On Feb. 28, Elon Musk took aim at “empathy” on a Joe Rogan podcast. He said empathy is “the fundamental weakness of Western civilization.” Barely one month later, April 1, in a New Yorker interview, Al Mohler, president of Southern…
‘Toxic empathy’ isn’t our problem; hardness of heart is
I’m new to the “empathy is sin” debate, which has been bouncing around for years in the rightwing Christian echo chamber. It’s gained new traction in the wider culture recently as rabble rousers such as Elon Musk and JD Vance…
The ‘Dogefather’ leaves the building
Elon Musk, the billionaire industrialist who donated $275 million to help Donald Trump win reelection and then served as the public face of the president’s Department of Government Efficiency, left Washington, D.C., on Friday. Trump celebrated his 130 days of…
What can we learn from Jesus’ encounter with the Rich Young Ruler?
“And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come follow me’”…
When Trump is under water in Texas, pay attention
The Houston Chronicle reported May 7 that for the first time, more Texans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy than approve. That says a lot more about Trump than it does about any changes in Texas. Yes,…
100 Days into the Trump presidency, we are living in the Upside Down
In Netflix’s Stranger Things, the residents of fictional Hawkins, Ind., live right above a parallel dimension known as the Upside Down, a frightening, alternative version of reality. A portal into the Upside Down brings the show’s characters to a place…
Elon Musk dismantles evangelical ‘family values’
“Family values” have returned to eugenics, the practice of selective breeding of humans to improve their genetic composition. The new champion of eugenics, now known as the pro-natalist or genetic-determinist movement, is Elon Musk. “Family values,” a political weapon of…
If Republicans harm Social Security, they will pay for generations
The American public is having economic nightmares. Anxiety grows over the price of eggs, uncertainty about tariffs, inflation and tens of thousands of workers being fired. At the apex of the anxiety sits the proposed 2025 federal budget. If the…
The latest far-right argument: Women are too empathetic to serve on Supreme Court
While still attacking empathy as a sin, the far-right among American conservatives — including some Christian leaders — has a new gripe to air: Women should not be allowed to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. William Wolfe, former aide…
Remnant of USAID projected to have 15 employees
Employee by employee, project by project, the U.S. Agency for International Development is inching closer and closer to extinction in all but name. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on March 28 announced a massive reorganization of USAID to drastically reduce…
Now Trump’s allies want to pardon Derek Chauvin
Conservative activists, led by Elon Musk and podcaster Ben Shapiro, are pushing to pardon former Minneapolis police officer and convicted murderer Derek Chauvin. Revising negative narratives — regardless of the truth — has become a runaway train in President Donald…
For whatever evangelicals sow, that will they also reap
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is continuing its march through the federal government after two months of chaos, and Christian organizations are beginning to feel the heat. On March 10, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83% of…