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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
April 3, 2024
"It fits perfectly into both his personality disorder’s hypomanic grandiosity and its paranoid sense of grievance"
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2024 5:46AM (EDT)
(Salon) American fascism is a form of political religion. It is a social force based on faith and emotion and corrupt power more than a coherent ideology grounded in reason, facts and the truth. As such, fascism is antithetical to real democracy and normal politics.
....(snip)....
On Tuesday, Donald Trump continued to honor Holy Week by announcing that he is selling his own version of the Bible. Trump has publicly and repeatedly stated that he is a Christian. But by definition, his behavior is blasphemous and an example of idolatry. Of course, Trump does not worship God or Jesus Christ; he has shown himself to be a megalomaniac and malignant narcissist who only worships himself (and of course money and other forms of power). Trump basically views his MAGA followers and other “Christians” as useful idiots who are a source of narcissistic energy, money and other resources for him.
....(snip)....
In an attempt to better understand Trump’s Bibles and how they relate to the larger democracy crisis, I recently spoke to a range of experts.
Federico Finchelstein is a professor of history at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College in New York. His most recent book is "A Brief History of Fascist Lies."
The MAGA movement pushes its religiosity into the most bizarre form of greed. Trump's conflation of the Bible with doing business and his own comparisons with Jesus's suffering ideas are separate dimensions of the same phenomenon, namely the fascist tendency to make the leader a God-like figure who is not exempted from corrupted practices. In this case Trump desperately needs money. Hitler and Mussolini enriched themselves by writing and selling their writings but Trump's also wants to make money with sacred texts. .........................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/02/perfectly-predictable-dr-john-gartner-on-why-a-malignant-narcissist-like-trump-sells-bibles/
"Perfectly predictable": Dr. John Gartner on why "a malignant narcissist like Trump" sells Bibles
"Perfectly predictable": Dr. John Gartner on why "a malignant narcissist like Trump" sells Bibles"It fits perfectly into both his personality disorder’s hypomanic grandiosity and its paranoid sense of grievance"
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2024 5:46AM (EDT)
(Salon) American fascism is a form of political religion. It is a social force based on faith and emotion and corrupt power more than a coherent ideology grounded in reason, facts and the truth. As such, fascism is antithetical to real democracy and normal politics.
....(snip)....
On Tuesday, Donald Trump continued to honor Holy Week by announcing that he is selling his own version of the Bible. Trump has publicly and repeatedly stated that he is a Christian. But by definition, his behavior is blasphemous and an example of idolatry. Of course, Trump does not worship God or Jesus Christ; he has shown himself to be a megalomaniac and malignant narcissist who only worships himself (and of course money and other forms of power). Trump basically views his MAGA followers and other “Christians” as useful idiots who are a source of narcissistic energy, money and other resources for him.
....(snip)....
In an attempt to better understand Trump’s Bibles and how they relate to the larger democracy crisis, I recently spoke to a range of experts.
Federico Finchelstein is a professor of history at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College in New York. His most recent book is "A Brief History of Fascist Lies."
The MAGA movement pushes its religiosity into the most bizarre form of greed. Trump's conflation of the Bible with doing business and his own comparisons with Jesus's suffering ideas are separate dimensions of the same phenomenon, namely the fascist tendency to make the leader a God-like figure who is not exempted from corrupted practices. In this case Trump desperately needs money. Hitler and Mussolini enriched themselves by writing and selling their writings but Trump's also wants to make money with sacred texts. .........................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/02/perfectly-predictable-dr-john-gartner-on-why-a-malignant-narcissist-like-trump-sells-bibles/
April 2, 2024
"It fits perfectly into both his personality disorder’s hypomanic grandiosity and its paranoid sense of grievance"
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2024 5:46AM (EDT)
(Salon) American fascism is a form of political religion. It is a social force based on faith and emotion and corrupt power more than a coherent ideology grounded in reason, facts and the truth. As such, fascism is antithetical to real democracy and normal politics.
....(snip)....
