| 2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
| 2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
| When: |
Dec 16, 2006, 1PM | ||||||||||||||||
| Where: | Betts Branch Library | ||||||||||||||||
| Presentation: |
An Inconvenient Truth |
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The meeting commenced at 1:05 PM. Thirty-two were in attendance for the video, seventeen for the regular FUNY meeting. |
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| When: |
Nov 18, 2006, 1PM | ||||||||||||||||
| Where: | Betts Branch Library | ||||||||||||||||
| Speaker: |
Dr. Thomas Szasz |
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| Topic: |
Roundtable Discussion: Psychiatry and Freedom |
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The meeting commenced at 1:05 PM. Fourteen were in attendance.
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| When: |
Oct 21, 2006, 1PM | ||||||||||||||||
| Where: | Betts Branch Library | ||||||||||||||||
| Topic: |
Roundtable Discussion: Where We Come from | ||||||||||||||||
| Meeting
came to order at 1:10. There were 16 people in attendance. Our program was our first ever roundtable discussion. The Topic was "Where We Come From" where we each took turns talking about our journey to freethought. Most people present participated, and it was almost unanimous that it was a good idea. Brian Madigan made an announcement that he has written FUNY into his will, and urged that others consider making similar bequests in thier wills. Many thanks to Brian! After much discussion, it was decided that a future topic of discussion would be "freethought funerals". Other ideas discussed was a freethought column for the Post-Standard. I will look into getting the Humanist Network News "Sweet Reason" column syndicated at the paper. For "Books and Movies", Brian Morgan brought a copy of "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris. Also, Brian bought a copy of "An Inconvenient Truth" - Al Gore's movie about global warming. This movie is being distributed by a *religious* organization that is trying to get churches to realize that global warming and the environment is a *moral* issue - to which I think we can all say "Amen Brother!" This raised the interesting idea of using the DVD of the movie as a draw for our December meeting - which we could broadly advertise. Under Treasurer's report, Clifford's statement was read to the effect that we made $116.92 for the treasury at the Westscott Street Fair (NOTE: Subsequently Clifford has informed me that the actual profit was less than this - the discrepancy being the cost of items not yet sold). $20 in donations were taken in at the meeting (Note to Clifford: I now owe you $80.48) Meeting broke up just before 3:00. |
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| When: |
Sep 16, 2006, 1PM | ||||||||||||||||
| Where: | Betts Branch Library | ||||||||||||||||
| Topic: |
Faith and Reason | ||||||||||||||||
Nine were in attendance.
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| When: | June
17, 2006, 1PM |
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| Where: | Oneida Shores County Park | ||||||||||||||||
| Event: | Annual Summer Picnic | ||||||||||||||||
| Thirteen were in attendance.
Program Our annual FUNY picnic. We enjoyed warm, sunny weather and a lively discussion. Book/movie reviews: None. Freethinker News: Cathy Stevens of WCNY channel 24 will interview Doug in July regarding the work he’s done on the Ingersoll project. Air date unknown. Doug will keep us informed. Sam Harris, author of “The End of Faith,” is to be interviewed on public radio this afternoon, June 17, along with a response from a theist. Science News: None FUNY news and business: We have had no income or expenditures since our last meeting. Our balance is $757.60. Clifford sent an email to the person responsible for the Westcott street fair but hasn’t received a reply. FUNY would like to set up a table/booth at this fair. We intend to sell bumper stickers. We need speakers or programs for the autumn meetings. Calendar:
Summary of action items: Doug Schiffer: Clifford Crain |
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| When: |
May 20, 2006, 1PM | ||||||||||||||||
| Where: | Cicero Branch of Northern Onondaga Public Library | ||||||||||||||||
| Speakers: |
PA Nonbelievers |
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| President Doug Schiffer called the
meeting to order at 1:00. Sixteen were in attendance. Program Five members of Pennsylvania Nonbelievers, based in York, PA, were on hand: Steve Neubauer shouldered most of the presentation duties; Yolanda Forry, his wife; Carl and Cheryl Huber; and Matt Juba. Their presentation centered for the most part on clips from the live freethought call-in show, “The Free Thought Forum,” that they air monthly on the York community broadcasting station. Their group started with an ad placed in one of the York newspapers announcing a meeting at a Borders bookstore; after some publicity, Borders cancelled the meeting and posted their employees in the store to keep the evil freethinkers out. The meeting was held at a different location with 25 in attendance. They had some tips for conducting a call-in show: don’t let the caller monopolize the time; don’t be argumentative with the callers; if the caller starts making a speech, ask, “Caller, do you have a question?” They have good luck selling bumperstickers at street fairs. Many in the audience agreed that this was one of the best and funniest presentations FUNY has ever had. Thanks a million to Pennsylvania Nonbelievers for coming to talk to us in central New York. If you weren’t at the meeting, you missed a great one! Book/movie reviews “Age of Reason Part Three; Examination of the Prophecies” by Thomas Paine (American Atheist Press, $15, AA members get 10% discount) “Apocolypse” D. H. Lawrence Freethinker News: Cathy Stevens of WCNY channel 24 will interview Doug in the second week of June regarding the work he’s done on the Ingersoll project. Air date unknown. Doug will keep us informed. Science News: None FUNY news and business: Clifford Crain presented the Treasurer’s report. At the end of the April meeting we had $767.55. At the May meeting we collected $51.05. We spent $61 on a meal for our guest speakers from Pennsylvania. Our balance is now $757.60. We are still considering The Red House as a venue to screen “The God Who Wasn’t There.” Doug plans to visit The Red House next week to check out their facilities and cost. Doug will call our contact at The Red House to make sure he has reviewed the video and can meet with us. Clifford noted that this week’s religious belief article in the Post-Standard was written by a freethinker. Clifford lamented the fact that the writer was not a member of FUNY. Doug volunteered to look up the individual and invite him to participate in FUNY. We need speakers or programs for the autumn meetings. Calendar: June 17: FUNY picnic, Oneida Shores County Park, Brewerton, exact location TBA. Time: noon. September 16 Program and location TBA October 21 Program and location TBA November 18 Program and location TBA December 16 Program and location TBA Summary of action items: Doug Schiffer: Make arrangements with our contact at The Red House, and check out The Red House facilities and cost (for showing of “The God Who Wasn’t There”) (with Clifford). Drop off or mail next tape of “Biblical Errancy” to Clifford so he can take it to TW. Update website (currently lists the April and May meetings). Clifford Crain Using list of attorneys that may be willing to help with incorporation, locate an attorney. Find out when the Westcott Street fair will be held. Work with other members to set up a table for FUNY stocked with literature and bumper stickers. (Thanks PA Nonbelievers for this great idea.) Meeting adjourned 2:55 PM. An informal meeting continued at Plainville Farms restaurant afterwards where we continued discussing with (pumping information from) our friends from Pennsylvania. Their group doesn’t normally have speakers at their meetings. Instead, members lead or moderate discussions; they talk to each other. People are asked to speak about what they are interested in. For example, Steve has an interest in how the founding fathers established the separation of church and state. Another topic around Christmastime is how they deal with believers who are friends and family. They also recommended that FUNY make an appearance at any gay pride street festivals. |
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| When: |
Apr 15, 2006, 1PM | ||||||||||||||||
| Where: | Betts Branch Library | ||||||||||||||||
| Presentation: |
Root of All Evil |
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| President Doug Schiffer called
the meeting to order at 1:05. Twelve were in attendance.
Program We viewed the “Root of all Evil?” documentary by Richard Dawkins that aired earlier on the BBC4. Book/movie reviews: “End of Faith” by Sam Harris “God Who Wasn’t There” video “Atheist Epic” by O’Hair (Brian Morgan donated a copy to the FUNY library: thanks!) Madalyn Murray O’Hair debate now on DVD “The Faith Healers” by James Randi “Baubles of Blasphemy” by Edwin Kagin www.baconEatingAtheistJew.blogspot.com for a variety of videos Freethinker News: Bricks with Christian sayings have been permitted to be reinstalled in walkway at a Mexico, NY school. Is the school still accepting donations (and therefore bricks with quotes on them)? Science News: None FUNY news and business: Clifford Crain presented the Treasurer’s report. At the end of the March meeting we had $745.50. At the April meeting we collected $34.05. We spent $12 for refreshments during the meeting. Our balance is now $767.55. Clifford has received a list of names of lawyers who FUNY could hire to assist with obtaining non-profit status. Clifford to follow up. We are still looking for a venue to screen “The God Who Wasn’t There.” Doug and Clifford plan to visit The Red House to check out their facilities and cost at a future date. Doug will call our contact at The Red House to make sure he has reviewed the video and can meet with us. Karl will call the Fall Creek Theater in Auburn to determine if they have the capability of showing a DVD. Doug will follow up with the FUNY members who volunteered to house our speakers for May (Pennsylvania Freethinkers) for one night. If arrangements can’t be worked out, we will have to pay to house them in a hotel. Doug Schiffer has been asked by the Center for Inquiry to write an article about Robert Ingersoll. Clifford noted two articles that appeared in the April 15 Post-Standard. Columnist Cal Thomas claims that Easter is true because none of the witnesses subsequently denied what he observed, and why would God sacrifice his son to save humanity only to mislead humanity? Billy Graham says Christ’s death was witnessed by hundreds, and the soldiers knew they would be punished if they didn’t make absolutely certain Jesus was dead. What would be our response to these claims? 1. Martyr deaths are legend. 2. How do we know the disciples existed? 3. How many people record an event that doesn’t take place? 4. There are contradictory versions of the event in the Bible 5. Roman crucifixion was for three days, not a matter of hours. 5. Romans did not crucify thieves. 6. Some people who are crucified survived. We discussed where to hold our June picnic without making any decisions. Past picnics have been held at Verona Beach State Park, Green Lakes State Park, and the Robert Ingersoll Birthplace Museum. Someone suggested Oneida Shores County Park in Brewerton. Calendar:
Summary of action items: Doug Schiffer: Make arrangements with our contact at The Red House, and check out The Red House facilities and cost (for showing of “The God Who Wasn’t There”) (with Clifford). Make sure our May speakers know where and when the meeting will be held. Drop off or mail next tape of “Biblical Errancy” to Clifford so he can take it to TW. Follow up with FUNY members who have volunteered to house our May speakers. Update website (currently lists the January meeting). Also update library listing on website for recent donations. Clifford Crain Drop off next four episodes of “Biblical Errancy” to TW between April 24 and April 30. Using list of attorneys that may be willing to help with incorporation, locate an attorney. Meeting adjourned 3:30 PM. |
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| When: |
March 18, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||
| Where: | Betts Branch Library | ||||||||||||||||
| Speaker: |
David Koepsell |
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| Topic: |
Religious Dissent and the Law | ||||||||||||||||
| President Doug Schiffer called
the meeting to order at 1:05. Fifteen were in attendance including all
members of the board.
Program David Koepsell gave a presentation “Religious Dissent and the Law.” After giving a history of blasphemy and the law, David answered numerous questions from the membership. Book/movie reviews: Prometheus Books catalogue. “Courtier and Heretic” by Matthew Stewart ($16.35 on amazon.com) “Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists” by Edward T. Babinski ($17.01 on amazon.com) We were urged to see the recent movie, “V for Vendetta.” General recommendation for www.infidels.org. Clifford likes its search capabilities. Freethinker News: Brian Morgan passed out a copy of “The New 10 Commandments.” Brian Morgan donated a tape of “The Great God Debate.” Science News: None FUNY news and business: Clifford Crain presented the Treasurer’s report. At the end of the February meeting we had $693.50. At the March meeting we collected $52. There have been no expenses. Our balance is now $745.50. Infidels.org is hosting debaters. We might hold a debate at one of the autumn meetings. Doug reported on our efforts to incorporate and attain non-profit status. He stated that New York requires educational non-profits to incorporate by going through the state education department. We have no documentation on how to do this. The phone number for the education department is has a full mailbox of voice mail, and the department’s web site is not helpful. We decided to enlist the help of an attorney. Clifford knows a professor at S.U. Law School and will ask him for help in finding an attorney. Another idea is to contact NYC Atheists and find out how they incorporated. We are still looking for a venue to screen “The God Who Wasn’t There.” Doug and Clifford plan to visit The Red House to check out their facilities and cost after the April meeting. Anyone else who would like to do go is welcome. Doug will call our contact at The Red House to make sure he has reviewed the video and can meet with us. Karl will call the Fall Creek Theater in Auburn to determine if they have the capability of showing a DVD. Doug will follow up with the FUNY members who volunteered to house our speakers for May (Pennsylvania Freethinkers) for one night. If arrangements can’t be worked out, we will have to pay to house them in a hotel. Our program for April will be to view the BBC video by Richard Dawkins, “Root of All Evil.” Brian Madigan volunteered to bring a projector, and Doug will bring the DVD player and sound system. Clifford reserved the NOPL Cicero library for our May meeting. Calendar:
Summary of action items: Doug Schiffer: Make arrangements with our contact at The Red House, and check out The Red House facilities and cost after April meeting (for showing of “The God Who Wasn’t There”) (with Clifford). Follow up with FUNY members who have volunteered to house our May speakers. Clifford Crain Drop off next four episodes of “Biblical Errancy” to TW. Talk to S.U. law professor regarding recommendation of attorney to help with incorporation. Meeting adjourned 3:15 PM. |
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| When: |
Feb 18, 2006, 1PM | ||||||||||||||||
| Where: | Betts Branch Library | ||||||||||||||||
| Speaker: |
Betty Defazio |
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| Topic: |
Women's Reproductive Freedom | ||||||||||||||||
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Judy Gusweiler called
the meeting to order at 1:05. Sixteen were in attendance including two
members of the board (Vice President Morgan and Secretary-Treasurer Clifford Crain). Program Betty DeFazio, external affairs director of the Rochester/Syracuse chapter of Planned Parenthood (PP), spoke to us about women’s reproductive freedom. PP has three missions: clinical, educational, and advocacy.. Only 6% of PP’s total services are related to abortion. Their sex education material stresses care of one’s body and is age appropriate. She told of how religious ideology has held up approval of over-the-counter emergency contraception by the FDA. She compared Sandra Day O’connor to Samuel Alito. She noted the increase in funding for “abstinence only” programs which don’t even pretend to be based on science. She pointed out that New York State has no sex education requirement for public schools. Book/movie reviews: “Harlot by the Side of the Road” by Jonathan Kirsch “Nut mail” page in recent “Freethought Today” newspaper “Ungodly” by Ted Dracos (biography of Madelyn Murray O’hair) Recent episode of “Trading Spouses” TV show Penn and Teller will broadcast a show on Creationism next week on Showtime “Laurel Oral” satire 12:30 AM on Comedy Central On the “Daily Show”: “This week in God” Freethinker News: A number of FUNY members attended a recent “Darwin Day” series of lectures at SUNY Oswego. An anonymous researcher continues to comb through libraries in Utah to research Ingersoll’s speeches. Science News: None FUNY news and business: Clifford Crain presented the Treasurer’s report. At the end of the January meeting we had $658.50. At the February meeting we collected $35. There have been no expenses. Our balance is now $693.50. “Biblical Errancy” videos are airing weekly on TW community access cable Sunday morning at 10:00 AM. We have received word that our application to be an affiliate of American Atheists has been approved. Doug to alert the membership of the benefits that come with the affiliation. Doug has checked with affiliating FUNY with the Council for Secular Humanism in Amherst, New York. They are sending us an application. Doug has purchased the book, “Non-profits for Dummies” and is reading it and filling out forms with the eventual goal of incorporating and attaining non-profit status. We are still looking for a venue to screen “The God Who Wasn’t There.” Doug and Clifford plan to visit The Red House to check out their facilities and cost after the March meeting. Anyone else who would like to do go is welcome. Doug is supposed to drop off a DVD of “The God Who Wasn’t There” before the next meeting. Doug will call the Fall Creek Theater in Auburn so we can determine cost and availability of that site. Doug will follow up with the FUNY members who volunteered to house our speakers for March (David Koepsell) and May (Pennsylvania Freethinkers) for one night. If arrangements can’t be worked out, we will have to pay to house them in a hotel. Clifford noted that the speaker intended for April will not be in the country but is available to speak to us in the fall. Clifford will make arrangements in late August. Mary suggested that we get Art Weaver to speak to us on green systems; she said Doug has information about this speaker. We are open to additional ideas for a speaker for our April meeting. Clifford reserved the Betts library for our April meeting. Calendar: March 18: FUNY meeting: David Koepsell of Center for Inquiry will speak on “Religious Dissent and the Law.” Location TBA, 1 PM. April 15: FUNY meeting, time and place TBA. We need a speaker. May 20: FUNY meeting: Pennsylvania non-believers will be coming up to talk to us about their successful on-air TV talk show and their organization which now has several hundred members. Location TBA, 1 PM June 17: FUNY picnic, location TBA. Summary of action items: Doug Schiffer: Check out The Red House facilities and cost after March meeting (for showing of “The God Who Wasn’t There”) (with Clifford). Call Fall Creek Theater in Ithaca for possible showing of “The God Who Wasn’t There.” Fill out application for affiliating with Center for Inquiry. Communicate with board to decide next step for incorporating and obtaining tax-deductible status. Follow up with FUNY members who have volunteered to house our March and May speakers. Drop off next four episodes of “Biblical Errancy” to TW. Communicate to FUNY members the benefits we have been given by affiliating with American Atheists. Meeting adjourned 3:30 PM. |
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| When: |
Jan 21, 2006, 1PM | ||||||||||||||||
| Where: | Betts Branch Library | ||||||||||||||||
| Speaker: |
Barb Crawford |
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| Topic: |
PFLAG | ||||||||||||||||
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Vice President Judy Gusweiler called
the meeting to order at 1:05. Fourteen were in attendance including
three
members of the board (Vice President Gusweiler; Secretary Brian
Madigan;
Treasurer Clifford Crain).
