Complimentary Copy Join FFRF Now! Vo1. 30 No. 9 Published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. November 2013 Photo: Eric Knuffke FFRF sues Calif. city for pervasive Christian prayers The Freedom From Religion Foun- attention. AUSLO and FFRF have been dation filed a lawsuit Nov. 1 in Cali- preparing the suit for more than a year. fornia state court against the city of Dworkin, who identifies as “an athe- Pismo Beach, challenging prayers at ist Jew,” was surprised to encounter city council meetings and the city chap- the council’s Christian prayers, which laincy post. “cause her to feel offended, disenfran- The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral chised, and intimidated about partici- arguments Nov. 6 in a related and close- pating in her own government.” ly watched case involving a challenge Pismo Beach established an offi- by two plaintiffs to Christian prayer by cial city chaplaincy in 2005, appoint- the town of Greece, N.Y. The plaintiffs ing a Pentecostal preacher, Rev. Paul are women, one atheist and one Jewish, Jones. He’s affiliated with the Interna- who are seeking to invoke protections tional Church of the Foursquare Gos- under the U.S. Constitution. pel, which emphasizes “speaking in FFRF’s new lawsuit invokes only the tongues” (although he has refrained California Constitution’s No Prefer- from doing that during city council ence and Establishment Clauses, as prayers). Jones delivered 112 of the well as a civil rights provision. Regard- 126 prayers scheduled by the coun- less of how the Supreme Court decides cil between Jan. 1, 2008, and Oct. 15, the Greece case, FFRF’s case can pro- 2013. All but one of the 126 prayers ceed, and could carve out protections were addressed to the Christian god. against government prayer for all citi- In virtually every city prayer, Jones zens in the country’s most populated pressured citizens and the council to state. live a Christian lifestyle, to vote for Plaintiffs are FFRF, which has about “righteous” leaders and to make deci- 2,800 California members, and local sions that honor Jones’ particular god. FFRF member, Dr. Sari Dworkin, who The board meets twice a month. is also a member of Atheists United of At least 54 of the prayers contained San Luis Obispo, which brought the a “Christianized” view of history. FFRF’s First Amendment violation to FFRF’s Continued on back page Off with their ‘Head of Christ’ Crossroads of the World Steve Salemson, Wisconsin, was opportunely in New York City in late October to visit FFRF’s Times Square billboard. Steve regularly volunteers at the FFRF, ACLU settle Madison office. About a third of a million people pass through Times Square daily. FFRF’s message is on the same digital billboard at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue as the Answers in Genesis message saying, “To all our atheist friends: Jesus portrait case Thank God you’re wrong.” (See back page for more photos.) The Freedom from Religion Foun- ties Union of Ohio have settled a law- District in Jackson, Ohio, with the dation and the American Civil Liber- suit against the Jackson City School district agreeing not to continue to dis- Inside This Issue Arizona Rep. Columbus Dispatch/Doral Chenoweth III play a portrait of Jesus. FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Re- Juan Mendez: becca Markert wrote a Jan. 2 letter of Emperor Has complaint on behalf of parents with No Clothes students at the school, provoking Su- Awardee perintendent Phil Howard to publicly vow that the “Head of Christ” painting Page 6 would only be removed by court order. That order came in October in the form of a consent decree mandating that the portrait be permanently re- moved from school property. Parties agreed to a financial settlement requir- ing the school to pay the plaintiffs a combination of damages and legal fees FFRF Convention Photography totaling $95,000. FFRF’s share of the Pages 8–14 legal fees was $7,500. “We’re pleased that the plaintiffs — parents and students — whose identi- ties will be protected, will each receive $3,000 in claims and damages,” said This Feb. 12 photo shows a painting of Jesus Christ above the entrance FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gay- FFRF State/Church Victories lor. “It’s just and appropriate that stu- to Jackson Middle School in Jackson, Ohio. At right is a “Hall of Honor” Page 16 showing famous Jackson residents and school alumni. Continued on back page Page 2 Freethought Today Madison, Wisconsin November 2013 Photo: Scott Colson Welcome to 19 new ‘Lifers,’ from 11 states, Canada The Freedom From Religion Foun- duct from taxable income a donation dation is grateful and pleased to an- to FFRF that is given directly from your nounce 19 new Lifetime Members. IRA account as part of your mandatory One new “Lifer” prefers anonymity. distribution. The