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Trump’s SOTU Address Was a Christian Nationalist Dog Whistle

…ludes the following line (emphases mine): In reaffirming our heritage as a free nation, we must remember that America has always been a Christian nation. Time magazine’s transcript, meanwhile, reflects what the president actually said: In reaffirming our heritage as a free Nation, we must remember that America has always been a frontier nation. It’s entirely possible that the speech wasn’t deliberately edited; that Trump, who’s famous for ad-libbi…

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Not Cause, But Effect: Jared Loughner and Tea Party Rhetoric

…ment (or the expenditure of tax dollars). As Loughner explains, algebra is free. Charging a student for an algebra class amounts to selling a free product and is a scam.  If the world worked properly, grammar and currency would convey real value without distortion. But because of government practices of mind control and currency fraud, they do not. As a way out of these misrepresentations, individuals need to learn to dream, a practice that he lab…

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2012 Film Heralds Progressive Utopia, No Effort Required

…lf a “documentary,” which is as fine a category as any for this sprawling, free-associative film. It includes interviews with an assortment of environmentalists, a clip from the O.J. Simpson trial, footage from a free yoga class in Union Square, and bulleted lists about the medicinal uses of hallucinogenic drugs. Filmmaker David Lynch describes how he first started meditating; actress Ellen Page reminisces about the month she spent “shoveling goat…

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Will a New Dawkins Foundation-Sponsored App Help Atheists Talk to Believers?

…-escalation are all admirable, but as noted earlier the tone is not always free of condescension. Writing realistic dialogue for hypothetical conversations is a very particular skill, and several of the scenarios reflect a deep disdain for believers. At times, the app casts believers as belligerent doofuses: …or violent bullies: Another scenario assumes that you might be tempted to lecture an intoxicated panhandler about epistemology and divine ex…

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Satanic “Black Mass” at Harvard Excites Conservatives

…tional values under the guise of cultural pluralism, critical inquiry, and free speech. The National Catholic Register called the black mass “a Faustian bargain between Satan worship and academic freedom.” Oklahoma house member Rebecca Hamilton argued that it demonstrated why, “Harvard and its little troupe of elite schools are not healthy for this country.” She suggests that government research grants should be removed from Harvard and given to “…

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“Liberal Nazis”: The Republican Crusade Against NPR

…d protector of liberal issues and political correctness, at the expense of free speech and balanced news reporting.” —Congressman Doug Lamborn, (R) Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs, my hometown, leads the nation in religiosity, or so declared Men’s Health magazine recently, which ranked the “top 100” cities in terms of faith. But “religiosity” here takes on a particular meaning, one dominated by an evangelical culture increasingly tied into Tea…

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Is Accreditation of Religious Institutions a “Farce”?

…oard of overstepping the First Amendment and infringing on their rights to free religious exercise and free speech.” Among the colleges and seminaries that spurn regional accreditation, many justify their decision by citing freedom from governmental oversight, a position compatible with the conservative mentality often dominant at such institutions. Ideologically consistent, this claim has the ancillary benefit of helping its makers dodge the cost…

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Pittsburgh Paradox: A City Haunted by God and Steel

…a young man’s desire to do “splendid, brilliant, poetic things,” so as to “free some hilarious and potent spirit within him” is a religious parable, of a sort. Reading it today tells us something about the vagaries of God and Mammon in the Steel City, a story worth considering whether you’re from Pittsburgh or not. “Paul’s Case” doesn’t appear in my book An Alternative History of Pittsburgh—a gross oversight (perhaps justification for a sequel), f…

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McCarthy, Born Again and Retooled for Our Time

…ght-wing extremism noted, “some lecturers speaking under his auspices feel free to venture into questionable areas, sometimes implying treason in national institutions, sometimes plainly suggesting that one might find Communist activity under almost any bush near home.” Schwarz influenced Christian Reconstructionists as well, as Gary North discussed in an essay, “It All Began With Fred Schwarz.” When Schwarz retired in 1998, Noebel took over the p…

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The Sacred and the Dead: How an Iranian-Jewish Angeleno Discovered Her Tribe

…found my “people” and my sense of belonging. It was the most thrilling and freeing experience of my high school life. The dancing, the moving, the drums, the parking lot scene where along with veggie burritos, beautiful beaded jewelry, and other crafts, I found a real sense of community. If music can be an intoxicant, then American Beauty was my gateway drug. It introduced me to other Dead albums and I devoured each one. Eventually I found my fell…

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