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FFRF's 'Jackson Jesus' protest makes waves in Ohio
The Freedom From Religion Foundation's formal request that a middle school in Jackson, Ohio, remove a prominent painting of Jesus from its entrance has created shockwaves locally.
Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert wrote a letter of complaint Jan. 2 to the Jackson City Schools on behalf of a complainant protesting the painting's presence at Jackson Middle School. Since sending the letter, FFRF has been contacted by other families with children in the schools distressed over the violation.
"Courts have continually held that public schools may not display religious messages or iconography. It is illegal for Jackson Middle School to post religious images on the walls of its schools. The district must remove the picture of Jesus at once," Markert wrote.
Her letter cited a 1994 decision by the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled that an identical portrait of Jesus could not be displayed in a public school. Ohio is part of the 6th Circuit.
The Jackson School Board decided Jan. 8 to not remove the devotional image. Superintendent Phil Howard told more than 300 emotional backers of the painting who attended a board meeting that the picture would stay. He claimed it was lawful because it was a gift from a student group and "has historical significance."
Channel 10 News reported on the "tense" and heated meeting, with parents booing those who opposed the painting's presence, and cheering and applauding the board's decision.
"It is still violating the United States Constitution and must be removed immediately," said a parent, who was loudly booed.
Since FFRF wrote its letter, the ACLU of Ohio has joined the fight. ACLU litigation coordinator Drew Dennis said: "The fact that this portrait has been hanging for many years does not change the fact that it promotes one set of religious beliefs at the expense of all others. Public school displays that advance one particular religious tradition are neither welcoming, nor inclusive for those who may have other beliefs."
The "Jackson Jesus" painting is the focal point, segregated by itself, of a so-called "Hall of Honor" at the school. It reportedly was given to the school in 1947.
"I'm certainly not going to run down there and take the picture down because some group from Madison, Wis., who knows nothing about the culture of our community or why the picture is even there, wants me to take it down," Howard told WKKJ.
A Christian-right group based in Texas known as the Liberty Institute announced Jan. 11 that it had been "retained" by Jackson City Schools as legal counsel. A Facebook group was started to support the school board's position, garnering more than 11,000 "likes" by Jan. 7.
Joe Hensler, who started the Facebook page, dubbed himself president of Citizens of Jackson County for Jesus. "And it's good to see that there are still people in our community that are willing to stand up and speak out for Christ," he told a reporter.
The devotional painting in question, formally titled "Head of Christ," was painted by Warner Sallman in 1941. According to the Sallman official website, the painting has been reproduced more than 500 million times. The Gospel Trumpet County, later Warner Press, became the principal distributor of the painting and other Sallman images.
Sallman also painted popular images titled "Christ at Heart's Door," "Christ in Gethsemane" and "The Lord is My Shepherd." He enrolled in bible school and was encouraged to paint by a dean who said, "Sometime I hope you give us your conception of Christ. And I hope it's a manly one. Most of our pictures today are too effeminate."
Sallman said about his work, "I give God the glory for whatever has been accomplished by my efforts to bring joy and happinss to people throughout the world."
Dan Barker, FFRF co-president and a former evangelical minister, is familiar with the painting, having encountered it himself in countless Christian churches. "It boggles the mind that in 2013, a public school superintendent and school board would not understand that a devotional painting of Jesus, called 'The Head of Christ,' — identical to millions hanging in churches and Sunday school classrooms around the country — may not be part of a 'Hall of Honor' or be posted at the entrance of a middle school."
(Further developments in what will be an ongoing story will be reported in the March Freethought Today.)
FFRF sues IRS over preferential treatment of churches
Ending 2012 with a bang, the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a federal lawsuit Dec. 27 to challenge the Internal Revenue Service's preferential treatment of churches in applying for and maintaining tax-exempt status.
The IRS exempts churches and certain other religious organizations from paying expensive application fees and filing the onerous annual Form 990 required of nonchurch nonprofits. FFRF and Triangle FFRF v. the IRS was filed in U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin.
FFRF, a national state/church watchdog with more than 19,000 nonreligious members, and its chapter, the Triangle Freethought Society in North Carolina, are challenging the preferential application and reporting exemptions to churches.
FFRF and its North Carolina chapter are 501(c)(3) nonprofits that paid fees of several hundred dollars in order to apply for tax-exempt status and must annually file the annual Form 990.
The IRS requires nonchurch tax-exempt nonprofits to file "detailed, intrusive, and expensive annual reports to maintain tax-exempt status, but such reports are not required for churches and certain other affiliated religious organizations," the complaint notes.
"Why should churches be exempt from basic financial reporting requirements?" asks Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. "Equally important, why would churches not wish to be accountable?"
Gaylor adds, "Having tax-exempt status is a great privilege, and in exchange for that privilege, all other groups must file a detailed report annually to the IRS and the public on how we spend donations."
"The unfairness of this is so overwhelming," says FFRF President Emerita Anne Nicol Gaylor, who in FFRF's early years personally prepared the annual forms. "Churches are allowed to play by different rules."
Form 990 requires detailed reports on revenue and functional expenses, activities, governance, management, how groups fulfill their mission and what proportion is spent on programs, management and fundraising.
The "preferential treatment of churches" directly benefits churches, while discriminating against other nonprofit organizations, including the plaintiffs, "solely on the basis of religious criteria," FFRF's complaint asserts. This "results in obligations imposed on secular nonprofits, including the plaintiffs, that are not imposed on churches."
FFRF asks the court to find the church exemptions a violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution's First Amendment and the equal protection rights of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. FFRF seeks to enjoin the IRS from continuing to exempt churches and related organizations from the application and annual reporting required of all other 501(c)(3) nonprofits.
This is FFRF's third ongoing lawsuit against IRS practices involving preferential treatment of churches.
In January/February 2013, FFRF filed a high-profile lawsuit seeking to enforce the IRS' non-electioneering code against churches.
In late August, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that FFRF and three of its directors have standing to proceed in a challenge of the 1954 "parish exemption" act of Congress. That law, enacted to reward ministers for fighting what the law's author, U.S. Rep. Peter Mack, called "a godless and antireligious world movement," permits "ministers of the gospel" to deduct payment designated as a housing allowance from taxable income.
All three lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, and were brought on behalf of FFRF by attorney Richard L. Bolton.
"We thank the Triangle Freethought Society for joining FFRF in this important challenge," adds FFRF Co-President Dan Barker.
Religion seduces a secular nation - Jemille Bailey
Fifth place: Graduate/mature student essay contest
FFRF awarded Jemille Bailey a $350 scholarship.
By Jemille Bailey
Modern America has an unhealthy love affair with religion. In recent years, U.S. government leaders have invoked God when addressing their constituents in speeches and writings. For those who don't believe in a deity, or don't agree with government's interpretation of or interference with religious matters, there exists an uncomfortable relationship.
While Americans generally have great respect for the fundamental ideals of the founders, it is obvious that the secular ideological underpinnings so eloquently codified in the U.S. Constitution are frequently contested, circumvented or disregarded for political gain.
Two issues in particular are of concern nationwide: The right of women to exercise physical sovereignty vis à vis their reproductive systems and capabilities are once again being hotly debated. In January, presidential hopeful Rick Santorum gallingly proclaimed in a CNN interview that victims of rape should "accept what God has given to [them]."
Despite that issue having already been addressed and settled by the U.S. Supreme Court for almost 40 years, Santorum dangerously and irresponsibly asserts his religious beliefs as justification for setting or changing public policy.
He also single-handedly reinterprets the Constitution, arguing that "life begins at conception." Santorum is free to argue his position, but his stance is based not on reason, science or social responsibility but on his religion.
Secondly, thinly veiled government promotion of religion has also seeped into the lives of ordinary Americans through their maltreatment of sexual minorities. The civil rights of lesbians, gays and bisexuals, as well as people who are gender nonconforming or transgender, are too frequently set aside, unrecognized or challenged.