others are: You may transfer up to $100,000 Raymond Borkowski, Dorothea M. from a retirement account (traditional Case, Howard G. Cowper, Allison Da- or Roth) to FFRF, which is a qualified vis, Michael Doyle, Vernon Getlinger, 501(c)(3) charity. Congress extended Nancy Hertz, Waldemar Janowski, the IRS charitable rollover to the end Steve Lowe, Lisa Lynch, Nate Mander- of 2013. feld, Raul Martinez (gift from Michael Jacobson), Kenneth B. Millard, Joan Reisman-Brill, Eric C. Sanders, Roger FFRF rates 4 stars again Scholten, J. Darwin Soder (already an For many years, FFRF has been rated “After Lifer”) and Louis Tremblay. “four stars” by Charity Navigator, Amer- States represented are California, ica’s largest independent evaluator of Florida, District of Columbia, Kansas, nonprofits. This fall, FFRF received Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, notification it has retained Charity Nevada, New York, Oregon, Wiscon- Navigator’s “coveted 4-star rating for sin and the Canadian province of Sas- sound fiscal management and commit- katchewan. ment to accountability and transpar- Correction: The October issue last ency. Receiving four out of a possible month incorrectly listed Kathy Petty- four stars indicates that your organiza- crew as a new Lifetime Member. Her tion adheres to good governance and Dayna Long traded Lutheranism for atheism. husband, Bruce Pettycrew, should have other best practices that minimize the been welcomed. Kathy is already a Life- chance of unethical activities and con- time Member. sistently executes its mission in a fis- Meet an Activist Staffer Thank you to Bruce, Louis, J. Dar- cally responsible way. Only 6% of the win, Roger, Eric, Joan, Kenneth, Mi- charities we rate have received at least chael gifting Raul, Nate, Lisa, Steve, four consecutive 4-star evaluations, in- Name: Dayna Elizabeth Long. about: Answering a question like this. Waldemar, Nancy, Vernon, Michael, dicating that Freedom From Religion Where and when I was born: I was My religious upbringing was: Zilch. Allison, Howard, Dorothea, Raymond Foundation outperforms most other born in Urbana, Ill., in 1989. My family started attending a Lutheran and Anonymous! charities in America. This ‘exception- Education: I graduated from the church when I was 15, but happily it Lifetime Memberships are avail- al’ designation from Charity Navigator University of Illinois in 2011 with a de- was a short-lived practice. able for $1,000 per individual, go into differentiates Freedom From Religion gree in English literature. My doubts about religion started: a “rainy day” reserved account, ensure Foundation from its peers and demon- How I came to work at FFRF: I was When I was pretty young. I can remem- never another renewal notice and are strates to the public it is worthy of their working at a software company but ber asking my mom if she thought God deductible for income-tax purposes to trust,” writes Charity Navigator Ken knew I wanted to be doing work that was real around the same time that I the kind donor, as are all dues and do- Berger, president and CEO. was more meaningful to me and would started asking why she and Santa Claus nations to FFRF. also allow me to spend more time vol- used the same wrapping paper. When I unteering for the National Organiza- was in my late teens and early 20s and FFRF is CFC recipient tion for Women [Dayna is the newly really growing into feminism, I became Senior FFRF donors: elected volunteer president of the Wis- frustrated with organized religion’s at- Take advantage of IRA Federal employees take note: FFRF consin chapter of NOW]. When I saw tempts to impose its doctrine on every- qualifies for your Combined Federal that FFRF was hiring, I jumped on it. one, especially on issues like same-sex rollover Campaign donations. The CFC code What I do here: I’m an administra- marriage and reproductive rights. A reminder that until the end of the donors should use to designate their tive assistant, so I get the mail, process When I moved to Madison after col- year, seniors 70½ and older may de- contribution is 32519. sales orders, answer the phone, do lege, I started hanging out with UW’s some data entry plus a hundred other student group Atheists, Humanists, miscellaneous things. and Agnostics, which is when I became What I like best about it: It’s really comfortable openly identifying as an wonderful to work in an office where atheist. I can be very open about my atheism Things I like: My cats, chai tea lattes, and also my politics without worrying nonfiction, incredible female leaders about offending anyone. Also, every- and great Wisconsin beer. Also blue- one who works here is really bright and berry danish. funny. I laugh all day long. Things I smite: Sexism, racism, ho- What sucks about it: Occasional mophobia, transphobia, drivers who long lines at the post office.