[+/-] Non-religious join forces to battle zealots

People who don't believe in the supernatural are joining forces to ensure their rights don't get trampled by the Bush Cartel's stampede of religious zeal. The Humanist News Network reports:

Membership in the Washington-based American Humanist Association has jumped 5 percent since the election and 15 percent since January to reach the 7,000 mark.

The Secular Coalition for America has grown its lobbying fund from $8,000 a year ago to $50,000 today. At $100,000, the group intends to hire a lobbyist and possibly an administrative staffer.

At the Los Angeles-based Atheist Alliance International, donations in November 2004 outpaced those of the prior three months put together as donors, apparently troubled by President Bush's re-election, began giving in four- and five-figure amounts.