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.
Wise words from Alonzo Fyfe for anyone writing about, speaking at, or attending the Reason Rally: I would suggest that you go the Reason Rally with the intent of saving lives and reducing suffering that spring from actions founded on beliefs that are simply unreasonable. This is for the people who suffer and die because they find themselves surrounded by people who accept primitive bigotries and superstitions and who act on them in ways that are harmful. … We are… Read more
Phil Vischer, the creator of the Christian-themed VeggieTales, explains the problem with secular children’s TV shows: But for all the educational strides being made and all the pro-social “vitamins” cleverly inserted into our kids’ media diets, there is one ingredient sorely missing. There is no God on Sesame Street. No clue will ever point Blue toward his Creator. No matter how far Dora explores, she will never bump into the divine. The world of children’s media, to put it bluntly,… Read more
Here’s the first billboard in the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s new “This is what an atheist looks like” campaign: Grace, a member of FFRF, won her place on the billboard by entering a submission in FFRF’s “virtual billboard” online app, in which atheists, agnostics and other nonbelievers place their photo, a short statement, and name in what looks like a billboard. “We announced that we would choose a winner or winners from those who participate, and Grace’s statement, ‘This is… Read more
Last month, I mentioned that atheist Justin Vacula wanted to put up the following ad on buses in the County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS) in Pennsylvania: You can’t get more inoffensive than that. But the COLTS board rejected the ad, saying they don’t “accept ads which could be deemed controversial or otherwise spark public debate.” Yesterday, the board met to hear one final plea in support of the billboard. They heard it. Then they rejected it again. … COLTS… Read more
***Update***: Hey, look! New information! Joe Zamecki points out (in the comments) that at least one group of atheists *has* been trying to raise money for Patrick Greene. Joe writes: The fact is, I and some other Atheists HAVE been there for him, raising money for him online for the past couple of days. He didn’t mention any of this church news to me, but some Atheists have been helping. Here’s the donation page he set up, at my suggestion:… Read more