On Tuesday, Donald Trump continued to honor Holy Week by announcing that he is selling his own version of the Bible. Trump has publicly and repeatedly stated that he is a Christian. But by definition, his behavior is blasphemous and an example of idolatry. Of course, Trump does not worship God or Jesus Christ; he has shown himself to be a megalomaniac and malignant narcissist who only worships himself (and of course money and other forms of power). Trump basically views his MAGA followers and other “Christians” as useful idiots who are a source of narcissistic energy, money and other resources for him.
....(snip)....
In an attempt to better understand Trump’s Bibles and how they relate to the larger democracy crisis, I recently spoke to a range of experts.
Federico Finchelstein is a professor of history at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College in New York. His most recent book is "A Brief History of Fascist Lies."
The MAGA movement pushes its religiosity into the most bizarre form of greed. Trump's conflation of the Bible with doing business and his own comparisons with Jesus's suffering ideas are separate dimensions of the same phenomenon, namely the fascist tendency to make the leader a God-like figure who is not exempted from corrupted practices. In this case Trump desperately needs money. Hitler and Mussolini enriched themselves by writing and selling their writings but Trump's also wants to make money with sacred texts. .........................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/02/perfectly-predictable-dr-john-gartner-on-why-a-malignant-narcissist-like-trump-sells-bibles/
"Perfectly predictable": Dr. John Gartner on why "a malignant narcissist like Trump" sells Bibles
"Perfectly predictable": Dr. John Gartner on why "a malignant narcissist like Trump" sells Bibles"It fits perfectly into both his personality disorder’s hypomanic grandiosity and its paranoid sense of grievance"
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2024 5:46AM (EDT)
(Salon) American fascism is a form of political religion. It is a social force based on faith and emotion and corrupt power more than a coherent ideology grounded in reason, facts and the truth. As such, fascism is antithetical to real democracy and normal politics.
....(snip)....
On Tuesday, Donald Trump continued to honor Holy Week by announcing that he is selling his own version of the Bible. Trump has publicly and repeatedly stated that he is a Christian. But by definition, his behavior is blasphemous and an example of idolatry. Of course, Trump does not worship God or Jesus Christ; he has shown himself to be a megalomaniac and malignant narcissist who only worships himself (and of course money and other forms of power). Trump basically views his MAGA followers and other “Christians” as useful idiots who are a source of narcissistic energy, money and other resources for him.
....(snip)....
In an attempt to better understand Trump’s Bibles and how they relate to the larger democracy crisis, I recently spoke to a range of experts.
Federico Finchelstein is a professor of history at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College in New York. His most recent book is "A Brief History of Fascist Lies."
The MAGA movement pushes its religiosity into the most bizarre form of greed. Trump's conflation of the Bible with doing business and his own comparisons with Jesus's suffering ideas are separate dimensions of the same phenomenon, namely the fascist tendency to make the leader a God-like figure who is not exempted from corrupted practices. In this case Trump desperately needs money. Hitler and Mussolini enriched themselves by writing and selling their writings but Trump's also wants to make money with sacred texts. .........................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/02/perfectly-predictable-dr-john-gartner-on-why-a-malignant-narcissist-like-trump-sells-bibles/
April 2, 2024
Phony claims that Democrats “mock your faith” are a cynical excuse to strip Americans of religious freedom
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) Most Americans spent Easter weekend with traditional activities like church or egg hunts, or, for non-Christians, just enjoying the lovely spring weather. Chronically dishonest MAGA Republicans, however, spent the holiest day of the Christian calendar violating the Ten Commandments. They specifically transgressed the one forbidding "false testimony," by lying their heads off about President Joe Biden. The lie? That Biden, a devout Catholic who spent Easter morning at mass, is mocking Christianity and oppressing its adherents.
....(snip)....
Trump's campaign called it "blasphemous" of Biden to speak out against discrimination and violence. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La. tweeted that Biden "betrayed the central tenet of Easter" and falsely accused Biden of "banning sacred truth and tradition." Lies all the way through, of course. Jesus never even mentioned trans people, and certainly didn't center hating them in his philosophy. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., falsely claimed, "There is no length Biden and the Democrats won’t go to to mock your faith." She then used a Bible verse to unsubtly threaten violence. "The Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming."
