Gasoline Prices and the (Evangelical Assisted) Swindle of American Energy Independence

Returning home on Saturday evening, I was just north of Pittsburgh and saw diesel had crossed the $7 a gallon threshold. Regular gas (petrol for some) is pushing $5 a gallon. Pennsylvania pays higher taxes on fuel and unfortunately due to the deep corruption within our Department of Transportation (PennDOT), we don't always see a lot for it. But our poor roads (even poorer in the winter) are another matter. The corruption within Pennsylvania government cannot account for the present crisis in gasoline prices. Many connect the spike to the Trump-Netanyahu decision to attack Iran - but that doesn't really explain it either. Because we were promised by the Right that something else would happen the next time the Middle East blew up.

Mao and Xi

https://www.asianews.it/en/east-asia/china/fifty-years-after-mao-s-death-what-s-left-of-him-in-china

Though you aren't likely to hear 'Red China' these days, it's common for Right-wing media to speak of 'Communist China'.

And yet in reality, China abandoned that system in the late seventies, just a few years after Mao's death on 9 September 1976. Under Deng Xiaoping's tenure (1978-1989), the Chinese government embraced capitalism - though it did not develop on Western or American lines.

The Coming Peasants' Revolt

https://www.npr.org/2026/08/26/nx-s1-5943289/electric-bills-summer-heat-oklahoma-power

Are these exorbitantly high electric bills simply a case of supply and demand?

Missing the Forest for the Trees: The 1960's and Revisionist History Through Omission (II)

I really object to the notion that 'legislation' feminized the Church. The connected issue (if one accepts their assumptions) is not the legislators per se who are officials in the Babel-kingdom of America. The issue is Church leaders who did not teach their people the difference between the holy and the profane, who did not separate Christian identity from American citizenship. Brown has no standing on this point as he is guilty of the latter and heavily promotes the Christian America mythology and the muscular pseudo-piety of the Christian warrior. As such he celebrates America's wars and all the lies, murder, and bloodshed they represent. I laugh at his concerns regarding women able to get into West Point, VMI, The Citadel, and the like. Paul would say, 'what have I to do with those who are outside? God will judge them.'

Missing the Forest for the Trees: The 1960's and Revisionist History Through Omission (I)

https://agendaweekly.com/the-war-to-destroy-the-family-and-feminize-the-church-with-scott-brown/     

I was disappointed but not surprised to find that Scott Brown appeared on the podcast run by Curtis Bowers, a far-right lunatic and disinformation agent that holds a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives. I thought Brown was (despite his grave errors) a little more sober and grounded - in possession of some degree of dignity. I guess I was wrong.

The Immigration Crisis, New Outsourcing Plans, and Related Christian Ethics

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-countries-eye-setting-up-migrant-return-hubs-in-rwanda-and-uzbekistan/

The UK plan to outsource its immigration crisis to Rwanda collapsed and was cancelled by Keir Starmer. Despite this, Rwanda is still looking to sign up and receive European funds. And Paul Kagame has his takers as nations such as Denmark, Austria, Greece, and Germany have expressed interest.

The Ethics of Millionaire Status

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/24/cory-doctorow-on-elon-musk-ai-bubble-bosses-cruel-fantasies

This AI-related article is mildly interesting but also dubious at points. In addition to other issues, it touches on the growing concern surrounding the AI-bubble. Regardless of what AI does or fails to do, this hype alone and the potential for a burst and the economic fallout that results is becoming a substantial story on its own merits.

A Balanced View of UK Immigration

https://www.evangelical-times.org/as-nigel-farage-surges-in-the-polls-is-immigration-a-christian-issue/      

Generally speaking I have not been overly impressed with the Evangelical Times. The reasons for this are varied, but I found this article both balanced and even refreshing as the author (Mike Judge) demonstrated a willingness to break with mainstream political thought and to challenge (and likely offend) many who are committed one way or the other. As is often the case, those one step removed from the American political scene exhibit a little more in the way of sobriety and wisdom.

NPR, JP Morgan Chase, and Establishment Media

The Right would have us believe that the Liberals are out to destroy the United States and reduce its might and wealth. This is patently ridiculous - as I have argued on many occasions. The Left (so-called) is just as invested in the Empire as the Right is. The leaders of the DNC and the so-called Liberal Media are all avid capitalists and support the US Empire, its projects and its wars.

However they do like to have it all packaged with a nice humanitarian and legally justified veneer - even if it's all rubbish. They attach interpretive narratives as to how it all works so that it can appear legal, humane, and enlightened. In some respects I find myself despising them all the more for their hypocrisy - though there's plenty to go around.

I was reminded of this listening to NPR's Steve Inskeep interview Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan. It was quite chummy with Inskeep employing his trademark over the top laugh. He was hardly an impartial or watchdog reporter let alone an adversarial one.

