Dinesh D’Souza was one of the brightest stars among reactionary intellectuals in the U.S. He came to fame with such books as Illiberal Education, The End of Racism, What’s So Great About Christianity?, and The Roots of Obama’s Rage, in which he links Obama’s alleged rage against the U.S. to his Kenyan father. In_Illiberal Education_ (1991) D’Souza ranted about alleged liberal bias on college campuses and in the curricula of institutions of higher learning. Such bias, he maintained, threatened Western education and Western values.

Sheila Solarin (May 31, 1924-October 21, 2012) was, along with her husband, Tai Solarin, among Nigeria’s most important and influential educators. After falling down and injuring herself in her home in July, she had been hospitalized at the Babcock Medical Centre in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, where she died at 4:00 p.m., at the age of 88.

The big three monotheistic religions have long been sources of violence and other problems that plague the human race. The New Atheists in particular have brilliantly critiqued these monotheistic monstrosities. However, the leaders of the New Atheism have often been unable or reluctant to acknowledge that there is also much good that has come from these religions. Such is the great and disturbing paradox of the big three.

Recently, news outlets have reported that Black churches have been “telling their flocks to stay home on Election Day.” Many Black ministers are upset that President Obama supports same-sex marriage and that Mitt Romney is (horrors!) a Mormon, and therefore, not a “real” Christian. They have therefore concluded that genuine Christians will have no good alternative on Election Day.

I wish I could imagine a time in the future in which I would not have to write anything about the violence of fanatical Muslims taking exception to some real or imagined offense against their Prophet. How often do we have to utter the timeless truth that “blasphemy is a victimless crime?”

_Playboy_ ran an interview with Richard Dawkins in their September 2012 issue. In this regard, Dawkins joins many illustrious persons throughout history, including Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, former U.S. born-again President Jimmy Carter (before his election), the late evangelist Jerry Falwell, anthropologist Margaret Meade, James Baldwin, Frank Sinatra, and countless others.

For eight grueling days in July and August, I gave lectures on humanism at the humanist summer school in Russia. On my plane trip back to the U.S., I sat next to a man from the air force. I, too, was in the air force from 1980-1984. As it turned out, we had even more in common. He is originally from Idaho, and I was stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base for two years.

On July 6, 2012, ABC aired this “20/20” special featuring Barbara Walters. It was reported that nine out of ten people believe in Heaven. One speaker said that he believes that Heaven is the true prize that awaits us after our journey on Earth. Many people believe this. In less popular terms, they truly believe that “life is a dress rehearsal” for the after life. Oddly, many of them further maintain that such a belief actually gives meaning to their lives on Earth.

Human beings have made tremendous progress in human relations in recent decades. Many of us have learned that it is wrong to hate and discriminate against racial minorities, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, women, etc. We have learned the importance of extending equal opportunity for all and judging people, in the words of Martin Luther King, “by the content of their character,” and not on stereotypes of the groups to which they belong.

Many humanists (not merely non-theists) and religionists tend to believe that their respective groups are superior to the other. However, both groups seem to forget that we never cease to be _human beings_, and therefore fallible. The same can also be said of our worldviews, regardless of what promoters of biblical inerrancy might argue to the contrary.bad

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has elected Fred Luter of New Orleans as their first African American president. This is noteworthy because in 1845, following Southern Presbyterians and Southern Methodists, the SBC was founded to defend slavery.

On Sunday, May 27, 2012, Screwy Louie Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI), became the latest reactionary leader to publicly denounce President Obama’s defense of same-sex marriage. Speaking at the California Convention Center, the Sinister Minister said Obama is “the first president that sanctioned what the Scriptures forbid.” Indeed, not only does the Bible forbid sexual intercourse between members of the same sex, it condones the killing of homosexuals.

Obama has become the first sitting U.S. president to publicly support same-sex marriage. He has claimed that his position on the subject has been evolving. However, that seems doubtful.

On April 28, 2012, atheist Sam Harris shocked a lot of people with his blog post “In Defense of Profiling.” ([http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/in-defense-of-profiling]()) He defended profiling “Muslims, or anyone who looks like he or she could conceivably be Muslim….”

Most people profess to be in favor of freedom of speech, expression, and the press. However, for many people—if not most—there are exceptions. This fact became abundantly clear with the recent “controversy” surrounding remarks from Ozzie Guillen, the provocative manager of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins.

Community watch volunteer George Zimmerman—son of a White father and a Peruvian mother—shot a 17-year-old African American male, Trayvon Martin, to death, supposedly in self- defense. Martin died on February 26, 2012, but the story did not receive widespread media attention until several days after the shooting incident.