....(snip)....
Using unvarnished bigotry and outright lying to rube-run Fox News viewers is standard GOP stuff, not that its frequency makes it any less depraved. But this fraudulent moral panic is especially alarming because it's not just about getting MAGA granny to believe she can stop her grandkids from being queer with a Trump donation. Increasingly, these phony outrages are being used by Republicans to justify their party's rejection of religious liberty and embrace of Christian nationalism.
Embedded in all this performative outrage is an argument: It's justified for Republicans to adopt Christian nationalism, and even fascism, on the grounds of self-defense. The supposed threats to Christianity are so great, the thinking goes, that the only way to "protect" the faith is to end religious liberty and democracy. And, of course, their political opponents are "demonic" and subhuman, thereby violence against them is permissible, even desired. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/02/fake-right-wing-panic-about-trans-easter-is-part-of-push-for-christian-nationalism/
Fake right-wing panic about "trans" Easter is part of Trump's push for Christian nationalism
Fake right-wing panic about "trans" Easter is part of Trump's push for Christian nationalismPhony claims that Democrats “mock your faith” are a cynical excuse to strip Americans of religious freedom
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) Most Americans spent Easter weekend with traditional activities like church or egg hunts, or, for non-Christians, just enjoying the lovely spring weather. Chronically dishonest MAGA Republicans, however, spent the holiest day of the Christian calendar violating the Ten Commandments. They specifically transgressed the one forbidding "false testimony," by lying their heads off about President Joe Biden. The lie? That Biden, a devout Catholic who spent Easter morning at mass, is mocking Christianity and oppressing its adherents.
....(snip)....
Trump's campaign called it "blasphemous" of Biden to speak out against discrimination and violence. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La. tweeted that Biden "betrayed the central tenet of Easter" and falsely accused Biden of "banning sacred truth and tradition." Lies all the way through, of course. Jesus never even mentioned trans people, and certainly didn't center hating them in his philosophy. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., falsely claimed, "There is no length Biden and the Democrats won’t go to to mock your faith." She then used a Bible verse to unsubtly threaten violence. "The Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming."
....(snip)....
Using unvarnished bigotry and outright lying to rube-run Fox News viewers is standard GOP stuff, not that its frequency makes it any less depraved. But this fraudulent moral panic is especially alarming because it's not just about getting MAGA granny to believe she can stop her grandkids from being queer with a Trump donation. Increasingly, these phony outrages are being used by Republicans to justify their party's rejection of religious liberty and embrace of Christian nationalism.
Embedded in all this performative outrage is an argument: It's justified for Republicans to adopt Christian nationalism, and even fascism, on the grounds of self-defense. The supposed threats to Christianity are so great, the thinking goes, that the only way to "protect" the faith is to end religious liberty and democracy. And, of course, their political opponents are "demonic" and subhuman, thereby violence against them is permissible, even desired. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/02/fake-right-wing-panic-about-trans-easter-is-part-of-push-for-christian-nationalism/
April 1, 2024
(Detroit Free Press) We are exactly one week from the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse that'll cross a wide swath of the United States, with an expected 34 million Americans witnessing the celestial show.
....(snip)....
What time is the solar eclipse in Michigan?
Only one small sliver of Michigan is in the 2024 eclipse's path of totality, in southeastern Monroe County. That includes Luna Pier, which sits along Lake Erie, just north of Toledo. Its residents are getting excited, albeit a little concerned about potential traffic snarls.
Most of the rest of Michigan will see somewhere between 90-99% coverage of the sun, though it won't be visible to the naked eye; you'll need special glasses or a viewer (more on that later).
When is the solar eclipse in Detroit?
In Detroit, where there will be 99.4% coverage of the sun, the 2024 solar eclipse will begin at 1:58 p.m. and reach maximum totality, or coverage, around 3:14 p.m. It will conclude with a final partial eclipse at 4:27 p.m. ...................(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/04/01/when-is-the-solar-eclipse-april-8-2024-time-path-glasses/73148523007/
The 2024 solar eclipse is next week! Here's everything you need to know.