Religion has frequently been a reason why the aforementioned Americans are marginalized and disenfranchised. Speaking to the graduating class of 2012 at Liberty University, a Christian university in Lynchburg, Va., Mitt Romney, then the presumed Republican nominee for U.S. president, reaffirmed his opposition to marriage equality:
"It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem, something America is stuck with instead of blessed with." He went on, "Perhaps religious conscience upsets the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from our government."
Using language such as "blessed" is a clear signal to Christian believers in the audience that they and Romney are on the same team. If he were running for president of Liberty University, he would be well within his bounds to use such language. This speech also doubled as a campaign event.
Such rhetoric implies a divide between religious and nonreligious citizens. Further, it's concerning that Romney doesn't trust legislators, judges and other public servants. We elected them presumably because of their perceived wisdom. Logically, as those leaders have been given responsibility through the ballot box or appointment, they are the highest authorities in the nation.
But Romney then shamelessly pronounced that "there is no greater force for good in the nation than Christian conscience in action." What disappointing news for the nation's many atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and Muslims.
Often, after all other ineffective social and moral arguments are exhausted, religion is the last, and incidentally, the most illegitimate justification for the restriction of rights or release of responsibilities. It is on the emotionally tempting but judicially irrelevant leg of religion that Romney stands to assert his opinion on what makes a family.
Every year in the U.S., a National Prayer Breakfast is held and televised, attended by Democrats and Republicans alike. While some may view it as mere tradition, its implicit nature makes clear that we are under an ever-growing threat of moving toward theocracy.
When reason and objective analysis are pushed aside or ignored and replaced with tribal and theocratic allegiances and dogma, the resulting separatism can provoke the same unseemly acts of marginalization or restrictions of civil liberties that have led toward slavery, genocide and other atrocities throughout modern history.
Those acts may, in turn, be irrationally justified as divinely inspired or even virtuous at the expense of the physical and intellectual sovereignty of dissenting citizens.
Jemille Bailey, 32, is a Los Angeles native pursuing an undergraduate liberal arts degree with a concentration in financial economics at Columbia University.
I'm a family values voter - Vicky Weber
FFRF awarded Vicky a $500 scholarship.
I'm an atheist, and this election year, I'm a family values voter. Families are one of the most important institutions in any society. The way we are raised as children influences our views on important issues such as morality, politics, sex, money and religion.
As an atheist, I vote to value the families in which we actually live: single parent households, LGBT partnerships, multigenerational homes and any other configuration that exists. My family values extend beyond families that are healthy and functioning to those that are struggling through poverty, domestic violence, mental illness and other issues.
My family values extend to those men and women who are not yet ready to start a family and want to protect themselves or terminate an unplanned pregnancy. I'm a family values voter because I support the rights of individuals to live in a safe, healthy family environment and make their own choices.
Some politicians, however, foist their religious ideology onto their legislation and decision making, telling the rest of us what we should want and how we should live our lives.
In Wisconsin, Sen. Glenn Grothman proposed Senate Bill 507, which named "nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse," a slam at single mothers.
In Michigan, Rep. Lisa Brown was censored for using the word "vagina" during a debate on an abortion bill, when she stated, "I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina, but 'no' means 'no.' "
Fellow Rep. Mike Callton said in response: "What she said was offensive. It was so offensive, I don't even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company."
On the national stage, presidential candidate Mitt Romney pledged to ensure that his version of marriage is practiced throughout the land. His platform includes support for the Defense of Marriage Act and for an amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
These are people who could be making decisions about how all Americans, secular and nonsecular, live the most intimate parts of their lives. People like state Rep. Don Pridemore of Wisconsin, who told abused women that "If they can refind [sic] those reasons and get back to why they got married in the first place it might help."
Instead of suggesting a way for women to get out of their abusive relationships and providing support for them and their children, Pridemore encourages them to go back based on his definition of what it means to be a family.
It is one thing to espouse a view against abortion or gay marriage. It is another thing to tell someone else how they should live their lives, and it's completely unacceptable when it comes from our elected officials.
America cannot ignore these blatant attempts to enforce their religious viewpoints on everyone. The so-called "family values" espoused by the Religious Right are not the values of the families that actually exist. God and government are a dangerous mix in our schools, public meetings, legislation, health care and tax code.
It's time to fight back, and there's no place better than at the ballot box. It's time for the secular community to step up and reclaim "family values" for all families.
Perhaps we should pay more attention to what Brown, who is Jewish, said before her censorship-inducing use of the word "vagina." She explained her position on the bill, stating, "Judaism believes that therapeutic abortions, namely abortions performed in order to preserve the life of the mother are not only permissible but mandatory. . . . I have not asked you to adopt and adhere to my religious beliefs. Why are you asking me to adopt yours?"
She shouldn't even have to ask. Her Judaism, Grothman's Christianity and my atheism are all equally valid. The only way all people can maintain their freedom of choice is to separate god and government and elect those who will maintain this separation.
Therefore, this election year, I am an atheist voting for the values of all families. Are you?
Vicky Weber, 22, graduated with honors from Ripon College in Ripon, Wis., with a degree in communication and a double minor in politics and government and nonprofit business management. She's pursuing an M.A. in communication studies at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. At Ripon, she co-founded a Secular Student Alliance and plans to be active in the SSA chapter at Colorado State. Another laudable life goal she has set is to eventually enjoy a beer at all 30 Major League Baseball parks.
Make state-church separation absolute
FFRF awarded Bryan a $500 scholarship.
In a speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association in 1960, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy said "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute . . . where no Catholic prelate would tell the president how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference."
Kennedy emphasized that there were "far more critical issues" that faced the nation than his Catholicism, and the same thing holds true today. In an age where unemployment and poverty are rampant, overseas wars kill our citizens and raise our deficit, and the world's richest country also has its largest prison population, religion has become a driving force in American politics.
God's name is used to justify policies in arenas as diverse as health care, civil rights for women and minorities, and even education. Yet invoking the bible does nothing to address the issues behind our country's problems; it only serves to muddy the waters with arbitrary loyalties, xenophobia, and unwillingness to compromise. The separation of church and state is essential for creating effective, rational policies and ensuring freedom and equality for all.
Government is most effective when it uses empirically proven, logic-based methods for solving real-world problems. These methods can be debated using facts learned through scientific research, from carefully recorded observations and from successful tactics used in other countries. But supernatural justifications for policy require no such vetting process; once God comes to the table, the issue becomes a matter of faith, not fact. Supernatural solutions do not solve real-world problems.
In August 2011, Texas Gov. Rick Perry convened a daylong event in Houston called The Response, a call for Americans to "to pray and fast like Jesus did" to combat Texas' crippling drought and economic problems. It did nothing, of course, to ease economic and drought woes. His April day of prayer for rain was similarly ineffective.
The funds and time used to promote these events could have been used to research realistic methods of combating drought and deficits, but instead it was used to create a conservative soapbox that did nothing to solve the problems faced by Texans.
Religion is an entirely subjective way to create policy, since doctrine and beliefs differ between religions. Even Christian denominations disagree on the exact nature of the god they worship.
In American history, this has manifested itself in countless ways. For example, slave owners and abolitionists both used the bible to defend their position in the 19th century. In modern times, the LGBTQ movement's fiercest critics often use God as their primary reason for fighting against marriage equality, yet there are plenty of progressive Christians who support marriage equality and use the bible to justify their claims.
Which God?
You cannot debate the idea of God in a courtroom or statehouse. You cannot objectively weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a policy that has been dictated by a higher power. When we use unverifiable, subjective reasoning to make decisions, we create unjustifiable, ineffective policy.
With God involved in policy-making, the question becomes "which God?" In the U.S., Christians make up the vast majority of the population, but our country is also a melting pot of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, atheists, agnostics and everyone in between.
Indeed, America was founded in part on the freedom to worship or not worship any way you please, and it's this diversity that makes America what it is. Part of freedom from religion is protecting freedom of religion.
When the majority religion makes its way into government, it does so not by reconciling itself to all other faiths and nonfaiths, but by the power of demographics. This leads to unequal representation, which creates a government that cannot or will not hear the needs of all its citizens.
Religion-based rule is tribalism at its purest and enforces divisions that are based on arbitrary cultural labels. Recently, Louisiana passed a law allowing public funds to be used on vouchers to send children to a school of the parent's choosing. But lawmakers didn't realize those funds could also be used for non-Christian schools: "Republican state Rep. Kenneth Havard objected to the [Islamic School of Greater New Orleans'] request for 38 government-paid student vouchers, saying he opposed any bill that 'will fund Islamic teaching.' "
Inevitably, the rights of minorities are trampled by the majority, especially when beliefs in an exclusive deity are used to justify that power.
Fifty-two years after Kennedy's historic speech in Houston, separation of church and state brought "vomit" to the mouth of presidential candidate Rick Santorum: "I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute. The idea that the church can have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our country."
Santorum couldn't be further from the truth. This is a country founded on freedom of religion, not domination by religion. We need equal rights for all, not just for the majority. We need a country free from the tribalism and petty divisions that politicized religion breeds.
If we are to ever separate ourselves from our country's economic, social and ideological woes, we need a country where separation of church and state is absolute.
Bryan Johnson, 26, a native of Raleigh, N.C., is a first-year graduate student at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and is pursuing an MFA in creative writing. He has an English degree from Purdue University and worked as a copywriter while writing fiction.
Thinking critically for my daughter's sake - Lynn Wilhelm
FFRF awarded Lynn a $1,000 scholarship.
The night of May 8, 2012, my young daughter and I awaited the election results of North Carolina's proposed constitutional amendment. Most of the early results were promising.
Sadly, our hopes turned to dismay as county after county declared "that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state."
We had both worked the week before at phone banks urging voters to get out and vote against the amendment. While making calls, it had been clear that those supporting the amendment were doing so for religious reasons. Many said things like, "God meant for marriage to be between a man and a woman."
Amendment One was the result of the Republican-dominated General Assembly and its surge of conservative legislation. As the proposal for the marriage amendment was debated, many legislators asked why social issues were dominating the Assembly while our state had a 10.5% unemployment rate and many other concerns.
It was heavily supported by conservative religious figures and groups throughout the country. Bibles and preachers featured prominently in many TV ads. Voter approval of the amendment brings a new era of discrimination against citizens based on religious principles.
Although my daughter and I constitute a nontraditional family, I am not likely to be directly affected. So why did I take time to work phone banks and get pledges from voters? Why did I spend some of my already thinly stretched income purchasing "Vote No" materials?
One reason is my daughter. Being a mother has made me even more aware of the threats religion poses to our freedoms. What future can my daughter, being raised without religion, expect to find in an overwhelmingly religious political atmosphere? What rights will she have to live, love and learn as she grows as a U.S. citizen? What will her education be like if religious zealots manage to defund public schools and ensure that pseudoscience makes its way into classrooms?
During this election season, we have been subjected to Rick Perry's comments about teaching creationism, Michelle Bachmann's belief that her God called her to run for president, and Rick Santorum's idea that teaching evolution has been used to promote atheism.
We hear revisionists claim that America was founded as a Christian nation and needs to be returned to that ordained state. Public school systems in Louisiana, Kansas, Florida and other states are experiencing challenges to their curriculum led by those who wish to see theologically based ideas taught. The Texas GOP platform states, "We support school subjects with emphasis on the Judeo-Christian principles upon which America was founded and which form the basis of America's legal, political and economic systems."
Don't they know that America's legal and political systems are rooted largely in ancient, non-Christian Roman and Greek systems? Have they forgotten that our founders were not all Judeo-Christians?
These conservatives oppose teaching "critical thinking skills" which "have the purpose of challenging the student's fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority."
The Republican platform in North Carolina says, "We oppose efforts to remove the recognition of Almighty God from our schools, courts, currency and Pledge of Allegiance. We oppose efforts to remove prayer from our public meetings and governmental institutions."
In Louisiana, a push to allow religious education to be publicly funded backfired on at least one legislator. Rep. Valarie Hodges said, "I liked the idea of giving parents the option of sending their children to a public school or a Christian school."
Louisiana's voucher program attracted applications from a Muslim school and 123 other religiously based schools. Regarding the Muslim school, Hodges said, "Unfortunately [the funding] will not be limited to the Founders' religion. … I do not support using public funds for teaching Islam anywhere here in Louisiana."
So, will Louisiana fund all religious schools or will it discriminate against certain religions?
Last year I realized that I had to find my own way to combat the growing religious influence in the public sphere. One way to curtail religious indoctrination is to focus on reality.
An important facet of reality is that our universe seems to work quite well without the interference of supernatural beings. How could I speak out in favor of reality? Participating in politics, far from my purview, was not a likely option.
After carefully evaluating my skills and talents, I came to realize that a career in science education would provide a way for me to teach others about reality. I know it is possible to combat pseudoscientific claims of all types through education. After learning how science unearths wholly natural explanations for phenomena, many people begin to question the supernatural explanations they've been taught.
If our opinions are grounded in reality, religion will lose some of its luster and the desire to have it permeate every aspect of public life may be reduced. One day, religious belief as a desirable societal guide may be regarded as a ludicrous idea.
One day, maybe I won't have to worry how religion will affect my daughter's future.
Lynn Wilhelm, lives in Cary, N.C. She is a single mother to Aiden, 8. She worked 10-plus years as a landscape designer and taught horticulture in a public school after getting a B.S. in agricultural education and extension in 1999 from North Carolina State University. "My teaching experience was riddled with difficulties partly due to the very religious atmosphere I found at the rural North Carolina school. I only taught for one year and thought I would never teach again." With a recently renewed interest in education, she is pursuing a master's in teaching science at NCSU and will graduate in May 2013.
The First Amendment and democracy - Wilson Melon
FFRF awarded Wilson a $2,000 scholarship.
Religion and American politics are thoroughly intertwined. There even exists within the electorate a pervasive belief that the accomplishments and the very existence of the United States are more attributable to providence than to humanistic achievement.
This idea, along with a faith in the infallibility of a divine being, often leads to public policy informed more by religious interpretations than reasoned debate.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified over 220 years ago: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
We can either accept its modern relevance and explicit dogma as articles of faith, or we can question how its concepts should apply to the present and be adjusted for current values while allowing for future change. In this way, the Constitution necessarily draws us into choices between faith and reason.
Originalists imply that the righteousness of their legal interpretations emanates from their ability to divine immutable and incontrovertible religious values in our Constitution. These individuals disregard the Establishment Clause and seek to interpret law in a manner that promotes faith-based principles and practices. Such unsound circular jurisprudence paradoxically seeks to find justification for desired religious outcomes while asserting original intent.
In the Supreme Court, several modern-era appointees have supported blending religion and politics. Evidence of this abounds. William Rehnquist, in Wallace v. Jaffree, a school prayer case, argued against a Jeffersonian wall between church and state.
Similarly, in his speech to the Catholic Knights of Columbus, Antonin Scalia criticized the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for allegedly attempting to excise God from public life in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, a case about requiring students pledging allegiance to the United States "under God."
When this case reached the Supreme Court, Rehnquist argued that references to a monotheistic God in the pledge, on federal currency, on government buildings and elsewhere do not violate the Establishment Clause. He claimed that it is permissible for government institutions to declare the existence of God, especially if they do not favor a specific denomination.
In that same case, Clarence Thomas even suggested that the Establishment Clause was merely a protection against federal interference in the religious affairs of states and that it neither guarantees rights for individuals nor should it be incorporated at the state level.
These few examples demonstrate a larger trend within part of the judiciary to undermine the Establishment Clause. As lifelong appointees, Supreme Court justices exert a tremendous influence over the trajectory of American society.
