Would You Do Business With An Atheist?

No matter how you answered the question, the fact is you probably do business with atheists on a regular basis. They are much like everyone else in the area; they love their families, run fair businesses, and pretty much blend in with the community.

Why are we asking this question today? First, we took some flack because of our blog on Jeremy Lane Green, the Shoals Humanist who sought to abolish public prayer at Brooks High School functions. We felt our article on Mr. Green was fair. He had every legal ground to stand on. Our main concerns with Green were questions concerning why he chose Brooks High School specifically, rather than addressing the entire county, and his embellishment of his employment on his Facebook page. These were fair questions to ask of someone who had thrust himself into the public arena. There was absolutely no ad hominem attack in what was written, since we felt...and yes knew...he was legally correct in his protest. That does not change whether you or I or anyone else does not like the current interpretation of the law.

The second reason we're addressing this issue today is recent, and not so recent, gossip concerning atheists who do business in the Shoals. Not long ago a small local forum accused a local businessman of being a Satanist because he did not believe in God. We feel pretty sure that if this gentleman did not believe in God, he did not believe in Satan either. Such attacks say more about the instigator than the one being libeled.

Now, we hear a second local businessman is being dragged through the mud by someone who professes to be a Christian--albeit a Christian who is in the same line of business as the atheist. Isn't that some coincidence, folks? I suppose as Christians we should buy products or services only from other Christians no matter how inferior they may be?

We have no problem with anyone selecting friends, mates, business suppliers, or dog walkers on the basis of their religious preference or non-preference. It's when certain people use a person's religious beliefs to smear their work or ethics that we have a problem

We don't believe Jesus commanded us to shun anyone based on his or her lack of belief. In fact, we're pretty sure you won't convert anyone by behaving in this manner. Think about it...



Shoalanda

Loose Threads & Looser Minds

The past two days we've commented on both sides of the Jeremy Lane Green versus Brooks High School legal wranglings. We've been forwarded this comment:

I know who Sholanda (sic) Speaks is. She likes to keep things going to keep people arguing.. Every time you visit her website she receives money. Look how she went from one extreme to another with all of this.

We're not going to name the person who posted this on Facebook. We've never met the poster, but would like to encourage her/him to show us where we have contradicted ourselves. We've simply presented the facts/fallacies on both sides and invite rebuttal as usual. If anyone can show us where we have inadvertently published any false info, please do so.

As for making money each time someone views our page? We are a member of the Google Ad Network. That means we make from two to ten cents for every thousand who visit our site during a 24 hour period. We have never claimed we were in this for money; we certainly aren't and if all we cared about was money, we would be running a sex site, or perhaps a 900 number.

When individuals post false claims on any site, atheist or Christian or Jew or Muslim, they do not speak well of the groups they represent.

****

Things that will never happen again in our lifetime:

We'll never see a Coffee v. Sheffield game on Turkey Day
We'll never see a Coffee game. Period.
We'll never see a Bradshaw game.
We'll never hear the stirring strands of Dixie at any ballgame.
We'll never see a noose on Hangman's Corner in Florence at Halloween.
We'll never drive by Culpepper's to pick up a dozen flake rolls.
We'll never drive on Court Street at dusk and look in awe at the Coke sign.
We'll never pick up a copy of a locally owned daily newspaper.
We'll never read the adventures of Slats Grobnik or Wing and a Prayer Airline.

Things change. The important thing is that we make them change for the better.



Shoalanda

Green v. Brooks: Nothing but the Facts - Part II (Not Even a Moment of Silence?)

Yesterday we discussed atheist Jeremy Lane Green who protested public prayer at Brooks High School football games. We read on a local forum that today we would "tear apart" the Brooks Lions Will Pray movement. That is not our intention, but we do have a few words of constructive criticism for those involved.

1. Apparently no one either knew or checked the law before beginning the group. Superintendent William Valentine has already assented to the FFRF's request, a fact that should have been little in doubt, if at all.

2. Now the Brooks group has contacted state senator Tammy Irons in hopes of modifying the law in some manner. We doubt even Ms. Irons has the ability to sway the Supreme Court in its current incarnation. Time spent in meaningless activity is ill spent.

