Sunday, June 28, 2026

Weekly Rondup: How Protest Became Terrorism in Trump's America (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

This week, Brad Onishi argues that a series of seemingly separate headlines point to a single political project: the construction of a white Christian homeland. 

He examines the unprecedented sentencing of the Prairie Land protesters under domestic terrorism charges, the Trump administration's growing use of "Antifa" as a catch-all label for political dissent, Supreme Court decisions affecting Temporary Protected Status, and the continued targeting of Haitian immigrants. 

Together, Brad argues, these developments reflect an effort to criminalize protest, narrow who belongs in America, and reshape citizenship around the ideals of white Christian nationalism. 

Brad also breaks down new efforts to restrict voting through the SAVE Act, analyzes the rhetoric of figures like Stephen Miller, Megyn Kelly, and Rep. Tom Emmer, and reflects on what Zohran Mamdani's growing political influence reveals about the future of the Democratic Party.
Interview: 


Chrissy Stroop: Emptying the Pews and "Post-Truth America" | FFRF Convention 2025

Writer Chrissy Stroop ("The Bugbear Dispatch," "Empty the Pews") accepts the Freethought Heroine Award and traces her journey from evangelical schools to leading counter-narratives about the Christian Right. Stroup unpacks creationist indoctrination, “post-truth” politics, DEI/CRT moral panics, trans rights backlash and why pluralism and storytelling are essential to democracy.

0:00 Introduction
1:59 Speech
Interview: 

VIDEO Podcast Ep. 641: The Downfall of Jackson Lahmeyer (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #641)

  • 0:00 Intro
  • 1:07 SCOTUS says Rastafarian can't sue prison guards who violated his faith and cut off his dreadlocks.
  • 14:30 Trump-backed pastor Jackson Lahmeyer drops out of congressional race after sexting scandal.
  • 34:50 MLB warns San Francisco Giants players after anti-LGBTQ protest on "Pride Night."
  • 48:48 Conservatives claim a trans wrestler assaulted her opponent. The video tells a different story.
  • 1:16:39 The Mormon Church is trying to sue a critic into silence. Now he's fighting back.
  • 1:31:54 Christian adoption giant reverses course, shutting out prospective LGBTQ parents.
Interview: 

JD Vance Rebrands as Church Dad for Prez (Conspirituality podcast Episode #314)

Trump ... the bright flame of his inspiration to MAGA Christians is fading. Did he drain the swamp? Prosecute the pedophiles? Save the Holy Land? Lower gas prices? Give all the grill dads better health care? What was all the speaking in tongues for?

JD Vance has an answer for the MAGA faithful: another memoir, another rebrand that turns to the device that made Hillbilly Elegy a smash hit, and the worst book ever: the gall to turn his personal and familial despair into the diagnosis of an entire culture, in Appalachia.

With Communion: Finding my Way back to Faith, Vance plays the same narcissistic trick: turning his lifelong journey through rightwing American Chrisitianity—with a short and shameful detour into New Atheism—to land in the Catholic faith of Leonard Leo, sketching out a redemption plan for every bro seeking their way home.
Interview: 


Abortion is NOT child sacrifice (Dan McClellan and Dan Beecher; Data Over Dogma podcast on YouTube)

Senator Mike Lee has taken to invoking Moloch online, recasting abortion as ancient child sacrifice to a bloodthirsty god. There's just one problem: there's no good evidence Moloch was ever a god at all — the word points to a type of sacrifice, not a deity — and the Hebrew Bible draws a sharp line between a born person and a fetus. This episode, we untangle the Moloch myth, trace how abortion got built into a political wedge issue, and confront the far thornier texts where it is the God of Israel who seems to be asking for child sacrifice. 

Chapters:

0:00 — Intro
1:49 — Twisted Scripture: Mike Lee
3:29 — The Talarico Tweet
5:20 — Moloch on the Altar
6:38 — Abortion as Child Sacrifice
8:46 — Property, Not a Person
11:50 — Inventing a Wedge Issue
14:31 — The Magic Bullet Vote
16:49 — Moloch Was Never a God
17:58 — Reconstructing Lost Vowels
22:25 — The Milcom Corruption
24:03 — The Bible's Child Sacrifice
26:43 — "Give Me Your Firstborn"
30:47 — What Actually Reduces Abortion
32:42 — Outro
Interview: 

Making the Case: A Side of Corruption (Senator Sheldon Whitehouse; Making the Case on YouTube)

Todd Blanche lacks the impartiality and integrity to be US Attorney General.

In this episode, Senators Whitehouse and Blumenthal discuss the nomination of Todd Blanche to the role of our nation’s top prosecutor. From his botched handling of the Epstein files, to his weaponization of the Justice Department as Acting AG, Blanche has a pattern of placing his loyalty to President Trump above his duty to our country. As two former state Attorneys General and U.S. Attorneys, the Senators discuss the principles and morals that should define this role, the importance of an independent Judiciary, and more.

