495 Comments

Ho hum, more exclusionary tribalism.

𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑, ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑢𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ/𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒-𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑦 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑜𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑡.

Thirty years on, it's still worth remembering that Congress at one time had it's own scientific research arm (the OTA), specifically tasked with giving congress the apolitical scientific facts related to policies they were making. Evidence-based background information, basically. But Newt's republicans zeroed out it's budget because the information it was producing contradicted the things the GOP wanted to say to the public.

Expand full comment

Anti intellectual, science denying, Christian book burners and the like have been the leading causes of American decline.

Expand full comment

Also Nazis, but everyone knew that.

Expand full comment

You only hear from the idiot ones who do it all publicly for show. You’ll never see true followers of Jesus Christ because he said: when you pray go into your closet and do not pray like the hypocrites do so that they are seen by men.

No there are plenty of highly educated followers of Jesus Christ teachings they just don’t have any reason to shout out about it. Just as Joe Biden and Jimmy Carter, Christin Presidents just to name two who love their country and are great leaders but you didn’t see them knelling in front of the cameras.

All shouldn’t be judged by the few godless hypocrites.

But it’s a free country so judge away

Expand full comment

They have plenty of reason to shout out. The evil have co-opted their religion and used it as a weapon against everyone not like them. Do they need to make a show of their religion, no. But they need to shout out against the evil rot that sits at their breast.

The scary thing is there are passages in the bible to support both sides of this sectarian war and the rest of us get caught in the middle.

The bible describes several different men and calls them all Jesus Christ. There's the one that preached the Sermon on the Mount. But there's also the one who said you couldn't love your family more than him. Then there was the one who saved a Roman centurion's lover and the one who called a Gentile woman a dog and had to be shamed into healing her son.

TL;DR Don't play the bagpipes with us.

Expand full comment

There's also the one whose family thought he was crazy.

Expand full comment

I leave to others the question of his divinity or sanity.

Expand full comment

So there aren't any true followers of Jesus Christ?

When you all go to church every Sunday, you're not in your closet and praying in private. You are out there in front of God and everyone.

No true Christian fallacy is what true Christians use to show that everyone else is not a true Christian. it is also used to excuse every bit of nastiness, pettiness, sinfulness, bad acting, reviling, slandering, culture warring, and on and on and on.

I want you to know that I have no real problem with Christianity at all, if only it would live up to what it claims to believe in. True Christians fail to stand up in any significant way to the ones they claim are not true Christians. No, that isn't right. Good people who claim to be the true Christians failed to stand up in any significant ways to the bad people that claim that they are the true Christians. Using a biblical reference, good people who are true Christians are the voice in the whirlwind.

You say that "all shouldn't be judged by the {standards of} the few godless hypocrites." I absolutely agree, but they are the ones that are quite loud and get very little pushback when they judge entire communities by the bad actions of a few people who may or may not even be a member of that community.

My favorite example is the current culture warrior cause du jour. Transgender people. The culture warriors scream about how women have to be protected from depredations of people with penises claiming that they are women and invading women spaces and harassing them, if not assaulting them. A person with a penis who is also a woman sounds an awful lot like a heterosexual man to me.

There are plenty of examples of this sort of thing, like the Catholic Church blaming gay people for kids millennial old molestation problem. Some of those priestly abusers might be same-sex attracted, some might even be termed homosexual. Many would probably be called pedophiles. Many are probably sexually confused, whatever that means this week.

But without a doubt, every one of them is predatory. And without a doubt, every single one of them is a Catholic priest.

And also without a doubt, there are only a couple of voices within the vast structure of the Catholic Church that are speaking out against blaming gay people for this millennia old problem.

Expand full comment

Exactly, Jesus was a gun-loving, capitalist, who believed in border walls and capital punishment. He gave lecture after lecture on the evils of wokism, transgender people and renewable energy. It's not like Jesus ever said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Nor does the bible every say stuff like "Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." or "The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." The bible never says that. Never forget what Jesus said, "I gots mine, now shove off."

Expand full comment

We atheists know a lot more about the bible than most believers.

Expand full comment

Why else do you think we’re atheists?

Expand full comment

"Look, what do you expect us to do, turn the other cheek?"

-various Christian oppressors (and warmongers)

Expand full comment

It’s not in the Old Testament, more the Jewish Bible than it’s in the New Testament where Jesus taught turning the other cheek, live by the sword die by the sword and saved women from being stoned to death. He was the ultimate pacifist, would not have held with guns or weapons of any kind and he was an advocate for women and children.