(Detroit Free Press) We are exactly one week from the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse that'll cross a wide swath of the United States, with an expected 34 million Americans witnessing the celestial show.
....(snip)....
What time is the solar eclipse in Michigan?
Only one small sliver of Michigan is in the 2024 eclipse's path of totality, in southeastern Monroe County. That includes Luna Pier, which sits along Lake Erie, just north of Toledo. Its residents are getting excited, albeit a little concerned about potential traffic snarls.
Most of the rest of Michigan will see somewhere between 90-99% coverage of the sun, though it won't be visible to the naked eye; you'll need special glasses or a viewer (more on that later).
When is the solar eclipse in Detroit?
In Detroit, where there will be 99.4% coverage of the sun, the 2024 solar eclipse will begin at 1:58 p.m. and reach maximum totality, or coverage, around 3:14 p.m. It will conclude with a final partial eclipse at 4:27 p.m. ...................(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/04/01/when-is-the-solar-eclipse-april-8-2024-time-path-glasses/73148523007/
April 1, 2024
(Guardian UK) Donald Trump’s decision to sell Bibles branded under his name is “risky business”, the Democratic US senator Raphael Warnock said on Sunday, as the former president stands accused of having few moral scruples in four separate criminal indictments pending against him.
“The Bible does not need Donald Trump’s endorsement,” Warnock, the pastor of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist church, said to CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. Speaking on Easter, one of Christianity’s holiest celebrations, Warnock added: “It’s a risky bet because the folks who buy those Bibles might actually open them up, where it says things like thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not bear false witness, where it warns about wolves dressed up in sheep’s clothing.
“I think you ought to be careful. This is risky business for somebody like Donald Trump.”
Warnock’s comments to CNN came days after the Republican who is running against Joe Biden for a second presidency in November presented an offer for the public to buy Trump-endorsed Bibles for $59.99. “Let’s Make America Pray Again”, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, a clear reference to the “Make America Great Again” slogan that he rode to the White House in 2016. ..............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/01/trump-selling-bibles-risky-business-senator-raphael-warnock
Senator Raphael Warnock: 'The Bible doesn't need Trump's endorsement'
(Guardian UK) Donald Trump’s decision to sell Bibles branded under his name is “risky business”, the Democratic US senator Raphael Warnock said on Sunday, as the former president stands accused of having few moral scruples in four separate criminal indictments pending against him.
“The Bible does not need Donald Trump’s endorsement,” Warnock, the pastor of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist church, said to CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. Speaking on Easter, one of Christianity’s holiest celebrations, Warnock added: “It’s a risky bet because the folks who buy those Bibles might actually open them up, where it says things like thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not bear false witness, where it warns about wolves dressed up in sheep’s clothing.
“I think you ought to be careful. This is risky business for somebody like Donald Trump.”
Warnock’s comments to CNN came days after the Republican who is running against Joe Biden for a second presidency in November presented an offer for the public to buy Trump-endorsed Bibles for $59.99. “Let’s Make America Pray Again”, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, a clear reference to the “Make America Great Again” slogan that he rode to the White House in 2016. ..............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/01/trump-selling-bibles-risky-business-senator-raphael-warnock
April 1, 2024
A man who drove his vehicle off a boardwalk and into a waterway in South Florida has been charged with driving under the influence on Easter Sunday, according to Miami Beach police.
Video obtained by NBC affiliate WTVJ shows the vehicles submerged, with only the rear near the surface, in the South Pointe Park inlet in Miami Beach. Fire crews were seen clearing the vehicle to check to see if anyone else was in the car.
The driver, identified as Yandeivy Chavez Dominguez, 22, was found sitting in soaking wet clothes on a nearby sidewalk.
Chavez Dominguez admitted to drinking to the police. ................(more)
https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/man-charged-with-dui-after-driving-car-into-florida-waterway-police/
Man charged with DUI after driving car into Florida waterway: police
A man who drove his vehicle off a boardwalk and into a waterway in South Florida has been charged with driving under the influence on Easter Sunday, according to Miami Beach police.
