I'm seeing posts encouraging those new to Mastodon to post an introduction with biographical information. I did not do that when I joined in early December and apologize for the oversight. Here's some biographical information:
I'm a retired academic (Ph.D. in theology) with a husband who is also a retired Ph.D. in theology. As a gay couple now in our 51st year together, we found ourselves very much unwelcome and unwanted in the Catholic institutions in which we taught.
#introduction
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I'm seeing posts encouraging those new to Mastodon to post an introduction with biographical information. I did not do that when I joined in early December and apologize for the oversight. Here's some biographical information:
I'm a retired academic (Ph.D. in theology) with a husband who is also a retired Ph.D. in theology. As a gay couple now in our 51st year together, we found ourselves very much unwelcome and unwanted in the Catholic institutions in which we taught.
#introduction
/1
I'm committed to solidarity with those pushed to the margins of society due to race, gender, sexual identity, national or ethnic origin, economic status, etc. I have a strong interest in and commitment to pushing back against the claim of the religious right to own God. I am strongly committed to pushing back against the use of that claim to justify constant attacks on perceived "enemies."
All of this is at least part (if not all) of who I am, and iis central to why I'm here.
#introduction
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Like all the other outrageous things Trump has been doing in the last weeks, the DC takeover is, first and foremost, an attempt to deflect from the Jeffrey Epstein case. …
But it is not just a deflection, it is also an attempt to bring the attention of his base back to the core of their bond with Trump, namely authoritarianism and nativism (which are, as always with the far right, closely connected)."
~ Cas Mudde
#Trump #Epstein #WashingtonDC #authoritarianism
/27
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/13/why-is-trump-deploying-national-guard-troops-to-washington-dc
"Don't be fooled: Trump's D.C. takeover is about race. Black people have been Trump’s target for his entire adult life. …
This is a man whose first appearance in the New York Times was for denying apartments to Black applicants."
~ Shalise Manza Young
#Trump #WashingtonDC #crime #fascism #racism #military
/28
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/dont-be-fooled-trumps-dc-takeover
"The timeline of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump’s friendship is not adding up.
Despite Trump’s doing everything within his power to distance himself from the pedophilic financier, interviews conducted prior to Epstein’s death suggest that the pair were close long after Trump claimed to have thrown Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago for being a 'creep.'"
~ Ellie Quinlan Hougtaling
#Epstein #Trump #pedophiles #CoverUp #GhislaineMaxwell
/1
https://newrepublic.com/post/199049/donald-trump-epstein-claims-friendship-report
"A new timeline compiled by CNN reveals just how long the two men were entwined.
Their friendship spanned three decades, but in a 2019 interview, Epstein described Trump as his 'closest friend for 10 years.' That would have been 15 years after they had a falling out over a bidding war on a Palm Springs oceanfront mansion, and 11 years after Epstein was first convicted on child sex offenses."
#Epstein #Trump #pedophiles #CoverUp #GhislaineMaxwell
/2
"The timeline of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump’s friendship is not adding up.
Despite Trump’s doing everything within his power to distance himself from the pedophilic financier, interviews conducted prior to Epstein’s death suggest that the pair were close long after Trump claimed to have thrown Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago for being a 'creep.'"
~ Ellie Quinlan Hougtaling
#Epstein #Trump #pedophiles #CoverUp #GhislaineMaxwell
/1
https://newrepublic.com/post/199049/donald-trump-epstein-claims-friendship-report
He writes,
"I would never have learned the basic facts about the world that grounded me in objective reality for my entire life had it not been for the Smithsonian, and all the other museums around the Mall.
So "it’s fitting that the man who would be king is rewriting history in the Smithsonian to suit his alternate reality."
#Trump #Republicans #Smithsonian #history #RevisionistHistory #WhiteChristianNationalism #epistemology
/2
"This is not just about changing the facts. Knowledge is made of facts whereas knowing is a process. You can erase or change knowledge all you want but if there is still a way to reality-test against the real world there is always a way to know the truth, to assert your epistemological freedom.
That’s why what the regime is doing is not just about changing exhibits, or facts. It’s about epistemic control—control of how you know anything at all."