Even people who aren’t Christian’s can’t argue with his wisdom. These MAGAs never cracked the New Testament they like to quote the old, an eye for an eye type stuff but they attribute these sayings to Jesus when it’s not true. There’s a bunch of racist and haters, all that they’re for Jesus spoke against. They’re the most ignorant crowed I never knew existed until Trump brought them out of the woodwork and made them feel safe in preaching their hate. I would believe Trump is the antichrist except the antichrist is supposed to fool everyone and Trump doesn’t fool most of us.

Expand full comment

And JC was a ripped bodybuilder with blond hair and blue eyes according to a relative's Pulpit Pimp who "met JC in a Divine Vision"!

Expand full comment

First of all, Charlie Kirk has the kind of intellect that comes with being community college drop out. That he has the audience he does does not fill me with optimism for this country's future. Attempting to determine who was, or was not, a true Christian has spilled a river of blood, and no one in their right mind would leave that question up to Kirk. Mixing religion and government is the same terrible idea it has always been.

Expand full comment

Mixing church and state further corrupts both.

Expand full comment

Another thing the idiot doesn’t realize is that Jesus wouldn’t/didn’t get involved in politics and that’s going back pretty far yet these idiots insist on. Icing them and insisting that the founding fathers based tbe constitution on religion, meaning Christian of course and that’s the furthest thing from the truth.

Again it shows that most if not all of the MAGA idiots out there take his word and don’t bother to follow up when it’s so easy to do.

Got into an argument on X the other day and the guy was so totally dumb I had to stop. It was like arguing with a six year old.

Expand full comment

I’m an atheist except for all those I wish would go to that special place in hell.

Expand full comment

Well, if you take Dante's word on it, Kirk is a panderer - someone who exploits the passions of others to serve his own interests. Panderers reside in the 8th circle of hell, where they must eternally march around with no rest, being constantly whipped by demons.

So there you go. :)

Expand full comment

George: God would never let me be successful; he'd kill me first. He'd never let me be happy. Therapist: I thought you didn't believe in God?

George: I do for the bad things.

Expand full comment

Anton Scalia, Ted Skunkfucking Cruz, Gregg Abbott, Ron DeSantis, Dan Patrick, Mike Johnson, Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney-Barret, Ken Paxton... This list is getting really long now.

Expand full comment

When I die, if there's a hell, and I go there, I'll be so busy shaking hands with the other folks there, I won't have time to realize how miserable it is.

Expand full comment

Punishing people for eternity? Can't wrap my head around a Satan letting JesusGod tell him what to do. Particularly when he's surrounded by people who told the monstrous YHVH to essentially fuck off.

Seems Satan would be rewarding people and tweaking the Trinity instead. What's GodJesusHolySpirit gonna do about it?

Expand full comment

Yeah, that's how I feel.

Besides, Hell might be fun. All those hedonistic souls there....I might even be able to have my unrelieved crushes on famous actresses relieved at last...

Expand full comment

The "hell" of South Park.

Expand full comment

I loved how Satan had to choose between his two gay lovers: Saddam Hussein and Chris.

Saddam was great in bed, but mean to Satan.

Chris was good to Satan, but dull in bed.

Expand full comment

I hate to disappoint you, but if there is a heaven and hell, we atheists are going to heaven. Think about it. What greater hell can there be for us than spending eternity with Kenneth Copeland, Jerry Falwell, and Greg Locke?

Expand full comment

Agreed and I don’t see that as a contradiction. Maybe Karma, who can be a righteous bitch, will be the hell they deserve.

Expand full comment

I’ve seen Karma in action but not nearly enough

Expand full comment

Well to him I say as a True Trek Fan, you can't be a Christian and be a Real Kirk! So he must be a phoney!

Expand full comment

Evil Kirk due to a transporter malfunction. You can tell because his face is too small for his head.

Expand full comment

No, it's the Jim Kirk from the "Mirror, Mirror" episode.

Spock with the beard, the "captain's woman," Nichelle Nicholls at her absolute best.

Expand full comment

Lt. Marlena Moreau was played by BarBara Luna, who is still with us at age 85.

She's a Jewish kid from Manhattan with an Italian, Filipino, and Hungarian background, which gave her the look -- and voice, I guess -- to play Latino roles. She has done a LOT of work, even as Frank Sinatra's love interest in one movie.

That "Star Trek" role paid off for her...she's been the guest speaker at a lot of "Star Trek" conventions.

Expand full comment

Many Jewish actors ( Kirk, Spock, Checkov ) from Star Trek.

Expand full comment

It is kinda squishy.

Expand full comment

True Trek fans are atheists, like Star Trek's creator was. :)

Expand full comment

Pagan! :D

Expand full comment

As proud of it as you are a proud Atheist 😁

Expand full comment

For atheists, they certainly met a lot of gods.

Expand full comment

And all those alleged gods turned out to be phonies. Poseurs.

Expand full comment

Except he did offer an olive branch to believers in a couple of episodes. In one, Kirk declares we don't worship multiple gods - the one is enough for us. I believe that was in the episode depicting Apollo as a superior alien. Also the episode with the parallel world with modern day Romans and gladiators. The oppressed people of the planet were "Sun worshipers". Uhura later speculated they meant the "Son" as in son of god which gave the crew some joy.

Expand full comment

Set phasers on shirk, aims at Kirk's face....

Expand full comment

Can't be. No goatee.

Err...this was supposed to be a reply to Larry Parker...

Expand full comment

The goatee thing is only for Vulcans.

Expand full comment

That was in the parallel universe episode.

Expand full comment

IKR! I shudder to think of Kirk(Shatner) w/ a goatee O_o

Expand full comment

Hey, he once got disguised as a Romulan.

Expand full comment

Oh yeh, forgot about that one.

Expand full comment

As an outside observer, I don’t understand how any of these republicans can claim to be Christians. Not to say they aren’t, they most certainly are because I know that the religion has always been like them, it has never been about the teachings of Jesus, but using the credibility of Jesus’ goodness to gain control of the parts of the world they can get control over.

I’m just saying the hypocrisy of claiming Jesus as your savior and then doing the opposite of what Jesus taught. Not that I even think Jesus was the perfect good guy they make him out to be. But his overall message is quite different from what the GOP does and even says.

My point is that just as Kirk (the man with the shrinking face) claims you can’t be a democrat and a Christian, progressive Christian’s can claim the same regarding republicans. The Bible can be used to support either claim, and neither.

But what is certain, the country will not be the same once this shit is over. And democracy in the USA is at a crossroads.

Expand full comment

100% agree on republican / Christian. I fear the US may have already lost with regards to democracy. The 14th amendment was instituted to prevent popular politicians who are unconstitutional from holding office precisely because they are popular. Leaving it up to the voters means a) we allow Trump to win (PLEASE NO!) or b) he loses again and he continues to encourage his followers to riot (as he has already started doing). "The election will be rigged."

Expand full comment

I have a feeling the election will be rigged as the last election was setting up for this one. The Trump aligned group that audited the voting machines now have technical knowledge of and possibly access (if unauthorized) to the machines that they can use to manipulate them in Trump’s favor. Our only hope is a seriously huge landslide that would overcome any attempts at cheating and expose it.

Expand full comment

The Bible is a mirror, or Rorschach test, or the dark side cave on Dagobah. You only find what you bring with you.

Expand full comment

Truth.

Expand full comment

Funny thing. Since Jesus talked about loving your neighbor as yourself and the bible says in multiple places about supporting the stranger / foreigner in your midst and giving to the poor, it would seem to me that you can't be a Christian and vote Republican.

Then, too, the bible supports both sides of this stupid argument, and it doesn't take a lot of reading to find that out.

Expand full comment

Today's evangelicals tend to view human decency as a character flaw. I would never want to live in a world where they got to make all the rules.

Expand full comment

PRECISELY ... and neither would I.

Expand full comment

Seems like many Christians don’t love themselves.

Expand full comment

Well, I've got 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 much in common with them, at least. I don't like them, either!

Expand full comment

Joe Biden loves them more than they love themselves.

Expand full comment

Biden actually cares about PEOPLE, full stop. He's spent virtually all his professional life representing and serving first his constituents and then the whole country as president. Trump could rightly be called Biden's polar opposite, as he cares ONLY about himself, and service is a foreign concept to him.

Expand full comment

Service TO him he loves very much.

Service FROM him is an allergy.

Expand full comment

It's his job to try to love all U.S. Citizens. One of many reasons, I know I'm not qualified for the job, though I'm pretty sure I could do a better job than any Republican since Lincoln.

Expand full comment

I have often wondered how you can be a Christian and vote for Trump.

Expand full comment

It speaks to what Christianity actually amounts to. Authoritarian tribalism.

Expand full comment

Good point. I suppose that may be why there is so much support among the Evangelicals. I never thought of it that way. Of course, following the life and teachings of Jesus should bring one in the opposite direction.

