Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1774

Tax-Dodging Creationist Kent Hovind Is On Trial Again; Protesters Say the U.S. Only Targets Him Due To His Faith

You can’t tax Kent Hovind, because that’s like taxing God.

Pensacola evangelist Kent Hovind, known as Doctor Dino, has long maintained that all of his ministry’s finances and property belong not to him, but to God, and that the Almighty’s belongings are not subject to humanity’s tax laws.

Hovind is on record as saying that

“Some will say the Bible teaches us to obey the authority over us. I agree and I do. [But] the IRS is not the authority over me any more than the government of Japan is.”

Inevi...

Idaho State Senator Steve Vick Can’t Handle Hindu Invocation Speaker, Wrongly Claiming “They Worship Cows”

Idaho State Sen. Steve Vick (R-Of Course) has a bad case of Hinduphobia.

Later today, the Senate will open with an invocation from self-proclaimed Hindu leader Rajan Zed (who has been mentioned on this site before).

But not if Vick (below) has his way:

“They have a caste system. They worship cows.” He acknowledged the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows any kind of prayer, but said he thinks the Hindu one shouldn’t be allowed to open the Senate, as the United States was “built on the...

A Few of the Problems with Bill Donohue’s New Book, The Catholic Advantage

The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue has a new book out today called The Catholic Advantage, all about how great it is to believe as he does.

It’s not enough, however, to promote Catholicism. Donohue spends a huge chunk of the book talking about how awful atheism is. In fact, here’s the bulk of the book in a nutshell: Donohue claims that atheists are more likely to have mental health problems, be depressed, and commit suicide. We’re also less charitable and happy than our religious counterparts....

Behold, the “Sodomite Suppression Act,” California’s Very Own “Kill the Gays” Bill

Thanks, Uganda.

In California, aChristian activist namedMatt McLaughlinis trying to put a domestic version of Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” billon the ballot for the next state election. Two qualifications to get to that stage arethat a $200 filing fee must be paid (done), and that more than 360,000 supporting petition signatures must be submitted (good luck with that).

The aim of McLaughlin’s ballot initiative is not only to punishany sexual touching between same-sex partners with, preferably, “bul...

Pastor’s Wife Who Works In Abortion Clinic Shrugs Off Critics, Tells Them To Call Back When They Are Free Of Sin

That Bible verse aboutnot judging lest you be judged? Orthe one about not casting the first stone unless you’re free of sin? Or the one that advises you toworry less about the speck in another person’s eye than about the plank in your own?

You won’t find many churchy couplesin Alabama whoput that into practice–at least not the way Callie and Louis Chatman do. Louis Chatman is the pastor ofNew Elam Baptist Church in Montgomery. His wife Callie works in a local abortion clinic, and he’s not abov...

Pakistan Arrests Hundreds of Parents for Not Vaccinating Their Children Against Polio

I want parents to vaccinate their children.

I’m all for blocking unvaccinated kids from attending public school.

But when it comes to pushing parents to vaccinate their children, this strikes me as going a *little* too far…:

Pakistani authorities have conducted their first-ever mass arrest of parents for refusing to allow their children to be vaccinated against polio.

Authorities in Peshawar, in the north-west of the country, detained 471 people and charged them with “endangering public security”...

Man Who Killed Three Muslim Students in Chapel Hill Could Face Death Penalty

It was only a few weeks ago when 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks went to an apartment near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and killed three Muslims — Deah Shaddy Barakat (23), his wife of just over a month Yusor Mohammad (21), and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha (19) — before turning himself in to the police.

(from L-R) Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha (via Twitter)

We still don’t know if this was an anti-Muslim hate crime, as many want to cl...

Westboro Baptist Church Wanted to Picket Leonard Nimoy’s Funeral… but They Couldn’t Find the Location

You’d think these people would’ve figured out by now to find the location of a funeral before saying they’re going to be there… but after Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Mr. Spock on Star Trek, died a few days ago, they said they would be picketing his funeral.

That plan fell through, though, when they couldn’t find the location of the event:

I guess God hates them.

After County Votes to Put Up “In God We Trust” Sign, Atheist Petitions to Put Up “In Dissenters We Believe” Sign

For weeks now, I’ve been writing about how Clark County (Washington) officials have gone back and forth over a plan to put up an “In God We Trust” sign in city hall. A few days ago, they decided to vote in favor of the sign, much to the chagrin of church/state separation advocates.

George Thomas left last week’s meeting before the vote took place, but he has since written up a petition to put up a second sign on the wall (emphases his):

… I petition Clark County to create and display a second m...

Friendly Atheist Podcast Episode 44: Daniel Genis, Former Atheist Prisoner

Our latest podcast guest is Daniel Genis, a former atheist prisoner.

Genis (rhymes with “tennis”) grew up in New York City, where he attended Stuyvesant High School and New York University, graduating with a degree in history and French. In 2003, however, he committed five armed robberies, which led to a decade behind bars. During that time, he wrote a novel called Narcotica. Now that he’s out, he’s been writing about the intersection of religion and incarceration for publications like Vice, D...