To the Editor:

I just want to say that I love Rochelle Metcalfe's column, and am so glad she "landed" at Beyond Chron. I find out so much about the communities in SF Bay Area ... only wish there was a way to hear about some of the wonderful music events before they happen. Keep up the great work!

Sheila Hembury



To the Editor:

After the election, I decided to join MoveOn instead of Organizing for America. I wanted to be with a neutral group that was separate from Obama -- so that pressure could be put upon him when needed. Right now, MoveOn is also campaigning for the public health care option and concerned about the co-op option. What are your thoughts about how effective MoveOn is?

Norman Degelman



To the Editor:

I applaud Darrel Ray (founder of "Recovering Religionists") for his courage in bringing this issue out in the open. During the 70s and 80s, we had physical and sexual abuse hit the front pages. Now it's religious abuse, from every known Christian group in North America. The West needs a cleansing from the irresponsible gibberish that has kept people cornered inside themselves with issues of guilt and shame - over what - caffeine, masturbation, sexual thoughts and whatever nonsense these so-called religious leaders can spin.

This is just another challenge and extermination of autocratic rule. Just like dictators around the world are falling prey to the sounds of democratic freedom, so too are religious indoctrinees finding their way out of that morass of convoluted make believe. The emperor has no clothes. It's the beginning of the end for all major religions.

Maurice Turmel, PhD



To the Editor:

This sounds wonderful. I hope every city, town, and hamlet will have "Recovering Religionist" Chapters by 2010. What a load is lifted when you leave the practice of superstition, and embrace logic and reason. There is a freethinkers group in Springfield that meets once a month, usually when I am not available.

B.J. Ross



To the Editor:

From a European perspective, it is good to see that there are some green shoots of rationality taking hold in the US. If people wish to hold to superstitious beliefs then by all means do so, but do not use fear or peer pressure to force your beliefs on others - that is the role of the Taliban.

Andy Crowe



Dear Tommi Avicolli-Mecca:

Thanks for the article on our work, "Recovering from Religion." We have received a great response, and are finding people in many cities that would like this kind of group. I plan on being in San Francisco sometime this fall to speak about my book and Recovering from Religion.

In the meantime, we are looking to have 25 meetings in 20 or more cities by the end of the summer. We already have 13 in 12 cities and counting. Leaving religion has social and psychological consequences, and we want to help people leave as safely and easily as possible.

Darrel Ray, Author of The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and
Culture and founder of Recovering from Religion.



Dear Randy Shaw:

Great article. The SEIU tactics in Fresno were the same in San Francisco, when the last contract was up for a re-vote. Now it has been discovered that on June 7, after the vote, a staff member changed the contract to allow all the airport workers to opt out of the contract if they wanted to, since SEIU 1021 is afraid of a decertification. Now there are charges filed with the NLRB, and a possible class action suit against this contract. SEIU will simply outnumber and outspend anyone.

Sad. It used to be such a good organization.

Nancy Snyder
SEIU 1021 member



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