Humanist Society of Santa Barbara
Newsletter for March 2003

Secular Humanism is a philosphy of life guided by reason and science, free from religious dogma, motivated by an appreciation of life and the life of others, seeking to reach goals of human happiness, personal freedom and growth with responsibility and understanding on this earth, in this life, at this time.

We meet at 3pm on the 3rd Saturday of each month at The Patio Room of Vista del Monte, 3775 Modoc Road, Santa Barbara.

If you would like a copy of this bulletin mailed to a friend or someone you believe would be interested in our Society please drop a line to us with their name and address to P.O. Box 30232, Santa Barbara, CA 93130.
BULLETIN OF THE HUMANIST
SOCIETY OF SANTA BARBARA

OFFICERS 2002 - 2003
Chairman - Roger Schlueter
962-6316 rogers@west.net

Secretary - Colin Gordon
682-0545 colin3@juno.com

Editor - Dick Cousineau
687-2371 rcous1geol@aol.com

Treasurer - Russ Boggie
564-6086 russboggie@cox.net

Programs - Bea Duncan
964-3109 bfarwellduncan@cox.net

Social Director - Anne Rojas
564-6086 annehrojas@cox.net

Membership - Mary Wilk
967-3045 mwilk@cox.net

Archivist - Hope Smith
967-5143 hsmith1923@aol.com

Major Events - James Kimberly
969-9686 dr.doboy@cox.net

Interviews - Bob Perry
968-1951 bob.perry3@verizon.net

Member at Large - Art Brody
692-8898 brodybiz@silcom.com

Publicity - Diane Freeman
964-8603 diane@silcom.com


Please continue to bring canned foods and non-perishable goods to our regular Society meetings. These donations are given to the Crisis Shelter (Domestic Solutions) and they are well appreciated by the clients and staff.

  

SOCIETY EVENTS

Last month we were pleased to have Michael Newdow speak of his trials and adventures in having the 9th District court hear his case to eliminate "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. This man was intelligent, witty, talented and just a pleasure to be with. Attendance was around 100 at the Schott Center.

March l5th - At this meeting there will be two speakers on related subjects:
1.Christine Thomas to speak on Recent Approaches to the Historical Jesus and the Enlightenment. Prof. Thomas specializes in Early Christianity and related archaeology.
2. Wade Clark Root's topic will be The A- religious in the US: Defectors but also Joiners. Prof. Root is of the Chair of the Religious Studies Dept. at UCSB.

April 19th - Mel Lipman, recently elected President of the American Humanist Assoc., has been a leader in the Humanist Assoc. of Las Vegas for many years. Long a champion of civil liberties and Church-State separation he has said as national president "I publicly want to challenge the Religious Right's exclusive claim to morality".


We are pleased to acknowledge and welcome the following new member* to our Society:

Mark Hamilton,

* Membership in our Society numbers approximately 130







In addition to canned goods please bring newspaper food coupons to our monthly meetings. Pat Coppejans shops with these coupons and gives the food purchased to the Domestic Solutions Home.

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GUEST EDITORIAL BY GEORGE DELURY

