On New Year’s Eve people often look back on the previous year and make resolutions of action to take in the up coming year. This year will be no different. 2008 will no doubt be remembered for the terrible financial problems that have affected all of us. The world is a much different place than it was a year ago. Many of us are going to have even tougher times ahead as we all must adapt to our new set of circumstances. However, there is much to be happy and optimistic about, as well. 2008 is the year that Americans said “no more” to the horrors of the Bush administration. No more to the “war on science.” No more to endless military occupations of third world countries without any benefit for the American people. No more to the threat of stacking the Supreme Court against the beliefs of most Americans. And so on. 2009 holds great promise for many of us. We have the opportunity to recover from much that we have lost during the past eight years. Make no mistake though; we have a lot of work to do. The new administration may be more receptive to cultural equality and the rights of women and some minorities, but embracing atheists, agnostics, and other freethinkers is a whole other matter. Obama has openly endorsed right-wing religious fanatics (Rick Warren) and indicated he would continue to support faith based initiatives. The divisive and historically wrong idea that America was founded as a Christian nation is embraced by many. We, as free thinkers, must continue to be vigilant and fight to protect all of our constitutional rights. I encourage everyone to support action oriented groups such as The Freedom from Religion Foundation, American’s United for Separation of Church and State, and The Secular Coalition, to name but a few. With a little diligence we can make the United States the democracy it was intended to be. This year I resolve to make a difference! Happy New Year to all. May Darwin be with you.