Notes from Underground – October 2024

10/31/24 – This Halloween’s best costume goes to the kleptocrats, such as a certain evil person and his evil partner in crime, Elon Musk, who are wearing as costumes the uniforms of ordinary Americans, to con them into thinking they are one of them. They are engaging in this disguise to steal this country’s riches that has been created by the ordinary people who they loathe. The trick is on any and all of their supporters or voters. Happy Halloween!

10/30/24 – Most people – even well-educated people – have a hard time understanding basic macroeconomics. Basic macroeconomics. A government’s budget is nothing like an individual’s or even a large corporation’s budget. If you’re voting for a certain person because of his business background, not only was he a failure at his businesses but that experience DOES NOT translate well to managing a country’s economy or finances.
What should be the most obvious is that a government has control over its money supply. This is part of what we call monetary policy. No individual or corporation has this power. The other important difference is that government spending is part of the GDP identity: GDP is Y = C + I + G + NX. It is a hugely important part of the health of our economy. You can see it in this graphic here.
Components of GDP: Explanation, Formula and Chart
Elon Musk is a degenerate on every level: personal, moral, intellectual. It is absurd that a know-nothing with a severe god complex – who the American people have not elected to any position of power – thinks he should determine how our country operates. If his plan is implemented, there will be a severe recession, and it will damage our economy – in the long-term, not just in the short-term.
He and a certain person – the evil one – want to enslave the American people. Just know this now before you cast your vote. These people are all plutocrats. If you think they care about ordinary Americans, you are dead wrong. They despise you. They think you are stupid lowlives. Get it? You vote for them, and you could be helping to prove them right….
Musk’s Plan to Cut $2 Trillion in U.S. Spending Could Bring Economic Turmoil

10/29/24 – So, this is what you do. You drive, fly or take a train to a swing state and door knock for Harris Walz. If you can’t do this, you get on the phone and make calls. Some people are dedicating serious time to this because it’s just that important. Enjoy being outside during the best time of the year and getting to know your fellow citizens. The American people are wonderful!

10/29/24 – So, this is what you do. You go to vote early. Why? Because there will be fewer people, and you can be as neurotic as you want. You fill in everything extra carefully, especially your identifying information and your signature. You get your ballot. Then, you carefully fill in your ballot. Stare at it. Did you select Harris Walz? Are you sure? Stare at it again. Is the oval filled in perfectly? (In some states, you can take a picture of your ballot.) This is worthy of your obsession, not the other things people are getting distracted by. Then, you fold it up. Then, you unfold it, and look at it one last time. Then, you bring it to the ballot counting machine and watch it go in. Verify on the screen that it was processed. Lastly, you proudly put on your “I voted early” sticker and feel really good about yourself because this was the most stressful election of your life. You did it! You just contributed in the most meaningful way possible to saving our democracy. Patriot.

10/28/24 – We’re not giving the world an accurate representation of our people. Americans are some of the nicest people in the world. In our day-to-day lives, they are kind, helpful, generous, and very polite. Even if they might not like you for whatever reason, they tend to be polite. Yet that’s not what the world sees. They are seeing MAGA’s anger, gun violence, hateful rhetoric, etc., all of the negative expressions without seeing the positive ones. This skews their perception of our people.
We are also considerably warmer than some other parts of the world, such as northern Europe. Even in the Midwest, where people tend to be reserved, or the South, where people tend to be polite over honest, they express themselves. This natural expression, even if it is in disagreement, is an expression of warmth. They trust you enough to tell you what they really think and feel. They trust you to not get (too) offended but to accept it as where they’re at. It’s a testament to the openness of our society and the exercise of our right to free speech. We need to make sure that the world sees us as we actually are, not as some angry, uncouth caricature. Those people are few and far between.

10/27/24 – Many Americans are frustrated with the illegal immigration situation. It needs to be addressed. The frustration seems to be that especially more recent immigrants are getting the benefits of residing in our country without contributing to it over long periods of time. We need to consider if we’re giving resources that could be going to our indigenous people or our black people who were descendants of slaves to these more recent immigrants, who are coming here illegally. Our indigenous people lost the most, and our black people gave the most. Also, there are poor white people who have not been able to climb up the ladder for whatever reason, and they have also contributed greatly to our country. All of our fellow Americans are worthy of our sympathy and help. In general, we need to address in a calm and compassionate way this sense of unfairness they feel that is not entirely wrong while still maintaining our values as a nation to other people and other countries. There is merit to MAGA’s and other Americans’ argument, and perhaps more importantly, we are not doing a good enough job of responding to their pain.

10/27/24 – Door knocking is the best part of politics. Truly. Most Americans – yes, even many MAGA – are just really nice people. You will likely have some unpleasant interactions. It just goes with the territory. If you teach, you know exactly how this goes. You reflect on it, and think next time, I’m going to try this or that and see if it works better. Or I’m going to pause and just be present with this human being where they’re at. It is impossible for every single interaction to go perfectly. You will make mistakes, but you will also learn so much about others – and yourself.

10/27/24 – Is it possible for us to keep our eyes on the prize for the next 10 days? We have to save our democracy from the fascist groomer. Who cares about endorsements? Certainly not the people who read them or don’t read them. Come on, people. Progressives, we need a broad coalition to win. Deal with it. Nobody cares about your feelings. We care about our democracy. Focus on the things that actually matter. Thank you, and Happy Sunday!

10/26/24 – Pennsylvania, people! Democrats need to focus on it more.

10/26/24 – Also, according to the Times/Siena poll, his unfavorability ratings went from +6 on October 6 to +2 on October 23. In two weeks, public opinion of the person everyone knows all too well, who is more awful than ever, supposedly improved 4 points in their poll. Really? Based on what? Or did they change their methodology?

10/26/24 – The small donor donations, volunteers and ground game, and the favorability ratings, according to 538, as of today, a certain person unfavorable +8.7 and Harris +1.4, don’t reconcile with him winning the popular vote, which he never won. It wasn’t even close. You have to look at the totality of evidence, and when it’s not reconciling and going against established trends, such as Republicans having a big disadvantage in the popular vote, reconsider the methodology.

10/26/24 – If your poll is showing that a certain person is leading in the popular vote, you need to check your methodology.

10/25/24 – To the people who claim that Kamala Harris lacks core convictions, with respect, please do STFU. She has spent much of her life fighting to protect innocent people from predators. That’s not just a core conviction but also part of her life’s work. That’s what she’s doing right now also. She’s what stands between a groomer and the rest of the country, between autocracy and democracy. What have you done? Does this core conviction translate well to the Americans who are so obsessed with their own personal inconveniences, such as a moderate level of inflation, that they are prioritizing it over saving our democracy and everything else? Apparently not. It is what it is, but stop pretending that this situation reflects some deep weakness for the Democratic presidential candidate. It doesn’t.

10/24/24 – The most dangerous and most blatant groomer in the country right now is a certain person. Think about what it means to condition someone to something. “[A certain person] condition[s] his followers to accept his Big Lie about the election.” He has “conditioned” them to accept any lie, no matter how outrageous. A certain person is a groomer, and unfortunately for MAGA and, frankly, for the rest of us, they have been groomed. Regarding the question: “Is there ever a moment when you’re remembering too much?” Regarding January 6, no. Never forget.
Trump and the January 6 Memory Hole

10/24/24 – We want all the men in our country to know something important – our country and the women in our country need you. We have always needed you. Among many other things, we need your strength, your protection, your toughness, your vulnerability, your kindness, and your solidarity. We also very much need you to help us save our democracy by voting for Harris Walz.
We don’t want you to be anybody else but yourselves. We want you to be men. (But don’t do the annoying things, though, you know…toilet seats and such. Nobody needs that.) So, whatever messages the extreme right propagandists and a certain person are sending you, just ignore them. Work with the women in our country to build a nation we all deserve to live in – one that values all people and treats all of them with dignity and kindness. Thank you for everything you do for us and our country. God bless you.

10/23/24 – For a potentially historic election like this, you might want to get some Harris Walz merch.

10/23/24 – This is not a forecast, and everyone Team Harris Walz needs to push until the end. However, the small donor money might be a decent proxy for votes, as James Carville mentioned in The New York Times and as The Washington Post reported. If people are engaged enough to donate, they are likely engaged enough to vote. Did anyone analyze the data from 2020 with this hypothesis? Perhaps compare with this year.

10/21/24 – Speaking of working-class chic, our families were not financially wealthy, but we were wealthy in other ways. Our parents made us home-cooked meals with whole ingredients almost every day, partly because they couldn’t afford to do otherwise, but also because it simply tastes better. This is a very good idea. Small farms are much better for our environment, and this type of food is much healthier for our kids.
Another way we were wealthy also seems to have gone out of fashion. We not only ate good food together, but we also talked about culture, especially novels and art. Our families were filled with readers, and we enjoyed the art of a good conversation on textual analysis, art, and other topics that are often associated with the rich. We weren’t rich, but it didn’t matter because libraries are free and museums can be too.
Don’t think that just because you don’t have money, you can’t offer your kids a wealthy life. You can. Take the time to cook and eat healthy food together. Take the time to study and discuss the finer things in life. We are a product of this poor but rich life. You don’t have to have a lot of money to be cultured and healthy. You simply have to value the right things.
Harris should take Walz’s ‘liberal’ school lunch program national

10/21/24 – We are in the stage of the election when the plutocrat pretends to be a pleb. We all know that Harris and Walz were plebs because we all know that they weren’t born rich. We can all keep track of the plot and the point, right? Because that’s the plot and the point. Now, the amusing part of the absurdity is this: here is an evil, dictator wannabe, who’s never done an honest day’s work in his life, who calls his supporters, who for all of their shortcomings do actually work, “basement dwellers;” this person is trying on, that’s right, working-class chic. It’s a costume that’s he’s donning on his latest set. Next, the flannel that fills Walz’s closet because, well, he’s Minnesotan. We’re waiting for the hunting photo op, much like his son does. No, a certain person is not going to f—k working-class Americans over. He and his cronies, such as Elon Musk, also a plutocrat pretending to be a pleb, are not going to horde the nation’s wealth that working-class Americans create. He’s an everyday, working man, just like you.

10/20/24 – On this World Mission Day, we’re on a mission to save our planet, God’s glorious creation that is in great peril. Our planet is on the brink. It is entirely conceivable that all life on earth, which is also all known life in the universe, could come to an abrupt end. As people of faith, perhaps we should not be surprised, but being human, we likely still are. We want to thank our spiritual and religious sisters and brothers of all faith traditions around the world, who are often also indigenous people, for holding the line in this existential battle against the western scientism that is destroying our ancestral lands and the planet at such a rapid pace, we haven’t even fully processed the damage.
We want to give a particular shout out, again in the same week, to our American indigenous friends. We never forget what they did to you, in their arrogance and their unwillingness to live respectfully alongside nature, as you had done for millennia, instead of crushing it into nonexistence. Indigenous people of all spiritual and religious traditions, such as Jains, who treat our natural world with divine love and compassion, understand your pain and your loss. It’s actually all of humanity’s loss, but so many people are too busy amusing themselves to death to recognize the impending death of our planet.

