Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1787

New York Rabbi Mendel Epstein Goes on Trial For Running a Divorce Racket Involving Kidnappings and Cattle Prods

Jewish gets –divorce decrees that, after a marriage fails, can only be provided by the husband –have been the subject of much controversy and even violent crimefor years. A woman cannot get remarried under Jewishlaw unless she can produce a get. But after a marriage goes bad, husbands often withhold the prizeddocumentout of spite; or they use it as a bargaining chip in child-custody or alimony disputes. To spur them into compliance, a little extrajudicial persuasion (read: violence, or the th...

Oklahoma Republican Wants to Ban AP US History Classes Because They’re Not Pro-America Enough

Oklahoma State Rep. Dan Fisher (below) thinks he knows better than history educators and experts what kids ought to be learning in their classes.

Advanced Placement U.S. History? He wants that banned because it covers topics that don’t always make America look good.

In place of it, according to HB 1380, which he is sponsoring, he wants kids to study speeches by Ronald Reagan, the Ten Commandments, the phrase “In God We Trust,” and the infamous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jo...

District Officials Reverse Course After Telling Student Not to Say “God Bless America” During Morning Announcements

For several weeks, the student-led morning announcements at Yulee High School in Florida ended with the words “God Bless America.”

So the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center wrote a letter to school officials explaining the problem:

It is inappropriate and unlawful for a public school to start the school day with an official statement over the intercom stating “God Bless America,” for such a statement affirms Godbelief, validates a theistic worldview, and is invidiou...

The Canadian Supreme Court Was Right to Overturn the Ban on Physician-Assisted Suicide

The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses the Canadian Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn the ban on physician-assisted suicide.

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 supporting this site on Patreo...

Ladies: To Attract Love, Shine Your Yoni At the Moon!

Not since Gwyneth Paltrow steam-cleaned her vagina have I read such sage advice about whatwomen ought to do withtheirlady parts.

Anarticle inVice, by Jennifer Schaffer,introduces us to Olivia Olkowski,a shamanic healer who swears by crystals and purple clothes, and who caters towomen seeking “love, guidance, and …heart healing.” She does this by re-aligning clients’ invisible vibrations and frequencies, if I’m understanding her correctly. You know Olkowski is the real deal because she stumbled...

University May Stop Giving Free Bibles to Students Who Don’t Request Them… and Some Christians Are Appalled

Students at Aberystwyth University (in Wales) may no longer find free Bibles in their rooms. And while the Bibles would be available for those who want them, some Christians are amazed — and disgusted — that people aren’t keen on giving their holy book to all students, whether they want it or not.

Huffington Post UK‘s Lucy Sherriff writes:

A proposal to have the bibles withdrawn will be put forward at the university’s student union council later this month, following the results of a survey con...

Young Theologian Who Needs a Job Says the Media Must Invest In Journalists Who Understand Religion

I can think of many things that are worrisome about the state of journalism, but I hadn’t yet considered the dwindling number of full-time religion correspondents to be among them. Maybe I’m wrong.

Conor Gaffey (below), writinga familiar plaint forthe U.K.’s Catholic Herald, sounds the alarm, after noting that the BBC willbe reassigning its head of religion, Aaqil Ahmed, and that religious-affairs writer Ruth Gledhill left the Times last year.

Gledhill herself thought it was a good thing that “...

There’s Another 9/11 Memorial Cross Controversy, This Time in Princeton (New Jersey)

Princeton (New Jersey) Fire Company deputy chief Roy James really wants to put up a 9/11 memorial in the city. The centerpiece would be a 10-foot-long steel beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Center… but it has a cross cut out of it.

And that’s the problem: Is this really about honoring the victims of 9/11 or promoting Christianity by way of an emotionally-charged display that no one has the heart to say no to?

To be clear, no lawsuit has been filed by any atheist group, but there could...

Cultists and Covens and Curses? Oh my! Pat Robertson Addressed Facebook Photo Dangers

Have you ever really considered the spiritual perils and pitfalls of posting ultrasound photos on Facebook? That was a question posed to Pat Robertson on The 700 Club Monday, and, rarely one to pass up an opportunity to sound crazy, he answered by invoking witches, covens, and curses.

Viewer Cynthia had asked

My daughter is pregnant with her first child (my first grandchild) and obviously thee is a lot of rejoicing and excitement. Young parents now regularly post fetal ultrasound photos as thei...

Clark County (Washington) Officials Find an Underhanded Way to Pass an Unpopular “In God We Trust” Proposal

Last week, I wrote about how Clark County (Washington) officials had tabled a discussion to put up an “In God We Trust” sign after the proposal saw a lot of resistance:

After hearing about two hours of public testimony — during which about two-thirds of the speakers opposed the controversial proposal — [Councilor Tom] Mielke moved to display the national motto in the meeting room.

Councilor Jeanne Stewart, however, said while she would not be offended by the display, it was clear from the prote...