Expand full comment

Matthew 6:5 is 𝙡𝒊𝙩𝒆𝙧𝒂𝙡𝒍𝙮 Jesus 𝙡𝒊𝙩𝒆𝙧𝒂𝙡𝒍𝙮 telling Christians to 𝙡𝒊𝙩𝒆𝙧𝒂𝙡𝒍𝙮 NOT to 𝙡𝒊𝙩𝒆𝙧𝒂𝙡𝒍𝙮 make a show of their religion.

𝐋i𝐭e𝐫a𝐥l𝐲.

Guess what they literally do instead?

Expand full comment

Verse 6, Jesus tells the people listening to him that all the attention hypocritical righteous types get praying publicly would be the ONLY reward they'd ever get. No heaven.

And in Verse 1, he says tells them if they do good deeds publicly to be seen by people, that it will cost them their reward from God in heaven.

Expand full comment

I guess this means that Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, who is also a reverend, can't vote for, um, himself. *rolls eyes*

Expand full comment

Statements like his make my eyes roll so hard they bowl a strike three states away. O_O

Expand full comment

Check "ye olde paint chip chart of true Christianity" Oh, he's not a true Chirstian, even close.

Expand full comment

Christian and voting for Biden.

Expand full comment

If drumpster and charlie kicked are the epitome of christianity count me happy to not be one and to live far away.

Republican and undecided women, remember they would strip you of all your hard won rights, actually they already started.

Expand full comment

But Lori Alexander keeps telling them they have to be a doormat in order to be loved. By their husbands and their God.

Expand full comment

There is a lot of them on my father side, the reward for their obedience ? More abuse.

Expand full comment

Claiming that Christianity requires the GOP and the GOP requires Christianity is only going to further damage both brands. For decades, they've been in bed together, exchanging their diseases, and the pathology is rapidly getting worse.

I don't think the pontificating Mr. Kirk won a single new member in either group with his insufferably conceited and arrogant remarks.

Keep up the good work, Charlie, you're helping us all toward a completely secular nation.

Expand full comment

The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq ALL ended at record highs today. Thanks Sleepy Joe 🥱

Expand full comment

Watch Trump try to grab credit for the great economy. He already did it once.

(He openly stated he wanted the US economy to crash so he could blame Biden. Then when it performed like a champ he tried to take the credit. Have I mentioned lately how much I despise Donald Trump?)

Expand full comment

About as often as I mention how much I despise Ted skunkfucking Cruz.

Expand full comment

Not in the last 60 seconds.

Expand full comment

Many claim that Christianity (or religion in general) teaches empathy. But people such as Charlie Kirk continuously show that the opposite is true. They are simply categorically unable to put themselves in the shoes of other people.

Expand full comment

The "real, true Christians" would murder Jesus again if he came back.

Expand full comment

In a heartbeat.

Expand full comment

I envision a coming Purity War in the GOP. Already we have even more extreme MAGAs challenging MAGA incumbents as not sufficiently worshipful of Dear Leader. Now we have Christians who aren't Christian enough, or Jews who aren't Jewish enough, it's all so confusing!

Trump has taken over the RNC and somehow they agreed to a deal where any money Trump raises goes to his legal bills first and then the RNC gets their cut.

Should be an interesting convention!

Expand full comment

The bloodbath will come in November if he loses and his endorsed candidates lose. At that point, not only will the neverTrumps come out of the woodwork, but a lot of GOPers who weren't neverTrumps will retcon that they were. Journalists like Hemant are going to have a field day, putting up side by side video of major GOP figures saying 'I fully support Trump' next to 'I never liked him and never supported him.'

But for the convention, I expect a one big happy, "we all love Trump and for God's sake evangelicals, don't make abortion an election issue" vibe.

Expand full comment

"Should be an interesting convention!"

Can you say "bloodbath?"

Expand full comment

I hope so.

Expand full comment

"Wisconsin is an open carry state with the right to bear arms, "

Interesting indeed.

Expand full comment

Not at the RNC!

Isn't it funny the two biggest gun supporting groups (NRA and the RNC) won't allow guns at their own conventions...

Expand full comment

"I don't care if other people (or their children) get killed as long as I get to feel powerful. But I'm not going to risk my *own* life (or my children's) to feel powerful. That would make me weak."

Expand full comment

But they need to arm bears.

Expand full comment

And yet no bears allowed.

Expand full comment

HAHAHA!

Trump? Sharing?

AHAHAHAHAA!!

Expand full comment