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Initially irate, now I'm OK with Democrats giving up on government shutdown - Salem Political Snark

November 12, 2025 at 5:59 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Initially irate, now I'm OK with Democrats giving up on government shutdown"
salempoliticalsnark.com/2025/11/init...

This would have been a very different blog post if I’d written it last night, after I heard that eight Senate Democrats had agreed to vote with Republicans to end the longest government shutdown ever....

Thinking "It had to be" is my atheist way of saying, "God's will"

November 11, 2025 at 7:04 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Thinking 'It had to be" is my atheist way of saying 'God's will'"
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/11/thin...

Back in my believing days, before 2005, as that is when I stopped being an active member of Radha Soami Satsang Beas — an India-based religious organization headed up by a guru considered to be God in...

Democrats need to continue shutdown as long as it takes to get Obamacare subsidies - Salem Political Snark

November 10, 2025 at 6:16 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Democrats need to continue shutdown as long as it takes to get Obamacare subsidies"
salempoliticalsnark.com/2025/11/demo...

I’m not a fan of government shutdowns. Hardly anyone is. But along with lots of other Democrats, I want my party to stand strong on not reopening the federal government until Trump and his fellow Repu...

Our dog is more attuned to reality than religious believers are

November 9, 2025 at 6:23 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Our dog is more attuned to reality than religious believers are"
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/11/our-...

I’ve become a big fan of Robert Saltzman. So much so, after reading his The Ten Thousand Things and The 21st Century Self, I ordered what must be his longest book, Depending on no-thing — which is 607...

Mayor Julie Hoy lied about not wanting City Manager Stahley gone. That's her third lie about Stahley. - Salem Political Snark

November 8, 2025 at 6:13 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Mayor Julie Hoy lied about not wanting City Manager Stahley gone. That's her third lie about Stahley."
salempoliticalsnark.com/2025/11/mayo...

Salem Mayor Julie Hoy must have a desire to follow in Donald Trump’s lying footsteps. That’s a difficult task, given Trump’s almost constant battle against the truth, but Hoy is showing that when it c...

A death on Diamond Mountain shows the danger of religious fanaticism

November 7, 2025 at 6:29 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Death on Diamond Mountain shows the danger of religious fanaticism"
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/11/a-de...

A friend gave me Scott Carney’s book, The Enlightenment Trap: Obsession, Madness and Death on Diamond Mountain. My previous posts about the book are here, here, here, and here. The book is interesting...

Democrats score major victories in today's elections. I feel great! - Salem Political Snark

November 6, 2025 at 6:38 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Democrats score major victories in today's elections. I feel great!"
salempoliticalsnark.com/2025/11/demo...

Turning on the television to watch election returns tonight, I had a bit of PTSD, since the last time I did that in November 2024, Trump beat Harris and I was hugely depressed. But things turned out p...

If a religion tries to coerce you into staying, you're in a cult, so run away from it!

November 5, 2025 at 6:25 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "If a religion tries to coerce you into staying, you're in a cult, so run away from it!"
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/11/if-a...

Here’s another right-on message from the person who shared thoughts with me that became a blog post, “A message for those thinking of leaving RSSB, Radha Soami Satsang Beas.” It’s on the same theme, t...

Base-running blunder cost Toronto a World Series championship -- by just a few inches - Hinessight

November 4, 2025 at 6:04 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Base-running blunder cost Toronto a World Series championship -- by just a few inches"
hinesblog.com/2025/11/base...

I love to watch sporting events because they so often — heck, maybe always — reflect life as a whole. Meaning, victory or defeat often doesn’t go to the better team, or the most deserving team, but th...

Just this -- a simple yet profound Zen saying

November 3, 2025 at 6:25 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Just this -- a simple yet profound Zen saying"
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/11/just...

Zen Buddhism is known for focusing on the natural world rather than abstract concepts. Chopping wood and carrying water are favored over devotion to God and similar thoughts divorced from everyday rea...

After eight years of using a urinary catheter, TURP is planned due to improved bladder function - Hinessight

November 2, 2025 at 5:08 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "After eight years of using a urinary catheter, TURP is planned due to improved bladder function"
hinesblog.com/2025/10/afte...

In May 2017 I had a serious urine retention episode — unable to pee, more bluntly put — that kicked off a lengthy period of depression and anxiety due to the difficulty I had with needing to insert a ...

Why keeping an open mind on the divine is a stupid idea

November 1, 2025 at 6:50 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Why keeping an open mind on the divine is a stupid idea"
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/10/why-...

Sometimes intelligent people can say some really stupid things. I know this as an experiential fact, because I’m intelligent and I’ve said some really stupid things. In conversations. In books I’ve wr...

