Speakers & Honorees
Phil Paulson, recipient of the Foundation's premiere "Atheist in Foxhole" Award. Phil is litigant in a 17-year-old lawsuit challenging a huge cross on public land in San Diego, with the city--and now Congress and the President--intervening against him.
Michelle Goldberg, author of Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism.
Saturday Night Live alum Julia Sweeney, holding her "Emperor Has No Clothes" Award, presented by Dan Barker, Foundation co-prez. Julia performed her crowd-pleasing play, "Letting Go of God." The award recognizes public figures who make known their dissent from religion.
Dan Barker presenting a "Freethought in the Media: Tell It Like It Is Award" to Denver Post cartoonist Mike Keefe. Mike showed irreverent cartoons on state/church issues and on religion.
End of Faith author Sam Harris was a big attraction. He signed many copies of his new bestselling book, Letter to a Christian Nation.
San Francisco host and Life Member Dick Hewetson, who had promoted San Francisco as a convention venue for years, gave the official welcome. Thank you for everything, Dick!
That's Mikey Weinstein (at right) being presented with a handsome plaque by Dan Barker naming him a "Champion of the First Amendment" for filing a lawsuit against the Air Force to end illegal proselytizing.
Foundation co-prez Annie Laurie Gaylor with Wafa Sultan, holding her "Freethought Heroine" plaque.
Biomedical researcher Richard Sloan of Columbia University Medical Center. FFRFers were the first to buy his book, Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine, copies of which were shipped prior to the November publishing date.