Humanist Society of Santa Barbara
Newsletter for October 2002
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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.
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BULLETIN OF THE HUMANIST
SOCIETY OF SANTA BARBARA
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
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
Publicity - Position Currently Vacant
Please call Roger for Volunteer to help our Society
Interviews - Bob Perry
968-1951 bob.perry3@verizon.net
Member at Large - Art Brody
692-8898 brodybiz@silcom.com
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UPCOMING SOCIETY EVENTS
Oct. l5th -Tuesday - An Adult Ed Class,
sponsored by our Humanist Societ entitled "Human Challenges, Human Solutions" will be
presented in the Karpeles Museum, 112 W.
Anapamu, from lOam until Noon. Moderators
will be Don Lubach, and our own Art Brody.
ut this on your calendar and plan to attend.
Oct.19- Saturday-The regular October
meeting of the Society will present Peter and
Pauline Coon. Peter is Chair of the Santa
Barbara chapter of the Health Care for All
California. Pauline is a Laboratory Technician at
County Hospital, physician's offices, and
Community clinics. Both have broad experience
in health care from the Peace Corps, to Hospice,
to the Health Care Options project. Their talk
will cover the issue of health care as a right,
solutions that have been tried, advantages of the
single payer system, and the need for
participation of the citizenry to achieve it.
Oct. 27. Sunday - Regular Sunday brunch
will be at Hola Amigos, Cabrillo and Santa
Barbara Streets, near the waterfront. 10am.
Please don't forget 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.
At our September meeting we heard a forceful
and somewhat controversial denunciation of
Islam by native Iranian, Armen Saginian, (now
a US citizen and activist in Iranian politics). If
you weren't there you missed a very lively and
thoughtful Q&A session revolving around theocracy and current US foreign policy. We missed
you too!
Bea Duncan
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HERE AND THERE - THIS AND THAT
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The argument for Jefferson is that human
history is the history of the human mind.
Jefferson was, pre-eminently, the mind of
The Revolution That Succeeded. It resulted
in the birth of the first modern nation. He
expressed the American Ideal: Political and
Social pluralism: Government of limited,
delegated, and enumerated powers: and the
fecundity of freedom. He expressed it not only
in stirring cadences, but also in the way he lived,
as statesman, scientist, architect and educator.
Jeffersonianism is what free men believe. He is
what a free person looks like; confident, serene,
rational, disciplined, temperate, tolerant, curious.
Jefferson is the person of the Millennium.
Pat Forecasts Orlando Hurricane, 'Possibly A Meteor'
Robertson captures headlines nationwide for asserting on his
nationally broadcast "700 Club" program that the city of Orlando
will face divine retribution for allowing a gay group to fly
rainbow flags from light poles during an event at Disney World.
Robertson asserts that the city could face terrorist attacks, hurricanes,
earthquakes "and possibly a meteor." AU
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New Drugs
St. Mom's Wort - Plant extract that treats mom's depression by
rendering preschoolers unconscious for up to six hours.
Empty Nestrogen - Highly effective suppository that eliminates
melancholy by enhancing the memory of how awful they were as
teenagers and how you couldn't wait till they moved out.
Peptobimbo - Liquid silicone for single women. Two full cups
swallowed before an evening out increases breast size, decreases
intelligence, and improves flirting.
Dumerol - When taken with Peptobimbo, can cause dangerously low
IQ, causing enjoyment of country western music.
Flipitor - Increases life expectancy of commuters by controlling road
rage and the urge to flip off other drivers.
Antiboyotics - When administered to teenage girls, is highly effective
in improving grades, freeing up phone lines, and reducing money spent
on makeup.
Menicillin - Potent antiboyotic for older women. Increases resistance
to such lines as, :You make me want to be a better person ... can we
get naked now?
Buyagra - Injectable stimulant taken prior to shopping. Increases
potency and duration of spending spree.
Extra Strength Buy-One-all - When combined with Buyagra, can cause
an indiscriminate buying frenzy so severe the victim may even come
home with a Donnie Osmond CD or a book by Dr. Laura.
