It had been several years since our last Picacho Peak picnic with the Humanist Community of Tucson, and a terrific time was had by all on this first day of Spring! The weather was unseasonably warm, but with the flowers in the park in bloom, and the company of our fellow Humanists, 35 people enjoyed the chance to network with our Tucson friends as well as with the familiar faces of our own Phoenix group.

From Amazon.com: "On July 24, 1984, a woman and her infant daughter were murdered by two brothers who believed they were ordered to kill by God. The roots of their crime lie deep in the history of an American religion practiced by millions..."

We examined those roots, found in Mormonism, as well as the radical offshoot of Fundamentalism -- a movement which has come under recent scrutiny in Arizona.

We met at the home of Georgia and Jay Strisik.

Dr. Joseph Comfort is Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at ASU. He received his Masters degree from Yale in 1968 and his Ph.D., also from Yale, in 1968. Dr. Comfort has taught at Princeton and Ohio University, and has been at ASU since 1981. An expert in Nuclear and Particle Physics, he has written numerous articles and papers and is a frequent lecturer at professional conferences. We were honored to have this esteemed professor address our group!

Dr. Deborah Sullivan is Associate Professor of Sociology with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU. She received her Ph.D. from Duke University in 1976. She wrote: "I have an abiding interest in social epidemiology and have done research on infant mortality and homebirth outcomes and chaired dissertations on race/ethnic differences hypertension, social support and mental health of the elderly, and predictors of HIV testing. I also am interested in how conditions are redefined as medical problems, particularly the role of the media and economic and political changes. I have chaired a dissertation on the health instruction in women's magazines and published books on cosmetic surgery and childbirth. I have begun to look at the implications of the FDA relaxed regulation of drug advertising." Her most recent book, "Cosmetic Surgery: The Cutting Edge of Commercial Medicine in America," offers a sociological take on this "industry." This was a very timely and relevant talk!

We discussed "The Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power," a recent hardcover book by George Soros. From Amazon.com: "Long known as 'the world's only private citizen with a foreign policy,' George Soros combines his razor-sharp sense of economic trends with his passionate advocacy for open societies and decency in world politics to come up with a workable, and severely critical, analysis of the Bush administration's overreaching, militaristic foreign policy." This was another lively discussion!

We held our Third Annual celebration of the birthday of Charles Darwin. We enjoyed the traditional (Darwin) fish dinner at Joe's as we toasted one of our great scientific heroes, Charles Darwin on the 195th anniversary of his birth. An evening of fun and merriment!

Jack Silver is the past President of Or Adam, a Phoenix area Humanistic Jewish congregation (http://www.oradam.org/). His presentation covered the Secular Humanistic Jewish movement, with emphasis on historical background of the movement; the major philosophy and values; an overview of holiday and life-cycle practices; the differences between this and other Jewish cultural/secular movements, both locally and worldwide. Mr. Silver was born into an Orthodox Jewish family, but says "I stumbled into Humanistic Judaism by way of a long term, arms-length affiliation with Conservative Judaism." He has been a member of Or Adam Congregation since 1999 and has served as President of the Congregation, and is currently a Board Member. In his spare time, he is the Chief Executive Officer of Arizona State Hospital. He holds graduate degrees in Social Work (M.S.W-Syracuse University), Public Administration (M.P.A.-University of Rhode Island), and Psychiatric Rehabilitation (CAGS- Boston University), and has worked as a clinician, teacher, policy maker and administrator.

Dr. Phil Williams is Professor of Chinese Literature, Language & Interdisciplinary Humanities at ASU, where he has taught since 1986. He received his M.A.(1981) and Ph.D.(1986) from UCLA, in East Asian Languages. He spent a year as a Postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University in 1990-91. He teaches courses in Chinese literature, modern and late Imperial; Chinese language, beginning through classical Chinese (fourth-year); Chinese film & civilization and Chinese media studies. He has directed East Asian language and culture programs at ASU; Soka University (a liberal arts college in Orange County), and the University of Vermont. His latest book, due out in autumn 2004 from the University of California Press and co-authored with a UC professor, is entitled "The Great Wall of Confinement: The Chinese Prison Camp through Contemporary Fiction and Reportage." His other publications include numerous articles and essays, and several full-length books, including "Village Echoes: The Fiction of Wu Zuxiang" (Boulder: Westview, 1993); "Critical Essays on Chinese Women and Literature, Volumes 1-2" (Taipei: Daw Shiang, 1999, 2001) and "Chinese the Easy Way" (NY: Barron's Educational Series, 1999).