Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1808

Bryan Fischer Has Been Fired from the American Family Association

Rachel Maddow broke the news tonight that Bryan Fischer, the spokesperson and Director of Issue Analysis for the American Family Association (and constant source of fodder for blogs like this one), has been fired.

It is because of his toxic anti-gay comments over the years?

Not exactly.

The AFA (along with the American Renewal Project) is underwriting the Republican National Committee’s upcoming trip to Israel. And that’s a huge problem for the GOP since Fischer has said nasty things about Jewis...

I Had No Idea Until I Read the P.S.

Thank you, person who emailed me. You have shown me the light.

I’m tempted to respond:

No evidence.
You’re welcome.
Hemant

Your call on what I put in the P.S. line.

This Wonderful New Non-Profit Group Will Help Secular People in Need

What happens if you come out as an atheist or LGBT and your parents kick you out of the house? What if you’re trying to leave an abusive relationship but your entire social network is contained within your church?

There are resources out there for people who need a safety net, but they’re often faith-based.

But there’s finally a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people without religion get the help they need. It’s called Secular Avenue:

We often talk about how churches provide communi...

Reflecting on the Loss of Jesus Scholar Marcus Borg

The passing of Jesus scholar Marcus Borg last week (on January 21) highlights the continued rift in the Christian world between the conservative and liberal theological camps.

Borg was a liberal theologian who focused on the historical Jesus and used more anthropological methods to direct his scholarship, and this work drew the ire of the conservative theological community. His involvement in the Jesus Seminar was also found to be controversial by conservative Christians.

Borg’s significance ce...

Ecologist Curt Stager on Getting Cremated: It’s Much More Beautiful Than You Imagined

Someone gave me an Amazon gift certificate last month, which I used to buy ecologist and science journalistCurt Stager‘s 2014 bookYour Atomic Self: The Invisible Elements That Connect You to Everything Else in the Universe. I’m a few chapters into it, and it’s lovely. Stager has a way of wrappingdry biophysics in a kind of mellifluous poetry.

He also pulls that offwhile speaking off the cuff, as he did in a conversation with a writer from the World Science Festival. Here he’s talking about wha...

Andrew Sullivan Says He Will Stop Blogging

Wow. I wasn’t expecting to hear that Andrew Sullivan will stop blogging, but I can’t say I’m surprised:

Why? Two reasons. The first is one I hope anyone can understand: although it has been the most rewarding experience in my writing career, I’ve now been blogging daily for fifteen years straight (well kinda straight). That’s long enough to do any single job. In some ways, it’s as simple as that. There comes a time when you have to move on to new things, shake your world up, or recognize befor...

Sick! Sick! Sick!

U.S. Government Sues, Wins On Behalf of Christian Employee Who Refused Hand Scans Because of the Devil

Let’s sayyou run a businessthat, like thousandsof others, tracksemployees’ attendance and work hours. In the old days, you’d usecards and a clock-based machine that stamps workers’sheets with the date and time of their arrival and departure. To make mattersmore efficient and bring the whole shebanginto the digital age, and to discourage fraud –like workers“buddy-punching”each other’stime cards toillegally inflate hours–you then upgradeto a biometric scanner. Maybethis one (I may or may not ha...

James Randi Announces His Retirement

Over the past year, the James Randi Educational Foundation has closed its Los Angeles offices and let go of its Executive Director. Its founder was profiled by the New York Times and featured as the subject of a new documentary.

And now, the 86-year-old James Randi has announced his retirement:

At 86 years of age, I feel that it’s now well time to officially retire, so I’m stepping down from my position with the JREF — the James Randi Educational Foundation.

This doesn’t mean that I’m retiring f...

The Nightly Show‘s Disappointing Panel on Vaccines

For as much shit as Bill Maher gets (and deserves) for his questioning of the efficacy of certain vaccines, at least he brings on qualified guests who try to set him straight.

I wish Larry Wilmore had done more of that on last night’s episode of The Nightly Show.

Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows

Even though Wilmore began strongly with a wonderful segment all about how vaccine misinformation is spread — referencing the discredited Andrew Wakefield and bullshit-peddler Jenny Mc...