JackAsspirin -Relieves the headache caused by a man who can't
remember your birthday, anniversary or phone number.
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Just why is a burning cross a symbol of hate for Christians and when did it become such a
symbol? Does is simply mean "death" as white crosses do on graves? Or is it some kind
of warning from one kind of Christian (like those who live in trailer parks) to another
kind of Christian (like those who live in single family homes)? One doesn't see
Agnostics, or Hindus, or Muslims burning questions marks, or elephants, or crescent
moons on peoples' lawns. What do burning crosses signify anyway? Isn't the cross
(Santa Cruz) the highest stylized form of Christian love? It appears that only "good"
Christians seem to resort to such infantile demonstrations of their hate and intolerance of
others, who they perceive as different from themselves.
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GETTING TO KNOW YOU
MARGARET CASEY
One of our newest members, Margaret says that as an avid reader of the News-Press
always looking for something to do to keep active and intellectually stimulated she had
noted with interest the stories about the society. Without knowing anything about our
philosophy, three months ago she attended a meeting where the topic was particularly
enticing, enjoyed the experience and the people that she met so she joined the group and
has attended regularly since.
Raised a Catholic she went to parochial schools through the twelfth grade and then
attended a Christian college. At about age twenty she became totally disenchanted with
the religion and is the only member of her family who has ceased to be a Catholic.
Without exploring other religions she is content as an agnostic.
She has attended colleges in Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee and earned a BA in
Elementary Education in Orlando, Florida This training she has not used in a traditional
fashion. However, for the past thirteen years she has been a volunteer at the Braille
Institute teaching classes and serving as a sighted guide. She says that she finds the
people there, both sighted and blind, wonderful to be with. They are invariably bright and
sometimes quite funny. Margaret has taught over thirty classes during her volunteer
career .
Music is one of her primary interests. She enjoys 'easy listening' recordings, folk
songs and loves jazz. Recently she became a member of the Santa Barbara Jazz Society
and frequently attends local concerts. In high school and college she entertained with her
guitar and harmonica but has never performed professionally. Jamming with friends on
front porches is her preferred venue today.
In 1981 a restless mood prompted Margaret to contact a college friend, from her
earlier days in Tennessee, who lived in Santa Barbara to see if she could come out for a
visit, never having been to California. An extended visit was possible so as she says, "I
became a 'California Girl' in no time"
Growing up in the country outside of St. Louis she became a baseball fan of the St.
Louis Cardinals listening to their games on the radio. Only after coming west did her
interest in the team reach its present dedication of attending five to ten games a year;
when the Cardinals play the Dodgers in LA, the Giants in San Francisco or the
Diamondbacks in Arizona. She currently is thrilled that the team just won the National
League Central Division and is rooting for them to get in the World Series.
Margaret not only watches baseball, she plays, for sixteen years on teams in the local
Women's Softball League. Currently she belongs to the Senior Softball Association and
Mondays and Thursdays for three hours, with thirty guys and a seventy-six year old
woman, plays to stay in shape. She also likes to play golf on the local public courses.
Not happy with her irons she has 'woods' one through nine.
Feeling that she is basically an ethical person she likes to be around what she calls
'good' people, which she has found Humanists to be. She loves the word 'Humanist' and
hopes to interest her friends to also become members of HSSB.
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As Humanists, most of us reject the many varieties of religious/supernatural beliefs. I believe that our Humanism should also include a broader type of skepticism that rejects all claims of the paranormal that fail the tests of rigorous scientific verification. Typically these claims include astrology, psychic phenomena, spiritual healing, etc.
That said, if we are to also to remain open-minded to new discoveries and ideas, we are obligated to investigate such claims in an objective manner. Such an approach also serves to continually invigorate our own philosophy by constantly putting it to real world trial. I recently had an opportunity to participate in such an investigation. It was an interesting experience that I hope you will enjoy reading about.