3. There is also talk of a huge fund-raising project in order to retain a lawyer to plead the group's case. Sorry, folks, he or she will have no more influence than Ms. Irons.

4. Many in the group don't know the names of the school board members and apparently are unaware the Lauderdale County school system has its own web site.

5. Many in the group don't seem to understand the Freedom From Religion Foundation is not connected to the ACLU.

6. The group is supposedly composed of Christians, but many of the comments by group members and others who oppose Mr. Green have been anything but Christian. Let's look at some of them...

Where does he live? If it is Lauderdale county, run him out of town!!!!! (referring to Green)

he is scum. (referring to Valentine)

the hell with them...

6. As long as the group continues along these lines, it will only serve to give Green a second 15 minutes of fame. Think about it.

*****

It should be noted that William Valentine made his decision to delete public prayers (and supposedly moments of silence) from county ball games in conjunction with the system's attorney James Irby. The decision concerning public prayer was mandated by law; however, they did not confer with school board members. Those who say they will not vote for any current members are not practicing the fairness they claim they have been denied.

Also, it seems that only county sports are involved in this decision. Youth games sponsored by various leagues are exempt from this decision. That will not stop Green or others from protesting the leagues' use of county property. This is something the Brooks group should be considering if they wish to be one step ahead of the next legal challenge. Good luck in your future endeavors to help the school in any legal way possible.



Shoalanda

Green v. Brooks: Nothing but the Facts - Part I

Jeremy Lane Green at SOS Meeting

Our recent blog on Jeremy Lane Green caused an onslaught of e-mail, mainly critical, from both "sides" of the Football Prayer Issue, as we will term it. Today we'll focus on Mr. Green, but rest assured we will discuss Brooks Lions Will Pray tomorrow.

I. When Mr. Green has a problem with his neighbor's stereo, or dog, or whatever, does he call the sheriff's department to request a SWAT team, or does he first cordially inform his neighbor of the problem in hopes it can be resolved peacefully? We hope he does the latter, but in the case of prayer before Brooks High football games he failed to act in a logical and reasonable manner.

A friend on Facebook suggested that if Mr. Green had first contacted Lauderdale County school superintendent William Valentine about the issue, and Valentine has changed school policy, both men would have been accused of good ol' boy conduct...yet that is exactly what happened in Arab. In that town to our east, a parent contacted school authorities, sans lawyer or out of state organization, and the school system agreed to replace public prayer with a moment of silence. Victory won without any shots being fired.

II. Why did Green single out Brooks High? Since apparently all Lauderdale County schools still engage in pre-game prayer, we do have to ask why this particular school in Killen was singled out. Needless to say, if a new policy is implemented, it will cover all Lauderdale County schools.

III. Why did Green, who has no children, decide to bring up this issue at this time? We know that Green is active in several atheist organizations in the Shoals and probably interacts with others of similar beliefs on a daily basis. Was he chosen to be a sacrificial lamb, so to speak?

Don't scoff at the above question; those who own businesses or work at conservative companies would be unlikely candidates to initiate a ban on such prayer. Perhaps he volunteered without asking, since he himself knows he won't lose income from such activities.

IV. That brings us to Green's job. Our comments on Mr. Green's degrees and employment seem to have been grossly misunderstood. Obviously Green has a keen intellect and the ability to stick with a project in order to obtain an MBA. We simply mean that such degrees are abundant in the Shoals where UNA hands them out in copious quantity. Therefore, job openings for MBAs in this geographic area are not plentiful.

But has Green been honest about his employment? No. Google does not hire outside Search Engine Evaluators. They do contract for them with smaller companies, and that is with whom Mr. Green is employed. The fact that he feels the need to overstate his employment does not speak well of him. Why should that matter? If Green is to represent the atheists of the Shoals, should he not present himself as someone who embraces morality without the influence of God to do so?

V. Has Green received death threats? Apparently he has claimed he has since his story was published in the TimesDaily two days ago. Make no mistake--no Christian would make death threats against anyone, but many thugs, yobs, or whatever you prefer to call them, would do so and claim they were made in Christ's name. If Mr. Green has received death threats, he should report them to the Lauderdale County District Attorney's office.

