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Zelenskyy is a better representative of the values that America stands for than America itself under its current regime.
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I could never post this one enough.
God has no hands but ours.
We are here for a reason. Not by accident. Not by mistake. We chose this time, this place, this life.
But what will we do with it?
The world is loud, full of fear and division. It wants to pull us into its drama, make us forget why we’re here. But we are not here to fight battles that were never ours. We are not h…
You made it, you own it
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My dad called me this afternoon to tell me that the field between our houses was covered with robins, that it wasn’t just one robin that arrived as a sign of spring but a whole field full.
What he didn’t say was that birds were my mom’s thing. She would have been the one to notice. He did in her stead and made sure to bring them to my notice, too.
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I love talking Vulture's annual stunt awards with Brandon Struessnig. Lots of fun stuff this year about FURIOSA, THE FALL GUY, those ads during the Oscars that featured stunt performers, and more.
taps microphone “is this thing on?”
Hello Substack, I’m an acquisitions editor at Baker Books and would love to connect on here. Feel free to shoot me an invite and send me a pitch any time.
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You really can’t understand our current moment without understanding the history of the American South.
Because you better believe that the bad guys understand it.
Do not miss this piece.
You made it, you own it
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This is the best short speech about Trump's desecration of our democracy since he's re-entered office.
Read it, absorb it, but most of all, share it.
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Put a chick in it and make it gay!
When it’s cold enough to see the melody
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Not sure if I’m supposed to say this here, but here goes:
Lamenting the loss of what once was on another site, I love “following” people here simply because I cannot get emails on the regular from all the ones whose wonderful work I want to see.
I also love that there is no follower/following count here (at least that I can see—I’m inept at such things). Who cares?
I also noticed recently that I can’t see how many likes, etc. there are on a note without a further step.
I know this place is for lo…
MICKEY 17 is, sadly, not very good. It's neither funny nor fun nor exciting, the central metaphor is unbearably belabored, and the movie jettisons all the interesting ideas from the book in favor of tedious timeliness.
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A reminder: Vladimir Putin could end the war in Ukraine right now, just by ordering his soldiers to go home. No need for treaties or negotiations.
You made it, you own it
You always own your intellectual property, mailing list, and subscriber payments. With full editorial control and no gatekeepers, you can do the work you most believe in.
Norway has just decided to increase its support to Ukraine for 2025 from 35 to 85 billion Norwegian kroner ($7,81 billion). Compared to the size of the population, the Norwegian aid equals $483 billion from the USA.
Tusen takk, Norge!
Let me first state to Jesse and Katie, I am not angry, I'm just disappointed. I understand why this happens, but I wanted to offer some respectful criticism for one minor thing on the show: for people who are so horny for nuance, you sure are quick to go with whatever the dumbest/most MSNBC thing to believe about Christians that is available: i.e. we support Jews because we are trying to hasten the return of Christ. Of course there are many who believe that, but you didn't offer the throat clearing for me that you do virtually every time a lefty org comes up, which you literally did later this same ep. "i'M sUrE tHiS iS jUsT a SmaLL sUbSeT oF ThIs GrOup"
My bona fides on this topic? I am the son of a pastor from Western Washington so my options were to either search out ACTUAL answers for the things I believe, or abandon it and become an atheist. I am happy to go toe to toe with anyone on scripture for exactly this reason. As with anything in life, if you are surrounded by a bunch of people who agree with you and don't challenge you, you stay stupid.
I'll explain why smart Christians support Jews and Israel since you already know why dumb ones do
1) Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
- Not only is this a prophecy of Jesus in the first book of the Bible, but it's also a promise from GOD that He will bless those who bless the Jews and curse those who curse them. For most of use who believe the bible, that's the beginning and end of the matter. God keeps His promises. Every time I see or hear about antisemitism from my ranks, I cringe and don't savor the coals they heap on their own heads.
2) Three short chapters after that in Genesis, God puts Abraham to sleep and makes a covenant with him “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadie of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
- God made everything, it's His to give and to those who don't like it, tough tits, once you can overpower God, you can give YOUR creation to Hamas. Israel is called the promised land for a reason. No johnny come lately "religion of peace" gets to undo that anymore than the skinheads who declare "Jews will not replace us"
Those are the two, I believe, sound biblical arguments for supporting Israel and Jews more broadly. That being said, to throw in a bonus, the bible is also clear that Gentiles are grafted onto the tree of life along side the Jews, in no way is that implied to mean we replace the Jews. They are still God's chosen people and He has plenty of promises that ONLY apply to them. We Gentiles simply get to share in redemption. By the way, when I say Gentiles, I simply mean non-Jews.
As for the non- religious reasons for supporting Israel. They are legion.
1) Self Defense. As you two have stated I think, we on the right are downright HORNY for the rights of self defense. I myself am what is classified in the US as a "super owner". Do hanker for the chance to use my guns? Absolutely not. Would I use them with prejudice and without compassion were me or my family threatened? No question. I don't know why globally, it seems like self defense is a principle that largely only "the right" seems to not only believe, but vocally support. Even when the subject comes up on your show, there is typically some throat clearing or "but" thrown in to try and lower the level of moral superiority that those defending themselves have in that situation. I am pretty black and white that if someone is attacked, they have carte blanche within whatever applicable laws there are to erase the other person from existence.
2) The right is much more clear about who our friends and enemies are. The left claims it wants to try and love the hate out of every dictator and horrible regime on the planet. But the opinion from the right is that the left wants to take morally and economically bankrupt ideologies and try to wash the blood and gore off them to redeem them, such as Marxism, not understanding that those ideologies are the wellspring of most of the atrocities we see occurring. If that means tearing down posters of missing babies so you don't have to confront just how evil the allies you have chosen are? Better tear them down.
3) Israel itself is also the only outpost for actual liberty in the region. They are surrounded on all sides by hot, shitty countries who spend their money on rockets instead of infrastructure which would give them AC and make them less pissy by default. it's EASY for me to ally with Israel. Likewise, it's ALSO easy for me to default to antagonism with most of the surrounding countries for the same reason I loathe China and Russia: the people have little self determination in their lives when compared to people who live in more democratic societies.
4) There is the added reason that Jews have also been much more friendly to the US than Muslims. If I am forced to pick a side, and Muslims seem all to willing to impose that decision me, what with their open and joyful striving for real genocide, I'm going to pick the side that DOESN'T take 9 month old hostages. No Jews are taking hostage 9 month of Muslims in the name of Israel. The left and the world more broadly seem to celebrate that as "freedom fighting."
I have no patience for bad actors. I am on the right, after all, and believe that being the world police is the unasked for responsibility that comes with being THE global superpower. We either intervene and attempt to increase individual liberty, or we allow China to continue enslaving countries through their belt and road initiative, or allow organizations like Hamas to "govern" their citizens and literally call them "a nation of martyrs". what kind of a ghoul supports an alleged government who says stuff like that? I see way more of them in the democratic party than i do in the gop, and I think we're more hardcore about calling out the REAL antisemites and not just the skinhead larpers. I think they are equally as repugnant, but one is CLEARLY a bigger threat to peace than the other.
