A History Of US Christian Nationalism

"In the United States, theocracy and authoritarianism go hand in hand."

"The framers of the Constitution quite deliberately excluded religion from the U.S. Constitution. - - - "

"In order to make sure men had the right of conscience, the framers added the First Amendment to the Constitution. It read: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….' "

"In the early years of the nation, Americans zealously guarded the wall between the two. They strictly limited the power of the federal government to reflect religion, refusing even to permit the government to stop delivery of the U.S. mails on Sunday out of concern that Jews and Christians did not share the same Sabbath, and the government could not choose one over the other. The Constitution, a congressional report noted, gave Congress no authority 'to inquire and determine what part of time, or whether any has been set apart by the Almighty for religious exercises.'"

"But the Civil War marked a change. As early as the 1830s, southern white enslavers relied on religious justification for their hierarchical system that rested on white supremacy. God, they argued, had made Black Americans for enslavement and women for marriage, and society must recognize those facts."

"The Confederacy rejected the idea of popular government, maintaining instead that a few Americans should make the rules for the majority. - - - "

"Confederates not only invoked 'the favor and guidance of Almighty God' in their Constitution, they established as their motto 'Deo vindice,' or 'God will vindicate.'"

Click on the link below for more:

Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American - February 22, 2024

Civility: A Character Trait Lost In The MAGA Swamp

"Alexandra Hudson is a writer, public speaker, and the author of The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves. She joins Preet to discuss her book, the difference between politeness and civility, and the many figures that have inspired her—from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Larry David."

Click on the link below for an enlightened point of view regarding the times in which we are living:

On being Civil

America's Frontline Doctors: The Vanguard Of Anti-Vaccine Quackery

"Simone Melissa Gold, M.D., J.D., who founded America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS), is one of the world’s most arrogant promoters of COVID-19 misinformation. Gold graduated from the City College of New York at age 19 and received her medical degree from the Chicago Medical School in 1989. After obtaining a medical license in California, she attended Stanford Law School, graduating in 1993. She was admitted to the New York bar in 1997 and shortly afterward completed a residency in emergency medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University [1]. She became board-certified in emergency medicine, but her Linkedin page states that she chose not to renew her certification “due to the medical cancel culture that is threatening physicians and the doctor patient relationship.” [2]

"AFLDS is said to be a project of the Free Speech Foundation, which was registered in Arizona as a nonprofit corporation in 2020. Documents filed with the Arizona Secretary of State list Gold as the foundation’s board chairman and chief executive officer. Mother Jones magazine has vividly described Gold’s right-wing radicalization and ascent to MAGA stardom [3]."

Click on the link below for more:

A Skeptical Look at Simone Gold and America’s Frontline Doctors

Ukraine And Russia: A History Lession

"Although few Americans paid much attention at the time, the events of February 18, 2014, in Ukraine would turn out to be a linchpin in how the United States ended up where it is a decade later."

Click on the link below to better understand the connection between the Republican Party/MAGA and Putin/Russia:

10 years of US/Ukraine/Russia History

US Immigration And Crime: Beware Of Republican Gaslighting

"Across a variety of studies that use different years of data that focus on different areas of the United States – with some exceptions, there’s some nuance there. I don’t want to deny the nuance – in general, on average, we do not find a connection between immigration and crime, as is so often claimed. The most common finding across all these different kinds of studies is that immigration to an area is either not associated with crime in that area, or is negatively associated with crime in that area. This means more immigration equals less crime. It’s rare to find studies that show crime following increases in immigration or with larger percentage of the population that are immigrants."

Click on the link below for more:

What EXPERTS Say About Immigration And Crime

Why We Need More REGULATED Capitalism

"The need to hold industries to high safety standards seems like an obvious priority. Yet in reality, questionable business practices are widespread -- from deep-fakes to mass data collection. Vanderbilt University Professor Ganesh Sitaraman says it is time for Congress to clamp down on rampant use of artificial intelligence and tighten regulations on the aviation industry. He joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss his latest book 'Why Flying Is Miserable and How To Fix It.'"

