No, this isn't Maoist style self-critcism. Just want to make sure we get the process going so we have time to find a great new editor. In may ways, it's a rewarding position, but at 73 ... well, I may want to spend less time in front of a screen using Track Changes.

What the left-wing, Marxist media doesn't get: if a Republican is carrying a permitted gun, he's a patriot; if a person protesting ICE is carrying a permitted gun, by defintion he's a domestic terrorist out to massacre people.

For decades, the religious right has pushed for an expansive understanding of "religious freedom" to insulate discriminatory conduct, vaccine refusal, etc. from legal challenge. @americansunited.bsky.social has unwittingly provided them with an assist.

Further confirmation that we have a child as president. "You meanies didn't give me my prize, so I hate you. WAH!!" www.wsj.com/world/europe...

Happy 250th birthday, America. With Trump you have now become a country that has expressly repudiated its founding principle. The US will take Greenland whether the Greenlanders want us or not. George III is applauding us from his grave.

Blessed be those who grab the oil, for they shall cause Epstein to be forgotten.

Atheists should feel free to celebrate the holidays in whatever fashion they choose, w/o worrying about betraying secular values: parties, gift-giving, decorations. Although maybe a creche goes too far, unless the ass has DJT's face.

Oh, yeah, we definitely need more emphasis on God in the military. I suggest we emulate the Wehrmacht and have belt buckles saying "God Is With Us". Helped the Germans in WW2, didn't it? www.stripes.com/branches/arm...

The dilemma the Catholic Church has always faced is that it cannot change core doctrines without undercutting the pretense that it's correct on all its teachings.

If you observe Thanksgiving, thank those who actually helped you, not some imaginary super-being.

God is anti-vax because vaccines aren't needed for those who have faith. It's true. Just consider how succesful prayer was in combatting smallpox and polio.

Trump has been ruling by decree, with the acquiescence of the GOP controlled Congress. Unless the Court finds against him in the tariffs case, he'll continue to use "emergency" powers to do what he wants.

Trump's exploitation of religion has been a key element of his success. Whether these "revivals" take place or not you can be sure that Trump's 2026 events will be saturated with religious sentiment.

Not only is religion tedious as experienced but the afterlife that religion promises -- an unending stretch of time -- would become, after a zillion years, unimaginably intolerable.

If Trump puts his face on a coin, it will be official: the US is now a monarchy, with a Congress more supine than the Parliament of Henry VIII. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/b...

Trump's foreign policy, among other flaws, depends too much on who he talked to last -- and who flattered him the most.

Mixing religion with government is never a good idea, and it's especially concerning when the government is headed up by a vengeful person who has no tolerance for criticism & believes he's infallible.

I wrote this column before the FCC Chair pressured ABC to suspend Kimmel. Another step in the concerted effort to silence/marginalize opponents of Trump.

The whole notion of a "prophet" rests on the absurd premise that God created a cognitive class system in which some random person is clued into the "truth" & the rest of us schmucks must just sheepishly follow.

Cynics claim Trump's prayer push is insincere. Not true. Here's DJT's daily prayer: "GIve us this day our daily grift; lead us into temptation but allow us to successfully deny; smite my enemies bigly; and may my will be done." www.whitehouse.gov/america250/a...

It it making too much of the Trump drawing to notice that the small breasts resemble those of a teen --maybe 14 or 15?

The drawing signed by "Donald" in his distinctive signature which Trump claimed he never drew. Every word out of that autocrat wannabe's mouth is a damn lie. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...

Nicole's perceptive column confirms that the Christian right is determined to go full steam backwards. The irony is that the push for "household voting" is premised on a concept of family structure that no longer conforms to reality -- many households are now headed up by women.

Winners shape history. With Constantine & subsequent emperors, Christianity's myths became accepted reality. Trump is working hard to make his lies about the 2020 election reality & he already has over 1/3 of the population behind him.

This administration will soon have the highest percentage of sycophants & incompetent bootlickers since the Third Reich. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Another competent person fired b/c he didn't report what Trump wanted to hear. Since Trump wants to save $$, why doesn't he just can the whole intelligence community & have scriptwriters file intelligence reports based on his fantasies. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

What our museums and parks should provide us is an accurate -- unbiased from the Right or the Left -- account of American history, warts and all. Too much to hope for?

