Rochester
and Western NY are home to a fair number of institutions
and places which are appealing to free-thinkers and
humanists. They include:
Council For
Secular Humanism - Amherst, NY
Robert Green Ingersoll Museum - Dresden, NY
Those of us in SHoRA - Rochester, NY
Local "Atheist Meetup Group" at Old Toad on Alexander
St. 3rd Tuesday every month 7pm.
Bertrand Russell Society
(Greater Rochester Russell
Set)
Rochester chapter of Americans United (for Separation of Church &
State).
Genesee Valley chapter of the
ACLU.
Rochester branch of Secular Organizations For
Sobriety (SOS).
Local TV, Radio, and
Media:
City Newspaper
Listen to AM 950 for Air America, Al Franken, etc.
Listen to AM 1370 for NPR (National Public Radio). FM
88.5 runs NPR until 9 am weekdays.
"Free Inquiry" magazine is a must-read. Published by
CFI in Buffalo.
"Now" hosted by David Brancaccio (formerly Bill Moyers) on
PBS. Fridays 9 PM on WXXI TV-21
Secular or progressive
historical figures from the Western NY
region:
Frederick Douglass
Robert Green Ingersoll
Susan B. Anthony
These aren't necessarily local but, they're still
good...
Some irreverent
comedy:
George Carlin. "When Will Jesus Bring the Pork
Chops?". (book) "You Are All
Diseased"
(DVD)
Monty Python. "The Life of Brian". More a satire on believers
rather than their religion.
Inspirational movies
without the supernatural:
Touching the Void. True story of 2 climbers
stranded on a frigid mountain. Even though one realizes
he's near death, there will be no last minute
"conversion" for him.
Secular Books by
scientists:
Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted
World".
Darwin's Dangerous Idea by Daniel C. Dennett
Denying Evolution by Massimo Pigliucci.
Critical examination of
the Bible:
Skeptics Annotated
Bible
Other web
sites:
Humanist Network News (Albany,
NY)