Religious Popularism vs Academia

The insecurity of the popularist fundamentalist mind shows up
 in this cartoon: In their view if you slip an inch you'll soon be
 slipping a mile! So, in order to anchor themselves in certainty
the fundamentalist resorts to authoritarian group think and
the community pressures of cultism.

The academic establishment has become increasingly disconnected from the religious and mystical yearnings of a large section of the human race and their need for noetic security. There was a time when academia and religious authorities were intertwined and together they provided guidance (and security) on the meaning, purpose and shape of life. There was a price though; this security was bought at the cost of authoritarianism and the persecution of dissenters. ....we only need think of both Catholic and Protestant executions of "heretics".  For example, even in the 18th century a Norwich man was executed for publicly claiming the stories of the Bible to be fables.

In contrast what we are getting from the academic community today is at best non-committal noises about the questions of meaning and at worst contempt, cancellation and even persecution of those who presume to offer challenges to a purely secular world view.  Given the great changes in the cosmic perspective that have occurred since the enlightenment it is really no surprise that most academics either don't have the confidence or don't regard it as their duty to help fill in the "God shaped hole" in the heart of humankind. Western societies have lost their convictions and are inclined to believe that exosecular world views cannot be anything more than mythical.  

The withdrawal of the academic community from thinking itself as a supplier of spiritual guidance and even in some cases treating with contempt popularist & folk expressions of exosecular beliefs has led to a self-reinforcing polarization. As folk religion seeks some kind of firm anchorage for its beliefs by resorting to the vehement certainties and group pressures of fundamentalism, its increasing extremism seems to be a kind of reactionary punk contrarianism, a protest movement against modernity. These reactionary communities have reciprocated the contempt they have received from academia. They will even ferociously attack Christians who they classify as outsiders because they regard them as being on the slippery slope (or the slippery staircase) of unbelief. But who started this vicious circle of mutual antagonism, contempt & increasing extremism? That's sounds like a chicken-and-egg question to me!

It's true that many fundamentalist communities now glory in the anti-establishment mire of cranky anti-science flat-earth-like beliefs, conspiracy theorism, authoritarian leadership regimes, and quasi-racist Christian nationalism, thus inviting ridicule and contempt. Worst of all in the US they have formed a pact with quasi-criminal Trumpism and even in some cases Putinism. Sections of the US evangelical culture have fallen into such outrageous belief and practice that it provides the perfect extenuating circumstances for unbelief. But we can't just blame polarization on fundamentalists. Evangelical atheists like PZ Myers and Richard Carrier are part of the regenerative coupled system of tit-for--tat animosity that borders on mutual hatred. In this connection I was amused to see that Ken Ham's organization wasn't slow in taking PZ Myers to task for publishing false accusations about Ken's AiG organization. I don't think for one moment that PZ knowingly published false information, it's just that given his probable view that AiG are an organization of lying grifters he joined the data dots with the worst possible interpretation, hinting at a story of nefarious goings on behind the scenes. In his original blog post the implication was that AiG are using a private jet to occasionally visit the Cayman Island tax haven to stash away cash, tax free.  AiG picked up on this innuendo as false and defamatory: Read the story from Myers side here: I’m in trouble with AiG and its lawyers

And here's the first part of AiG's letter to Myers: 

RE: False and Defamatory Statements 

Dear Dr. Myers:

We represent Answers in Genesis, Inc. (“AiG”). We are writing to demand you and your blog, FreeThoughtBlogs, cease and desist further publication of your article Why are creationists so pasty pale at Answers in Genesis? posted at https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ 2024/10/17/why-are-creationists-so-pasty-pale-at-answers-in-genesis/ with a October 17, 2024 publication date (the “Article”). The Article contains several false statements and distortions of fact intended to defame our client.

The Article begins with the following statement: “AiG owns a private jet,” which is false. AiG has a lease for the fractional use of a private jet. In other words, AiG does not own a jet. It owns a percentage of an aircraft’s flight hours each year, approximately 25% of the allocated usage. The ministry has no oversight or involvement regarding the other 75% of use. The reasoning for the fractional use of a private plane is not about luxury but practicality, allowing the ministry to reach more people over a shorter period of time.

With that being said, it could very well be true that this jet “frequently darts down to the Cayman Islands for one-day visits.” However, that does not mean that those trips are taken by AiG. In fact, they are not. No AiG personnel have used the jet (or any other aircraft) for trips to the Cayman Islands.

