Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1793

After Texas Parents Complain That “Lebanon High School” Isn’t Very Patriotic, It Gets a New Name (Kind of…)

Last month, we learned that parents in Frisco, Texas were raising hell over a new local high school’s name: “

The argument was that they didn’t want the school to share its name with a Middle East nation… even though the origin of the name in this case was the who lived in the area before Frisco was established. (Indeed, there was a Lebanon School in the area that closed in 1947.)

But that backstory didn’t matter because the prejudice against the name —...

Did Charles Darwin Recant Evolution on His Deathbed?

The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses the rumor that Charles Darwin recanted evolution on his deathbed.

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 Patreon.

Imprisoned Five Percenter, Practicing a Wacky Faith, Demands the Freedom To Read His Religious Texts

Kevin Harris‘religion deserves brickbats and derision, as well as all the rights to which the Constitution entitles him.

He is a member of the Nation of Gods and Earths, an offshoot of the Nation ofIslammore commonly known as the Five Percenters, which was founded in New York in the 1960s. The group promotes black empowerment and teaches that black men are Gods. …

The Nation of Gods and Earths teaches that only 5 percent of the population knows and teaches the truth. Ten percent conspire to hid...

It’s a Miracle!

South Dakota Legislator: Evolution is “Racist, Counter-Scientific, Faith-Based and Blind to the Self-Evident”

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about a bill proposed by South Dakota legislators — Senate Bill 114 — that would allow Creationism and climate change-denial to make their way into public school classrooms.

This is not a science textbook

The bill would:

… create an environment within all elementary and secondary schools that encourages students to explore scientific questions, learn about scientific evidence, develop critical thinking skills, and respond appropriately and respectfully to differen...

The Impact of Charles Darwin: Creationist Edition

Creationist Ken Ham gave us a present for Darwin Day: A 48-minute video blaming evolution (or the mindset that it supposedly leads to) for all the ills in our society.

In the first minute alone, we get this gem:

As we look at these symptoms in our culture — abortion, homosexual behavior, euthanasia, suicide, school violence — there’s a connection between them and the influence of Darwinian evolution throughout the culture…

If any other moments stand out to you, please leave a timestamp and summa...

Montana Republican Proposes Bill to Ban Yoga Pants (and Punish Men Who Go Shirtless in Public)

Montana has officially run out of real problems to tackle. Or maybe Republican State Representative and Morality Police Chief David Moore just needs to take up a hobby to fill his spare time.

You see, Representative Moore is so worried about indecency that he wants to strengthen existing indecent exposure laws by introducing a bill that would crack down on the horrors of shirtless men… and maybe even tackle the scourge of yoga pants-clad women.

So what constitutes indecent exposure under Moore’...

Nebraska Republican Says He’ll Reverse Support of Anti-Discrimination Bill Because an Atheist Hurt His Feelings

Ernie Chambers (below) is the highest-ranking openly-atheist politician in the country right now. The African-American Nebraska State Senator served for 38 years (beginning in 1970), making him the longest-serving senator in the state’s history, until he was term-limited out in 2008. When he was eligible to run again in 2012, he did so and won easily.

Over the years, he’s had several public battles against religion. In 2007, he famously sued God just to make a statement. In 2013, during a fili...

Atheist Politician, Among Others, Speaks Out Against Chapel Hill Murders During Press Conference

Yesterday, in response to the senseless killing of three innocent Muslims by an atheist, the Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix in Arizona held a press conference to express condolences for the victims and denounce the actions of someone who (even though his motivation is still unknown) was clearly a vocal atheist.

Among the speakers were atheist State Rep. Juan Mendez (below) and Johnny Martin, a Muslim leader of an interfaith group at Arizona State University:

Mendez said in his remarks:

How...

Creationist Ken Ham Thinks #DarwinWasWrongDay Was a Hit… Even Though Everyone’s Using It To Mock Him

In Ken Ham‘s world, where up is down and right is left and evolution is a fairy tale, science advocates using #DarwinWasWrongDay — in mockery of his attempt to detract from Charles Darwin‘s birthday today — is just a sign that Creationism is winning:

We have already received many positive responses with people sharing the news with others, and as we suspected, we also got a lot of response from secularists. Shortly after we announced Darwin Was Wrong Day, the Internet exploded with responses b...