This woman is seriously afraid of religion, and horribly insecure as well. Her impact on the world is in what she destroys, not creates. Pitiful.

Amen.

She started such silliness when she was 14? What a waste of a life. Sheeeeesh.

My late father -- an atheist to the core -- was fond of saying that we were entitled to freedom from religion as much as of religion.

I'm an agnostic, and I interpret freedom "from" religion to simply mean that I am not obligated by the state to worship in any way, shape, or form. For this I am grateful to my country and its founders. I do not interpret it as the banishment of all religious symbols and practices from my sight.

The notion of making life more pleasant for the neurotic few at the expense of the majority intrudes not just in matters of religion, but also issues of health, entertainment, literature, education, and humor. America, the land of "The Pursuit of Happiness," does not deserve to have most of it's citizens feeling miserable.

Ronald Reagan was a Protestant. Did she whine about the flags at half staff then? Of course not, it would be terribly stupid to implicate all of the accomplishments of a great man by his religion.

The Vatican is a nation, and John Paul II as the leader of this nation helped to defeat an enemy of the United States. Lowering the flag on the occasion of the death of a foreign dignitary is both legal and appropriate. Ms. Gaylor doesn't understand the protocol and is using the occasion of the death of the Pope to express her anti-religious bigotry, which she pursues as a career.
When communism was defeated it drastically reduced the number of oppressive regimes friendly to the mission statement of the FFRF. I guess Ms. Gaylor is just sore at the loss of franchise.

Sorry, my post might not have the dramatic flair of some of the earlier ones, but here it is:

Mrs. Gaylor's reaction to the half-mast flying of the flag was a little weird.

But I think it's worth looking at the greater ideas she is trying to espouse. You know, trying to understand what she's getting at before simply thinking atheist = evil/bad/must kill.

"Free thought" is how we make advances in our understanding of the world/universe and express our differences. Dogmatic religious tendencies should never be allowed to influence government policy the way they have in the US. It's time the US climbs out of the delusional stone age and takes notes from more mature, non-theist democracies. It doesn't exactly have much of a moral high-ground when you look at its history.

Albert Ford, Pennsylvania

It is the reason our nation is going in the wrong direction...having people like this...who are really out for money that can be derived from a "foundation". This is all that I believe this poor lost child is about. I Pray for the Salvation of Annie. I wish she would listen to the song by Petra called ..."It's too late for Annie", especially the last line, it's Not too late for Annie. She could be using her talents to uplift this nation instead of destroying its foundations.

Some people just don't get it and never will. That appears to include most to the posters here.

Ms. Gaylor has helped preserve our freedom of religion by working to maintain the principle that governmenet stays away from it. Despite the considerable propaganda to the contrary, the U.S. was quite deliberately founded as a secular nation (and most of the Founding Fathers were Deists -not Christians), in large part to preserve the right of the individual to not only believe and practice beliefs as he or she wishes, but also to protect us from being required to support belief systems we personally don't have; thus the need to not support the faith-based initiative with our taxes if the recipient is using those funds in an evangelical manner.

I am curious, what nation did the Vatican help us defeat? Certainly no Nazi germany, helping the war criminals to flee.

"My religion is to do good" --Thomas Paine

As a fundamentalist Christian of 43 yrs (now a 46 yr old atheist) I really like Annie Laurie Gaylor and wish I had heard about her and read her writings years ago. It's a shame that her organization has to publish her works; her writings should be accessible in the mainstream.....so much for that liberal media eh. Those of you who lambast her should try listening to her first at www.ffrf.org They have a radio program on once a week and you can access it via the internet (you sure can't get it on the a.m. radio or on television) the evangelical reich has those venues "locked up" tight. They know which side their bread is buttered on $$$.

I don't have a problem with people choosing to believe in atheism, which is just another religion, but what I do have a problem with is bigotry, and the attacking or belittling of others beliefs, which is what Ms Gaylor and other "activist" atheists tend to do. Unfortunately, many so-called Christians can also be bigoted in a very similar way, of other peoples' religious beliefs. Characteristics of this attitude include the following: condemning an entire belief system based on what a few "bad apples" do, looking only for the negative and choosing to ignore the positive, taking a "know-it-all", arrogant, condescending attitude towards those who don't believe as you do, and just automatically assuming that they are deluded and don't "think for themselves". A truly wise person, one who truly "thinks for themselves", is one who is humble and willing to learn from others, willing to believe and appreciate the good in others, willing to recognize goodness in general, willing to try to understand and appreciate the deeply held beliefs of others with empathy. One can do that while still maintaining strong beliefs and ideas. One can also be an athiest and still appreciate the good that traditional world religions, including others as well as Christianity and Judaism, do and have done throughout history. Just like any other good thing in the world, any religion can be used by bad people for their own selfish purposes. Yet to focus on that and totally ignore all the good that traditional religions have done in the world is horribly shortsighted, and in doing so, shows that one is very selective about what one believes. Is that free-thought, or is it simply selective thought. Everyone chooses what one wants to believe. I can be tolerant of atheists as with any other religion not my own. What I am not tolerant of is when people attack or belittle the beliefs of others and/or fail to appreciate the good in them and focus only on the bad. The only exceptions to this should be in obvious cases such as "bad" religions where people are encouraged to commit serious crimes or are forced against their will to commit such. To the "activist" atheists: if you would take the time and effort to try to appreciate all the good that Judeo-Christian tradition has done and continues to do for our country, you wouldn't try and "expunge" every last bit of seeming government "endorsement" of Judeo-Christian tradition from our society, and simply let these things alone. Why stir up trouble and animosity, wasting public funds and time, over such piddly things which at worst don't cause any real harm, and which at best might actually help some people to feel more comfort and peace? Time and money should be spent or more pressing things such for the betterment of society such as the strengthening of the family unit, which is in dire straits and is a reflection of the overall health of our culture.

Annie, I will pray for you because your life is empty and meaningless. Your heart is cold and callous and that is shown through your actions. You are listening to the father of lies. Seek the light of Jesus and he will free you from your bondage and give you peace. He will restore you to the great creation he intended you to be.

Bill