Photos from the Thomas Paine Proclamation Celebration
The 2022 Life Behind Bars: Compassion and Reform Conference Report
Life Behind Bars: Compassion and Reform Speaker Photos
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Freethought Society Multi-Month Zoom Calendar
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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.
Congressman Jamie Raskin’s Greeting to Attendees of the 2022 Thomas Paine Festival
The 2022 Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center’s Online International Educational Seminar
More Photos from the June 2022 Thomas Paine Festival
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Racism, Religion, and Irrationality in Buffalo and Beyond by Norm R. Allen, Jr.
Announcing a New Freethought Society Committee!
Several Freethought Board Members React to the Anti-Choice Supreme Court Decision Submissions by, Margaret Downey, Glen Loev, Alan Gold, Victoria De la Torre, and Sally Flynn
Freethought Society Two-Month Calendar
Donation and Information Page
We hope that you will remain or become an active supporter of the great work FS is doing. Please donate to the general fund or select a project you want to help sponsor. All donations to FS are tax-deductible (EIN: 23-2738574).
If the Ezine inspires you to become more actively involved with FS, please provide us with your contact information, including your phone number and mailing address.
Special events are being planned in your area so don’t miss an opportunity to participate further. All personal information is confidential and will not be shared with other organizations.
Click here to see the May/June/July/August 2022 Freethought Society (FS) Ezine.
In the Ezine you will find the following:
The Thomas Paine Birthdate Celebration Brings Great Progress for the Statue Project!
Photos from the 2022 Thomas Paine Birthdate Celebration
House Bill 6720
Tracking House Bill 6720
Talking to Christian Fundamentalists
by Herb Silverman
Secular Student Alliance/Freethought Society Secular Student Scholarship Announcement
Well, Perhaps Chaplains Are for Atheists, Too
by Art Karloff
Truth or Consequences
by Vic Losick
How I Went from Advertising God to Leaving God
by John Follis
Freethought Society Two-Month Zoom Calendar
Donation and Information Page
We hope that you will remain or become an active supporter of the great work FS is doing. Please donate to the general fund or select a project you want to help sponsor. All donations to FS are tax-deductible!
If the Ezine inspires you to become more actively involved with FS, please provide us with your contact information, including your phone number and mailing address.
Special events are being planned in your area so don’t miss an opportunity to participate further. All personal information is confidential and will not be shared with other organizations.
If you are planning a visit to Paris, France and you have interest is visiting the places of significance to Thomas Paine’s work and life, please use this document: Thomas Paine-Themed Tour for Visitors to Paris, France
The document indicates addresses for each location that was visited during September 2017 Paris, France Thomas Paine-themed tour conducted by Margaret Downey, Julien Musolino, and Gary Berton.
Downey portrayed Marguerite Brazier Bonneville. She was a French citizen and was very helpful to Thomas when he lived in Paris.
Musolino portrayed Thomas Paine during the tour. In the following script, Julien quoted the words Thomas Paine uttered in Paris and conveyed some of the most famous statements made in Paine’s writings.
Thomas Paine expert, Gary Berton was also a host of the tour.
The document includes all the information about Thomas Paine that was conveyed by Downey, Musolino, and Berton. We hope you enjoy your time in Paris and will support the efforts of the Freethought Society.
