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EverLastingGodStopper
11-09-2007, 12:48 AM
They say that politics makes strange bedfellows. If not for the politics at the IIDB, VM might not have invited me to join :ff:. In the wake of this turn of events, I was in search of a new home base for my activism, along the lines of what I was doing in IIDB's PA&SA (Positive Atheism and Secular Activism) forum. Although I am registered on nearly every atheist-oriented message board online, I wasn't sure where I'd set up shop.

So, Brian Sapient of the Rational Response Squad (http://www.rationalresponders.com/) gave me a call and made a suggestion. He'd set me up with my own forum on his site, and he'd help me generate a newsfeed from that forum, which people could subscribe to.

Brian and I first met over 5 years ago at an Atheists Meetup (http://atheists.meetup.com), and we have worked together off and on throughout the years on various websites and projects. When he started the RRS, I was somewhat critical of his position and tone. He was somewhat frustrated with IIDB's rules, which interfered with his usual posting style. We had a parting of ways, although I occasionally saw him at the Meetup, and I posted on the RRS forum sometimes. I wasn't interested in "fighting theism" and he wasn't interested in my moderate style of activism or my organized groups.

But within the past year, the RRS blossomed. They began to have atheist group leaders as guests on their show, and they started working with these groups to promote them to the fans of the RRS online broadcast. They got involved with my friend and mentor, Margaret Downey (http://www.margaretdowney.com/), and began to work with the Atheist Alliance International (http://atheistalliance.org/) on the AAI's annual convention, which was held in September 2007 in Washington DC. They helped record and distribute videos from the convention. We hung out and had some laughs. It was good for me to see them working with my groups.

When Brian pitched the forum/newsfeed idea to me, I was surprised and pleased. So despite our differences, I accepted his offer, and we've spent the past two days setting this thing up. I posted an announcement in my RRS blog (http://www.rationalresponders.com/partnering_with_rational_reponders_to_promote_activism), and I'm making my way around to the various communities I've joined, to invite people to subscribe to my newsfeed, which is here: Janice Rael (http://janicerael.blogspot.com/).

I am glad to participate here on the :ff: and discuss issues and ideas with you in a meaningful way, and I will still participate here, but it won't be my "activism home." If you want to get all my messages and details, you can sign up to get the info via the newsfeed.

I am looking forward to this new project and I am optimistic about my affiliation with the RRS. I've never done anything like this before, please wish me luck. Thanks!

Bright Life
11-09-2007, 01:27 AM
You don't even NEED luck. You've got the skills!

EverLastingGodStopper
11-09-2007, 01:29 AM
You don't even NEED luck. You've got the skills!

Well, I get by with a little help from my friends. :wave:

viscousmemories
11-09-2007, 04:19 AM
Good luck, Janice.

D. Scarlatti
11-09-2007, 04:21 AM
I was in Borders today, and they actually had a special display with a sign: Atheism.

So, huh. And I almost moved the Michael Behe book to "Christianity." Activism.

EverLastingGodStopper
11-09-2007, 04:31 AM
Good luck, Janice.
Thanks VM! Sapient is still tweaking the RSS feed for my Feedburner account, we are having troubles keeping them in sync. I found two fellow activists to help me post atheist-related news and info in the new "GodStopper Activism" forum, so we can try to cover as much material as possible.

I was in Borders today, and they actually had a special display with a sign: Atheism.

So, huh. And I almost moved the Michael Behe book to "Christianity." Activism.

Behe! Grrrrr. I sort of met him in June 2005 when I testified against legislation that would have mandated the teaching of intelligent design in Pennsylvania schools. At the Education Subcommittee hearing, when I busted out the Wedge document - EvoWiki (http://wiki.cotch.net/index.php/Wedge_document), Behe slammed his laptop shut and stormed out. I lol'd.

Bright Life
11-10-2007, 06:19 PM
Wow, I'd never seen the Wedge Document. Not that I didn't know it already, but I didn't know they'd put it on paper.

Deadlokd
11-11-2007, 09:40 AM
Cool ELGS. Go forth and deconvert :popcorn:

Clutch Munny
11-11-2007, 05:42 PM
Wow, I'd never seen the Wedge Document. Not that I didn't know it already, but I didn't know they'd put it on paper.

You knew it was called the Wedge Document, but didn't know it had been put on paper?

:chin:

D. Scarlatti
11-11-2007, 05:46 PM
wedge.doc

Angakuk
11-12-2007, 03:35 AM
Wow, I'd never seen the Wedge Document. Not that I didn't know it already, but I didn't know they'd put it on paper.

You knew it was called the Wedge Document, but didn't know it had been put on paper?

:chin:

Perhaps Bright Life meant that she/he was aware of the existence of the strategy represented by the Wedge Document, but did not know that said strategy had been committed to paper.

Bright Life
11-12-2007, 04:33 AM
Wow, I'd never seen the Wedge Document. Not that I didn't know it already, but I didn't know they'd put it on paper.

You knew it was called the Wedge Document, but didn't know it had been put on paper?

:chin:

Perhaps Bright Life meant that she/he was aware of the existence of the strategy represented by the Wedge Document, but did not know that said strategy had been committed to paper.

Ahem. Thank you. :=B

Clutch Munny
11-12-2007, 02:16 PM
Wow, I'd never seen the Wedge Document. Not that I didn't know it already, but I didn't know they'd put it on paper.

You knew it was called the Wedge Document, but didn't know it had been put on paper?

:chin:

Perhaps Bright Life meant that she/he was aware of the existence of the strategy represented by the Wedge Document, but did not know that said strategy had been committed to paper.

Pshaw. There'd be nothing funny about that.

EverLastingGodStopper
11-12-2007, 10:20 PM
Wow, I'd never seen the Wedge Document. Not that I didn't know it already, but I didn't know they'd put it on paper.

You knew it was called the Wedge Document, but didn't know it had been put on paper?

:chin:

Perhaps Bright Life meant that she/he was aware of the existence of the strategy represented by the Wedge Document, but did not know that said strategy had been committed to paper.

Pshaw. There'd be nothing funny about that.
One of the E/C Mods from IIDB sent me a scanned copy of the original Wedge Document, and that was what I used when I gave my testimony. The Discovery Institute used to deny that this paper existed, but they recently admitted that they wrote it, and put out a statement about it. CSC - The " Wedge Document ": So What? (http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=2101)

Of course, I think you should read the dissection of the Wedge Document that is found on science-supporting sites. Example:

The Wedge Strategy - Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture (http://www.antievolution.org/features/wedge.html)

The Discovery Institute's " Wedge Document " (http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/2437/wedge.html)

As to my new newsfeed, there are still some technical problems getting the RSS feed in sync with the blog, but the first link in my blog is to the *GodStopper Activism forum* (http://www.rationalresponders.com/forums/sapient/news_activism/godstopper_activism) and if you are interested, you can follow along there.