-Caveat Lector-
from: AMERICAN ATHEISTS
subject: AANEWS for October 14, 1999
A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
#653 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10/14/99
http://www.atheists.org
ftp.atheists.org/pub/atheists/
http://www.americanatheist.org
---------------------------------------------------------------
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS
"Leading The Way For Atheist Civil Rights
And The Separation Of State and Church"
---------------------------------------------------------------
In This Issue...
* Appeal likely in baseball discrimination case
* Dumb and dumber; churches defeat Alabama lottery
* Kansas evolution debate; groups carry out "scientific blockade"
* Resources
* About this list...
APPEAL LIKELY IN SILVERMAN CASE AFTER JUDGE RULES
IN FAVOR OF CHURCH PROMOTION NIGHT
Attorneys for Carl Silverman say they will appeal their case despite
an administrative court ruling that found the Hagerstown Suns baseball
team did not discriminate by holding a "church bulletin night"
promotion.
In a decision made public this past Tuesday, Administrative Law Judge
Georgia Brady opined: "I conclude that Maryland's public accommodation
law, unlike that of many other jurisdictions, prohibits only the
discriminatory application of a promotion. In the absence of a
discriminatory effect, the promotion is not per se illegal."
In April, 1998 Silverman took his family to see a game featuring the
Hagerstown (Maryland) Suns team, a Class A affiliate of the Toronto
Blue Jays. The team was sponsoring a special discount for anyone
carrying a church newsletter or bulletin. Silverman, a
self-proclaimed agnostic, informed the ticket clerk that he was "not
religious," and was told that without a church newsletter, he would
have to pay the full price of admission.
Silverman filed a complaint with the Maryland Commission on Human
Relations arguing that the Hagerstown Suns were a "public
accommodation," and had discriminated on the basis of religious
belief. After conducting an investigation, the Com' management
refused to settle the case out of court for a token fine and end to
the church bulletin promotion, and the Commission then issued a
Statement of Charges on March 3, 1999.
The case was argued in June and July of this year before Judge Brady.
The complaint quickly became another skirmish in the volatile culture
war over the display and role of faith in the public square.
Religious groups including the Rutherford Institute and Pat
Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice lined up to support
the Hagerstown Suns. "Faith-based" discount programs were expanded,
and a portion of gate receipts were used for the team's legal defense.
Decision Raises Questions, Ducks Issue
The 35-page finding of the Administrative Court obtained by AANEWS,
though, suggests that while both sides agreed on many of the facts of
the case, there are significant differences in the accounts of what
happened when Silverman and his family ventured to the Suns' game and
approached the ticket booth on April 12, 1998 -- coincidentally, the
Christian religious holiday known as Easter Sunday.
* The judge wrote that she agreed "that the facile terms of the
promotion call for an individual to present a bulletin obtained from a
Christian house of worship," and that "obtaining or producing a church
bulletin is an act which makes a statement about an individual's
religious believes. Accordingly, the promotion, which requires
production of a religious-oriented documented, distinguishes on its
face between persons because of their creed." Even so, Brady noted
that this "does not make the promotion illegal under Maryland's public
accommodation law, in the absence of evidence that it has been applied
'to deny, refuse, or withhold from' that person any advantage or
privilege of the public accommodation...'"
* Mr. Silverman was aware of the church bulletin promotion, and had
intended to test the issue. Silverman complained that when the ticket
seller for the Suns informed him that he needed a church bulletin to
qualify for the admission discount, he (Silverman) said that not being
a religious person, he could not produce said bulletin. Silverman
then said that the ticket seller contacted the team manager, David
Blenckstone, who informed Carl that "there would be no discount
without the bulletin."
An individual identified as "Rico," however, said that he was the
ticket seller in question; he claimed that when confronted by
Silverman, he "followed his routine of simply pulling out an extra
(church) bulletin and telling the Complainant that he would give him
the discount anyway."
Rebutting the testimony of "Rico," Silverman identified two ticket
sellers, Kim and Sarah, to whom he had paid his full price admission.
Judge Brady suggested: "I assume that the intent of this line of
testimony was to convince me that the Complainant had never dealt with
any ticket sellers other than Kim and Sarah, and that ("Rico's")
involvement was a complete fabrication..." Brady goes on to suggest
that she believed the team management's account and "Rico's," but not
Silverman's.
Attorneys for both the Commission and Silverman were "clearly shocked'
by "Rico's" testimony, noted Brady, but a problem remains: according
to the record, "Rico" informed team owner Winston Blenckstone of this
alleged chain of events "sometime after April 12th but before the end
of the year..." Further doubt should have been cast by the fact that
Silverman was able to produce a copy of the federal public
accommodations law, which he used in his conversation with David
Blenckstone, on which he had written the names of the two ticket
sellers, Kim and Sarah. Where did "Rico" come from? Why wasn't his
name written down? And why hadn't this alleged evidence been revealed
in media coverage, and instead remain secreted until the
administrative hearing?
