For the full combined calendar of these and other events for the month of June be sure to check out the ‘Calendar’ page (note: you must be logged in to see the events on the calendar).

For more information and to RSVP to Iowa Secularists Meetup events:
Cedar Falls/Waterloo
Corridor (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City)
Des Moines

Sunday, June 7, Waterloo.  1st Annual IS Picnic, Geroge Wyeth State Park, Josh Higgins Shelter, 12:00pm.

Thursday, June 11, Iowa City.  Old Chicago meetup, 7:00pm.

Saturday, June 13, Des Moines.  Saturday coffee meetup, 10:00am.

Sunday, June 14, Cedar Falls.  Sunday coffee meetup, 11:00am.

Thursday, June 18, Des Moines.  Dinner at Legend’s American Grill, 7:00pm.

Thursday, June 25, Cedar Falls.  Dinner at The Other Place, 7:00pm.

Saturday, June 27, Iowa City.  Capanna Coffee meetup, 10:00am.

*More events will be added as they are scheduled.

Note: SAVE THE DATE!!  The Iowa Secularists annual conference will be in Iowa City on Saturday, July 18, 2009. We are finalizing details with our venue, but we will be in Iowa City. Our keynote speaker will be DJ Grothe from the Center for Inquiry, and we will have sessions conducted by prominent members of the Atheist/Agnostic/Non-Religious community, including Dr. Hector Avalos from Iowa State University and Bjorn Watland, President of the Minnesota Atheists. Final details, including cost, will be announced as soon as they are available.

For a complete list of events of the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society, click here: ISU AAS

For a complete list of events or information about the University of Northern Iowa Freethinkers and Inquirers, click here: UNIFI.

For the full combined calendar of these and other events for the month of May, including National Day of Reason events, be sure to check out the ‘Calendar’ page (note: you must be logged in to see the events on the calendar).

For more information and to RSVP to Iowa Secularists Meetup events:
Cedar Falls/Waterloo
Corridor (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City)
Des Moines

Monday, May 4, Cedar Rapids.  Game Night at Battlezone, 7:00pm.

Thursday, May 7, Cedar Falls.   National Day of Reason Movie Night, 7:00pm.

Thursday, May 7, Des Moines.  National Day of Reason Event at the Botanical Center, 7:00pm (sponsored by the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers: http://www.iowaatheists.org/)

Thursday, May 14, Iowa City.  Old Chicago meetup, 7:00pm.

Sunday, May 17, Cedar Falls.  Sunday coffee meetup, 11:00am.

Monday, May 18, Iowa City.  Game Night at Critical Hit, 7:00pm.

Thursday, May 21, Des Moines.  Dinner at Firkin and Fox, 7:00pm.

Saturday, May 23, Iowa City.  Capanna Coffee meetup, 10:00am.

Thursday, May 28, Waterloo.  Dinner at Beck’s, 7:00pm.

Sunday, May 31, Iowa City.  IS Bike Ride, 2:00pm.

*More events will be added as they are scheduled.

For a complete list of events of the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society, click here: ISU AAS

For a complete list of events or information about the University of Northern Iowa Freethinkers and Inquirers, click here: UNIFI.

On April 20th, at the direction of Mike Ireland, our Executive Director, Iowa Secularists’ lobbyist registered our official opposition to Senate File 470, the Education Appropriation omnibus bill before the Iowa legislature.  Normally we would not have any political opinion on an education bill, but House Amendment 1571 added a late provision that would mandate the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in all Iowa classrooms. This was
proposed during 2008 as stand-alone legislation and was defeated; this year it was inserted into a large, budgetary bill by Representative Windschitl.  We joined the ACLU of Iowa in opposing this bill due to the Pledge of Allegiance requirement.

There are doubtless many reasons to oppose such a mandated recitation of any creed or oath to any object or symbol, but Iowa Secularists restricts itself in this instance to the issue of separation of church and state. In fact, I personally know there are different feelings about this particular subject among our members and I think this is a perfect opportunity to use our meetup groups, forum discussions and other social outlets to explore where we differ; how, even though we share many common opinions, we still are anything but a homogeneous community.

Thankfully, the mandatory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance was removed by the Iowa Senate on April 22nd. The bill now, however, moves into conference between the two houses and the Pledge requirement may end up being a bargaining chip.  Below is a list of the Senators who voted for and against the Pledge of Allegiance legislation. Please call or email your Senator and express your thanks or disappointment, based on their vote. The House Amendment to add the Pledge legislation passed 95-0, so all House members should hear from their secular constituents about the necessity of church-state separation.

