2006 Newsletters

Essays From Isaac Asimov Richard Layton's Discussion Group by Bob Lane Dick Layton is recovering from surgery. This month's article was written by Bob Lane. Best wishes to Dick for a rapid and complete recovery! As is always the...

The Enlightenment Under Threat Richard Layton's Discussion Group "Across the world, millions of people feel threatened. They sense a dangerous enemy at the gates, committed to values and beliefs they fear and despise, and ready to impose...

Scopes Monkey Trial Richard Layton's Discussion Group Report The Humanist Study Group this month discussed four articles by H.L. Mencken in the Baltimore Evening Sun  of June 29, 1925. The esteemed (by some) American journalist...

The State of Humanist Organizations Richard Layton’s Discussion Group Report This month's Humanist Discussion Group meeting featured as a speaker Vern Bullough, senior editor of Free Inquiry.  Mr. Bullough has written numerous a...

Is God an Accident? Richard Layton’s Discussion Group Report "Despite the vast number of religions, nearly everyone in the world believes in the same things: the existence of a soul, an afterlife, miracles, and the divine creation of the u...

States' Rights Richard Layton’s Discussion Group Report The doctrine of states' rights has been the cause of bitter controversy at several periods in U.S. history. How it has been so is the subject of an article, "States' Rights," by Microsoft C...

Religion, Identity, and Mideast Peace Richard Layton’s Discussion Group Report "It is true that most conflicts that are portrayed as religious conflicts are not in essence anything of the sort. Whether between Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir, B...

All Political Ideas Are Local Richard Layton’s Discussion Group Report In 1861 while southern states were in the process of seceding from the union, Fernando Wood, the mayor of New York, made a proposal to his city council that, if the S...

The Moment of Truth Richard Layton’s Discussion Group Report by Bob Lane The August Discussion Group reviewed Al Gore's article "The Moment of Truth,"  published in the May 2006 issue of Vanity Fair.  Gore wastes no t...

Creating Secular and Humanist Alternatives to Religion Richard Layton’s Discussion Group Report by Cindy King Is it possible to develop secular and humanistic alternatives to theistic religions of God and the promises of salvation? A...

Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class Richard Layton’s Discussion Group Report by Bob Mayhew You cannot be middle-class if you earn the minimum wage in America today says Thom Hartman, author of Screwed: The Undeclared W...

Theocons and Theocrats Richard Layton’s Discussion Group Report by Art King Is theocracy in the United States (1) a legitimate fear; (2) a joke, given the rising secular population and moral laxity in the US; or (3) a worrisome bias o...