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.
A couple of weeks ago, Utah State Senator Mark B. Madsen proposed a bill — S.B. 73, the Medical Cannabis Act — that would allow the use of medical marijuana for patients suffering from ALS, Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, chronic pain, etc. There’s no shortage of stories of patients whose lives have improved considerably because the marijuana eased their pain, prevented muscle spasms, stopped nausea, etc. Even beyond the arguments for legalizing pot, medical marijuana should be a no-brainer. So, of course, Madsen’s bill is in danger of being derailed by the Mormon Church: Read more
When people make a large donation to a university, they sometimes receive the opportunity to put their name on a building. On a smaller scale, too, schools will tell donors that if they make a certain-size donation, they’ll get to choose the inscription that goes on a brick (or something similar). This is all perfectly fine… until the school forgets there are limits to what can be inscribed. Last year, at the University of Florida in Gainesville, a donor requested that a particular archway include a Bible verse. Because that promoted Christianity, the Freedom From Religion Foundation asked that it be taken down. The school ultimately decided to include an atheist inscription (and two other neutral ones), putting an end to the problem. We’re now seeing a similar story play out at the Colorado School of Mines. Read more