The letter goes on to consolidate the case against Myers.

Obviously, there is no love lost here: PZ Myers genuinely believes that AiG are a gang of lying grifters and on their part AiG are likely to see Myers as a slave to the wickedness of unrighteousness as described by Romans 1:29-32. After all, if Ken Ham can be so spiritually vicious in his attacks on those Christians whose views undermine the rationale for his AiG business interests, he's clearly going to also pull out all the stops with atheists like Myers. 

This highly polarized context is the milieu in which we see US evangelicals (Ken Ham, Michael Brown, Franklin Graham etc) siding with secular leaders who are arguably of a fascist persuasion and prepared to gain and hold onto power by resorting to Machiavellian means. These quasi-criminal Godfathers have made a pact with US evangelicals by promising to defend their values at the price of taking the West back to simpler more cognitively anchored, more authoritarian and but more violent times. If they gain ascendancy in the West, what do you think might happen at the next anti-government protest given the presence of those AR15 armed Trumpite militias?  And what do you think might happen to dissenters in view of D J Trump's firing-squad comments about Liz Cheney?  Was he just joking or was it just an insensitive metaphor? I hope the US doesn't take the risk in order to find out. 

RELEVANT LINKS

1. My Links

Quantum Non-Linearity: Anti-Science or Anti Academic Establishment?

Quantum Non-Linearity: Christian Fundamentalists Embrace Flat Earth.

Quantum Non-Linearity: New Agers and Fundamentalists

Quantum Non-Linearity: The Trump Victory Part 2: Anti-Establishmentarianism

Quantum Non-Linearity: The Trump Victory. Part 1: Folksy Levellers.

Quantum Non-Linearity: Cloistered Academics vs. Christian Punks

Quantum Non-Linearity: The Anti Gravity Road Show.

2. Harrison Ford's Warning

Harrison Ford issues revenge warning as Hollywood legend reveals presidential endorsement

Ford continued: “The truth is this, Kamala Harris will protect your right to disagree with her about policies or ideas.

“The other guy, he demands unquestioning loyalty, says he wants revenge.”

3. George W Bush

Bill Clinton defends George W Bush over his endorsement decision

Suckered by Trump's Soft-Soaping

Trump and some of his Evangelical enablers.

In the following post Ken Ham runs a video of his where he criticizes Donald Trump's concept of Christianity.....

https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2024/09/15/trump-opens-up-about-mortality/

I probably agree with Ken's criticisms, but I don't want to focus on his comments in this post. For a start it is no surprise to me that Trump hasn't grasped the heart of Christianity, and it ought to be no surprise to Ken and his followers: Understanding and responding to the Christian message is predicated on a revelation of one's own powerlessness in the face of the temptations of sin and pride - the two words with the "i" in the middle. But self-centeredness, bordering on narcissism is so extreme in Trump's case and so much part of his identity that we find him constantly lying, bragging, praising himself and engaging in the character assassination of his political opponents & those who don't show him the loyalty he thinks he deserves. Therefore, you'd really know about it if Trump truly grasped the meaning of Christianity and had a real change of heart. But nevertheless, Trump is still an expert at soft-soaping American evangelicals by telling them what they want to hear. Trump-tripe is too often swallowed hook, line and sinker among gullible North American evangelicals & conspiracy theorists: See here for example:

Views, News and Pews: Trump Soft Soaps American Evangelicals (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)

Criticizing Trump with his planet sized ego for his flawed concept of Christianity is no big deal and is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. But as always seems to be the case with Trump's evangelical enablers they skirt round the herd of ravenous T-Rexes in the room. This is what Ken says in his post....

Well, the video I’m going to share below, which was recorded on the final evening of our 40 Days and 40 Nights of Christian Music Festival, held at the Ark Encounter, isn’t about whom to vote for in the election. There are only two realistic options, and Christians need to vote to minimize evil and maximize righteousness. We won’t be voting for a perfect person, but we need to judge the worldview of all such public figures against the authority of God’s Word, pray for them, and vote accordingly. That’s my view on the upcoming election.

