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I mentioned my friend Glenn Doty, both a Christian and a chemist/physicist, in a recent post about the future of Christianity , in which I argued that religion is largely impervious to attacks from science, insofar as a significant percentage of our population is ignorant of, and in many cases, opposed to the application of science in our problem-solving.
Glenn responds:
I think that you are conflating all evil/stupidity with religion-inspired evil/stupidity.
However, if you look at the trend line for Christianity, it effectively falls off a cliff with Millennials and Zoomers. Access to information made the kind of stuff that I just rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth through absolutely insufferable to many of the younger generations.
But then came the American fascist (MAGA) movement, and the church did not oppose it, which means the church has no purpose and no legitimate faith. That forced me to reject the church in order to preserve my faith.
Between the young rejecting the church because it clings to easily disproven nonsense, and the faithful rejecting the church because the church rejected Christianity, I think there are some pretty turbulent times ahead for modern religion.
Your story is illustrative of what I like to call “The Biblical Jesus versus the Republican Jesus.” You are one of many thoughtful and kind people I’m proud to know who simply follow the teachings of Christ and carry with them none of the trappings of ultra-right-wing politics.

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The SAVE Act

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It appears that there are a few Republicans who understand the SAVE Act is simply an exercise in voter suppression and thus an attempt to overturn American democracy.

We need to accept any little bit of good news where we can find it.

The SAVE Act

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What We Want from the State

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What we see at left is a a perfect example of a “straw man” argument, i.e., one that deliberately twists one side of the debate. If you asked to guess as to the percentage of Americans who want to give up free enterprise and hand over the “means of production” to the government, I’d say it could be 1/100th of a percent.

Practically nobody wants “everything from the state.” What most of us want, in addition to the many dozens of other things that the U.S. federal, state, and local governments provide us is Medicare for all and subsided education, which is the form of government in the countries that consistently come in at the top of the World Happiness Rankings.

What We Want from the State

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Preferences for Musical Genres and Political Demographics

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The following is simply raw speculation on my part.  I’ll be interested in your comments.

There are musical styles that align themselves with left- and right-wing politics, though none of these, with the possible exception of one, has 100% of its audience–more on this below.

Here are a few musical genres, where they seem to be pro- or anti-Trump. and why:

Classical.  Largely but not exclusively anti-Trump.  Classical appeals to the mind and the emotions that surround the perception of beauty, and people who are strong in these areas are generally anti-Trump.  There are exceptions, in that there are plenty of billionaires and weirdo intellectuals, e.g., the “objectivists” of Ayn Rand fame many of whom adore classical music.

Country.  Pro-Trump.  Most of it appeals to people whose most nuanced thinking concerns getting drunk and laid in the back of their pick-up truck.

HipHop: Pro-Trump.  The opposite of classical, this is music that appeals to the genitalia as opposed to the mind.

Rock.  Mixed bag.  Heavy metal probably favors Trump; fans of prog-rock bands like Yes and Pink Floyd have too much going on in their minds and hearts to be Trump supporters.

Folk: Mostly anti-Trump.  Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan fans aren’t big on stupidity and fascism.  I’m sure there are exceptions.

Reggae: Distinctly anti-Trump.  Black folks’ songs of love, peace, weed, and escape from slavery aren’t going to resonate with the hate of the White supremacists.

The Grateful Dead.  I’ll leave you with this.  If you can find me a single Dead Head Trumper, I’ll be astounded.  Now, I know that essentially no one sits on the fence about the Dead; they have their detractors. But there is essentially zero intersection of Dead Heads and those who favor war, corruption, hate, greed, and ignorance.

Preferences for Musical Genres and Political Demographics

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