#Trump #Republicans #Smithsonian #history
/2
Jim Stewartson frames what Trump and the Republicans want to do with the Smithsonian (and with history itself) as "epistemological totalitarianism, or the seizure of the means of knowledge by the state."
He notes that he grew up outside DC, the son of a single mother. He was a poor student, but learned voraciously, often by visiting the Smithsonian.
#Trump #Republicans #Smithsonian #history #RevisionistHistory #WhiteChristianNationalism #epistemology
/1
https://www.mind-war.com/p/the-war-on-knowing
He writes,
"I would never have learned the basic facts about the world that grounded me in objective reality for my entire life had it not been for the Smithsonian, and all the other museums around the Mall.
So "it’s fitting that the man who would be king is rewriting history in the Smithsonian to suit his alternate reality."
#Trump #Republicans #Smithsonian #history #RevisionistHistory #WhiteChristianNationalism #epistemology
/2
Jim Stewartson frames what Trump and the Republicans want to do with the Smithsonian (and with history itself) as "epistemological totalitarianism, or the seizure of the means of knowledge by the state."
He notes that he grew up outside DC, the son of a single mother. He was a poor student, but learned voraciously, often by visiting the Smithsonian.
#Trump #Republicans #Smithsonian #history #RevisionistHistory #WhiteChristianNationalism #epistemology
/1
https://www.mind-war.com/p/the-war-on-knowing
Lucian K. Truscott on growing old in the era of Republicans' brutal (and gleeful) assault on democracy, the ties that bind us, decency and civility, truth, facts, science, reality itself:
"We grew up absurd, now we’re growing old absurd. Read your newsfeed on your phone. Turn on MSNBC. Hell, don’t bother reading anything."
#Republicans #Trump #absurdity #destruction #CommonGood #civility #decency #facts #history #science
/1
https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/trump-is-trying-on-fascist-state
"First, recognize gaslighting.
Second, understand his true targets.
Third, watch for 'alternative facts.'
Fourth, listen for dogwhistles."
#Trump #WashingtonDC #fascism #BLS #data #statistics #facts #Smithsonian #history #economy
/26
Like all the other outrageous things Trump has been doing in the last weeks, the DC takeover is, first and foremost, an attempt to deflect from the Jeffrey Epstein case. …
But it is not just a deflection, it is also an attempt to bring the attention of his base back to the core of their bond with Trump, namely authoritarianism and nativism (which are, as always with the far right, closely connected)."
~ Cas Mudde
#Trump #Epstein #WashingtonDC #authoritarianism
/27
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/13/why-is-trump-deploying-national-guard-troops-to-washington-dc
"He falsely claimed crime is out of control in D.C. to justify federal commandeering of the city. And he demanded the Smithsonian review all its museum programs to ensure they align with his worldview. …
I want to talk about four strategies to diminish the effect of Trump’s manipulations and lies. These aren’t exhaustive, but they can be helpful to keep us all from being washed away in the flood."
#Trump #WashingtonDC #fascism #BLS #data #statistics #facts #Smithsonian #history #economy
/26
"First, recognize gaslighting.
Second, understand his true targets.
Third, watch for 'alternative facts.'
Fourth, listen for dogwhistles."
#Trump #WashingtonDC #fascism #BLS #data #statistics #facts #Smithsonian #history #economy
/26
"The past week has seen a dizzying bombardment of fake reports, propaganda and even pressure upon institutions to revise our history.
In the past few days alone, Trump replaced the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner with an unqualified Heritage Foundation hack. He brought in an 'expert' to lie about household incomes."
~ Jay Kuo
#Trump #WashingtonDC #fascism #BLS #data #statistics #facts #Smithsonian #history #RevisionistHistory
/23
https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/rejecting-alternative-realities
"He falsely claimed crime is out of control in D.C. to justify federal commandeering of the city. And he demanded the Smithsonian review all its museum programs to ensure they align with his worldview. …
I want to talk about four strategies to diminish the effect of Trump’s manipulations and lies. These aren’t exhaustive, but they can be helpful to keep us all from being washed away in the flood."
#Trump #WashingtonDC #fascism #BLS #data #statistics #facts #Smithsonian #history #economy
/26
William Lindsey :toad: