Hemant Mehta is the founder and editor of FriendlyAtheist.com, a YouTube creator, and podcast co-host. He is a former National Board Certified math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago. He has appeared on CNN and FOX News and served on the board of directors for Foundation Beyond Belief and the Secular Student Alliance. He has written multiple books, including I Sold My Soul on eBay and The Young Atheist's Survival Guide. He also edited the book Queer Disbelief.
For almost a decade now, this has been the seal of Los Angeles County in California: There’s a lot going on there, but check out the center right image. That’s supposed to represent the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, a Catholic mission dating back hundreds of years. It’s conspicuously missing a cross because, from 1987-2009, the actual building didn’t have one (due to it being destroyed in an earthquake, then stolen). It wasn’t until 2009 that the cross was restored on the building. In 2014, some members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors wanted to change the seal to reflect that. Which is verrrrry convenient considering how often Christians try to get crosses on government seals… Read more
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation today that would strengthen comprehensive and evidence-based sex education by eliminating all federal funding for abstinence-only programs and using that money on, well, stuff that actually works. It comes on the heels of President Obama eliminating a $10 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services that supported ineffective and unscientific abstinence-only sex ed. Read more
Last month, the Oklahoma State Senate approved a ballot measure that would allow citizens to vote on whether or not to put a Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds. Yesterday the House Rules Committee unanimously approved the same measure. It’ll now be sent to the entire House for a vote. Read more