Month: November 2020

 

From The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser:

Bruce, if Christianity doesn’t matter, why do you bother with it?

Good question.

On one hand, Christianity doesn’t matter. The Bible doesn’t matter. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God, the Church, none of it matters.

If Christians want to worship their God, I have no objection. I subscribe to the “live and let live” school of thought. Each to his own. May Jesus be with you. May the force be with you. May nothing be with you. I don’t care.

However . . .

I do care about the influence Evangelical (and conservative Catholic) Christianity has on our culture and government. I do care about the damage done to society in the name of the Christian God. I do care when people are hurt, maimed, and killed in the name of the Christian God.

When Christians want to turn the United States into a theocracy . . . it matters.

When Christians want their religion to have preference over any and all others . . . it matters.

When Christians demand atheists and agnostics be treated as the spawn of Satan . . . it matters.

When Christians attempt to teach religious dogma as scientific fact in public schools . . . it matters.

When Christians attempt to force their religious moral code on everyone . . . it matters.

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Well, of course…
 

Trump’s pardon choices:

Pardon Me!

He issues his own pardon

I beg your pardon, P-P-P-President Biden

He pleads with Biden for a pardon

I resign. PARDON Me, President Pence

He cuts a deal with the briefest president ever

 

From nojo:

• A constitutional republic famous for its peaceful transitions of power.
   
• The spirit that as Americans, we’re all in this together.
   
• The civic belief that all Americans should vote, and all votes should be counted.
   
• Umbrella Academy

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From Andy Borowitz:

“These people have never earned an immunity idol, presided over a rose ceremony, or danced with a star,” Trump said. “This is the best Sleepy Joe could do?”

He saved his most withering criticism for Janet Yellen, Biden’s pick for Treasury Secretary. “If Joe really wanted a woman for this position, why didn’t he choose one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?” Trump asked. “They know a lot more about money than this clown.”

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From North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz:

I feel it all: the homesickness, the isolation, the incessant grieving over a year you’ve lost, the disbelief at every moment and milestone you’ve been robbed of, the volcanic anger because you want it to be over now.

But it isn’t over now.
It is far worse than it has ever been.
Of all the times not to give in to the exhaustion, it’s now.
Of all the seasons not to abandon diligence, it’s this one.
Of all the days not to lose patience, it’s today.

This virus wants that.

It wants you to say to hell with it all, to give in to the seasonal muscle memory that pulls you toward your people; to think that you can sidestep it simply by wishing it away; to imagine that the familiar faces or the greeting card surroundings or the momentary lightness make you immune to the danger—but they can’t.

Life and death are in your hands and in your plans right now.

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From our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit:

The General Services Administration ascertained Monday that President-elect Joe Biden is the “apparent winner” of the Nov. 3 election, clearing the way for the start of the transition from President Donald Trump’s administration and allowing Biden to coordinate with federal agencies on plans for taking over on Jan. 20.

The two-week temper tantrum of Trump is effectively over.

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From Hackwhackers:

BREAKING: Michigan Officially Certified For Biden

Within the last hour, the four member Michigan Board of State Canvassers officially certified the election results by a vote of 3 – 0, giving President-elect Joe Biden the official win, despite efforts by neo-fascist demagogue Donald “Mango Mussolini” Trump to subvert the will of Michiganders. The Board has four members, two Dems and two Republicans; one Republican member abstained.

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From @momwino98:
 
A parent writes to a child in mourning
Words attributed to David Romano
 

For most of us, the loss of a parent is as personal as it gets
 
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From jobsanger:

If you thought elections were not held and counted fairly in this country, wouldn’t that affect your choice of whether to vote or not? What’s the point of voting if you think an election is rigged and has widespread fraud?

And it wouldn’t take many Republicans staying at home on Election Day to make a big difference, especially in swing states.

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Note from Ray – How hasty research with shoddy methodology leads to misleading results: think hydroxychloroquine

From The Journal of Improbable Research:

Is coffee an effective medicine to deal with Covid-19? A large team of researchers in France and the UK explore whether that question—the question, not the coffee—is a good way to get people thinking about:

1. how difficult it can be to find an effective treatment for any problem, and
2. how easy it can be to produce unreliable, shoddy answers, and
3. how easy it can be to pay attention to unreliable, shoddy answers

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