UPCOMING and RECENT EVENTS
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By FS Editor, on March 15th, 2013
 - Roy Zimmerman
The Freethought Society and the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia are pleased to announce the return of Roy Zimmerman to the Philadelphia area. Roy’s “Wake Up Call” performance of original and funny songs about ignorance, war, greed, hope, struggle, change and more greed takes place on Monday, April 1, 2013. The charge is $18 (pay at the door) with discount available to students and seniors. Anyone would be a “fool” to miss this April 1st concert!
Roy’s one-of-a-kind performance begins at 7:30 PM at the Ethical Society’s Building located at 1906 South Rittenhouse Square, Pennsylvania. Zimmerman sings satirical songs – all original songs about class warfare, creationism, same-sex marriage, guns, marijuana, abstinence, Republicans (a lot of songs about Republicans), ignorance, war and greed. There’s a decidedly “Lefty” slant to his lyrics.
In 2012, Roy and his co-writer wife Melanie Harby traveled 47,000 miles
to complete a 50-state tour of all 49 states. Hawaii was “Omission
Accomplished,” he says.
“Wake Up Call” is a funny, tuneful and unabashedly progressive look at what they saw and heard across America in the
Obama Era. The show is ninety minutes of original, rhyme-intensive songs, with funny titles such as Abstain With Me and I Want a Marriage Like They Had In the Bible. Roy also sings heartfelt songs like Hope, Struggle and Change and I Approve This Message. The audience always enjoys Roy’s impassioned comic commentary.
With thirteen albums over twenty years, Roy has brought the sting of satire to the struggle for peace and social justice. His songs have been heard on HBO and Showtime. Roy has recorded for Warner/Reprise Records, and he has been profiled on NPR’s All Things Considered. Roy’s YouTube videos have amassed over seven million views, and he is a featured blogger for the Huffington Post.
Sing Out! Magazine writes, “Zimmerman is a guy on the left skewering folks on the right with rapier-sharp lyrics … underneath the caustic satire is a man who is surprisingly optimistic.” See for yourself: Creation Science 101, To Be a Liberal, and Defenders of Marriage.
Don’t miss Roy Zimmerman’s Monday, April 1, 2013 one-man show on April Fools Day!
PLEASE RSVP VIA OUR MEETUP PAGE:
http://www.meetup.com/Freethought-Society-Meetup/events/109400402/
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By FS Editor, on February 20th, 2013  Dr. Robert Porter
Please join us at 7:00 PM at the Ludington Library on Tuesday, February 26, 2013. Dr. Robert Porter’s presentation,“Invisible Minds and the Magical Universe” will take place in the large meeting room located on the main level of the Ludington Library. The library address is 5 South Bryn Mawr Avenue, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. A SEPTA stop is located across the street from the library.
Dr. Porter, is the author of The Answer is Never Magic, a Socratic dialog on faith and religion between a skeptic and a believer. A discussion about belief in God, angels, the Devil, worship, prayer, sin and redemption will be presented and Dr. Porter will examine why there seem to be so many believers.
Dr. Porter is a physician, earned his MD from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, PA and completed an Emergency Medicine residency at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. Rob is board certified in Emergency Medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Since 1983, he has held a variety of clinical and teaching appointments in the Philadelphia area, most recently at Albert Einstein Medical Center and Thomas Jefferson University.He currently works for Merck, where he is editor-in-chief of The Merck Manuals.
He lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife, elder son and four cats. In addition to indulging his inner philosopher with the publication of The Answer is Never Magic, Dr. Porter is active in progressive politics in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.
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By FS Editor, on January 23rd, 2013 January February 2013 FS Newsletter PDF Final
- The 2012 Tree of Knowledge Report by Margaret Downey
- The Freethought Society’s 2013 Four-Month Calendar
- The Pastafarian 2012 Holiday Display Request by Margaret Downey
- FS Tree of Knowledge and the Ethical Humanist Society by Margaret Downey
- The Integration of Religion and Government by Douglas Heisler
- The 2012 Human Tree of Knowledge Report by Margaret Downey
- Photos from the 2012 Human Tree of Knowledge Event
- Promotional Flier for the September 13, 2013 Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center Event
- Hurricane Sandy Emergency Relief Fund Update
- Freethought Society’s St. Croix Flier
January February 2013 FS Newsletter PDF Final
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By FS Editor, on December 26th, 2012 Monday, January 28, 2013, 7:00 PM at the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia, 1906 S. Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA
 The Freethought Society (FS) and the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia (EHSP) continue a commitment to co-host quality speakers. We are pleased to announce Katherine Stewart as the speaker for Monday, January 28, 2013.