Click on the link below for the details of corporate monopoly abuse highlighting the airline industry as an example:

"Why Flying Is Miserable" Author Offers Solutions for Airlines and AI

The "Deep State" Conspiracy Theory: The Truth And Its Harm

"UCLA School of Law professor Jon D. Michaels argued that compared with developing governments such as Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey, governmental power structures in the United States are "almost entirely transparent".[43][44][45] Michaels argues that the American 'deep state', which includes federal agencies responsible for regulation, welfare, crime prevention, and defense, and the employees who operate them, fundamentally differs from Trump's use of the term in five important respects:[43]

• Not Elitist – In the US, bureaucrats come from a diverse range of socio-economic backgrounds, especially when compared to those in the Middle East, and even Western Europe.
• Not Shadowy – American agencies are generally "transparent and accessible", in comparison to those of the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
• Not Monolithic – the American deep state is "internally diverse and fragmented."
• A Bulwark, Not a Battering Ram – actions of civil servants in the US are inherently defensive, not proactive.
• Not an Extraconstitutional Force – the bureaucracy should be seen as part of the constitutional system of checks and balances in the US, which often serves as a final check on presidential or agency overreach."

(Wikipedia) 

Click on the link below for more:

The American Deep State

Libertarianism: Another Harmful Conservative Idea That Won't Die

"What happens if America just turns everything over to the morbidly rich and lets them and their corporations run the entire country? What could possibly go wrong? This bizarre experiment of libertarianism has been promoted by the billionaire class ever since World War II. And it’s literally killing some of us, along with threatening our democratic republic."

Click on the link below for a thorough debunking of minimal government:

10 Reasons NEVER To Flirt With Libertarianism

Yes, Cold Snaps In Winter Can Be Caused By Global Warming

"After a summer of record-breaking heat, vast swaths of the United States are now grappling with extreme cold as a brutal Arctic blast brings snow squalls, deadly ice and life-threatening wind chills.

"As unprecedented heat makes way for cold, it can provide fuel for climate-change deniers who point to freezing temperatures as evidence that global warming is overstated.

"But scientists are clear: cold extremes will still occur even as winters warm overall.

"Global heat records outpace cold records — 2023 was the hottest year on record by a huge margin. And even as the US struggles to cope with intense bursts of heavy snow now, over the long term, the human-caused climate crisis has led to an alarming trend of disappearing snow in the Northern Hemisphere.

"Some scientists say that climate change may even be playing a role in these icy blasts, as warming in the Arctic increases the likelihood that frigid, polar air can sweep southwards."

Click on the link below for more against the conservative, anti-science propaganda:

Why we still have brutal cold snaps even as the planet warms to record levels

The USA Should Be Ashamed

The USA is being upstaged by BRAZIL. Click on the link below for an example of a peaceful change of power:

Brazil Shows The USA How To Handle Right-Wing Extremists

Fairness In Wages Is More Than The Minimum Wage

"And how does that differ from the minimum wage? Or, for that matter, the federal poverty line? California has mandated a $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers starting April 1st. As far as I'm concerned, those folks are saints and deserve the world. But Glenn Beck and other conservatives strongly disagree and had a meltdown over it. But who is right? Will this new $20 wage cause California as we know it to cease to exist and drift off into the sea? Or is Glenn Beck an idiot?"

Click on the link below for the details:

What Is A Living Wage?

A Major Reason Why Conservatives Are So Powerful

Ever wonder why Talk Radio is essentially void of progressive push-back against the lies of conservatives? Or, why Faux News is so powerful? Click on the link below for why the truth of the progressive point of view is largely absent to the typical middle/lower-class voter who generally lacks critical thinking skills:

America’s Political System is Being Manipulated - but by who?

Will 2024 Be A Disaster? Many Think So

"Surprising survey results show that a majority of Americans believe the next five years will be worse than the previous ones. In fact, nearly 20% predict that next year will be the worst on record. Find out why people are feeling this way and what it means for the future."