Sheldon Whitehouse represents Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate, where he champions policies to uphold American leadership in the world, protect our planet in a changing climate, and hold the powerful accountable. 
Interview: 

Did Thomas Jefferson Base the Declaration of Independence on the Bible and Christianity? (Warren Throckmorton; The Christian Past That Wasn’t: Formerly Telling Jefferson Lies podcast)

The claim that the Declaration of Independence was based on the Bible is common among those who believe America was founded as a Christian nation. Recently, Tim and David Barton are promoting the idea that the exact wording of parts of the Declaration was taken from sermons delivered in the early 1700s by Congregationalist preacher John Wise. They add that Cornell University history professor Clinton Rossiter taught that Wise influenced the American struggle for independence. This is supposed to bolster their argument about the Christian basis for the Declaration of Independence.

In this segment, I assert that the exact language of the Declaration is not in Wise's essays, nor does Rossiter say Wise was critical to American independence. A review of the primary sources shows that the Bartons' claims are false. This leads to a discussion of why the Bartons assert such easily disproved falsehoods.
Interview: 

Texas just made the Bible required reading in school!

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

Presidential Quotes #maga #president #quotes #history #truestory

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

Trump administration moves to restart LGBTQ+ suicide hotline it initially ended

The Trevor Project non-profit that helped pioneer LGBTQ+ ‘press 3’ option for 988 hotline is being shut out as it restarts…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/trump-administration-lgbtq-suicide-hotline


 

#maga is melting down over this one #news #politics #chatgpt #bias

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Lvt3hc4iBd4

Maggie Haberman: Trump 'hears what he wants to hear'

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/u6C-HpMGVyI

Texas makes Bible passages required reading for millions of public school students

The reading list states that excerpts from the Book of Jonah and the Book of Psalms will be required reading beginning in seventh grade. Additional excerpts from several parts of the Bible, such as the Book of Lamentations and the Book of Genesis, will become part of the curriculum for high school students. 

The list has sparked strong criticism. Opponents say it breaches the constitutional separation of church and state, lacks diversity and gives preference to Christianity over other faiths. Supporters argue that Judeo-Christian traditions played a central role in the country’s founding and should be represented in public school teachings…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/texas-bible-required-reading-public-school


 

Claims of prosecutor misconduct spread at federal courthouse

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kv-mOAE56NI

Trump's Cabinet Praises Him Every 6 Sentences | Paula Poundstone #shorts

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/x0fg-IJsLUU

Apologist Embarrasses Himself on Diary of a CEO (And Christians Loved It) (Paulogia video podcast)

John Lennox, billed as the world's number one Christianity expert, sat down with Steven Bartlett on Diary of a CEO and Christians across YouTube couldn't stop raving about it. There's just one problem. When Bartlett repeatedly asked for actual evidence, Lennox had none.
Interview: 
Apple video podcasts: 
YouTube: 

Axis Daily Brief: Tucker Carlson's Surprising Reappropriation of the Historic 'Appeal to Heaven' Flag

Tucker Carlson’s Symbolic Use of the ‘Appeal to Heaven’ Flag May Reveal an Even Darker Turn in the Future of Right-Wing Politics

 https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/axis-daily-brief-tucker-carlsons


 

Inside Ron DeSantis’ Plan to Rewrite U.S. History for the Next Generation - Axis Daily Brief

History Is the Next Front in the Christian Nationalist Project.

 https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/axis-daily-brief-inside-ron-desantis 


Trump attacks Democrats as ‘godless communists’ in test of midterms message

The radical left “want to resume the transgender mutilation of children, they want to restart the war on Christians and churches, and as you saw with the communists elected in New York recently … they want to completely destroy the traditional American way of life,” Trump warned. 

“Communism is very easy to sell. It destroys everything, but it is very easy. And I’ll be honest – I think I’d be the greatest communist in history.” Mockingly, the president said as a communist he could give free rent, houses and food, but the country would inevitably fail after two or three years. He said: “Everyone will suffer or die. That’s what happens.” 

Trump, who has been the subject of three assassination attempts over the past two years, added darkly: “I’m sorry to say but the assassinations of those who oppose them is a very important element of their ideology. Assassinations are a big deal for them. They are animals!”…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/trump-democrats-communists-midterms


 

I blame evangelicals

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2aryejESG2g

Screen time can damage under-twos’ long-term health and development, landmark study suggests

The new study, however, lays bare a wide range of potential harms associated with screen time for babies, including reduced opportunities to bond with parents and caregivers, less time for physical play with other children and limited language development. 

It says screen use at such a young age may increase overstimulation and difficulty sleeping, and have implications for eye health and childhood obesity. There are also concerns that infants are turning to digital devices for comfort and soothing, rather than to a parent...

 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/27/screen-time-damage-under-twos-development-study


Original Sin and Salvation are a Scam (Jon Cohen - Unconvinced live stream on YouTube)

If humanity is supposedly born broken because two people ate fruit thousands of years ago… and the only escape is accepting the cure offered by the same system that condemned you in the first place…
then maybe we should ask an uncomfortable question:

What if the whole thing functions like a scam?
We’ll be looking at: 
• The logic of original sin 
• Why inherited guilt makes no moral sense 
• Why “salvation” only works after convincing you you’re doomed 
• Fear, shame and obedience in religious systems 
• Whether a loving god would design reality this way at all
Interview: 







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