavery, declared all persons born or naturalized in the United States citizens and cemented due process of law and equal protection of the laws, and stated that right to vote could not be denied or abridged on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.
On Constitution Day, the Freedom From Religion Foundation deplores the degradation of truth and constitutional rights and honors our secular Constitution and its commitment to equal justice under the law.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Lake Local Schools tells coaches they can’t lead prayers
News 5 Cleveland (Cleveland, OH)
By Maya Lockett
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Prayer issues draws residents, comments at Lake Local school board meeting
The Canton Repository (Canton, OH)
By Patricia Faulhaber
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Ohio school district bars coaches from leading prayer, sparking debate
WKBN First News 27 (Youngstown, OH)
By Suzanne Stratford
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Freedom From Religion Foundation: Selling land to Emerald Youth is unconstitutional
Knoxville News Sentinel (Knoxville, TN)
By Allie Feinberg
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FFRF urges Calif. city council not to financially reward church
Photo by DESIGNECOLOGIST on Unsplash
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging a California city not to retroactively bestow $100,000 of public funds on a church for a fireworks show that included a religious sermon.
FFRF has learned from a local news source that Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue and members of the Salinas City Council are considering retroactively rewarding Compass Church $100,000 for a Fourth of July fireworks event that included substantial proselytizing. The money would come from a “community scholarship” program, with a total budget of $150,000 for the program. According to reporting, a single organization is not supposed to receive more than $50,000; however, a council member proposed making a special exception and awarding Compass Church double the maximum amount.
The program’s eligibility criteria includes: “The city will not award sponsorship to any church organization to promote religious purposes.” A community member explained that the church’s 2025 Firework Extravaganza included a pastor giving a sermon for 10 to 15 minutes. The council has not provided thorough reasoning behind why the church’s firework show, which included a religious service, did not “promote religious purposes” or why the church’s firework show is so important to the community that the council is justified in awarding the church two-thirds of the entire budget and making a special exception to the award cap.
“Out of respect for the First Amendment and the community’s diversity, we ask that Salinas City Council refrain from awarding Compass Church $100,000 in taxpayer funds as reimbursement for its religious event,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence writes.
The government cannot subsidize certain religions or dispense special financial benefits to religious organizations or ministries, FFRF emphasizes. The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause requires government neutrality between religions, and between religion and nonreligion. The City Council’s proposal to retroactively award Compass Church $100,000 for a religious fireworks show is needlessly divisive and betrays taxpayer trust.
The City Council’s proposed actions also marginalize all community members who are among the 33 percent of adult Californians who are religiously unaffiliated, as well as the additional 9 percent adhering to non-Christian faiths. The city of Salinas should devote public funds to endeavors that are inclusive and welcoming to the entire community, not to events with an agenda to proselytize the public to adhere to a particular faith.
FFRF firmly believes that if the Salinas City Council were to award Compass Church double the approved cap for the sponsorship money, it would be creating a needless divide in the community solely based on religious belief.
“The Salinas City Council must not allow this unconstitutional proposal to go through,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor says. “Local taxpayers cannot be forced to subsidize religious proselytizing. Many Christians in Salinas, not only the more than one-third who have no religious affiliation, would disagree with Compass Church’s proclamation that the bible is ‘infallible.’ We separate religion from government precisely to avoid this kind of abuse.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 42,000 members and several chapters nationwide, including more than 5,000 members and two chapters in California. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
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“Star Trek: Red Shirts #2” Review by Getyourcomicon.co.uk
Getyourcomicon.co.uk has added a new review for Christopher Cantwell‘s “Star Trek: Red Shirts #2”:
There’s a double dose of Star Trek in comic book stores today as IDW releases the second issue of Red Shirts alongside the debut of Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming. Christopher Cantwell’s gritty, horror-tinged story continues to pick off its victims. Twisting the classic Trek trope beyond recognition, bringing credibility to Starfleet’s canon fodder.
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“Star Trek: Red Shirts #2” Review by Comicon.com
Comicon.com has added a new review for Christopher Cantwell‘s “Star Trek: Red Shirts #2”:
After a shaky start, this limited series about doom Star Trek security officers becomes a lot more interesting. It may be that the writing has tightened, and we care a little more about the characters. Or it may be that we like seeing them picked off one by one.
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“Star Trek: Lower Decks #11” Review by Getyourcomicon.co.uk
Getyourcomicon.co.uk has added a new review for Tim Sheridan‘s “Star Trek: Lower Decks #11”:
It’s new arc time in Star Trek: Lower Decks this week and writer Tim Sheridan is taking inspiration from a 1986 classic. The penultimate arc of the season is doing what Lower Decks does best. Honouring the legacy of Trek whilst mercilessly finding humour in it. Get your Starfleet issue swimsuit ready. We’re headed to Cetacean Ops!
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Isidor Rabi
“There’s no question that basically, somewhere way down, I’m an Orthodox Jew. … In fact, to this very day, if you ask for my religion, I say ‘Orthodox Hebrew’ — in the sense that the church I’m not attending is that one. If I were to go to church, that’s the one I would go to. That’s the one I failed. It doesn’t mean I’m something else.”
On this date in 1898, physicist Israel “Isidor” Isaac Rabi was born to Polish-Jewish parents in Rymanów, then part of Austria-Hungary. He emigrated to New York City as a toddler with his parents, Janet (née Teig) and David Rabi, who spoke only Yiddish and were observant Orthodox Jews.
Rabi (pronounced RAH-bee) grew up in a poor household that took in boarders to live with them in their two-room flat in Brooklyn, with his father working as a tailor when he could get work. When Rabi discovered a book explaining Copernicus’ theory of heliocentrism, he told declared “Who needs God?” He said Jack London’s writings made him a Marxist by the time he was 13 years old.
To assuage his disappointed but tolerant parents, he agreed to prepare a bar mitzvah “drasha,” a scholarly discourse sourced in the Talmud. He delivered the speech in Yiddish about how an electric light works. (Tablet, “Of Judaism, but Not in It,” Aug. 21, 2023)
As a scholarship student, he had studied electrical engineering, chemistry and physics at Cornell and Columbia universities, completing a doctorate in 1927. The year before that, he married Helen Newmark. They had two daughters, Nancy (b. 1929) and Margaret (b. 1934).
He joined the Columbia faculty in 1929, where he developed techniques for using nuclear magnetic resonance that led to the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physics. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) would eventually become an important tool in medicine. He was also among the first U.S. scientists to work on the cavity magnetron used in microwave radar and microwave ovens.
He also worked during World War II on radar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a consultant for the Manhattan Project building the first atomic bomb. After the war, he served on the advisory committee for the Atomic Energy Commission and chaired it from 1952-56. He strongly opposed development of the hydrogen bomb.
Rabi was science adviser to President Eisenhower, helped establish the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y., and was U.S. delegate to UNESCO. He retired from teaching in 1967 at Columbia but remained active and held the title of professor emeritus and special lecturer until his death.