On Feb. 21, State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D., LA County) introduced SB 921 to institute a universal health care, single payer plan closely modeled on the CalCare plan that Peter Conn spoke to us about some months ago. Those who were at that meeting will recall that the plan aims at amalgamating all current monies spent on health care in the state (including Medicare funds) into one central fund that will pay all medical bills, thus cutting by about 85% the administrative costs of our current complex, duplicative, and confusing health care "system." The administrative costs of the private insurance system run about 25%, depending on what is included in those costs ( e.g., broker commissions, inflated executive salaries and perks, etc. ). The savings will permit coverage of virtually all medical needs for all California residents without additional cost. In fact, an economic analysis shows that the single risk pool, single payer system could save over $2 billion in the first year. The analysis was done by a consulting firm that does economic analyses for the American Hospital Association. The full analysis of this and other reform proposals can be seen at www.healthcareoptions.ca.gov/finaI/CA Report -Medi_Cal.pdf.
Instead of paying premiums to insurance companies, employees and employers will pay additional payroll taxes, generally less than the premiums, deductibles and co-payments they currently pay. There would be additional taxes on tobacco and alcohol (major contributors to health care costs). Unearned income will also be taxed at a marginally higher rate. All but the wealthiest will see a decline in their health care expenditures.
The system will be overseen by an elected Health Care Commissioner with the power to negotiate with pharmaceutical and equipment providers for the best possible prices on bulk purchases. A representative Health Policy Board will set standards for capital improvements and allocate funds on a regional basis. An Office of Medical Standards will set practice standards to ensure quality service at reasonable cost. Regional ageRGies--9f the~y:;tem will deal- with the :;t~te boards on behalf of providers and patients in each region. An Inspector General will have responsibility for spotting fraud and abuse of the system, assisted by a central database of services, providers, and patients. An Office of Consumer Advocacy will look after the interests of patients.
The new system will leave intact the private and group practices of doctors and private hospitals. Union health plans and retirement benefits will be unaffected; the money for those plans will go to the central fund. Generally, workers and retirees, like the rest of the population, will end up with more coverage for less money. Patients will be free to choose doctors. State oversight offunding will permit a sharper focus on public health and primary care. That will make for additional cost savings, because the poor will no longer put off care until the need is urgent and costly. Many conditions now treated in emergency rooms at 5 times normal cost can be caught early and treated at less cost. At the same time, doctors' time will be freed up to focus on patients, instead of paper work.
This legislation needs grassroots endorsements from all sorts of organizations around California to persuade the legislature that the public is widely and deeply interested in this reform, sufficiently interested to counteract the blandishments of insurer, pharmaceutical, and other lobbyists who will be out in full strength to defeat the bill. Current endorsers include several Catholic, Unitarian, Congregational, and Friends organizations, service employees' union locals, the ACLU of So. California, the California Democratic Council and local Democratic committees, various Green Party organizations, the Sierra Club, and FORUM (Federation of Retired Union Members), among many others. Among Humanists, only the Jewish Secular Humanists of Santa Barbara have endorsed the plan.
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GETTING TO KNOW: MARY WILK

The person that members regularly contact when they come to the monthly Society meetings is the one in charge of our membership activities, she also takes your two dollars. But, that is only one small part of Mary's efforts. She also serves as 'recruiter', scanning the op-ed pages of our local papers to discover writers with discernible Humanist thought. To them, as to visitors to our meetings, she sends a personal letter with a copy of our brochure and an invitation to join the Society. Recently two new members have joined our ranks through this practice. Mary was an early member of HSSB, joining in January 1996. Currently as a member of the board she participates in the decisions that guide the Society.
From a diverse national background, her father was German and her mother English, she grew up in a non-religious family. Though nominally belonging to the Church of England she says they only attended church on ceremonial occasions. At school, however, morning prayers were compulsory and there was a weekly' Scripture' lesson. These were presented in such a perfunctory manner that they had very little effect on the participants.
In her teens she became entangled with an evangelistic group. A girl friend had invited her to a picnic, but they ended up at a church. Despite their best efforts to convert her she resisted the idea of 'accepting Christ as her Savior' and after several months the 'believers' gave up. The experience left her with the uneasy feeling that she was probably a SINNER, and had rejected her chance for salvation. Soon afterwards, she met her future husband who had escaped from Poland and joined the RAF in World War II. He was a lapsed Catholic who introduced her to the writings of Freethinkers such as Bertrand Russell and H.G. Wells. With immense relief she realized that she need no longer feel like an outcast, and from then on gave up all pretense of believing in God.
With her husband, Mary emigrated to the U.S. as 'stateless persons', later they became citizens. One surprise on coming here was the pervasiveness of religious faith. In spite of this environment they managed to raise their three children with very little exposure to such beliefs. She had wondered how this would affect them in their later lives. As it turned out they are neither for nor against religion, but find it merely irrelevant.
She has had a business career, mostly in manufacturing, supervising various enterprises that she and her husband have operated in Southern California. Mary now is President of Electromatic Inc., headquartered in Goleta. The firm, with facilities also in North Hollywood and Santa Fe Springs, specializes in electro polishing, somewhat the reverse of electro plating, working mostly with stainless steel for fabricators including Boeing.
A year ago, with her daughter Diana, Mary took up lawn bowling at MacKenzie Park. She invites all Humanists interested in a satisfying social sport to give lawn bowling a try.
The growing political influence of churches concerns her, as is the increase of superstition and gullibility among much of the population. That while Humanists take pride in our tolerance, we must not let this deter us from actively protecting OUR right to independent and rational thought.