* Common sense suggests that the purpose of the "church bulletin"
discount promotion was to entice local believers who worship in church
into attending a Suns game knowing that they would be given
preferential treatment in the form of a discount on admission. Even
so, Judge Brady ruled that while "carrying and presenting a church
bulletin does make a public statement that the holder is a believer in
whatever religion or organization produced the document," this is
allegedly not by itself "an impermissibly heavy burden" on someone who
does not believe in religious creeds.
"Silverman did not have to obtain a bulletin by borrowing one from his
wife or friend," wrote Brady. "He did not have to enter a church to
pick one up, thereby perhaps giving someone the impression that he was
at the church because of his religious belief." Brady ruled that
since Silverman was offered a church bulletin at the ticket booth,
somehow this promotion is thus legitimized.
The religious dimension of Silverman's case is hard to ignore, though.
Churches and other faith-based groups lined up behind the Hagerstown
Suns team, which even saw fit to put a "halo" on player uniforms as a
statement. And it is doubtful that churches would have sat idly by if
the Suns hosted a "witches discount night," or a similar program to
attracts atheists or some other less popular group.
Hagerstown Suns attorney Joseph Schwartz blasted Mr. Silverman, the
Maryland Commission on Human Relations, and the American Civil
Liberties Union which took on the case. "The ACLU and the commission
should spend their energies going after real cases of discrimination
and not false ones," he told Associated Press. He accused Silverman
of being a simple publicity seeker.
But ACLU attorney Mike Berman argued that the requirement of being
asked to present a church bulletin could be a clear signal of a
person's beliefs.
"The ruling is essentially that a business can advertise a church
bulletin discount as long as it doesn't really have one in effect,"
Berman said. "In short, you can have church bulletin discount in name
only."
For more information:
http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/bball6.htm
http://www.americanatheists.org (Full text of court decision)
**
ALABAMA VOTERS DEFEAT EDUCATION LOTTERY AS CHURCHES
UNITE, FLEX NEW POLITICAL MUSCLE
In a surprise turnabout, voters in Alabama defeated a lottery proposal
Tuesday which would have generated up to $150 million a year for badly
needed college tuition scholarships. Approval of the lottery measure
was considered a done deal, even as the day for voting on the
referendum drew near, and lottery advocates had outspent their
opponents by a 3-1 margin. The measure also had the support of Gov.
Don Siegelman, who took on the state's powerful Christian Coalition
and its allied groups in boosting the lottery proposal.
But while polls showed that nearly 60% of voters would support the
lottery, a different story was told Tuesday night as the ballots
poured in. The measure was defeated 54%-46%; and the sudden shift was
because of an extraordinary mobilization by the state's faith
community. And nearly 60% of the state's registered 2.4 million
voters trekked to the polls, even though no state or national offices
were up for grabs. That was three percentage points higher than the
turn out for last year's hotly contested race for the governor's
mansion.
"The reason why we won tonight is the church," gushed Jim Cooper,
chairman of the Citizens Against a Legalized Lottery. "God bless the
churches. They have done an outstanding job."
"Churches erected anti-lottery signs, made anti-lottery T-shirts, held
anti-lottery rallies, hosted prayer vigils and listened to their
pastors preach anti-lottery sermons," noted Associated Press in
reporting the upset.
"I've never seen anything like it," declared Gary Palmer of the
Alabama Family Alliance. "It was a tremendous grassroots effort."
And one woman calling in to a Christian radio station near Montgomery
was even more excited. "Glory, glory! The Lord was with us in the
voting booth!" Not to be outdone by the hyperbole, Christian
Coalition state chairman Bob Russell declared, "The Red Sea just
parted."
The Alabama vote makes that state an anomaly, even in a region of the
country dubbed "the Bible belt" because of its intense religiosity.
Other Southern states have embraced lotteries as a way of raising
badly needed cash -- especially in an area where voters are skeptical
of any initiative to increase taxes. Casinos operate in Louisiana and
Mississippi, video poker machines entice players in South Carolina,
and Georgia and Florida both operate lotteries. Siegelman, considered
by many to be a religious conservative sympathizer, was even elected
on a platform that called for a state lottery.
As a result of the vote, "Aalabamians will still find themselves with
one of the worst educational systems in the country," observed the New
York Times. Worse yet is the fact that Siegelman and his aides were
so confident that the lottery would pass that they have no plan-B to
fix the state's poor educational system. Alabama has the lowest
per-capita spending on education in the nation, and Siegelman says he
will not consider a tax increase as a way of fixing the state's
decrepit system.
"The religious groups are outraged by private sins, but they don't
seem as concerned about social sins, like a third of the kids in
Alabama's public schools being poor," said Wayne Flint, a professor at
Auburn University. Referring to the incredible turn out of
anti-religious voters by the state's churches, he added "I haven't
seen them mobilize to this extent in favor of anything that might
actually improve education."
The defeat for the lottery is part of a national trend, though, and
one that is uniting a broad range of religious groups. Alabama
becomes the fourth state, following North Dakota, Arkansas and
Oklahoma, to reject a lottery in a public referendum. In all states,
groups like the Christian Coalition, and even the more liberal state
council of churches played an important role.