This affected attempt to appear non-political won't do Ken. Well yes, it's a human being you are voting for so trivially, almost by definition, you won't be voting for a perfect person! What you should be addressing Ken are those T(rump)-Rexes in the room I talked about in my last post where we see that policy is being trumped by personality; Trump's world view is summed in one word: "Trump!". As is quite clear to me and many others this election isn't political business as usual and is ultimately about saving democracy from far-right dictators-in-waiting, like for example Putin sympathizer and Trump supporter Steve Bannon; so, we know who Mr. V. Putin, tyrant of Russia, favours in this election.  But Ken, we can also make a pretty good guess who you are voting for: The fact is Donald Trump's self-centered world view suits you down to the ground because as we have seen in my last post, Trump, as is his wont, is telling North American evangelicals about the kind of world view they like to hear of: Namely, that a Trump regime will look after their ministry & business interests. But Ken old son, don't be surprised if His Trumpness changes His mind on that matter at His pleasure.

It's worth comparing Ken's criticism of Trump with the spiritually vicious attacks he's launched on Christians who don't believe his Genesis literalisms and therefore implicitly threaten Ken's AiG based business interests. Ken can criticize Trump's very obvious misunderstanding of the gospel as much as he likes but the fact is clear that Ken, like so many other North American evangelicals, has been suckered by Trump's expert soft-soaping. 

RELEVANT LINKS

1. Trumpite fascist state?

No one has ever been as dangerous to America as Trump — it can happen here | Opinion (msn.com)

Trump has also promised to go after journalists — echoing Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong, he calls us “enemies of the people” — if he’s reelected. Sadly, that may explain the reticence so many reporters and their publications have for calling him and his rhetoric out for what it is.

I frankly have little doubt that if he’s elected he’ll do everything he can to break people like me. And you, if you’ve ever posted against him on social media: both Putin and Orbán, Trump‘s explicit role models, imprison people who post against them on Facebook or other media.

2. Ken's religious extremism

Quantum Non-Linearity: Evidence of Ham’s Religious Extremism

3. Is it really going to be this bad?

The Godfather rules OK?

'Plundering and degrading': NY Times columnist sounds bleakest warning about Trump allies

Trump Enablers

In this post I will be looking at the following two North American right-wing Christian figures who have been ingested into Trump political culture and are significant instruments of Trumpism....

1) Ken Ham, supremo of the fundamentalist
Answers in Genesis Young Earth theme park

 2) Michael Brown of The Line of Fire ministry

Ken and Micheal have been coy about openly encouraging votes for Trump in their rather disingenuous attempt to appear non-political, but as the US election day approaches it is now clear where their political allegiances lie....

In a previous post I concluded that a fundamentalist figure like Ken Ham would very likely be voting for D J Trump; not only that he has given his implicit support to the QAnon movement. Further, recent evidence that Ken is a not-so-covert Trump supporter comes from this post of his:

https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2024/08/25/what-christians-must-know-about-kamala-harris/

Add to this the fact that Ken has never, as far as I'm aware, posted an article with a heading like What Christians must know about Donald Trump warning us about Trump's very obvious amorality, then I think we can put 2 and 2 together. The nearest Ken comes to criticizing Trump is on Trump wanting to allow abortion up to 15 weeks (See above post by Ken). But even with this (and I myself disapprove of abortion) Ken won't tell us about the elephant in the room: D J Trump is about policy only if it suits his purpose of getting into power. Trump is therefore ambivalent about abortion because he's primarily looking for votes. With Trump, policy is second to his ulterior policy; namely, Trump-power. To this end he will lie, lie and lie again.  Even worse is that Trump is but a frontman and showman to those even more dangerous operators than Trump (such as Putin supporter Steve Bannon) who are waiting in the wings for Trump to get into power, destroy the America democratic constitution thus giving them a stake in an unholy scramble to the top of an unaccountable power pyramid absent of democratic checks and balances.  Why isn't Ken telling us all about this? Because his organization depends on Trump & QAnon supporters. 

***

Now, Micheal Brown, unlike Ken Ham, has always come over to me as a nice reasonable person and I've always liked his tone. Moreover, he seems to have his eyes open about Trump-evil.  But he too, like Ken, has been pulled into the orbit of Trump influence and power; Michael's ministry support base is, like Ken's, very dependent on the MAGA cult. Micheal therefore has a vested interest in not alienating the MAGA movement. So, after months if not years of equivocating on Trump-power he has at last come out in favour of voting for Trump (as I expected). The evidence of this open declaration of Trump support is clear from the quotes below which I have taken from this post of his:

Can a Vote for Trump Be Morally Justified? | Articles | The Line of Fire | Your voice for Moral Sanity and Spiritual Clarity | The Line of Fire

In the following quotes the emphases are mine....

