Religious Right Carries Its Golden Calf Into Steve Bannon’s Battles - Conservative Michael Gerson

“There is no group in the United States less attached to its professed ideals or more eager for its own exploitation than religious conservatives. For many years, leaders of the religious right exactly conformed Christian social teaching to the contours of Fox News evening programming.

Who would now identify conservative Christian political engagement with the pursuit of the common good? Rather, the religious right is an interest group seeking preference and advancement from a strongman — and rewarding him with loyal acceptance of his priorities.”

The full article is available here

Hurricanes, Perpetual War Overseas & Imperial Overreach - Jeff Wiersma

Imperial overreach is often evidenced by endless and financial black hole militarism abroad and inadequate resources for disasters at home.

Trump Challenges Cabinet Member's IQ, Fights Senator He Needs. What Is Going On? - NPR

“Is Trump playing 3-dimensional chess, going off the rails, or just acting on instinct — or all of the above?

Is he serious? Is there any strategy to it all? Is it all a ‘ratings’ ploy? It’s hard to know. It's possible — as many members of HIS OWN PARTY now believe — that he doesn't know, either.”

The full article is available here

NFL Teams Being On Field For Anthem Is Relatively New Occurrence - Tom E Curran, NBC Sports Boston

It’s a tribute to the NFL’s ability to drape itself in the flag that few people even realizes that – prior to 2009 – players being on the field for the national anthem wasn’t even standard practice.

It was until 2009 - when the military paid the NFL millions of dollars to stage a patriotic display in order to enhance military recruitment efforts - that NFL players were on the field for the performance of the national anthem.

Before then, they had always remained in the locker room until after the national anthem was performed.

The full article is available here

Republicans, Trapped by Their Flimflam - Paul Krugman

“In broad outlines, the recent Republican efforts at tax reform is a lot like health care. In both cases, Republicans have spent years getting away with big promises that weren’t backed by reality. 

Now, with real policy to be made, the disingenuous promises won’t work anymore. And they can’t handle the truth.”

The full article is available here