10/20/24 – We would have liked to have shared this yesterday, on the Jewish Sabbath, but unfortunately, we were just too pissed off. We’re still not feeling joy, but maybe that’s the best time to share the article. Sukkot runs until the 23rd, so we have time to find some kind of joy by then. However, the topic couldn’t be better timed: “No matter how you feel, for seven days, practice humility, count your blessings, and gather with family and friends to share in food and drink – and joy will find you.” The killing of the monstrous terrorist Yahya Sinwar, at the start of Sukkot, October 16, was also rather providential.
PS We also noticed that several Christian authors have been writing articles supportive of the Jewish people, particularly during their holy time, which is now also a time of pain. Thank you for these acts of kindness and solidarity. Never again is realized by the sum of individual acts such as these.
Why Humility Is the Key to Well-Being

10/19/24 – At this point, the only thing the world needs from scientists is to clean up the mess they made on earth as noninvasively as possible. Give us back the planet that God gave us. That’s all we want and need, and then, simply disappear from our lives. Thank you, and have a nice day.

10/19/24 – We have a question for Elon Musk: Off the top of your head, can you name a single descendant of Genghis Khan? All this effort to dominate will leave him as a cautionary note in the annals of history, just like every single egomaniacal loser that came before him. (The hashtag belongs to Jack Dorsey.) #TheJesusWay is the only way.

10/19/24 – All true, but another truth is that in addition to businessman, Musk views himself as a scientist, an engineer, a neuroscientist, whatnot. The left supposedly despises the person that has a god complex just like the scientists that they love for doing the very same things: space exploration, basically eugenics (creating humans or superhumans in the lab), replacing humans with AI, etc., just without the overt greed. Ambition, including intellectual ambition, by the way, is also self-interest, in case the left is confused about that. It’s often confused. When you can’t see your own contradictions, in great part, because the self-proclaimed intellectuals have created an intellectual and social bubble around themselves, you’re in a sad, sad state. This is true of MAGA land, and it’s true of lalaliberal land.
Trump Is Elon Musk’s Trojan Horse

10/19/24 – The most dangerous person in the world is a human being who mistakes themselves for god. There are plenty on both the right and the left.

10/19/24 – Why is this presidential election so close? Because we have extreme groups on both sides who are vying for control, and the center is not holding. That’s why. As a country, we deserve to see a truly broad coalition of voters for the winning candidate and candidates with a true mandate. We cannot continue as we have been. This last point regarding the coalition was made by David Brooks, who is more or less a moderate/centrist, and who many on the left refuse to even read. Right now, the extreme left dominates the media and academia, and their science gods are a menace to all life any and everywhere.
Why the Heck Isn’t She Running Away With This?
“The New York Times columnist David Brooks, a longtime Republican who is backing Ms. Harris, recently explained why he is still not ‘fully comfortable’ with the Democratic Party. One reason is the self-congratulation that Democrats can’t seem to help displaying as they dominate the most highly educated segments of society: ‘The more they dominate the commanding heights of society, the more aggressively progressive aristocrats posture as marginalized victims of oppression.’ But most of my Democratic acquaintances have a response to this: They refuse to read anything by David Brooks.”
Why is the presidential election so close? Here are five reasons.
They call themselves intellectuals, and they won’t even read an opposing viewpoint. It’s disgusting. They are pseudo-intellectual quacks. Read it, leftists and scientists. You might actually learn something about yourselves and how much of the country sees you. It’s an objective and accurate assessment.
Confessions of a Republican Exile

10/19/24 – It is definitely a hard call which extreme group is more dangerous. In the short-term, the extreme right, with its affection for demagoguery. In the long-term, the extreme left, with its affection for “science,” by which they mean f—kery. In either case, human civilization and the planet will suffer, in many cases irreparably. Hard truth.

10/18/24 – As someone who considers nature my best friend, personally, I feel quite resentful and bitter about the damage “science” has done to it. So, the science worship will never be well-received for several reasons. Who do you think creates this crap that has done irreparable damage to our planet? Their job is just to observe the world God created and report their findings so we can better understand our natural biological and physical world. Instead, they want to bomb fjords and redirect ocean currents. (Totally absurd.) From weapons of war, including chemical and nuclear weapons, to industrial and household chemicals, to everything, they have done more damage in the past 100 years to the planet than all of human civilization before it. And this is who the left worships while simultaneously claiming to care about the planet. OK.

10/18/24 – This is a long article from 1998, and many readers are going to get lost in all of the details. The Atlantic should offer a summary…. (Ignore anything related to evolutionary theory, seriously.) As we understand the unnecessarily involved article and as it relates to climate change, the key points are that abrupt cooling can happen, often following a warm period, and the planet can take a long time to warm up again after the cooling occurs. The occurrence of abrupt cooling has to do with loops of global currents and (salt) flushing, which can fail for various reasons, one being that too much fresh water mixes with saltwater. This failed flushing later prevents adequate warm water from flowing far enough north to prevent the formation of ice sheets.
Now, for normal people, this means that the dumb MAGA were right in one sense: climate change is a natural phenomenon. However, they understand this change as solely moderate ebbs and flows. These exist, but so do the dramatic changes. The super smart science worshippers are also right in the sense that humans do affect these natural climate changes. Of course, we do, come on MAGA. What don’t we affect?
“We must be careful not to think of an abrupt cooling in response to global warming as just another self-regulatory device.” But that’s what it is. The earth has an internal mean reversion thermometer if you will. However, the scale of the climate’s response would likely be beyond what it would be in the absence of human contributions to climate change. This seems like an entirely reasonable conclusion.
Where the article goes off into lalaland: We are not at all fans of playing God and trying to prevent this natural cycle. Just accept the planet’s cycles as they are, or you can end up doing a lot more damage than you would otherwise do. If one wants to proactively enact policies to prevent displacement, food shortages, or other disruptions from climate change, that’s obviously fine. However, the planet is not a toy for overly confident scientists. It’s God’s creation, and the more they do to it, see the chemicals that are choking life on earth, the more trouble we get into. That’s a fact. If the scientific community had humility and intellectual honesty, they would acknowledge it.
Also, this is yet another appalling example of the science worshippers’ self-idolatry and their seething hatred of religion. “Medieval cathedral builders…undertakings were a far larger drain on the economic resources and people power of their day than anything yet discussed for stabilizing the climate in the twenty-first century.” (Read the suggestions to understand how preposterous this statement is.) We get it. They want more science jobs. That means more taxpayer money funneled to scientists to play around with their science toys, such as our planet. This also pulls resources away from people who don’t have their cushy, well-paid white-collar jobs and are simply trying to feed their families. And what would they deliver for the rest of us? “Fixing” the planet God created that science is currently destroying. Genius. From the gods of finance to the gods of science, some things never change. These people’s arrogance is truly disgusting.
The Great Climate Flip-Flop

10/17/24 – MAGA, you can bounce around from one billionaire to another, hoping that they will save you out of pity. (FYI: Your odds would be better buying lottery tickets.) Or you could try a strategy that actually works: Find solidarity with your fellow Americans, including liberals, who, like you, actually have to work to make a living. Just an idea.

10/17/24 – An interesting feature of modern capitalism is that companies are less inclined to compete for your business by providing you with a great service or product. (How do y’all feel about customer service?) They seem more interested in monopolizing the market. Does that sound familiar to anyone who knows their American labor and economic history?
It is an interesting strategy to pour money into a certain person’s campaign, find and support a scion, but ultimately decide only you can serve your own goals. It’s a very Muskian approach: The only plan is to change the plan. Many of these plutocrats or their progeny would enter politics to control the wheels of power. What better way to dominate markets but to dominate the law and to tailor it to serve oneself?
Although Musk has spread his sperm to rival Genghis Khan, he is still waiting to reap the financial dividends from his sperm spreading. In the meantime, how long before Elon Musk announces his bid for_____ (anything but president or VP since he’s ineligible) or requires repayment from a certain person by being given a powerful political position to serve, of course, himself? He, like a certain person, is entirely self-interested. Elon Musk, traitor, might be a step above, a certain person, insurrectionist, but, you know, this isn’t the shiniest moment in American history.

10/17/24 – MAGA, you want a better life. You have to unite with your fellow laborers, all of them. We don’t need a savior. (Some of us already have one in Jesus Christ. Thank you very much.) We are each other’s champions. We welcome you with open arms.

10/17/24 – MAGA, your “savior” will make you into a slave. You have little power now. You will be completely powerless in his fascist state. You have been warned.

10/17/24 – Don’t believe us. Listen to your fellow laborer, a descendant of this brutal legacy.
John Russell speaks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention | DNC Day 4

10/17/24 – Greed + Fascism = Terror

10/17/24 – If you aren’t one of them, you are what we call a laborer. Know what that means. Know what it has meant in our country’s history. It has meant that your life can be treated like it’s worthless. It has meant that you and your family can be subjected to state-sanctioned terror and oppression. MAGA wants to go back in time. That’s where they’re going to take us.
Plutocracy

10/17/24 – Elon Musk, traitor. Timothy Mellon, trust-fund traitor. While our valorous military sacrifice their lives to protect our country, our citizens and our freedom, these parasites want to devour more and more of our nation’s wealth even if it costs us our democracy and our freedom. Know who they are.
Elon Musk has given $75 million, so far, to put Donald Trump back in the White House

10/16/24 – We need more independents and union member leaders running for office. Solidarity forever.
Democrats thought their Senate hopes were dead. They were just in Nebraska.

10/16/24 – Cowards and pustules.
Liz Cheney says she regrets her past support for Donald Trump: Full interview

10/16/24 – There are pustules on the body politic. These pustules are filled with unprincipled ambition and greed. These pustules have different names, but they all share the same ignoble title – traitor. They have betrayed our country and our people. For this great sin, every single one of their names will be followed by their disgraceful title, traitor, and they will all be written into the American record. To a certain person’s wealthy donors who are trying to hide their names, current or future Americans will figure out who you are, and you and your progeny will be remembered as traitors to our democracy.

10/16/24 – Mark Milley reportedly told Bob Woodward that a certain person is “fascist to the core.” This is an objective and accurate assessment.  

10/16/24 – MAGA, he lost the election, and he lied to you about it. As God as our witness, that’s the truth.