Rev. Joe Bob Mizzell of the Alabama Baptist Convention told the Times
that he had never seen an issue which had united so many ministers
from different denominations. Even lottery opponents were surprised
at the extent of their win. Rish Wood of the Lick the Lottery Etowah
Task Force told the Gadsden Times newspaper, "Fantastic! I thought it
would be closer, I thought the no vote would win, but not by this
margin. The religious Christian moral majority spoke, I guess." A
local pastor agreed, saying "It was a political issue on one hand, but
it was also a moral issue, and I think that's why the churches
responded so much and the church has been very unified on it..."
Churches shunned the traditional dimensions of the lottery debate,
such as voluntary behavior by consenting adults. Instead, they
concentrated on a more diffuse array of concerns, arguing that the
lottery would affect poor people, undermine the work ethic, and open
the door to casino gambling. The issue also took on a strong moral
dimension. Gary Palmer of the Alabama Family Alliance told the
Birmingham Post Herald, "In the words of one pastor, this was not so
much a battle against the lottery as it was a battle for the kingdom,
the spiritual kingdom, and I think that resonated with a lot of
Christians."
In addition, church sermons and newsletters throughout the state urged
parishioners to vote against the lottery. "Alabama is a God-fearing,
God-loving state," declared Rev. Calvin Kelley of Valleydale Baptist
Church in north Shelby County. "And when public policy has such moral
implications and the church speaks out, people listen." He added that
the surprise vote in the lottery means that religious groups are a
force to be reckoned with. "I think people will pay attention to the
church and stop bashing the church like we saw in this campaign."
(Thanks to Larry Mundinger, our correspondent "behind enemy lines" for
information used in compiling this story.)
**
KANSAS EVOLUTION DEBATE FLARES AGAIN; CHANGES
ORDERED IN TEACHING STANDARDS
Two months ago, the debate over evolution put Kansas in the national
media spotlight when the state Board of Education agreed to permit the
teaching of religious creationism in school science classes. The 6-4
vote was condemned as a "travesty to science education" by one leading
educator; and Gov. Bill Graves lamented, "This is a terrible, tragic,
embarrassing solution to a problem that did not exist." It was a
victory, though, for those groups who want to see "creationism" -- an
account based on a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis --
taught as an alternative to the more scientifically grounded principle
of biological evolution.
Now, Kansas is back in the news, again over the evolution debate. On
Tuesday, the State Board of Education voted 7-3 to direct Commissioner
Andy Tompkins to devise changes in a 94-page handbook outlining new
teaching standards. The move is necessary since three national
science groups say they will not permit the board to use their
copyrighted materials because of the new position regarding evolution.
"The new standards omit much of evolution as a subject for statewide
testing, including the theory that man and apes evolved from a common
ancestor," notes the New York Times in a story about the Kansas
evolution flap.
New guidelines will now be required since the National research
Council, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and
the National Science Teachers Association say that they will not
permit the Kansas board to use their materials. CBS news described
the move as a "scientific blockade, courtesy of the three groups that
write the nation's science standards."
The blockade is necessary, though, says Gerald Wheeler, executive
director of the National Science Teachers Association. "We do have to
defend good science from bad science," he said. "Evolution is the
unifying principle in science. To pervert it or modify it or
eliminate it destroys the very nature of science..."
Linda Holloway, chairman of the Kansas Board of Education and a
supporter of the new creationist teaching standards, dismissed the
move by the three prestigious academic groups. "It's mainly a matter
of rewording, which is not really a very lengthy process," she said.
"They will do it and get it to a copyright lawyers. That will give us
the assurance that it will pass." She told reporters that she hoped
rewriting the standards in new language would end the debate over
teaching evolution or creationism.
But Board member Janet Waugh, who opposes the new standards, said that
rewording is unlikely to end the heated rancor over the
evolution-creationism issue. "I feel that there's a lot of emotion
playing across the state," she declared. "I think that the education
community and other people out there who want their children to get
the very best education possible, recommended by experts, possibly
will keep it alive."
The issue could flare anew next year, when five of the ten seats on
the State Board of Education come up for election.
For more information:
http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/evol3.htm
http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/evol5.htm
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS...
* For information about American Atheists, send mail to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Please include your name and postal mailing
address.
* For a free catalogue of American Atheist Press books, videos and
other products, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Kindly include
your postal mailing address.
* The American Atheist Magazine is now on the web! Check out select
articles from the current or back issues, as well as special web-only
features. Visit us at http://www.americanatheist.org
* If you are a current member of American Atheists, sign up for our
e-mail discussion group, aachat. We have over 120 participants who
discuss topics such as Atheism, religion, First Amendment issues and
lots more! Contact Margie Wait, the Moderator, through
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
ABOUT THIS LIST...
AANEWS is a free service from American Atheists, a nationwide movement
founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair for the advancement of Atheism, and
the total, absolute separation of government and religion.
You may forward, post or quote from this dispatch, provided that
appropriate credit is given to AANEWS and American Atheists. Edited
by Conrad Goeringer, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Internet Representative for
American Atheists is Margie Wait, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
