Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1822

Governor Says Solutions to Kansas’ Problems Are “Cultural and Moral” and Come from “Hearts Alive with a Loving God”

After a first term of stewardship that has left Kansas with a “nearly $900 million budget hole,” largely because of tax cuts that were supposed to generate revenue that never came in, Governor Sam Brownback (R) was sworn in to a second term on Monday. And his inaugural speech indicates that he is in no hurry to shake the wishful thinking that has already contributed to his state’s woes.

He says too many people have not progressed in recent years because of a slowly growing economy or overly pa...

Colorado Church Cancels Woman’s Funeral After Seeing a Picture of Her Kissing Her Wife

In yet another example of Christian Love, New Hope Ministries in Lakewood, Colorado put a stop to Vanessa Collier‘s funeral just minutes after it was scheduled to begin because they noticed that a video that was supposed to play during the service included an image of Collier kissing her wife:

Vanessa Collier’s friends say the funeral was canceled by the church 15 minutes after the service was supposed to start… The open casket and flowers were in place and about 170 people were in attendance....

Post-Charlie, French Director Luc Besson Pulls a Ben Affleck, Serenades His Muslim Brothers’ “Beautiful Religion”

Given Luc Besson‘s unfortunate portrayal of Egyptians in his movieThe Fifth Element(in Indiana Jones fashion, they come across as lazy, shifty, and duplicitous),I wouldn’t have takenthe French director for a fan of Islam.

I may have beenwrong, though, and now, at a minimum, I mustgive Besson — who himself is “not so much” religious, he said last year — sincere props for trying to reachout to young French Muslims. You see, hewrote an open letter to theLe Monde newspaper the other day, in which...

Kirk Cameron is Now Selling Coffee… to Save Christmas!

In an apparent promotional tie to his movie, Kirk Cameron is selling Saving Christmas Blend coffee:

So behold, the limited edition Saving Christmas Blend from your friend, Kirk Cameron. Whether you’re staying up late to wrap presents or waking up early to open them, singing carols to your neighbors on a cold winter night or trading stories with your family by the firelight, we guarantee our Saving Christmas Blend will fit right in.

And by savoring Saving Christmas, you’re also making a statemen...

The KaMormon Sutra

Given how Mormons were a major factor in the passing of California’s Proposition 8 in 2008, banning marriage equality, photographer Neil DaCosta created a collection of Mormon Missionary Positions:

It’s technically SFW… but youstill probably don’t want to scroll through these at work.

(via aPhotoEditor. Thanks to Seth for the link)

Raif Badawi’s Lawyer, Waleed Abu Al-Khair, Sentenced to a Full 15 Years in Prison

Just days after Raif Badawi was given the first 50 of his 1,000 lashes for the “crime” of blasphemy, his lawyer Waleed Abu Al-Khair got some bad news, too: His 15 years prison sentence (of which five years had been knocked off) was reinstated in full:

On 12 January 2015, the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh held a session in which it sentenced prominent human rights lawyer Waleed Abu Al-Khair to serve 15 years in prison; previously this had been 15 years in prison, with five years suspende...

A Feckless New York Times, Along With Many Other Media, Chickens Out of Publishing the New Charlie Hebdo Cover

I propose that we give the New York Timessome new sort ofPulitzerPrizefor Top Performance inEggshell-Walking.I further nominate the BBC for Dhimmitudinal Pussyfooting, CNN for PetrifiedAround-the-Bush-Beating, Channel 4 for Greatest Advancesin Mousiness, and the Associated Press for the Cowardly Mollycoddling of ItsOwnCollywobbles.

And I’ll tell you what brought that on.

The Times has a news articleabout the historicnew Charlie Hebdo issue that is hitting French newsstandstomorrow,

… in a print...

Once Again, Vandals Ruin an Atheist Group’s Adopt-a-Highway Sign

For a couple of years now, the Atheists of Butte County (in California) have adopted a highway and cleaned up their two-mile stretch of Highway 99.

And it seems that vandals are always on their trail, making minor alterations to their official signs.

In 2013, someone stuck the word “PRAY” to their post:

Last August, someone put stickers on the sign saying “God Loves”… (because I guess God loves damaging property):

And now, it’s happened again. Someone wrote “Pray For” on the sign with arrows poin...

On the Importance of Provable Facts, Special Bodybuilding Edition

Is it possible for a discussion to rage on about how many days there are in a week? It is if you frequent bodybuilding.com (a site that, I am sure, also attractspeople whose grasp of thecalendaris perfectly fine).

“I cast off these chains of conventional counting! All three of them!”

I won’t spoil the fun. Just click here and flick some popcorn into your gradually wideningmaw.

(Image via Shutterstock)

Balls of Steel: Blogger and Lawyer Mufassil Islam Gives Violent Muslims a Piece of His Mind In This YouTube Video

It’s not the most silver-tongued of speeches (in fact, it’s pretty profane), but it sure is clear and to the point. Mufassil Islam, a lawyer of Bangladeshi origin who is affiliated with Trinity College in Dublin, is in high dudgeon overlast Wednesday’s mass murderin Paris.

Watch:

Trinity is the same institution that provides employment to Ali Selim, a Muslim lecturer whose scandalously illiberal efforts to gag Irish journalists I describedhere.

I would love to witness these two gents going at it...