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Hi reader!
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Welcome to the May newsletter!
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A quick note - your email provider may inadvertently filter emails like this to spam or other folders. If you add betsy@betsydeville.com to your Contacts, and mark this email as Important, it will keep it from floating off into cyberspace!
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This month, I attended SkepticCamp hosted by Triangle Skeptics in North Carolina. It was a fantastic one day event with a great group of speakers!
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* We discussed the earliest historical records of skepticism and their advancement to the modern scientific method.
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* We learned about misinformation and disinformation and got some great tools to combat them.
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* We learned about grief vampires - these charlatans take advantage of people experiencing grief by pretending to communicate with their deceased loved ones and then grift away their money by charging them for psychic readings. If you’re interested, Susan Gerbic is a great follow on YouTube. She explains how mediums manipulate people and sometimes, exposes them in organized stings.
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There is a neat event coming up that you might want to know about:
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I don't know about you, but I feel like I really need some good news right now. I wanted to share a couple of cool things that you may not know about, and are definitely worth celebrating.
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Smallpox goes back to at least 1500 BCE. Smallpox killed at least 30% of its victims. Survivors were left with lifelong scarring and sometimes complete vision loss. It's estimated to have killed at least 500 million people just in the last 100 years of its existence. I say existence because smallpox is the only human disease that we have ever successfully eradicated.
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According to Wikipedia, the cost of the eradication effort, from 1967 to 1979, was roughly US $300 million (for context, that is just over $1.5 billon today, less than 1% of Apple’s annual revenue of $400 billion) The United States, the largest contributor to the program, has reportedly recouped that investment every 26 days.
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You are a member of the species that did that. Never forget what we are capable of when we band together and declare battle on what is broken in the world.
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And ya’ll, we’re doing it again with guinea worm! The Carter Center launched their guinea worm eradication program in 1986. 35 million cases were counted that year. By 1995, only 100,000 cases were reported. Since then, guinea worm has been eliminated in 17 of 21 afflicted countries. There were only 14 cases in 2023. Thinking about all the hearts and minds that are united against guinea worm reminds me of a Thomas Paine quote:
We have it in our power to begin the world over again.
During these dark times, I am holding onto that.
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I am launching some temporary tattoos this month - I have been sketching some ideas for a while. I wanted something to wear to a summer wedding I will be attending with some very religious family members. It’s my own act of rebellion. And guess what!? You can wear them too! There are eight in the series and they work on forearms, backs, biceps, you name it!
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Subscribers can use coupon code:
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to get the tattoo set FREE! (free postage limited to the US + Canada)
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Fun set of eight different temporary tattoos featuring quotes from our secular and skeptic community:
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- we have it in our power to begin the world over again - Thomas Paine
- Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the ability to make you commit atrocities -Voltaire
- no gods no masters
- The halls of science are open to all, her truths are disputed by none. -Francis the Red Harlot of Fidelity
- imagine no religion
- to argue with one who has renounced the use of reason is like giving medicine to the dead - Thomas Paine
- wisdom begins in wonder
- A wise person proportions their belief to the evidence -David Hume
$5.00
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(free this month for subscribers)
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This pattern combines the atheist A symbol with the beauty of the DNA double helix into a classic pattern you can wear anywhere! The blue on blue variation is a larger pattern but a bit more subtle.
You may have seen the capital A around the atheist and skeptic community but wondered what it was all about...
In 2007, a bold red letter A was adopted from The Scarlet Letter to represent atheism.
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In The Scarlet Letter, the main character, Hester Prynne, is an unwed mother in a Puritan community who is tried and convicted of adultery when she has a child but is unmarried. Her sentence is a requirement to wear a large red letter A as a visual mark of her crime. This book was written during the time of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and a wave of women's rights activism. In literature, it is often seen as a reflection of the demand for autonomy and equality that was brewing in society. The Scarlet Letter is also found on banned book lists! This design includes symbolism representing atheism, skepticism, and feminism.
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$45.00
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Did you know the Pledge of Allegiance that was first adopted by Congress did not include, “under God”? It was only in response to years of tremendous lobbying by Christian groups, fear of communism, and Eisenhower’s deeply Christian upbringing that it was added at all. Even the author, an ordained Baptist minister, didn’t see the need. In 1892, Francis Bellamy wrote the first pledge: I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. In 1923 and 1924, the National Flag Conference changed “my flag,” to “the flag of the United States of America.” This was intended to add clarity and be more inclusive for immigrants. This was the pledge that was adopted by Congress in 1942. It was only in 1954, after a tremendous lobbying effort by religious organizations, that Congress caved to the pressure and added, “under God.” In today’s America, this addition excludes many Americans including Hindus, Buddhists and secular folks. Sometimes, the good old days really are better. The original pledge is a better representation of my patriotism. We shouldn’t need to publicly profess believe in a certain god to love our country. Fourth of July, Flag Day, Nine Eleven 9/11, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, every day. Show your patriotism!
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$30.00
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Finding solace after loss can be agonizing for nonbelievers, and the grief resources out there don't resonate with you as an atheist. You need real, practical help grounded in evidence, not empty fantasies.
Maybe you lost someone you love, or you’re struggling with a major life change. If platitudes and rhetoric ring hollow, this warm, evidence-based guide is for you.
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$15.00
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Do you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter? Sharing is caring!
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