The burden of false guardians

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White Christianity having been thoroughly hijacked by #MAGA, a remnant of pastors with a conscience run in Democratic primaries. {AFP 13 July}

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/democratic-pastors-run-reclaim-jesus-013012065.html

Godspeed to these individuals, but they have a very long and steep hill to climb if they believe American Christianity is going to be reformed any time soon. Indeed, they may even be placing themselves in genuine physical and legal danger. The seeds were planted long ago; now, so to speak, the harvest is underway.

Many within the younger generations are being indoctrinated into Christian Nationalism, and informed by violent anti-Semites and misogynists such as Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes. When the youngest members of that movement eventually come to power in force, they may unleash waves of repression across this country — and beyond — that are scarcely imaginable to the average Western citizen today. The Democratic Party should have confronted the political and cultural right's successful hijacking of Christianity and patriotism decades ago. To attempt to reverse the process now is too little and far too late for a party that is itself, in all likelihood, headed for the ash heap of history.

Furthermore, I am no longer entirely certain that Jesus is opposed to any of this. Perhaps He is simply allowing these travesties to unfold as judgement upon an empire — not so much a nation as an empire — of hypocrites, sinners, and liars. I am almost certain that He hath forsaken this polyglot realm of the former United States (still known as such in name, of course), and entirely certain that He hath hated me from the day of my birth. As a nation, at least — I shall deal with my own spiritual house, thank you — seeking His favour at this point seems a futile endeavour.

In other words, America increasingly appears a lost cause, and I believe it is so. And if so many people genuinely desire their Christian Nationalist utopia, then perhaps we ought to carve out a large swathe of this empire — a substantial portion of the South and Midwest, sacrifices notwithstanding — and allow them to build it in earnest, no more ‘woke’ folk to get in the way. Raise a wall around and keep their citizens the hell out of everybody else’s lands. As someone living in Massachusetts, I have no desire to be governed by such people, nor to watch them continue to poison the well for the rest of us.

Again, though, good on these pastors for trying. If I lived in any of those states, I would not hesitate to give them my vote — even in vain. After all, it seems to me there have been many times through the years I have voted for candidates and ballot questions that I knew were going to lose, so do not mistake my cynicism for lack of approval… perhaps there is even some mild enthusiasm here.

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🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Hurricane Helene exacts a deadly toll upon the US Southeast, particularly in southern Appalachia

AP Photo/Erik Verduzco

Asheville has been isolated after Helene wrecked roads and knocked out power and cell service. {AP 28 September}

Am quite saddened. It has been nearly thirty years since I last visited Asheville and Western North Carolina. My parents have returned at least once, mayhap two or three times, in the years since. Asheville remains one of the most scenic and pleasant places I have ever experienced. East Tennessee, where I once had strong ties for many years, was largely spared the worst of the calamity, though poor Newport was not so fortunate.

Global warming—or 'climate change', if one prefers—is both terrifying and real, and largely man-made. For the longest time, before I parted ways with the 'conservatives' (now #Cult45) in 2015 and 2016, I was as adamant as any of them that global warming was a 'hoax' and that humanity was blameless for acts of nature. Yet now, I think, 'Well, if mankind ruins everything else, why would we not also be culpable for this?' In the eternal battle between humanity and nature, nature always prevails. Human beings do not respect nature, and the consequences of this disregard grow ever more dire with the passing of each day, week, month, and year.

Prayers are with all those affected.

Recent headlines:

Project 2025 would cripple NOAA and the National Weather Center. {Poynter 27 September}

The 1 October deadline threatens to shut down ports on the US East Coast. {Reuters 25 September}

President Biden leads a bloc of North American, European, Arab, and Pacific nations in calling for a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon. {BBC 26 September}

Trump signals that he is going to throw Ukraine to the wolves, calls their people ‘dead’ and their land ‘demolished’ - The American people shall have blood on their hands if (when) they vote to return this cretin to power. Слава Україні. {AP 25 September}

Despite his delicate feelings being hurt, Trump decides to meet with Zelensky during the Ukrainian leader's visit to the US. {BBC 27 September}