Video obtained by NBC affiliate WTVJ shows the vehicles submerged, with only the rear near the surface, in the South Pointe Park inlet in Miami Beach. Fire crews were seen clearing the vehicle to check to see if anyone else was in the car.
The driver, identified as Yandeivy Chavez Dominguez, 22, was found sitting in soaking wet clothes on a nearby sidewalk.
Chavez Dominguez admitted to drinking to the police. ................(more)
https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/man-charged-with-dui-after-driving-car-into-florida-waterway-police/
April 1, 2024
Trump loves this guy. The MAGA bros aren’t so sure.
BY EZRA MARCUS
MARCH 31, 20247:00 PM
(Slate) Just like any outpost behind enemy lines, the New York Young Republican Club maintains a low profile in Manhattan. “This location must be kept private,” read the ticket receipt I received for an event at the club in February. “Don’t forget to WEAR RED!”
....(snip)....
I’d come that night for a talk by Nick Adams, a conservative influencer from Australia whose viral social media posts have earned him prominence in the MAGA movement. He’s been an official surrogate for Trump since the 2020 election, appearing on talk shows across the political spectrum to defend the ex-president with a pit bull’s determination. On his website, Adams calls himself “the Godfather of the ‘Alpha King’ movement,” inspiring his “3M+ social media followers to ‘level up’ in every aspect of their lives.” This event was a stop on his book tour for Alpha Kings, his seventh volume to date.
....(snip)....
Is Adams an overwrought activist or a deft satirist on an undercover mission? That question is a big part of the enigma. Let me call your attention to Adams’ posts about the joys of golfing with men, which soar past odes to male bonding and directly into gleeful homoeroticism. In one such story posted online, Adams writes of encountering Ricardo, “a fit young man with thick dark hair who looked to be of Latin descent.” Admiring the “tour stiff shafts in all his clubs,” Adams sensed that Ricardo was “searching for something”:
....(snip)....
At the club, I chatted with members of the New York Young Republican Club’s leadership, who seemed equally unsure about the Alpha King’s shtick. “Is he even Australian?” asked Vish Burra, the group’s executive secretary, who recently served as director of operations for George Santos during his tenure as a representative in Washington. “I think that’s a psy-op.” .................(more)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/03/donald-trump-2024-news-nick-adams-republicans.html
A Night Out With Donald Trump's Favorite "Alpha Male" Influencer
A Night Out With Donald Trump’s Favorite “Alpha Male” InfluencerTrump loves this guy. The MAGA bros aren’t so sure.
BY EZRA MARCUS
MARCH 31, 20247:00 PM
(Slate) Just like any outpost behind enemy lines, the New York Young Republican Club maintains a low profile in Manhattan. “This location must be kept private,” read the ticket receipt I received for an event at the club in February. “Don’t forget to WEAR RED!”
....(snip)....
I’d come that night for a talk by Nick Adams, a conservative influencer from Australia whose viral social media posts have earned him prominence in the MAGA movement. He’s been an official surrogate for Trump since the 2020 election, appearing on talk shows across the political spectrum to defend the ex-president with a pit bull’s determination. On his website, Adams calls himself “the Godfather of the ‘Alpha King’ movement,” inspiring his “3M+ social media followers to ‘level up’ in every aspect of their lives.” This event was a stop on his book tour for Alpha Kings, his seventh volume to date.
....(snip)....
Is Adams an overwrought activist or a deft satirist on an undercover mission? That question is a big part of the enigma. Let me call your attention to Adams’ posts about the joys of golfing with men, which soar past odes to male bonding and directly into gleeful homoeroticism. In one such story posted online, Adams writes of encountering Ricardo, “a fit young man with thick dark hair who looked to be of Latin descent.” Admiring the “tour stiff shafts in all his clubs,” Adams sensed that Ricardo was “searching for something”:
The boy had game, but then I noticed his hips weren’t moving with the same fluidity and power I would expect based on his shafts. “Eureka,” I whispered to myself. I had figured it out. He was carrying a burden. This young man needed some masculine guidance, and God dropped him right into my lap.
....(snip)....
