Donald Trump, ICE, and the Muzzling of the Church’s Prophetic Voice

by John Ellis It’s rare that a conversation with an Uber passenger catches me by surprise. One such conversation happened on a Sunday morning several months ago while giving a ride to a man on his way to church. Per my usual with any Uber passenger on the way to church, I asked questions about … Continue reading Donald Trump, ICE, and the Muzzling of the Church’s Prophetic Voice

Donald Trump Totalitarian Watch: Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Territory (Unless It’s Named Greenland)

by John Ellis I’m rereading The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics by James Oakes. It was part of an assigned reading list for a class I took years ago. It’s an excellent book, and one that I’ve read several times since then, although I do believe … Continue reading Donald Trump Totalitarian Watch: Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Territory (Unless It’s Named Greenland)

The Petty Meanness of the Trump Administration Is a Sinister Warning to Christians (fonts are the new front in MAGA’s War on Wokeness)

by John Ellis Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered the State Department to revert to the Times New Roman font in all official documents. His order reverses one his predecessor, Secretary Antony Blinken, made in 2023 requiring all official State Department documents be typed using the Calibri font. Secretary Rubio’s reason, as explained in … Continue reading The Petty Meanness of the Trump Administration Is a Sinister Warning to Christians (fonts are the new front in MAGA’s War on Wokeness)

The Assassination of Charlie Kirk, Part 2: A House Divided Cannot Coexist

by John Ellis In 1845 the American Anti-Slavery Society published a booklet titled “The Constitution a pro-slavery compact; (vol 11) or, Extracts from the Madison papers, etc.” It’s mainly composed of selected portions from Madison’s carefully kept records of the Constitutional Convention and a few other pertinent documents from the Founding era. As the booklet’s … Continue reading The Assassination of Charlie Kirk, Part 2: A House Divided Cannot Coexist

Donald Trump Totalitarian Watch: Jimmy Kimmel and Free Speech Edition

by John Ellis Six months ago, on March 13, I wrote that “it may be time to begin planning a farewell party for free speech in America.” As it turns out, if you haven’t already baked your “Farewell, Free Speech” cake, you may no longer have the time to do so. At the very least, … Continue reading Donald Trump Totalitarian Watch: Jimmy Kimmel and Free Speech Edition

Donald Trump, Bob Jones University, and Fundamentalist-styled Historical Revisionism

by John Ellis Earlier today, I published a short, anti-Trump diatribe (anti-totalitarianism diatribe, to be fair) in response to the White House’s letter to the Smithsonian Institute. The letter informs the Smithsonian that the White House will be reviewing exhibits, materials, and programs to ensure that they conform to President Trump’s definition of American exceptionalism … Continue reading Donald Trump, Bob Jones University, and Fundamentalist-styled Historical Revisionism

Donald Trump Totalitarian Watch

by John Ellis Fresh on the heels of Trump's Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sharing (and praising) a video of proud Christian nationalist and low-key defender of slavery Douglas Wilson saying, among other things, that women shouldn't be allowed to vote, the President continues to embrace his inner dictator. Yesterday, the White House sent the … Continue reading Donald Trump Totalitarian Watch

Dictator Donald Trump (If It Speaks Like a Dictator, Acts Like a Dictator, and Has the Fragile Ego of a Dictator …. spoiler alert … It’s a Dictator)

by John Ellis Do you know what dictators do? Among other things, they punish those who disagree with them and/or otherwise contradict them. After a rough jobs report was released today, Dictator Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Claiming, with zero evidence, of course, that the numbers had … Continue reading Dictator Donald Trump (If It Speaks Like a Dictator, Acts Like a Dictator, and Has the Fragile Ego of a Dictator …. spoiler alert … It’s a Dictator)

Donald Trump’s Trade War Looks to be Ending Worse than a Status Quo Ante Bellum

by John Ellis The stock market had a good day today, thanks to Trump’s standing down in the trade war he started. On the flip side, common sense and the needed return to normal political theatre and away from Trump’s (unintentional) political theatre of the absurd have not had a good day. Seriously, if you … Continue reading Donald Trump’s Trade War Looks to be Ending Worse than a Status Quo Ante Bellum

The Ideological Sluttiness of MAGA

by John Ellis It was only a week ago or so that I thought that someone should check in on Rand Paul and make sure he’s okay. I mean, while I’m no fan of libertarianism[1], Rand Paul is still made in God’s image, and I don’t want him to suffer. And I was guessing that … Continue reading The Ideological Sluttiness of MAGA