2010 - Letters From an Atheist

International Blasphemy Day.

2010-12-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

International Blasphemy Day was initiated in 2009 by the Center for Inquiry.

They selected September 30th because it coincided with the date that the

Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons were published.

Naughty Niko (a.k.a. Niko Theris) became involved when he distributed in the

downtown area of his home town 38 copies of the Christian Bible that he had

desecrated. Someone found a copy and turned it in to the local police department.
The event was reported in each of the town's three weekly newspapers:

The third newspaper's editor knew Naughty Niko and called him to

find out if he knew anything about the desecrated Bibles. Naughty

Niko not only said that he did, but admitted that he was the culprit

who did the dastardly deed. That interview resulted in:

The following week reaped responses from irate readers of two of the three newspapers:

and

The following week, in response to all the above letters,

Naughty Niko had published:

and

Again the following week, a final carp was published:

And to cap the whole local newspaper series, Naughty Niko had the last say:

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) published a short

article about the above on page 18 of its November newsletter:

It's interesting to consider where the unaccounted 27 desecrated Bibles are.

Laguna Litter.

2010-12-08T18:31:00.001-08:00

Naughty Niko (a.k.a. Niko Theris) is a retired senior citizen and as such,

spends much of his time outside walking in the town he has the pleasure

of living in. The article below summarizes what he observes on his walks:

Calling All Seniors.

2010-12-07T13:54:00.001-08:00

In his retirement, Naughty Niko remained socially active by volunteering in town. He knew that many local retirees were cooped up in their apartments or homes, sitting in front of a television set all day, even when eating. They were missing out on all the benefits of getting out and meeting people, being useful, and physical activity.

So, Naughty Niko decided to write a Letter to the Editor to encourage seniors to get out and about listing many local volunteer opportunities that Naughty Niko himself participated in:

Will Faith Override Health Directives?

2010-11-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

In Naughty Niko's small town there is only one hospital. Formerly it was known as South Coast Medical Center until the Catholic Sisters of Saint Joseph acquired it and renamed it Mission Hospital. That was one year ago and a local newspaper featured the first anniversary of the purchase with an article headed, "Counting year of blessings for hospital." Niko read the half-page article in anticipation of learning about the hospital's medical and health prevention services. But it turned out to be more otherworldly, dominated with language such as: holy water, prayer, scriptual readings, mention of a Monsignor, Jesus Christ (3-times), God, and a picture of two large Christian crosses that were to be mounted on the hospital.

The overt religiosity of the article caused some doubt in Naughty Niko about acceptance of his health directives by Mission Hospital should he somehow end up there. The directives contain "Do Not Resusitate" instructions which could be contrary to the hospital's theology which dictates preserving life no matter how miserable it may be. This concern was expressed in a letter to the editor shown below:

July 9, 2010, Page A8:
Coincidently, in the same publication, there was a public notice inviting the public to attend a Mission Hospital neighborhood form, see below:

July 9, 2010, Page A6:

Niko took advice from the above article and attended the Hospital Neighborhood Forum so that he could ask his question about his health directives being honored. He did and he was assured that they would be honored. As a follow up to his original letter, Niko submitted the below letter to finally settle the matter:

August 20, 2010, Pages A10 - A11:

Even though Naughty Niko was assured that his directives would be honored, he will in any event try to stay out of any hospital.

A Meeting of "Freethinking" Minds

2010-11-18T11:14:00.000-08:00

May 21, 2010, Page A5:

This letter to the editor was an invitation to Laguna Beach readers to gather

together for freethought discussions. It stated out with about 15 people

attending, many curious, but in six months' time gradually diminished

in attendence to two or three, one who was at times disruptive, so Niko

cancelled the group. You win some and you lose some.

Appraise the Lord.

2010-02-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

During 2009 and 2010, Laguna Beach suffered economic problems just as other cities, states, counties and countries did. A Laguna Beach resident sent in a letter to the editor urging city officials to consider various methods to economize and to outgrow business as usual thinking. Another resident, Niko Theris concurred with that writer and sent in his own letter emphasizing new thinking and a specific income source heretoforth unthinkable:

February 12, 2010, Page A4:

Just after the above letter was published, it was discovered that another municipality also was considering taxing churches:

February 19, 2010, Page A4:

Laguna Beach Homeless Feeds.

2010-02-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

Laguna Beach, CA is a nice oceanfront community that attracts not only many year-round tourists, but also many homeless. Along with fine beaches and weather, Laguna Beach also has a nice large ocean front park, Heisler Park. Many generous Laguna Beach residents and organizations reached out to the homeless by providing food and meals in the park. Laguna Beach was the only town within miles so benevolent and, needless to say, that attracted more homeless. Aside from the park being a dining room for the homeless, it also served as their bedroom and bathroom. It got to the point where this was affecting tourism adversely and the city decided to discourage feedings in the park. Feedings and sleeping accommodations were moved to a city shelter situated away from the tourist areas. Not everyone agreed with the city’s new policy and this was expressed somewhat sarcastically in this local weekly newspaper cartoon:

February 5, 2010, Page A8:

Newspaper reader Niko Theris took advantage of the cartoonist’s cavalier use of

the image of Jesus Christ for a local issue and responded with the following letter:

February 12, 2010, Page A9:

New Year Resolution.

2010-01-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

January 1, 2010, Page A4:

January 1, 2010, Pages A10 - A11:

Webcast Letters to the Editor, Dec, 2009 to January 6, 2010:

Dog Done It.

2010-01-16T14:21:00.000-08:00

January 15, 2010, Page A11:

Webcast Letters to the Editor, January 13 to 20, 2010: