Colin Toffelmire
@toffelmire.bsky.social
Professor of Christian Studies (Ambrose Uni), amateur cook, even more amateur film lover. Theology, culture, language and hermeneutics, probably more politics than is healthy or wise.
Thinking of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner on the night that Mississippi Elects its first black Senator since Reconstruction. Two Jewish boys along with their black friend murdered for the simple act of registering black people to vote. 1/2
Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Y'all, we're about to see a real masterclass in overthinking from the Dems.
Brian Beutler@brianbeutler.bsky.social · 20h agoOh wow would you look at that?
Friendly reminder that the UCP are not, by any traditional definition of the term, fiscal conservatives.
The Breakdown AB@thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 18h ago“The office for Dale Nally, the minister of red tape reduction, says the husband of his chief of staff paid his own expenses. But documents obtained by the Opposition NDP indicate Gary Davidson didn’t reimburse his share of group transportation costs” edmonton.citynews.ca/2026/11/10/a...
Scott Colom has won the Mississippi Senate race, CNN projects
I'm anti-encampment, I want a pragmatic tough-love policy that involves giving the police an extra $20 million to continuously clear them year after year. This is better than my rival's bleeding heart policy of spending $18 million to house these people. I'm a financial conservative you see
I was struck by this bit from Ganz: "The wrathful Argenti creates, through his sinfulness, a world of hatred and constant antagonism. So perhaps Dante & Virgil are just momentarily entering that world of hate..." Trump has arguably accomplished this in US politics, as Dems seek "accountability"...
John Ganz @lioneltrolling.bsky.social · 2d agoHegel writes, “For as individuals were in their passions and sufferings, in their intentions and their accomplishments, so now here they are presented for ever, solidified into images of bronze.” Or, in the case of Trump, solidified into eternal bronzer. www.unpopularfront.news/p/trumps-inf...
a: it is not considered wrong to ask b: lots of people have asked c: the people who actually care to ask, and care to try to understand, have, in fact, been able to explain all of this stuff
Noah VanDowe@vandowe.bsky.social · 2d agoTucker Carlson: “How were the pyramids built? ... Like, how did that happen? No one even asks. And it's considered wrong to ask.” “No one's explained any of this stuff” www.mediamatters.org/tucker-carls...
Probably not great news for movies, since the new guy seems to say he was worried the movies he was making at Marvel wouldn't resonate deeply with ordinary folks during the period when Marvel completely dominated the cultural landscape. Not sure he's got his finger on the pulse, y'know?
Alex Zalben@azalben.bsky.social · 2d agoOh, so Gunn and Safran were fired, actually www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
Massie: "I hope Hegseth addresses the 8 articles of impeachment, and doesn‘t get up and misquote the Bible in Quentin Tarantino fashion and do some pull-ups and call everybody fat and gay. I may have just given you half his speech, I don't know."
The implied theology of many American Christians is fascinating and terrifying
lastpositivist.bsky.social@lastpositivist.bsky.social · 3d agoOn some level I don't actually get what the claim they're Christian is doing for these people. I don't understand what sort of investment they have in it, its role in their inner lives. I guess "how do your deepest existential feelings relate to day to day politics" is always difficult for anyone 🤷🏽
tbh i find Henri Bergson's taxonomy of religious dynamics useful here, in that open/closed dynamic he wrote about in the 20th century is more or less accurate about the internal dynamics of various religious movements
lastpositivist.bsky.social@lastpositivist.bsky.social · 3d agoOn some level I don't actually get what the claim they're Christian is doing for these people. I don't understand what sort of investment they have in it, its role in their inner lives. I guess "how do your deepest existential feelings relate to day to day politics" is always difficult for anyone 🤷🏽
one thing that is increasingly obvious about evangelicalism is that they genuinely want a religion with the trappings and aesthetics of Christianity, but none of its dynamics
“Christ did not die for the good and beautiful. It is easy enough to die for the good and beautiful; the hard thing is to die for the miserable and corrupt.” ― Shūsaku Endō, Silence
thucksgiving@tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 3d agoFollowing the MAGA attempt to cope Trump's "I will go to hell before I forgive Nancy Pelosi" line into orthodoxy.
