Weekly Roundup: Hegseth Turns the Military Into a Christian Crusader Army + Eric Schmitt, Jack Smith, and Crimes (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down Pete Hegseth's State of the Force speech, which they argue recasts the U.S. military as a Christian crusader army defined by narrow standards of body, gender, and faith. They examine his flattened story of Western civilization, his "appeal to heaven" and "armor of God" language, and the plan to remove bureaucratic oversight from the Office of Religious Affairs.

Next, they turn to Senator Eric Schmitt's failed attempt to trap Jack Smith at a congressional hearing, and to Smith's statement that Trump committed serious crimes beyond a reasonable doubt, which got lost in the noise.

They then look at new data projecting that roughly 100,000 U.S. churches will close or be repurposed over the next decade, and what that means for claims of a religious resurgence and for Christian nationalism. Reasons for hope include a civic story of shared investment from Zohran Mamdani and the DOJ's 26th loss in its effort to obtain state voter rolls.
Interview: 

https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/hegseth-turns-the-military-into-a

Audio podcast:

 

YouTube video:

Disgraced gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar removed from Michigan sex offender registry

Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics physician convicted of sexually abusing girls and women over a period of decades while claiming to provide medical treatment, has been removed from Michigan’s sex offender registry thanks to a legal technicality….

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/02/larry-nassar-michigan-sex-offender-registry-removed

 

Your Gold Junk Comes Down Day One, Donald ✨ | Paula Poundstone #shorts

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/THt5D73W2QI

 

A Democratic upset is brewing in Alaska’s governor’s race as Trump’s popularity craters

Support for 37-year-old Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins could upend the governor’s race in the heavily Republican state…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/02/alaska-governor-candidate-jonathan-kreiss-tomkins

 

Federal judge halts Big Bend border wall construction in blow to Trump agenda

Plan to install barriers through popular national park sparked outrage from advocates and politicians alike…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/02/big-bend-national-park-border-wall-halt

 

Kim regime launches ballistic missile after Seoul demands apology over wounded soldiers

Pyongyang fires towards sea a day after Kim Jong-un sister denounces South Korea for claiming North’s mines wounded South’s soldiers in DMZ…

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/03/north-korea-launches-ballistic-missile-after-seoul-demands-apology-over-wounded-soldiers

 

A TN restaurant made Christian Nationalists REGRET their reservation!

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kD8aXDHtetg

 

US Coast Guard says it intercepted ship carrying fuel to Cuba

US says ship thought to be using common ‘dark fleet’ tactics was boarded and taken to Mexico as embargo continues…

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/02/us-coast-guard-says-it-has-intercepted-ship-carrying-fuel-to-cuba

 

TSA to prohibit airport security officers from sitting down while checking travelers’ IDs

TSA says rule change is meant to keep officers ‘alert’, but union says it ignores safety and ‘common decency’…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/03/tsa-rule-change 

Half of UK voters want to rejoin EU and backing it could drive up Labour vote, megapoll finds

Exclusive: Findings will bolster those in No 10 who want to negotiate on re-entry but some senior figures remain wary…

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/03/half-want-to-rejoin-eu-and-backing-it-could-drive-up-labour-vote-megapoll-finds 

 

Friendly Atheist News Roundup 10/1/2026: Noah's Ark Was Not "100% Confirmed"

0:00 Intro
0:32 The Christian grift behind Life Surge’s celebrity-packed wealth seminars.
14:35 Scientists have not “100% confirmed” the resting place of Noah’s Ark.
27:15 Pete Hegseth gutted the military’s list of official religions. Now Air Force members must choose.
39:35 Albert Mohler’s blasphemy reversal exposes the cruel logic of Christian Nationalism.
59:07 Christian school board member melts down over class trip to “Satanic” Salem Witch Museum.

Interview: 

Audio only, with Jessica: 

Video, with Jessica:

Video, no Jessica:

OpenAI safety leader quits, warning AI company’s culture is ‘broken’

David Robinson joins other insiders in urging industry to take more care over rapidly developing technology…

 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/03/openai-safety-leader-quits-warning-ai-companys-culture-is-broken

 

Today’s White House AI Meeting

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/P4G87NtXLDE

 

Bernie Sanders on Trump Running Political Ads with YOUR Money, Ignoring the Constitution and AI laws

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K42dfioYcAQ

 

Georgia holds emergency meeting on AI exposing voters’ secret ballots

A Princeton researcher found that publicly available election records could be combined with AI to link voters to their ballots…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/02/midterms-ai-ballot-privacy 

 

When is the right time to compare US politics to the Nazi era? This expert on Christian nationalism says: now

Jones comments: “I can’t imagine much more dangerous than somebody who thinks, ‘I am the instrument of God, I alone understand how the forces of good and evil are aligned,’ while holding the power to deploy the most powerful military force the world has ever seen. While George W Bush took care after 9/11 to explicitly state that the US was not at war with Islam, today we are making radicalisation propaganda films for extremists by presenting ourselves as a Christian nation at war with Islam.”…

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/oct/03/robert-p-jones-backslide-interview

Pete Hegseth is twisting scripture again.

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/befxyVZIhQE

 

The US midterm races that will decide control of Congress – mapped

These graphics explain what the Democrats would need to do to flip the Senate and House of Representatives…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/oct/02/midterm-races-control-congress-charts-visuals

 

Hundreds gather in Mississippi to protest Republican redistricting: ‘This fight is familiar territory’

Hundreds of people gathered across from the Mississippi state capitol building on Thursday evening to rally against the aggressive Republican efforts to draw maps that favor their own party…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/02/mississippi-republican-redistricting-protest

 

Hell's IT Dept. - Free Will in Heaven #comedy #itguy

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mRXJm_ZKuqI?is=JJmZEWSiqE3X1blB 

 

He Came to Defend Religion Instantly Lost His Mind

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBthgjY-W14