Victory for the Separation of Church and State: Connor Christian Breakfast Club
0Tri-State Freethinkers received an e-mail from a concerned parent and student at Conner Middle School in Northern Kentucky. The parent explained that last year, the school had a Baptist group come in the mornings to meet with students in the building, bring them breakfast, and minister to children. The group suddenly quit meeting last year, but to the parent’s surprise, the group was announced to begin again for the 2016 school year. The Tri-State Freethinkers wrote a letter the day before the group was scheduled to meet, to the school principal, copying the Superintendent, informing them of the violation, and…
Dying with Dignity with Lisa Vigil Schattinger
0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8Z-dZxQCYk Lisa Vigil Schattinger spoke to us on Dying with Dignity at our monthly meeting in September. Our apologies for the audio issue at the beginning, it does clear up at the 5:42 mark. Lisa Vigil Schattinger is founder and executive director of Ohio End of Life Options, a newly formed non-profit organization focused on furthering educational efforts about Physician-Assisted Dying laws in Ohio. Ohio End of Life Options was granted its 501(c)(3), non-profit status in March 2015. Vigil Schattinger joined the board of the national organization, Death with Dignity National Center, in April. After working as an RN…
UC SSA Students Letter to Gov. Kasich
1The following is a letter sent from Taylor Haynes, President of the University of Cincinnati Secular Student Alliance, to Governor John Kasich, regarding his comments about atheism. Governor Kasich, As a group of concerned citizens, we were troubled by your recent comments regarding Daniel Radcliffe and atheism. Seemingly unprovoked, you declared that Mr. Radcliffe being an atheist is “a weird thing.” For you to say that there is something “wrong” with him being an atheist singles out a considerable portion of your constituency. Based on the 2014 findings of the Pew Research Center, those not identifying with any religion made…
Tri-State Freethinkers Protest KKK Recruitment Rally
0On September 24, 2016, the Tri-State Freethinkers protested a recruitment rally for Confederate White Knights branch of the Ku Klux Klan in Madison, Indiana. A member alerted us to the planned rally. The KKK made claims that the rally was to bring attention to the local drug problems in the area. Other community groups also protested the KKK presence. From our press release: “Our first priority has always been to defend equal rights and the separation of church and state. The KKK is nothing more than a Christian hate group. Their racist remarks and historical acts of violence…
An Open Letter to Governor Bevin
0This morning, Tri-State Freethinkers sent an open letter to Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin regarding his recent statements made at the Values Voter Conference. TSF additionally invited Mr. Bevin to attend one of their events to better know his secular constituents and discuss some non-violent ways of resolving issues. The letter was as follows: Governor Bevin: We were gravely disturbed by your comments at the Value Voters Conference in Washington D.C. this past Saturday. “I want us to be able to fight ideologically, mentally, spiritually, economically, so that we don’t have to do it physically,” Bevin said during an impassioned speech…
PRESS RELEASE: Tri-State Freethinkers to Protest KKK Rally in Madison, Indiana
0September 13, 2016 For Immediate Release Contact: Jim G. Helton tsfreethinkers@gmail.com Tri-State Freethinkers will protest a recruitment rally for the Confederate White Knights branch of the Ku Klux Klan in Madison, Indiana on September 24. “Our first priority has always been to defend equal rights and the separation of church and state. The KKK is nothing more than a Christian hate group. Their racist remarks and historical acts of violence are protected by the guise of religious freedom. They are a shining example of what can happen when the bible is read, cover to cover, and its words taken literally. …
Dying With Dignity & Final Exit: Two very different approaches to the same issue – September 2016
0Our September monthly meeting consisted of speakers regarding end of life options. Dying with Dignity & Final Exit are two different groups who take very different approaches to the same issue. Dying with Dignity: Lisa Vigil Schattinger, MSN, RN Ohio End of Life Options, Executive Director Lisa Vigil Schattinger is founder and executive director of Ohio End of Life Options, a newly formed non-profit organization focused on furthering educational efforts about Physician-Assisted Dying laws in Ohio. Ohio End of Life Options was granted its 501(c)(3), non-profit status in March 2015. Vigil Schattinger joined the board of the national organization, Death…
Tri-State Freethinkers invite Governor John Kasich to meet some of his atheist constituents
1Earlier this morning, Tri-State Freethinkers delivered an open letter to former presidential candidate and current Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, regarding recent statements made about Daniel Radcliffe and his professed atheism. The group ended the letter with an invitation for the Governor to join them at a monthly meeting or volunteer event to better know his constituency and their contributions to the state of Ohio. The letter was as follows: Governor Kasich, We were disappointed to hear the news of your comments regarding Daniel Radcliffe declaring himself an atheist. “What the hell is wrong with him?” you stated, when…
Two victories in removing religion from local public schools
0Tri-State Freethinkers have been busy monitoring local school districts for violations of separation of church and state. Two letter writing campaigns recently came back with positive results: Boone County School District: Social Media Tri-State Freethinkers were alerted by a concerned parent a few weeks ago to a troubling post on the Boone County School District Twitter account which had retweeted a post from famed mega church preacher and televangelist, Joel Osteen. The quote stated “God is not going to stop every difficulty, but He will give you the strength, the power, the grace to go through it. #NightofHope”. A letter was…
Death Penalty – From A former Death Row Inmate – August 2016
0The August monthly meeting consisted of three speakers regarding the Death Penalty. Derrick Jamison Derrick Jamison was an innocent man who spent nearly 20 years on Ohio’s death row for a murder and robbery he did not commit. When James Suggs, an eyewitness to the killing of a Cincinnati bartender, was shown photos of suspects by police, he identified two men — but neither of them was Derrick Jamison. Not only was this information withheld from Derrick’s trial, but his co-defendant was promised a reduced sentence in exchange for implicating Derrick. Based on this false testimony, Derrick was convicted in…