Check out demobrats podcast where we talk about Mayor Hoy's ethics violation and other juicy subjects - Salem Political Snark

October 31, 2025 at 5:15 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Check out demobrats podcast where we talk about Mayor Hoy's ethics violation and other juicy subjects"
salempoliticalsnark.com/2025/10/chec...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being part of a demobrats podcast episode, “The Mayor, In the Office, With the Ballot Measure.” You can listen to it by either clicking on that link, or via this embedd...

If hurricanes, trees, lions, and brain-damaged people don't have free will, why believe that most humans do?

October 30, 2025 at 5:08 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "If hurricanes, trees, lions, and brain-damaged people don't have free will, why believe that most humans do?"
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/10/if-h...

A massive hurricane just struck the Caribbean island of Jamaica. Aside perhaps from a few extreme pantheists who consider that consciousness exists in every part of the universe, nobody believes that ...

I chose ATRIO Medicare Advantage after Providence dumped me, but wished for more options - Hinessight

October 29, 2025 at 5:18 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "I chose ATRIO Medicare Advantage after Providence dumped me, but wished for more options"
hinesblog.com/2025/10/i-ch...

For eleven years after I became eligible for Medicare at age 65, I was mostly happy with my Regence Medicare Advantage plan. But near the end of 2024 Regence was enmeshed in a contract dispute with Sa...

The real danger of A.I. isn't that it becomes like a human mind, but that the human mind already is like A.I.

October 28, 2025 at 5:30 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

onight's blog post: "The danger of A.I. isn't that it becomes like a human mind, but that the human mind already is like A.I."
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/10/the-...

Artificial Intelligence, A.I., is a big deal nowadays. I just heard a financial expert say that if the burgeoning investments in A.I. are subtracted from growth in the United States, that growth would...

Trump fits narcissistic personality disorder diagnosis perfectly (no big surprise) - Salem Political Snark

October 27, 2025 at 5:18 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Trump fits narcissistic personality disorder perfectly (no big surprise)"
salempoliticalsnark.com/2025/10/trum...

Donald Trump is a despicable human being and the worst president in the history of the United States. But that description doesn’t fully capture all of his flaws. That’s why we need to turn to psychia...

Spiritual sickness arises from meditating too assiduously. Or viewing India as a promised land.

October 26, 2025 at 5:15 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Spiritual sickness arises from meditating too assiduously. Or viewing India as a promised land."
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/10/spir...

Most people view spirituality and meditation as a good thing. Often, it is. But almost always, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. Too much eating leads to obesity. Too much exercising le...

Seven reasons why Trump's destruction of White House East Wing enrages me - Salem Political Snark

October 25, 2025 at 4:59 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Seven reasons why Trump's destruction of White House East Wing enrages me"
salempoliticalsnark.com/2025/10/seve...

I’m used to being irritated by Trump. That’s to be expected when the worst president in American history almost daily challenges his own record for worst’ness. But there’s something about his destruct...

No free will brings great news: You are innocent of your past mistakes

October 24, 2025 at 5:39 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "No free will brings great news: You are innocent of your past mistakes"
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/10/no-f...

There’s plenty of reasons not to believe in free will. The most important and basic reason is that free will is an illusion. Robert Sapolsky made strong arguments for this in his book, Determined. I w...

Why a favored sports team losing hurts almost as much as physical pain - Hinessight

October 23, 2025 at 5:18 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Why a favored sports team losing hurts almost as much as physical pain"
hinesblog.com/2025/10/why-...

I don’t follow professional baseball very closely. I’m much more of a college baseball fan, the Oregon State Beavers being my favorite team. But since the Seattle Mariners are the closest professional...

Regret seems useless to me, especially if there's no free will

October 22, 2025 at 5:04 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Regret seems useless to me, especially if there's no free will"
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/10/regr...

I regret quite a few things that I’ve done in my life. Everybody does. At least, everybody that I know. But recently it dawned on me that regret is almost always a useless emotion, whether or not we p...

Photos and videos of No Kings rally in Salem, Oregon - Salem Political Snark

October 21, 2025 at 5:23 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "Photos and videos of No Kings rally in Salem, Oregon"
salempoliticalsnark.com/2025/10/phot...

Yesterday I joined at least 6,000 other people for a No Kings rally near the state capitol here in Salem. We protested Trump’s authoritarianism and inhumane policies. The rally was energizing. Also, h...

To look at life and deeply feeling one day it will end -- for me that's the essence of spirituality

October 20, 2025 at 4:48 AM

Brian Hines

@oregonbrian.bsky.social

Tonight's blog post: "To look at life and deeply feeling one day it will end -- for me that's the essence of spirituality"
churchofthechurchless.com/2025/10/to-l...

Everyone has their own personal approach to spirituality, even if it is to say, “Spirituality is a load of crap, I have no interest in it.” I’m sympathetic with that attitude, because I’ve become incr...