For this reason, jurists should interpret the Establishment Clause broadly, thereby circumscribing faith to the private sphere where it can be practiced freely. In this way, the freedom of thought of all Americans would be protected from the religious predispositions of merely nine judges.
Separating religion from government is appropriate for all three branches of government. In the recent past, there's been a resurgence of religious zeal across the political landscape.
In the recent Republican presidential primary, religiously charged social issues were brought to the fore. Each candidate who led in the polls took great pains to proclaim his or her religious fervor and scripturally-based opposition to aspects of gay marriage, abortion and contraception.
Similarly, congressional and state legislators have, of late, made ostentatious attempts to publicly defund the health care provider Planned Parenthood on the basis of religious opposition to family planning.
In Mississippi, legislators theologically opposed to abortion have foisted restrictions upon the last remaining in-state clinic in an effort to circumvent protections acknowledged since Roe v. Wade.
With regard to the Affordable Care Act, the Catholic Church's public criticism of the employer requirement for contraceptive coverage riders led the Obama administration to make exemptions for religious denominations. Concessions to mollify religious critics disenfranchised employees who do not subscribe to the same theology as their employers.
Support of teaching intelligent design in public schools and opposition to the teaching about evolution, obstruction of stem cell research, taxpayer-funded subsidies and vouchers for parochial schools and their students, and tax and employment nondiscrimination exemptions for religious groups are a few examples of religion's heavy hand.
Despite what is enunciated in Article VI of the Constitution, even presidential elections are thoroughly subjected to religious influence. During the 2008 presidential primary, the accusations that then-Senator Obama was a Muslim underscored the de facto requirement by part of the electorate that American presidents share their Christian faith.
Democratic government must protect each individual's freedom of thought. Government must not promote theism, be it denominational or not. Theocracies are inherently anti-democratic because they demand faith in divine infallibility and endeavor to impose unquestionable religious beliefs and policies.
In contrast, our federalized republic is best served by its citizens voting for elected representatives on the basis of reasoned and informed debate. Both secular and religious values can be components of deliberations regarding policy, but their merits must be justifiable on the basis of logic, not blind trust.
Thoughtful, nuanced, nondogmatic debate is most suited for selecting officeholders and for creating sound public policy that balances preservation of personal choice with protection of secular values that citizens arrive at through careful consideration.
For freedom of thought to flourish in the U.S., belief and nonbelief must be protected by the government. Politics must be shielded from the influence of religion. To achieve this, we must elect individuals dedicated to disentangling religion from politics.
Wilson Melón, 27, was born in Concord, Mass. He's a Ph.D. student in Spanish literature at Purdue University. He earned a B.A. in Spanish and French at Middlebury College, Vermont, and an M.A. in Hispanic literature at Boston College.
Religion stifles democracy's growth - Elizabeth Pipal
FFRF awarded Elizabeth a $3,000 scholarship.
Politicians like to deify our nation's founders. Asserting that the founders would have wanted this, or would not have recognized America today because of that, is one of the quickest ways to add authority to any claim.
Mitt Romney did this, for example, as concerns gay marriage. He said that "at the time the Constitution was written, marriage was between a man and a woman," implying that this is why marriage should continue to be defined this way. The nation's founders lived like this, so we should too, the argument goes.
In fact, we know that our founders were imperfect. Some held slaves, were bigots and didn't want women to vote. But what makes them greater than their flaws is that they recognized that they were not all-knowing, that they could not predict the future and what changes it would bring.
Instead of leaving us with a Constitution that dictated their beliefs on every subject, they left us with a succinct document and simple instructions. They left room for change and reinterpretation. It was this humility that makes them seem omniscient.
The ability to change is what makes our republic great. It's precisely the reason why religion and the state are institutions fundamentally at odds with each other. We are where we are today despite the dead weight of religion.
As a country, we have recognized the equality of (almost) all people, we have ended slavery, given women the right to vote. We are in the process of asserting the total equality of gay men and women. The Judeo-Christian holy books, on the other hand, are saying the same things they have always said: Women are property, slaves are useful, sex is evil and sodomy is even worse. The holy books cannot change; that is their nature.
Religious doctrine is meant to be eternal. It set out to legislate the lives of people centuries from the time it was written. It leaves no room for growth and enlightenment, no room for change. Our nation, on the other hand, has a Supreme Court that once upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson, and then completely reversed that decision 60 years later in Brown v. Board of Education.
No matter how important change is, or how embedded it is in our government, it can be scary. That is why religiously flavored politics are so dangerous, especially in an election year. An election offers the chance to revert to times previous.
There are those who are convinced that the best way to solve the nation's problems is to go back to the good old days. In an election year, their flawed logic is turned up to deafening levels. One of Mitt Romney's main super PACs is called "Restore our Future," implying that the future is safe if we revert to the way things were.
This type of thinking is not conservative. It is regressive, and religion is the backbone of the voices for regression. People rally to bring America back to glory using biblical teachings, to reboot the nation in terms of the founders' religious beliefs.
Suddenly, we are talking about contraception again. Didn't we settle this in the 1960s? Isn't stirring up this debate a little — regressive? The most fundamentalist believers want to move our laws backward, not forward.
Because religion is purportedly tied to morality, some Americans pay close attention to candidates' religious ties. Religion becomes a moral litmus test, a cheat sheet for comparing values. It distracts us from substantive issues. Its institutions — church, synagogue and mosque — take on dangerous powers in an election, because they can tell their congregants how God would want them to vote. Suddenly, our democracy is beholden to the stubborn dogmas of the distant past.
Many will argue that religion is a moral anchor for the government, telling us what is right and good and making sure that in our progress, we never lose sight of our core values. This is patently false. I agree that religion offers valuable moral teachings, but these teachings are not monopolized by the faithful.
These ideas are just as strongly held by nonreligious people. Morality was not invented with the writing of the Old Testament. In its most basic forms, it is programmed into us as a cooperative species. The religious and nonreligious simply trace the roots of their morality differently.
I like to think of our government as a tree. The founders planted a very small seed hundreds of years ago for the benefit of future generations. They had no way of knowing where its branches would emerge and what shape they would take, so they gave the seed ample room to grow.
This tree has been watered by generations of Americans and has been shaped by the winds of change, by flood and drought. We have grown and become strong.
Religion in government is an axe aimed at the base of this tree. Religion believes that reducing it to its roots is the only way to save it. To me it sounds like a good way to kill it.
Elizabeth Pipal, 23, was born in Oklahoma City and moved to California when she was 4. She's a proud atheist who loves dogs, drawing, cooking and collecting maps. She graduated in 2011 with a bachelor's in linguistics from Columbia University and is pursuing a master's in architecture at Harvard's Graduate School of Design.
Away with the manger, in with the solstice!
Statement by the Freedom From Religion Foundation on placement of its Winter Solstice nativity at the Wisconsin Capitol:
For a fact, the Christians stole Christmas. We don't mind sharing the season with them, but we don't like their pretense that it is the birthday of Jesus. It is the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun — Dies Natalis Invicti Solis.
Christmas is a relic of Sun worship.
For all of our major festivals, there were corresponding pagan festivals tied to natural events. We've been celebrating the Winter Solstice, this natural holiday, long before Christians crashed the party. For millennia, our ancestors in the Northern Hemisphere have greeted this seasonal event with festivals of light, gift exchanges and seasonal gatherings.
The Winter Solstice is the reason for the season. The Winter Solstice, on Dec. 21 this year, heralds the symbolic rebirth of the Sun, the lengthening of days and the natural New Year.
We nonbelievers are quite willing to celebrate the fun parts of anybody's holidays. We just want to be spared the schmaltz, the superstition, and the state/church entanglements.
The customs of this time of year endure because they are pleasant customs. It's fun to hear from distant family and friends, to gather, to feast, to sing. Gifts, as freethinker Robert Ingersoll once remarked, are evidences of friendship, of remembrance, of love.
The evergreens displayed now as in centuries past flourish when all else seems dead, and are symbols, as is the returning Sun, of enduring life.
