Lessons of History and Trying To Avoid the Same Mistakes

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John Breunig (opinion): Newtown not CT's first book flap

Columnist John Breunig flips through CT's back pages at a century of local efforts to...

www.thehour.com

 

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EVANGELICALISM IN AMERICA is a big, complicated movement that includes, depending on how you define the category, between 13.6 percent and 25.4 percent of the U.S. population. That’s somewhere between 45 and 84 million Americans, with a host of theological, political, and identity currents among them. Much has been written over the past eight years about the American evangelical attachment to Donald Trump, but a lot of this commentary has missed the central evangelical demographic at the heart of Christian Trumpism.

To be clear, evangelicals (particularly white evangelicals) gave major electoral support to Trump in 2016 and 2020. But, if you look closely at the Evangelical Advisory Board, an inner circle of religious advisers Trump assembled while in office, and his most loyal Christian proponents who were willing to show up in force on January 6th, a striking pattern emerges: Trump’s most ardent Christian advocates are nondenominational Charismatic evangelicals, a group sometimes referred to by academics as Independent Charismatics or Independent Network Charismatic Christians.

Independent Charismatics are evangelical Christians who attend nondenominational churches or, alternatively, who may infrequently or even regularly attend a more typical denominational church while giving their real spiritual attentions and enthusiasm to online prophecy ministries and preachers. Independent Charismatics emphasize a modern, supernaturally driven worldview where contemporary prophets speak directly for God; miracles are everyday experiences; menacing demonic forces must be pushed back through prayer; and immersive, ecstatic worship experiences bolster Christian believers’ confidence that they are at the center of God’s work in the world. These believers are country cousins to the more denominationally aligned Pentecostal evangelicals, though the lack of denominational oversight and the freewheeling nature of the independent Charismatic sector leaves them more vulnerable to radicalization.

(full article online)

Roger Stone and the Key to Trump’s Evangelical Support

Following a conversion experience, the Trump adviser has found a new audience in a movement of MAGA prophets.

plus.thebulwark.com

 

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[ Religious extremists getting more extreme ]


The offended “believing Christian” commander, according to the subordinate in their communications with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), saw nothing wrong with carrying around and publicly reading aloud from his Bible, one of the most sex-and-violence-ridden books ever written, but his subordinate quietly reading “The Catcher in the Rye” in the dining facility was a cause of great offense.

Once the Salinger-reading subordinate contacted MRFF about their “believing Christian” commander’s preposterous order, MRFF’s Mikey Weinstein did what he always does, contacting a senior level commander above the offended “believing Christian,” and as the subordinate reported in the following thank you email to MRFF, they can now not only continue reading “The Catcher in the Rye,” but their “believing Christian” superior is no longer permitted to publicly read aloud from his Bible or display it at mandatory unit meetings.


From: (Active Duty MRFF Client's and Military Member’s E-mail Address Withheld)
Subject: The Catcher in the Rye
Date: June 2, 2023 at 2:09:41 PM MDT
To: Information Weinstein <[email protected]>

Mr. Weinstein, I am stationed overseas in an active duty combat billet and wanted to finally thank you all the MRFF for intervening on my behalf to help me when my (mid-level military command title withheld) ordered me to stop reading the classic book “The Catcher in the Rye”. I only read it on my personal meal time at the DFAC ("dining facility") at (military installation name withheld).

He had told me that "as a believing Christian" it offended him to see me read it. He never ever said how it offended him. He outranked me by a lot so what could I do?

I also want to stress that this (mid-level military command title withheld) is always reading aloud from his bible and carries it everywhere in front of all of us under his command and is almost always present with him at our (unit title withheld) meetings.

After you contacted our (senior level commander’s title withheld) 2 things happened within a few days.

First, I was informed that I could go back to reading my book “The Catcher in the Rye” by author J.D. Salinger at the DFAC or any other time I was not on mission duty.

Second, Our (mid-level military command title withheld) was told to stop publicly reading from and displaying his bible at our mandatory unit meetings.