10/15/24 – Let’s consider some other forms of denial. Rather apropos, how about election denialism. We’ve had countless number of media figures, politicians, celebrities, you name it, try to convince MAGA that a certain person lost the election, all to no avail. Although it seems impossible to succeed at this daunting task, we would be remiss if we stopped trying. We do think MAGA can get there. It’s just a matter of if it will be too late for our country by the time they do.
MAGA, he lost the election. It’s a fact. There was no rigging or cheating. He simply lost, and he lied to you about it. We understand. You need someone to believe in because you have been let down. (Both parties did let you down.) He comes along, says what you want to hear, and it’s like music to your ears. Many of you are also predisposed to loyalty, which is usually a positive trait, with some exceptions. One of the most important exceptions is when you’re wrong in your assessment of the character of the person to whom you’re giving your loyalty. Instead of being your champion, he has manipulated your emotions to his own benefit and to the peril of our country.
What are some of the objective assessments of a certain person? He is a “person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is about.” This article compares him to George Washington, who Americans revere for many great reasons, foremost among them are: his sacrifice for our nation, his leadership by example, and his self-restraint. From the article, “No president in history, not even the worst moral weaklings among them, is further from Washington than Trump.” It is an objective and accurate assessment. MAGA, we encourage you to listen to or read the whole article. You might learn something about Washington, our first president, a certain person, our country, and most importantly, yourselves.
The Moment of Truth

10/15/24 – Public service announcement: Time exists. We understand that its abstract nature might make it hard for people to fully grasp it, but let’s try. From the beginning of the universe, as matter was created, so was time. Time marks the birth, and wait for it, the change and the death of matter. From our perspective, this is part of the divine order. Civilizations and calendars vary in how they measure time, but they all measure this abstract concept.
Now, why does this come as a public service announcement? Because it seems that some people want to deny the existence of time. This is as futile as denying the existence of our sun. With time, comes change. No one can stop time and change. You can rage against the dying of the light, but our sun will remain, marking the seasons and the years, and you will die. So too, at some point in the distant future, will our sun.
Our climate is changing. You can deny this reality, but it might end up being a very costly denial. If you are a homeowner, know that just as mortality is real, climate change is real. If we measure superiority by survival, some of the world’s most superior creatures are insects, such as the cockroach, which has outlived the dinosaurs. Although inconvenient for evolutionary theory, let us not confuse intelligence with survival.
Continuing to live in areas that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change is continuing to engage in the denial of the existence of time and change. Although the human brain is sophisticated enough to come up with all kinds of delusions and irrational justifications, this doesn’t mean that they are actually in service of our own survival, not to mention, even remotely tethered to basic physics.
So, again, why do we point out all of these facts in the context of a public service announcement? Well, you might consider adjusting your plans to account for these changes. You might consider accounting for the fact that time exists, and it doesn’t care about you. Even if human beings didn’t contribute to climate change (we do), the climate would change, in ways beyond our control, because it obeys God’s divine order. And since the beginning of the universe, God’s divine order involves time and change.

10/14/24 – It is an interesting strategy to go to some of the bluest states and the bluest cities to try to convince their happy people to be miserable too. Looking at you, a certain person/Vance. We understand that this ticket has a penchant for insults and are perpetual malcontents, but, you know, the rest of us just don’t and aren’t. It might have something to do with our high-quality of life because we live in places where people care for each other instead of hating each other. Next time, come to learn kindness instead of coming to preach hate. You might actually grow as a human being.   

10/14/24 – “The quiet as old as the beginning of time.” As someone who practices contemplative prayer, the quiet is part of my connection with the divine. How can one hear the voice of God when one is always listening to the monkey in one’s head, other people, and the sounds of our unnecessarily complicated lives?
Traditional Republicans were also often conservationists. They understood the value of the natural world. By investing in nature, we also invest in ourselves. Investing in it, including the wild, pristine parts, is wise. 
Personally, nature was my first friend, and it remains my best friend. In it, I found a divine comfort that continues to serve me well. Just as God is always there for me, nature is always there for me. Reveling in God’s creation in its abundance and awe makes me feel grateful simply to be alive. What a gift life is, my own and everything around me.
Like all of us, our indigenous sisters and brothers weren’t perfect, but they understood and respected the value of nature. We could learn from them and return to a way of life that respects God’s creation. White people have been dangerously good at obtaining material wealth and worldly power. They haven’t been good at appreciating the wealth that they had no role in creating, our natural world whose value is infinite, and divine power. Let’s replace this misguided value system with one that elevates God’s creation, in its splendid biodiversity.
We have suggested that people, especially our fellow Americans during this election season, breathe. We also suggest that they spend some time breathing in nature and in silence. Silence is an ancient prayer, one that is as old as the beginning of time. There was no matter, no light, and no sound. There was also no time. There was nothing. Everything that you are, everything that you feel, see and hear, none of it was made by you. It was all made by our creator. All we did was change the composition of God’s existing material. In our misguided pursuit of material wealth and comfort, we have lost so much.
Preserving biodiversity isn’t just about protecting our planet and God’s other creations. It’s about restoring ourselves. We are not whole. We are not oriented to our creator. So, how could we possibly be whole? Instead, we are broken and lost. We either choose to control our destructive, insatiable appetites for power, wealth and comfort, or we lose everything that actually matters. We lose what God gave us, and we will have only our transformation of it. It will be a disappointment and a regret. It already is.
Nations Must Protect What Is Still Wild

10/13/24 – One of the amazing aspects of The Atlantic, founded in 1857, is how long it’s been around. Its own archive is also a national treasure. There aren’t many publications that can boast this. As the article mentions, it has endorsed a candidate for president only four previous times in its entire history: Lincoln, for obvious reasons, in 1860, Lyndon B. Johnson because of the unfitness of his opponent, Barry Goldwater, in 1964, Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, both times because of the unfitness of the opponent. And here we are again, America. Again. Three times with the same guy for the same reasons. God help us.
As The Atlantic notes, this election is yet another turning point. Of the three times, 2016, 2020 and 2024, this time is the most crucial. We are asking you to think about something bigger than yourselves. We are asking you to think about the fate of the American experiment. We are humbly asking you to trust our judgment and our ability to see into the character of this man and into the future of our country under him for a second term. If you can’t trust us, then look at yourselves. Look hard. When you have to preface your support of someone with, “I don’t like how he talks or treats people…,” there is a serious problem. Whatever words come after those words are irrelevant, no matter how important they seem at this particular moment in time. In other words, do not be penny-wise, pound-foolish.
The Case for Kamala Harris

10/13/24 – “I was looking for a country I want to live in.” An informative and funny article about the important and patriotic work the National Archives does. In families, there are often a few people who tend to the documentation of its history. They make the family tree, preserve the photographs, and painstakingly go through a life’s worth of stuff to keep the things that must be kept. They do so for future generations to see, read, feel and weep as they connect with their ancestors.
Our country is a family, and we are making our collective history each and every day we live here. Every day, often without realizing it, ordinary Americans are contributing to our National Archives. Think about the implications of this. Will you be proud of what future Americans see documented about you and your family?
The Equalizer

10/13/24 – “Penny-wise, but pound-foolish.” One of the sad facts about Republicans is that they tend to vote based on lowering taxes and presumably raising their own personal finances and quality of life. This is not a smart approach. Of course, we expect the government to be good stewards of the American people’s purse, and where there is “fraud, waste and abuse,” as the phrasing goes, it should be eliminated. But a people who are pound-wise understand that paying taxes is an investment in ourselves, our country, and the world.
Do you really want to live in a country that does not invest in itself and its people? You can’t live in a bubble. You can’t pay for your own infrastructure, military, local, state and national parks, police, emergency responders, etc. You also can’t pay for your own safety net. Do you know why? Because you don’t know what might happen in the future, not just to you, but also to your friends and family.
A government is more than a bureaucracy. It is a statement of values, and on a practical level, we pool our money to express those values. Solidarity is a verb, and one of the most common expressions of it as Americans is simply paying our taxes. Do so with a generosity of spirit, without grievance, jealousy or bitterness, and do so with the wisdom of investment in yourself, your own family and the other Americans without whom you couldn’t build this great country.

10/13/24 – To everybody: Disconnecting is healthy and wonderful. The more usual and regular posts will start again soon. Hope you enjoy this beautiful fall day. Peace be with you, friends.

10/13/24 – To MAGA world, who are also our fellow countrymen and women, we have a suggestion. Disconnect from the unreal world you’re living in, and spend some time in the real one. Don’t follow anything related to the news or your absurd conspiracy theories, which are like an alien invasion of the mind. The lies have taken over your brains, and they have ceased to operate in the way God intended. Remember: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Truth is fundamental to Christianity. When you stop practicing truth, you stop practicing Christianity.
Instead of living in your unreal world, come hang out with us in our blue areas. Go to where your “enemies” live, and see how they live. You might find that it’s actually quite nice. We have a high-quality of life because we pay for it. We pay more in taxes than in red states, and our money goes to our people, our schools, our parks, our roads, our infrastructure, our everything that we value. Are we ever excited about paying taxes? No, but we understand that this is the cost to live in a great area that is well-managed and that this is what it looks like to take care of each other. We also, are you ready for this, help the red areas of the country pay their bills. More likely than not, we send you money.
But this isn’t about money. This is about our country. This is about you stepping out from behind the screen that is feeding you a world that doesn’t exist and stepping into the world that actually does. Come and check us out. We welcome you. Come and talk with your fellow Americans and see how we live, how we treat each other, and what we value. Then, let’s talk. Tell us what you find. We’re listening to you. God bless you.

10/8/24 – Studying the Christian and Jewish texts is addictive. It’s like gardening. You start with one plant, and before you know it, it’s acres of garden. Just like that, the bumble bees are so fat that they fall asleep on your flowers. They are so gluttonous that they don’t care that you are stroking them. They are in bee paradise. You start with one word; well, what about this one and that one. Before you know it, you’re feasting on the Word of God.

10/7/24 – To the Jewish people, we love you. God loves you. We pray for the safe return of the remaining hostages, for the beautiful souls brutally taken from you, for God’s comfort to their families and to you, his Chosen People. We don’t really have the words for moments like these, but you already have them. Today, we pray and read our religious texts. Remember this: although it might not always feel like it, you are not alone. You are never alone. God is with you, and there are good people in the world who will always be there for you, no matter what. Peace be with you. Shalom.
October 7, 2024: Sources for Grief and Comfort

10/6/24 – As a point of clarification: we are not interested in “determining the authenticity of people’s faith” (see below) as it relates to conversions. People will come to conversion in different ways, different measures of head and heart that is impossible for others to truly understand. However, the long initiation process in traditional Christianity is intended to act as a vetting process. It is an important process to retain. However, we do feel entirely comfortable, in fact, that it is a duty to maintain the integrity of the religion and to ask people to leave who violate fundamental tenets of the faith. A red line is worshipping a false god, which is what “Christian nationalists” are doing. It is extremely damaging to the faith, and if left unchecked, it can metastasize and corrupt the body of Christ.  

