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.
Ernie Chambers is arguably 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. And now he has introduced a bill, LB675, that would eliminate a state property-tax exemption for religious organizations — essentially taxing churches. The bill itself is a riot because all Chambers does is cross out the word “religious” from the current list of groups that are exempt from paying property taxes: Chambers’ Statement of Intent for the legislation is also the best thing you’ll read all day: Read more
I’m thrilled to announce that my friend Jesse Galef has accepted a new position as the National Community Coordinator for the Humanist Community at Harvard (after years working as the Communications Director for the Secular Student Alliance): He’ll be working alongside a team headed up by Harvard’s Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein: Read more
It’s hard to characterize Dinesh D’Souza in just one way: He’s a conservative Christian, anti-gay marriage activist, guy who had an affair while still technically married, president of The King’s College until his resignation in 2012, and Mr. Bean doppelganger: And now, D’Souza is the subject of a federal investigation for giving $20,000 to an unnamed Senate candidate when the legal limit is $5,000. Read more
Sharon L. Shepherd, a Jehovah’s Witness from Erie, Pennsylvania, is suing her former employer for the most unbelievable reason I’ve ever heard. Gannondale is a residential home for young women who have committed a crime or suffered abuse and need help and mentorship, and Shepherd was their bookkeeper until last summer, when she was fired because she refused to violate her religious beliefs. What did they make her do? Check it out: Read more
You may think that all those craters on the moon and other planets that were caused by meteoroid impacts and volcanoes were created hundreds of millions of years ago. But Creationists are having none of that. Don’t worry, though: they’ve come up with an alternative theory: They all came into being on Day 4 of Creation! Read more