James Van Praagh is a nationally known psychic. No, that's not right. Properly stated, Van Praagh claims to have psychic abilities. More specifically, he claims to have the ability to talk to those who have "passed over" to the "other side." He has written three books that have been on the New York Times best seller list. In fact, Talking to Heaven: A medium's Message of Life After Death was a number 1 bestseller for 13 weeks in a row. He has appeared on Larry King several times. This is not a man to be trifled with in our celebrity-obsessed culture.
Based on his "literary" success and the TV success of another "psychic," John Edward, Van Praagh has instigated his own TV program starting this Fall entitled, "Beyond...with James Van Praagh." As I write (late August, 2002) the program is in production and is scheduled to be available in the Santa Barbara area on KTLA, Channel 5 during the daytime.
As an interested skeptic, I attended one of the production sessions for this program with other members of the CFI - West Independent Investigations Group. We met prior to the taping session to coordinate our plans and to remind ourselves of the various subterfuges that might be used such as "plants" in the waiting line, covert or even overt microphones to pick up private conversations, etc. None of these ploys were clearly detected in spite of our heightened state of alertness.
As the taping session proceeded, this observation was reinforced by the blatant "cheating" that took place right before the audience's eyes. I mean, why cheat in private when you can cheat in public and get away with it? The most egregious example took place when Van Praagh was signing books for the audience while off camera. With no attempt to hide his conversation, he talked to a family who revealed that they were from Italy. Only a few minutes later, on camera, he said he was getting a "communication" from someone overseas whose family vacationed in the mountains in the northern part of the country. Of course, the camera picked up that same family's "amazing" reaction to his reading. You can rest assured that their surprised reaction will be a part of the formal broadcast.
In another segment, he talked on camera with an Irish lady who was one of 15(!) siblings. Just a few minutes later, he came back to her and said he was getting "vibes" from a family that had two special events close together. Again, there was the amazed reaction from that same lady. Now I ask you, including birthdays of 15 kids, weddings and deaths in the (presumably very large) extended family, etc. is it at all possible that two such events are NOT close to each other? And what does "close" mean? At least I know the answer to that question: whatever it takes for Van Praagh to score a "hit." I'd guess two days would work, three at the outside.
"So what?" you might ask. Well, there is a "so what" and it matters greatly. We live in a complex world. Economic, political, technical, ethical, environmental, and risk assessment issues demand solutions informed by critical thought. How can we foster the needed faculty for critical thinking when the US/International media glorify psychic nonsense such as talking with the dead?
As Humanists, religion presents an ready target for our criticism. I suggest that is too narrow a target. We must decry, challenge and refute the more difficult problem of mushy thinking in all spheres of our lives.
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Hola fellow Humanists:
I moved from Santa Barbara the end of April, and I thought you might like to know
what my life is like living as an expatriate in Spain.
The first thing that I noticed is that the Spanish are a very nocturnal people. This is
probably because much of Spain can get very hot in the middle of the day. Their day
doesn't begin until about 8 or 8:30 am. It begins with a small breakfast, usually just cafe-
con-leche and toast. The workday begin at lOam, another coffee break about noon, and
at 2pm everything comes to a halt; it's siesta time! The Spanish first partake in a fairly
good size lunch, and then they have a nice nap. It is back to work at 5pm until 8pm,
when everything closes except the restaurants and bars, and they do a flourishing
business until the wee hours of the morning. Most Spaniards start eating dinner around
10 pm, and then stroll to another restaurant for their after dinner coffee. I think that there
are as many people out on the street at midnight, than there are at lOam in Santa Barbara.
I just love this routine. People enjoy every hour of the day, but I am so accustomed to
eating dinner at 7pm that I can hardly hold off until 8pm.
The most difficult thing for me is the language barrier. My vocabulary has greatly
expanded since I have been here, but my grammar needs mucho help. I have enrolled in
an adult education Spanish class that is sponsored by the city of Torremolinos. When I
am talking directly to someone I can usually understand what is said, and I am usually
understood, but on the telephone I am hopeless.
Another problem that I have is that I come from a very "can-do" society, and to
accept the "si, manana" attitude is very difficult for me, although I am slowly adapting.