Most importantly, the conference committees from each chamber for this bill are Senators Schoenjahn, Boettger, Heckroth, Quirmbach, and Zaun, and Representatives Winckler, Ficken, Kressig, Dolecheck, and Sweeney. If you are one of these legislators’ constituents, your words will be especially important in ensuring that the Pledge of Allegiance mandate is removed from the education omnibus bill.

You can find your legislators’ contact information at http://www.legis.state.ia.us/FindLeg/

Iowa Secularists continues to watch legislation and politics in Iowa, taking a stand when necessary to protect the religious rights of all Iowans by strongly advocating the long-standing, bedrock American principle of
separation of church and state.

Sincerely,

Bob Ready
President
Iowa Secularists

——————————————————————-

IOWA SENATE
On “Shall division S-3302A be adopted?” (S.F.470), the vote was:

Voting Yea (for *REMOVING* the Pledge of Allegiance requirement) 31:
Appel        Dvorsky       Jochum        Schmitz
Beall        Fraise        Kibbie        Schoenjahn
Black        Gronstal      Kreiman       Seng
Bolkcom      Hancock       McCoy         Sodders
Courtney     Hatch         Olive         Stewart
Danielson    Heckroth      Quirmbach     Warnstadt
Dearden      Hogg          Ragan         Wilhelm
Dotzler      Horn          Rielly

Voting Nay (for *KEEPING* the daily Pledge of Allegiance recital) 17:
Bartz        Hahn           McKinley     Wieck
Behn         Hamerlinck     Noble        Zaun
Boettger     Houser         Reynolds     Dandekar
Kapucian     Seymour        Feenstra     Kettering
Ward

Absent 2:
Hartsuch     Johnson

For the full combined calendar of these and other events for the month of April, be sure to check out the ‘Calendar’ page (note: you must be logged in to see the events on the calendar).

For more information and to RSVP to Iowa Secularists Meetup events:
Cedar Falls/Waterloo
Corridor (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City)
Des Moines

Friday, April 3, Cedar Rapids. First Friday Social, 7:00pm.

Thursday, April 9, Iowa City.   Old Chicago meetup, 7:00pm.

Saturday, April 11, Des Moines.  Cup O’Kryptonite, 10:00am.

Sunday, April 12, Cedar Falls.  Panera Bread, 10:00am.

Monday, April 13, Cedar Rapids.  Game Night at Battlezone, 7:00pm.

Thursday, April 16, Des Moines.  IS Dinner at Firkin and Fox, 7:00pm.

Saturday, April 18, Cedar Rapids.  Coffee and Politics at Java Creek, 10:00am.

Monday, April 20, Iowa City.  Game Night at Critical Hit, 7:00pm.

Saturday, April 25, Iowa City.  Capanna Coffee meetup, 10:00am.

Sunday, April 26, Iowa City area.  IS family picnic at F. W. Kent Park, 11:00am.

Monday, April 27, Cedar Rapids.  Disc Golf at Fay Clark Park, 6:00pm.

Thursday, April 30, Waterloo.  IS Dinner at Hwy. 63 Diner, 7:00pm.

*More events will be added as they are scheduled.

For a complete list of events of the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society, click here: ISU AAS

For a complete list of events or information about the University of Northern Iowa Freethinkers and Inquirers, click here: UNIFI.

For the full combined calendar of these and other events for the month of February, including Richard Dawkins and Dan Barker coming to the Midwest in March, check out the ‘Calendar’ page (note: you must be logged in to see the events on the calendar).

For more information and to RSVP to Iowa Secularists Meetup events:
Cedar Falls/Waterloo
Corridor (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City)
Des Moines

Friday March 6. Cedar Rapids. First Friday Social, 7:00pm.

Saturday, March 7, Cedar Rapids.  Cedar Rapids Clean-Up/Rebuilding, 9:00am.

Wednesday, March 11, Cedar Rapids. Game Night at Battlezone Games, 7:00pm.

Thursday, March 12, Iowa City.  Old Chicago meetup, 7:00pm.

Saturday, March 14, Cedar Rapids.  Coffee and Politics at Java Creek, 10:00am.

Saturday, March 14, Des Moines.  Saturday morning meetup, 10:00am.

Sunday, March 15, Cedar Falls-Waterloo.  Sunday coffee meetup at Panera, 11:00am.

Monday, March 16, Cedar Rapids.  “Watchmen” at Wynnsong, 7:00pm.

Wednesday, March 18, Iowa City.  Game Night at Critical Hit Games, 7:00pm.