In celebrating the Winter Solstice, we celebrate reality.
We are unveiling a tableau that celebrates the human family, reason and the Winter Solstice.
• Our wise-people depict the atheists and scientific giants, Darwin and Einstein, who have enlarged human understanding of the natural world far more than the bible or any "holy books." They were both nonbelievers as was progressive reformer Emma Goldman, representing wise women everywhere. The irreverent literary genius Mark Twain is added for good measure.
• Although Venus, like Mary, was a mythical fertility figure, this image, after which a planet was named, represents our solar system.
• Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, was a passionate advocate of separation of religion and government and would have disavowed Christian devotional scenes on state property.
• Our "angels" are also natural. The Statue of Liberty symbolizes freedom, and the astronaut represents the human achievements of science unfettered by religious dogma.
• Our baby was chosen partly for simple egalitarianism, and partly because it's high time we adore female children as much as male children, and to acknowledge that humankind was birthed in Africa.
FFRF would vastly prefer that government buildings and seats of government be free from religion, and irreligion. It is divisive. The rotunda is getting very cluttered. But if a devotional nativity display is allowed, then there must be "room at the inn" for all points of view, including irreverency and freethought.
FFRF gratefully acknowledges the exceptional carpentry work and enthusiasm of Andrew Seidel. Thanks also to Katie Daniel, Melanie Knier and Scott Carney for their invaluable help in creating the natural nativity on very short notice. Part of this statement was adapted from a 1985 Winter Solstice speech by Anne Nicol Gaylor, FFRF president emerita.
DARKTOLIGHT: A secular coming together - Fred Strong
By Fred Strong
In Portland, Ore., the city that Huffington Post considers America's least religious, we seculars have a plethora of meetups, discussion groups, potlucks, talent programs and lectures throughout the year. In recent years, we've seen the emergence of more large-scale undertakings such as the annual Portland Humanist Film Fest.
Another event, in its third year, that's gaining national attention is DARKTOLIGHT.
DARKTOLIGHT is the manifestation of an idea that came to me many years ago concerning a desire to have a secular event to celebrate in December, the month when the world around us goes mad with hyper-religiosity. As a composer and arts lover, I knew that music and art would definitely be a part.
I decided to center the event on the Winter Solstice, a natural, celestial occurrence that carries with it very deep symbolic implications having to do with the very essence of the cycle of life itself. The emergence from darkness and death into the seasons of light and life became, in my mind, a metaphor for a paradigm shift in human attitudes from myth-based thinking to an enlightened world of scientific reason.
In 2008, working with a soprano duo and a roster of musicians and performers who would work for little or nothing, I booked the 140-seat theater of the Portland Music Community Center for Dec. 21. I'd written a work called "Songs for Winter Solstice," consisting of three contrasting songs. But when Portland was hit by an unusual cold front that essentially crippled a city ill-equipped to deal with radical weather conditions for close to two weeks, DARKTOLIGHT 2008 became a casualty.
In 2009, working with Center For Inquiry—Portland and the Humanists of Greater Portland, we held a joint potluck and interested several performers. DTL had its "sort of" debut.
The above groups approached me in 2010 and agreed to fund a small DARKTOLIGHT. I booked the 140-seat theater again, got the sopranos back on board and assembled a very accomplished group of actors, singers, songwriters and musicians. Kol Shalom, a secular Jewish group, helped with an ad in the program. We were all nervous -— no secular event like this had ever been attempted here.
Then the crowd started coming. Couples, families, children, teens, small groups and, before long, we realized we had a hit. DTL 2010 was standing room only! And, with the donations received and the sale of refreshments, the new event was fiscally almost a break-even affair.
I took 2011 off for personal reasons while receiving a fair number of inquiries about whether there'd be a solstice show in December. Early in 2012, CFI-Portland agreed with my vision of a much larger, bolder event, one truer to my original vision but also with a higher price tag.
I began putting together the newest incarnation of DTL called BANG! We booked a 200-seat, professional theater space and are doing three shows with a cast of 14 and four instrumentalists. BANG! takes the audience on a trip through time and space from the big bang to present-day Earth, with a humanist message about our choices and responsibilities. The music ranges from doo-woop to hip-hop and folk to jazz.
DARKTOLIGHT is a special time of secular togetherness, a cultural tether to fill us with a sense of pride, purpose and community. We encourage all locales to celebrate the solstice in their own way. We need to start establishing our own culture, arts and traditions, and it can certainly be done in ways that reflect individual locales.
We'll perform BANG! at Portland Metro Arts on Friday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. and on Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Go to darktolight.org/ for more information.
As a proud member of FFRF, I am very honored that you have allowed me this chance to be spotlighted in Freethought Today. Please say "hi" if you attend BANG! By supporting each other, we support the greater cause.
Fred Strong lives in Portland with his partner, Sandra Brown, and her five cats. He holds a B.A. in composition from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va. As he works toward making his avocations (writing, composition, songwriting) his vocation, he owns and operates a small but popular sustainable irrigation company.
In 2011, his humanist choral piece "The Well" was performed in the U.S. Capitol by the Women's Vocal Ensemble of Clark College, Vancouver, Wash.


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Puzzle Levels
Download a FREE Solution for your puzzles!
The Brain
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Product Information
|Move all 8 pieces to the out position
|Level 10 - Mind Boggling
|Sliding Pieces Puzzles
|4 in x 4 in x 2.9 in / 10.2 cm x 10.2 cm x 7.4 cm
Product Description
In the Lost City of Atlantis, many millennia ago, an advanced civilization flourished. Mentioned in the writings of Herodotus, was an ancient machine so intricate that it sounded amazingly like a computer. It is rumored to be the inspiration for the Gray Binary System, the basis for "The Brain". There is only one solution which requires 170 sequential moves. Can you channel the knowledge of Atlantis to solve the puzzle?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Had this as a young boy, took a very long time to figure out with some tips - key word is "binary". Lots of sliding action back & forth allows for continuous interaction while you try to sense out the solution.

subset: commoncrawl


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EZ Atom
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|Take apart and put back together
|Level 6 - Tricky
|Puzzle Master
|Other Wire / Metal Puzzles, Doug Engel
Product Description
With three distinct colored plated finish, this metal puzzle won't be as hard as splitting an atom. The goal is to take all three pieces apart and free the nucleus. When you're done you need to put it back together. This is a stunning puzzle with a striking visual effect and a very elegant solution. Can also be used as a decorative object. The designer, Doug Engel, and president of GSI Puzzleatomic, has a knack for beautiful puzzles, as the Yin Yang puzzle can certainly prove it. The puzzle is produced by our own brand, PuzzleMaster.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Same here - the puzzle solution does not match the pieces, which were cut very differently than the way each was described.
OK, so I used the necessary force to take it apart, and now the puzzle is so loose that it almost falls apart after re-assembly. Still looks pretty tho.
What a beautiful puzzle! Surely there is a trick to use in order to take the pieces apart, but I think it is part of the fun. And there could be different ways to proceed after this trick, most of them are not that elegant. So, try to find a beautiful solution once you do the "trick" in order to have fun while solving it.
Though this puzzle is very artistic and scientifically inspired, the solution is not elegant since force is required to start the solution process. The metal finish is plated on each piece and will likely show wear after moderate use. Despite these shortcomings, it is a nice addition to my puzzle collection.
This puzzle may seem difficult only if you are not aware that FORCE is needed to remove the first piece. The finish of the metal parts are also far from perfect. However, the "scientific" design and a very affordable price makes it an attractive item to buy. Looks really nicely on my puzzle shelf.
Puzzle solution does not match the puzzle pieces' orientation to each other. Have emailed PuzzleMaster and informed them of this glitch. They said they will look into the matter, and get back to me. As of now, still haven't been able to disassemble the puzzle.


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Prices and availability are subject to change from the time and date that you print this page.
