Showing posts with label Hegseth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hegseth. Show all posts

Sunday, November 1, 2026

Weekly Roundup: The 8-Week Plan to Delegitimize the Midterms Between Election Day and January 3 (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

The midterms are Tuesday. The fight over whether they count may start the moment polls close.

Between Election Day and January 3, 2027, when the new Congress is sworn in, there are eight weeks. Right-wing media and political operatives are already building two narratives to fill that time: 
  • “Non-citizens voted.” Hundreds of right-wing accounts and outlets have published thousands of statements questioning the election’s integrity, and the focus has shifted to non-citizen voting. The initial claims are huge. When the numbers are actually checked, they shrink dramatically, but the corrections rarely reach the audience that heard the big number. 
  • “Some winners can’t be seated.” Trump, Sen. Bernie Moreno, and Rep. Keith Self have each argued that certain elected Democrats, including Muslim candidates and DSA-aligned candidates, are ineligible to serve. The same idea appears in Center for Renewing America materials tied to Russ Vought. 
Why it matters: a religious test for office isn’t just an insult to the people targeted. If this plan works, voters’ choices get overridden, and Muslims and others get branded as unfit to hold office.

In this video, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller walk through the evidence, show what’s being said in public, and explain what to watch for between November 3 and January 3. 

Chapters:

  • 0:00 Intro
  • 2:09 What to expect on Tuesday
  • 5:55 The “non-citizens voted” campaign
  • 10:24 Why the courts may respond faster this time
  • 19:00 The plan not to seat Democrats
  • 22:16 Trump, Moreno, and Keith Self on who can serve
  • 29:00 Sen. Chris Murphy on CNN
  • 41:00 Hegseth’s spiritual advisor
  • 49:00 Netanyahu’s election fraud claims
  • 51:00 Trump and men’s bodies
  • 1:01:00 Reasons for hope

Saturday, October 31, 2026

Maya Wiley: the enduring influence of white ethno-Christian nationalism (video from the 2026 National Convention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation)

Maya Wiley, a prominent civil rights attorney and activist, recieves our Champion of Human Rights Award. 

In her acceptance speech, Wiley reflects on the enduring influence of white ethno-Christian nationalism in the United States, highlighting its historical roots in racial segregation, genocide, and slavery. 

She discusses how this ideology has resurfaced, manifesting in alarming ways, including recruitment and participation of extremists in the military post-January 6th. 

Wiley emphasizes the importance of unity and coalition-building among diverse groups to combat this resurgence and protect civil liberties, including the freedom of religion and non-religion.
Interview: 


Friday, October 30, 2026

Hegseth fires the Pentagon's top military planner even as Trump considers new Iran strikes | PBS News

He is the latest in nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other military leaders to be fired, forced to retire or otherwise depart under Hegseth's tenure — almost all of which have not been publicly explained by the Pentagon. That includes the civilian secretaries of the Army and Navy as well as some top uniformed officers for the military services…

 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/hegseth-fires-the-pentagons-top-military-planner-even-as-trump-considers-new-iran-strikes


 

Thursday, October 29, 2026

Jennifer Welch: Not Today, Fascists! (video from the 2026 National Convention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation)

Jennifer Welch, a prominent atheist and podcast host, has become a New York Times best-selling author with her book Not Today, Fascists: The Lies That Got Us Here, and the Truths That Will Reunite Us.

In her acceptance speech for the Emperor Has No Clothes Award, Welch shares her journey growing up in Oklahoma City, surrounded by evangelical Christians, and how her mother taught her to question religious authority. 

Welch highlights the hypocrisy and contradictions within Christian nationalism and its influence on politics, especially through figures like Mike Johnson, Pete Hegseth, and Kristi Noem. 

She discusses the dangers of Christian nationalists and technofascists co-opting power and the importance of fighting for a free and secular society.
Interview: 


Saturday, October 17, 2026

Hegseth church allies backed plan for ‘public’ execution of Fort Hood shooter

Leader of CREC church – whose pastors have advocated death penalty – says he ‘prefers public executions to private’…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/15/pete-hegseth-crec-church-execution-livestream


Trump’s defense dreams are on life support - POLITICO

“This is no way to run the Pentagon,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense panel, about the administration’s lack of other funding plans. “I’m very worried about the consequences for our armed forces and our national security.”…

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/15/trump-defense-budget-loss-01120994


 

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Weekly Roundup: They Want to Rule, Not Govern: Live-Streamed Executions, “Enemy Combatants,” and the Midterm Panic (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

They want to rule, not govern. 

This week on the Weekly Roundup, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down Trump’s “bomb LA” comments, the “enemy combatant” rhetoric aimed at Somalis in Minnesota, Hegseth’s plan to live-stream a firing squad execution, and Tucker Carlson and Curtis Yarvin’s Hitler comments. Then they close with some reasons for hope: Ossoff in the Georgia debate and a Satanic invocation in Ottumwa, Iowa.

With the midterms less than a month away, Brad and Dan argue the GOP is ramping up fear-mongering, race-baiting, and empty promises because it has little else left to offer.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro: Iran, LA, Somalis, and the live-streamed execution
03:38 The thesis: ramping up the tactics before the midterms
06:43 Somalis as “the new Haitians”
10:46 JD Vance can’t define socialism
15:26 Ruling vs. governing
17:37 Hegseth’s live-streamed firing squad
27:34 “Pro-life” and “family values”? Bloodlust and the research on televised executions
33:16 Tucker Carlson on why the UK fought WWII
42:38 Curtis Yarvin, JD Vance, and the “engineering” view of society
50:58 Transit funding tied to birth and marriage rates
55:15 Reasons for hope: Ottumwa, Iowa, and Ossoff vs. Collins
1:01:14 Upcoming events and wrap-up
Interview: 

Sunday, October 4, 2026

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: 

Audio podcast:
 
YouTube video:

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:

Pete Hegseth is twisting scripture again.

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

 








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