Thursday, March 19, Des Moines.  Thursday night dinner at Felix and Oscars, 7:00pm.

Thursday, March 19, Cedar Rapids.  Cedar Rapids area dinner, 7:00pm.

Thursday, March 26, Cedar Falls-Waterloo.  Thursday night dinner at the Hwy 63 Diner, 7:00pm. 

Saturday, March 28, Iowa City.  Capanna Coffee meetup, 10:00am.

Tuesday, March 31, Cedar Rapids.  Talk: Do you have enough faith to be an atheist?, 7:30pm.

*More events will be added as they are scheduled.

For a complete list of events of the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society, click here: ISU AAS

For a complete list of events or information about the University of Northern Iowa Freethinkers and Inquirers, click here: UNIFI.

This week we mark the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, the man who profoundly influenced our understanding of evolution. Exciting celebrations all over the state of Iowa are commemorating this great man and his incredible discoveries. However, the enemies of reason are trying to rain on our parade. Last week, Rod A. Roberts (R-Carroll, Dist. 51) introduced House File 183, the euphemistically-named “Evolution Academic Freedom Act.” This bill, based largely on language by the Discovery Institute (famous for their Wedge Strategy of introducing Intelligent Design into science curricula) is the latest volley in the anti-science agenda of the Religious Right. We cannot tolerate such legislation in a state which prides itself in the quality of our public education system.

Today, Brian Sabel filed on behalf of the Iowa Secularists an official lobbyist declaration of opposition to this bill. We are joined by other powerful advocacy groups in the State of Iowa which oppose the introduction of religion into our public school science curricula. We encourage you to contact your Representative, especially those on the Education Committee, to encourage them not only to oppose this bill, but also to oppose introduction of legislation such as this. Not only does it offend the rights of all Iowans, it sends the wrong message to potential employers about the condition of public education in our great state. You can find contact information for your Representative by following this link: http://www3.legis.state.ia.us/ga/legislators.do?ch=h&ga=83.

Please take action today to send a strong message to our Legislators that not only is House File 183 bad for the religious freedom of all Iowans, its mere introduction casts a bad light on our public education system. When you contact your Legislators, please let us know at bsabel[at]iowasecularists[dot]org what action you’ve taken so we can keep track of which Legislators get the message!

Sunday, February 1, Iowa City:  Informational meeting at 7:00pm for Camp Quest in 2009.  Camp Quest is a secular summer camp for kids age 8-15 and counselors in training ages 16 and 17.  This meeting is intended to provide information and answer questions for interested campers, their parents, and volunteers.  Please contact Jaime Sabel at jsabel[at]iowasecularists[dot]org to RSVP and get directions.

Friday February 6. Cedar Rapids. First Friday Social at 7:00pm at Dana’s house.

Saturday, February 7, Des Moines.  Quarterly IS Board Meeting.

Saturday, February 7. Des Moines. Iowa Secularists Winter Solstice Soiree at the Drake Municipal Observatory (rescheduled from December).  Registration is still open; the deadline is February 4th.  Please see the post further down the page for more information about the event and how to join us for this great event!

Monday-Thursday, February 9-12, Cedar Falls-Waterloo.  Darwin Week activities sponsored by the University of Northern Iowa Freethinkers and Inquirers (UNIFI) and the Iowa Secularists.   All events are in the Maucker Student Union at UNI unless otherwise noted.  Keynote addresses include:

Wednesday, February 11, 7:00pm:  Hector Avalos, Ph.D., Prof. of Religious Studies, Iowa State University: “Intelligent Design: Why it is religion and not science.”

Thursday, February 12, 7:00pm:  Mr. D.J. Grothe, Vice President and Director of Outreach Programs, The Center for Inquiry Transnational: ”Darwin made me do it: Secular and religious ethics.”  Also will be done February 13th at ISU (see below).

Click the Cedar Falls/Waterloo link below for a day-by-day list of these and other activities, or go to www.darwinweek.com.

Wednesday-Friday, February 11-13, Iowa City.  Darwin Week activities with keynote addresses by biologist, researcher, theorist, naturalist, and author, E. O. Wilson.  Professor Wilson is Pellegrino University Research Professor in Entomology for the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.  He is a Humanist Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism.  His talks will be:

Wednesday, February 11 at 7:30pm: “Why Biodiversity Matters” at the Iowa Memorial Union Main Ballroom on the UI campus, and

Thursday February 12 at 9:00am: “Why Biodiversity Matters” in the Old Senate Chamber of the Old Capitol on the UI campus.

