Chris Lindstrom, Director of Camp Quest West in Northern California, flew in especially to address us! Camp Quest West is affiliated with National Camp Quest (Ohio), the first secular summer camp for youth in the history of the United States. Camp Quest was specifically designed for children of agnostics, atheists, brights, freethinkers, humanists, Unitarians, or whatever terms might be applied to those who maintain a naturalistic, not supernaturalistic, world view.

Their 2007 camping dates were July 8-15. This second year of Camp Quest West was to held at Camp Watanda about 70 miles north of Sacramento, in the California Gold Country. Camp Quest’s purpose is to build a strong, healthy community among the youth participants. In addition to fun camp activities such as swimming, canoeing, campfires, stargazing, and outdoor sports, Camp Quest’s knowledgeable counselors and guest volunteers lead the youth in learning activities that teach them about freethought and humanist principles. Activities cover critical thinking, science, history, civics, and ethics. Campers develop and improve their rational thinking skills in fun, hands-on learning activities and programs. Camp Quest West is part of a growing network of six Camp Quests throughout North America.

Dave Doddridge got into law-enforcement unintentionally, being drafted into the army in 1970, where he served as a military policeman. He didn't care for the military, but the policing part worked for him, and so in 1973 he began a 21-year career with the LAPD. Dave feels that ending the "War on Drugs" would have many serious benefits for the United States. For starters, it would improve the nation's moral climate. "Respect for the law would increase when realistic laws are in place. It would also lower the crime rate -- particularly in terms of drug-related theft." Dave hopes his involvement in LEAP will "maybe make a dent" in the huge problem of prohibitionism. "I became a cop to help people, not to hurt them," he said.

Founded on March 16, 2002, LEAP is made up of current and former members of law enforcement who believe the existing drug policies have failed in their intended goals of addressing the problems of crime, drug abuse, addiction, juvenile drug use, stopping the flow of illegal drugs into this country and the internal sale and use of illegal drugs. By fighting a war on drugs the government has increased the problems of society and made them far worse. A system of regulation rather than prohibition is a less harmful, more ethical and a more effective public policy.

The mission of LEAP is to reduce the multitude of unintended harmful consequences resulting from fighting the war on drugs and to lessen the incidence of death, disease, crime, and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition. Visit their website at: http://www.leap.cc/

The HSGP Book Club meets at Bookman's Used Bookstore, Northwest corner of Country Club and Southern, Mesa at 1:30 p.m.

From Amazon.com: "Overshadowed by the lustrous presidents Washington and Jefferson, who bracketed his tenure in office, Adams emerges from McCullough's brilliant biography as a truly heroic figure--not only for his significant role in the American Revolution but also for maintaining his personal integrity in its strife-filled aftermath. McCullough spends much of his narrative examining the troubled friendship between Adams and Jefferson, who had in common a love for books and ideas but differed on almost every other imaginable point. Reading his pages, it is easy to imagine the two as alter egos. (Strangely, both died on the same day, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.) But McCullough also considers Adams in his own light, and the portrait that emerges is altogether fascinating." --Gregory McNamee

We screened the controversial 2006 film, Jesus Camp, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary. The film centers around a "charismatic Christian" camp for children who spend their summers learning and practicing their "prophetic gifts" and being taught that they can "take back America for Christ." Read more at http://jesuscampthemovie.com/. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Stephen Frederick Uhl, sixth of nine children in a Catholic family, was destined by his mother to become a priest. After 12 years of seminary preparation, still believing the conventional teachings, he was ordained. After ordination he earned the license to teach theology in pontifical universities, a degree that about one percent of priests get, still believing and preaching the customary teachings. After some seven years of meeting conventional expectations as a Benedictine priest-monk, he developed from dependent believer to independent skeptic. This necessarily led to a divorce from the priesthood and the church. After a few years of teaching secondary mathematics, he married Diane, a fellow teacher. He then went on to get a Ph.D. in Psychology from Loyola University of Chicago. Steve developed a thriving private practice of psychology in the suburban Chicago area, retiring in 1993. He now resides in Tucson.

Steve brought copies of his new book, Imagine No Superstition, which he signed after his talk.

Eleanor Eisenberg is well known to HSGP as the past Executive Director of the Arizona ACLU, and has spoken to us on numerous occasions. Her talks are always informative and exciting!

Following her retirement in 2006, Eleanor accepted the position of Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona, the local chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America. Their mission statement says: The mission of NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona is to develop and sustain a constituency that uses the political process to guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion.

Visit their website at http://www.prochoicearizona.org/

Once again, we celebrated the birthday of Charles Darwin. It was his 198th, and this was our Sixth Annual Darwin Day celebration! We enjoyed our traditional Darwin(fish) dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. We had our annual quiz and free dessert, won by Henry Geist, and we sang happy birthday to ol' Charlie, the Father of Evolution.

From Amazon.com: This is the book that made "innumeracy" a household word, at least in some households. Paulos admits that "at least part of the motivation for any book is anger, and this book is no exception. I'm distressed by a society which depends so completely on mathematics and science and yet seems to indifferent to the innumeracy and scientific illiteracy of so many of its citizens."

But that is not all that drives him. The difference between our pretensions and reality is absurd and humorous, and the numerate can see this better than those who don't speak math. "I think there's something of the divine in these feelings of our absurdity, and they should be cherished, not avoided."