Another utterly shameful omen of where the US is heading: the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism reveals a sharp spike in Jew hatred and a ‘decline in allies willing to stand up against it.’ {Jerusalem Post 27 September}

Neo-Nazis use AI to rebrand a ‘misunderstood’ Hitler for a new generation - It is working, all too well. Far too many Americans today, particularly teenage boys and young males, are easily misled and disturbingly eager to embrace hate. {WP 27 September}

Jewish leaders have condemned Trump after he vowed to hold Jews and Catholics to account should he face defeat - Whether he wins or loses, this is all going to get worse. #Cult45 is champing at the bit to begin the slaughter of countless Americans. Without fail, Jews are always the first targets when societies descend into tyrannical madness. Nazi #Murica shall strive to outdo Nazi Germany in its wickedness. Mark my words. {AP 27 September}

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Lowlife pseudo-country music star stirs controversy with video shoot at an infamous Tennessee courthouse

Beginning seven years ago, with the emergence of Donald Trump as the ultimate populist demagogue, this former right-winger was left with no recourse but to finally stop giving all these people the benefit of the doubt when it comes to most anything. In particular, in matters of race, religion, and morality. The assclown musician Jason Aldean and his people chose a particular courthouse with a sordid history for his video shoot as a dog whistle to his neo-Confederate fans and white nationalist populists everywhere. Let us be real, those types are by far the largest consumers of this kind of trash modern ‘country’ music, and Jason Aldean certainly knows this clearly and capitalizes. Trump has taught his little grifters quite well in the game, but how difficult can it be when there are millions and millions of Americans so gleefully willing to be gaslit and swindled by con-men who say or imply the sort of things they want to hear. Especially any rhetoric stating or implying that blacks must be kept in line. Do read this article from the Washington Post and the harrowing account of what happened at the Maury County Courthouse in November of 1927. {WP 7/19}

Copyright 2023, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on TWITTER, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, and @arthurnewhook on POST and THREADS.

Odds and ends: Thoughts on why #Murica is so screwed up in the 21st century, COVID rates multitudes higher than reported, as are Russian death totals in Ukraine, more

New York Post

The 21st century has been awful. Plagued by maladies that in more normal times (the late 20th century) we believed were no longer, or ever, supposed to occur in America - large scale terrorist attacks, pandemics, severe economic turmoil, race riots, disputed elections, the revival of global Fascism, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs winning championships; and I’m only scratching the surface. Today, I find myself wondering if all this chaos, hatred, and degradation is what people want. The only thing that everybody can seem to agree upon is that the country and the world are in a bad place. Logically, it would stand to reason that people would want to each do their part to fix the overall malaise ailing us. Yet, logic typically has so little to do with human thinking and decision making. Certain types of personalities do exist that thrive on chaos. Considering how large of a role entertainment plays in this culture - is there anything Americans demand more than the privilege of being entertained at all times? - perhaps the modern American is subconsciously bored by stability and order? Not an absolute thesis, just brainstorming.

Hollywood nutjobs battle in court - This is the nonsense #Murica has been paying the most attention to over the last few months. Not the plight of the Ukrainian people, or the threat Vladimir Putin and his nuclear arsenal pose to humanity, not COVID, and not the continuing erosion of our constitutional republic. Two Hollywood weirdos airing their dirty laundry to the world. So, if some sleazy actor is legally allowed to extort millions of dollars from a woman, does that mean I get to take my second-to-last girlfriend - a uniquely horrible person, who has offended me worse than any individual I’ve ever known, and that is saying a lot - to court for the hell she put me through? Does this mean I can sue my former high school classmates for emotional damages, because I know I could put a reasonable case together there? I’ve toyed with the idea of seeking legal council against a few individuals from a ‘fellows**t’ I made the mistake of being part of for nearly five years. But, I’m not some privileged a**hole like Johnny Depp, so I’d be laughed out of court, and nobody would be rooting for me as they root for one or the other litigants in this case. For better or worse, being a bitch is not a crime - and that is a resting bitchface if I’ve ever seen one, albeit she is quite gorgeous - and I have a hard time mustering up any sympathy for a sleazy actor who may have missed out on a part or two because of rumor and innuendo spread by the aforementioned woman that I had never ‘heard’ of until very recently.  Rome is burning, and most of us are choosing to be Nero playing our fiddles. (AP 6/01)

Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Current COVID-19 infections may be up to thirty times higher than being reported - Quote: ‘It’s almost as though we’ve created a national ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ Covid policy – and that is a perfect way to promise that Covid will spread rapidly.’ (The Guardian 6/02)

Just another weekend in #Murica: Mass shootings in Philadelphia, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, and Arizona (New York Times 6/05)

Why are ‘deaths of despair’ increasing in the United States, but not in other industrialized nations? (JAMA Psychiatry 2/02)

Reuters

An estimated 40,000 or more Russian troops have been injured during the ‘special operation’ against Ukraine (Evening Standard 6/01)

Incredible photographs from inside the Azovstal steel plant (The Guardian 5/23)

Copyright 2022, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here. DONATIONS - click here.

U.S. records its lowest population growth in the nation’s history during the pandemic; Deaths outnumber births in more than two dozen states

AFP via Getty Images

AP - US population growth at lowest rate in pandemic’s first year

In the long run, fewer mouths to feed and fewer people to cause problems in the United States would be a net positive for the planet, though will likely be offset by the uncontrolled and unacceptable levels of population growth in places like India, Africa, and other poverty-stricken backwaters of the world. There is a (very humane) reason we spade and neuter our cats and dogs, and necessity demands we will soon have no recourse but to apply the same to humans. Make no mistake, there are going to be some severe issues that result from lower birth rates in the U.S. – some are already present – but overpopulation will eventually lead to humankind’s demise. - 

U.S. population growth dipped to its lowest rate since the nation’s founding during the first year of the pandemic as the coronavirus curtailed immigration, delayed pregnancies and killed hundreds of thousands of U.S. residents, according to figures released Tuesday. 

The United States grew by only 0.1%, with an additional 392,665 added to the U.S. population from July 2020 to July 2021, bringing the nation’s count to 331.8 million people, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The U.S. has been experiencing slow population growth for years but the pandemic exacerbated that trend. This past year was the first time since 1937 that the nation’s population grew by less than 1 million people. (Read more)

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University of Tennessee football program concludes internal investigation into rule violations

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

No self-imposed bowl ban, but there’s no guarantee they will qualify for a bowl to begin with. In any given year. Tennessee is not an elite program anymore, and probably will not be for a long time. And college football is a shady business, as much as we love it -

The University of Tennessee has concluded its year-long internal investigation into rules violations within the football program that led to the firing of head football coach Jeremy Pruitt and will not self-impose a bowl ban, the university announced Thursday.

In a statement, the university said it was "moving forward with our focus on rebuilding our football program and supporting student-athletes" and that it would "hold ourselves accountable considering the nature of the violations, our prompt investigation and corrective personnel, the new recruiting environment and other factors."

Sources told ESPN that the university does plan to self-impose penalties other than a postseason ban such as a reduction in scholarships and other recruiting restrictions. The university has yet to receive a notice of allegations from the NCAA, according to sources.

While the NCAA has been heavily involved in Tennessee's internal probe, which was aided by former NCAA investigator Michael Glazier and the Bond, Schoeneck & King law firm, the NCAA has yet to make a final ruling on Tennessee's case and could still levy its own penalties.

"NCAA bylaws prevent us from sharing details of the investigation at this time, but we do commit to providing that information when we are able," the university said in a statement. (Read more)

Copyright 2021, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here.

Tyson Foods: Once a COVID pariah, the meatpacker has successfully mandated that its employees be vaccinated

NYT

Every now and again, a corporation will display that they’ve learned a thing or two from their errors - 

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — When Tyson, one of the world’s largest meatpacking companies, announced in early August that all of its 120,000 workers would need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or lose their jobs, Diana Eike was angry. Ms. Eike, an administrative coordinator at the company, had resisted the vaccine, and not for religious or political reasons like many others here in her home state. 