At the club, I chatted with members of the New York Young Republican Club’s leadership, who seemed equally unsure about the Alpha King’s shtick. “Is he even Australian?” asked Vish Burra, the group’s executive secretary, who recently served as director of operations for George Santos during his tenure as a representative in Washington. “I think that’s a psy-op.” .................(more)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/03/donald-trump-2024-news-nick-adams-republicans.html
April 1, 2024
Clinical social worker: "With the Trump Bible, one must consider dementia"
"A person who isn't cognitively impaired should be doing a cost-benefit analysis"
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 1, 2024 5:46AM (EDT)
(Salon) Fascism is a type of political religion. Donald Trump is preaching the religion of fascism.
....(snip)....
Ultimately, once God is invoked, and a malign actor such as Donald Trump anoints himself as a type of prophet, messiah, or Chosen One, there can be no compromise, negotiation, or consensus politics within a real democracy. Religious crusades (or specifically with the union of Christofascism, Trumpism and today’s Republican Party and larger “conservative” movement as a form of political religion), almost by definition are winner-take-all all to the extreme. Such extremism is an existential threat to American democracy and the good society.
In an attempt to better understand Trump’s Christofascism and the threat to democracy, I recently spoke to a range of experts.
Katherine Stewart is the author of “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism."
Most of the people who follow Trump don’t expect him to behave like a religious person. They are not going to hold him to account for his heresies or irreligious pronouncements, because they don’t truly believe he is religious anyway, and they don’t care. For them, religion is far less about religion than identity, so they have no interest or concern about whether Trump is blasphemous or not. For a good number of those who lend their support to the Christian nationalist movement, professed faith in the literal word of God is little more than performative. To be sure, some do have familiarity with some parts of the Bible, but their religious identity has become entwined with signaling in-group membership and loyalty to their chosen leaders.
....(snip)....
Hal Brown is a clinical social worker and was one of the first members of the Duty to Warn group. He has extensive expertise in working with multiple personality disorder (now called dissociative identity disorder) and police stress.
It has always puzzled objective observers, both mental health professionals and others, how many of Trump's lies, exaggerations, and acts of self-aggrandizement were done with him knowing full well that he was pandering to his cult, and how many he actually believed. If he believed even half of them, he'd be considered delusional. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, let's say all of this was performance art. Now with the Trump Bible, one must consider dementia as a cause since ⅓ of all people with dementia end up experiencing delusions. If you listen to his 3-minute spiel for the Bible where Trump seems to deviate from the teleprompter and ad lib you can see indications he actually believes some of what he is saying. For example, does he really think he has many Bibles in his house? His sales pitch for Trump Bible where he meanders into stream of consciousness suggests he may be delusional. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/01/clinical-social-worker-with-the-bible-one-must-consider-dementia/
Clinical social worker: "With the Trump Bible, one must consider dementia"
Clinical social worker: "With the Trump Bible, one must consider dementia"
"A person who isn't cognitively impaired should be doing a cost-benefit analysis"
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 1, 2024 5:46AM (EDT)
(Salon) Fascism is a type of political religion. Donald Trump is preaching the religion of fascism.
....(snip)....
Ultimately, once God is invoked, and a malign actor such as Donald Trump anoints himself as a type of prophet, messiah, or Chosen One, there can be no compromise, negotiation, or consensus politics within a real democracy. Religious crusades (or specifically with the union of Christofascism, Trumpism and today’s Republican Party and larger “conservative” movement as a form of political religion), almost by definition are winner-take-all all to the extreme. Such extremism is an existential threat to American democracy and the good society.
In an attempt to better understand Trump’s Christofascism and the threat to democracy, I recently spoke to a range of experts.
Katherine Stewart is the author of “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism."
Most of the people who follow Trump don’t expect him to behave like a religious person. They are not going to hold him to account for his heresies or irreligious pronouncements, because they don’t truly believe he is religious anyway, and they don’t care. For them, religion is far less about religion than identity, so they have no interest or concern about whether Trump is blasphemous or not. For a good number of those who lend their support to the Christian nationalist movement, professed faith in the literal word of God is little more than performative. To be sure, some do have familiarity with some parts of the Bible, but their religious identity has become entwined with signaling in-group membership and loyalty to their chosen leaders.