Program Barb Crawford, co-founder and co-president of the Syracuse chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays described the PFLAG organization, its goals and methods. She handed out a very clever and effective “Heterosexual Questionnaire” that substituted the word “heterosexual” in place of “homosexual” for questions typically asked of gay people. The topic generated considerable discussion among the members. Book/movie reviews: People have been busy reading over the holidays. Here are some books that were reviewed during the meeting: “Western Atheism” by James Thrower “Fear, Faith, Fact, Fantasy” by John A. Henderson “Like Rolling Uphill: Realizing the Honesty of Atheism” by Diana Narciso “Closing of the Western Mind” by Charles Freeman “Her Majesty’s Spymaster” by Stephen Budiansky “Harlot by the Side of the Road” by Jonathan Kirsch (preliminary review; full review next month) “Misquoting Jesus” by Bart Ehrman “An Atheist Primer” by Madelyn Murray O’Hair (available from American Atheists $6) “The Trouble with Christmas” by Thomas Flynn “Manual of a Perfect Atheist” by Rius (available from American Atheists $13) “The Handmaid’s Tale” (DVD available from Onondaga Public Library) Freethinker News: “The Humanist Perspective” is a TV show put out by the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York. Doug copied several episodes to DVD, and five of these disks were handed out at the meeting. We may want to air these on the Time Warner (TW) access channel in the future. An anonymous researcher is looking into Ingersoll’s visits to Utah and Colorado by visiting libraries in those states over the next few weeks. Science News: None FUNY news and business: The membership found it desirable to schedule the speaker ahead of the other club business. Clifford Crain presented the Treasurer’s report. At the end of the December meeting we had $625.50. At the January meeting we collected $33. There have been no expenses. Our balance is now $658.50. “Biblical Errancy” videos are airing weekly on TW community access cable Sunday morning at 10:00 AM on channel 96 (Brian Madigan reports it’s channel 98 in the suburbs). Doug has given the next four episodes to Clifford, who will submit the tape on January 31. We briefly discussed the responses to Clifford’s recent letter to the editor of the Post-Standard. Doug has filled out the application to affiliate with American Atheists, and he sent it to them. Doug will look into affiliating with Center for Inquiry. Doug checked prices of using “The Legal Zone” to assist in incorporating. Costs are $174 for the economy package, $274 for the standard package, and $374 for the express package. Economy package includes name search, articles of incorporation, professional review, Nolo book on running a non-profit corporation, and newsletter. The standard package adds a corporate seal, form for minutes of board of director’s meeting. Express package adds rush processing, and prepared tax ID forms. Cost of the Nolo self-help incorporation book alone is about $30. We are still looking for a venue to screen “The God Who Wasn’t There.” Doug and Clifford plan to visit The Red House to check out their facilities and cost after the February meeting. Anyone else who would like to do go is welcome. Doug is supposed to drop off a DVD of “The God Who Wasn’t There” before the next meeting. Karl Logan sent the phone number of the Fall Creek Theater in Ithaca to Doug so we can determine cost and availability of that site. Clifford noted that if we can’t find a volunteer to host our March speaker David Koepsell and May speakers for one night, we will have to pay to house them in a hotel. Three people volunteered; Clifford will forward their names to Doug for follow-up. A batch of FUNY brochures was distributed at the meeting. The brochure can also be downloaded from the web site: www.funygroup.org/flyer3_2.doc. Officer elections: The following candidates were elected to a one year term in office: President Doug Schiffer Vice Present Brian Morgan Secretary Clifford Crain Treasurer Clifford Crain Calendar:
Summary of action items: Doug Schiffer: Check out The Red House facilities and cost after February meeting (for showing of “The God Who Wasn’t There”) (with Clifford). Call Fall Creek Theater in Ithaca for possible showing of “The God Who Wasn’t There.” Check with Nolo self-help book for incorporation process. Look into affiliating with Center for Inquiry. Communicate with board to decide next step for incorporating and obtaining tax-deductible status. For future agendas, schedule the speaker first, followed by the remaining club business. Clifford Crain: Drop off next four episodes of “Biblical Errancy” to TW. Forward to Doug a list of volunteers to house our March and May speakers. Reserve Betts Library for upcoming meetings. Meeting adjourned 3:35 PM. |
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