The threat of sanctions against Russia evaporated as soon as Putin supported Trump's fantasy that the war would not have happened had Trump been prez in 2022. Trump is so easily manipulated by Putin. Daddy gave the little boy some candy & now everything's better. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/u...

This astronomer's God is equivalent to a warm, fuzzy feeling. Can't argue with a feeling. But that warm feeling, according to the astronomer's church, consigns atheists to eternal damnation & condemns birth control, masturbation, etc. Yet this essay says it's atheists who are "intemperate."

Trump didn't like the numbers in the jobs report today so he has fired the official overseeing production of the report. Will replace w/someone who'll make sure future reports please Trump. I didn't think trust in gov. could get any lower but now no reason to trust any info from this administration.

The body of the Constitution has no reference to religion other than the prohibition of any religious test for office. It sets up a secular government that has no power to promote or inhibit religion. The phrase "church and state are separate" would have been redundant.

What did I tell you? So, it's been announced that Todd Blanche, deputy toady at DOJ, will be meeting with Maxwell. What do you think they'll be discussing.

This essay is well worth the time investment. Not only does Lents provide an entertaining takedown of the creationist, but the essay is an exceptional, concise primer on genetics and genetic similarity.

On the Trump lawsuit against WSJ, watch for this play: Trump controls DOJ; also has power to commute sentences. So, he gets word to Ghislaine Maxwell that if she avers that Trump never submitted a letter to Epstein's birthday book, her sentence will be reduced.

The collective delusions of the Abrahamic religions are a key factor in the intractable Mideast conflicts.

Yay! Let's have more religion in politics, with clerics telling us how to vote. It has worked out so well for Iran.

What a bad idea. If our politics wasn't poisonous enough already, now churches, mosques, and temples can endorse candidates. (Christians should be happy. Because God will turn out to have at least 3 different views, this supports the notion of a Trinity.) www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...

Break Harvard, come down hard on those protesting against you, but protect your insurrectionists and religious institutions -- DOJ is now just the enforcement arm of Trump's personal & poltical desires.

Trump has successfully broken CBS, ABC and WaPo to his saddle. The end of a free press isn't always accompanied by shuttered buildings & jailed reporters; silence by intimidation works even better. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/b...

Vance: "We're not at war with Iran; we're at war with Iran's nuclear program" Too bad J.D. wasn't around in 1941 to advise Tojo. "We're not at war with the U.S.; we're at war with the U.S. battleship fleet"

For the Hillbilly, every Hispanic is "Jose" www.nytimes.com/2025/06/20/u...

Denouncing "Christian nationalism" as the basis for this decision shows AU, like too many other progressive orgs, has ideological blinders on when it comes to this issue. The UK, Finland & Sweden have limited medical interventions for trans youth. Were they motivated by "Christian nationalism"?

Douthat's arguments are all versions of the hoary "God of the gaps" move: if we don't yet have a complete scientific explanation for something (e.g., how the brain produces consciousness) there must be a deity. Same reasoning led our ancestors to think we needed gods to explain floods, plagues, etc.

A headline joining Trump, crypto, and the Bible. Makes sense. All have elements of make-believe with real world consequences. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Perhaps we should allow those who are not terminally ill to end their lives w/ medical assistance, but before we do we need to recognize their cases are materially different from patients with terminal illness.

RFK, Jr. is resolutely marching us backwards to the 1700s. After dismissing all of CDC's vaccine experts he is sure to replace them with the cranks and conspiracy theorists he favors. Sen. Cassidy, face it. Bobby lied to you to get your vote. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Trump fatuously described the war between Ukraine and Russia as two kids who hate each other squabbling. I think that description applies better to his relationship with Musk.

Yes, I know this would take a constitutional amendment, but with so many ridiculous amendment proposals being put forward (e.g., for 3rd term for Trump, for school prayer) maybe we can consider a serious & needed one for a change

Children can pray before and after school and during breaks in the school day. How much prayer does a kid need? The only reason for an official time set aside for prayer in public schools is to push (majoritarian) religion

So, under RFK, Jr., gov't researchers will no longer have their studies published in peer reviewed medical journals--only "in-house" journals. Great way to insulate pseudoscience from criticism. Bring back Lysenko! www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...