....(snip)....
Hal Brown is a clinical social worker and was one of the first members of the Duty to Warn group. He has extensive expertise in working with multiple personality disorder (now called dissociative identity disorder) and police stress.
It has always puzzled objective observers, both mental health professionals and others, how many of Trump's lies, exaggerations, and acts of self-aggrandizement were done with him knowing full well that he was pandering to his cult, and how many he actually believed. If he believed even half of them, he'd be considered delusional. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, let's say all of this was performance art. Now with the Trump Bible, one must consider dementia as a cause since ⅓ of all people with dementia end up experiencing delusions. If you listen to his 3-minute spiel for the Bible where Trump seems to deviate from the teleprompter and ad lib you can see indications he actually believes some of what he is saying. For example, does he really think he has many Bibles in his house? His sales pitch for Trump Bible where he meanders into stream of consciousness suggests he may be delusional. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/01/clinical-social-worker-with-the-bible-one-must-consider-dementia/
April 1, 2024
"Stand where he tells you to stand": Why the GOP is doubling down on misogyny in 2024
Republicans placate an evangelical base that's getting nastier with sexism — even if costs the party women's votes
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 1, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) "Stand where he tells you to stand, wear what he tells you to wear, and do what he tells you to do."
This is the wedding night advice offered to brides by Josh Howerton, a senior pastor at Lakepointe Church in Dallas, Texas. Lakepointe, according to the Dallas Morning News, is one of the biggest megachurches in Texas, with over 13,000 people a week attending its main location. The church itself cites a number over 40,000 a week, between its six campuses and online services. Howerton opened Sunday morning services on February 25 with this paean to sexual coercion.
....(snip)....
In the era of robust online debate between conservative Christians and those in the faith deconstruction movement, this clip unsurprisingly generated a lot of discussion. Sheila Wray Gregoire, a Christian critic of purity culture, responded on her Bare Marriage podcast with an episode titled, "Why Evangelical Honeymoons Often Go So Badly." Howerton responded with two beloved defenses of bigoted rhetoric on the right: that it's out of context and just a joke.
....(snip)....
It's not just the assault on abortion rights, which they can't seem to hold back from, despite the resounding unpopularity of the anti-choice stance. It's that the MAGA base is getting ever more vitriolic with its misogyny. Part of that is due to the more secular dirtbags of the Joe Rogan/Elon Musk variety, who have become such a loud part of the Republican coalition under Trump. But this escalation of boldly misogynist rhetoric is also coming from the evangelicals. Republicans can't win without keeping those people happy, since the Christian right is where the GOP's organizing power still mainly resides.
In her recent New York Times article about the "coarsening" of the religious right, Ruth Graham alluded to this, writing about the trend of evangelical leaders using "vulgarities." But it's not just a matter of using curse words. The vulgarities in question mostly center around an over-the-top performance of toxic masculinity: throwing around sexist terms like "sl*t" and "wh*re," homophobic slurs, and using phrases like "grow a pair." It's definitely got an overcompensation vibe to it. But along with the increasingly violent queerphobia, this means evangelical sexism is getting more overtly nasty. A lot of the faux-chivalrous condescension is being replaced with blunt malevolence and sexual objectification. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/01/stand-where-he-tells-you-to-stand-why-the-is-doubling-down-on-misogyny-in-2024/
"Stand where he tells you to stand": Why the GOP is doubling down on misogyny in 2024
"Stand where he tells you to stand": Why the GOP is doubling down on misogyny in 2024
Republicans placate an evangelical base that's getting nastier with sexism — even if costs the party women's votes
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 1, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) "Stand where he tells you to stand, wear what he tells you to wear, and do what he tells you to do."
This is the wedding night advice offered to brides by Josh Howerton, a senior pastor at Lakepointe Church in Dallas, Texas. Lakepointe, according to the Dallas Morning News, is one of the biggest megachurches in Texas, with over 13,000 people a week attending its main location. The church itself cites a number over 40,000 a week, between its six campuses and online services. Howerton opened Sunday morning services on February 25 with this paean to sexual coercion.