This all happened back in mid-April and I’m sorry it took so long to thank you.

I cannot stress enough how much I owe to the MRFF for making this mess go in the right direction.

Service member ordered to stop reading “The Catcher in the Rye” by offended Christian superior

The book banning mania has apparently made its way into our military, at least as far as one offended “believing Christian” mid-level military commander is concerned. This “believing Christian” military commander, full of offendedness by seeing one of...

www.dailykos.com

 

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[Winning by taking voting rights away ]

During the 2022 election, one trend was certain: Through ballot measures, voters across the country delivered on critical issues directly affecting our communities. Voters cast ballots in support of reproductive rights, addressing gun violence, the abolition of slavery, increased wages and enhanced voting access — all issues that significantly impact communities of color.

Now, on the heels of these wins, some state politicians and special interests are looking for ways to undermine the will of the people and disenfranchise communities of color.

In a brazen power grab, these politicians are trying to delay — or completely prevent — the implementation of ballot measures that defined November’s midterm elections, and they are taking steps to restrict the use of ballot measures to preemptively reject or void future policy wins. These attacks on ballot measures have been especially prevalent in places where people of color, and Black voters specifically, have used the power of direct democracy to affect change in their communities.

Amendment 4 in Florida is a prime example. In 2018, over 64 percent of Floridians passed Amendment 4 by ballot initiative, effectively approving the restoration of voting rights of 1.4 million formerly incarcerated individuals — predominantly Black voters — who finished their terms of sentence, including parole and probation. Despite sweeping approval at the ballot box, the Florida Legislature responded by introducing new legislative hurdles to delay the implementation of Amendment 4. After years of litigation, confusion remains. Florida officials have no central database to determine who is eligible to vote, and “election police” continue to arrest Florida residents previously deemed eligible to vote by the state.

The racially motivated fallout of Florida’s Amendment 4 is not an isolated incident. In fact, Mississippi, which has the largest Black population of any state in the country, has been a testing ground for restrictions meant to marginalize Black voters and suppress the policy interests of the state’s Black communities.

(full article online)

The nationwide attack on Black voters

We must defend democracy by ensuring the will of the people always prevails.

thehill.com

 

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For months, Twitter owner Elon Musk and his allies have amplified baseless claims that the US government illegally coerced Twitter into censoring a 2020 New York Post article about Hunter Biden. The foundation for those claims rests on the so-called “Twitter Files,” a series of reports by a set of handpicked journalists who, at Musk’s discretion, were given selective access to historical company archives.

Now, though, Twitter’s own lawyers are disputing those claims in a case involving former President Donald Trump — forcefully rejecting any suggestion that the Twitter Files show what Musk and many Republicans assert they contain.

In a court filing last week, Twitter’s attorneys contested one of the most central allegations to emerge from the Twitter Files: that regular communications between the FBI and Twitter ahead of the 2020 election amounted to government coercion to censor content or, worse, that Twitter had become an actual arm of the US government.

In tweets last year, Musk alleged that the communications showed a clear breach of the US constitution.


(full article online)

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/06/tech/twitter-files-lawyers/index.html?link_id=15&can_id=6e84143cce349aec0c9a0b4e4a28c9c6&source=email-sheriff-calls-for-felony-charges-in-desantis-scandal-2&email_referrer=email_1946508&email_subject=judge-deals-desantis-a-crushing-defeat

 

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It is now too late to save summer Arctic sea ice, research has shown, and scientists say preparations need to be made for the increased extreme weather across the northern hemisphere that is likely to occur as a result.

Analysis shows that even if greenhouse gas emissions are sharply reduced, the Arctic will be ice-free in September in coming decades. The study also shows that if emissions decline slowly or continue to rise, the first ice-free summer could be in the 2030s, a decade earlier than previous projections.


The research shows that 90% of the melting is the result of human-caused global heating, with natural factors accounting for the rest.