He softened his views on the God of the bible as he aged and said he didn’t consider himself an atheist, but certainly didn’t embrace faith the way his ancestors did. Asked if he attended synagogue on Yom Kippur, he said “No.” (Jewish Telegraphic Agency, May 29, 1987)
He died of cancer at age 89 at home in Manhattan. His wife Helen survived him and lived to be 102. (D. 1988)
PHOTO: Rabi in 1944; Nobel Foundation public domain photo
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“Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1” Review by Trekcentral.net
Trekcentral.net has added a new review for Susan Bridges and Tilly Bridges‘s “Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1”:
It’s been somewhat quiet on the Star Trek: Voyager front for a number of years, despite the show seemingly having a surge in popularity after characters featured prominently in Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy. Even Star Trek: Discovery got in on the action, introducing the successor to Janeway’s vessel. The U.S.S. Voyager J, back in 2020 when its third season was airing.
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“Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1” Review by Fanbasepress.com
Fanbasepress.com has added a new review for Susan Bridges and Tilly Bridges‘s “Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1”:
As fans know, the series finale ended rather abruptly with Voyager being guided home by a fleet of Starfleet ships after exploding out of a Borg vessel just as they entered the Alpha Quadrant. I personally loved Voyager’s finale and thought it offered an exciting and satisfying ending to the series. The finale perfectly captured Janeway’s stubborn determination and her relentless drive to get her crew safely home. I know many fans wanted to see the hero’s welcome and celebration on Earth and maybe some hints at what the future held for our favorite characters. How were the Maquis officers treated by Starfleet once they returned home? Would Seven of Nine be welcomed on Earth as a former Borg? And what about the Doctor’s quest to be recognized as a sentient being? Some of my questions have been answered in other media such as the excellent Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Picard. Prodigy, in particular, served as a semi-sequel to Voyager, cluing fans in on what some of the Voyager characters had been up to in the past twenty-five years. Picard was able to give special attention to Seven’s continuing story, even giving her a terrific ending to her story even if the rumored Star Trek: Legacy never materializes.
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Ohio School District Warns Coaches Not to Lead Prayer
BeliefNet
By Staff
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Ohio School District Reaffirms Ban on Coach-Led Prayer Following Atheist Complaint
Christianity Daily
By Staff
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Lake Local Schools tells coaches not to lead prayers after complaint from parent
Fox 8 (Cleveland, OH)
By Tino Bovenzi
The post Lake Local Schools tells coaches not to lead prayers after complaint from parent appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Happy 2025 Birthday to Howard Weinstein!
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Happy birthday to Howard Weinstein!
Howard Weinstein is a noted science fiction author. In 1974, at age 19, he became the youngest person to ever write a script for Star Trek, selling “The Pirates of Orion” for use in Star Trek: The Animated Series. He has also written numerous Star Trek novels and comic books. He was credited with “thanks” on Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Weinstein was interviewed by Lynne Stephens for the article “Howard Weinstein – Scribe to the “Power Hungry”” for The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine Vol. 8, pp. 22-25 and by Michael McAvennie for the article “Picard’s Options”, published in The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine Vol. 13, pp. 52-53.
Weinstein is also noted for dedication to fans, appearing at hundreds of conventions.
In December 2006, it was announced that Weinstein had written a script, “The Sky Above, the Mudd Below,” for Star Trek: New Voyages.
Other novels he has written include three in the V Series, East Coast Crisis (with A.C. Crispin), Prisoners and Pawns, and Path to Conquest. He has also written Puppy Kisses are Good for the Soul in 2001 and Mickey Mantle in 2003.
Check out the Howard Weinstein credit page to view more updates and a full list of credits!
Find Howard Weinstein’s work on Amazon.com
“Star Trek: Khan” Review by Trekcentral.net
Trekcentral.net has added a new review for David Mack and George Takei and Kirsten Beyer and Maury Sterling and Mercy Malick and Naveen Andrews and Nicholas Meyer and Olli Haaskivi and Sonya Cassidy and Tim Russ and Wrenn Schmidt and Zuri Washington‘s “Star Trek: Khan”:
Happy Star Trek Day! And what a way to celebrate, with the release of the first episode of the highly anticipated podcast series Star Trek: Khan. This audio series is set between The Original Series episode ‘Space Seed’ and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Written by Kirsten Beyer and David Mack, it’s based on a story by Nicholas Meyer.
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Out Today: “Star Trek: Lower Decks, Vol. 1: Second Contact”
Out today: “Star Trek: Lower Decks, Vol. 1: Second Contact“, by Derek Charm and Ryan North.
The crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is back in a new ongoing comic series that’s a big, fun adventure from the hit TV show Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Hot off their Eisner nomination for the Lower Decks tie-in Shaxs’ Best Day, stellar duo Ryan North and Derek Charm are kicking off a brand-new ongoing series…
…wherein Dr. T’Ana saves the crew from a virulent, purple-boiled disease that is sure to—wait, no, everyone’s cured pretty quickly, actually.
Okay…wherein Deep Space 2’s distress call is mysteriously cut off and the crew has to—wait, nope, they just needed some help resetting their comms systems.
ALL RIGHT, WHEREIN Mariner gets so totally frustrated with the lack of thrills aboard the Cerritos that she drags her friends into a holodeck adventure that would definitely kill them in reality! Should totally provide them all with a sense of purpose and well-being, right? Right!
Or at least it would have, if the U.S.S. Bonaventure hadn’t shown back up from the Delta Triangle to provide them with a real challenge. It’s time to explore a ghost ship, baby!
Volume 1 collects issues #1–4 of the new ongoing series.
Also
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DTI Treklit Investigation for the week of September 16, 2025
Here’s a look at the books printed this week in the past.
“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Enigma Tales” Review by Lessaccurategrandmother.blogspot.com
Lessaccurategrandmother.blogspot.com has added a new review for Una McCormack‘s “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Enigma Tales”:
Sometimes, one might find it easier to write a negative review than a positive one. To write a negative review, one can simply lapse into a catalogue of grievances, and there’s a certain terrible joy in that, even if it doesn’t necessarily make for a good review. A good negative review, I think, articulates what a book wanted to do and then analyzes how and why it fell short of that—or perhaps even explains why that wasn’t a good thing to attempt in the first place.
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“Star Trek: Coda, Book 1 – Moments Asunder” Review by Lessaccurategrandmother.blogspot.com
Lessaccurategrandmother.blogspot.com has added a new review for Dayton Ward‘s “Star Trek: Coda, Book 1 – Moments Asunder”:
This is pretty much an impossible book to review on its own merits. The first, most obvious, reason it’s that it’s the first part of a trilogy, and it’s not one of those trilogies that tells three stories; we’ve very much only read a third of a story here. So as to how good the story told here is, we can’t say until we get through Coda, Book III.
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“Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1” Review by Comicon.com
Comicon.com has added a new review for Susan Bridges and Tilly Bridges‘s “Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1”:
If you ever wanted to know what happened just after Star Trek: Voyager returned to Earth, this is the limited series for you. The familiar characters are put into some overly familiar situations, though, so the story lacks a little originality. Still, it feels like Trek.
