Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1733
April 20, 2015
Did Ted Cruz Really Say That “There Is No Place For Gays or Atheists In My America”?
This meme has been endlessly propagated all over social media for almosta month now. Because it’s untrue and dishonest, I wish we could shut it down.
That’s somebody‘s idea of “satire,” but everywhere I’ve seen that picture and quote, theyled to earnest hand-wringing and/or angry denunciations of Cruz. Even within the Facebook group where the meme originated, most members and followers don’t seem to understand that Cruz never said this, that it’sa [cough] joke.
Here, via the Washington Post, is...
You Have to Read This Hilarious, Beautiful Obituary a Woman Wrote for Her Atheist Mother
Nina Beth Nestor died last week at the age of 85. I didn’t know her personally, but her obituary, written by daughter Diane Howard, will bring a smile to any atheist’s face:
When she got diagnosed with terminal cancer she decided to just let nature take its course. Surprisingly, she didn’t die quickly as was expected. She lived for several years mystifying all of the doctors. No one had a medical explanation so one doctor sort of gestured to the heavens and she shot him down right away. Nina w...
Ohio Gov. John Kasich on a Possible Presidential Run: “I’m Trying to Determine If This Is What the Lord Wants”
Ohio Governor John Kasich (below) said on Meet the Press yesterday that he’s waiting for God to tell him whether or not to seek the Republican nomination for President.
“I’m trying to determine if this is what the Lord wants,” said Kasich. “I’m not going to find that out lying in bed hoping lightning strikes, so I’m out there, one foot in front of another aggressively.
“We’ll see what happens.”
You know, considering that Sen. Ted Cruz made his campaign announcement at fundamentalist haven Libert...
But Who’s Pulling the Strings?
Click over to Optipess to find out who’s pulling the strings…
April 19, 2015
Church Leaders Are Great at Telling Stories (Seriously)
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses how church leaders are great at telling stories (seriously):
This is an excerpt from a longer video, which can be seen here.
A rough transcript of the video can be found on the YouTube page in the “About” section.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the project — more videos will be posted soon — and we’d also appreciate your suggestions as to which questions we ought to tackle next!
And if you like what you’re seeing, please consider su...
Despite Supreme Court Ruling, Saskatchewan Premier Says His Province’s Legislature Will Keep Praying at Meetings
Last week, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the city of Saguenay in Quebec could not have Catholic prayers at meetings (as was tradition). While the decision was a welcome one, it was also narrow, applying only to Saguenay. What about other cities with religious invocations?
They’re already testing the law in Oshawa, Ontario, where the mayor says prayers will continue.
And the same thing is happening in Saskatchewan, where Premier Brad Wall (below) says prayers will remain in the legislatu...
Dr. Oz Says He Will Address Critics in Special Episode of His Show This Week
CNN’s Brian Stelter reports that Dr. Mehmet Oz will air a special episode of his show this Thursday in order to respond to allegations that he’s “promoting quack treatments and cures.”
It comes on the heels of a letter written by several top doctors to Columbia University urging school officials to distance themselves from Dr. Oz, who holds a faculty position there.
“We plan to show America who these authors are, because discussion of health topics should be free of intimidation,” a spokesman f...
Here’s Part Two of a Secretly-Videotaped Jehovah’s Witness Apostasy Trial
Last week, I posted video of a Jehovah’s Witness apostasy trial. Isaac had criticized some of the Church’s teachings and this was his last chance to explain himself. (If disfellowshipped, Isaac’s friends and family members still in the Church would be prohibited from ever speaking to him again.)
Part two of his hidden camera video is now online.
Amazing, isn’t it, how the Elders just dodge every question? Like Isaac says in the video, people can Google the Church’s teachings and find out how mu...
CBS Sunday Morning Airs Terrific Segment on Atheism in America
CBS Sunday Morning aired an excellent segment this morning on the Openly Secular campaign and the difficulties of coming out as an atheist whether it’s due to skin color, geography, or just plain fear.
My friend Neil Carter, who blogs at Godless in Dixie, was featured in it (and did an excellent job). So was philanthropist Todd Stiefel (below) and Mandisa Thomas of Black Nonbelievers.
[Mo] Rocca asked, “How did [your students] find out that you’re an atheist?”
“One of them had been stalking me o...
Mike Huckabee: The Military is Too Hostile to Christians, So Don’t Enlist Until Obama Leaves Office
Former Governor Mike Huckabee, who says he’ll announce whether or not he’ll run for President on May 5, made news for an entirely different reason on Friday.
Rather than encourage people to enlist in the military — something you’d think any presidential candidate would advocate — Huckabee told Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson that prospective soldiers should hold off for a couple of years because the military is too anti-Christian right now.
This administration has had an open hostility toward the...
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