American Freethought

Point #1: When abstinence-only education fails, what’s Plan B?  Oh yeah, there’s no Plan B.

I have no idea what to make of the rumors floating around that Palin’s fifth child is actually her grandchild.  Whether or not it’s true is largely immaterial to me; it’s a family matter.  Nonetheless, if it turns out it is true and if it turns out the Palins concealed this truth from McCain’s vetting committee…

More problematic is the new revelation that Palin’s 17-year-old daughter is pregnant and that she plans to marry the boyfriend who is the father.  Again, this would normally be a family matter I would care nothing about, but… this is a governor who advocates abstinence only sex education in public schools.  (more…)

Everybody in the West knows by now that Muslims get a bit tetchy when it comes to the Prophet Muhammed.  You can’t draw him, you can’t insult him…you’re even putting your neck out by publishing anything critical of him.  Danish cartoons, anyone?  And while he didn’t directly insult the Prophet, Salman Rushdie spent years in hiding over his novel The Satanic Verses, which included material considered controversial by Islamic fundamentalists.  It’s not surprising that polite society treads lightly when it comes to insecure primitives who threaten - and commit - murder against those who break their irrational taboos.

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Real Stories of American Muslims

by John C. Snider © 2008

If there’s one point author Melody Moezzi drives home in her new book War on Error, it’s that American Muslims have their work cut out for them these days.  They are, to coin a phrase, caught between two worlds.  The English name “Melody” combined with the Iranian “Moezzi” is in itself a summary of the situation in which many young American Muslims find themselves.  Those who are first or second generation Americans (what Moezzi humorously labels Children of Fresh-Off-the-Boats, or COFOBs) struggle to find a day-by-day middle ground between mainstream American culture, which is largely and often willfully ignorant of any faith other than Protestant Christianity, and the deep-seated Islamic traditions of their forefathers.  They are often called upon by their non-Muslim fellow citizens to account for the actions of the extremists within their faith (”…this mistaken minority of hate-mongers and power-seekers who fraudulently claim to be acting in the name of Islam.”).  The Western world is very much in conflict with this highly vocal and decidedly violent minority, regardless of how much we might wish it to be otherwise.  Fortunately, the United States has so far been spared the variety of home-grown extremists that have caused so much trouble in Spain, France and the United Kingdom.

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Susan Werner - We interview the talented singer/songwriter whose latest album - The Gospel Truth - she describes as “agnostic gospel”, combining the music of faith with the lyrics of doubt.  Also worth a listen is her I Can’t Be New, which pays homage to classic songbook tunes by composers like Cole Porter.  Susan also appears in a supporting role in the concert DVD 3,000 Miles, starring Ellis Paul (who performed the song “Did Galileo Pray?” on our last episode).

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Hosted by John C. Snider and David Driscoll.  Recorded 1/30/2008.

 American Freethought Podcast #10: Download (1388)

News Item Potpourri

- Mike Huckabee wants to amend the Constitution to conform with God’s laws.  Archbishop Earl Paulk fined and given 10 years’ probation for perjury.  Colorado lawmaker Douglas Bruce kicks a photographer during a prayer service.  A Muslim teen athlete’s uniform violate’s track federation rules.  The Kite Runner movie is banned in Afghanistan.  And Matthew McConaughey says “God bless evolution.”

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 American Freethought Podcast #8: Download (1473)

by John C. Snider © 2008

We conclude our interview with singer/songwriter Susan Werner, whose latest album The Gospel Truth is an unusual collection of songs that combine”the music of faith and the lyrics of doubt.”  In Part One (The Genesis of The Gospel Truth) she discusses what motivated her to launch this project.  In Part Two (Reactions and Revelations) she talks about the fan response and what she learned about herself in the process.  In this third and final installment, she looks to what she might say about the future of America in her upcoming work.

Learn more about her on the web at www.SusanWerner.com.

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by John C. Snider © 2008

We continue our interview with singer/songwriter Susan Werner, whose latest album The Gospel Truth is an unusual collection of songs that combine”the music of faith and the lyrics of doubt.”  In this second installment, she talks about the response of fans to this (as far as we can tell) unique artistic project.

Learn more about her on the web at www.SusanWerner.com.

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by John C. Snider © 2008

Singer/songwriter Susan Werner has been on the music scene for over fifteen years.  She has toured nearly constantly and released seven successful albums (including I Can’t Be New, her delightful homage to Tin Pan Alley), and despite consistent critical acclaim and positive audience response, she flies just under the mainstream radar.  Her output is eclectic, but generally skews to the soft side: jazz, folk, lounge, easy listening - Werner is difficult to pin down.  Equally at home with guitar and piano, she possesses a clear voice and a head for clever lyrics and biting satire (she’s opened for such diverse acts as Madeleine Peyroux and George Carlin).

Werner’s latest album is The Gospel Truth, released in February 2007, a unique collection of songs that combine “the music of faith and the lyrics of doubt.”  Musically, each offering sounds like something that could have been pulled from any Protestant hymnal or sung by an African-American choir, but in the finest tradition of folk and the blues, the lyrics express indignation, hope, and calls for social justice. 

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