....(snip)....
In the era of robust online debate between conservative Christians and those in the faith deconstruction movement, this clip unsurprisingly generated a lot of discussion. Sheila Wray Gregoire, a Christian critic of purity culture, responded on her Bare Marriage podcast with an episode titled, "Why Evangelical Honeymoons Often Go So Badly." Howerton responded with two beloved defenses of bigoted rhetoric on the right: that it's out of context and just a joke.
....(snip)....
It's not just the assault on abortion rights, which they can't seem to hold back from, despite the resounding unpopularity of the anti-choice stance. It's that the MAGA base is getting ever more vitriolic with its misogyny. Part of that is due to the more secular dirtbags of the Joe Rogan/Elon Musk variety, who have become such a loud part of the Republican coalition under Trump. But this escalation of boldly misogynist rhetoric is also coming from the evangelicals. Republicans can't win without keeping those people happy, since the Christian right is where the GOP's organizing power still mainly resides.
In her recent New York Times article about the "coarsening" of the religious right, Ruth Graham alluded to this, writing about the trend of evangelical leaders using "vulgarities." But it's not just a matter of using curse words. The vulgarities in question mostly center around an over-the-top performance of toxic masculinity: throwing around sexist terms like "sl*t" and "wh*re," homophobic slurs, and using phrases like "grow a pair." It's definitely got an overcompensation vibe to it. But along with the increasingly violent queerphobia, this means evangelical sexism is getting more overtly nasty. A lot of the faux-chivalrous condescension is being replaced with blunt malevolence and sexual objectification. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/01/stand-where-he-tells-you-to-stand-why-the-is-doubling-down-on-misogyny-in-2024/
March 30, 2024
(Michigan Advance) When Michigan Auditor General Doug Ringler initiated an audit of the 2020 election, he did so at the request of a Republican House member. However, emails indicate that Ringler, whose office is supposed to be nonpartisan, actually helped draft the request through a series of previously undisclosed meetings with House Republican leadership staff.
Ringler’s handling of the election audit has already come under fire from some Democrats, as the Michigan Advance previously reported, as well as the Office of Auditor General’s (OAG) reports on COVID-19 nursing home deaths and the state’s unemployment system.
But records obtained by the Michigan Advance provide new insight into how the election audit came about under Ringler, who was first appointed in 2014 on a unanimous vote when Republicans held the majority in the Legislature. In 2022, the GOP-led Legislature voted to reappoint him, although 26 Democrats voted against it.
In recent weeks, Ringler and several Republican lawmakers also have decried Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed cut for the watchdog agency in next year’s budget — so this controversy could loom large as legislators continue their work crafting the spending plan. .................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2024/03/30/emails-reveal-michigan-auditor-general-helped-write-gop-draft-requesting-2020-election-audit/
Emails reveal Michigan auditor general helped write GOP draft requesting 2020 election audit
(Michigan Advance) When Michigan Auditor General Doug Ringler initiated an audit of the 2020 election, he did so at the request of a Republican House member. However, emails indicate that Ringler, whose office is supposed to be nonpartisan, actually helped draft the request through a series of previously undisclosed meetings with House Republican leadership staff.
Ringler’s handling of the election audit has already come under fire from some Democrats, as the Michigan Advance previously reported, as well as the Office of Auditor General’s (OAG) reports on COVID-19 nursing home deaths and the state’s unemployment system.
But records obtained by the Michigan Advance provide new insight into how the election audit came about under Ringler, who was first appointed in 2014 on a unanimous vote when Republicans held the majority in the Legislature. In 2022, the GOP-led Legislature voted to reappoint him, although 26 Democrats voted against it.
In recent weeks, Ringler and several Republican lawmakers also have decried Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed cut for the watchdog agency in next year’s budget — so this controversy could loom large as legislators continue their work crafting the spending plan. .................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2024/03/30/emails-reveal-michigan-auditor-general-helped-write-gop-draft-requesting-2020-election-audit/
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