TO ALL, AS YET UNRESPONDING, HUMANIST GOLFERS !!!!!!!!!!!
Be ye: high, low or no handicap; male, female or both (couples) let us know if you play the game. No commitment of any kind but we would like to be able to advise you of our future plans by snail or e-mail. Remember, even if the score is horrible, or the weather worse, its good to have a friendly compatible companion to commiserate with. Call Bob Perry: 968-1951 to get on the list.
ALSO: Audio recordings of the Michael Newdow talk and Jerry Cornfeld interview on KEYT Radio/TV will soon be available. If interested in a copy likewise call 968-1951.
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SOCIAL SCENE

By Anne Rojas

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Dr. Michael Newdow event! He is a wonderful fellow and I was pleased that so many of you came to the reception to honor him and that so many of you purchased his CD. I am sure that he will return to SB as his fight continues and we have new de- velopments. We were some what embarrassed that no one could go on to dinner with him and he was left on his own. In order that this does not happen again, I will solicit members ahead of time who will agree to accompany the speaker to dinner. We need about 12 people to make a "respectable' showing.
We had 14 for the Last Sunday of the Month Breakfast at Hola Amigos. All present were very pleased with the buffet menu, the price, and the service. There is easy free parking behind the restaurant. Since we do not have to make reservations there we will continue to meet at Hola Amigos for the time being. Next Breakfast there will be March 30th at 10.AM.
The Newcomers Reception attracted 25 participants who enjoyed an afternoon of food, drink and good conversation (at the beautiful home ofRuss and Anne who were again wonderful and generous hosts-Ed.) We wish more of the new members could have come, as more that half of those present were members of some duration. Imagine being in the company of 25 non-believers in asocial situation! Our idea of a good time. ...
The Biltmore dinner drew 8 persons. The Italian themed cuisine was excellent as ever. We plan on having this being a monthly event-always on a Thursday evening for the 'Local's" price. Which - Thursday of the Month is yet to be decided. Please give us input if you would like to participate. The event will require a reservation through John and Pat Coppejans (967-0929). For those of you who like to dance the lounge is adjoining the dinning room and one may dance or just listen to live music at no extra charge.
The Dining Out site after our upcoming March 15 meeting is still being worked on. I will e-mail the place and location. As always, your input is welcome for any and all Social Activities!
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CHAIRMAN'S COLUMN - BY ROGER SCHLUETER

Taking Sides

Elsewhere in this newsletter you will find an item by member George Delury requesting that our Society take a formal position regarding the California Health Care for All Initiative. George made his initial request to the February Board meeting although our first introduction to this topic occurred at our October, 2002 general meeting when Peter and Paulina Conn made a presentation regarding this initiative.
To the best of the collective memory of the "old-timers" on the Board who have been a part of the Society since its inception, this is the first time that the Society has been requested to take a formal stand on an issue. Consequently, we deferred any decision on George's specific request and, instead, spent considerable time defining the process that the Society should use to process this and future requests. After exploring a number of alternatives and details, we tentatively decided on the following:
  1. The advocate presents his information and request either in the form of a meeting presentation or as an item in the newsletter (or both, for that matter).
  2. Members can then use the next month to learn more about the issue and form an opinion.
  3. At the next general meeting, the advocate will be available to answer questions. Members can vote (secret ballot) at that meeting.
  4. At the next Board meeting, the Board will use the membership votes and any other personal input as guidance to formally vote on what position - if any - the Society will take.
  
Thus, I would like the membership take action on two items. First, please make any comments on this proposed procedure. As I indicated, this approach is not cast in stone at this time so please make you ideas known to any Board member or, better still, come to the next Board meeting to express you opinion directly.
One concern may be, "Will taking positions on political issues jeopardize or 501(c)(3) non-profit status. The answer is no. We cannot, of course, endorse candidates for political office but we can express opinions under our educational charter.
Secondly, please inform yourself about the California Health Care for All Initiative. George will be at our next meeting to answer any questions and will have a ballot box so you can submit your vote.
At this time, I do not have a position on the Health Care Initiative. However, I do think that it is important that the Society take a stand on the issues of the day based on Humanist Principles. There certainly are numerous vocal, well-financed and active organizations making their voices heard and the Humanist perspective should be in the mix. The Humanist principles of reason and rationality, the rejection of Authority (in whatever form) , and the emphasis on the importance of the individual and this world do not necessarily yield a uniformity of thought but do provide examples of how to address complex issues. I look forward to hearing your opinion.

