Hemant Mehta
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friendlyatheist.com
Hemant Mehta
@friendlyatheist.com
15K followers 130 following 11K posts
Jeopardy! champ everywhere but Canada. Writer. YouTuber. Podcaster. Mpromptu@gmail.com. (Send me story tips!) http://linktr.ee/HemantMehta

Articles at https://friendlyatheist.com
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Reposted by Hemant Mehta
ezralevin.bsky.social
When you're disappointed in leadership, demand better. Primaries are a healthy part of the democratic process. This is especially true when we're up against a fascist regime and the primary is about whether or not your Dem is going to fight back.
November 17, 2025 at 7:01 PM
friendlyatheist.com
This is big. The Supreme Court has DENIED a case involving Christian prayers over the PA system at high school football games.

I'll have more on this soon...
November 17, 2025 at 6:59 PM
friendlyatheist.com
In just a little bit, I'll be chatting live with Marissa Franks Burt, co-author of "The Myth of Good Christian Parenting."

We'll discuss James Dobson, spanking, what pastors need to fix, and so much more!

youtube.com/live/iw0cTvi...
Interview with Marissa Franks Burt, co-author of "The Myth of Good Christian Parenting"
YouTube video by Friendly Atheist
youtube.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:18 PM
friendlyatheist.com
Somersworth, New Hampshire loved its "public forum" flagpole—until a member of The Satanic Temple used it last month.

Then they changed the policy so it would never happen again.

www.friendlyatheist.com/p/new-hampsh...
New Hampshire town pulls plug on open forum after Satanists hoist flag
Somersworth allowed residents to apply for and erect their flags on a public space. That changed after Satanists got their turn.
www.friendlyatheist.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
ashtonpittman.bsky.social
The reason 300,000 Mississippians do not have health care through Medicaid expansion today is because the Supreme Court interfered with a president's signature policy.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Bessent on tariffs: "This is one of President Trump's signature policies, and traditionally the Supreme Court does not interfere with a president's signature policy."
November 16, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
joemcken.net
Centrist pundits who pretend Harris lost because her campaign catered too much to the Left (be it on immigration, or identity issues, or basically anything else) are either amnesiac or full of shit. Either way, they have zero credibility talking about how Democrats should run their campaigns.
michaelhobbes.bsky.social Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 1d
Pundits: Why didn't Kamala Harris run to the center on immigration?

Kamala Harris's campaign speeches:
Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades. The Border Patrol endorsed it. But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign. So he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal. Well, I refuse to play politics with our security. Here is my pledge to you: As President, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed. And I will sign it into law. I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants- And reform our broken immigration system. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship- And secure our border. America, we must also be steadfast in advancing our security and our values abroad. Harris: So, in this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week (applause) any day of the week, including, for example, on the issue of immigration. So, I was the attorney general of a border state. In that job, I walked underground tunnels between the United States and Mexico on that border with law enforcement officers. I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels, and human traffickers that came into our country illegally. I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won. So, I was the attorney general of a border state. In that job, I walked underground tunnels between the United States and Mexico on that border with law enforcement officers. I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels, and human traffickers that came into our country illegally. I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won. Donald Trump (applause) Donald Trump, on the other hand, has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk (applause) or as my friend Quavo would say, he does not walk it like he talks it. (Applause.) Where's Quavo? (Laughs.) So, look, our administration worked on the most significant border security bill in decades. Some of the most conservative Republicans in Washington, D.C., supported the bill. Even the Border Patrol endorsed it. It was all set to pass. But at the last minute, Trump directed his allies in the Senate to vote it down.
November 16, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
mburtwrites.bsky.social
Looking forward to chatting with @friendlyatheist.com tomorrow. Join us live at 8:30AM PT if you like! www.youtube.com/live/iw0cTvi...
Interview with Marissa Franks Burt, co-author of "The Myth of Good Christian Parenting"
YouTube video by Friendly Atheist
www.youtube.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
salgentile.bsky.social
(serious unbiased journalist voice) “are you trying to distract from the president’s refusal to make health care affordable by pointing out that he was also friends with a pedophile?”
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Margaret Brennan to Tom Suozzi: "Can you explain the focus this past week in the House by Democrats on the Jeffrey Epstein files? Is this a tactic to distract from the failure to extract healthcare changes?"
November 16, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
dennycarter.bsky.social
Jamelle was cooking.

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
If they win, Democrats will have to use their newfound authority to rethink, even dismantle, agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They may need to walk back the Bush-era decision to consolidate those agencies and others under a single department, given the wild abuses perpetrated under this administration and its predecessors. It will need to give serious thought to major political and social reform, including D.C. statehood, a federal ban on partisan gerrymandering, a new voting rights act and federal protections for reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, including the rights of gender and sexual minorities. Democrats will also need to embrace the legislature’s constitutional authority to structure the executive branch and the judiciary, up to and including Supreme Court reform. If they win next year, Democrats will need to treat the next Congress not as a return to the status quo ante but as the beginning of a new era in which the principal task is to roll back the president’s effort to create and consolidate a personalist dictatorship. They’ll need to fortify the American political system against future attempts to play dictator and lay out a project of genuine democratic renewal. None of this is possible without a willingness to use power rather than just hold it. What we’ve seen this week is that there are still too many Democrats whose instinct is to retreat to normalcy rather than face the conflict at hand.
November 14, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
hicksville420.bsky.social
NBC News identified nearly 200 Assemblies of God pastors, church employees and volunteer leaders accused of sexual abuse over the past half century, based on a nationwide search of lawsuits, criminal records and news archives.
November 14, 2025 at 7:14 PM
friendlyatheist.com
This is the correct take.
jeymccreight.bsky.social Dr. Jey McCreight 🏳️‍⚧️🧬 @jeymccreight.bsky.social · 3d
Krauss: "The fact that I have remained a professor [...] and [...] invited speaker at organizations like CFI, which have strict harassment policies, is a confirmation of the fact that they trust my behavior."

No, it's confirmation that the system to enforce harassment policies is broken or a farce
Email from Lawrence Krauss in the Epstein email release: "The fact that I have remained a professor in all Universities with which I have been associated, in good standing, and also an officer or an invited speaker at organizations like CFI, which have strict harassment policies, is a confirmation of the fact that they trust my behavior."
November 14, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
dangaristo.bsky.social
By my count there's 65 documents with emails between Krauss and Epstein.

In many of them Krauss seems to ask Epstein for advice about the allegations of sexual misconduct leveled toward him.
peteraldhous.com Peter Aldhous @peteraldhous.com · 5d
Short 🧵: Interesting to see Lawrence Krauss cropping up in today's Epstein documents. No date or context for this, but our reporting at BuzzFeed News identified Epstein as a significant source of funding for Krauss. (From prior reporting, "agreed in principle" may doing a lot of work here.)
rmac.bsky.social Ryan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 5d
In the Epstein documents release today, there is a file for a proposed Lawrence Krauss-led event series w/ proposed guests, 23 of which had "already agreed in principle" according to the doc. Some of those listed include Noam Chomsky, Woody Allen, Barack Obama, Larry Page and Elon Musk.
November 13, 2025 at 3:47 AM
friendlyatheist.com
Predators restored. Background checks ignored. Victims silenced.

There's a systemic abuse crisis inside the Assemblies of God denomination—and the details are infuriating.

www.friendlyatheist.com/p/how-the-as...
How the Assemblies of God became a safe haven for sexual predators
A sweeping NBC investigation exposed decades of abuse, cover-ups, and indifference inside the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination
www.friendlyatheist.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:18 PM
friendlyatheist.com
I'll be going live later tonight to talk about the past week in church/state separation!

We'll be talking about Kim Davis, the TikToker exposing churches, and so much more...

youtube.com/live/QfThft5...
LIVE: Friendly Atheist News Roundup 11/13/2025
YouTube video by Friendly Atheist
youtube.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:23 PM
friendlyatheist.com
Florida Republicans want to force teachers to pledge loyalty to the Constitution... and God.

Their proposed oath would effectively ban atheists from teaching.