We cannot possibly vote for Kamala Harris for a host of reasons. But can we, in good conscience, vote for Donald Trump?

In short, the battle we are fighting is an existential one, with our most fundamental liberties under attack. And, many of us reason, Donald Trump, with all his shortcomings, is the best man for the job.

As Tucker Carlson [Another corrupt party - Ed] said in December 2019,

“If you're wondering why so many Christians have been willing to support this president despite his personal life, this is why: It's because whatever his flaws, he's made it clear that he's not the enemy of Christians.”

Many a Trump supporter would say, “Precisely so!”

But can we really look to Trump to fight for the things that are important for us? On Friday, August 23, he posted on Truth Social that if he is reelected, his “administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights.” What?! Here is an allegedly pro-life candidate using the misleading rhetoric of the pro-abortion camp (speaking of “reproductive rights” rather than the so-called right to abortion) and promising this “right” to women.

Talk about a deep betrayal of our values, also reflected in the GOP’s gutted 2024 platform, where the pro-life plank is virtually gone and all opposition to same-sex “marriage” has completely disappeared.

How, then, can Christian conservatives justify their vote for Trump?

Many would still argue that, despite his caving in on some of the issues most important to us and despite his many glaring character weaknesses, he will still do a better job on the economy, on securing our borders, on standing with Israel, on standing up to our international enemies.

Why, then, vote for Trump?

When pressed further on this issue, the answer would sound something like this: “We still believe that character counts and morality matters, but things have become so extreme in America that we have to elect a streetfighter, someone who stands up for our cause – not just for our good, but for the good of the generations to come.”

And so, overall, balancing out the pros and the cons, Trump is the better choice.

And if we do choose to vote for him, a choice that the vast majority of Christian conservatives will make, we must remember to keep our focus on Jesus and the gospel and to be sure that, to the extent Trump’s character deficiencies are a negative example, we distance ourselves from those deficiencies while setting the bar high in our lives and conduct.

We can vote for him without becoming like him.

***

We can see from the above that Michael is encouraging a Trump vote, but he has completely lost the plot and has ignored the herd of T-Rex's in the room....

Why is Micheal voting Trump? He's clear about Trump's moral failings and yet still recommends a Trump vote. So, is it Trump's policies he's voting for? Well, if that's so it can't be because of Trump's abortion and same-sex marriage policies; after all, Micheal accuses Trump of a deep betrayal on these issues. I once might have thought that these two issues were sacred to people like Micheal and that they would never compromise on them by voting for a candidate like Trump. In fact, both Ken and Micheal have repeatedly written articles stating these values as the main reason for not voting Democrat. So now it seems that both Ken and Micheal have compromised on these Trump policies. So why are they still voting Trump?

Micheal lets slip the real reason why he wants Trump:  As we can see from the quotes above Micheal believes Trump to be a streetfighter who is on the side of Christians like himself and will therefore fight a dirty fight for their ministries, implement right-wing agendas around immigration and oppose China (but I suspect not oppose Putin's Orthodox Russia which Trump and Steve Bannon admire). 

As long as Trump defends their ministries, they are prepared to pay the price of ignoring that herd of T-Rexs, of which both Ken and Michael say nothing......Nothing about those dubious stolen election stories. Nothing about the QAnon fantasy. Nothing about Trump's extreme supporters like Marjorie Taylor-Green, Steve Bannon, Laura Loomer, and white supremacists like Nick Fuentes. Nothing about Trump's lying accusations and conspiracy theory promotion. Nothing about those implausible accusations of Kamala being a communist. Nothing about Trump being a big step toward a corrupt criminal authoritarian autocracy where cleverer would-be-dictators are waiting in the wings for a Trump victory. Nothing about the trouble that the AR15 armed Trump militia are likely to cause if Trump isn't elected. Nothing about those rumors of civil war. Nothing about Trump's relationship with aspiring plutocrat, oligarch & naive crony capitalist Elon Musk. Nothing about the rampant conspiracy theorism of the Trump supporting far right. Nothing about signs that Trump will imprison political opponents. Nothing about those bogus "deep state" stories which prepare the naive mentality for the great fascist-like simplifications of top-down autocracy. Nothing about 1 Samuel 8:7-18 with its clear warning on the effects of the absolute rule of Godfathers.....and the list goes on and on....