For a complete listing of Darwin Week activities in Iowa City and at the University of Iowa, please visit http://icdarwinday.org/default.aspx for more information.

Thursday, February 12. Iowa City. Old Chicago meetup. 7:00pm.

Thursday-Friday, February 12-13, ISU campus.  Darwin Day activities sponsored by the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society and the Iowa Secularists.  Keynote events include:

Thursday, February 12, ISU campus.  “Darwin and Me” panel discussion, 7:00pm, Cardinal room of the Memorial Union.

Friday, February 13, ISU campus.  Mr. D.J. Grothe, Vice President and Director of Outreach Programs, The Center for Inquiry Transnational: ”Darwin made me do it: Secular and religious ethics”, Campanile Room of the Memorial Union, 7:00pm.  Can people be good without being religious? What does Darwin’s theory of evolution tell us about morality? Can a secular ethics – based firmly in the sciences – hold the answers to the world’s greatest problems?

Saturday, February 14, Des Moines.  Saturday morning coffee meetup at Cup O’Kryptonite , 10:00am.

Saturday, February 14, Cedar Rapids.  Cedar Rapids Clean-Up/Rebuilding effort, 9:00am.

Sunday, February 15, Waterloo.  Sunday Coffee meetup at Panera Bread, 11:00am.

Wednesday, February 18, Cedar Rapids. Game Night at Battlezone, 7:00pm. 

Thursday, February 19. Cedar Rapids.  Cedar Rapids Area Dinner. 7:00pm at Leonardo’s Pizza.

Thursday, February 19, Des Moines.  IS meetup, Firkin and Fox, 7:00pm

Thursday, February 26, Waterloo-Cedar Falls.  IS Dinner (location to be determined), 7:00pm

Saturday, February 28, Iowa City. Capanna Coffee meetup in downtown Iowa City, 10:00am. 

*More events will be added as they are scheduled.

For more information and to RSVP to Iowa Secularists Meetup events:
Cedar Falls/Waterloo
Corridor (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City)
Des Moines

For a complete list of events of the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society, click here: ISU AAS

For a complete list of events or information about UNIFI, click here: UNIFI.

For the full combined calendar of these and other events for the month of February, check out the ‘Calendar’ page (note: you must be logged in to see the events on the calendar).

If you have tried to email anyone at an [at]iowasecularst[dot]org email address in the past few days, the intended recipient did not receive the email because of the problems with the previous website. Now that we have the new website up and running, mail to bsabel and jsabel have been restored at the new address of [at]iowasecularists[dot]org (please note that iowasecularists is now plural for these addresses). However, other email addresses are not yet working. We hope to have this all resolved in the next few days. If you have an [at]iowasecularist[dot]org address and have not heard from Jaime, please email me at jsabel[at]iowasecularists[dot]org so that I can get your email working again. Also, if you have tried to join the group and have not heard back, this is also because the email notifications were not working. Please try again or email me with questions! Thank you all for your patience while we get everything running smoothly again!

Kind of. I have restored much of the functionality of the old iowasecularist.org website. But as you can see, we’re not out of the woods yet. I am working on restoring the Forum which (not surprisingly) is a tedious task but is coming along fine. Stay tuned for more updates!

On Saturday, February 7th, we will try again for the Iowa Secularists Winter Solstice Soiree at the Drake Municipal Observatory! We won’t be able to view the solstice sky, but will still enjoy the Observatory, the company of other Iowa Secularists, and hopefully view the February 7th sky! For those who have already registered, your reservation is still in place. If you will not be able to attend at the rescheduled date, please let me know so we can refund your tickets. For those who would not have been able to attend on December 20th, we are reopening the registration so you can still join us! Please see below for information on how to reserve a ticket!

We will begin at 7pm with hors d’oervres followed by a tour of the observatory and a presentation. We will then have the opportunity to view the night’s sky at about 8:30pm, weather permitting.

This event is semi-formal and will require a ticket for admittance.

Please note that the telescope must be kept at cool temperatures, so the observation portion of the evening will be as cold as it is outside on February 7th.

For more information on the Observatory, please visit the website here. This website also includes a page with directions to the Observatory which is located at the Waveland Park Golf Course in Des Moines.

Tickets are $30 per person. To purchase a ticket, please use the PayPal link below or send a check to Iowa Secularists, P.O. Box 883, Iowa City, IA 52244. Please have all tickets purchased or arrangements made by February 4th so that we may plan accordingly.

Please email jsabel[at]iowasecularists[dot]org with questions!