Stocks A to Z / Stocks B / Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
No. of Recommendations: 5
'Good prevails over evil — that's the American spirit.'
"Gov. Ron DeSantis is weighing in on destruction of an occult holiday installation at the Iowa State Capitol, vowing assistance to a “Christian veteran” who beheaded the Satanic Temple’s Baphomet display.
“Satan has no place in our society and should not be recognized as a ‘religion’ by the federal government. I’ll chip in to contribute to this veteran’s legal defense fund. Good prevails over evil — that’s the American spirit,” DeSantis posted to X."Cassidy said in comments exclusively provided to The Sentinel that he destroyed the shrine on Thursday in order to “awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government.”
“The world may tell Christians to submissively accept the legitimization of Satan, but none of the founders would have considered government sanction of Satanic altars inside Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment,” Cassidy told The Sentinel. “Anti-Christian values have steadily been mainstreamed more and more in recent decades, and Christians have largely acted like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water.”https://www.republicsentinel.com/articles/exclusiv...Creche good/Baphomet display bad.
So much for any DeSantis claim to upholding the Constitution.
No. of Recommendations: 3
Was there ever any doubt?
I also saw a prominent atheist reacting to a "talk" that our Speaker gave before he was Speaker. Some scary, delusional stuff. Johnson is worse than we feared. I couldn't tell if he was YEC (or maybe I missed it), but he's definitely an extreme fundy.
I know religion is in decline in this country, but you couldn't tell it by the government officials that get elected lately.
No. of Recommendations: 2
I know religion is in decline in this country, but you couldn't tell it by the government officials that get elected lately.
I think the opposite - it's when things are in decline, when they're perceived as threatened or at risk, that government officials often get the most strident. If religion were healthy, thriving, and growing in influence and importance in American society, you'd see government officials behaving very differently.
No. of Recommendations: 1
I think the opposite - it's when things are in decline, when they're perceived as threatened or at risk, that government officials often get the most strident.
I thought about that. But if they know they are threatened, would they risk putting people off who would not then vote for them (like me)? One reason I left the Republican Party was that I was hearing more and more "god" rhetoric, and I couldn't support that (Barry Goldwater was my senator for a time, and what he said about "preachers" was dead-on). Normally politicians want to NOT alienate potential voters, and so try to avoid taking any solid positions. Granted, Xians are in less danger of that than the Satanists and their Baphomet monuments. But they are putting off roughly 30-35% of the population just based on all their religious intolerance talk.
No. of Recommendations: 2
But if they know they are threatened, would they risk putting people off who would not then vote for them (like me)?
Because there's always a tension between using the political power you have to get what you want, and subordinating what you want so you can get or keep political power. That tension is strongest for people who are in the base of the party (both parties). Those people engage in politics in order to try to get things enacted that are further to the left or right of the mainstream, but enacting them makes it harder for them to win political majorities.
Religious institutions and communities used to have enormous power in American society, much more than they do today. Because that power has waned so much, trying to influence government power is one of the few levers they have left to really try to effect changes in the country. It's hardly surprising they fight so hard for their goals in that arena, given how few other avenues they have to pursue those interests.
No. of Recommendations: 5
I know religion is in decline in this country, but you couldn't tell it by the government officials that get elected lately.
Fear and hatred are strong motivators. Bible-thumping conservatives have plenty of both. Their hatred of LGBTQetc and pro-choice people is off-the-charts motivating.
Starting with small local elections for school boards type positions, they are springboarding up political ladders- town councils, supervisors - positions that are supposed to be non-partisan - then state office, then on to the big time.
What they are supposedly losing in numbers they make for with noise and organizing.
No. of Recommendations: 5
The "reaction" videos were a series of five or six. Obviously, the atheist was reacting (and, in this case, correcting all the stuff Johnson was getting wrong). But it was scary that someone could rise to such a high position while holding such (frankly) ignorant beliefs (e.g. that the Founders were all Xian). Just search YouTube for "Mad House Speaker" if you want to view all the videos. The first video features Andrew Seidel (head of an organization for separation of church and state). The first video is about us being a Xian nation (which we aren't). The other videos are solo reactions to Johnson's speech/sermon.
Mike Johnson and his wife are speakers for organizations like Answers in Genesis, which implies he actually is YEC (since AiG is YEC). They are Xian nationalists.
And he's second in line for POTUS, after Kamala. Wishing Kamala a looooong, healthy life.