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Opinion: Susan Wild: Here’s why it’s important to vote ‘yes’ on judicial retentions
The Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
By Susan Wild
The post Opinion: Susan Wild: Here’s why it’s important to vote ‘yes’ on judicial retentions appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Prayer service held for removed Northwest High School assistant football coach
WKRN (Nashville, TN)
By Kelly Milan
The post Prayer service held for removed Northwest High School assistant football coach appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Lake Local instructs coaches not to lead students in prayer following complaint
The Alliance Review (Alliance, OH)
By Amy Knapp
The post Lake Local instructs coaches not to lead students in prayer following complaint appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
School Coaches Shouldn’t Be Pushing Religion
The Progressive Magazine (Madison, WI)
By Mickey Dollens
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Lake Local Schools instructs coaches not to lead prayer after complaint
Jordan Miller News
By Jordan Miller
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Atheist group’s complaint leads Ohio school district to warn coaches not to lead prayer
The Christian Post
By Michael Gryboski
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Charlie Kirk Assassination Details, Athiests Warn Of Prayer In Schools, ‘Triumph Of The Heart’ Film
The Christian Post
By Staff
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“Star Trek: Red Shirts #2” Review by Aiptcomics.com
Aiptcomics.com has added a new review for Christopher Cantwell‘s “Star Trek: Red Shirts #2”:
Continues to lean into its darkly funny premise with surprising heart.
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“Star Trek #1” Review by Themindreels.com
Themindreels.com has added a new review for Dick Wood‘s “Star Trek #1”:
I always love my Trek, but there are times when I just cannot get enough of it. I’ve been listening to the scores, whistling Fred Steiner, watching Strange New Worlds, revisiting The Original Series, digging back into the novels, and it struck me… I haven’t really done much on the blog with the comics.
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Star Trek Books Coming In The Next 30 Days, as of September 14th, 2025
Fiction
By: David Mack
October 7, 2025
When murder and sabotage imperil the time-sensitive and top-secret mission of a team of civilian scientists, Starfleet deploys Captain Christopher Pike and the Enterprise crew to Kathara Station, a classified research facility located above the accretion disk of a black hole. Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley soon discovers the station’s director, Valkeya, is hiding secrets—but so […]
October 15, 2025
For nearly 60 years, Star Trek
has celebrated exploration as its central theme, using it as a vehicle for storytelling and social commentary in time-honored science fiction fashion. This Exploration Guide is essential reading for any Star Trek Adventures crew interested in expanding their characters, missions, and campaigns into the final frontier and creating new […]
Comics
By: Derek Charm, Ryan North
September 16, 2025
The crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is back in a new ongoing comic series that’s a big, fun adventure from the hit TV show Star Trek: Lower Decks. Hot off their Eisner nomination for the Lower Decks tie-in Shaxs’ Best Day, stellar duo Ryan North and Derek Charm are kicking off a brand-new ongoing series… […]
By: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
September 24, 2025
The Federation has fallen. Hope is fading. One last starship remains to fight for the future…unless a resurrected James T. Kirk dooms it first. Fresh off the run Screen Rant calls one of “the greatest eras in the history of Star Trek comics,” writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly along with rising star and artist […]
September 30, 2025
Arc five of the acclaimed Star Trek ongoing comic series, and the build-up to Star Trek: Lore War, continues here! The android Lore has done the unthinkable: He has detonated the Orb of Destruction, unmaking the universe! After an extragalactic tumble on the ensuing shockwave, the U.S.S. Theseus sinks into fluidic space. There, the crew […]
By: Dave Baker, Paul Allor
September 30, 2025
Join Captain Janeway and the Voyager crew in four tales of adventure and intrigue! First, in Seven’s Reckoning, a chance encounter with a reptilian alien race draws Seven of Nine and the rest of the U.S.S. Voyager crew into an ancient class conflict that’s on the brink of exploding into all-out war! Set during Star […]
By: Christopher Cantwell
October 1, 2025
It’s a race to the top as the anti-Federation spies and the Red Shirts summit the towering antenna on Arkonia 89. The spies seek to escape a transporter disrupter and make it back to their ship with their stolen data, and Raad, Grash, Vesta, and Miller will try to stop them by any means necessary. […]
By: Tim Sheridan
October 8, 2025
The Lower Deckers and Cetacean Ops officers Kimolu and Matt continue their mission to replenish Earth’s population of humpback whales! The krill situation is getting out of control, and the songs they sing are just too good to let them die out. There’s also the pesky situation where Ronald (the last whale!) has to occasionally […]
October 14, 2025
Can’t get enough of the Picard series? Read two graphic novel adventures that provide more context, with one story taking place before season one and the second taking place after season two! Witness the events leading to the epic series Star Trek: Picard. Before he retired to his vineyard, Jean-Luc Picard was the most decorated […]
Happy 2025 Birthday to Christopher Sequeira!
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Happy birthday to Christopher Sequeira!
A Sydney-based Australian editor, writer and artist who works predominantly in the speculative fiction (horror, fantasy, science fiction, super-hero) and mystery realms.
His published work includes poetry, prose (especially short fiction), and comic-book scripts. Sequeira’s creator-owned work includes “Sherlock Holmes: Dark Detective” (with co-creators Dave Elsey and Philip Cornell), Pulse of Darkness, Rattlebone: The Pulp-Faced Detective and The Borderlander and SuperAustralians.
He has also written for American publishers, notably contributing a Dazzler story, “I’m Gonna Stake You, Sucka” in X-Men: Curse of the Mutants – X-Men vs. Vampires No. 1. This story also features a character, Sheba Sugarfangs, invented by Sequeira for Marvel Comics. 1n 2023 he wrote “Star Trek Holoween” for IDW.
In 2010 Sequeira released Pulse of Darkness: The Vampire Syndrome graphic novel, a 140-page graphic novel illustrated by Kurt Stone, and also featuring inkers and pin-up artists representing some of Australia’s best, including Mark Morte, Bryce J. Stevens, David ‘Hyperdave’ Richardson, Ashley Riddell, Gary Chaloner, W. Chew ‘Chewie’ Chan, Paul Abstruse, and Jan Scherpenhuizen.
He has self-published and published the works of others under the imprints of Opal Press Australia and Sequence Productions Pty Ltd. Sequeira has been a regular guest at comics and pop culture expos in Australia including Supanova Pop Culture Expo[2] and Armageddon.
Sequeira’s wedding ceremony in 1999 was covered on Australian national TV due to the celebrant and bridal party being dressed in costume, including Dracula, and Batman villains Penguin, Two-Face and Riddler.[citation needed] Sequeira lives with his wife and two children in Sydney.
Check out the Christopher Sequeira credit page to view more updates and a full list of credits!
Find Christopher Sequeira’s work on Amazon.com
Happy 2025 Birthday to Walter Koenig!
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Happy birthday to Walter Koenig!
Walter Koenig is the actor that portrayed Pavel Chekov in Star Trek: The Original Series and in the first seven Star Trek movies.
He also wrote the comic Chekov’s Choice for DC Comics and has appeared as Chekov in several Star Trek video games.
Although he never reprised his role for the tightly budgeted TAS series, Koenig did serve as director for “The Infinite Vulcan”. The Retlaw plant, for example in the episode was his first name-spelled backwards.