10/6/24 – The Catholic Church’s leadership is not rising to the challenges of the moment. The leadership has not been focused on Jesus Christ and our faith. It is preoccupied with worldly things.

10/6/24 – Tomorrow, October 7 will be reserved for the Jewish people, who have been persecuted throughout much of their existence. We wish them peace and love. We have been and will always be there for them. Even if the entire world turns on them, we will never abandon them. Our loyalties are always with the people who sacrifice the most and who are the most vulnerable.
The plight of the Palestinians also brings the world much heartache. We are sympathetic to the cry of their innocents. All people of goodwill wish there would be peace in the Holy Land. For the three Abrahamic religions, it is a sacred place. The scale of Palestinian deaths and the destruction of their lives are painful to us. We blame the current Israeli “leadership,” mainly Netanyahu.
Our parent religion is Judaism. This is a historical fact. Any denialism of facts will be met with assertion of truths. We do not receive lies with sympathy. We also do not receive any violence with sympathy. A sad fact about the Middle East is that militant Islam has terrorized the region. It does so presently in Afghanistan and Syria. It has repressive regimes, such as in Saudi Arabia and Iran. All of them treat women as property instead of as human beings with the rights endowed to them by their creator, the God of Abraham.
Militant Islam has driven massive populations of Muslims to misery and fleeing to the safety of regions beyond their homelands. It is a cancer that has metastasized throughout much of the world, especially African countries, with notable exceptions, such as in India. We want to thank our Muslim brothers and sisters in India who have resisted the siren call of extremism. Thank you for peacefully and patiently fighting against Hindu extremism in India.
Islam is the youngest of the Abrahamic religions. This is a fact. Yet it wants to dominate the lands to which the parent religion, the Jewish religion, belongs. This is simply unacceptable. Extremist Islam has driven out the Christians who are original to the Holy Land and the Levant. These Christians can trace their ancestry to the origins of the faith and to this land. They cannot live there because of how violent and intolerant the region has become due to militant Islam.
We have some suggestions for Islam. Practice more peace, humility and tolerance. Also, Judaism and the more traditional forms of Christianity, such as Catholicism, have long periods of initiation into the faith. In the Catholic tradition, it can take over a year to convert. We also do not force people to become or to remain Christian. It would be a violation of their God-given rights and would be spiritually meaningless. Although cradle Catholics are initiated by baptism as infants, it is only one of the three Christian rites of initiation. The other two span the life of the young person. We want people to understand and to think deeply about the demands of our faith. They are considerable, and it is not an easy religion to practice correctly. We also want people to build a personal relationship with our God, especially the Son in the Trinity, Jesus Christ. We ask MAGA “Christians,” who often belong to denominations with less extensive initiation rites, to leave Christianity. They are always welcome back when they can adhere to the tenets and the rigors of our faith.
We encourage Islam to adopt a rigorous initiation process, as both Judaism and traditional Christianity have. We also encourage Muslims to allow their adherents to leave the religion if they so choose. God does not force religion on anyone. We come to him by our choice. We choose to give of our free will our hearts and our lives to him. This change would greatly mitigate the militant strain in Islam. God made us free. Respect the God of Abraham. Peace to our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters. May you be instruments of God’s peace.

10/4/24 – Love is more important than politics. We ask blue-collar workers to vote with us, your fellow laborers, for Harris Walz because we think they will be better for labor and for our country. However, we want our first responders to know that you have our hearts, and we have your back no matter what. If a certain person ends up disappointing you, we will not blame you. We will keep fighting for you because you fight for us.
In Michigan, Harris doesn’t get hoped-for firefighters endorsement amid shifting labor loyalties

10/4/24 – Flashback Friday. 8/31/23 – “Men (as a group and to a significant extent) are larger, faster, and stronger than women. This cannot be disputed, and it cannot be understood as some irrelevancy, because it comes with an obvious moral question that each man must answer for himself: Will he use his strength to dominate the weak, or to protect them?… The opposite of toxic masculinity is heroic masculinity…. [I can’t remember the number of times I have cried, more accurately, sobbed when I have thought about this.] Heroic masculinity is the understanding that someone has to climb the endless staircases in the towers. On 9/11, 343 New York City firefighters died at Ground Zero, and there wasn’t one of them who didn’t know, or at least suspect, that he was climbing to his death. They didn’t do it because of a union contract or an employee handbook. They climbed those towers because they knew that it must be written into the American record that heroes were there that day, and that the desperate people inside those buildings had never—not once—been abandoned.” To those who sacrificed their lives for us and their relatives, know that they live in our hearts, minds and souls. We love them with a genuine, grateful love that’s as eternal as their heroic souls.
In Praise of Heroic Masculinity

10/4/24 – To the propaganda: start humbling yourselves and start treating your fellow laborers (and Americans) with more respect and value. You are not better than they are. Start practicing some humility.

10/4/24 – As a reiteration of the argument made in September 2024: The statement that “all people are equal” is false. It is objectively false. The statement that “all people are created equal” is true. It is not an objective statement. It is a moral declaration based on Judeo-Christian tenets. Any conclusions derived from it as an assumption, therefore, depend on this Judeo-Christian belief. Liberal atheists: stop deluding yourselves to claim the contrary.
Although we are unaware of all of these developments regarding conversions and such, we do know that for over 2,000 years, the church has been evolving. We also have no interest in determining the authenticity of people’s faith. Christianity will continue to evolve, and believers of various stripes will come and go. We welcome all new believers to the church, but we want the wealthy, well-educated ones to remember something: you are not the heart of our church. Our church belongs to our God, and Jesus Christ valued above all the poor, the powerless, and the marginalized.
Personally, I would love to claim that my heart just knew, and it alone informed my confirmation. However, it was not the case. I read and analyzed the Gospel for and by myself, and I decided it was true. I also realized that I loved Jesus Christ, while simultaneously understanding that this was a totally irrational love. I marveled at it then and still do now. My head led, convinced by logic, and my heart sealed the decision.
There are millions of people around the world who come to Christ because their hearts just know. They don’t have the same kind of self-consciousness or even surprise that I had at my heart. They might be illiterate, poor, powerless, but they understand him better than many of us will ever understand him. So, while we welcome everyone, the rest of us, including myself, need to walk into the Lord’s house in a posture of humility and gratitude.
Some of Christianity’s Biggest Skeptics Are Becoming Vocal Converts

10/3/24 – To all the blue-collar workers out there, we want you to know something important. We respect you. We value you. And we hear you. The only difference between blue-collar workers and teachers, nurses, and others is that the latter group has to have a college education to work in their profession. We are all laborers. That’s all we are, and that’s all we want to be. Blue-collar workers, we have your back. We are not elites. We are simple folk like you. We work hard, and we come home to our families and our communities that we love. Many of us are God-fearing people.
The Biden Harris administration did more for blue-collar and union workers than the Democratic Party has done in a long time. A certain person is lying to you. The older generation was right. The Republican Party is the party of the business elite. That is who a certain person is. He is a business elite. Although his running mate has more potential to be convinced of our positions, at the moment, he has become a business elite. They are not being honest with you.
Did the Democratic Party before Biden Harris leave blue-collar workers behind? They did, and they need to own that. However, the Biden Harris administration has made changes that we can build on. On a cultural level, the “wokeness” on the left is out of control. Let’s push back on it by splitting the ticket: voting for Republicans or Independents on other races, not the presidential one. Remember: we are laborers, like you, and we have mutual interests. Vote for Harris Walz, and work with us to move this country in the right direction. Solidarity forever.

10/2/24 – Please note that both abortion and immigration are important issues for Catholics. We do not like dehumanizing treatment of immigrants. Stop the demagoguery. Some commentary on the VP debate without the breathlessness. “The U.S. bishops have been lobbying for comprehensive immigration reform for decades. To learn more about their efforts, visit the bishops’ Justice for Immigrants website.”
Vance and Walz showed Americans how to politely disagree. Here are six Catholic takeaways from their debate.

10/2/24 – The liberals went from holding their breath during Biden’s disastrous debate performance to hyperventilating over Vance’s strong debate performance last night. Maybe try just breathing properly. It was a VP debate a month before the election, when most people have already made up their minds.
But of course, that’s not what this is really about. It’s about their sudden realization, with great fear, that Vance has real political potential. (We wrote about this way back when, after the Republican National Convention.) Ironically, the liberals presumably underwent a similar realization, with great elation, with Kamala Harris. In any case, all the breathless commentary all the time is rather tedious. Breathe.
Childish insults and demeaning comments are beneath Vance, who is obviously not an idiot like a certain person. It is also insulting to his own character and intelligence to cover up for a certain person, especially denying that he lost the election and incited January 6th. Many of us watched it with our own eyes. A certain person lost the election, refused to accept his loss and incited an insurrection. These are the facts, and many if not most Americans agree on them. Don’t insult our intelligence or your own.
We also understand that kissing the ring means reciting the lie. That’s the present state of the Republican Party. Vance’s political prospects are promising, but they would be even more so if he would stop dancing with lies. Also, as far as unpopular positions, such as abortion, both sides ended up sharing their positions but in evasive ways. Late-term abortions are not popular, and that’s why Walz (and Harris) danced around it. An abortion ban is not popular, and that’s why Vance (and a certain person) danced around it. Both men had more in common than misspeaking. They both avoided telling the truth about inconvenient lies and clearly and directly stating what their positions are when they know they are unpopular. Here’s an idea: maybe just tell the truth and moderate those positions.

10/1/24 – Thank you to both VP candidates for a substantive and civil debate. The American people won.

10/1/24 – The propaganda, which doesn’t include The Atlantic, needs to own up to the fact that they have contributed to the dumbing and the decline of the American youth. The proof is in the pudding. If their scientism and their wokeness are so great, then why is the American youth so much worse off? On practically every metric, they are worse off than they were: attention span, productive struggle, intellectual ability, especially critical thinking and analytical ability, writing ability, which has always involved argumentation, creativity and facility with language, mathematical ability, interpersonal skills, mental health, and on and on. There likely isn’t an educator of a certain age that hasn’t noticed a marked decline. It’s pathetic. So, spare us the bulls—t. It’s either there, or it isn’t there. And it’s definitely not there. The propaganda, which is dominated by liberals, often atheists, is in great part to blame for it because they help set the cultural tone for the country. They pushed us and the culture to this place. And now, here we are.
The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books

Notes from Underground – October 2023

10/30/23 – The Jewish people’s religious texts are also historical documents. The American (far) left are bigoted, self-righteous, antisemitic ignoramuses who take up positions based on cult/tribes/political identity instead of any commitment to truth and historical fact. F—k them! This moment has exposed them for who they’ve been all along, and it all needs to be said.

