Donate to the project here.

A few months ago I wrote a blog here, “Grieving for the Living“, about the pain and loss I felt after my parents disowned me. Something I didn’t expected happened: I received a dozens upon dozens of emails and messages from people stating that they were in the same situation. An unfortunate and common theme was that there hadn’t been much research or discussion about the effects disownment has as people go through adulthood. So I, along with a friend I met because of have decided to do something about it. Grieving for the Living: Effects of Disownment in Adulthood is a work in progress by authors Bridget R. Gaudette and Emma S. Phillips. Our stories, along with about 20 others will be recounted in the book. We’ve  approached disownment from several angles including religious (de)conversion, gender identity, interracial partnerships and sexual orientation just to name a few.

In addition, to demonstrate the need for such a book, we are conducting a large scale survey meant to assess the impact disownment has on mood and mental health. We will be assisted by individuals that have PhD’s in psychology and social work along with medical doctors and counselors.

Disownment is the formal act or condition of forcibly renouncing or no longer accepting one’s child as a member of one’s family or kin. We are pursuing knowledge in the hopes of helping others. We are confident that by conducting research about this population and by publishing this work, people who are experiencing this alienation, like ourselves, will be able to find comfort in the knowledge that they are not alone. Further, the results we find with our research will aid in bringing attention to this issue, which is more prevalent than one might think.

If you have been disowned, please take this survey. Also, although we have a publisher that has looked favorably on the project no contract has been signed so we are raising money to self-publish here: donate.

For more information on the book and the authors, visit our website at www.GrievingForTheLiving.com.

From Capital Bay.

One of the country’s best-known charities has changed its name, losing the clearest link to its Christian roots.

The Young Women’s Christian Association has dropped its historic title after 156 years because ‘it no longer stands for who we are’.

Instead the organisation – which is mainly funded by legacies left by Christian supporters over 15 decades – will be known as ‘Platform 51’. 

I can see dropping the christian thing.  Too much hate and suppression of women.  Why Platform 51?

Bosses say the name was chosen to reflect the fact that 51 per cent of people are female and that they can use the charity as a platform ‘to have their say’ and ‘to move to the next stage of their lives’.

OK.  Sounds fine.  They still do good work.  I wonder if any nutty christian groups will be pissed?

The decision to drop all mention of Christianity from the charity’s name and purposes drew criticism from religious groups yesterday

Mike Judge of the Christian Institute think tank said: ‘Many believe there is an anti-Christian bias among those who decide which charities get state funding. 

If only that was true.  I am sick and tired of government agencies kissing the ass of religions groups.

NOTE:  This post is part of an ongoing education series.  This information is for educational purposes only.  This information does not constitute investment advice.  No rational person would make investment decisions based on a blog post.  Please consult with your financial advisor before taking any action.  If you think it is OK to make investment decisions based on a blog post, then for the love of the FSM – Stop reading my blog.

Many of my readers have asked for me to do more posts about money/investments/the economy.  I will start a new program in an effort to do at least one per week.  It will be called Money Monday.  Each Monday there will be a post about money. 

For our first Money Monday we have a story about an upswing in giving from the Philanthropy Journal. 

Most Americans plan to give as much or more to charity in the final three months of the year, compared to the same period in previous years a new survey says.

Another good sign that the economy is getting better.  When people are scared or the market makes a big drop – they give less money. 

The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund says its donors recommended over 212,000 grants totaling over $741 million to nonprofits in the first nine months of 2010, up 22 percent and 13 percent, respectively from the same period last year.

Incoming charitable contributions in the first nine months of the year grew 54 percent to $610 million.

If you can, please give to a Secular charity like the Foundation Beyond Belief. 

It’s been a great year. With six weeks to go in 2010, the humanist members of Foundation Beyond Belief have raised over $70,000 for 37 outstanding charities.Now we’re asking for a little help ourselves.

In 2010, our members fed, clothed, and paid school tuition for 22 impoverished children in Nepal. We have funded science education in India and in US public schools and supported efforts to fight global warming and protect biodiversity.

We put textbooks in Uganda’s humanist schools and peacebuilding teams in Uganda’s conflict areas. We funded efforts to improve access to health care for marginalized populations on four continents and in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. We helped launch a new Camp Quest in Virginia and helped build a new school for girls in Pakistan.

