Michael Airhart (عارف) (ميخائيل )

The media sewer in which we live, drowns both leadership scrutiny and personal civic duty in relentless noise, distraction, lies, and violence.

5/5

Because of the near-complete death of responsible media that were once accountable to local communities and the people within them, both leadership accountability and voter responsibility are extremely difficult to sustain or rebuild.

4/5

Yet leaders of neither political party are held accountable by their supporters: Each party claims the other is worse while demanding that Americans accept the party's own poor performance. But the health of democracy depends upon BOTH individual American duty and leader accountability.

3/5

But instead of blaming public apathy and inaction for the sorry condition of our country, I believe leaders also must be held accountable for giving people real reasons to participate in their communities and to vote.

2/5

A photorealistic depiction of two televisions. One TV is very old fashioned and retro, and shows black-and-white news coverage of immigrants and Black people voting. The other TV is a modern high-def color flatscreen that displays angry political conflict. In the background behind both TVs hangs a soiled and worn-out American flag.

If we wish to preserve or restore a nation that represents and upholds the values of its people, then voting and civic engagement must be accepted in Americans' minds as everyday responsibilities.

1/5

Kristi Noem is living rent free in home used by Coast Guard commandant A DHS spokesman said Noem must live on the military base because she had been “so horribly doxxed and targeted that she is no longer able to safely live in her own apartment.”

This man and his cabinet behave like the Perons and the Marcoses.

It reflects their dim view of the federal government as a vehicle for their corrupt shakedown cartel and the cabinet and foreign service as an extended network of Lordships to be doled out by Dear Leader.

Vast Majority of 'Refugees' Accepted Under New Trump Plan Will Be White South Africans | Common Dreams The Trump administration is planning to let in 40,000 refugees next year, according to Reuters. Three-quarters of them will be white South Africans. Meanwhile, millions of other desperate refugees hav...

"The Trump administration has sent a dangerous message," one refugee wrote, "that in a multiracial democracy, the loss of white dominance is equivalent to persecution."

www.commondreams.org/news/trump-a...

DNC Leadership Pressured Gen Z Member to Kill Resolution on Banning Arms to Israel Democrats say they need enthusiasm among young voters. They aren’t listening to what Gen Z wants.

Democrats say they need enthusiasm among young voters. But they don't really WANT that enthusiasm. They refuse to listen to what Gen Z wants.

You are VERY handsome. As well as thoughtful.

Review: Aakash Odedra is captivating in Songs of the Bulbul combining strength with grace Graham Watts sees Aakash Odedra Company in Songs of the Bulbul, a sublime performance that received a rapturous, spontaneous standing ovation.

Review: Aakash Odedra is captivating in Songs of the Bulbul combining strength with grace www.gramilano.com/2025/07/revi...

A Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation [Revised for 2025] The story of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) lives at the epicenter of the intersection of politics and religion in the US—and reporting about it is as essential as it is challenging. The story o...

A mega church pastor and leading apostle in the theocratic New Apostolic Reformation, Ché Ahn, is running for governor of California. Its a good thing that André Gagné and I have just revised and updated A Reporter's Guide to the New Apostolic Reformatn. It will come in handy. bit.ly/ReportersGui...

An AI image of a coastal swampland at sunset, overlain with this text: Before it was the Gulf of Mexico, the Aztec called it Chalchiuhtlicueyecatl. The Maya called it Nahá, or “Great Water.”

Before it was the Gulf of Mexico, the Aztec called it Chalchiuhtlicueyecatl. The Maya called it Nahá, or “Great Water.”

This is what Gaza City looks like right now, the northern tip of Gaza. No journalist has been there for months. No airplane has been allowed to fly over it and take pictures (this pic was taken in secret).

>>

Virginia Giuffre’s brother: I think we were shocked by it—especially the use of the term “stolen.” Because she’s not an object. She’s a person. Someone who was recruited at Mar-a-Lago—his property… it just kind of makes us wonder… how much he knew

#OtD 28 Jul 1907 soldiers were deployed to break escalating strike action by "unskilled" Protestant and Catholic workers, who had found solidarity in struggle, as part of the four-month long Belfast Dock Strike. Read more about the strike here: stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1001...

What Dorothy Day and G.K. Chesterton Teach Us About Gratitude COMMENTARY: For both Day and Chesterton, gratitude wasn’t the end of a feeling — it was the beginning of faith.

Thoughtful commentary on how Dorothy Day and G.K. Chesterton approached gratitude - not as an endpoint, but as a gateway to deeper understanding. #DorothyDay #GKChesterton #Gratitude #Philosophy #Faith #Commentary #Literature

As fucked as the Catholic Church is, it also has the Catholic Worker, the Sanctuary Movement, Liberation Theology, Pax Christi, etc.

I've been an atheist for most of my life, but only a damn fool would refuse to accept that religion can be a force for good.

I guess I should remind folks apparently upset about Cooper mentioning prayer that:

1. This is, like, hilariously light faith stuff compared to what Democrats/liberals/progressives say all the time.

2. Don't believe me? Here's a whole book of examples I wrote. www.amazon.com/American-Pro...

the left needs to get way better about welcoming & including people who believe in god and have a spiritual practice. honestly they should reclaim the christian faith imo

There is a group of terminally online activists who believe American politics began between 2004-2016. They know nothing about MLK, Cesar Chavez, Dorothy Day, Helen Prejean, Daniel Berrigan, Robert Drinan...

This post is for all the intolerant lefties and dems getting their knickers in a twist over Roy Cooper mentioning his faith

Stand down!
Before white supremicist christian nationalists planted their confederate flag on the big turf of Christianity, Left Wing Christians were a thing in this country

"There are slogans, drives, myths, institutions, reflexes, loyalties, symbols that fuel the great pistons of pride, that impel the nations to violence, that seduce the citizenry, that displace and degrade the sacred, that make of violence a universal imprint." — Daniel Berrigan

Democrats will waste years restoring a tiny fraction of what has been dismantled, stalling and making excuses not to.

And the next GOP round will just shred everything again.

We need secession. But today’s Democrats will never work toward that or any bold solution.

Look, you can say a lot about Hogan's legacy: he was racist, he was terrible to his colleagues, he put himself above other people, he firmly believed in the supremacy of white people, he was a bad wrestler, his life was a net negative for society.

That's it. That's the post.

The right has always had a pronounced anti-intellectual streak.

In The Meaning of Conservatism Scruton applauded "unthinking people" who accept the burdens life imposes on them without complaint.

They want a society that uncritically defers to their "superiors"

You can plausibly make that case but this survey offers little to no support. For example, that question prompted people w/ 7 criticisms from the left (some stronger-phrased), 1 non-ideological, and 3 from the right, and even then the spread is barely significant. It's not a very persuasive result.

It is easier for people to admire heroes from afar -- if they admire anyone at all -- than to take action and be everyday heroes.

Making inaction normal, and action "heroic," lets people feel righteous without risk.

Watching other heroes replaces doing. Fantasizing replaces responsibility.

How are empathy and fairness in religion unhinged?

Human Rights Defenders Are Fleeing El Salvador as Bukele Cracks Down El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's authoritarian regime is forcing human rights defenders like the nonprofit Cristosal to flee the nation.

"Cristosal made the decision in May to evacuate their staff and cease operations within El Salvador after 25 years working in the country. On Thursday, the organization is holding a press conference in Guatemala City to explain their decision, and discuss how they will continue their work in exile"