The Papacy abused excommunication freely and frequently for political advantage – so much so that a bishop would excommunicate a thief who stole his property!

It was on this date, June 14, 1928, that Argentine-born Marxist revolutionist, physician and military leader Che Guevara was born Ernesto Guevara (Lynch) in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. He grew up in a family which already had leftist leanings, but which also valued education: Guevara’s reading list not only included Karl Marx but William Faulkner, […]

It was on this date, June 4, 1945, that American writer and independent scholar Susan Jacoby was born. A journalist for the Washington Post and other publications for over 25 years, and author of the Post’s weekly column, “The Spirited Atheist,” Jacoby has authored the 1984 Pulitzer Prize finalist Wild Justice: The Evolution of Revenge, […]

Mill said he believed in a "probable God," or a "limited liability God," but disbelieved in miracles and immortality.

Marcus Aurelius (121) It was on this date, April 26, year 121, the 16th Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was born Marcus Annius Verus, the son of Annius Verus and nephew of Emperor Antoninus Pius, who adopted him in 138. He became consul in 140, held various public offices between 140 and 161 and, as […]

Even though the motto was conceived by a cleric, recommended for its religious purpose, and adopted precisely to acknowledge God, several federal courts have it is not a religious phrase!

It was on this date, March 31, 1940, that American politician Barney Frank, who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the Massachusetts 8th District from 1981 to 2013, was born Barnett Frank in Bayonne, New Jersey. Frank graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and served in the Massachusetts […]

It was on this date, December 7, 1928, that American linguist, logician, political commentator and activist Noam Chomsky was born Avram Noam Chomsky into an affluent Jewish family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family was highly educated and instilled in Chomsky a love of learning that took him to the University of Pennsylvania at age 16. […]

It was on this date, November 13, 1969, that Somali-born American feminist and atheist activist, writer and politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born Ayaan Hirsi Magan in Mogadishu, Somalia. While her father, a leading figure in the Somalian Revolution, was in prison, Ayann’s grandmother had the 5-year-old young girl’s genitals ritually cut off in what […]

It was on this date, October 24, 1765, that Scottish political philosopher and politician James Mackintosh was born in Aldourie, near Inverness-shire, Scotland. Because his mother died while he was a child, and his father was frequently abroad, Mackintosh was reared by grandparents. He studied at King's College, University of Aberdeen and, in 1787, took […]