What good is it?

In response to the Roe overturn yesterday, a young lady on Twitter asked an interesting question that has stuck with me:

“Has anything good ever come out of Christianity?”

A simple, out of the mouths of babes, kind of question.  I have to admit, I’m hard pressed to think of anything.  Maybe feelings of solace, for those who feel otherwise hopeless in this life, and think they have nowhere else to turn??  But other than such mental comfort, what real good has Christianity ever produced?  On the contrary, it’s showcased a lot of not-so-good role modeling.

If you stand back and look at it, the religion has remarkably survived, even thrived, on hearsay (word of mouth) and rather flimsy circumstantial evidence.  Objectively, there is no direct evidence of any of its claims, including that of the rather bipolar God it portrays.

To me, the whole biblical narrative is rather depressing.  Jesus being treated really badly by his contemporaries.  Stories of rape (which is, btw, how Jesus’s life got started) and other sexual perversions.  Threats of Hell for non-believers and what it takes to self-preserve (attain Heaven); self-preservation being a basal instinct.  Seriously, what is there to like about the religion?  Seems kinda useless to me, but… (yes, that’s just me).

Here's the question: Can you think of anything good that has ever come out of Christianity?  I’m listening.

Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade

The Supreme Court has just published its decision to strike down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. NBC News writes:

The Supreme Court on Friday overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion in a 6-3 vote, a momentous break from a half century of rulings on one of the nation’s most controversial issues. About half the states have already indicated they would move to ban the procedure.

The neo-fascist Republican plan to make America Christian Sharia again is well underway. Red states are going to get rid of abortion, make it a felony and then pass laws to get rid of birth control. Christian nationalists are rejoicing. The rest of us mourn the needless, unjustifiable loss of an important civil liberty.

You're screwed

Regarding the Supreme Court decision to ban gun regulations

The Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a broad right to carry guns in public. That eliminates the New York law. The NRA and gun manufacturers will now file more to obliterate more state and federal gun control laws. California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey, where about a quarter of all Americans live will be forced to rewrite their laws.

The New York Times writes: 

The 6-to-3 decision again illustrated the power of the six conservative justices, all of whom voted to strike down the New York law, in setting the national agenda on social issues. The court’s three liberal members dissented.

The Second Amendment, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority, protects “an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.” States can continue to prohibit guns in some locations like schools and government buildings, Justice Thomas wrote, but the ruling left open where exactly such bans might be allowed.  

The share prices of firearms manufacturers rose on Wall Street, with Smith & Wesson climbing more than 9 percent.  

The majority opinion announced a general standard by which courts must now judge restrictions on gun rights, one that relies on historical assessments: “The government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

Commentators on NPR noted yesterday that the majority decision completely ignored the most inconvenient aspects of America's historical tradition of firearm regulation. This is an example of the now standard neo-fascist Republican tactic of ignoring, denying, distorting or downplaying inconvenient fact, truth and sound reasoning. That is a necessary element of the rigid ideologue's mindset. Convenient or not, facts and logic do not care about any ideology, political, religious or otherwise. But ideologues care so much that they easily rationalize the inconvenient into something easily swept aside.

In dissent, Breyer argued that “the court’s near-exclusive reliance on history is not only unnecessary, it is deeply impractical. It imposes a task on the lower courts that judges cannot easily accomplish.” And that impracticality is exactly what the neo-fascist Republican majority wanted. This highlights a critically important aspect of the radical right legal strategy to limit the scope of government regulation. By citing vague "principles" such as historical tradition, the radicals leave themselves plenty of room to expand the reach of their own vague ruling. 

The day is coming when most folks will be carrying a loaded gun and gun violence will increase. Then the Republicans will blame the Democrats and liberals for the violence. In response, who knows what the Democrats and liberals might do, if anything. One thing is sure, the executives at Smith & Wesson are breaking out the champagne while they watch the value of their stock rise along with the body count. And, those Republican politicians who take gun money are assured of a continuous flow of cash for service for decades to come.

Regarding the US military budget & federal debt

Common Dreams writes:

'Unconscionable': House Committee Adds $37 Billion 

to Biden's $813 Billion Military Budget

The proposed increase costs 10 times more than preserving the free school lunch program that Congress is allowing to expire "because it's 'too expensive,'" Public Citizen noted.

The Biden administration's March request for $813 billion in military spending for Fiscal Year 2023 already marked a $31 billion increase over the current, historically large sum of $782 billion.

During its markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the House Armed Services Committee approved by a 42-17 margin Rep. Jared Golden's (D-Maine) amendment to boost the topline budget by $37 billion.

One can reasonably imagine that the extra $37 billion is for Ukraine and the cost will be added to the federal debt. Things like this are what make the Democrats look too much like the Republicans for my taste. 

We get endless military spending by both parties with vast debt but Republican animosity toward domestic spending and taxes. Complaints always come from Republicans about debt to block domestic spending but never military spending. In large part, our out of control situation reflects the success of the Republican Starve the Beast strategy. Sooner or later the federal debt will come crashing down and most average Americans will experience great pain and suffering.

Wikipedia: Starving the beast is a political strategy employed by American conservatives to limit government spending by cutting taxes, in order to deprive the federal government of revenue in a deliberate effort to force it to reduce spending. The term "the beast", in this context, refers to the United States Federal Government and the programs it funds, using mainly American taxpayer dollars, particularly social programs such as education, welfare, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

On the books debt = a shockingly unmanageable ~$30 trillion

That plus off the books debt = ~$100 trillion