Check out the Walter Koenig credit page to view more updates and a full list of credits!
Find Walter Koenig’s work on Amazon.com
Court issues 2nd injunction to block 10 Commandments displays in Ark. district
A federal court has issued a second preliminary injunction blocking Arkansas’s Act 573, the law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks extends protections to families in the Conway School District, where the district placed Ten Commandments posters in classrooms even though the court had already made clear that Act 573 is unconstitutional. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is representing the plaintiffs in the case as part of a coalition.
“We welcome the court’s injunction, which further protects the rights of students,” says Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The judiciary is affirming the secular underpinnings of the U.S. Constitution.”
“This decision is another important victory for Arkansas families and for the Constitution,” says John Williams, legal director of the ACLU of Arkansas. “The court saw through the state’s attempt to justify this unconstitutional law and reaffirmed that students have the right to attend public schools free from government-imposed religion. We are proud to stand with our clients and will continue fighting to ensure every child’s rights are protected.”
“Public schools are not Sunday schools,” says Heather L. Weaver, senior counsel at the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “This ruling affirms that school districts may not flout the First Amendment by posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.”
“All Arkansas public school districts should heed the court’s clear warning: Displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms is ‘obviously unconstitutional,’” says Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Families in Conway School District, throughout Arkansas, and across the country get to decide how and when their children engage with religion – not politicians or public-school officials.”
“This latest decision underscores the duty of public schools to protect the constitutional rights of every student,” says Jon Youngwood, global co-chair of the Litigation Department at Simpson Thacher. “By issuing a second preliminary injunction prohibiting schools in the Conway School District from displaying the Ten Commandments, the ruling reinforces a fundamental truth: the First Amendment safeguards the rights of individuals to choose whether and how they engage with religion, and that protection extends to every classroom.”
Families in other districts who encounter Ten Commandments displays in classrooms are encouraged to contact the ACLU of Arkansas at www.acluarkansas.org/get-help. All public schools have a constitutional obligation to respect students’ and families’ First Amendment rights.
A copy of the order can be found here.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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‘Unconstitutional coercion’: Trump’s new prayer push sparks backlash
AlterNet
By David Badash
The post ‘Unconstitutional coercion’: Trump’s new prayer push sparks backlash appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Federal judge dismisses lawsuit by Walters and SDE against ‘atheist’ organization
Southwest Ledger (Lawton, OK)
By Mike W. Ray
The post Federal judge dismisses lawsuit by Walters and SDE against ‘atheist’ organization appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Trump Unveils School Prayer Guidance Amid Uproar
Grand Pinnacle Tribune
By Evrim Ağaci
The post Trump Unveils School Prayer Guidance Amid Uproar appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Public Education as a Political Weapon: The Rise of Ryan Walters
American Oversight
By Staff
The post Public Education as a Political Weapon: The Rise of Ryan Walters appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Christian nationalism’s bad influence comes to Maine | Opinion
Portland Press Herald (South Portland, ME)
By Ray Vensel
The post Christian nationalism’s bad influence comes to Maine | Opinion appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Happy 2025 Birthday to Robert T. Jeschonek!
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Happy birthday to Robert T. Jeschonek!
Robert T. Jeschonek lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. He writes in genres as diverse as horror and poetry, and for young adults, and a lot of his more recent material is e-published.
Check out the Robert T. Jeschonek credit page to view more updates and a full list of credits!
Find Robert T. Jeschonek’s work on Amazon.com
FFRF amicus appeals court brief charges religious bias in death penalty case
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a brief before an appeals court to refute the state of Texas’ contention that a defendant’s religious beliefs can be taken into account when sentencing him to death.
The case is Davis v. Guerrero, which is before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The petitioner, Irving Alvin Davis, was entitled to a sentencing hearing free of bias and prejudice, but the state of Texas fell short of that guarantee. Texas first introduced evidence that Davis, while in prison, read satanic literature, jotted notes and drawings, and briefly joined the Church of Satan. Texas then introduced generic evidence “that some members of the satanic religion advocate violence” and “that various people had committed murder and mutilation ‘in the name of Satan.’” Davis was a self-described Buddhist at the time of his crime and claims to have recently reverted to Buddhism.
That state-proffered stereotyping violates the First Amendment in three major ways, FFRF points out in its friend-of-the-court brief. Those three errors in sum cast serious doubt on the fairness of Davis’ sentencing.
First, the introduction of religious materials and broad statements about those materials to show bad character constitutes impermissible hostility toward religion in violation of the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. Davis did not join the Church of Satan or read satanic material before his trial, so his crime could not have been in furtherance of the Church of Satan’s mission. Aware of this fact, Texas nevertheless introduced evidence of Davis’ more recent beliefs, then argued that he should die, rather than spending the rest of life in prison.
Second, inviting a jury to determine core tenets of a religion excessively entangles the government with that religion, violating the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The First Amendment requires courts to decide criminal sentencing “without resolving underlying controversies over religious doctrine,” to quote the U.S. Supreme Court. Submitting warring interpretations of doctrine to a jury entangled the state courts with the Church of Satan and transformed Davis’ penalty hearing into a heresy trial — strictly forbidden by the First Amendment.
And third, the state’s evidence cited in the case is true of nearly any religion, and was introduced for shock value. Christianity and Islam boast over 1 billion adherents each and have had countless acts of violence committed in furtherance of those faiths. It would be inappropriate for any prosecution to bring up those acts of violence and a Muslim or Christian’s affiliation with a specific church or masjid to conclude that members of that house of worship are likely to be dangerous in the future. And yet, Texas was not even this specific. The state’s expert witness did not recount a notable instance of violence done by a member of the Church of Satan.
For all these reasons, Davis’ death sentence should be vacated, the Freedom From Religion Foundation contends.
The FFRF brief can be read in full here.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s purposes are to educate the public about nontheism and to preserve the cherished constitutional principle of separation between religion and government. FFRF works as an umbrella for those who are free from religion (freethinkers, atheists, agnostics, and nonbelievers). FFRF currently has over 42,000 U.S. members and several chapters throughout the country, including more than 1,800 members and a chapter in Texas.
Government-sponsored hostility toward a religion, or those without religion, undermines the constitutional guarantee that church and state be separate. Our judicial system cannot mistreat parties simply because they are members of a minority religion, viewed unfavorably by the majoritarian religion. FFRF does not support or endorse the Church of Satan. But its adherents are afforded constitutional protection under the First Amendment.
The post FFRF amicus appeals court brief charges religious bias in death penalty case appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Freethought Radio – September 11, 2025
Christian nationalists in government are ramping up the rhetoric. We report how FFRF is protesting the White House “America Prays” initiative and a bill to put “In God We Trust” on federal buildings. Then, we speak with journalist Haley Cohen Gilliland, author of A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children, about right-wing Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla, whose government kidnapped, tortured and killed thousands of protesters and stole hundreds of their babies to be raised with “Western Christian values.”