Micheal of course might claim that all these stories are mischief making by a Democratic party who themselves are trying to criminally undermine democracy. But if that is true, why isn't he making this a good reason to vote Trump? That's because he can't afford to draw attention to this subject as it would take his support base dangerously close to the truth: After all, 2024 is far from a normal US election: It's not a case of democratically electing a right-wing but principled figure like a Ronald Reagan or a George Bush or a Margret Thatcher. There have been no hints in previous US elections about charging and imprisoning political opponents. Such talk has only surfaced since Trump appeared on the scene. All this and with armed Trump supporters at the ready if the electoral system doesn't go their way it is clear that this is a dysfunctional election. But Ham and Brown have a vested interest in not drawing attention to this dysfunctionality because that would be too telling. 

For Ken and Micheal, it's really all about keeping their Trump voting support base sweet and ensuring the survival of their ministries; they simply can't afford to alienate their supporter base. Ken Ham isn't the nicest of persons (See also here) and his authoritarianism readily comes to the surface and this chimes with the sentiments of the far-right. Micheal, however, is of different stuff; he can sense the conflict, but in the end he's captive to the Trump tribe. Both have sold out to the gross evils of Trumpism in order to preserve their ministries.

In this post of mine are some thoughts as to the reason why we are at a juncture where North American Evangelicals have sold out to a corrupt movement. In that post I quoted one commentator who had studied the subject, and this is what he said regarding the 2016 election:

 It was this that led 81% of white evangelicals voting for Trump....It was a marriage of convenience in which Trump promised everything on the evangelical agenda.....Evangelicals reciprocated with intense support for a man whose personal and political morality  - which many feel is at odds with Christianity - was set aside in order to win what they perceived as a battle for the soul of America.  

But things have moved on even further: Trump, with his eye on power rather than policy, is no longer promising abortion laws and laws on gay marriage that were on the evangelical agenda. But it's too late for Micheal, Ken and many an evangelical. They are irreversibly trapped in the MAGA cult and Trumpite evangelicalism.

RELEVANT LINKS

1. Threats of imprisonment

Liberals go into meltdown after Trump vows to jail political enemies (msn.com)

2. The Political Pied Piper

Views, News and Pews: Trumptruth News: The Political Pied Piper of far-right Christianity (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)

3. Ken's rule driven morality

Views, News and Pews: The dangers of rule driven morality. (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)

4. History of right-wing evangelicalism

Views, News and Pews: Origins of the US Evangelical Right (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)

5. Panda's Thumb's view

Tax-exempt AIG attacks Presidential candidate, may be reported to IRS (pandasthumb.org)

6. Persecution of Gays

X refuses to take down post falsely accusing Rev Richard Coles of being a paedophile (msn.com)

7. Scientific American endorses Kamala

Scientific American makes presidential endorsement for only the second time in its 179-year history (msn.com)

Quotes worth noting: Trump peddles lies and conspiracy theories....

“The US faces two futures,” the editors wrote, pushing one candidate who “offers the country better prospects, relying on science, solid evidence and the willingness to learn from experience.”

They continued: “In the other future, the new president endangers public health and safety and rejects evidence, preferring instead nonsensical conspiracy fantasies.”

The article highlights Trump’s baseless claim during the debate that some states allow a person to obtain an abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy, and calling it “execution after birth.”

“No state allows this,” Scientific American clarified. The magazine also emphasized that Trump refused to answer whether he would veto a national abortion ban.

8. Kamala falsely accused of being a communist

Why 'Comrade Kamala' memes are taking off among Latino exiles - BBC News

This reminds me of the right-wingers who accuse even the conservative party of being "socialists"!

9. Well done Mike Pence!

Mike Pence takes swipe at Trump in sign of a political comeback (msn.com)

Brave man! Trump will no doubt find Mike's lack of loyalty disturbing. If there's a Trumpite dictatorship Mike may well find himself in jail. I'd have voted for Mike Pence if I was a US citizen!