We’ve added humanist voices and dollars to the fight for LGBT rights, the key civil rights struggle of our time. We’ve empowered adoptions, fed the hungry, and worked to protect the most vulnerable—refugees in war, victims of torture, women under threat of religious violence, political asylees, people struggling with addiction, and those hoping for dignity at the end of their lives.

Creating a truly new humanist community effort has been so gratifying. But it also comes with expenses such as grant writing, publicity, web hosting, member communications, and professional accounting. Since we are committed to remaining a 100 percent pass-through organization, we rely on separate donations for our own operational costs. Because the current economy took a serious bite out of our major funding sources, we are left with an operating deficit for 2010.

Can you help us close that gap?

We have big plans for 2011, including tripling membership and donations, creating a disaster relief fund, and launching both a kids’ giving program and an initiative reaching out to other worldviews. It’s going to be an amazing year of active, compassionate humanism.

Please help us end our first year strong and secure by going to our ChipIn page to make a tax-deductible donation of any amount to the Foundation, or by simply clicking on One-Time Donation.

Deepest thanks for your support and encouragement!

Dale McGowan

Executive Director

One of the largest and most influential secular student groups in the world has done it again. Illini Secular Student Alliance (ISSA) has launched a new advertising campaign.  They are promoting the idea that you can be, “Good without god”.  They will be displayed on 5 buses in Champaign-Urbana, starting around November 1st.  These ads were paid for in part by the Secular Student Alliance, Champaign Urbana Freethinkers and people like you.  If they can get more funding they will run more.  This is a chance for you to step up and make a difference.  Go to their donation page and send them some money.

I could not get the hi-res versions of the ads to post.  They look much better than what you see below.  However, they are still very cool.  Better images now shown below.  This was all done by some students who rock!  You can click on the images to get a bigger version.

I can’t do better than Roger Ebert, so I will just post his whole piece below.

To: Rush Limbaugh
From: Roger Ebert

You should be horse-whipped for the insult you have paid to the highest office of our nation.

Having followed President Obama’s suggestion and donated money to the Red Cross for relief in Haiti, I was offended to hear you suggest the President might be a thief capable of stealing money intended for the earthquake victims.

Here is a transcript from your program on Thursday:

Justin of Raleigh, North Carolina:“Why does Obama say if you want to donate some money, you could go to whitehouse.gov to direct you how to do so? If I wanted to donate to the Red Cross, why do I have to go to the White House page to donate?”

Limbaugh: “Exactly. Would you trust the money’s gonna go to Haiti?”

Justin: “No.”

Rush: “But would you trust that your name’s gonna end up on a mailing list for the Obama people to start asking you for campaign donations for him and other causes?”

Justin: “Absolutely!”

Limbaugh: “Absolutely!”
 That’s what was said.

Unlike you and Justin of Raleigh, I went to Obama’s web site, and discovered the link there leads directly to the Red Cross. I can think of a reason why anyone might want to go via the White House. That way they can be absolutely sure they’re clicking on the Red Cross and not a fake site set up to exploit the tragedy.

But let me be sure I have this right. You and Justin agree that Obama might steal money intended for the Red Cross to help the wretched of Haiti.

This conversation came 48 hours after many of us had seen pitiful sights from Port au Prince. Tens of thousands are believed still alive beneath the rubble. You twisted their suffering into an opportunity to demean the character of the President of the United States.

This cannot have been an accident. A day earlier, in a sound bite from your show, you said “this will play right into Obama’s hands. He’s humanitarian, compassionate. They’ll use this to burnish their, shall we say, ‘credibility’ with the black community — in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. It’s made-to-order for them.”

Setting aside your riff on Harry Reid, consider what you imply. Obama will aid Haiti to please African-Americans. Haiti has lost untold thousands of lives. One third of the population has lost its homes. Countless people are still buried in the rubble. Every American president would act quickly to help our neighbor. You are so cynical and heartless as to explain Obama’s action in a way that unpleasantly suggests how your mind works.

You have a sizable listening audience. You apparently know how to please them. Anybody given a $400 million contract must know what he is doing.

That’s what offends me. You know exactly what you’re doing.