Roger
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HERE AND THERE - THIS AND THAT

In last month's Bulletin I bemoaned the fact that I couldn't find any great quotes from clergy persons but, lo and behold I came across the following; Read 'em and weep!

It is the duty of the state to help maintain its religious schools by aid from public funds-
Pope Pius XI- 1929
The Supreme Court has made atheism the only acceptable religion for American public school children.
The Rev. Marion G. Robertson (Pat) 1985
The Separation of church and state means the separation of the law from common decency.
The. Rev. Richard J. Neuhaus 1997
From the most foul well of indifferentiation(sic) flows that absurd and erroneous opinion, or rather delirium, of Liberty of Conscience.
Pope Gregory XVI 1832
To disbelieve in forced conversion is to deny the power of God
The Rev. Augustine( St.), Bishop of Hippo, 460


OTHER MUSINGS

Any Philosophy or Belief System that can't distinguish between indoctrination and education, propaganda and scholarship, is intellectually vacuous. Anon.

A little learning is a dangerous thing,
Drink deep or taste not the Pieian spring,
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again - Alexander Pope

There must come a time in one's life ... when it is finally said ... "This is me and the rest of the world can go to hell if it doesn't like it" - Dostoevsky

Seeking god is like riding an ox lookingfor an ox to ride - Lao Tsu

For the understanding of religions ... a deep understanding of myth is mandatory   Mircea Eliade


Jim Alexander sends the following: "I went to a bookstore and asked the clerk 'Where's the self- help section?' She said 'If I told you it would defeat the purpose' " George Carlin

Jim also notes that there is a Good Cause for your used stamps, namely
The Stamp Fellowship c/o Miss K. Young
42 Chestnut Close, Southgate, London N14 450, England


Yahoo: A member of a tribe of humans noted for their odious mass behavior, and brutishness.
J. Swift, 1725

FIVE POINTS OF RENAISSANCE HUMANISM
 
  1. Social equality is better that caste, and the existing orders are not fixed.
  2. All must work and earn a living.
  3. Rules of Government shall be made by the People.
  4. Clear thought and strong wills can improve the human lot and this is good.
  5. Justice, tolerance, decency and magnanimity are natural to man.
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WEB-SITE OF THE MONTH
by
COLIN GORDON

The web-site for this month is that of the Deus project

www.deism.org

What's the difference between a Deist and a Theist? No it's not a riddle but many people, including myself, are a little vague on what these terms really mean. And we should know something about Deism because many early Americans were Deists - John Quincy Adams, Ethan Allen, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, and particularly Thomas Paine, to name but a few. This site is a good place to start our education.

It all began with the rationalism of the 17th and 18th centuries and is really quite a lot like Humanism but with a god at the top, although a rather anemic one. What do Deists believe? Thomas Paine, one of the most prominent influences in the development of Deist thought put it this way, "God exists, and there it lies." Good old Tom. Not a very profound basis for a belief system but nobody's perfect. Maybe this is a little better: "As Deists, we believe the greatest gift we have been given by God is the gift of Reason; and Reason is the very thing that must be suppressed in order to live by 'faith.'"

The site itself is quite simple to navigate, with a contents list that stays put on the left side of the screen wherever you go, and some nice graphics. Also some writings on the subject by many famous people including Einstein. As for Theism, that will be featured in a future web-site. Stay tuned.


You all know how I pass on jokes every month, but the following is NO joke. Don't be a Victim of Identity Fraud; Consider these ideas:

  1. Next time you order checks have only your initials put on them.
  2. Never have your SS # placed on your checks
  3. Photocopy the contents of your wallet - do both sides, and store safely.
If your wallet or purse is stolen limit the damage by the following steps:
  1. Cancel all credit cards - The numbers to call should be on your stored list.
  2. File a police report immediately.
  3. Call the 3 credit reporting firms right away:
    a. Equifax 1-800-525-6285
    b. Experian (TRW) 1-888-397-3742
    c. Trans Union 1-800-680-7289
  4. Call the Social Security Fraud Line 1-800-269-0271

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