Since satellite records began in 1979, summer Arctic ice has shrunk by 13% a decade, in one of the clearest signs of the climate crisis. Arctic sea ice reaches its annual minimum at the end of summer, in September, and in 2021 it was at its second lowest extent on record.


(full article online)

Too late now to save Arctic summer ice, climate scientists find

Ice-free summers inevitable even with sharp emissions cuts and likely to result in more extreme heatwaves and floods

www.theguardian.com

 

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[ Some people never learn ]

JEANINE PIRRO (CO-HOST): While Americans choke on the smoke, the far left smells an opportunity. AOC thinks this is a great time to push her Green New Deal. She says that we must, quote, "Adapt our food systems, energy grids, infrastructure, and healthcare to prepare for what's to come." Other Democrats are pumping up climate hysteria and bringing back, you guessed it, mask insanity.

The New York Times explained why high-quality masks are a must given the horrendous conditions currently enveloping New York City:

As smoke from wildfires in Canada drifts over large parts of the United States, the best thing to do to prevent breathing in pollutants on Wednesday is to stay indoors. For many people, of course, that’s impossible. So if you do have to brave the outdoors, putting on a mask is the next best thing.
But beware, not all masks work equally well. A surgical mask, scarf or bandanna won’t do much to keep you from breathing in pollutants.
N95 masks can filter tiny particles that are less than 0.3 micrometers. By comparison, the width of a single human hair is approximately 60 micrometers, according to California’s health department.
Instead, use N95 face masks (you may still have some of those left from the pandemic), or respirator masks, which you can find in hardware stores or online. Make sure to cover both your nose and mouth.

Fox News host Jeanine Pirro calls it “insanity” to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke

www.mediamatters.org

 

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The state has a particular need for doctors given its, uh, aged population. Those demographics were already putting Florida 18,000 doctors in the hole by 2035, according to a study by the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida and the Florida Hospital Association.

What that study couldn’t foresee was DeSantis’ war on his state’s health care providers further exacerbating that shortage. One doctor in Tampa packed up immediately after Florida passed a six-week abortion ban. “We have two other partners right now who have left Florida. We’re in the process of leaving Florida,” said Dr. Rachel Rapkin. She and her husband are both OB/GYNs. "I see a lot of the recruitment activity taking place, trying to recruit new OB/GYNs, specifically to Florida, and people are saying 'I would never go there.'” Indeed, the stats are clear: New doctors are avoiding states with restrictive abortion laws, with the Association of American Medical Colleges finding a 10.5% drop in residency applicants in such states.

“We already have maternity deserts -- places in the state where there are no OB providers,” Rapkin said. “Absolutely that’s going to get worse.”

But it’s not just abortion bans driving doctors away. The state’s ban on gender-affirming health care for minors is also having an impact.

“Our primary service line is gender affirming treatment, but we’re a community healthcare clinic that does primary care as well,” said Joseph Knoll, CEO of Spektrum Health, a central Florida clinic specializing in medical and mental health services for the LGBTQ+ community, to the nonprofit news site Coda. While the ban might be narrow, the fact that his clinic also provides primary care services means that shutting it down stifles broader health care access. “Gender affirming treatment represents somewhere between 50% and 60% of our services. Obviously, our biggest concern is the care of people that need to access our services, but we have to be realistic. We don’t have room in our budget to have half of our revenue gone.”

Despite the desperate need for medical professionals, the ban is driving doctors out. “For [his trans staffers] to stay in the state of Florida, they have to accept the lack of access to health care while working at a healthcare organization,” Knoll told Coda. “I mean, it’s nonsense.”

CONSERVATIVE POLICIES CHASE WORKERS AWAY​

With a 3% unemployment rate, which is below the national average, Florida businesses are facing extreme difficulties finding workers. So what better way for the state’s Republicans to make things worse than by chasing away immigrant workers?