The post Freethought Radio – September 11, 2025 appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF protests HUD’s Christian nationalist event
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is denouncing Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner’s promotion of religion during a federally sponsored National Mall event.
In a letter to Turner, the state/church watchdog has criticized HUD’s “faith-based disaster recovery event” at the National Mall on Sept. 6, in which Turner prayed publicly and proclaimed “faith is back in our government.” The event prominently featured worship leader Sean Feucht, a Christian nationalist activist known for divisive rhetoric and political organizing, alongside other faith leaders.
“HUD’s role is to serve all Americans in times of need — not to privilege one faith or host Christian nationalist worship on federal property,” writes FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line. “When a cabinet official declares that ‘faith is back in our government,’ it sends a clear message of exclusion to millions of Americans who are nonreligious or non-Christian.”
While private religious groups often play a role in disaster response, the Constitution forbids the federal government from favoring or promoting religion. By centering Christian worship at an official government event, HUD has violated its obligation of neutrality under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.
FFRF’s letter cites long-standing Supreme Court precedent requiring government neutrality between religion and nonreligion. It also reminds HUD of the Framers’ deliberate creation of a secular Constitution, free from religious tests or references to deities, bibles or faith.
“America’s strength lies in its secular Constitution,” the letter emphasizes. “True religious liberty requires that the government remain free from sectarian favoritism. HUD must represent all Americans, not serve as a pulpit for Christian nationalism.”
Turner previously spread Christian nationalist mythology at a recent meeting of the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission in the Museum of the Bible.
“What if 1 million people prayed for our country every single week between now and next July Fourth?” Turner asked. “More specifically, what if believers all across this great nation got together with 10 people — friends, family members, colleagues, work associates — 10 people each week to pray for our country and for our fellow citizens?”
Turner then cited as precedent the suggestion by delegate Benjamin Franklin to hold a prayer during the Constitutional Convention, a prayer which FFRF points out never took place: “Yes, Benjamin Franklin, at one acrimonious point, suggested a prayer, but the convention adjourned and none was given, showing the clear intent of the Framers of our Constitution not to entangle religious belief with government.”
FFRF is urging HUD to immediately cease incorporating religious messaging into its events and communications, and to provide written assurance that the agency will comply with its constitutional obligations. FFRF has filed a FOIA request for more information regarding the event.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post FFRF protests HUD’s Christian nationalist event appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
DTI Comic Book Investigation for the week of September 11, 2025
Here are all the comics printed this week in years past.
FFRF to State Department: Stop promoting Christian nationalism
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is demanding that the State Department immediately remove unconstitutional Christian nationalist posts from its official social media accounts.
In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, FFRF objects to recent posts on the Department’s official X account that falsely promote Christianity as the foundation of the government of the United States and promise to eradicate policies that “demean the Christian faith.”
One post reads:
“Our nation was founded on the recognition that moral virtue and a steadfast faith in God are necessary preconditions of freedom. Yet under the Biden Administration, U.S. foreign policy belittled Christianity and weaponized government against faith. That era has ended. Under @POTUS’s leadership, the State Department will eradicate practices that devalue and demean the Christian faith.”
Another post vows that the department will “never apologize for our God-given rights”:
“At @POTUS’s direction, @SecRubio is taking action to secure religious liberties both at home and abroad, including terminating unlawful State Department policies targeting Christians and addressing the violent repression of Christians overseas. We will never apologize for our God-given rights.”
“These statements send a dangerous and unconstitutional message that the State Department serves Christians first and reduces millions of other Americans to second-class citizens,” writes FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line. “U.S. foreign policy should defend human rights, not elevate one religion above all others.”
FFRF’s letter points out that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment requires strict government neutrality between religion and nonreligion. FFRF underscores that America’s Founders deliberately created a secular government — investing sovereignty in “We the People,” not a deity. The U.S. Constitution contains no reference to God and expressly prohibits religious tests for public office, religious oaths, and any establishment of religion by government.
“America’s strength lies in its secular Constitution,” the letter emphasizes. “True religious freedom requires a government free from sectarian favoritism.”
With nearly 37 percent of Americans now identifying as non-Christian — including almost 29 percent who are religiously unaffiliated — FFRF stresses that the State Department is obligated to represent all citizens equally, not to promote Christian nationalism.
FFRF is urging the State Department to delete the unconstitutional posts and confirm in writing what steps it will take to ensure compliance with the U.S. Constitution.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post FFRF to State Department: Stop promoting Christian nationalism appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Out Today: “Star Trek: Lower Decks #11”
Out today: “Star Trek: Lower Decks #11“, by Tim Sheridan.
Sqeak, squaw, sssskkkaaa, eh, eee.
[Translation: Cetacean Ops here! Matt and I have brought the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos back to the year 1987 for a top-secret mission of great import.]HHHkkkeeeeee, ska, ska, EeeEEAaa. Squaw, squaw. *Click, cliiiiick*
[Translation: That’s right, Kimolu. We need their help to fix what that blowhole Kirk messed up by bringing the whales George, Gracie, and Ronald to Earth without a way for them to repopulate its oceans. What was Ronald supposed to do, have babies with his mother?]
Skkkesaw. Eehhh, ee, ee, AaaaaAa. AH, AH, EeeEE! Sqqqqaw.
[Translation: But the remaining humpbacks have all heard freaky conspiracy theories about what happened to the last pod who went to Earth. To save the species, the Lower Deckers will have to dissuade them of the rumors and convince them Earth is worth inhabiting. Ah-yikes.]
This issue kicks off the penultimate arc of this season’s run, so be sure to order whale ahead of time!
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FFRF calls White House ‘America Prayers’ project an ‘outrageous’ entanglement with religion
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is condemning the White House’s “invitation to prayer and rededication of the United States as one nation under God,” and its unveiling of an “America Prays” webpage that explicitly promotes Christian worship.
The White House claims the “America Prays” campaign is preparation for the 250th birthday of the United States. The “America Prays” campaign was announced along with a promise to insert more religion in public schools at yesterday’s White House Religious Liberty Commission meeting held, inappropriately, at the private Museum of the Bible. HUD Secretary Scott Turner opened the event, saying, “We have a godly, faithful Cabinet … that prioritizes prayer.”
More than 70 faith organizations are listed on the White House website as having joined with the White House in asking Americans to join together “10 people each week to pray for one hour for America.” These groups include Christian nationalist or conservative evangelical organizations such as WallBuilders, Jack Posobiec (termed a white supremacist by the Southern Poverty Law Institute), the Southern Baptist Convention, National Religious Broadcasters and the Faith and Freedom Coalition, “Think about the miracles that would take place” if everyone would pray, intoned Turner.
Au contraire, says the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
“As we say at FFRF, ‘Nothing fails like prayer,’” comments FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The answers to humanity’s problems will not come from above. Wishful thinking cannot alter the natural laws of the universe much less improve our nation. We instead urge pious politicians to get off their knees and get to work.”
The “resources and ideas for times of prayer” offered by the White House website are overtly Christian, including invoking the oft-misquoted 2 Chronicles 7:14. (Read FFRF Co-President Dan Barker’s blog about the misuse of this New Testament quote or watch this “Freethought Matters’ video dedicated to debunking the dishonest misrepresentation of this bible verse.)