Stewart’s presentation is based on her popular book, The Good News Club: The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children.
In January, 2009, Katherine Stewart learned that the Santa Barbara public elementary school her children attended had added a Bible study class called the “Good News Club” to its afterschool program. She soon learned that the Good News Club—a seemingly spontaneous and voluntary after-school program—was in fact part of a larger, calculated initiative by national advocacy groups whose declared aim is to “take back” America’s public schools and repurpose them with a Fundamentalist Christian agenda.
What happened in Stewart’s community is happening nationwide: at the end of 2010 there were more than 3,500 Good News Clubs operating in public schools across the country, and the number is rapidly increasing. What’s more, a landmark 2001 Supreme Court ruling not only permits such an unusual pairing of schooling and religion, it effectively makes it obligatory.
 In The Good News Club: The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children, Stewart sets out on an investigative journey to uncover the effect the Good News Clubs and similar initiatives have on our schools, children, and communities. She travels to dozens of cities and towns across the country and visits regions famous for their piety, like west Texas and Alabama, as well as places known for the opposite, like Seattle and New York City. Everywhere, she discovers religion-driven programs inserting themselves into public school systems with unprecedented force and unexpected consequences.
The Christian Right’s strategy to “take back America” is stealthy, calculated, extremely well-financed, and coming soon to a neighborhood near you.
The presentation will take place at 7:00 PM at the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia (1906 South Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Stewart will expose a well-funded, highly coordinated effort by Christian Nationalists to use public schools to advance a fundamentalist agenda.
Stewart is an investigative journalist and author. She began her career working for the Village Voice, Newsweek International, Rolling Stone, and Marie Claire. Stewart has also written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, Bloomberg View, and Religion Dispatches.
Read more about Stewart and her eye-opening book here: http://seattletimes.com/html/books/2017469135_br10goodnews.html
PLEASE RSVP via our Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Freethought-Society-Meetup/events/96540182/ or FACEBOOK pages: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Freethought-Society/147128532024347#!/events/527983293892082/
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By FS Editor, on November 14th, 2012
 - 2010 Human Tree of Knowledge, West Chester Courthouse
The Freethought Society (FS) continues to demand the right to display a Tree of Knowledge on the grounds of the Chester County Courthouse.
A 2012 display request will likely be denied, therefore supporters must be prepared to conduct a “Human Tree of Knowledge” event/protest rally. The event/protest rally schedule will include the distribution of ornaments and participants will be invited to say a few words about how much certain books mean to them. Please plan to participate on Saturday, December 1, 2012 at the Chester County Courthouse located at the corner of High and Market Streets (2 North High Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania). The event will start at 3:00 PM and will include speeches, singing, photo opportunities and a press conference.
Please email FS to volunteer (volunteers@FtSociety.org) for one of many jobs that need to be done ahead of time (new ornaments, press releases, media training, etc.).
Should the FS petition to include The Tree of Knowledge in the 2012 display be approved, an actual tree will be decorated. FS supporters will be notified by email, and/or a notice will be posted on the Freethought Society listserv and website.
At 5:30 PM, a post-event dinner (Dutch Treat) will take place at Kildare’s Irish Pub, located at 18 West Gay Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, 19380. The restaurant is located just one block from the Chester County Courthouse. For directions to the restaurant call, (610) 431-0770.
To reserve dinner seats, please call the FS office at (610) 793-2737 by November 28, 2012.
PLEASE RSVP via our Meetup or Facebook pages!
NOTE that this event is the first of a Tree of Knowledge Weekend, with the second event, decorating the tree, taking place at the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia. More details here: http://www.ftsociety.org/?p=2409
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