10/30/23 – Hamas is a terrorist organization. It is evil. There are no excuses for them, and the leftists who are doing so are also evil.

10/30/23 – There is no Islam without Judaism. This is an undeniable fact. Moses was a Jew. This is the same Prophet Moses to which the Quran/Koran refers, the Prophet Moses from the Jewish people’s Bible, the Hebrew Bible, which predates Christian and Muslim religious texts by a lot – millennia. Respect God’s wishes. All of us are mere mortals. God is God. God is I am.

10/30/23 – From the Hebrew Bible, the books of Moses, the oldest religious texts in the world, simplified so even the (far) left can understand it. The promised land is Israel. The Hebrews are who we now call the Jewish people. Have a nice day.
God shows Moses the Promised Land

10/30/23 – When the (far) left shows you who they really are, you should believe them.

10/27/23 – Please stop inundating us with idiocy. Thank you, and have a nice day.

10/27/23 – What the f—k is “Biden’s economy”? What does that even mean? It’s meaningless. It’s not the president’s economy when it’s good, and it’s not the president’s economy when it’s bad. If it’s anybody’s economy, it’s the Fed’s economy, as it has been pretty much since the institution was created. If you don’t like the economy, blame them. Or the warmongers and the evil poop in Russia. Or the authoritarian a—holes in the Middle East. Or the greedy corporations. Or the rich a—holes. Or yourself because whether or not you realize it, you’re likely part of the problem. There’s also that.

10/25/23 – This. They didn’t get the evil one, but they got someone who’s worse than McCarthy. “10/4/23 – Apparently, they are planning to nominate the evil one, trump, for speaker. So, if they do so, what will Democrats do? Or they didn’t bother to think through their position? 10/4/23 – McCarthy also prevented the federal government from shutting down. If one is going to say a bunch of negative things that are entirely correct, one does also need to acknowledge the positive things that are also correct. There are certain people who are evil, such as the evil one, Trump, and one doesn’t need to do this with them. But McCarthy isn’t evil. He’s actually a rather run-of-the-mill politician. “Kevin McCarthy gave up his soul not for Wales but for something worse—Donald Trump. It will be of little comfort to McCarthy to know he’s hardly the only one to have done so.” Didn’t the evil one want the shutdown? McCarthy was punished immediately after he did the right thing and prevented it. Tell us: how do reinforcement and punishment work? What message does this send to other Republicans who do the right thing? Encourage the behavior you want to see in others.
Kevin McCarthy Got What He Deserved

10/24/23 – Christianity as Jesus Christ taught us is perfect. Christian religious institutions, like many other institutions, are imperfect, but we can’t simply give up on our institutions. We need to force them to reform and to build them better and stronger. We have to build everything together as a community. Community is everything.

10/24/23 – Absolutely! Pro-union is pro-people. Christianity is all about people. Thus, this alignment makes total sense. “Fain’s religion seems especially sensitive to the needs of the working poor. Part of the appeal of left Christianity is the notion that all of the resources one needs for sustaining a worldview focused on the needs of workers, the poor, and the dispossessed are already inside the faith. ‘My favorite verse, period, is Ecclesiastes 4:9–12,’ Fain told me. ‘I mean, that’s to me what the union’s all about; it’s what solidarity’s all about.’ Fain recited the verse, which advises that two or more workers striving together achieve greater strength and security than a single worker laboring alone. ‘My favorite line in that is “A cord of three strands is not easily broken,”’ he added. Fain said that the verse ‘speaks about what life’s about: standing together and helping one another and loving one another.’”
Shawn Fain’s Old-Time Religion

10/24/23 – To the Republicans who think you don’t have to compromise, f—k you and f—k you some more. You’re in the vast minority. No country can function well without compromise. You don’t get everything your way! A—holes.
Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on the Republicans’ struggle to choose a House speaker

10/23/23 – Fall is the best season. Enjoy!
Fall Is in the Air: Images of the Season

10/22/23 – Sacred birds. Buddhism is peace. Happy Sunday!
The sacred birds of longevity revered in Bhutan

10/20/23 – The more important economics is actually home economics. It’s very important to learn how to mend, sew, knit, garden, cook, and such. These are very practical skills that will save you lots of money, which you can then invest wisely. It is both home and economics. Meanwhile economics is just a bunch of bloviating white men who won’t update their knowledge or the discipline…perhaps with some exceptions.

10/20/23 – Economics, the discipline that refuses to evolve. Institutional inertia is everywhere, but economics is particularly inert. “Don’t let the dry econ-speak fool you. For someone in Goolsbee’s position, a sentence like that is the equivalent of standing on the steps of the Federal Reserve with a bullhorn screaming, ‘Stop before you crash the economy!’
‘If you believe that the only way to bring inflation down is to adopt a tighter policy,” Goolsbee told me recently, ‘then by the time you realized that wasn’t the case, you’d have created a recession that was not necessary.’
Causing a recession in order to tame inflation is painful enough. Causing a recession when inflation is already getting under control would be tragic. The past year has been something of an economic miracle. Against all odds, we didn’t actually need a recession to bring down inflation. But if the Fed is unwilling to accept the good news, then we just may get one anyway.”

Something was posted here way back in March. What was that again? Oh yes, this.
“3/17/23 – Going to try to say this as calmly as possible. From the beginning, we have been saying (i.e., berating the Fed on Twitter, which is dead) not to raise rates. The a—holes with their econ 101 textbooks have been saying raise rates. A lot of the inflation was due to supply-side issues. Basic logic dictates that is what needs to be addressed to bring down inflation. Those are policy issues that the Biden administration and Congress need to tackle. This is not the god—m 1970s. Stop with the Milton Friedman s—t. The financial system, the economy, everything has changed, and on top of all of that, the world is emerging from a pandemic. The elevated demand was mainly due to that. And there is a war. Instead of taking a nuanced approach to economic policy, it’s a formulaic approach that does not suit this case. If the Fed is too incompetent to manage the economy, it needs to be completely overhauled. Fire and hire until it can do its job correctly. This entire f—king banking crisis fiasco, not to mention the higher debt servicing both for regular folk and the government, which is ultimately paid for by the taxpayers, is because of the higher interest rates. In addition, the financial system, which has been drunk at the punch bowl (low interest rate environment) for how long is it, almost a half a century, give or take, is an alcoholic. It is brittle. Raising rates this aggressively over a short period of time is going to destabilize it. So, f—k you to everyone who’s a bloviating moron about inflation, finance and economics. You are a contributor to this mess. Thank you, and have a nice day.”
The 1970s Economic Theory That Needs to Die
Notes from Underground – March 2023

10/18/23 – The incompetence and indifference of child protection services is shocking. Is anybody going to fix this f—king sick situation that can be found around the country? “Mickel Cherry, a 25-year-old homeless man, is charged with first-degree murder, rape and capital murder, and could face the death penalty. Authorities haven’t said how Zoey died…. DCF opened another investigation as a result of Zoey’s death.”
Kansas agency investigated girl’s family 5 times before she was killed, a report shows

10/18/23 – Just curious. There are so many Muslims suffering in the world, many in Muslim majority countries. Why is it that the loony left has chosen the Palestinian cause? Is it really about the Palestinians or about something else, say anti-Semitism?
UN refugee chief says Rohingya who fled Myanmar must not be forgotten during other world crises

10/18/23 – The “fury” of Middle Eastern countries about Gaza is pretty rich since almost all of them have been oppressing and killing their own people for a long time. What has Hamas done for its people but bring misery upon them? Israel is the only democratic, liberal country in the region, so what is these Middle Eastern countries’ “fury” actually about? Where is their “fury” about their own regimes and their own treatment of their people. Spare us the bulls—t.

10/18/23 – Taking a cynical, calculated approach to Republican dysfunction is not the way to go. Jim Jordon as Speaker is not a good outcome for the country and, therefore, for Democrats. They should have helped McCarthy keep his job, or find some suitable Republican alternative. Do the right thing and stop with the machinations or indulging in schadenfreude. Grow up!

10/18/23 – Given the current state of affairs, if Republicans got behind one candidate, assuming all the money goes to the person, he/she would have about $50 mil, $5 mil more than the evil one, trump, and Haley would be their best option.
Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on Jim Jordan’s chances of becoming House speaker

10/16/23 – The world wants to and deserves to see all “royal families’” DNA analyses.

10/16/23 – Categories should be based on DNA, linguistics, culture and history. This would be much more meaningful as groupings of human beings go.

10/16/23 – Race is not a useful categorization. Some people are more genetically similar to each other than others, but this similarity might not show up in appearance the way people expect. Skin color, more generally melanin content, is one of the worst predictors of genetic similarity. Even within white families, siblings can be blond and blue-eyed, or dark-haired and dark eyed. Also, is a southern Italian more genetically similar to a Swede or to a North African? Given the geography and the history of trade and conquest, this is a fair question. How many people when asked what their race is are actually answering with a geographical region, such as Asian? What is Asian as a race? Does anybody really know?

10/15/23 – A model for the way forward. A culture justifiably proud of its religious tolerance and harmony. Happy Sunday to all!
Kerala, India: A historic site of religious harmony
The ‘Real’ Kerala Story: Tales of Communal Harmony From Ground Zero

10/14/23 – To the degenerates on the left, spare us the bulls—t.

10/14/23 – To become a saint, one just has to become gay. All gay, trans, LGBTQ+ people are morally upright, perfect, in fact. They wouldn’t knowingly spread a terrible STD, such as syphilis, to a group of people who had been untouched by other civilizations, and abuse and exploit them, right? They are angels. These tribes want to stay uncontacted because some of their members were raped by a gay person who gave them a deadly STD.
Why Uncontacted Tribes Want to Stay Uncontacted

10/14/23 – Although most institutions generally ranked low in Gallup’s poll, faith in church or organized religion (32%) is considerably higher than faith in the propaganda (aka the liberal press, 18%). The only institutions that did better than religious ones were the military, the police, and the medical system.
Historically Low Faith in U.S. Institutions Continues

10/14/23 – Hey Associated Propaganda (aka AP), still waiting for the “sweeping, immersive experience” evangelizing Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism…. Not holding our breath though.