That the “America Prays” campaign is based on disinformation is apparent from the illustration of General George Washington supposedly praying at Valley Forge that graces the webpage. There is no evidence that Washington ever prayed at Valley Forge — it’s the claim of 19th-century master of disinformation Mason Lock Weems, whose 1808 biography of Washington is full of bogus tales. Weems credited a Quaker named Isaac Potts, who claimed to have witnessed Washington praying in the woods even though Potts had spent the winter of 1777–1778 20 miles from Valley Forge.
The White House website includes a document compiling prayers and proclamations “throughout American history” that cherry-pick some events that included prayer, as well as debunked claims, such as that George Washington added “So help me God” to his presidential oath, even though the Constitution, which provides the wording, has no such mention. While Washington, a fairly orthodox Deist, peppered some remarks with deistic references, he also warned: “Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause” (Washington letter to Edward Newenham, June 22, 1792).
Most egregiously, the document dishonestly implies that there was prayer during the Constitutional Convention that adopted our godless and entirely secular Constitution. Yes, Benjamin Franklin, at one acrimonious point, suggested a prayer, but the convention adjourned and none was given, showing the clear intent of the framers of our Constitution not to entangle religious belief with government. The White House document dishonestly tries to conflate a private July 4, 1787, prayer by a minister with the convention itself.
Trump and the White House notably ignore the robust secular views of James Madison, the primary architect of the Constitution, and Thomas Jefferson, who demanded the addition of a Bill of Rights. Jefferson, as president, refused to issue proclamations of prayer or thanksgiving. As he wrote Rev. Samuel Miller, “one must act according to the dictates of his own reason, & mine tells me that civil powers alone have been given to the President of the U.S. and no authority to direct the religious exercises of his constituents.”
President Trump has no civil, legal or moral authority to tell America to pray or otherwise direct our religious exercises. The “America Prays” program is blatant pandering to his evangelical base and a defilement of the Constitution Trump swore to uphold.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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“Star Trek: Khan” Review by Trekmovie.com
Trekmovie.com has added a new review for David Mack and George Takei and Kirsten Beyer and Maury Sterling and Mercy Malick and Naveen Andrews and Nicholas Meyer and Olli Haaskivi and Sonya Cassidy and Tim Russ and Wrenn Schmidt and Zuri Washington‘s “Star Trek: Khan”:
Episode 1, “Paradise,” is an amazing start. Our first “glimpse” of Khan, played by Naveen Andrews (Lost), from a recording made late in the history, is as a man driven nearly to madness by the hardships he’s endured. But when the story rewinds back to the day he and his people first set foot on Ceti Alpha V, he is a man brimming with confidence, hope, and vision. What could have so thoroughly transformed this titan into a cackling madman?
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DTI Treklit Investigation for the week of September 9, 2025
Here’s a look at the books printed this week in the past.
Trump turns ‘Religious Liberty’ hearing into Christian nationalist rally
Trump in Washington, D.C., September 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is condemning President Trump’s remarks today at the Museum of the Bible, where the second meeting of his “Religious Liberty Commission” turned into a Christian nationalist rally under the guise of safeguarding religious freedom.
In his nearly hour-long speech, Trump attacked the Johnson Amendment — the law that prevents churches and other tax-exempt nonprofits from becoming partisan political machines — and pushed school voucher schemes to siphon public money to schools engaging in religious indoctrination. He repeated the false and irrational claim that public schools are “attacking religion,” and announced a pending new Department of Education guidance, which appears to be aimed at expanding religious influence in public school classrooms.
Claimed Trump: “For most of our country’s history, the bible was found in every classroom in the nation, yet in many schools today, students are instead indoctrinated with anti-religious propaganda and some are punished for their religious beliefs. Very, very strongly punished.”
Trump piously declared, “To have a great nation, you have to have religion — I believe that so strongly. There has to be something after we go through all of this, and that something is God.” He alleged students are being “indoctrinated with antireligious propaganda” and touted his administration’s efforts to keep transgender students out of sports.
Without providing evidence, Trump expounded: “For most of our country’s history, the bible was found in every classroom in the nation, yet in many schools today, students are instead indoctrinated with anti-religious propaganda and some are punished for their religious beliefs. Very, very strongly punished.” He capped his speech with a prayer led by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner and walked out to the strains of the Christian hymn, “Amazing Grace.”
“Today’s hearing looked more like a church service than a government meeting,” asserts FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “From the Christian prayers to the Christian nationalist lineup of speakers, this commission is not protecting religious liberty — it’s promoting Trump’s political agenda and a false narrative that America is a Christian nation.”
The commission, chaired by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick with Dr. Ben Carson as vice chair, also heard from parents and students handpicked by First Liberty Institute, a Christian nationalist legal group whose CEO, Kelly Shackelford, sits on the panel. One student, Lydia Booth, described her lawsuit over being barred from wearing a “Jesus Loves Me” mask in school, framing it as proof of religious persecution. “God can use even something as small as this mask to help ensure our amazing country remains free,” Booth said. Trump used the hearing to highlight similar stories while announcing that his family bible would be permanently displayed at the Museum of the Bible.
Trump’s rhetoric was saturated with grievance politics — from railing against “wokeness” at the Smithsonian to vowing to end “anti-Christian bias.” His administration also rolled out an “America Prays” initiative, inviting Americans to “rededicate ourselves to one nation under God.”
“This is not religious freedom,” adds FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “It’s a political stunt run by Christian nationalist activists, twisting the concept of liberty to mean government promotion of their faith and privilege at the expense of equality and rights of conscience for everyone else.”
FFRF predicts that the upcoming commission hearings on Sept. 29 (focused once again on teachers, coaches and school funding) and on Nov. 17 (on religion in the military) will continue this pattern of grievance-mongering and historical revisionism.
Mandating religion in schools doesn’t protect faith, it weaponizes it, FFRF states. The real danger is when public officials use their power to impose religion on children. That’s why the separation of church and state matters: to keep our public classrooms welcoming to students of all faiths and none.
FFRF will continue to monitor the commission’s work, defend the separation between government and religion and oppose efforts to erode true religious liberty — which entails the right to believe or not believe, free from government interference or religious coercion.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post Trump turns ‘Religious Liberty’ hearing into Christian nationalist rally appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF urges Ohio school district to end coach-led prayer
Photo by Austris Augusts on Unsplash
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is protesting an Ohio cross-country coach’s violation of the First Amendment right of student-athletes to be free from religious indoctrination.
A concerned district parent has informed the state/church watchdog that a cross-country coach at Lake Middle High School (Uniontown, Ohio) has been leading her team in prayer before meets. The coach reportedly told the team, “Let’s continue to pray before every meet like last year.” FFRF additionally learned that coach-led prayer is common across sports teams in the Lake Local Schools system. FFRF’s complainant reported that they and their child felt helpless, awkward and embarrassed that the child was forced to either pray against their own beliefs or risk ostracizing themselves from the team by stepping away from the illegal prayer.