10. Trump seeks to prosecute news organisations that oppose him

Trump says he will seek Google's prosecution if he wins election (msn.com)

11. This speaks for itself

Voices: Is Donald Trump’s ‘Kristallnacht’ speech his most dangerous yet? (msn.com)

12. I think I already knew this:

'We may in 32 days have a dictator': New warning about Trump from presidential historian (msn.com)

13. Marje the Cranky, Crackpot, Christian (?) Conspiracy Theorist is at it again,

Marjorie Taylor Greene says ‘they’ control the weather after Hurricane Helene kills 215 in the US (msn.com)

13. Franklin Graham, another Trump enabler:

Evangelicals for Harris claim Franklin Graham is threatening to sue them (msn.com)

Eccentric, Cranky, Crackpot, Insane or just Weird?

or twisted & evil?

I have taken the quote below from this website:

So unstable': Morning Joe hosts stunned by 'deranged' Trump's latest conspiracy rant (msn.com)

This website ("Raw Story") contains a quote lifted from Trump's  TrumpTruthSocial and it seems unlikely they have concocted it. At first I found it difficult to credit it; it suggests that D J Trump is a person completely detached from reality and is making TrumpTruth up as he goes along in order to have something spicy to tell his besotted following......

According to Trump, "What are the chances that Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST President in the history of the U.S., whose Presidency was Unconstitutionally STOLEN from him by Kamabla, Barrack HUSSEIN Obama, Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Shifty Adam Schiff, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and others on the Lunatic Left, CRASHES the Democrat National Convention and tries to take back the Nomination, beginning with challenging me to another DEBATE. He feels that he made a historically tragic mistake by handing over the U.S. Presidency, a COUP, to the people in the World he most hates, and he wants it back, NOW!!!

So, assuming this name calling tirade is what Trump has actually committed to the airwaves then any reasonable person would realize that this is the kind of prediction with the risk of being checked at a later stage. But then Trump seems to be the type who lives for the moment and  his following have short memories; also, going on their taste for conspiracy theorism  they too have a tenuous connection with reality. Moreover, if they are presented with the fact-checking of Trump's rhetoric their belief in the quasi-messianic anointing of their leader is so strong that they would likely either dismiss it as mischief making or make allowances for him that they don't make for others.

My reading of the quote above is as follows: Trump has constructed a world that contains only two sorts of people; those who love him and are thoroughly loyal to him and those who aren't and who are therefore bad, bad, bad (whether Republican or not). My guess is that he projects this kind of egocentric thinking onto other people and therefore he has concluded that "Crooked Joe Biden" must be thinking along similar narcissistic/sociopathic lines as Trump himself. Thus, Trump finds it entirely plausible that Crooked Joe is looking to make a vengeful come back after an unconstitutional leadership coup by his enemies in the Democratic party has stolen his presidency (Not unlike Trump's belief in a stolen 2020 election). Trump's psychology is such that he just can't believe the change in the leadership of the Democrats has nothing sinister about it and is simply a case  of putting old Joe deservedly out to grass with old Joe himself, after a life time in politics and suffering from Covid, at last reading the obvious writing on the wall.

***

Another weird guy is Ken Ham who is very likely to be a Trump voter (and subliminally even a QAnon supporter) and thinks that any one who disagrees with his Biblical literalist organisation (AiG), whether they be Christians or not, must be bad, bad, bad or perhaps even anti-Christ .....

I  once got clobbered by Ken myself and that story can be read here.. 

RELEVANT LINKS

1. TRUMP THE LIAR or TRUMP THE FANTASIZER?

Trump falsely claims Harris crowd was faked

2. WELL, I WOULDN'T PUT IT PAST TRUMPITEISM

Donald Trump falsely claims Taylor Swift’s endorsement with AI-generated posts (msn.com)

3. FASCIST FUENTES THINKS MAGAT CAMPAIGN NOT EXTREME ENOUGH

Why Maga civil war threatens Trump election campaign (msn.com)

4. STEPS TOWARD AUTOCRACY

Experts explain just how dangerous a second Trump term would be (msn.com)

5. KEN DOESN'T TELL US WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DONALD TRUMP. 

In the following post Ken Ham warns us against Kamala Harris' support for abortion and also of D J Trump's support for abortion up to 15 weeks. (Trump of course is thinking of his votes). 

https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2024/08/25/what-christians-must-know-about-kamala-harris/

Fair enough, I also object to abortion. But what Ken will never tell us about are the perversions and lies of "Trump Truth", Trump Conspiracy theorism and Trump's bid to terminate democracy; but then Ken himself is an authoritarian who thrives on spiritual intimidation. I wait in vain for an article from Ken titled What Christians must know about Donald Trump!

