Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1664

Guatemalan Atheist Heckled During Speech Criticizing Proposed Law to Mandate Bible Education in Public Schools

The Congress of Guatemala is currently considering a bill that would make Bible classes mandatory in the country’s public and private schools as a way to combat the nation’s violence, insecurity, and corruption. Because Jesus is the solution to everything.

The Asociación Guatemalteca de Humanistas Seculares (Guatemalan Association of Secular Humanists) has been quick to speak out against this horrible idea:

It is a situation that must be addressed seriously and comprehensively, with appropriate...

Former Ford Employee Says in Lawsuit He Shouldn’t Have Been Fired Over Anti-Gay Rant on Company’s Website

When it comes to social media, there are all manner of potential pitfalls that can impact your career — from drunken posts to public boss-bashing to, well, being Anthony Weiner. And let’s not forget tweeting campaign posters featuring Nazis.

While there are some legitimate concerns about what impact your personal social media postings should have on your job, it goes without saying that questionable postings directly on your company’s intranet, social media sites, or websites are likely to cau...

In Amended Lawsuit, Edwina Rogers Accuses Richard Dawkins and Others of Retaliating Against Her

A couple of months ago, I posted in detail about a lawsuit filed by Edwina Rogers (below) against her former employers at the Secular Coalition for America.

The lawsuit alleged that SCA leaders wrongfully terminated Rogers and then made defamatory statements about her to the press. They were motivated, the document said, by “petty jealousies and naked ambition.”

The SCA, along with individuals named in the lawsuit, denied the allegations. They would have been issuing a formal response very soon...

TLC Officially Cancels 19 Kids and Counting

With all the stories we’ve heard over the past two months about Josh Duggar molesting five girls (including four of his sisters) when he was younger — while some of them were sleeping, no less — it was somewhat surprising that the network airing his family’s show hadn’t canceled it completely. Sure, TLC stopped airing episodes of the show back in May, but would they seriously keep it going in the future?

That question has finally been answered because the network has finally decided to pull th...

New Billboard Criticizes Jehovah’s Witness Leadership for Enabling Pedophiles

A few months ago, the ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses on Reddit had an idea: They wanted to put up a billboard in Belton, Texas, where a couple of JW conventions were set to take place in late July/early August. They raised the money by early May and signed the contract in June.

The billboard finally went up yesterday and it’s a doozy:

Is there a child molester at your Kingdom Hall?

Would the Elders tell you if there were?

Find the answers
JWawake.com

That URL leads you to this site, describing sexual abus...

Found in a Religious Education Textbook Aimed at Eight-Year-Olds…

I think the word “imaginary” is in the wrong place…

Feel free to complete the assignment in the comments below!

(via Reddit)

Explaining Where the Ball Went in Viral Vine Video

Captain Disillusion explains the secret behind a popular Vine clip:

But seriously, why is that kid wearing a soccer shirt while playing basketball? It makes no sense!

Newspaper That Won’t Publish Gay Wedding Announcements Tells Staff to Keep Opinions to Themselves

The other day, I posted about the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, based out of Tupelo, because Publisher Clay Foster had written an essay all about why his paper would not be printing same-sex marriage announcements.

… last week five of our Supreme Court justices decided that neither the Bible nor their predecessors’ ruling matters any longer because times have changed.

Our response and reaction to this decision by the Supreme Court doesn’t need to be one of hate, but rather one of love, i...

Just a Stone’s Throw

For the record the following Biblical transgressions require the death penalty:

Mixing meat and dairy: Exodus 23:19
Circumcision: Genesis 17:14
Lying about virginity: Deuteronomy 22:25
Wearing clothing made of two materials: Leviticus 19:19
And whatever you do, never touch a goddamn football: Deuteronomy 14:8

More importantly, is allowing people to mete out their peculiar version of justice with a great big rock any less idiotic than letting them walk around armed to the teeth looking for troub...

Serena Williams Breaks Jehovah’s Witness Rules Just By Playing Tennis

If you’re a Jehovah’s Witness, you’re not supposed to participate in competitive sports. An issue of the Watchtower made that clear a decade ago: “… if measuring ourselves against others — their feats or advantages — stimulates feelings akin to envy or competitiveness, beware! These are negative emotions, incompatible with God’s thinking.”

But that doesn’t seem to apply to Serena Williams.

Williams, who won her sixth career Wimbledon title last week, has consistently given credit to “Jehovah Go...