Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1659

56% of Non-Religious Americans Have Smoked Pot

According to a new Gallup poll, 44% of all Americans say they’ve tried marijuana at some point in their lives, a number that jumps to 56% when looking specifically at the Nones (atheists, Agnostics, and those with no religious affiliation).

Furthermore, while 11% of all Americans admit to currently smoking pot, 18% of the Nones said the same thing. (Both percentages are, of course, underestimates since some respondents probably didn’t want to admit to it even if their anonymity was guaranteed....

Pat Robertson: Gay Marriage Will Lead to Legalized Polygamy, Bestiality, and Pedophilia

Only in Pat Robertson‘s world does a question about abortion lead down a slippery slope to bestiality.

On The 700 Club yesterday, Robertson was asked about the recent misleading videos slamming Planned Parenthood, but he used the opportunity to express his disgust about the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality and how it would lead to polygamy and sex with animals:

[The Supreme Court has] said abortion is a constitutional right. They have said homosexuality is a constitutional right. The...

Stone County Sheriff’s Office (Missouri) Puts “In God We Trust” Stickers on All Vehicles

The Stone’s County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri just announced that all vehicles in their department now have “In God We Trust” stickers on them.

Right. It’s all about the “National Motto.” I’m sure the Bible verse on the front page of the Sheriff’s Office website — right below the sex offender registry — doesn’t give away their true intentions at all.

(Actually, Romans 13:3-4 doesn’t have to do with policemen. It’s about “rulers” who are God’s agents. Creepy.)

Makes you wonder if they’re more c...

The Anti-Planned Parenthood Videos Are Hurting the Pro-Lifers’ Own Cause

A lot of the backlash to the anti-Planned Parenthood videos has been the casual way the subjects talk about a very emotionally-charged situation. They treat the donation of body parts as a basic transaction while critics seem upset they’re not agonizing over the process.

At Show Me Progress, writer Blue Girl, who used to be a laboratory scientist, does a wonderful job explaining why perfectly compassionate people (who have very laudable goals) are being unfairly vilified:

Let me tell you a litt...

Ex-Hasidic Jew, Cut Off from Her Family After Leaving the Faith, Jumps to Her Death

Faigy Mayer was a former Hasidic Jew who left the faith about six years ago. When you’re an ex-Hasid, it means you’re essentially cut off from your family. They want nothing to do with you anymore. So not only are you alone, there’s a good chance you have little formal education or fluency in English.

Mayer got past that, though. She made new friends. She learned how to code and was working on an app to help other ex-Hasids navigate New York City. She was a member of a group called Footsteps,...

Georgia Church with LGBT-Affirming Pastor Vandalized with Graffiti

Here’s some Christian-on-Christian persecution for you.

The Metropolitan Community Church of Our Redeemer in Augusta, Georgia is one of those churches welcoming to LGBT people. In fact, Pastor Rick Sosbe and his partner were the first to get a marriage license after gay marriage became legal in the state.

But weeks after a rainbow flag was stolen from the front of the building, staffers at the church arrived Tuesday morning to see this:

Leviticus 18:22 is the verse that reads “Thou shalt not lie...

If You Really Believe Jesus is Returning Soon…

All those doomsday preachers never have the guts to stand by their claims…

See the rest of the strip here.

(via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal)

Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Everything… in 8 Minutes

The video is a lot more detailed than I thought it would be and surprisingly understandable. But what else would you expect from Neil deGrasse Tyson?

(via MinutePhysics)

Rick Santorum Complains About How Schools Don’t Offer Books with Straight Married Couples Anymore

Less than a week after Texas county officials said they would keep two books featuring gay and lesbian parents in the local library, GOP Presidential candidate Rick Santorum told reporters he’s tired of the straight-couple blackout in public schools:

“I know in the schools in Massachusetts, in the grade school, they teach — there are books in place that say ‘Suzy has two moms,’ it’s okay to put a book that says ‘Suzy has two moms’ but you can’t put a book in there saying that moms and dads and...

What Pluto Looked Like (To Us) Throughout the Years

This is so cool. It’s the best image we have of Pluto over time — from Clyde Tombaugh’s original picture in 1930 to New Horizons’ shots over the past decade:

You can see more information about each image at NASA.gov.

(via Colossal)