10/14/23 – Faith leaders, like other human beings, need to take care of themselves too. “That level of faith-based self-care is just what many clergy should practice to avoid the burnout and deteriorating mental health symptoms like anxiety and depression that experts say are affecting religious leaders at a worrisome pace. ‘Mental health needs are just overwhelming faith communities.’…. Compassion fatigue can develop from the constant exposure to other people’s trauma without taking time to process one’s own grief.” Maybe the hypocritical atheists, including the reporters at the Associated Propaganda, which conveniently left this obvious part out, who don’t serve anybody but themselves can stop attacking religion, which would definitely help not just faith leaders but our society as a whole.
Clergy burnout is a growing concern in polarized churches. A summit offers coping strategies

10/14/23 – The temple is beautiful! It is very important that all workers are well-compensated for their work and that there are no caste or class divisions. The caste system is criminal and a moral abomination. “‘Trivedi said these allegations weighed heavily on community members because their faith has always taught them ‘to see the divine in all and love and serve them as manifestations of the divine.’ He said Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the sect’s fifth spiritual successor, who envisioned such a temple campus in the United States, was a progressive guru who cared deeply about social equality…. ‘It’s not even just Indian or Indian American,’ he said, adding that the temple stands for universal values that can be found in every religious text and in the hearts and minds of great thinkers and leaders of every era. ‘What we’ve tried to do is express these universal values in a way that relate to all visitors.’” Lovely. Hinduism is peace.
Largest Hindu temple outside India in the modern era opens in New Jersey

10/13/23 – The left flunked the test because it is an imposter, one that is pretending to be knowledgeable, intellectual, enlightened and morally correct, but, in reality, it’s none of these things.

10/13/23 – Academia needs a good purging. It’s filled with anti-intellectual bigots.

10/13/23 – Is it feeling somewhat murky? If so, that’s odd because it was so clear not that long ago. Religion bad. Atheism good. Right bad. Left good. Israel bad. Palestine good. Trans good. Gay good. Women good. But wait? Yes. It was all so clear not that long ago. Wasn’t it? If the world became atheists/nones, trans, and Palestinians, all the world’s problems would magically disappear. Right?

10/13/23 – “That’s how you end up with Queers for Palestine when being queer in Palestine is difficult and dangerous.” Let’s blow up the left’s BS, shall we. Israel is far more secular than Palestine and the Islamic countries in the region, some of which murder gay people. But Israel is the country of the Jewish people who, according to the left, are colonizers and oppressors of the Palestinian people. So, what is the left to do? Which side should it take? Basically, Palestinians or LGBTQ+? What about Kate Cohen, identity atheist, extrapolate, which side does she take? “It’s also how you end up with candidates for Labour Party leadership signing a pledge that insists there ‘is no material conflict between trans rights and women’s rights,’ even when—as in the eligibility rules for women’s sports—some wins for one group plainly come at the expense of the other.” Which side should it take: women’s rights or trans’ rights? “In 2017, Linda Sarsour, one of the organizers of the Women’s March, told The Nation that Zionism and feminism were incompatible: ‘It just doesn’t make any sense for someone to say, ‘Is there room for people who support the state of Israel and do not criticize it in the movement? There can’t be in feminism.’” Kate Cohen, identity atheist, extrapolate, and other fanatical leftists, do you agree: are Zionism and feminism incompatible?

10/13/23 – “‘A woman is a female adult.’ Got that? A politician with an essentialist view of womanhood is complicit in the deaths of innocents, but a terrorist indiscriminately murdering people at a music festival must be understood in context.” Indeed, stating a simple unchangeable fact, a woman is a female adult, is cause for outrage, but the beheading of babies, that’s well, morally ambiguous; perhaps it’s justified, right? And then they wonder why the rest of us think the loony left is f—king crazy. Perhaps it’s because they’re f—king crazy. Perhaps none of this is as hard as they make it. Perhaps they have been distorting reality to fit their narratives for so long and in slowly increasing levels of absurdity, they didn’t see how far they had strayed from anything remotely resembling reality.

10/13/23 – As Jesus said, hypocrites, hypocrites, hypocrites. The high-priests of self-righteousness, the atheistic religious bigots with their scientism, their godless communist propaganda and their allegiance to tribe/category are showing themselves for who they have been all along.
The Progressives Who Flunked the Hamas Test

10/13/23 – “But I quickly saw that many of those on the left who I thought shared these values with me could see what had happened only through established categories of colonized and colonizer, evil Israeli and righteous Palestinian—templates made of concrete. The break was caused by this enormous disconnect. I was in a world of Jewish suffering that they couldn’t see because Jewish suffering simply didn’t fit anywhere for them…. If I can fault myself clearly for something, though, it’s not recognizing that the same ideological hardening I’d seen on the right in the past few years, the blind allegiances and contorted narratives even when reality was staring people in the face, has also happened, to a greater degree than I’d imagined, on the left, among the people whom I think of as my own. They couldn’t recognize a moral abomination when it was staring them in the face. They were so set in their categories that they couldn’t make a distinction between the Palestinian people and a genocidal cult that claimed to speak in that people’s name. And they couldn’t acknowledge hundreds and hundreds of senseless deaths because the people who were killed were Israelis and therefore the enemy.” This has been true for a long time. It’s better to see it now than never. There are simplistic idiots on both sides. The left is better at deceiving itself that it is intelligent. It isn’t. The right doesn’t boast such a claim. They accept if not flaunt their degeneracy. Both sides think they morally superior. Immoral idiots such as Kate Cohen, identity atheist, extrapolate, wrote a stupid book that should be used as toilet paper, but the idiots who identify with her will buy it. It’s all tribal nonsense, morality by category. It is wholly lacking in intellectual sophistication and moral depth.
The Left Abandoned Me

10/13/23 – It’s funny how America’s corporations quickly approach “economic ceilings” when it comes to rank-and-file worker compensation but not when it comes to executive compensation. Yet a corporation without a CEO will survive. A corporation without its rank and file will not.

10/11/23 – To the propaganda (aka the liberal press) and the (militant) atheists, no decent person insults other people’s religion. This is simply not something civilized people do. That is all.

10/11/23 – The Jewish people have a special place in our hearts, and we pray for them. We love them and will defend them forever. We also love our Muslim sisters and brothers. Like the Jewish people, Americans also understand terrorism. We just marked the 22nd anniversary of 9/11, but then and now, we remain a people who believe in love, especially in the face of hate. On that dark day, our president, George W. Bush, said, “Islam is peace.” It was his finest moment. Islam is peace, and Judaism is peace. Christianity is peace. This is the Holy Land. On this sacred land, our shared faith rests. All parties need to treat it with the respect it deserves. Personally, 9/11 was a traumatic and sad day for me, as it was for much of the country, but at no point did I ever direct animus towards Muslims. At no point in my life have I done this to anyone of any religion. When I was a child, my mother told me to always be respectful to people of other religions, and I obeyed her wise advice even on 9/11. Our shared faith tells us that every single person is made in the image of God and that we should do unto them as you would have them do unto you. In the face of evil, restraint is hard. Ask the Ukrainians. They understand it well. If the response is over-reactive, it won’t be a just response. Remember: our God is our justice. Let his love for us, in spite of our own wrongs, be a tempering force.

10/11/23 – Russell Moore makes the following argument. “As Christians, we should pay special attention to violence directed toward Israel—just as we would pay special attention to a violent attack on a member of our extended family. After all, we are grafted on to the promise made to Abraham (Rom. 11:17). Our Lord Jesus was and is a Jewish man from Galilee. Rage against the Jewish people is rage against him, and, because we are in him, against us.
No one wanted to wake up to war in what was already a tinderbox of the world order. But war has come, and we should recognize terrorism for what it is. We should also recognize the justice of a forceful response to that terrorism. However we read the prophecy passages of the Bible, and however we disagree on world politics, American Christians ought to stand together with Israel now.”
American Christians Should Stand with Israel under Attack

10/10/23 – The Washington Propaganda can go f—k itself. It gives space to the self-glorifying, religious bigot Kate Cohen, identity atheist, extrapolate, to evangelize atheism and insult the vast majority of the world’s population and then realizes that it can’t “grow” its subscription base and has to let a bunch of people go. Gee, wonder why? Maybe treating a global news source like it’s a private platform to promote your agenda isn’t the best business strategy.

10/10/23 – Lots of great information on the planet.
BBC Future Planet

10/10/23 – Deal with it. “This would have been between 7,000 and 3,000BCE. These Zagrosian herders mixed with the earlier inhabitants of the subcontinent – the First Indians, descendants of the Out of Africa (OoA) migrants who had reached India around 65,000 years ago – and together, they went on to create the Harappan civilization. In the centuries after 2000 BCE came the second set of immigrants (the Aryans) from the Eurasian Steppe, probably from the region now known as Kazakhstan. They likely brought with them an early version of Sanskrit, mastery over horses and a range of new cultural practices such as sacrificial rituals, all of which formed the basis of early Hindu/Vedic culture. (A thousand years before, people from the Steppe had also moved into Europe, replacing and mixing with agriculturists there, spawning new cultures and spreading Indo-European languages)…. The idea of the mixing of different population groups is also unappealing to Hindu nationalists as they put a premium on racial purity. There is also the additional issue of the migration theory putting Aryans on the same footing as latter-day Muslim conquerors of India – such as the Mughals.”
How ancient DNA may rewrite prehistory in India

10/10/23 – Living like our ancestors also means living with a light footprint. We should have never stopped doing this. We and our planet would have been so much better off had we kept living in that simple, healthier way.

10/10/23 – If godless science worshippers (aka atheists) don’t want to keep their ancient traditions alive, that’s their problem. They can worship science and live like sterile robots. The rest of us want to stay connected to our ancestors and be humans. An interesting video series by the BBC on battle arts.
BBC Battle Arts

10/9/23 – We need more news sites that are religious. The propaganda (aka the press) are biased atheists and idiots, and reading their stories is choosing to be indoctrinated with their views and values.

10/9/23 – The propaganda (aka the press) are godless communists who think humans can fix anything even though we’ve destroyed everything. They think we can fix the planet that we didn’t create with science even though we’ve destroyed it with science, and they want to turn humans and other life into monstrous science experiments. They worship science and themselves. They are the enemy of the people and of all life.

10/9/23 – Tip: If you’re going to read a dense writer whose work you’re unfamiliar with, first read a well-written book that explains the person’s work. It basically replaces a series of lectures and will give you a sense of who the author is and how to approach the person’s work.