Russell Vought, Pete Hegseth, and Redefining Witness

https://wng.org/opinions/clean-words-and-clean-witness-in-the-white-house-1764033683

There are so many astonishing articles being written these days - it's impossible to keep up.

This World Magazine article from back in November 2025 continues to amaze me.

The Mafia Matrix in Italy, China, and Beyond

https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/fast-fashion-exploitation-how-the-clothes-hanger-wars-escalated-in-italy-a-a9a0d238-03ab-484d-b7a7-b90567646ac7

There are Chinatowns in most large cities. Growing up I visited the famous district in San Francisco which is certainly impressive. But I was really struck by the Chinatown in Lower Manhattan - so proximate to the old Five Points, the various courthouses, and even Ground Zero, and how it all but overlaps with Little Italy. It caused me to reflect on the nature of these ethnic enclaves and the immigrant experience.

Why do Evangelicals Persistently Misunderstand and Misrepresent History?

https://richbitterman.com/2025/11/14/why-60-percent-of-young-americans-prefer-socialism/

Bitterman laments the trend toward socialism among the youth. For the record, I contend America's contemporary decadent and consumerist youth are not in fact looking for socialism at all, but social democracy along the lines of what we see in Northern Europe. While those models may have socialist characteristics they are still capitalist and market driven societies with class distinctions and private ownership - and therefore dismissed by actual and ideological socialists.

The Crisis in the American Church and the Underlying Assumptions (and Worldly Givens) the Church Refuses to Address

https://virgilwalker.substack.com/p/the-sermons-the-church-refuses-to

Once again Virgil Walker manages to raise some valid points and then miss the larger point. Has the modern Church succumbed to worldliness in the realm of gender and family structure? Absolutely, and this is even a problem in circles that otherwise are deemed to be very conservative.

Church Attendance under Ceaușescu

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/32218/in-communist-romania-i-was-made-an-example-of-religious-persecution

This article inadvertently reveals some of the misperceptions of life under communism. You certainly could attend church but if you did, there was a price.

Along with the bulk of the public, as a church attender you would not be a member of the Communist Party. In addition you would find many jobs and places to live closed to you. You could live and make a living, but as a Christian you were part of an underclass.

Right-wing Fallacies Regarding Population and Social Ethics

https://breakpoint.org/the-fallacy-of-controlling-population/

This was but one of many BreakPoint episodes touching on the issue of population control. At times it almost seems as if they (and many on the Right) have an obsession about this issue. It's ironic given the fact that it seems clear to everyone else that they really would rather not see some segments of the population reproduce but rather are frustrated because the kind of people they want to have big families - are choosing not to do so.

And why is this? I can't decide if they really don't understand or are deliberately resorting to smoke and mirrors in order to shift the blame.

The Christian Right in Europe, Book Recommendations, and a Case of Confused Worldview

https://cne.news/article/4772-seven-books-to-sharpen-your-christian-worldview

The article's set-up leads me to believe that once again the evocation of 'worldview' is not in the sense of a comprehensive and coherent system of thought but rather the rubber-stamping of an agenda. As such, it is in keeping with its frequent use within American Evangelicalism.

Decadence, The Fall of Empires, and the Blind Guides Promoting Christian Mammonism

https://virgilwalker.substack.com/p/from-rome-to-rainbow-flags-when-empires

Walker is right in a sense but he largely misses the point. Perversion is a symptom of decadence which is part of a larger complex of events and cultural shifts that signals collapse.

FLN, American Evangelicalism, and the Question of Gambling

I happened to listen to a recent Family Life Network (FLN) piece on gambling. This is a frequently visited topic as it concerns both New York and Pennsylvania, the network's listening area. Both states have in recent years opened up online betting and New York and Pennsylvania have both been involved in casino expansion. In New York, the Indian reservations have become popular venues, while Pennsylvania has allowed some casinos to open up in the Poconos and there are a few horse racing venues in the state.

Trump Tariffs and the Ethics of Capitalism

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-tells-walmart-eat-tariffs-instead-raising-prices-2025-05-17/

Trump wants Wal-Mart to 'eat' the costs of tariffs and not pass the prices on to consumers. He knows this will cost him politically as the working poor (many of whom support his movement) will be hit the hardest by the price hikes.

The Amur Frontier Considered

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Do-the-Chinese-really-want-Siberia-62318.html

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/3654427-does-china-have-designs-on-siberia/

There is nothing particularly profound or revelatory in this article but it's worth considering and filing away. The issue of resources and the Russian Far East have come up before in history. There were those in Imperial Japan who coveted these lands and had an opportunity to invade from their colony of Manchukuo (the conquered realms of Manchuria) in the 1930's. In fact after the German invasion of the USSR in June of 1941, Stalin hesitated to bring the desperately needed troops from Siberia to the West, as he believed the Japanese would invade - something Berlin was very keen for them to do.