Taylor Brown

IMO the single best explanation for Trump's 2024 win is that a lot of uneducated people were mad at the world and the government. It's as simple as that. It wasn't some rightward realignment or exposition of underlying racism. Just stupid, discontented people hitting the self-destruct button.

flanders is such an interesting time capsule of the pop culture space white evangelicals used to occupy.

“Even the best of human kings is still really bad and it’s only the long suffering love of YHWH that preserves his people.” - The Deuteronomistic Historian

if i were a pro-trump financial type i might view the destruction of reliable government data with the kind of anger and apprehension that might lead me to reevaluate my politics, but then if i’m a financial guy throwing my weight behind strongman rule, i’m already too stupid to breathe

the republican party hates public goods and wants to force feed you and your family slop produced by its billionaire allies

the republican party is a criminal conspiracy against the american republic

Introducing the AI Mirror Test, which very smart people keep failing Chatbots like Bing are software — not sentient.

posting this for no reason in particular www.theverge.com/23604075/ai-...

I hope Pope Leo continues to speak against starvation and barbarity in Gaza and U.S. bishops continue to defend those targeted for arrest and internment here. The Church has a unique, non-ideological voice on behalf of the dispossessed and displaced, like Jesus himself was.

Sinners and Superman weren't on my movies I needed in 2025 bingo card but here we are

No, your doctor doesn’t want you sick. But that lie sure helps the wellness industry feel “holier than though” while selling you overpaid nonsense.

@drplantel.bsky.social

sadly, this is correct

All these doofuses read or watched LOTR and were like, "Bro, they shouldn't have destroyed the One Ring! They should have used it to take over Middle Earth!"

I was in college all thru the Obama years and yeah, the notion of anything like the nihilistic cruelty we exist in now was unthinkable. John McCain and Mitt Romney were the "bad guys" at the time. I would kill to have either one of them in power right now. That's how jarring the shift has been.

My takeaway from teaching undergrads is that the incentive structure of a lot of higher ed is the root problem.

For many undergrads college is just a way to get a credential, not a way to be formed as an educated person. Why spend time reading if the BA/BS is nothing more than a work requirement?

Trump, speaking at a WH Faith Office event right now, says he's "once again protecting religious freedom instead of destroying it" and insists he "stopped the Biden administration's persecution of Christians."

The Trump admin is currently being sued by dozens of religious orgs and denominations.

Currently in Oklahoma, a ruby red state with a huge energy industry.

Gas is currently about $2.85/gallon here.

I think my favorite modern #Superman story is the 2019 collection “Superman: Up in the Sky.”

An orphaned girl named Alice is kidnapped by an alien scientist and taken across the galaxy. Saving her is impossible. The evil scientist says she is “worthless”.

“No sir. She is not.”

Reminder: more than 60% of four year institutions let in at least 75% of applicants. A school with an admissions rate of 65% is one of the more selective schools in the country. College admissions shit is entirely elite neuroses about like 100 schools, or total bullshit.

Some views were less hostile than others of course. For instance some rabbinic commentators view Samaritans as better than Gentiles, but still lesser than faithful Jews. At best, the most positive view of Samaritans would have been something along those lines.

The general view is that Judeans were pretty hostile to Samaritans in the first century. They viewed them as (pardon the phrasing) “illegitimate cousins” & not truly Jewish. Multiple rabbinic texts speak very harshly about Samaritans. That dynamic is what makes the impact of the parable so powerful.

There will always be some who stay close to small towns & some people who come in. But as far as I have been able to tell, on a larger statistical demographic level, places like Curtis don't seem like they will be around for the next 30-40 years, especially if there are no jobs or healthcare.

Also, one thing Trump’s mega bill will do is hasten the destruction of rural American towns; his most ardent voters.

People under 50 do not stay in or move to towns like Curtis. There is no life or work there. All that’s left are elderly MAGA cultists, now with no healthcare clinics.

I think one of the simplest ways to put it is conservative voters are people who believe in magic. It's ironic because they accuse liberals of thinking the gov should provide everything they want but they believe something much sillier, that you can get everything you want just sort of magically

One thing Trump’s mega bill will do is hasten the destruction of rural American towns; his most ardent voters.

People under 50 do not stay or move to towns like Curtis. There is no life or work there. All that’s left are elderly MAGA cultists, now with no healthcare clinics.

I think about this constantly

my regular reminder that many of the wealthiest and most powerful people in this country very plainly believe in eugenics

ENGLISH PROFESSOR: Third-person omniscient

THEOLOGY PROFESSOR: Yes but so are the other two persons

“Superman is too woke!”

Literally the first page of the first ever appearance of Superman:

Very excited to shift my career from telling people that saccharine CS Lewis, John Wesley, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer quotes are fake, to telling people their favorite saccharine Bible verse isn’t even in the Bible.