Hear ye, hear ye! It’s time to celebrate the birth of Thomas Paine! The Zoom celebration will take place on Sunday, January 29, 2023 at Noon (PST)/3:00 PM (EST). Registration at the below link:
The 2023 Thomas Paine birthdate celebration is sponsored by the Thomas Paine Memorial Association (TPMA), Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), Secular Student Alliance, Center For Inquiry (CFI), and The Freethought Society.
The theme of the 2023 event is “Thomas Paine Birthdate Proclamation Celebration.” TPMA board members will each read a Thomas Paine Day proclamation as an example of how a proclamation can be written to honor the life of our freethought hero. Thomas Paine Day is celebrated on June 8th every year. In Europe his date of death is used as an official time to reflect upon and honor his life accomplishments. Paine died on June 8, 1809.
Actor Ian Ruskin will be reading a New Rochelle, New York proclamation. Author, comedian, and monologist Julia Sweeney will be reading a City of Philadelphia proclamation signed by former Mayor Edward G. Rendell. Another City of Philadelphia proclamation, signed by former mayor Michael A. Nutter, will be read by author and educator Christopher Cameron. Actor John de Lancie and his wife Marnie Mosiman de Lancie will be reading proclamations from the cities of Lancaster and York, Pennsylvania. Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of FFRF will be reading the Urbana, Illinois proclamation. President and CEO of CFI, Robyn Blumner, will be reading the Bordentown, New Jersey proclamation. Author and educator Frances Chiu will read the Cherry Hill, New Jersey proclamation. Author, producer, and director Ann Druyan will read a Pennsylvania House of Representatives Thomas Paine Day Resolution.
The 2023 June 8th Thomas Paine Day will be enhanced when more proclamations are written and approved by mayors, governors, and city councils. Instructions on how to write a Thomas Paine Day proclamation will be provided by Margaret Downey, the president of TPMA.
Representative Jamie Raskin will share updates on the Congressional front along with a heartfelt welcome.
In September 2022, Representative Victoria Spartz became a co-lead of House Bill 6720 (a Congressional Bill to endorse a Washington, D.C. monument to honor Thomas Paine). She will also deliver a welcome address and convey why she supports a monument to Thomas Paine.
The keynote speaker is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of London Greg Claeys. His speech “Thomas Paine’s Collected Works: A New Edition,” will provide an update about efforts to uncover previously unattributed Paine writings.
Providing the celebratory music are selections from a new musical The Crossing. The play places Thomas Paine and his American Crisis front and center. The Crossing was written by Jason Huza and John Allen Watts. Three songs from the play will be featured: “These Are The Days” is a song that opens and closes The Crossing; “On The Wheel of Time” is a duet sung by the characters Elizabeth and Abigail; and “Rights Intrinsic” showcases Thomas Paine’s vision for a new world.
On Saturday, April 30, 2022, the Freethought Society is pleased to host Seth Andrews at 11:45 AM PDT/2:45 PM EDT.
Andrews is a former evangelical and Christian broadcaster who now hosts The Thinking Atheist…one of the most popular online atheist communities in the world. The Thinking Atheist is not a person. It is an icon encouraging all to reject faith and pursue reason and evidence. Since its launch in 2010, The Thinking Atheist podcast has been downloaded over 50 million times.
Andrews has authored five books, including his latest offering, Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot.”
With a mix of humor and heart, Andrews has spoken for audiences large and small in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia about his former faith, the promotion of science and skepticism, the importance of Humanism in this often crazy world, and why we should all pursue a personal relationship with reality.
The title of Andrews’ presentation is “I Sold My Soul on Twitter.” He will take a candid look at how tribalized, and often cruel, we can become — especially in the era of Covid and social media’s isolating algorithms. When is outrage appropriate, and when are we losing our way in a haze of unnecessary shouting, labeling, calling out, and condemning? Join Andrews for a journey toward re-humanizing ourselves and others in this often crazy world.
The Freethought Society and the American Ethical Union are pleased to host Chetan Ahimsa via Zoom on Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 6:45 PM EST/3:45 PM PST. Ahimsa is an actor from Kannada, India and a political/social activist.
The 15-minute pre-event chat social will highlight some of the films Ahimsa has appeared in.
Ahimsa is known for his efforts protesting against the Indian caste system. In June 2021, Ahimsa was arrested by Basavanagudi police who were following a complaint from the president of a little-known organization called “Yuva Vipra Vedike.” Read more at: bit.ly/3Ilf31P
Chetan Ahimsa
Ahimsa fights for equality, justice, rationality, and non-violence. He will tell us what motivates him to be a social activist.
Ahimsa credits his mother, Mangala Kumar, and his father, Amar Kumar (both doctors), for providing him with the willpower to continue his important activism work, but as a young adult Ahimsa studied the writings of Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy.
Revered as “Periyar,” Ramasamy was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement called Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the Father of the Dravidian, a social movement that advocates to eradicate the ills of the existing caste system including untouchability. Ahimsa will talk about Periyar’s importance in India’s rational thinking movement, the acceptance of atheism, and to himself personally.
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Secular Student Scholarship Awarded
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The Freethought Society is pleased to host Bob Nygaard as a Zoom speaker on Saturday, April 24, 2021. The event starts with a pre-event chat session at 11:45 AM PST/2:45 PM EST.
The formal presentation begins at Noon PST/3:00 PM EST. His speech is entitled “Combating Fortunetelling Fraud.” He will tell us how he builds criminal cases against so-called “psychics” who commit fortunetelling fraud. All of Nygaard’s efforts protect society and he has successfully made victims whole again.
Nygaard is a retired New York police officer turned private investigator. Nygaard has recovered millions of dollars for fraud victims around the world. His many television appearances include ABCs “20/20,” the syndicated “Crime Watch Daily,” and “Nancy Grace” shows — just to name a few. After a break, plan to stay for a post-event happy hour/social.
The Zoom link for this event is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88442718331 Meeting ID: 884 4271 8331 One tap mobile +16699006833,,88442718331# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,88442718331# US (Houston) Dial by your location +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 884 4271 8331
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