The Big Bad Wolf is Dressed as Granny

 

A picture of Nigel Farage in bed.
But who is in bed with Nigel?
See the reports below for some answers.

We keep getting news reports of Reform UK's parliamentary candidates & activists making offensive, crypto-fascist, racist or authoritarian statements. See here:

Reform UK drops three candidates over offensive comments - BBC News

Labour and Tories turn fire on Reform UK and Farage (msn.com)

Sunak says ‘racism stings’ as Farage refuses to apologise for activist’s slur (msn.com)

Views, News and Pews: The Poisoning of Politics (viewsnewsandpews.blogspot.com)

To me this signals the kind of people the Trump supporting Nigel Farage is attracting - some very unpleasant people indeed. And note that Nigel, although going through the motions of apparently excommunicating the offenders, still tells people to vote for them.

Led by Donkeys interrupt Nigel Farage speech by lowering huge Putin banner | The Independent

Interesting Links

1. Meanwhile in America...

I've always had a suspicion that someone like the Putin Supporting Steve Bannon is waiting in wings to take over from the aging and far less intelligent narcissistic showman, Donald Trump. In this connection see this report:

Steve Bannon says 'Maga army' ready, as he reports to prison - BBC News

In that article we hear about Bannon's....

“Maga army ready to ensure the former president defeats Joe Biden and returns to the White House". 

....and while Bannon is in jail....

"...his show - described as a “military command centre for Maga” - will remain on the air in his absence. He has arranged for other hosts to present the War Room along with all his regular contributors."

If that sounds all ominously jingoistic then here's what'll happen under a Trump administration: 

Law enforcement agencies and the military would all be “brought to account” under a future Trump administration, Bannon said, and President Joe Biden would also face prosecution.

And what if Trump loses the election?....

It is “impossible”, he told me, for Joe Biden to win the election in November. And, therefore, there is no way he or his "Maga army" will accept the result if the president is reelected.

As I've said before, if a Trump/Bannon like dictatorship emerges in America it will likely form a pact with Putin against China. 

The Poisoning of Politics

 

The woman who drenched Nigel Farage with her drink was, rightly, arrested. See here.  When our politicians are physically assaulted we are on the road to barbarism. Points, lost or won, should be made within the democratic forums. If people feel that the only way to express themselves politically is through physical assault then either the democratic constitution is failing it's populace or the democratic forums are under attack.  In this case I think it's the latter. But I place a good part of the blame on the Trump supporting Nigel Farage who seems to have a knack of raising the emotional temperature of politics by angering and polarising the populace. It's unlikely Farage will see it like this and in common with his friend DJ Trump is so conceited as to present himself as the deserving, even universal, voice of the people and freedom. Farage, like his friend DJ Trump, is a poisoning & subversive influence on politics in the UK; in fact, like Trump, a popularist Sauline figure.

***

It's a long story as to how I got myself on to the far-right's Townhall mailing list but I thought I'd publish an example of the Trumptripe that comes my way from this quarter. See the example below.  I suspect that these people don't see the implications of what they are affirming with such emphatic confidence. If the system is so rigged & corrupted against them as they claim then this implies America isn't a democracy after all but some kind of criminal crypto-autocracy. Townhall is promoting proto-conspiracy theorism and therefore it is no surprise that the far-right represented by Townhall has in it's midst numerous conspiracy theorists (e.g. QAnon).  But if Townhall is right and the US political system is so corrupt why should I believe that Townhall isn't itself part of the overall banana-republic-like corruption they are describing and is telling lies in order to ease their way to power and perpetuate just more Godfather rule? 

But of course, in my view the corrupt party are Townhall; they are part of DJ Trump's egotistical bid for Godfather power and to this end Townhall are undermining US democracy by doing all they can to sow the seeds of distrust in the workings of the US system of government, its legal system, its media and its high tech industries.