FFRF has reached out to the school district to advocate for the right of students to be free from school-sponsored religious practices.
“Coaches are free to express their religious beliefs however they wish outside of their roles as public school coaches, but they cannot use their position to foist their personal religious beliefs onto students or encourage students to pray,” FFRF Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow Kyle J. Steinberg has written to Superintendent Brett Yeagley.
Student-athletes have the First Amendment right to be free from religious indoctrination when participating in their public school’s athletics program. Here, the coach has clearly crossed the constitutional line by pressuring them into engaging in prayer while acting in her official capacity as a district employee.
Student-athletes are especially susceptible to coercion, FFRF emphasizes. Students know that their coaches control their positions on the team, including who runs each race. When a coach directs students to participate in a prayer, they will no doubt feel that participating in that prayer is essential to pleasing their coach and being viewed as a team player. It is unrealistic and unconstitutional to expect student-athletes to choose between allowing their constitutional rights to be violated to maintain good standing in the eyes of their coach and peers or openly dissenting at the risk of retaliation from their coach and teammates. By promoting religion, the coach isolates nearly half of Generation Z members (those born after 1996) who are nonreligious, which includes the complainant’s child.
FFRF asserts that the district employees have an obligation not to promote religion in any official capacity, and as such, Lake Local Schools must take action to ensure this harmful practice comes to an end.
“Coaches may not coerce their athletes into praying to play in district sports,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “This is a blatant violation of the Constitution, a clear abuse of power from the coach and a strong case for why infusing religion into school sports is always a losing practice.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with over 42,000 members and several chapters across the country, including more than 1,100 members and two chapters in Ohio. Its purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
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Hopefully, ‘Khan’ Opens Floodgates to Much More Audio Star Trek Storytelling
“Doctor Who” audio productions have been flourishing for years
Preview of “Star Trek: Lower Decks #11”
Here’s a preview of Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 by Tim Sheridan which is due to be released this Wednesday on September 10, 2025 at your local comic shop and digital retailers:
HHHkkkeeeeee, ska, ska, EeeEEAaa. Squaw, squaw. *Click, cliiiiick*
[Translation: That’s right, Kimolu. We need their help to fix what that blowhole Kirk messed up by bringing the whales George, Gracie, and Ronald to Earth without a way for them to repopulate its oceans. What was Ronald supposed to do, have babies with his mother?]
Skkkesaw. Eehhh, ee, ee, AaaaaAa. AH, AH, EeeEE! Sqqqqaw.
[Translation: But the remaining humpbacks have all heard freaky conspiracy theories about what happened to the last pod who went to Earth. To save the species, the Lower Deckers will have to dissuade them of the rumors and convince them Earth is worth inhabiting. Ah-yikes.]
This issue kicks off the penultimate arc of this season’s run, so be sure to order whale ahead of time!
Happy 2025 Birthday to Alex Kurtzman!
(Photo by Gabe Skidmore)
Happy birthday to Alex Kurtzman!
Alex Kurtzman is a producer and screenwriter who co-wrote the script for and executive produced the film Star Trek, along with writing partner Roberto Orci. Kurtzman and Orci later produced and (along with Damon Lindelof) wrote the screenplay for the sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness. After parting ways with Orci, he did not return for Star Trek Beyond, but will be serving as executive producer through his production company Secret Hideout on the next Star Trek series, expected for a January 2017 release.
Kurtzman also consulted on the Star Trek video game.
Check out the Alex Kurtzman credit page to view more updates and a full list of credits!
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“Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1” Review by Superpoweredfancast.com
Superpoweredfancast.com has added a new review for Susan Bridges and Tilly Bridges‘s “Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1”:
The Rundown: Voyager’s return to the Alpha Quadrant will take a dangerous turn from a familiar foe.
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Shore-Leave 45 (belated!) Report: Day 4 (final)
I didn’t take any notes or have any schedule on the final day of Shore-Leave 45, but did attend a memorial for Peter David that was tear inducing and made it apparent that I would have really liked to have talked to him as a Trek author. There was also a “Bob and Howie Show” but with a missing Howie. It was interesting enough, but Robert Greenberger was the only person on the main stage and he looked super lonely up there. From what I remember these were the only things that I did at the event itself. As is tradition though, I spent the rest of the day visiting local comic shops, one of which was in an exceptionally odd location, but ended up being a great little shop that just happened to be under the bathrooms of the local Subway. Every time someone flushed you could hear it going through the pipes! The second store of the trip was Comic Shop West where I found a glorious treasure trove of Trek back issues. My wife was with me on this visit and she bought a single pack of Disney Lorcana and managed to pull an enchanted card, she was completely chuffed. With that satisfying end to the day, we had dinner and called it a night. We made it home the next day without much issue, but definitely needed some extended naps.
This was a good trip and the improvements that I saw in the show from last year give me high hopes for next year. I won’t be going next year though, I’m going to be a little busy on a different project:
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Texas AG Paxton recommends public school students recite Lord’s Prayer ‘as taught by Jesus Christ’
The Christian Post
By Ian M. Giatti
The post Texas AG Paxton recommends public school students recite Lord’s Prayer ‘as taught by Jesus Christ’ appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Douglas County sheriff defies Freedom From Religion Foundation after it targeted Grandparents4Kids story hour
Rocky Mountain Voice (Durango, CO)
By Steve McKenna
The post Douglas County sheriff defies Freedom From Religion Foundation after it targeted Grandparents4Kids story hour appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Judge temporarily blocks Texas’ Ten Commandments requirement in 11 school districts
KXXV ABC 25 (Waco, TX)
By Jaden Edison, Eleanor Klibanoff and Alejandro Serrano
The post Judge temporarily blocks Texas’ Ten Commandments requirement in 11 school districts appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Atheists Demand Football Coaches Stop Praying
Todd Starnes
By Todd Starnes
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“Star Trek III: The Search for Spock: The Making of the Classic Film” Review by Treknews.net
Treknews.net has added a new review for John Tenuto and Maria Jose Tenuto‘s “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock: The Making of the Classic Film”:
In the world of filmmaking, some stories are just as compelling behind the camera as they are on screen. The new book, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – The Making of the Classic Film, makes that abundantly clear, inviting readers on a vivid journey into the heart of one of the most pivotal, if not universally beloved, films in the Star Trek franchise. This publication isn’t just a collection of facts; it’s a beautifully illustrated love letter to the creative process, filled with colorful pictures from all around the process that brought this film to life, and it makes you feel like you’re standing right there with the creative cast and crew of this movie.
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“Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1” Review by Thecomicbookspot.com
Thecomicbookspot.com has added a new review for Susan Bridges and Tilly Bridges‘s “Star Trek: Voyager: Homecoming #1”:
In this review of Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #1, after seven long years, the U.S.S. Voyager is finally back in the Alpha Quadrant, but what should be a joyous occasion rapidly devolves into a nightmare as the crew is once again propelled into a dangerous region of space as prisoners of an old enemy.
