Last year, 30-year-old Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi was punished for starting a progressive website that called for, among other things, religious tolerance and women’s rights. That was insulting to Islam, said his critics. He was sentenced at the time to seven years in prison and 600 lashes. His sentence was overturned last year… but that respite was brief. Yesterday, Badawi was given an even harsher punishment: Read more
Following a controversy where Ayaan Hirsi Ali was offered an honorary doctorate from Brandeis University only to have it quickly rescinded, Sam Harris posted a nearly-9,000-word interview with Hirsi Ali on his website today. It’s a fascinating conversation and gets right to the heart of the criticisms that have been leveled against Hirsi Ali over the years. Some of the highlights are below, but I strongly encourage you to set aside some time and read the whole thing. Read more
Last week, I posted about how Creationist Eric Hovind suggested that erosion caused by an awful flooding in Pensacola, Florida was evidence that the Grand Canyon, too, could’ve been caused by the biblical Flood. Yesterday, Hovind issued an “apology”… which is to say he doubled-down on his irrational thinking. Read more
We’re so used to hearing stories of Christian football coaches at public schools who think they can and should lead their teams in prayer. They don’t give a damn about non-Christian players on their team, always falling back on the line, “No one ever complains,” never realizing that most students don’t want to cause conflict or paint a target on their own backs. Those coaches could stand to learn a lesson from LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers. There used to be a pre-game prayer when he first coached for the Orlando Magic in 1999, but that changed when Rivers saw someone on the outs: Read more
At a speech at Stanford Tuesday night, American Atheists President David Silverman announced that the organization would be launching “the first television channel dedicated to atheism” this summer: Read more
According to a new report by the Pew Research Center, 18% of Hispanics are unaffiliated with any religion (including 3% who are atheist or agnostic) — and 24% of Hispanic adults are former Catholics: Read more
The Freedom From Religion Foundation and its Northern Ohio Freethought Society chapter just put up 11 billboards throughout Cleveland and Akron urging other atheists to come out of the closet: Read more
Finally, a public school superintendent has done something right regarding prayer at graduation ceremonies. Superintendent Sean Rickert (below, left) of the Pima Unified School District in Arizona decided that there would be no prayers during the high school graduation ceremony this year — and he’s getting criticized by members of the community because of it: Read more
On CNN’s Crossfire the other night, conservative atheist host S.E. Cupp invited Bill Nye the Science Guy on the show to talk about climate change. Her argument (and I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt here) was that the public doesn’t think climate change is really a problem. So how come scientists who say otherwise can’t get through to them? That’s actually a great question. But the way she handled the conversation made it sound like scientists were doing something wrong by teaching the public about the facts. Read more
The story of Noah’s Ark is so laughably fictional that you have to be as gullible as Ken Ham to believe it. It’s also perfect fodder for stand-up comedians looking for easy jokes 🙂 Enjoy this compilation (with some NSFW language): Read more