Here is the email I got from Townhall: 

RIGGED VERDICT Are you surprised?  WE ARE NOT. They will silence us all if we let them. They RIGGED SOCIAL MEDIA so conservatives were silenced. They RIGGED FACT-CHECKING so they were in charge of the “facts.” They RIGGED the 2020 ELECTION while everyone was locked down. They IGNORED STATE ELECTION LAW to make sure President Trump couldn’t win. WE NEED YOUR HELP.  We need PATRIOTS like YOU to say, “ENOUGH, I am going to STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH in 2024!" DEMOCRATS ATTACKED DEMOCRACY but pretended they were its savior. They RIGGED STATE LAWS to go back in time to trap President Trump and force him to spend millions to defend himself. They CREATED FOUR FAKE LEGAL CASES to keep President Trump off the campaign trail. They RIGGED A JURY from one of the most liberal districts in the country — #12 out of 435.  They got what they wanted yesterday BUT DEMOCRATS and LIBERALS WILL LOSE IF WE FIGHT BACK HARD ENOUGH. WE MUST FIGHT FOR THE TRUTH, which is why WE NEED YOU RIGHT NOW! STAND UP FOR TRUTH - 60% OFF  Townhall can’t fight for your values without your help. The liberals must not be allowed to win.  If they win, they will DESTROY America as we know it. We need your support TODAY. Soros is getting radical left prosecutors elected all over the country. If the truth isn’t spread, not a single conservative or Republican will be safe.  The American dream is under attack. We need you in the fight this year, it’s do or die for America. We're offering our PATRIOT email subscribers an exclusive special discount. Become a member today and receive 60% off your annual subscription, our biggest discount ever offered… we need to know that you’re willing to fight. PLEASE don’t abandon the fight now. STAND UP FOR AMERICA! Jonathan Garthwaite Publisher - Townhall Media The conviction of Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, (See here) is evidence that the US justice system is still working and gives the lie to the above contention by Townhall  that the American system is dominated by Biden party rigging. The above email is just more far-right poison thrown into the political forum, undermining trust and confidence. It fans the flames of unrest and disaffection.  Interesting Links 1. Really? I can't believe this is true...... If it is I'm underestimating Reform UK's capacity to attract evil (and stupid) men.  Reform candidate says UK should have ‘taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality’ instead of fighting Nazis (msn.com) Just some of the spicy statements from Ian Gribben who is a member of Farage's party "Reform UK"..... A candidate for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has claimed the country would have been “far better” off if it had “taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality” instead of fighting the Nazis. Ian Gribbin, who is standing in Bexhill and Battle, also wrote online that women were the “sponging gender” and should be “deprived of health care”. He also described Winston Churchill as “abysmal” and praised Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to the BBC. Mr Gribbin is reported to have posted on the Unherd website in 2022: “Britain would be in a far better state today had we taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality … but oh no Britain’s warped mindset values weird notions of international morality rather than looking after its own people.” The same month he wrote that the UK should “exorcise the cult of Churchill and recognize that in both policy and military strategy, he was abysmal”. In 2021, he wrote female soldiers “almost made me wretch [sic]” and were a “total liability”. In the run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said that President Putin had “shown a maturity of which we can only dream of”. "Reform UK" = Crypto-fascist? Let's understand that these highly toxic statements are being made retrospectively in the light (or rather darkness) of what Hitler's fascism went on the "achieve"! If as Nigel Farage says that this is just "pub talk" then it is clear that Gribbin is not a fit voice for parliament.  2. Farage at it again Nigel Farage criticised for saying West provoked Ukraine war - BBC News Typically authoritarian Farage:  "The West provoked Putin", and not as it should be: "A fearful Putin used EU expansion and encroaching democracy as a pretext to build his authoritarian empire".  In any case if countries want to join the democratic West, why can't they Nigel? Do we give in to playground bullies because otherwise we might "provoke them"? 3. It's what's under the surface of Farage's dapper image that is of concern A crypto-fascist accuses liberals of being fascist: Nigel Farage agrees with Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ rant in resurfaced clip (msn.com) In the interview, the Reform UK leader replied to Mr Jones: “Yes, the liberals actually are very illiberal. In fact the liberals have become the very fascists that they try and criticise with their rhetoric.” “Don’t underestimate how massive the seismic shock of 2016 was: the victory of brexit, the victory of Trump. “We are winning, but it doesn’t feel like were winning the left and the state are fighting back with all their might. “If we can resist this politically correct charge, this attempt to stop us thinking and speaking freely, if we can resist that, then our victory actually will be complete.” 4. ....and again? Really? Reform UK candidate is booed as he tells hustings Putin is 'very good' (msn.com)