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Shore-Leave 45 (belated!) Report: Day 3
Saturday 9:00 AM Writing Military SF Cornwall
Saturday 10:00 AM Star Trek Comic Books Cornwall
Saturday 2:00 PM So You Want To Build A Puppet Ballroom A
Saturday 3:00 PM Starship Trooper Cast – Sat Lincoln Theater
Saturday 5:00 PM Star Trek Books Gab Session Ballroom A
Saturday 6:00 PM Trek Memorial Wheatland
Saturday 8:00 PM Masquerade Lincoln Theater
Saturday was a whirlwind of panels and vendor room visits, I had the opportunity to buy a pretty beat up Gold Key #1 for only $200, and while I’m happy I didn’t spend that money, I still have regrets. It’s just so much money to spend on one book! But it was a book I’ve never see in person before, so…. as I said. Regrets.
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FFRF urges global action for Moroccan activist given 30 months for ‘blasphemous’ T-shirt
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is sounding the alarm after a Moroccan feminist and human rights activist was outrageously sentenced to 30 months in prison for wearing a T-shirt.
Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar, an atheist psychologist and co-founder of the Mouvement Alternatif pour les Libertés Individuelles (MALI), was arrested for posting a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt reading “Allah is lesbian.” She was put on trial for “insulting Islam.”
The sentence is especially alarming given Lachgar’s fragile health. She is battling cancer and requires urgent surgery in September. Prison conditions in Morocco are notoriously harsh, and her supporters fear she could die behind bars.
“This could be a death sentence for a courageous activist I have known for many years and who has spent her life bravely defending the rights of women, LGBTQ-plus people and nonbelievers in Morocco,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Betty’s only so-called crime is to express dissent — peacefully challenging religious dogma in a theocratic monarchy where blasphemy laws are used as weapons of repression.”
FFRF, which last week asked the State Department to intervene, is calling on its allies in the United States and international community to help Betty by:
- Publicly demanding her immediate release.
- Pressing Morocco to immediately release her and to drop blasphemy charges against her.
- Condemning Morocco’s criminalization of apostasy, blasphemy and same-sex relationships as violations of fundamental freedoms.
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, which has led a “Free Betty” protest at the Moroccan Embassy in London, has resources, including a #Free Betty campaign with social media and petitions
FFRF notes that Morocco is violating the international human rights treaties it has signed guaranteeing freedom of conscience and expression. In 2020, Congress passed a resolution with overwhelming bipartisan support calling on the State Department to prioritize the repeal of blasphemy, heresy and apostasy laws worldwide.
“True religious liberty must include the right to reject religion, the right to criticize it and the right to live openly, whether as an atheist or advocate for LGBTQ rights, without fear of prosecution or prison,” adds FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “Blasphemy is a victimless crime — but blasphemy laws create many innocent victims.”
FFRF warns that Lachgar’s health and life now hang in the balance unless the international community acts.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Freethought Radio – September 4, 2025
We report on state/church victories and challenges in Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas, Morocco, Minnesota and Florida. Then, we hear Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Ed Larson (Summer for the Gods) tell us the story of the 1925 Scopes Trial, the “Trial of the Century,” pitting science against religion in Dayton, Tenn., 100 years ago.
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FFRF denounces Trump’s climate change science denial
The Trump administration has released a report whitewashing science that is being properly blasted by 85 scientists.
The science group’s 439-page, peer-reviewed rebuttal, submitted at the conclusion of the government’s official comment period, is three times longer than the Energy Department’s report on climate change. Many of the scientists are especially indignant because their work is being cited in the misleading Energy Department report, written by five individuals who Energy Secretary Chris Wright handpicked. The official report, which was not peer-reviewed, essentially states that climate change is “less damaging economically than commonly believed.”
The rebuttal’s principal author, Texas A&M Atmospheric Sciences Professor Andrew Dessler, points out that the government report employs the strategy of using a “kernel of truth” taken out of context. Case Western Reserve Physics Professor Cyrus C. Taylor cites “graphical sleight of hand” and other scientists reveal that the Energy Department report cites a paper that doesn’t even exist.
Bizarrely, Secretary Wright told the New York Times that climate change is “a scientific, economic issue and people treat it too often as a religious issue.” Come again? The fact is that the Trump administration’s war on our environment and work to sabotage and undo climate mitigation efforts is blessed by Christian nationalism. The White House is taking a page from historic autocrats, repressive church leaders and despots. Evangelicals are most apt to deny climate change while “Nones” are most likely to accept it and want to combat it.
Notable among the Christian nationalist drive against climate change science is the Heritage Foundation Project 2025, which, according to an analysis by of Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, calls for:
• Dismantling the administrative state, especially the EPA.
• De-emphasizing efforts to address climate change.
• Freeing private activities from regulatory constraints.
• Promoting American energy and science dominance (and fossil fuels).
• And grabbing the reins of government.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency is already using the Energy Department’s analysis to promote the repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding, which declared climate change a danger to human health. That finding has till now permitted regulations of greenhouse gas emissions, such as from cars.
The doctored Energy Department report is but a small part of Trump’s war on science. The assaults include an executive order (“Restoring Gold Standard Science”) condemned by Nobel laureates, as well as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s war on medical science, the elimination or downsizing of multiple scientific advisory panels, and the massive drop in federal support for basic science research.
A recent New York Times lengthy analysis, “Historians see autocratic playbook in Trump’s attacks on science,” reminds us of the prominent role of religion in the war with science: “The war on science began four centuries ago when the Roman Catholic Church outlawed books that reimagined the heavens. Subsequent regimes shot or jailed thousands of scientists. Today, in such places as China and Hungary, a less fearsome type of strongman relies on budget cuts, intimidation and high-tech surveillance to cow scientists into submission.”
Paul R. Josephson, emeritus professor of history at Colby College and author of a book on totalitarian science, is quoted in the article, noting: “Despots want science that has practical results. They’re afraid that basic knowledge will expose their false claims. Trump once said he wanted the generals that Hitler had. He’s certainly working on getting the science that Hitler and Stalin had.”
Comments FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor, “Authoritarian regimes, which often tout religion to buttress their authority, need to sow distrust of contrary authorities, such as scientists. But the truth matters. We salute the 85 scientists speaking out and providing a true report on climate change, because not only our democracy but our planet’s future is at stake.”
FFRF urges its members and the public to continue to demand truth, not disinformation, from the federal government.
Pictured: A statue dedicated to monk Giordano Bruno, placed by freethinkers in 1889 at the Campo Dei Fiori in Rome. Bruno was burned at the stake in the year 1600 for the crime of defending the Copernican theory of heliocentrism. (Photo by Annie Laurie Gaylor)
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
The post FFRF denounces Trump’s climate change science denial appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.
“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Seeds of Salvation #1” Review by Getyourcomicon.co.uk
Getyourcomicon.co.uk has added a new review for Robbie Thompson‘s “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Seeds of Salvation #1”:
The beauty of bringing Star Trek to comic books is that the opportunities are endless. Cross over with Doctor Who, doable. Integrating characters from series past and present. Done. But there’s also the opportunity to take a story which has no room in live-action and allowing it to span the pages of an elegantly written and charmingly rendered book. Today IDW Publishing begins a voyage which does just that with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Seeds of Salvation.
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