Click on the link below for a 20-minute video presenting the negative outlook of so many of us. Oh, imagine how different things would be without the harm from conservatives that essentially began about 40 years ago with Ronald Reagan:

Will 2024 Be The Worst Year EVER?

Beware Of The Growing Monopoly Monster

"Monopolies and oligopolies (where a market is controlled by a few producers) give companies the power to push through price increases because customers have fewer options. More than a few observers believe the inflation of the past few years was accelerated by food and agricultural giants — aka “greedflation.” As Time magazine pointed out last year, four corporations are responsible for 60% of the market share for such dietary staples as pork, cookies, pasta, and coffee."

Click on the link below for an example of the growing effort of large corporations to deceive the public by owning a high percentage of familiar brands:

Why Americans should worry about Subway’s new ownership

Intellectualism Is A 4-Letter Word To Republicans

• Ignorance, or an aversion to reason, has allowed things like gun violence and racism to define American culture.
• Anti-intellectual societies fall prey to tribalism and simplistic explanations, are emotionally immature, and often seek violent solutions.
• Corporate interests encourage anti-intellectualism, conditioning Americans into conformity and passive acceptance of institutional dominance.

Click on the link below for more. Oh, this was published BEFORE Trump was elected. It's only gotten worse:

The exaltation of ignorance in America

Homeschooling: It's Diversity. Threat, And Warning

"Homeschooling has become America’s fastest-growing form of education, according to a Washington Post analysis. This form of education, which largely has roots within evangelical Christian households, has grown into a broader movement, especially since the pandemic. Laura Meckler is a national education writer at The Washington Post and is co-author of a series for The Post called “Homeschool Nation,” which takes an in-depth look at the surge in homeschooling in the U.S. and motivations for its rise, which include concerns over school shootings, curriculum ideologies and more. She joins WITHpod to discuss how this mode of education has evolved, the forces that have driven its growth, recent declines in public school enrollment, the increasing popularity of micro-schools, and more."

Click on the link below for the details of this important presentation signaling major issues in US education:

"Homeschool Nation"

Christian Nationalism: The Death Of The USA?

"So, a high-ranking Republican speaks to a secretive Christian Nationalist conference…no big deal, right? Unless the person is 2nd in line for the Oval after the VP…are you hearing warning bells yet?"

Click on the link below for a concise but deep dive into the greatest threat to the representative democracy of the USA. The country is acting like the frogs in a slowly boiling pot!! Wake up and

VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO!!:

Will the GOP’s Self-proclaimed “Moses” lead the destruction?

Ponder the courage of the Founding Fathers when they fought against religious factions that wanted another Christian theocracy based on THEIR brand of such.

There Is NO Equivalency Between The Two Major US Political Parties

Anyone who watches Rachel Maddow knows her political views. The same can be said about Lis Cheney. There is no better example of polar opposites in political views. However, they agree 100% on ONE important matter: DONALD TRUMP MUST NEVER RETURN AS POTUS!!

Click on the link below for one of the best exposes of the dangers of Trump and his cult to the future of US representative democracy:

He is not the lesser of two evils’: Cheney emphasizes the severity of Trump threat

A Look At US Tax Policy History

"Tax policy shows what a society values.

"Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of Moore v. United States. The case illustrates today’s Supreme Court’s tendency to hear cases based on fictional stories to shape society to a right-wing ideology."

Click on the link for details. Ironically, the Republican Party today is against policies that many of them initially supported.

The lies of the Republicans to support economic inequality

Chris Hayes & Rachel Maddow Tell It As It Was, And Still Is

THE USA WILL BE A DICTATORSHIP UNDER TRUMP

"We just wrapped up our fall 2023 national tour. We’ve so enjoyed taking WITHpod on the road and it’s been so good to hear feedback from so many of you. We couldn’t think of a better person to have for our tour culmination than the one and only Rachel Maddow. It was a fascinating conversation all about what we can do to save American democracy, how we got to this particular political moment and her amazing New York Times bestselling book, “Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism.” We’re thrilled to share the full recording of the event with you."

Click on the link below for 90 minutes of American history and current events that everyone needs to know:

WITHpod Live with Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow