You know, I love the movie "Dave" as much as anyone... but frankly all those movies & shows where...

"regular shmoe stumbles into high-office and does it better than the career politicos, bureaucrats, and experts"

...just led to an epidemic of Dunning-Kruger in the American electorate.

I always think about Norquist's anecdote about how his father would buy him an ice cream cone, but before he'd hand it to him, he'd take a bite and say "income tax," take another bite and say "property tax," another and "payroll tax..."

It's like "Jesus, Grover... no wonder you're so twisted."

These are people who indoctrinate their own children with no wiggle room for their kids to explore and read and think and come to their own conclusions about the world.

Of course they're never going to accept media that doesn't 100% conform to their own beliefs & perceptions.

They don't love Jesus. They don't support the troops. They don't back the blue. They don't revere the flag. They don't cherish or defend our constitution or our nation.

They're just authoritarians who instinctively try to co-opt and claim ownership of all of our traditional symbols of authority.

I can't imagine what would make him let go of tariffs.

The only trait in his personality more pervasive than greed is vanity. He's incapable of acknowledging he's wrong.

Letting go of tariffs would be to admit he is wrong. He doesn't do that, especially if he can exploit the dips for profit.

That, to me, is not Christianity. That, to me, is not Jesus. That, to me, is not preaching."
__

- Pastor Kevin Thompson, on the MAGA-fication of churches in the Trump-era

www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/p...

This is from a conservative preacher rejected by his MAGA congregation:

--
"They wanted me to preach against those who are outside the [church] in order to rally those who are inside the [church], but there’s been no change or transformation.

So tired of "Elites look down their noses at these poor people! Of course they're mad!" nonsense

Anyone telling them who they can marry? How they can identify? Forcing their kids to recite relgious or political beliefs in public school?

No? Then STFU.

They reject everyone who isn't them. Period.

Yeah, lifelong Alabamian here... luckily in the northern part of the state where we have NASA, a tremendous aerospace industry presence, and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a PhD-holder... even the Richie Rich well-to-do MAGAs are all-in on bigotry and culture wars.

No, Trump's Administration is currently overseeing the federal government.

The federal government existed long before Trump, and it will (hopefully) continue to exist long after he is a very bad memory.

The federal government is comprised of dedicated civil servants all around the world.

I feel this is the price of admission to get the Trump admin and the MAGA-folk in congress to continue turning the thumbscrews on TikTok so facebook can regain some market share.