General John Kelly (former Trump chief of staff) about Donald Trump:
“What can I add that has not already been said? A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs... ...are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – ...

🚨Rant Alert🚨
I know the Senate relaxing its dress code is not the most urgent issue facing the country, but I still think it representing something important that's worth talking about. So, here I go...
usatoday.com/story/news/nat… We all know trust in institutions is plummeting & that is eroding our civic bonds, national unity, & American identity. One way we strengthen an institution's identity & respect is by agreed upon norms. We abandon some of our individual preferences & desires in order to...

When I was young I enjoyed carnival rides. But now any rotating attraction will end with my head deep in a carny commode begging for the sweet release of death as my guts spasm & the room spins before I eventually collapse in a cold sweat on the seedy tile of the bathroom stall.. ...Likewise, I used to enjoy elections. We'd order Chinese food &watch the returns. The democratic process was exciting & even a source of pride. Not anymore. Now elections turn my stomach & have me begging for mercy rather than swelling with pride. I dread what should be a joy.

Today on Twitter I was called "a poop stain." I find this insult intriguing & would like to give it more thought & analysis. This will, of course, require more intellectual fortitude than the insult's original dispenser possesses, but I need a break from my work. Let's begin... First, scatological insults are as old as humanity. We have probably been identifying our enemies with excrement since before language existed. One need only observe the monkeys flinging poop in the zoo's primate house to discover it can be offensive, defensive, & amusing.

The purpose of an airliner is not to kill someone, but when 19 terrorists flew hijacked airliners into buildings and killed 3,000 Americans, the response was not "thoughts and prayers." It was the implementation of new laws, technologies, & policies... ...to ensure they would not be used that way again. It's worked. We don't regulate something because of its intended use, but because of its potential use. Guns now kill more kids and teens than anything else in America. More than cars or drugs—which are both highly regulated...

How will JJ Abrams’ Ep9 “The Rise of Skywalker” bring the saga to an end, explain Rey, fix the mess that was Ep8, incorporate Palpatine, and satisfy fans? Here’s my complete (updated) Skywalker Saga theory in 21 tweets... 1-Palpatine seduced Anakin to the Dark Side with the promise that together they would discover the secret to cheating death. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, they succeeded.

I’m a student of history & as Mark Twain said “History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes.” I’ve been noticing how much modern Am. Evangelicalism looks like medieval Roman Catholicism. Not exactly the same, but the rhyme is noticeable... 2...Historically, Evangelicals accused Catholics of blind loyalty to a human leader, the pope. Today, much of evangelicalism is marked by blind loyalty to celebrity pastors and a celebrity president. No criticism is tolerated. To question authority is heresy...

White evangelical protestants are the only religious demographic in the United States in which the majority views immigrants as a "threat" to American values and sees the country's increasing racial diversity as a bad thing, a new survey has found. christianpost.com/news/most-whit… All the new data emerging about white evangelicals is clarifying what happened in 2016. Until now I couldn’t understand why white evangelicals picked Trump over the other pro-life GOP candidates in the primary. Now we know abortion wasn’t their top issue...

Hey, ⁦@edstetzer⁩, we really need to get you back on the podcast to talk about this. Thanks for digging deeper into the data. There’s plenty to discuss here. christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/octobe… If I’m reading this correctly, the new & more accurate data says 77% of white evangelicals voted for Trump but most voted for him reluctantly. I’m not sure I’d call that “debunking” the much cited 81% stat as much as “confirming” or “clarifying” it.

I deeply respect @BenSasse. In the Kavanaugh hearings his remarks about an ineffective Congress leading to judges becoming legislators was on target. Now we discover White House officials are protecting the country from an “amoral” president by disobeying his orders...

https://twitter.com/NolanDMcCaskill/status/1037685375945322496

...& taking papers from his desk. If WH officials & Republicans in Congress like @BenSasse know the president is dangerous & incapable of fulfilling his constitutional role as they’ve admitted, they have a duty to the country to remove him from office. For all of their talk...

1/ Much of the evangelical world is still reeling from the mass resignation of Willow Creek’s leadership. There are some very thoughtful reflections on the situation and I’m particularly grateful for this by @KatelynBeaty: religionnews.com/2018/08/10/bea… 2/ Rather than set my attention on Hybels’ sin or the mistakes of leaders, as legit as those lessons may be, I see what’s unfolding as an opportunity to examine the dangerously fragile systems created by the Evangelical Industrial Complex. Much like Goliath...

According to Pew the avg American reads 4 books/yr and 26% of Americans did not read a single book last year. I wonder about evangelicals. I would be curious to see data on how they engage information. By reading (books, articles, etc) or by watching (TV, YouTube)?... 2/ And is there any correlation between reading v. watching and their politics/voting? On our podcast @drmoore attributed Trump’s popularity among white evangelicals to his televangelist-esque message & style—bold, prosperity, name-it-and-claim-it simplicity…

Hmm... Not sure I’m buying it. “Rian Johnson Gives His Interpretation of Rey’s Enigmatic Mirror Vision” io9.gizmodo.com/rian-johnson-g… Ok, what if what Kylo told Rey about her parents was true and her parents was true...from a certain point of view? What if they were literally “nobody”? What if she had no parents & was somehow the creation of the Force? Then her mirror vision in the dark side pit makes sense...

“Luke tossing out his lightsaber was an early sign of how unrestrained by Lucasfilm Johnson was in writing his script. THERE WERE NO SPECIFIC PRESCRIBED STORYLINE TURNS HE INHERITED FROM ABRAMS.” buff.ly/2D5ik3y This confirms my suspicion that Lucasfilm is making up this new trilogy as they go. That explains the lack of a coherent story & the narrative whiplash between Ep 7 and 8. Say what you want about the prequels—I hated them too—but at least they had a coherent narrative.

With the Alabama senate election tomorrow, I have the voice of @PetersonDaily echoing in my head. Years ago I heard him speak on the danger of separating the WAY of Jesus from the TRUTH & LIFE of Jesus. He warned of using ungodly means to achieve godly ends. @PetersonDaily That's an accurate description of what "evangelical" politics has become. They're willing to justify anything in the name of ending abortion. What good is defending the TRUTH of Jesus if we abandon the WAY of Jesus in the process?

Let's talk about church and technology... Folks are flipping out about Mark Zuckerburg saying Facebook can replace the church by connecting & leading people, but is he wrong?

Let's talk declining church attendance and basic economic theory. Fun, right? Following the Reformation demand for Bible instruction was high, but supply of Bible instruction was low.