Showing posts with label fear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fear. Show all posts

Friday, September 18, 2026

Spermageddon, ‘greedy jobs’ and abject fear: why birth rates are plummeting – and why it matters

Talking about “996” culture in China (working 9am to 9pm, six days a week), Cavendish quotes one guy: “Not only do I struggle to find time for reproductive behaviour, but I also can’t find a reason to have a baby who will eventually grow into another human labourer for capitalists to exploit.” And then another: “The entire situation is incredibly depressing. I feel like a cow surrounded by breeders who are discussing whether to play Mozart or Chopin to make my meat more tender.” Whatever you feel instinctively about the drive to have children being outside the rational, homo economicus self, it’s hard to really argue with those…

 https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/sep/17/spermageddon-greedy-jobs-and-abject-fear-why-birth-rates-are-plummeting-and-why-it-matters 


 

Friday, August 14, 2026

Senators Sound Alarm on Voter Intimidation in Nursing Homes – Mother Jones

The new guidance removes suggestions of specific ways nursing home staff can help residents vote—providing transportation to polling places, for example—and instead threatens staff with fraud investigations if they “engage in inappropriate coercion or other violations of residents’ rights.”…

 https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/senators-sound-alarm-on-voter-intimidation-in-nursing-homes/


 

Monday, July 27, 2026

Trump revives old tropes as he pushes warnings of ‘communist menace’

President harks back to red scare of his childhood to attack US left – but will such language resonate beyond Maga base?…


Sunday, July 26, 2026

If They Ever Ran Out of Fear | Powerful Folk Protest Song About Fear, Hope and democracy

One Republican campaign speech after another promises a new crisis, a new enemy, and another reason to be afraid—but what if the fear finally ran out? “If They Ever Ran Out of Fear” is an original contemporary folk protest song that argues today's Republican Party has made fear its most powerful political strategy, replacing hopeful ideas and meaningful solutions with an endless cycle of manufactured threats, scapegoats, and culture-war distractions. Through evocative storytelling, rich vocal harmonies, and an uplifting Americana-inspired sound, the song asks a simple but devastating question: if fear no longer worked, what would they be running on? Created for those who oppose Donald Trump, reject authoritarian politics, and believe America deserves leaders who solve problems instead of exploiting anxiety, “If They Ever Ran Out of Fear” is ultimately a reminder that hope, truth, and democracy become stronger the moment we look beyond the lies—and refuse to let fear decide our future.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwtcbQ58OiQ

 

Sunday, June 28, 2026

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: 

Sunday, May 17, 2026

What Draws People to Christian Nationalism? An Interview with Jeremie Beller (Warren Throckmorton; The Christian Past That Wasn’t: Formerly Telling Jefferson Lies podcast)

"In my book The Christian Past That Wasn't (Broadleaf Books), I spend two chapters on the factors that make Christian nationalism attractive. 

In this segment, I interview Dean of Oklahoma Christian University's College of Bible, Jeremie Beller on the subject of terror management. 

This theory provides a powerful, research-based account of what makes nationalism attractive to people. 
Jeremie's theological expertise provides a novel perspective on the application of terror management to Christian nationalism. I go into this topic in depth in chapter one of the new book. 

Chapter two discusses the role of deception by Christian organizations and how ingroup bias keeps people loyal to the overall group goals despite the deception. To order the book go to www.christianpast.com."
Interview: 


Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Trump Says He Made Memphis Safer. Locals Told Me It Felt Like 1930s Germany or North Korea. – Mother Jones

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, a Democrat who opposed the task force, speculated that crime—which had been a problem—was dropping at least in part because people weren't venturing out nearly as much. "Our risk is that [America is] gonna become a Yemen or a North Korea or something else altogether, where there is an armed individual with a semiautomatic weapon and military fatigues on many corners," he told me. "There may be zero crime, but we also won't be leaving our houses. I know that's a dark scenario, but that's kind of where we are."…


 

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Head of US Catholic bishops says deportations are causing 'fear and uncertainty' - POLITICO

"This is kind of a fundamental principle in Catholic social teaching regarding immigration and migrations: People have a right to remain in their homeland, but they also ought to be allowed to migrate when conditions in their homeland are unsafe and necessitate moving to a place where they can find peace and security," he said in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" with host Margaret Brennan...

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/21/catholic-archbishop-deportations-fear-uncertainty-00702353 


 

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Myths of Violence: How Guns Became Sacred in America (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad sits down with Dr. Rachel Wagner, Professor of Religious Studies at Ithaca College and author of Cowboy Apocalypse, for a sobering and necessary conversation about why guns hold such powerful meaning in American life. Prompted by recent mass shootings, the episode explores how firearms have become more than tools or political symbols and instead function as sacred objects tied to religion, masculinity, and apocalyptic imagination. Dr. Wagner introduces the idea of the “cowboy apocalypse,” a myth rooted in frontier nostalgia, the fantasy of the lone hero, and the belief that violence can restore order in a chaotic world. Together, Brad and Rachel unpack how this story continues to shape American responses to fear, danger, and social change.

The discussion traces how Christian theology, end times thinking, and cultural certainty have fused with gun culture, turning weapons into symbols of protection, identity, and belonging for some, while representing terror and exclusion for others. Brad and Rachel examine the evolution of the NRA from a gun safety organization into a political and quasi religious force, the role of masculinity and whiteness in defining who is seen as a “good guy with a gun,” and how moments like January 6 reflect a kind of live action role play driven by these myths. The episode closes with a powerful reflection on democracy itself, emphasizing that dialogue, complexity, and empathy are incompatible with the certainty promised by violence. It is a challenging conversation that invites listeners to confront the stories Americans tell about guns and what those stories cost us.
Interview: 


Wednesday, December 3, 2025

FBI under Kash Patel has become ‘internally paralyzed by fear’, new report reveals

They accuse Patel of lacking the experience to lead the FBI and that managers will not take initiative without explicit direction for fear of being fired. Patel's first six months have produced a "troubling picture" of an organization described by insiders as a "rudderless ship", with two sources independently characterizing the director as being "in over his head". One stated he "lacks the requisite knowledge or deep understanding of all the FBI's unique and complex investigative and intelligence programs".

 One key accusation is that the FBI has become "internally paralyzed by fear". Managers are "afraid of losing their jobs", and "waiting on directions from the FBI director" rather than taking initiative, according to multiple sources...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/01/fbi-kash-patel-leaked-report


 








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