It's unconstitutional and un-American.

www.friendlyatheist.com/p/floridas-p...
Florida's proposed loyalty oath for educators would ban atheists from becoming teachers
New legislation would require teachers to say "so help me God" before they can ever step foot in a public school classroom
www.friendlyatheist.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:32 PM
friendlyatheist.com
Nothing to see here.

Just physicist Lawrence Krauss telling Jeffrey Epstein, "Beyond anything else, you are my friend. I hope we can both always remember that, no matter what."
November 13, 2025 at 1:23 AM
friendlyatheist.com
Imagine thinking working alone with a woman is a moral crisis.

One HVAC tech did—following the "Billy Graham rule"—and now he’s suing his employer for firing him.

www.friendlyatheist.com/p/christian-...
Christian HVAC tech fired after invoking the "Billy Graham Rule" sues employer
Paul Ostapa’s beliefs reveal how faith-based sexism still poisons modern workplaces
www.friendlyatheist.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:26 PM
friendlyatheist.com
Not every viral outrage is a conspiracy. Sometimes it’s just a Facebook pumpkin contest gone wrong. 🎃✝️

Here’s what actually happened in Tega Cay, SC’s “Pumpkin Palooza” fiasco, in which a lazy carving of a cross beat out all the artistic/scary options.

www.friendlyatheist.com/p/pumpkin-pa...
Pumpkin Palooza panic: How a cross-carved gourd sparked a mini culture war
What started as a cute carving contest in Tega Cay, South Carolina turned into a viral debate about religion, politics, and how easily we overreact online
www.friendlyatheist.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
nickfish.me
Everything @friendlyatheist.com says here is right.

But one thing to add: THE VICE PRESIDENT FOLLOWING AND INTERACTING WITH A BUNCH OF LITERAL NEO-NAZIS IS A BIGGER DEAL THAN A STATE SENATOR FOLLOWING MODELS ON INSTAGRAM
Axios tried to shame Christian U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico—and ended up exposing itself
The so-called scandal over who a progressive Christian follows on Instagram says more about lazy journalism than it does about faith or politics
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:13 PM
friendlyatheist.com
Axios ran a whole piece about Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, a Christian seminarian, following a few models on Instagram.

No scandal. No misconduct. Just "follows."

Journalism is dead. Clickbait moral panic is alive.

www.friendlyatheist.com/p/axios-trie...
Axios tried to shame Christian U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico—and ended up exposing itself
The so-called scandal over who a progressive Christian follows on Instagram says more about lazy journalism than it does about faith or politics
www.friendlyatheist.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:21 PM
friendlyatheist.com
Today's @slate.com crossword is mine, with a nod to a recent death, the MCU, and how I play ball.

Go do it!

slate.com/life/2025/11...
Slate Crossword: One Who Whistles While They Work? (Three Letters)
Ready for some wordplay? Sharpen your skills with Slate’s puzzle for Nov. 10, 2025.
slate.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
adamserwer.bsky.social
Unfortunately still true bsky.app/profile/adam...
adamserwer.bsky.social Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · Mar 14
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.
November 10, 2025 at 12:09 PM
friendlyatheist.com
Texas is suing a school district for obeying the Constitution and not posting the Ten Commandments.

Attorney General Ken Paxton wants schools to choose between breaking state law or the First Amendment.

It's the Texas version of Christian Nationalism.

www.friendlyatheist.com/p/texas-sues...
Texas sues school district for following the law and not posting the Ten Commandments
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Galveston ISD shows how far Christian Nationalists will go to force their religion into public education
www.friendlyatheist.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
amandalitman.bsky.social
Want a party that actually fights back? Run for office. We’ll help you. runforwhat.net
Run for Something
Find offices you can run for
runforwhat.net
November 10, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Reposted by Hemant Mehta
jeymccreight.bsky.social
Watson was deeply influential to me as a genomicist, but not how you may assume

From stealing Rosalind Franklin's lab notes to his frequent sexist & racist bioessentialist comments later in life, he showed how the scientific community would still worship a terrible person

Don't idolize bad people
November 7, 2025 at 9:04 PM