10/9/23 – It doesn’t take much to create a beautiful, magical garden for bees and butterflies that you (and your neighbors) love. You do have to weed, seed (micro or White Dutch clover) and, generally, tend to the garden, but the benefits far surpass the costs. Tips: cover your entire lawn with high-quality top soil, use beneficial nematodes and organic fertilizer, and mulch and burlap for weed control. Get rid of grass, and plant clover instead. It acts as a natural fertilizer by fixing the nitrogen. Do not use inorganic fertilizer and never use pesticides. All of these tips work great. You’ll have a beautiful, unique lawn that benefits our pollinators and other creatures and one that you and your neighbors can feel good about. You will also get great natural exercise managing your garden, and it is good for your mental health. You will also have beautiful flower arrangements, and fresh fruits and vegetables that you grew! “Lawns may seem like a trivial place to focus your eco-energies, but they cover about 40 million acres of the United States — that’s about the same land area as wheat. (And that estimate is from 2012; researchers say the amount of lawn has almost certainly increased as the suburbs have sprawled ever outward.)”
Want to help the planet? Rethink your lawn

10/9/23 – Fish and seafood are the best meat. There is no comparison. If we actually took care of our water sources, we could have plenty of it, but alas, apparently, we can’t do this. Can we do this?

10/9/23 – The world is overwhelming, and in many cases, there isn’t much we can do but pray. We can also focus on changing and building our communities for the better. If we all did this, in the collective, we would change the world.

10/9/23 – Please pray for peace throughout the world. Shalom. Salaam.

10/9/23 – Hey Propaganda: Keep telling us our religion is bad, and we’ll keep telling you to go f—k yourselves. Thank you, and have a nice day.

10/9/23 – Hey Associated Propaganda: Are you going to do “A sweeping, immersive experience” on Christianity? What about Islam? What about Buddhism? You like Buddhists, right? No, don’t have space you say. Oh, OK.

10/9/23 – Hey Washington Propaganda: Are you going to let Christians evangelize their religion, in an exceptionally long essay, on your platform? What about Muslims? Buddhists? You like Buddhists, right? Can we write about how exceptional our children are and how stupid and naïve atheists’ children are? No, don’t have space you say. Oh, OK.

10/9/23 – It’s not just fascism (MAGA) we need to worry about, it’s also communism (militant atheists, which is most of the liberal media, the propaganda, aka the press).

10/9/23 – Atheists do have a bad reputation. It’s earned.

10/9/23 – Many atheists are actually controlling authoritarians who have infiltrated various organizations, including the propaganda (aka the press), to spread their views.

10/9/23 – There isn’t a single intellectual atheist in the world today. They simply do not exist.

10/8/23 – Fruit and honey are gifts from God. How do they taste like that? We do nothing to them, and it’s like wow…so good! God is great! He gave us everything.

10/8/23 – In a time when we can’t trust many of our institutions, organizations and even other people, we can always trust God. We can also trust the beautiful, kind, supportive religious and secular communities we build together. We are happier because our lives are better for our faith and our community. No propaganda will ever take God away from us. Let them spew their worthless, toxic words and their hate. To all religious people in the world, let’s continue as we are: faith, hope, love. Happy Sunday!

10/8/23 – In a time of war, not just in Ukraine, but in many parts of the world, climate change, mass extinction of God’s creatures, the torturing of animals for their flesh, democratic backsliding, rampant corruption, the exploitation of the poor by the rich, modern slavery and human trafficking, the migrant crisis, homelessness, injustice of every manner, religious persecution throughout the world, what did the Associated Propaganda (aka the AP) think was worthy of their fake reporters’ time and energy: Nones, “A sweeping, immersive experience.” The propaganda outlet has dedicated prominent space on their front page to this “topic” for at least the past three days, since October 5. It is a full-throated propaganda piece advocating for atheism or nones (whatever they are). Why would a self-described trusted, no, the most trusted, global news organization feel that this topic merited this sweeping and in-depth coverage? Yes, you’re right because it’s obvious. In spite of all of these other topics that are objectively far more important, which ended up getting cheated of coverage, this topic, nones, whoever they are, is what is important to the Associated Propaganda. If you ever needed proof of their lack of trustworthiness and objectivity, it’s right here. When people show you who they are: believe them. This is who the AP is: the Associated Propaganda.

10/7/23 – The question for this kindhearted and honest man (unlike the bigoted and deceitful Kate Cohen): Why on God’s green earth does he still subscribe to the Washington Propaganda?
An essayist evangelizes readers for atheism but the story doesn’t stick

10/7/23 – Not saying it to “any one particular religion” but saying it to all religions is saying it to every single particular religion. The genius atheists aren’t too good with categories and how they work, but that’s how they work. F—k them and f—k the propaganda (aka the press).

10/7/23 – The atheists of old actually had intellects and arguments. The new atheists, such as Kate Cohen, are arrogant idiots, with no arguments. They are stupid, simplistic religious bigots.

10/7/23 – The religious bigot Kate Cohen, identity atheist, extrapolate, says that she was “raised Jewish.” Many people would still consider her Jewish. The last we checked Islam is a religion. Now, let’s read her text as directed to Muslims, and let’s fill in some of the words she left unwritten but that were there nonetheless. “[Islam] offers ready-made answers to our most difficult questions…. My children know how to distinguish fact from fiction — which is harder for children raised [as Muslims]. They don’t assume conventional wisdom is true and they do expect arguments to be based on evidence [unlike your Muslim children]. Which means they have the skills to be engaged, informed and savvy citizens [unlike your stupid, naïve Muslim children]…. [We] are everywhere. And we are unusually disposed to getting stuff done [unlike Muslims]. I used to say, when people asked me what [we] do believe, that it was simple: [We] believe that [your] God is a human invention. But now, I think it’s more than that…. But you also don’t get to leave things up to God. [There is no inshallah because there is no Allah.] [We] must accept that people are allowing — we are allowing — women to die in childbirth, children to go hungry, men to buy guns that can slaughter dozens of people in minutes. [We] believe people organized the world as it is now, and only people can make it better [unlike Muslims who just sit around and wait for their imaginary God to do things.]… That’s right: [We] take more political action — donating to campaigns, protesting, attending meetings, working for politicians — than [Muslims]…. You don’t have to be [like us] to conduct yourself as if people are responsible for the world they live in — you just have to act like [us], by taking matters into your own hands [instead of the Allah believer you are who just sits around waiting for your imaginary God to solve your problems]…. Peel back the layers of control over women’s bodies — from dress codes that punish girls for male desire all the way to the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade — and you find [Islam]. Often, there isn’t much peeling to do. [Why do you force your women and girls to cover themselves up? They should be able to wear anything they want like my children do.]” You get the idea. This is basically what the Washington Propaganda (aka WaPo) published. One can replace Muslims with whatever other religious group and make the associated changes. This is the person who thinks she’s a good person. Think about it.

10/7/23 – The Associated Propaganda (the AP), “Advancing the power of [propaganda].” These “news” organizations are so “fact-based” that even when every recent poll shows that trust in them is at or near record lows, they still claim to be the most trusted. Here is the Associated Propaganda’s claim. “Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business.” They are the most trusted at propaganda, of the promotion of their reporters’ views and values. They are religious bigots who promote themselves as lacking in any kind of prejudice.

10/7/23 – To the propaganda (the press), f—k you! You are the enemy of the people, and we will fight you until the bitter end.

10/7/23 – The Washington Propaganda (the Washington Post) gave the low intellect, low character, religious bigot Kate Cohen, identity atheist, extrapolate, a platform to spew her vile religious bigotry. Would they give a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew or any religious person a platform to spew religious bigotry against people of another faith or atheists? Yet, this bigotry against religious people is OK, right? Yet, her royal self-righteousness with her smug voice filled with her grotesque self-love has the right to spew her hate of people who are religious, denigrating them on the Washington Propaganda’s platform, right?  

10/7/23 – The Associated Propaganda’s (the AP) religion team is actually the atheist/none (whatever that is) team. Truth is lies. War is peace. Slavery is freedom. All brought to you by the propaganda (the press), a group of liberal atheists/nones evangelizing their religious bigotry and their vile self-love and self-worship. They want us to become like them. We will not.

10/7/23 – From the beginning of time, there have been religious or spiritual people and nonreligious or nonspiritual people. There are good and bad people within both groups. How stupid are the propaganda (aka the press)? Indeed, all one needs to do is become an atheist or an ill-defined none, and you’ll magically be transformed into a good person. Does the propaganda (the press) think that everybody who is or who becomes an atheist/none becomes a better person? Of course they do because they are biased morons. Kate Cohen thinks she’s so smart. Her voice drips with condescension. She thinks her children are so precocious. She flatters herself through her children. She and her children are simplistic idiots, but, more generally, so is the propaganda (aka the press). Zero f—king intellect. Zero depth of thought. Zero basic f—king logic. Zero objectivity. Zero integrity. All fatally flawed propaganda.

10/6/23 – Much of the press has become the enemy of the people. They claim to be defenders of democracy, but they are not. They are promoters of themselves. They are propagandists for their lifestyles, their beliefs and their values.

10/6/23 – The Associated Propaganda (aka the AP) really really wants the entire world to become atheists, or rather cleverly, nones, whatever they are, as their “reporters” are. They’re pretending to look out for you, to care so deeply about you. That’s why they are trying to indoctrinate you with their values. They hate religion, and they want you to hate it too, but ultimately, this isn’t really about religion or human rights. This is about them. They want to make you in their image because they think of themselves as superior gods.

10/5/23 – Here is another one. They conspire with each other to indoctrinate Americans. It’s timed delivery. “Today’s Opinions: America needs more atheists Opinion by Drew Goins” The Washington Post

10/5/23 – Here is a survey the media can conduct. Do you subscribe to the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, the AP, some other news source, or none of the above? If they read no news sources, they are nones. If they watch the news, they are nones. If they read many news sources or some new sources sometimes because they find news sources to have an agenda, they are nones. If they read nothing in particular, they are nothing in particular, which are also nones. Did you get all that?

10/5/23 – If anybody is wondering why the polls about elections were so off, it’s completely clear now.

10/5/23 – Either the surveys are badly designed, the statistical analysis is skewed or the presentation is distorted or some combination of these serious flaws.

10/5/23 – Here’s a story the media should be running instead of the multimedia propaganda for atheism that conveniently corresponds with their “reporters” views that spanned multiple “news” (really propaganda) sources such as the AP and the Washington Post’s “book” by Kate Cohen. They should write about why the public’s trust in them is near a record low. “Notably, this is the first time that the percentage of Americans with no trust at all in the media is higher than the percentage with a great deal or a fair amount combined.” Also, the reason Americans’ opinion of the media is partisan is because it is biased towards the Democrats, who are mainly liberal and nonreligious. This is why nobody, including liberals, should trust the media. The media is supposed to be objective and unbiased, not serving a political constituency. When it does this, it no longer has any credibility of any kind.
Americans’ Trust In Media Remains Near Record Low

10/5/23 – The press has no integrity. They are propagandists or even liars. If they willing to blatantly distort, one can’t trust anything they say.