DeSantis signed restrictive new anti-immigrant legislation on May 10, blaming it on “Biden’s border crisis.” NPR provided an overview of the law:

Among its provisions, the strict new state legislation limits social services for undocumented immigrants, allocates millions more tax dollars to expand DeSantis' migrant relocation program, invalidates driver's licenses issued to undocumented people by other states, and requires hospitals that get Medicaid dollars to ask for a patient's immigration status.
But the most worrisome measures — for businesses and undocumented immigrants alike — are the host of penalties for those [businesses] who violate new employment mandates.

It turns out that DeSantis’ anti-business actions extend beyond the Walt Disney Company and into all sectors of Florida’s economy. The state of Florida is now actively punishing businesses that hire undocumented workers.

The Farmworkers Association of Florida isn’t happy. “The Farmworkers Association of Florida, a grassroots nonprofit that advocates for social and environmental justice with farmworkers, estimates that there are about 300,000 farm workers in Florida who live in the state illegally, making up about 60% of the state’s farm workers,” reports the Pensacola News Journal. It is quite obvious that Florida’s agriculture industry simply cannot function without those workers. The same goes for other industries, like construction and hospitality.

You may have seen this viral video of a town hall meeting of Florida Republicans responding to angry constituents on their loss of workers.




(full article online)

DeSantis' conservative policies are destroying Florida

Republican presidential hopeful and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants America to look like Florida. Apparently, he wants America to lose doctors, teachers, and immigrant laborers, then sink underwater. Rarely are a party’s policy consequences so stark....

www.dailykos.com

 

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This Pride Month, tell LGBTQ+ Floridians that we stand with them. Tell Florida Republicans that they can't cancel Pride.

 

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Professor William Darity is known for his extensive work studying American economic history and advocating for Black reparations. As a Duke University Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, he has also pushed for a robust federal job guarantee economic plan. This approach has found favor in the broader public over the past decade.

In May, Darity appeared as the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s 2023 Philip Gamble Memorial guest lecturer. His full lecture, titled “Does everyone lose from racism? Insights from stratification economics,” is worth the watch (down below). During the question and answer section of the lecture, a young man spewed what many would consider a right-wing, neo-libertarian talking point about Black “trends” of “higher crime rates” and “high illegitimacy rates” that would supersede any structural criticism of our country.

Professor Darity deftly dismantled this fact-free “propagandistic method” and asked what exactly “crime” meant to this young man, noting that if it means a “history of violence,” then there is “unquestionably” only one group of Americans who, far and away, have participated in general and racially focused violence at levels unmatched by other groups of Americans.

A brilliant response to racist propaganda

Professor William Darity is known for his extensive work studying American economic history and advocating for Black reparations. As a Duke University Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, he has also pushed for a robust federal...

www.dailykos.com

 

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ABC News reports that many board members were vocal in their opposition to this bit of homophobia, including the president of the Temecula Valley Educator Association, Edgar Diaz, who said, “We've never experienced this before. I've never heard of a top performing district or any district say you know what we are going to withhold these materials.” The teachers union is planning on holding rallies over the banned materials in the coming weeks.

Conflating pedophilia with homosexuality is pretty much the original (and most basic) version of anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry. The fact that some of these board members have the intellectual capacity of a homophobic tomato doesn’t change the offensiveness of their position. By their logic, we shouldn’t discuss anybody in American history, including:

• George Washington (slave-owner)
• Benjamin Franklin and many of the Kennedys—serial philanderer/s
• Pope John Paul II (Suspected conspirator in protecting one of history’s largest pedophilia rings)

This is not about making good decisions for children as much as it is about adults trying to create ignorant people who are as fearful of the world around them as they are. The unease of bigots around LGBTQ+ people, in general, is very apparent in how frequently banned books happen to humanize transgender characters or celebrate advances in civil rights.


(full article online)

Mentioning Harvey Milk got a textbook banned in California

Last month, California’s Temecula Valley Unified School Board voted 3-2 to reject a new elementary school social studies textbook because it included material about gay rights activist and elected California official Harvey Milk. Milk was one of the...

www.dailykos.com

 

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