“It was just something personal,” she said. 

Now, Ms. Eike is fully vaccinated, and she is relieved that Tyson made the decision for her. The company, she said, “took the burden off of me making the choice.” 

Across the country, workers have reacted to vaccine mandates with a mix of emotions. Employer requirements are taking effect without major controversy in many areas. But in some cities, government workers have marched through the streets in protest, while others have quit. Numerous companies, fearing a wave of resignations, have hesitated on mandates, even as they struggled with new coronavirus outbreaks. 

Tyson’s announcement that it would require vaccinations across its corporate offices, packing houses and poultry plants, many of which are situated in the South and Midwest where resistance to the vaccines is high, was arguably the boldest mandate in the corporate world. 

“We made the decision to do the mandate, fully understanding that we were putting our business at risk,” Tyson’s chief executive, Donnie King, said in an interview last week. “This was very painful to do.” 

But it was also bad for business when Tyson had to shut facilities because of virus outbreaks. Since announcing the policy, roughly 60,500 employees have received the vaccine, and more than 96 percent of its work force is vaccinated. 

Tyson’s experience shows how vaccine mandates in the workplace can be persuasive. It comes as many employers await the start of Biden administration rules that will require vaccines — or weekly testing — at companies with 100 or more workers. (Read more)

Copyright 2021, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here.

Mandates work: ‘The number of Americans getting COVID-19 vaccines has steadily increased to a three-month high’

Getty Images

Some good news for once. - 

The number of Americans getting COVID-19 vaccines has steadily increased to a three-month high as seniors and people with medical conditions seek boosters, and government and employer mandates push more workers to take their first doses. 

Demand is expected to spike in a few weeks if regulators authorize the Pfizer vaccine for elementary school children, and some states are reopening mass vaccination clinics in anticipation. 

In Missouri, a mass vaccination site at a former Toys R Us store is set to open Monday. Virginia plans to roll out nine large vaccination centers over the next few weeks, including one at the Richmond International Raceway. 

Colorado opened four mass vaccination sites in mid-September, largely to deal with employer mandates, and officials saw a 38% increase in vaccinations statewide during the first week. 

The total number of doses being administered in the U.S. is climbing toward an average of 1 million per day, almost double the level from mid-July — but still far below last spring. The increase is mainly due to boosters, with nearly 10% of the nation’s over-65 population already getting third shots, but there are signs of increased demand from other groups as well. 

On Thursday, 1.1 million doses were given, including just over 306,000 to newly vaccinated people, said Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, the White House COVID-19 data director. 

Organizers of the effort to reach the roughly 67 million unvaccinated American adults say the rise in demand can be traced to approval of the Pfizer booster, mandates that have forced employees to choose between the shot and their jobs and sobering statistics that show nearly all COVID-19 deaths are among the unvaccinated. (Read more)

Copyright 2021, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here.

Former Tennessee vaccinations director to leave the state following harassment and threats from residents

Getty Images

It should never be the case, anywhere in America, that a medical professional feels unsafe to practice their profession due to the passions of local zealots rejecting reality and reason. Straight out of the Dark Ages. Via the AP -  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The husband of Tennessee’s former vaccinations director says they are planning to move out of the state this fall amid growing tension over efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Their move to northern Virginia was in the works before a contentious school board meeting that he took part in Tuesday to discuss mask mandates, Brad Fiscus told WPLN-FM. 

Fiscus is a school board member in Williamson County, where protesters held signs with messages saying, “I will not let you muzzle my child,” and “My child, my choice.” Some had to be escorted out by law enforcement. The county is just south of Nashville. 

Fiscus said the meeting was another example of why they feel they have to move — that public health has become more political in Tennessee during the pandemic. 

His wife, Dr. Michelle Fiscus, was fired this summer amid Republican outrage over her push to inoculate teenagers against Covid-19. (Read more)

Copyright 2021, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here.