Those who consider themselves the Lord's people work in mysterious ways. But the thing to remember is that they work. For decades, there's been a religious war in America. Not so much a war between religions, but one between those pushing a right-leaning, politically-infused Christianity and secularists who pray at the altar of the Constitution. I say it's a religious war, but for a long time, it's seemed like only one side is actually fighting. Many on Team Secular assumed issues like abortion, gay rights, keeping religion out of schools, and the broad tenets of the separation of church and state we're essentially settled. It's not that the secular side brought a knife to a gun fight. They didn't even know there was a fight. But, as you may have noticed from the rise of the Christian nationalism, the consistent decisions by the Supreme Court majority, the proselytising from administration officials, the attacks on women's health and gay rights, the book bans, the push to get the ten commandments into schools, etc, etc, in politics, nothing is settled. And now, just as secular America is waking up to the idea that, Hey, you got your church chocolate in my state peanut butter, religious America pushing Theodicies Peanut Butter Cups through government, schools, media, and even the Oval Office. It might sound laughable to imagine Donald Trump as the tip of a religious movement's spear—Little Lord Fauntleroy spreading the Lord's word—but the merging of this particular brand of church and what's left of our fragile state is no laughing matter. NYT (Gift Article): Behind Charlie Kirk’s Spiritual Journey That Fused Christianity and Politics. "Cabinet members and activists onstage Sunday repeatedly shared the Christian gospel message of salvation. Mr. Vance called him a 'martyr for the Christian faith.' Mr. Trump said 'he’s a martyr now for American freedom.” Those two, it appeared, were one and the same.'" Most Americans believe in the separation of church and state. But the only way to impact the fight is to get into the ring. Can I get an Amen? Or at least an OMFG? 2Poll Taxing"President Donald Trump is worried that Attorney General Pam Bondi is moving too slowly to prosecute his political adversaries on fake charges. Trump has good reason to be concerned. He is carrying out his project to consolidate authoritarian power against the trend of declining public support for his administration and himself." David Frum in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Trump Might Be Losing His Race Against Time. "The MAGA project in many ways resembles one of former businessman Donald Trump’s dangerously leveraged real-estate deals. A comparatively small number of fanatics are heart-and-soul committed. Through them, Trump controls the Republican apparatus and the right-wing media world, which allows him to do things like gerrymander states where he is in trouble (50 percent of Texans now disapprove of Trump, while only 43 percent approve) or wield the enforcement powers of the Federal Communications Commission to silence on-air critics. But overleveraged structures are susceptible to external shocks and internal mistakes." (This is somewhat hopeful. But Trump's race is not only against time. It's against the Americans who see things a different way. And that movement needs a clear, strong, unifying leader to harness its power, or time won't be on our side.) 3Enemy Minefield"In demanding that the attorney general go after his enemies, Donald Trump is upending fundamental norms of fairness and neutrality in the American legal system." Paul Rosenzweig in The Atlantic (Gift Article): A Most Profound Transgression. "The gravest sin here is not so much that Trump has an enemies list and that he is issuing kingly orders of retribution. It is that not a single elected Republican seems likely to stand up and condemn this total perversion of the American legal system. Government action should not be arbitrarily coercive and subject to the personal whims of our leaders. Sadly, it now is." (At this point, using the word Sadly to prepend a conclusion seems redundant.) 4The Silence of the Scams"Then he added, 'Here at Chase, we’ll never ask for your personal information or passwords.' On the contrary, he gave me more information — two 'cancellation codes' and a long case number with four letters and 10 digits. That’s when he offered to transfer me to his supervisor. That simple phrase, familiar from countless customer-service calls, draped a cloak of corporate competence over this unfolding drama. His supervisor. I mean, would a scammer have a supervisor?" NYT (Gift Article): I’ve Written About Loads of Scams. This One Almost Got Me. 5Extra, ExtraLaw Fighting: "A White House announcement about autism is expected Monday afternoon after President Donald Trump’s weekend comment that 'I think we found an answer' to the developmental disorder. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised earlier this year to determine the cause of autism by September. That baffled brain experts who say there is no single cause and that the rhetoric appears to ignore decades of science into the genetic and environmental factors that can play a role." And from NPR: The Trump administration is expected to link autism to Tylenol use during pregnancy. 6Bottom of the NewsWe Are the World: I attended the Laver Cup (Europe vs The World) with my wife over the weekend. We didn't get to see either of Taylor Fritz's major wins (ones that could change his career) over Zverev and Alcaraz, but it was a lot of fun and a great event for SF and tennis. It also allows me the type the most non-2025 phrase: The world won. (The Laver Cup is basically the last place where the USA is still part of the World team.)
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Monday, September 22, 2025
Battle Him of the Republic
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