This is not okay, JT. I’ve known JT Eberhard for close to two years. We met at the Secular Student Alliance conference in 2010, and he immediately impressed me with his passion, his joy, his bulldog determination, his fearlessness about other people’s opinions of him, his willingness to throw himself headfirst into the projects he [...]

Carl Sagan told me when I was young We are all made of stars And Darwin said all life’s descended from Ancient common ancestors… * Don’t get me wrong. I like Lady Gaga. I respect Lady Gaga. I’m even reasonably fond of “Born This Way” (although I do think it’s awfully goddamn close to “Express [...]

This piece was originally published on AlterNet. Update: I have removed “Here Comes Santa Claus” from my Honorable Mentions list, since it was pointed out that the the last two verses do mention God, in a freakish mix of the Jesus and Santa mythologies. Thanks for the correction! What do you do if you’re an [...]

What do you do if you’re an atheist who likes Christmas carols? It’s widely assumed that atheists, by definition, hate Christmas. And it’s an assumption I’m baffled by. I like Christmas. Lots of atheists I know like Christmas. Heck, even Richard Dawkins likes Christmas. Plenty of atheists recognize the need for rituals that strengthen social [...]

Is this the Yuletide? It’s such a mystery Will I be denied Or will there be gifts for me? Come down the stairs Look under the tree and see… It’s December now, which means it’s officially okay for me to start talking about Christmas. (A holiday that I actually do enjoy.) So here is my [...]