Covid-19
There are no easy answers about the vaccine, but you still have a choice.
Meet Christy Carpenter. This Alabama mom believed Covid-19 was a hoax. She and her two kids refused to get vaccinated. Christy and her sweet autistic son Curt contracted Covid-19 and Pneumonia, and spent a month in the hospital. Christy came home; Curt died.
“It took watching my son die and me suffering the effects of Covid for us to realize we need the vaccine,” Carpenter told The Washington Post. “We did not get vaccinated when we had the opportunity and regret that so much now.”
You may have heard of Stephen Harmon. The high profile 34-year-old Hillsong member, who had…
TV
I blame HBO and The Sopranos.
I’ve been sampling a lot of streaming shows lately from Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, etc. I used to be open to trying just about anything in the hopes of finding something that hit my sweet spot. But these days, as a genre (fantasy, scifi, action, etc.) fan, I’m usually disappointed by what I find.
Streaming has brought some welcome new opportunities for creators and showrunners, freeing them from the restrictions of pleasing advertisers and meddling network executives. …
EVANGELICAL TRUMPISTS
We need to have a come-to-Jesus meeting.
I can’t tell you how many times I started writing articles over the last four years about my permanent incredulity at the number of blind, blatant supporters Trump had from the Christian sector. Only to stop and never publish those articles.
I get that Evangelicals liked his policies without necessarily liking his behavior or personality. What I don’t get is how they were ever able to put policy above principle. …
Donald Trump
I watched the Parler videos so you don’t have to. The findings left me speechless.
ProPublica has gone through thousands of videos from Parler (before it was torn down) that were shot on January 6, 2021, the day that Trump-loving insurrectionists stormed the Capitol of the United States. ProPublica pulled several hundred of the most relevant videos and helpfully compiled them into a timeline of events.
The on-camera action captured by Trump’s actual supporters is… Well, it’s something. Something that defies explanation — and any and all expectations.
I’ve screencapped what I consider to be the most interesting highlights.
Health
There’s hope, but get ready for a fight.
I have Depression. The illness, not the mood. I was officially diagnosed over two decades ago. It sucks.
It sucks because of the uncontrollable mind job it does to you (no pun intended), and because most of the people around you have no idea what you’re going through, or how they can help.
COVID-19 is causing Depression diagnoses to surge, leading to a much higher patient:doctor ratio. End of the day, that means existing patients have greater difficulty getting the ongoing help they need, while new patients may not find help at all. …
Donald Trump | Joe Biden
He’s a real, normal human being who’s not a narcissist
With Donald Trump’s four-year reign of self-centered governing coming to an ignoble end, let’s take a quick look at the shameful, mortifying things Trump did. Because these are all things that Joe Biden most certainly will not do. (Since he’s a human with a conscience and honor and integrity.)
Understand: I don’t know Joe Biden. I can’t say with certainty what he will or won’t do as President of the United States. …
Government
Why do these outdated institutions still exist?
I was talking with a friend recently about the purpose of the Electoral College. She was in favor of the College; I am not.
I argued that no other free country in the world elects its leaders using an Elector system. It’s a popular vote across the board; one person, one vote. Equal ground for every voter, and every vote counts.
My friend argued that without the Electoral College, the votes and voices of the states with smaller populations, in the heartlands of America, would never be heard. “Look at the map,” she said. “Where do you see the majority…
Donald Trump
Join the Dark Side. You know you want to.
When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President on June 16, 2015, he tapped into a side of America that many citizens had no idea existed. A fear-based underbelly where there’s no such thing as compromise, where tribalism is the status quo, and where one’s every action is based on the tenet of Us vs. Them.
What started as a fervent fan club of a Presidential candidate has evolved into an entire belief system. It’s the stylish new religion that everybody who’s anybody is talking about!
Trump was elected in 2016 on promises of “draining the swamp,” vowing that he…
Donald Trump
If they were to control every branch of American government… What then?
“State, you may kiss the bride.”
As the political divide has grown infinitely wider and deeper in America, I’m not sure Conservative Christians, aka the “Religious Right,” have thought through just how hard they’re fighting for what they want. They seem to want control of the Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court. But to what end? Have they really thought it through?
If Christians, and Evangelicals in particular, are becoming obsessed with controlling American government — and from my observations and experience as one of them, they are — then their investment in human governmental affairs has gone way off…
Donald Trump
My Conservative Christian family & friends think I’ve lost my way. I’m not the one that changed.
I come from a very traditional family. I don’t know much about my family on my dad’s side; he was adopted. But my mom has a huge family that keeps growing all the time. And we love our traditions. We get together for Christmas for a big family potluck feast. We usually do the same at Easter.
We hug. Someone different is asked to pray over the meal each year (I’ve had my turn). When we finally eat, the kids go first in line; they have zero patience. We sit by an roaring fireplace. We tell stories. We laugh hysterically…