5/30/2017 7:15:33 AM. For Customer Service, please call 800.933.9904
$249.00 - $699.00
Fun fact: The bright, bold spots on this rug were made with an 80-foot felt marker. Okay, not really. But they do make for a playful design that's perfect for a playroom or kid's room.
Details, details
- Hand tufted dot rug
- Pile height: 11-12 mm
- Swatches available
- Made in India
- Click to see Rug Guide
- More colors available
Show 'em what you're made of
- 100% wool (50% Indian and 50% European wool)
- Backing: 100% cotton
Care instructions
- Professional cleaning recommended
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- Don't forget a rug pad (sold separately)
The right area rug helps tie the room together, while giving the kids an ideal spot for everything. Click here to learn how to pick the perfect rug.
The Land of Nod Guarantee
At The Land of Nod, nothing is more important to us than providing safe, high-quality products to you and your family. We believe that kids' products should be able to handle everything kids throw their way (literally and figuratively). That's why all of our products have an 18-year quality guarantee. And, hopefully, your kids will no longer be sleeping in bunk beds by then.
Knock, Knock.
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Orange Ink Spot Rug
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text:
UN.GIFT Publications
IOM Direct Assistance UKR
2010-07-09 11:49:00.0
Download right click "save as"
This Handbook provides guidance and advice necessary to effectively deliver a full range of assistance to victims of trafficking from the point of initial contact and screening up to the effective social reintegration of the individuals concerned. This version is in Ukrainian. The publication is also available in: Arabic, English, Macedonian, Mongolian, Russian, Turkish and Chinese More information about human trafficking on the website of IOM.


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Oreck® Graphite® Power Team
With the Oreck® Graphite™, it's all about making cleaning easy on you. Moving from carpet to fine Berber and Persian rugs is a no-brainer with the Quickswitch® on the handle. It allows you to quickly go from carpet to hardwood to tile without stopping and bending down to adjust the roller brush height.
Includes the Ultimate Handheld Vac, a powerful, portable and lightweight handheld vacuum cleaner perfect for above-the-floor cleaning, includes a 20 ft. power cord, five specialized cleaning tools, and an installed HEPA filter.
Related Products
Cleans carpet, fine rugs and bare floors safely with 2 speeds
Engineered for the way you live
Direct Suction
The direct suction and roller brush rotating at about 5,600 revolutions per minute draw dirt right into the bag. The brush grooms the nap as it cleans.
Fast and Simple
The Saniseal® system automatically seals shut, locking the dirt in the disposable filter bag. Changing bags is effortless.
Furniture-Friendly Design
Its low profile, soft top and sides, and bright incandescent headlights make it easy to clean around and under furniture without scratching it. Side brushes make cleaning baseboards and edges easy.
HEPA Inner Bag
As air passes through the HEPA inner bag, it captures at least 99.97% of particles at .3 microns from that air, which includes the following: pollen, house dust, smoke, animal dander and mold spores. Great for pet lovers!
The Ultimate Handheld – perfect for above-the-floor cleaning
The Ultimate Handheld Vacuum is a powerful, portable, lightweight vac that gives you an easy way to clean stairs, furniture, ceiling fans, molding, bookshelves, curtains and everything else that's up high or hard-to-reach. It's backed with a 3-year limited warranty**
The Ultimate Handheld Vacuum comes with accessories and special features to help tackle virtually every job:
- telescoping extension wand
- dusting brush
- crevice tool, upholstery tool and large floor tool
- 20 ft. power cord
- 5-ft. slinky hose
- two-setting shoulder strap for carrying by hand or over the shoulder
- installed HEPA filter
- HEPA Inner Bag
- Two Speed power switch
- Incandescent Headlights
- 30-ft power cord
- About 9 lbs*
- A 6-year limited warranty**
- Includes 1 tune-up
The Oreck Advantage: Direct Suction
Our direct suction design delivers dirt in a straight, efficient path right to the vacuum bag. It's a streamlined design that works beautifully with a smaller motor — and one reason why Oreck bagged uprights are so lightweight. Here's how: our upright vacuums incorporate a "dirty air system" in which dirt is pulled through a fan that breaks it into smaller particles that get sucked up into the vacuum. Oreck's smaller motor drives this fan, as well as the brushroll. Because these smaller motors sit closer to the floor they provide efficient suction and are able to spin the brushroll incredibly fast.
Hard Floor Surfaces
†When you buy an Upright Vac + Handheld Vac Power Team vs. buying both vacs separately.
*Approximate weight without cord
**Some limitations apply. For details, see warranty.


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Shared apt (with host) for 2-week stay
尺寸90 平方米
Floor No.2
- 适合家庭/儿童
- 互联网/无线网路
- 厨房
- 电视机
- 有停车场
- 早餐
- 毛巾
- 洗碗机
Accommodation summary
|A Monroe St, 11221 New York, 美国
The entire apartment and building was renovated several years ago. So it's quite "new." For those traveling by car, there is plenty of street parking available.
Up to 2 guests stay in the Master Bedroom. The 2nd bedroom is not available for occupancy.
As for a general overview:
The 2 bedrooms get beautiful light. There's a queen size bed in the master bedroom and also in the 2nd bedroom. Each bedroom fits two guests. The larger master bedroom faces the backyard. The smaller 2nd bedroom faces the street. The two bedrooms are separated by the dining and living rooms, so there's plenty of privacy. Max occupancy for the entire apartment is 4.
Both the bathroom (which faces the backyard) and kitchen (which faces the street) are modern and both get beautiful light as well. The bathroom is located next to the master bedroom.
The living and dining rooms are furnished with an eclectic mix of modern and antique furnishings. Large TV monitor and excellent audio system at your disposal. CD collection of classical, jazz, world, and R&B music.
My place is located on the 2nd floor, a short and easy walk-up a flight of stairs. It is a pleasant 12-minute stroll on a beautiful tree-lined street, to the subway station which is frequently serviced by express (A line) and local (C line). Only 15 minutes on the express subway line to Manhattan. At least 6 bus lines service the neighborhood (B52, B26 and B25 to Fort Greene and downtown Brooklyn, B15 to JFK Int'l Airport, B46 Limited Stop and Local Stop services to Williamsburg, and, B43 to Greenpoint). If you don't feel like walking to/from my place to/from subway stop, you can take the B15 FROM the subway station or take the B46 TO the subway station.
Lots of public transportation options in the 'hood: at least 6 bus lines service the neighborhood (B52, B26 and B25 to Fort Greene and downtown Brooklyn, B15 to JFK Int'l Airport, B46 Limited Stop and Local Stop services to Williamsburg, and, B43 to Greenpoint). If you don't feel like walking to/from my place to/from subway stop, you can take the B15 FROM the subway station or take the B46 TO the subway station.
As for detour-worthy restos in the 'hood, SARAGHINA (a casual and excellent Italian resto, just 5 blocks away) is highly recommended. Other suggestions include CELESTINO (a casual Italian resto also a mere 5 blocks away) and PEACHES (a casual resto serving cuisine from the South - think soul food - about 7 blocks way). For bars, there are excellent drinks at SARAGHINA's intimate bar and there is also THERAPY (also 5 blocks away). For reliable sandwiches, salads, pastries, coffee, there is a Cafe, a sister property of PEACHES (just two doors down from the resto). There is also very good restaurant called HOTHOUSE located 7 blocks away that serves an "urban" interpretation regional American classics from the South. It is another sister property of the highly regarded PEACHES restaurant.
Respect and consideration for my place and the neighbors in the building
Leave my place, as found
No smoking (note: you can smoke outside of the building)
No loud music during quiet hours
Quiet hours from midnight to 8 am
Shoes left at the doorstep - slippers inside the house
Thank you very much and welcome!
|Weekly rate for up to 2 guests
|Monthly rate for up to 2 guests
|3 月
|Check-in before
The house is very nice and clean.