10/5/23 – Does the media know how to report anything correctly, or they just don’t want to do so? So, the Nones are both 16% and 30%? One can’t have an overarching category also be a subcategory. Is this hard? Given these gross errors, this polling, which is highly dependent on the quality of the survey, is dubious at best. What the AP should have said is that Atheists are 7%, Agnostics are 7%, Nones are 16%, of which half are “spiritual but not religious”… “‘[The Nones (unclear if it’s half of the 16% or the entire 16%)] are definitely not as turned off to religion as atheists and agnostics are,’ Burge said. ‘They practice their own type of spirituality, many of them.’” These three categories, Atheists 7%, Agnostics 7% and Nones 16%, sum to 30% of Americans. The AP and other “news” organizations are trying to present basic statistics in a distorted manner, such as inflating the Nones, so that the statistics better align with their reporters’ biases.
The Nones United States

10/4/23 – Religion bad. Atheism good. Me atheist. Me superior. The liberal atheists, who we’re apparently grossly undercounting, are great at virtue signaling, hypocrisy, not sacrificing anything, and what do you know, asking the Catholic Church, religion bad, religious people dumb, to ask its faithful to reinstate the old practice of not eating meat on Fridays for the good of the planet. So where is their scientism cult leader to tell them what to do?

10/4/23 – Apparently, they are planning to nominate the evil one, trump, for speaker. So, if they do so, what will Democrats do? Or they didn’t bother to think through their position ?

10/4/23 – McCarthy also prevented the federal government from shutting down. If one is going to say a bunch of negative things that are entirely correct, one does also need to acknowledge the positive things that are also correct. There are certain people who are evil, such as the evil one, Trump, and one doesn’t need to do this with them. But McCarthy isn’t evil. He’s actually a rather run-of-the-mill politician. “Kevin McCarthy gave up his soul not for Wales but for something worse—Donald Trump. It will be of little comfort to McCarthy to know he’s hardly the only one to have done so.” Didn’t the evil one want the shutdown? McCarthy was punished immediately after he did the right thing and prevented it. Tell us: how do reinforcement and punishment work? What message does this send to other Republicans who do the right thing? Encourage the behavior you want to see in others.
Kevin McCarthy Got What He Deserved

10/4/23 – Thank you, and have a nice day.

10/4/23 – Christians don’t have any arguments for the world about how great and perfect we are, and we aren’t messiahs. We aren’t evangelizing based on our perfection and our superiority. We know we’re imperfect. In fact, on a regular basis, we ask forgiveness for our sins from God and from our you, our brothers and sisters. We accept our humanity and others’ humanity as a fallen people. We accept our shortcomings in thoughts, words and deeds and try to do better. Among these humbling things and others, practicing Christians are weak, meek and poor in spirit. We aim to be in service to others and to our God. Our God was crucified on a cross, and we love him because of this. He and he alone is our messiah. We don’t find him weak. We find him to be the truth. If this isn’t appealing to you, that’s OK. We’ll keep walking and believing in our God.

10/4/23 – Oh and by the way, Hitler was an atheist, one of many evil people who were atheists. He hated Christianity. He thought it was weak. It’s well-documented. It’s what one might call a fact. Atheists love facts, don’t they? Or are facts only facts if they align with their understanding of things? Wait, isn’t this similar to their extremist “religious” counterparts, many of whom are actually atheists pretending to be religious?

10/4/23 – One of the greatest dangers of being blinded by self-love is that one makes incorrect assumptions. My Christian faith, which has taught me to love God above all else, has taught me this. One might call it a requirement for, well, are the atheists, ready, critical thinking.

10/4/23 – Apologies, not f—kers, that was inappropriate, but atheists.

10/3/23 – As someone who’s been trying to get rid of these f—kers for years, there aren’t words to express how happy I’d be if they’d own up to the truth and describe themselves as they actually are, as atheists. Please keep sending these articles our way.

10/3/23 – “Christian Nationalist” MAGA and other nonbelievers pretending to be Christian but are actually atheists in hiding, Cohen makes an extraordinarily compelling argument. “But for everyone else who doesn’t believe in God and hasn’t said so?…. [T]he next time you find yourself tempted to pretend that you believe in God? Tell the truth instead.”
America doesn’t need more God. It needs more atheists.

10/3/23 – As it stands, a lie that atheists love to tell themselves is that they are such great people, so moral, rational, politically active, what else did Cohen claim, basically perfect, messianic really. Now, imagine if all the fake religious people, such as the Christian nationalists, who aren’t actually Christian, started describing themselves accurately as atheists, then what? Just curious how well her book, or is it her fairy tale, will age.

10/3/23 – Kate Cohen, identity atheist, extrapolate, is desperately evangelizing atheism while hawking her new book on why atheists and atheism are so great. Let’s help her. To all Christians everywhere who don’t really believe in Christianity, please leave it and become an atheist or a believer of some other faith tradition. Thank you.

10/3/23 – We’re definitely in crisis mode, and we need to return to our ancestral ways that were much easier on the planet. “‘We’re supporting our relatives of the sea in a time of crisis,’ said Quintasket, the Swinomish senator. ‘It’s not just climate change anymore. We are in crisis mode, and this is just a little bit of work that we can do to support their home to make sure that they’re surviving with us.’”
Swinomish Tribe builds U.S.’s first modern ‘clam garden,’ reviving ancient practice

10/3/23 – Instead of growing corn for ethanol, a type of biofuel, whose present production is 15 billion bushels, we should just use what is already being formed in the oceans, lakes and elsewhere: algae. Sargassum, which has been growing in large quantities in the ocean, poses several environmental risks to coastal regions and getting rid of it this way could be a win-win. We could also use the methane released from landfills, as the military is currently doing. (The military is working on complete energy independence using microgrids. All of us should have some level of energy independence on a state/local and an individual level.)
Maps and Data – U.S. Corn Production and Portion Used for Fuel Ethanol

10/3/23 – If you hate politics, in religious or secular institutions, nobody would blame you. We need more direct democracy and direct religion. Too many people are putting themselves between us and our country, and us and our God. Christianity started out as a small group of Jews who believed Jesus is the Messiah. That’s really all we are as Christians. Basically, we adopted the Old Testament, the Jewish part, and added the New Testament, the Jesus Christ part. We believe in him and him, and we believe the testimony in the New Testament. Over 2,000 years, this simple but radical revolution has become so politicized. The main thing Christians need to do is just focus on being the hands and feet of Christ and loving our generous, merciful God.
5 conservative cardinals challenge pope to affirm church teaching on gays and women ahead of meeting

10/2/23 – If need be, Democrats need to vote for McCarthy so that he can retain his job. We need to move beyond politics and start solving our problems. We need to work together as Americans and as global citizens.

10/2/23 – Everywhere, governments are failing their people.

10/2/23 – Meanwhile, other parts of the planet are getting too much water. “‘Those in power really need to step up,’ he said.” Those in power are too busy stirring up hate and assassinating people to govern.
India’s devastating monsoon season is a sign of things to come, as climate and poor planning combine

10/2/23 – This is a real problem. These corporations are trying to use the law to steal all the water. They will destroy these communities. We must move to the community model described below. It’s way more sustainable. The dispersion of gardens around the country will distribute water usage, and it’s way better for pollinators. We should grow flowers alongside the fruits and vegetables. Also, the corporations must be stopped by the federal government. “‘We feel we are being totally overrun by those people,’ Gaillard said. ‘They are taking all the water.’”
In a remote, dry patch of California, a battle is raging over carrots

10/1/23 – In honor of St. Francis, today was the blessing of the animals. Hundreds of people brought their pets to be blessed: dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, you get the idea, and we sang songs about God’s creatures. Children and animals! So much cuteness!

10/1/23 – This Sunday, let’s think differently about what is possible. Let’s live in a way that honors creation. Life is extraordinary. The abundance we have on earth is exceptional. Before the pandemic, we were all burning out. During the pandemic, a period of illness, fear and death, we burnt out. Let’s imagine a world that puts the sacredness of life at its core, one that isn’t dominated by a callous disregard for life and an obsession with greed. Let’s build a beloved community.

10/1/23 – Are we going to be a people who can do things or who makes simple things hard? We are not reinventing the wheel. In fact, all of this has been done for most of human civilization. If our ancestors can do it, we certainly can. We would just be finding ourselves again.
Monks Making Money

10/1/23 – What are the things we truly need: water, food, shelter, each other and God. We have rural cities throughout the country that simply need people. The infrastructure is there already. We should also equip them with wells or rain barrels because climate change is real, and it’s good to have for gardens, trees and ground cover. They should be pollinator friendly. They can have gardens and fruit trees, and cute goats and cows. See below also. People who can’t do without meat can learn to hunt and fish. They will eat less of it and are more likely to honor the lives they are taking. Housing needs to be made free. We, including the people who will be living in them, can build them. It’s not hard to build a larger “tiny home.” You measure (you know, with a tape measure, hold it against the thing and read the number), cut (you know with a saw, you pull the thing down on the thing you want to cut) and combine (nail gun, you pull a trigger). Is this hard? Is basic construction hard? It’s not. Put these homes together, add people, and you have a community.

Everybody should be given a bike, also for free. People can buy used electric cars. Wood for fires. So, what’s a person’s expenses? Utilities. Clothes, shoes, linens and furniture? Thrift stores, etc. They are very cheap, and that’s what washing machines are for. Restoring furniture is not hard either. Many people give things away. (Certain items, for example, towels, socks, shoes, underwear, etc. can also be purchased new if people so choose.) Another word for all of this is recycling.

Let’s consider the rest. Soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, sunscreen, lotions and such, hair stuff, razors, TP, cleaning products. People can learn to sew, knit, make jewelry. People can learn crafts: soap, candles, scented things, flower arrangements, and using flowers in food and scented things, cooking. At the end of the day, how much money will a person be spending? Probably not much even if they buy some of these items. One can work 32-35 hours per week (people do need to work, it’s healthy), save money, eat healthier, get exercise, live in community, be much kinder on the planet and on animals, and have time for our spiritual lives. That’s freedom. That’s living.

10/1/23 – This is the kind of bureaucratic dysfunction to which our great country has been reduced. Governmental structures and processes need to change as needs change. We also need to better staff these agencies. Create a new category for the neglected or abused minors. Is this hard? Why does every simple solution seem beyond our reach? “The State Department announced that for nearly seven years it had been placing in the wrong line tens of thousands of applications for neglected or abused minors from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and would now start adding those to the general queue with the clergy. Since the mid-2010s, a surging number of youth from these countries have sought humanitarian green cards or asylum after illegally crossing into the U.S.” Our country needs people to work in various jobs and to revitalize certain parts, such as rural America. America is a nation of immigrants. Don’t fear them. We are them.
A green card processing change means US could lose thousands of faith leaders from abroad