Also, while we’re on the topic of Sheridan, it’s fascinating to imagine a world where Villeneuve didn’t make Sicario‘s gunfights as hypnotic and “realistic” as they were. Sheridan has so clearly been transfixed by that film‘s gunfights, and dragged a lot of Hollywood and TV with him.
This is why I firmly believe that the field of Religious Studies is every bit as essential as any STEM field to understanding what is happening with the creators of AI. This is just lightly secularized eschatology.
hailey@hailey.at · 5d agothis is what i mean. like what the fuck kind of belief system is this?
Palestine vs Israel: who was there first? To sum up 1000 years of inscriptional evidence the answer is 'yes.' Details in my forthcoming introductory history of ancient Israel, Judah, and Palestine linked below.
Gavin Newsome has commuted all death penalty sentences in California! Full text below. www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/u...
if seminaries/divinity schools/undergraduate programs dont use this in their recruiting efforts...
Publicly admitting that you have no principles is a pretty weird thing to do imo.
Cristian Farias@cristianfarias.com · last wk.The editor of SCOTUSblog has an advisory opinion about what a lameduck Senate can do when there isn’t a Supreme Court vacancy. Incredible stuff.
If you were on X you were on a platform designed to feed the idea that 2024 was a rejection of wokeness. And I think that viewpoint embedded themselves in the minds of people who see themselves as liberal. You also underestimated the rage about Trump/DOGE/tech/corruption.
like this isnt trump, this is JD Vance doing his very weak attempt of a trump impression
𝔻𝕒𝕟 🏈🍻💀@danmynrd.bsky.social · last wk.nick swardson's AMERICAN TINPOT DICTATOR NUMBA 1 in civil war is very jd vance coded
begs the question that there is any Trump nominee that could get through a majority D senate.
Nied@nied.bsky.social · last wk.I don't think it's sunk in how badly they lost if the admin thinks they can get DeSantis through a 56D Senate.
100%. It's one of the reasons Ossoff might end up being a compelling nominee - he's shown that he's happy to look right at the lens, and just name his opponent's glaring weaknesses.
jamelle@jamellebouie.net · last wk.the more i think about vance's immediate "uh don't blame me it was the war that i definitely opposed" move the more i think the thing to hang on him is that he is craven and pathetic. like a henchman that switches sides at the first sign of trouble.
Oh no! Johnson won't be running? I'm so sad, what a tragedy.
Aaron Fritschner@fritschner.bsky.social · last wk.Moving fast: Mike Johnson says he won’t run for Minority Leader, and Punchbowl reports Jim Jordan is already running. Expect Scalise to run too. Insanely, both will have internal pressures that incentivize them to Trump even harder. Johnson seems likely to leave Congress at the end of the session.
Appoint actual professors - educators - to the board of regents. No CEOs. No corporate lawyers. The people who do the teaching and research should be running universities. This is the only way they can truly serve the public good.
Bryan Fischer@bryandfischer.bsky.social · last wk.Higher ed board regents are appointed by the governor in Texas. Notably UT board chairman Kevin Eltife, A&M chairman Robert Albritton and Texas Tech chairman Cody Campbell's terms are all up in February 2027. All three heavily involved in college athletics at those schools.
Mark Carney: "Russia and Belarus are supporting this illegal and unjustified horrific war in Ukraine, as long as that's going on, there will be none of those athletes competing for their countries in Canada. So if you're asking specifically about the World Juniors, the Russians will not be there."
<sir david attenborough voice> But watch what happens when one of the younger wolves in the pack detects weakness in the aging leader…
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · last wk.👀 DESANTIS: “Republicans are trying to blame Biden — No, listen, we just gotta be honest. Gas prices are higher because of (Trump’s war). That’s just a fact. If you can admit that to voters you’re gaslighting them.”