The neighborhood is beautiful, safe and quite. Every morning Jerry let us find fresh bread and fruits jams of the best quality. He gave us a lot of interesting tips about the city, where to eat, to drink something or to listen to good music: he is a perfect host! We really enjoyed staying there, highly recommended!
Jerry is a wonderful host, very helpful and full of good recommendations for all that happens in NY, interesting and fun places to visit and to go for a good meal.
Jerry has also travelled very much and knows lots of interesting things about other countries and is interested in all one can tell him. Our stay was very enjoyable and Jerry makes you feel at home at all times. his home is very cozy, light and confortable and has all one needs.The area is very calm and charming and well communicated.
I highly recommend staying with him.
The apartment was clean. The host was polite and very nice. He gave us very detailled ans useful information before and whille our stay so I have to say that we had a very communication. He let us sleep with three person although Jerry expected only two person, so the host seems to be flexible an ready to compromaise. There were several ventilators in the apartment so that we had a good sleep in the hot july nights. The only disturbing thing was, that the distance to manhatten is very large and the subway connection is questionable.
the All in one I can recommend the apartment in good conscience+++
We had a really good time staying at Jerry's apartment. The place is clean, extremely nice, comfortable, and well connected. It takes less than 15 mins to get to the metro station and another 15 to 30 to get to Manhattan, according to where you're going. The neighborhood is quiet (and the room faces an courtyard, so there's very little noise) and safe, we never had problems going home in the evenings. There are a few nice restaurants in the area, so if you don't feel like always staying in Manhattan for dinner, there are great options close to home too.
Jerry always made sure everything was fine and he can offer great insights about the city, what to see and when, and where to go for dinner. It was our first time in New York City, so we really appreciated the advice. We're definitely going to stay with Jerry again when we go back!
The apartment was exactly as described but the added bonus is Jerry himself, he was very helpful and has an extensive knowledge of not just New York but the whole of the U.S. and it wasn't too much trouble for Jerry to share this knowledge and travel experiences.
Anyone who has never been to Bed-Stuy, would have that initial 'hood' feel of the area as it's a very closed knit community but what can I say, they are very friendly, people say hello to you on the streets and make you feel welcome, I chatted to a couple of locals within a day! The area is very safe.
Jerry's place is highly recommended.
Me and my 12 year son spend 4 nights at Jerry's as part of a 12 days trip from Sweden via Florida to NY...
Jerry is a super great and helpful host - he made sure that all our needs were fullfilled, breakfast, booking transports, guiding etc etc. Only wished for that we could have spent a little more time togheter.
Wouldn't hesitate a single minute to host Jerry as an guest (in Göteborg).
The appartment is spacious and has unique interor designed al a de Guzman. Room fits 2 and bed is comfy. Everyhing is clean and bathroom is newly renovated.
An extra bonus is that Jerry is environment friendly (food, recycling etc)
Apartment is situated approx 10 min walk away from Atica subway station, local busses are closer. Approx 30 min cab drive from JFK. Some smaller shops close, but to get ecological it's "bit" longer.
From a craftbeer perspective there are loads of opportunities, in Manhattan and Brooklyn - My top find this time was "The Ginger Man" close to Emp. Stat buildn.
PS. the rating is 9 not a 10, didn't have an option to select more then 8 or 10? Don't belive in 10:ers :)
Jerry was an excellent host, and we had a lot of fun with him. He was always very helpful in guiding us to the best places in New York. He is definitely better than any other travel guide. He also gave us some good places in LA and San Francisco, where we continued our journey.
The apartment is very clean and calm. He lives in a nice area in Brooklyn (10mins walk to the subway station) and we always felt save there. The connection to Manhattan is excellent. You can use the A express line and C line to Manhattan.
Jerry was also very flexible when one of our friends stayed for 2 additional nights with us.
All in all Jerry has given us a perfect time in New York! Thanks a lot Jerry!
I felt very welcome at Jerry's apartment. It was a short stay in Brooklyn but I would come back to Jerrys apartment at anytime again. The apartment - as well as my room - was very clean and beautiful !
Jerry helped us a lot : he answered all questions, we can talk about the local habits, he gave us good addresses for restaurants and had good suggestionss about visits.
The room and the flat is clean and quiet.
A very good experience !
I stayed at Jerry's apartment with two friends and our experience was very positive. The apartment is very nice and clean and Jerry is very nice, organized and structured (shows you exactly where everything is and what you can use, which food is for your breakfast etc.). In order to get to the next metro station you need to walk a little (like 8-15min depending on how fast you walk and where you go) but there are also busses which stop by closer to the place.
Jerry was a great host, lot's of tips and recommendation for all types of things (buying good wine, supermarkets, comedy shows, shopping... you name it;)). It is ok to stay with 3 people, it's certainly more comfortable with two, but three is certainly possible.
- 住宿品质保证
- 屋主通过电话验证


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Prices and availability are subject to change from the time and date that you print this page.
5/30/2017 5:30:13 AM. For Customer Service, please call 800.933.9904
Furniture occasionally needs somebody to lean on, too. In the case of our Little Sloane Leaning Desk, all it needs is a wall. We've taken the unique leaning design of Crate and Barrel's Sloane furniture collection and scaled it down to accommodate your little ones. They save space by taking up less area on the floor, and they secure to the wall for added safety. Buy one as a stand-alone piece, or pick up multiples to make a custom look of your own.
Shop our collection of exclusive desk chairs.
Shop our collection of exclusive desk chairs.
Safety first
- Includes tip restraint kit for securing desk to the wall to prevent tipping
- Mending hardware to attach multiple units
Details, details
- Space saving leaning ladder design
- Fixed shelf for book storage or display
- Desk surface accommodates a laptop
- Can stand alone or in multiples
- Assembly required
- Made in Indonesia
- More colors available
Show 'em what you're made of
- Solid mahogany with mahogany veneers over low emission engineered wood (Stained Java)
- Solid mahogany with low emission engineered wood (Painted White)
Extras! Extras!
- Accommodates all of our desk chairs
The Land of Nod Guarantee
At The Land of Nod, nothing is more important to us than providing safe, high-quality products to you and your family. We believe that kids' products should be able to handle everything kids throw their way (literally and figuratively). That's why all of our products have an 18-year quality guarantee. And, hopefully, your kids will no longer be sleeping in bunk beds by then.
Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Justin who?
Justin time for dinner!
Who's there?
Justin who?
Justin time for dinner!
Java Little Sloane Leaning Desk
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Strapping Shelf Basket $9.00 each
Frugal Snail Bank $29.00
Merchant Floor Basket $49.00 each


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Recent Articles
Interview: Sumit "Sid" Siddharth of NotSoSecure
Technology permeates society. This is true not just in the United States but also across the globe. With it comes the opportunity to level the playing field amongst vastly different cultures around the world. But the one thing that remains is the constantly evolving virtual battlefield and its effects on the real world. And if one shows an uncanny ability to navigate this arena, it matters not from where they came. One such individual is Sid Siddharth of NotSoSecure.
Sid's story is one of success. But it's not from luck or privilege. Sid's success comes from the simple concept of hard work. Each step along the way, Sid gave it his all and it was noticed. Even when there was no such thing as a professional 'ethical' hacker, Sid continued with his passion and that simple tool in hand… hard work. Because of that, doors opened for him in India, the UK, the US and beyond. Now he has his own company and travels the world as a speaker, instructor and penetration tester. In this interview, Sid shares his thoughts with the EH-Netters around the world looking to follow in his footsteps.
Course Review: eLearnSecurity WAPTX (WebApp PenTesting Extreme)
The past few years were a sort of lull for me. While I've continued to read and review books, watch and listen to webcasts and podcasts and do my best to stay 'fresh' on the pentesting front, I've not had a good opportunity to squeeze in any more 'structured' training courses. Ever since completing the OSCE course by Offensive Security (OffSec), I'd been feeling good about much of my repertoire but had been itching to get some solid web courses under my belt. I had contemplated OffSec's OSWE, but as it's only offered at BlackHat, has no self-study options and because my work and personal life haven't offered me time to go down that road, I'd been itching for other options. Enter the eLearnSecurity WAPTX online course.