Does discussing Jeremy Lane Green's motives and actions in a political blog exacerbate such threats, if they exist? We can hardly see that the answer would be yes. Mr. Green entered into a public debate and offered a quote on the issue to the TimesDaily. He is now considered a public figure. We wish neither Mr. Green nor anyone else harm, but we do have the right, and even duty, to question his political motives.

*****

Tomorrow we'll discuss the group The Brooks Lions Will Pray and the legal problems they'll face in attempting to continue public prayer at Brooks and other Lauderdale County schools.




Shoalanda

Jon Wallis Sentenced/Presley a Republican

Jon Thomas Wallis, accused of drug trafficking and the attempted murder of his wife, has been sentenced to 15 years, with three to serve and 12 on probation. The charges against Tanya Marie Wallis were dropped. We hope Mrs. Wallis and her child can now put the incident behind them.

Related posts:

Jon Thomas Wallis

Stalker?

*****

On Monday we reported that Dale Presley was running for the Colbert County Commission in District 6 on the Democratic ticket. We've been informed that Ms. Presley, a Cherokee Dollar General manager, is in fact running under the Republican banner. She may make her official announcement as early as next week. Good luck, Dale!

Related post: District 6 Heats Up

*****

We attempted to present snippets from both sides in yesterday's blog on the Freedom from Religion Foundation's campaign to end public prayer at school sponsored events in Lauderdale County; apparently we did an excellent job since each side in the debate has been highly critical of the column. We have received several comments on both sides that bear repeating, so tomorrow we'll dedicate our blog to a second look at the issue--one that's bound to linger long past football season.

Related post: Jeremy Lane Green



Shoalanda

Special Report: "The Brooks Lions Will Pray"

It seems the actions of Jeremy Lane Green have caused quite a firestorm in the eastern end of Lauderdale county. If you oppose Mr. Green's views on public Christian prayer at tax-payer funded events, you may wish to join this new Facebook group:

The Brooks Lions Will Pray

We would very much like to hear from Mr. Green concerning any attempts he may have made to change the prayer policy before bringing in an out of state organization. As always, all comments are appreciated.

Jeremy Lane Green--Right or Wrong?

Looking at Jeremy Lane Green's Facebook page, we're reminded of Sheffield's Richard Hull--someone who wears his personal beliefs on his sleeve. While we do believe in separation of church and state, we also believe Mr. Green could have caught more flies with honey than the threat of a lawsuit.

The TimesDaily article concerning the protest of prayer at Brooks School in Killen may leave out some salient details, but we have to wonder why Green didn't first contact the school or Lauderdale Superintendent William Valentine to discuss the substitution of a moment of silence for the traditional prayer.

Instead Green has filed a complaint with the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which has in turn twice contacted the school board. The board has turned the letters over to its attorney. No matter who wrote the letters, the legal proceedings are now identified with Green.

Who is Jeremy Lane Green? From his profile photo we see he proudly displays the red atheist "A" popularized by Richard Dawkins' Out Campaign. There's certainly nothing wrong with such a display, but most of us don't include an inset of John the Baptist, John Wesley, Martin Luther, or the Pope in our profile pics. We may infer that Green is an "in your face" kinda guy.

Green's Facebook profile is interesting for another reason; he may have less to lose than most area atheists who are a productive part of the Shoals business world. Green lists his education as including an MBA. The degree is quite an accomplishment, but sadly in this geographic area it may be comparable to the Vice Presidency--in other words not worth a bucket of warm spit.

Green also lists his employer as Google, where he states he works as a "Search Engine Evaluator." Not being familiar with that job title, a quick Google search soon informed us they do not personally hire these evaluators but sub-let the work to at least two other companies who, unfortunately, don't exactly pay these work at home evaluators an exorbitant salary.

We would suggest Mr. Green revise his employment data if he wishes the respect of the Shoals community. We also suggest, after reading other entries concerning Mr. Green, that he could better use his time by fighting discrimination against those who have had legal problems in the past. He would then be helping atheists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and perhaps even Pastafarians.



Shoalanda