[Max Goodman]

Anyone inclined to try explaining the dangers of Trump's policies to their supporters might want to read this, based on a study by Brian Schaffner and Samantha Luks, first:

Trump Supporters Refuse to Believe Their Own Eyes

[Julie Steiner]

Sorry, Charlie and others, but I need to point out my first big mistake as moderator. I tried to quote a snippet of Charlie's rather long post #80 and respond to it, but I ended up clicking "Edit Post" rather than "Quote", and thus ended up deleting most of Charlie's original post, except for the snippet I quoted in my response (to quibble with it). I thus made my quibbling response (now deleted) look as if Charlie wrote it. My apologies to everyone, especially to Charlie.

[Nigel Mace]

Duly noted, Max, however, back in the heady early days of the '60s 'satire boom', the young turks of Beyond The Fringe took this off rather neatly. It's here from 1.53.00 onwards - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUd1OxPbKk4
(On the other hand, the show's opening is a startling - even shocking - reminder of how very, very long ago in every sense the early '60s were!)

I think your pessimism about Dawkins, Andrew, might be revised if you had a look at his blog. He's no enemy to the arts or to imagination - quite the reverse. He's also touchingly fond of logic.

[Julie Steiner]

Charlie, your reference (now deleted, due to my bonehead mistake above) to Jesus coming again in his glory made me think of Jesus's own description of that scene, at Matthew 25:31-45.

I wonder what you make of it, in the context of turning refugees away.

My take is the same as our own Matt's, in his poem "The View from Samaria".

[Charlie Southerland]

Julie, if everyone is so truly worried about the children of Syria, why don't they go there and gather them up and remove them? It is so much easier to bemoan the fact that kids and women are suffering than to remedy the situation. It is a war zone without a boundary. Helping little kids and women is not the issue here. The issue is grown men of age to fight, jihad that Trump is talking about. There is a process for insuring the safety of our own people so that we can help others. One has to consider that process, don't you think? We might be able to help, but make our own land a safe place to do it from.

In Revelation, Jesus comes and slays the wicked, whoever they might be. Some of those who are wicked now are related to those John the Revelator is talking about. There is a long list that is defined. If the shoe fits...

I see no reason to brag on me and what I do or have done for others in my life. God knows, and he knows my heart. The judgement here of me by some who know absolutely nothing about me smacks of opportunism without knowledge. Common sense should prevail but it doesn't because the left is furious and want their pound of flesh that they can't ever get out of Trump. So, they say really ignorant things and disparage anyone who disagrees with them. It isn't anything new around here. I expect it. I don't live my life in a defensive position, although I get defensive when people don't think things through and make silly statements that they can never back up with truth. Blind leads blind and stumbles off cliff. Buzzards pick their bones clean.

I'm used to it.

[Brian Allgar]

Charlie, I note that in all your latest self-centred blather, you don't reply to my question higher up.

As for your remark: "Julie, if everyone is so truly worried about the children of Syria, why don't they go there and gather them up and remove them?", words fail me. It is so cynical, so contemptuously unrealistic, and so uncompassionate, that I all I can do is feel disgust, and thank my non-existent God that I don't call myself a Christian.

[Andrew Mandelbaum]

When voter suppression is met with cynicism because "how could you know who to unregister", just think about this new info below.


http://motherboard.vice.com/read/big...a-brexit-trump

[Charlie Southerland]

Honestly Brian, I didn't think your silly question merited comment. I didn't want to irritate you with that fact. Proving my point, once again, you pick and choose what I say, ignore the relevance of it and try to twist it into something else altogether. I'm used to that tact as well. You should try something different, a different approach would be most welcome.

[Julie Steiner]

Charlie, you can characterize my social justice blatherings as leftist hogwash if you wish, but when your own God is saying something in your own Bible--over and over and over again--you might do well not to harden your heart to that, at least.

I don't think it's necessary for me to trot out specific verses to convince you that the Bible is emphatically in favor of people doing things to take care of widows and orphans. And the poor and oppressed. And foreigners.

Furthermore, the Bible frequently defines evildoers as those who fail to respond with mercy and compassion to those in need.

So when you're talking of the smiting of evildoers...are you 100% sure that your definition of evildoers agrees with the definition that the one actually doing the smiting goes by?

[Then again, maybe a specific verse will help. Take another look at Matthew 25:31-45.]

[William A. Baurle]

Charlie, why doesn't Brian's question merit comment? I for one find the question a very good one.