Rewind the clock to a couple of months ago. I've long been familiar with eLearnSecurity, having previously reviewed the eCPPT certification training here at The Ethical Hacker Network (EH-Net) and discussing their various offerings with CEO and Founder, Armando Romeo. Each time I've looked at their materials in the past, I've been pleased with both the materials presented and the overall 'bang for the buck' that they've provided. Most recently, I'd been looking at the web application courses they offer, specifically Web Application Penetration Testing – WAPT and Web Application Penetration Testing Extreme – WAPTX. On the one hand I knew that eLearnSecurity was soon to be releasing an updated version of the WAPT course. But the subject matter and descriptions of the WAPTX were really intriguing to me, so I decided to go to the extreme (pun intended). Suffice it to say, I have been very happy with that decision. This course has been outstanding, and I've learned a TON from the material in these past two months! Let's take an in-depth look.
Book Review: Black Hat Python
Earlier this year, I wrote of my long love affair with Ruby coming to an end and my desire to get back to python in order to build additional skills for the purposes of defense and response. That first step back into python resulted in the article, Book Review: Gray Hat Python by Justin Seitz. That book was one of the more interesting ones that I've reviewed, so when I had the opportunity to look at his latest work, Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters, I was really excited.
Python has been the language of choice in the pen testing universe for a while now, and so having a good reference for building attack and analysis tools for use during attack exercises is really important. The back cover of the book ponders the question of how the magic of creating these tools happens and offers that, "…you'll explore the darker side of Python's capabilities—writing network sniffers, manipulating packets, infecting virtual machines, creating stealthy trojans, and more." Sounds perfect. Let's take a closer look and see if it delivers.
Interview: Dave Chronister of Parameter Security
Have you ever seen a speaker at a security conference, an expert being interviewed on television about the latest cyber attack or an instructor at a whiteboard with the breadth of knowledge one should have when putting your career in their hands? Have you ever wondered what it took for those people to get where they are? Now just imagine all of those people wrapped up into a single individual, add into the mix the extra duties of business owner and husband, and you start to get a picture of Dave Chronister of Parameter Security, HackerU and ShowMeCon.
Covering everything from his first programming project as a child and his BBS days through his first 'real' IT job and into how he became who he is today, read on for a fascinating interview. Dave also shares his thoughts on helping you get that job in InfoSec, hiring someone for your next security project and some great general advice. In anticipation of ShowMeCon 2015 June 8 – 9, get to know a little more about the man (and woman) behind St. Louis' ONLY Premier Hacking & Offensive Cyber Security Conference.
First Look: Cybrary Free IT Training
As a life-long learner, and someone who is passionate about both bettering myself and helping others to reach higher and achieve their goals, I'm constantly on the lookout for fresh educational materials particularly in the areas of IT Administration and Security. I'm always amazed at the breadth of knowledge that is available, albeit, often at a substantial cost. I'm even more amazed at the amount of free content available but can't help but be anxious about the quality, validity and dubious characters claiming to be experts just because they have a YouTube Channel. I've recently had the opportunity to get an up-close look at Cybrary, a relatively new online training provider with some known instructors. Oh… And before I forget, I should mention – they're FREE! Could this be the best of both worlds?
Cybrary's goal is spelled out very clearly when they describe "Our Revolution" throughout their site. They state, "We believe IT and Cyber Security training should be free, for everyone, forever. We believe that everyone, everywhere, deserves the OPPORTUNITY to learn. What they do with the opportunity is up to them, but the opportunity should be available. Join us in demanding liberation, help us in forcing change." That's all well and good. But how's the actual training?
Get eLearnSecurity PTSv3 Training Free!
eLearnSecurity has long been a trusted training provider with multiple courses on offer. They recently updated their Penetration Testing – Student (PTS) course. The eLearnSecurity PTSv3 course is tailored for beginners. In addition to a brand new version, they also made available a new pricing structure that includes an Elite Edition, a Standard Edition and a free Bare Bones Edition. The Bare Bones Edition includes lifetime access to the training materials as well as email tech support. For a full rundown of the difference between the editions, click here.
Unfortunately, this is available only to those with an invitation. Luckily, we scored 100 seats in the invite-only free version of the eLearnSecurity PTSv3 Course. And this time there are no gimmicks, no contests, no requirements. It is simply a first come, first served deal for EH-Netters. Read on for the code that gives you access as well as some more details on the new pentesting course. This is for a limited time, so HURRY!!
Win Training and Ticket to ShowMeCon 2015 – March Giveaway Sponsor
This highly technical forum showcases eye-opening presentations from world-renown ethical hackers and epic security ninjas which will leave you amazed and frightened at the same time. By giving you access into the mind of a hacker, you will better understand how to protect your networks and critical data. As we always say "In order to beat a hacker, you have to think like one" and "if you don't understand the enemy, how can you protect against him?" ShowMeCon 2015 pulls back the curtain and exposes how hackers are winning the war on physical and cyber security on June 8 & 9.
Before the con from June 3 – 7 several boot camps will be provided by Hacker University including hands-on hacking, router hacking, network defense, the updated CISSP certification and more. This is where you EH-Netters come in. Participate on EH-Net in our forums and through social media, and you could win one seat in the training course of your choice which also includes a ticket to the con (travel not included). With a value of well over $2200 and a wealth of professional activities, this opportunity should not be missed. We'll be watching for the entire month of March and decide on a winner in early April. So get out there and support the community, and you could be the next big winner of EH-Net's Giveaways!! Read on for more details of the courses and the event. Good luck.
Book Review: Hacking and Penetration Testing with Low Power Devices
"Hacking and Penetration Testing with Low Power Devices" by Philip Polstra is an excellent read. The author bases this book on his experiences in both hardware, software and penetration testing and combines the various disciplines to both educate and enlighten the reader. Ultimately, the subject matter revolves around using the BeagleBone Black and a customized ARM penetration testing Linux distro, which Polstra's dubbed 'The Deck,' to perform various types of hacking activities. It's described as, "A practical guide to performing penetration tests from a distance with low-cost, battery-powered devices." Oh yeah… just what the doctor ordered.
Let me open by saying that this book struck my "techie geek" nerve. Years and years ago, not too long after I became a computer guy, but far before becoming a professional penetration tester, I managed a Radio Shack store (sad to see they're going away). I guess you could say I was a maker before it was called that. This book, while discussing pentesting, code, automation and stealth, offers the reader a great experience as he brings them into a world of hardware manipulation, discussions of power consumption, radio communication, and other really cool topics. It truly embraces the mindset of the hacker in a cross-disciplinary way and acts like a perfect bridge for those currently in the computer hacking arena into the exciting wider world of the maker movement. I'm excited to share this experience with you, so let's get to it.


text:
Open Mouth Breather - An individual that breathes through their mouth when not exerted. The individual appears to be, and ususally is, perpetually confused, not very bright, an idiot.
You see someone from Wisconsin driving along. As you pass them you see their profile and their mouth is wide open, an Open Mouth Breather. Although they are looking straight ahead, they don't see traffic stopping and slam their brakes on at the last moment. This is an example of an OMB (Open Mouth Breather)
by Nicholas Esayian October 17, 2007
Someone who keeps their mouth open, often with tongue sticking out; appearing mentally deficient. Implying the person has brain damage or is mentally deficient.
All his friends were idiots and morons; the biggest collection of open-mouth breathers I've ever seen.
by Timbotron3000 May 28, 2006


text:
Find the Blackmailer
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/12/world/ame ... ?hpt=hp_c2
My request is that you find the person who did the blackmailing. I am not asking you to break any laws to do it. This is a sad story, and i know that there are those here who have the ability to find this guy. Unless he's very good at hiding his online presence. Once you find him i suggest you report him to authorities. You can do this creatively, but again try and keep it legal.