As an example, after being without hot water for four days because the heater stopped
working, the electrician showed up wearing spotless jeans and neatly tucked in shirt,
carrying alone pair of long-nosed pliers. My first thoughts were, "this will never work, "
but I had hot water in five minutes! I find the Spanish are like cats, you throw them up in
the air and they always land on their feet.
There are many, many paradoxes in Spain that I have just learned to laugh at. They
give you a wonderful telephone with a built in answering service and message taking
center, this is standard equipment, but you have to order a phone-book. I suppose this
saves many trees, or something like that. I have yet to have a service man come to the
house that doesn't ask me "where is my step-ladder". The idea of them bringing their
own ladder is unheard of1
I do love living in Spain. I chose the Costa-del-Sol because it has weather similar to
Southern California. I have a pretty little condo that overlooks the Mediterranean.
Torremolinos is a tourist town similar to Santa Batbara. But what I like most about being
an expatriate is that I don't have to hear, or get upset about the foreign policy of the
United States government; I can just take a "si manana" attitude.
Mary Stuntz
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SOCIAL SCENE
Hello Fellow HSSB Members:
Summer is past and we move into our Fall schedule. Dining Out this month
is still being arranged at this writing, so look at the website so ably
created and maintained by Colin, for the location of the restaurant. It's
always the fight of the "separate checks" among other issues. On that
note, we had very good response regarding our visit to Empress Palace on
Modoc after our Sept. meeting. Participants liked the food, service,
private room and the separate checks. Almost everyone wanted a repeat visit
to be scheduled.
Last Sunday Brunch drew 11 persons to Sizzler for some lively
discussions. The removal of the omelette bar troubles some, but most still
are happy with our arrangement. Having said this, there is a change in the
Brunch location for next time, Sunday, Oct. 27th. We will meet at
Hola Amigos on the ocean front, just down from the dolphin fountain. There is a
restaurant parking lot in the back. Fabulous buffet, chefs standing by (for
those bummed about Sizzler) and champagne included. After the Brunch you
can stroll along the walkway and enjoy the artistic offerings of the Sunday
artisan show. It should be a nice change.
Our next regular meeting will feature expanded food offerings (veggie
trays) for those tired of cookies and soft drinks. (Although the cookies
were great for the Sept. mtg.) Thanks to Diane Freeman for arranging the
cuisine! Also, Micki Stern has brought the recycling issue to my attention
and has agreed to be in charge of seeing that our refreshment leavings are
properly sorted for recycling. Thanks Micki!
Plans for the Winter Solstice Party are moving along and our fabulous
comedienne has been booked. This year's party may be limited to 50 to allow
for the cocktail mingling you have been asking for. Stay tuned!
Anne H. Rojas, Social Chair
WEB-SITE OF THE MONTH
by
COLIN GORDON
www.godlessamericans.org
This site is dedicated to the March on Washington on November 2, 2002, a historic day for Atheists, Freethinkers and other "persons of no religion" in America. It is hoped to rally many of the 30,000,000 citizens who, according to the ARIS survey, profess no religious beliefs -- on the Mall, in Washington, DC. We go by many labels, Atheist, Freethinker, Humanist, Rationalists and others, and we don't always agree on what organizations to join (or whether to join at all!), or what our collective focus should be, but there are more of us than most American religious denominations. And it's time for us to be heard!
At the 28th National Convention of American Atheists, President Ellen Johnson announced this new initiative in giving "Godless Americans" a new voice and presence. They are reaching out to all and everyone in America who has no religion and asking you to come to Washington, DC and be part of this important event.
There will be many distinguished speakers including Michael Newdow, Attorney, Physician and plaintiff in suit challenging "Under God" in the Pledge; and Eddie Tabash, Attorney, Council for Secular Humanism board, AU.
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MEMBERSHIP NOTES
We are pleased to acknowledge and welcome the
following new members to our Society:
Dr Adrian Wenner
Martin & Marian Shapiro
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Wanted
A safe storage space for my daughter's Hope Chest - a family heirloom - while she is studying abroad. It is about 6x2x2 feet in size.
Details to be arranged.
Contact Roger at:
962-6316
rogers@west.net
Thanks a lot! Roger
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