I'm not saying I agree with this reasoning

This whole rude atheist thing is intriguing to me, if only because it seems to be the rude ones who get things done.

Consider Madelyn Murray O'Hair, who by all accounts was one of the most obnoxious, impossible individuals to deal with personally. But she had the bawls to challenge school prayer and put up with the oceans of abuse that came with the challenge.

On a smaller scale, we're seeing the same thing in Illinois this week. The legislature passed an absurd law mandating a moment of silence at the beginning of each public school day, to be used for prayer or whatever. An atheist gadfly named Rob Sherman challenged it in court. Sherman is the kind of guy who makes nice people roll their eyes-he's been known to go to village board meetings to complain that those little brown street signs that say "Episcopal Church 2 blocks" violate chruch/state separation.

But Sherman, through his daughter, took on this moment of silence cowflop and won the first round in court. Good for him.