A Dream Realized

Today the words and wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King were realized as Barack Obama broke the racial and political barriers of old, becoming the first African American President of the United States.

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"A preacher, a rabbi and an atheist walk into a bar..."

This Sunday "The Dot" column in The Hartford Courant will feature a Connecticut Forum contest!

Submit your funniest punchline for the joke - "A preacher, a rabbi and an atheist walk into a bar..." for a chance to win Forum tickets and to hear your joke read at The Forum.

Submit your punchline by posting a comment here (be sure to include your email address or other contact information) or by emailing us at info@ctforum.org.

Atheism on the Move

Atheists are not typically thought of as "joiners"; they aren't the type to organize around their beliefs. That's usually the type of thing they eschew. But, it looks like that's all changing...


The Atheist Bus Campaign has garnered interest lately with its successful fundraising. The ads started as a half-joking plea by Ariane Sherine, a writer for The Guardian who was disturbed by bus ads directing riders to a website that condemned non-believers to hell. Within a few days, Sherine had raised enough money to run pro-atheism ads on London buses for two weeks.



Each ad features a quote from a famous atheist and includes the tagline: "There's Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life." (The "probably," which Sherine admits is more agnostic than atheistic, is a constraint of the transportation authorities' ad restrictions.)







What's amazing about the campaign is that it started with a simple article. Other campaigns are popping up all over the world and the original campaign, having already raised the money needed for ads on the London buses, are now soliciting funds for "wider humanist campaigns."

Who knew atheists could organize?

Why Can't There be More Jobs like This?

Don't let the economy get you down. The "best job in the world" is currently vacant and - you're in luck - accepting applications!

Before he was President-Elect...

This photograph from 1996 accompanies an excerpt from Mariana Cook's interview with Michelle and Barack Obama that same year.

Michelle mused: "There is a strong possibility that Barack will pursue a political career, although it’s unclear. There is a little tension with that. I’m very wary of politics. I think he’s too much of a good guy for the kind of brutality, the skepticism."

You can read more of the interview in The New Yorker.

Mockeries of the Day

Recent news headlines are making a mockery of everything from the U.S. legal system to the current financial crisis. Consider this:

1. U.S. "Interrogation" Strategies?
Bernie Madoff, the man we can all thank for adding "Ponzi Scheme" to our vocabularies, is still living in his plush, Manhattan penthouse apartment in an effort, the Feds say, to "encourage his cooperation." When it comes to "encouraging the cooperation" of prisoners detained at Abu Ghraib, however, our government condones torture tactics such as waterboarding and sleep deprivation. What's it gonna be, folks?

2. Another Industry Hard-up for Cash?
Following in the footsteps of the financial and automobile industries, the adult entertainment industry has now approached Congress for their own $5 billion bailout. Who will it be next?

3. Senate Seat Going Once, Going Twice...
In the most recent news from the Illinois, Rod Blagojevich says that he "looks forward to" a trial about his alleged attempts to sell a Senate seat to the highest bidder, and The Chicago Sun-Times reports changes and contradictions in the story regarding the seemingly squeaky-clean Roland Burris.

#4. Kidney Failure?
A Long Island man is suing his wife over the kidney he gave to her when they were still happily married. Richard Barista contends he donated his kidney to his wife only to have her commit adultery, divorce him, and keep him from seeing their children, and now he wants it back. Or at least $1.5 million in damages.

#5. Joe the Journalist?
Joe the Plumber, aka Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, has been given a position as an international news journalist. Just when you thought his fifteen minutes were over...

Former CT Forum Panelists in the News

Former Forum panelists Al Franken and Ann Coulter have been in the news a lot lately for different reasons - Franken has just been declared the winner following a recount in the Minnesota Senate race, and Coulter is promoting a new book.

Let's journey back a few years and see what these two headliners had to say to one another in a most memorable Forum...