Category Archives: LGBTQ & Gender

Breaking from Evangelical Quakerism/Christian Nationalism: Two Survivors’ Stories

How Southern California helped birth white Christian nationalism Part memoir, part history of Southern California’s formative role in the rise of the religious right, Bradley Onishi’s new book traces his growing estrangement from the faith he once zealously championed. “Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism and What Comes Next” and … Continue reading Breaking from Evangelical Quakerism/Christian Nationalism: Two Survivors’ Stories →

Pearl Harbor, Pope Benedict & the Contested Catholic Discovery of Religious Liberty

I missed a significant anniversary last month, on December 7. No, not Pearl Harbor Day, December 7 1941, when a deadly Japanese surprise attack on American bases in Hawaii pulled the U. S. into World War II. Nor was it December 7, 1973, my son’s birthday.

Big Deal: Omnibus Bill Reforms Electoral Count Act

[NOTE: The ominous — oops, I mean Omnibus, heh-heh— bill passed by Congress Friday was 4100-plus pages. Mostly it was about money, which of course is important but I won’t focus on that here. What I searched for, amid the chatter about cash, was whether the completed bill included reforms to the Electoral Count Act … Continue reading Big Deal: Omnibus Bill Reforms Electoral Count Act →

Quotes for the Day

It was tempting to open with a passage from Volodimir Zelensky’s memorable address to Congress. But that is everywhere today. Instead, here’s a bit from a tribute by columnist David Ignatius: Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, likes to quote a comment attributed to Napoleon: “In war, the moral is … Continue reading Quotes for the Day →

The Big Read: Supreme Beings — Taking on the Architects of Our Emerging Judicially-Spawned Authoritarian Order

[NOTE: i’m somewhat slow on the uptake, but numerous shocks of 2022 have pounded home the sense that the principal architect of our increasingly dominant regime of minority rule is the Supreme Court. To get more up to speed on this process, I’m reading Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s fine new book, The Scheme. Whitehouse has been … Continue reading The Big Read: Supreme Beings — Taking on the Architects of Our Emerging Judicially-Spawned Authoritarian Order →