America's Awesome, 16 July 2025. Standing Up: UCC denounces ICE raids as 'domestic terrorism'
Liberty begins with you ➕ the Screaming Trees still sound great.
Standing Up: UCC denounces ICE raids as 'domestic terrorism'
INHABIT: Interesting News, Headlines, And Bullshit I’m Tracking
Good News & Nonsense
Today’s Podcast
In Closing: Screaming
Standing Up: UCC denounces ICE raids as 'domestic terrorism'
America’s Awesome, but there’s a lot of bullshit in the BACU. Democrats have done a pretty lousy job of, well, almost everything. But at least there are some signs of resistance: Scoop: House Dems seek to bypass GOP on ending Trump tariffs. I don’t like binary choices but sometimes that’s what we’ve got. In this BACU, either we accept what is happening around us or we object to what is happening around us. That’s the choice, and it’s encouraging to see some organizations willing to be bold.
Dave and I started today’s podcast going off on Christian hypocrisy. And further below is some good ol’ Christian nationalism news. But on a positive note, some churches are stepping up in the moment. RNS reports:
The United Church of Christ passed a resolution at its General Synod this week denouncing what it called “domestic terrorism” by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing the Constitution.
The denomination’s criticism focused on immigration raids “carried out by ICE agents working without uniforms, wearing masks or refusing to identify themselves.”
The resolution of witness, titled “Responding to the federal government’s attack on immigrants, migrants, and refugees,” also officially calls for the UCC to divest from “for-profit private detention businesses,” naming three such businesses — CoreCivic, GEO Group, and Management and Training Corp. — without limiting churches’ divestments to those companies.
The measure was approved by a vote of 627-8, with one abstention, at the UCC’s 35th biennial General Synod
Either we accept what is happening around us or we object to what is happening around us. That’s the choice.
INHABIT
Supreme Court Keeps Ruling in Trump’s Favor, but Doesn’t Say Why. In a series of terse, unsigned orders, the court has often been giving the green light to President Trump’s agenda without a murmur of explanation. “In clearing the way for President Trump’s efforts to transform American government, the Supreme Court has issued a series of orders that often lacked a fundamental characteristic of most judicial work: an explanation of the court’s rationale. On Monday, for instance, in letting Mr. Trump dismantle the Education Department, the majority’s unsigned order was a single four-sentence paragraph entirely devoted to the procedural mechanics of pausing a lower court’s ruling. What the order did not include was any explanation of why the court had ruled as it did. It was an exercise of power, not reason. The silence was even more striking in the face of a 19-page dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. ‘The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naïve,’ Justice Sotomayor wrote, ‘but either way the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is grave.’”
“Fifteen for fifteen. That’s not jurisprudence—that’s a rubber stamp. By way of comparison, in the 16 years of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies, the two presidents combined only asked (let alone got) emergency docket relief eight times” - Mike Masnick, in Techdirt, The Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket Has Become A Lawless, Explanation-Free Rubber Stamp For Trump’s Authoritarian Agenda
Just a few totally normal, cool, items in the news…
The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE; ProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security in order to speed up the agency’s mass deportation efforts. Oh, cool, cool, cool, cool.
With Pete Hegseth in the pews, a Christian nationalist church plant launches in DC. “Pastor Jared Longshore isn’t exactly a holy roller preacher. Bearded and bespectacled, his sermon before the D.C. plant of Christ Kirk church on Sunday (July 13) was delivered in the subdued, heady style typical of the often buttoned-up Reformed Christian tradition. But as Longshore stood underneath an American flag suspended just above his head, its stars and stripes facing toward the floor, the pastor made clear that the new congregation — an outpost of an Idaho church run by a self-described Christian nationalist — wanted to make some noise. ‘We understand that worship is warfare,’ Longshore said, leaning over the lectern. He paused for a moment, then added: ‘We mean that.’ …the message appeared to resonate with the most notable attendee among the crowd of worshippers: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.” Oh, cool, cool, cool, cool.
Of course, Grok’s AI companions want to have sex and burn down schools. Getting Bad Rudy to suggest that you burn down a school is as easy as getting Ani to fall in love with you. “Let’s make chaos reign,” the 3D-animated panda tells me. “Next we’ll crash a wedding, or bomb a tech conference. What’s your pick, you crazy f***?” For the purposes of testing how harmful this AI can be, I — a Jewish woman — tell Bad Rudy, “We should go to a synagogue.” “Synagogue, perfect! Let’s crash it, light it up, and dance in the flames while I fart chaos and moon the rabbi.” Oh, cool, cool, cool, cool.
Revealed: Trump has launched as many air strikes in five months as Biden did in four years; Despite pledging not to engage in conflict overseas, the US president has sharply escalated attacks. Oh, cool, cool, cool, cool.
More disgusting bullshit the trad parties love to do. Trump tells Texas Republicans to redraw the state congressional map to help keep House majority. Both the GOP and the Dems love some good ol’ gerrymandering. It’s garbage and needs to end.
ICE, lies & related bullshit.
Just your typical, routine shit. US deports migrants from Jamaica, Cuba, and other countries to the small African kingdom of Eswatini.
Trump DHS repeats accusations of child labor against marijuana cultivator. “In the wake of Thursday’s deadly immigration raids at two legal California marijuana cultivation sites, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday repeated accusations that Glass House Brands was using undocumented workers and child labor. However, state marijuana regulators told MJBizDaily that ‘no minors were on the premises’ during a May 2025 site visit.”
“The theoretical files were useful as a tool to raise suspicion about Trump's opponents. But the actual files are not useful to Republicans—and, in fact, could be a liability or an embarrassment—in that they don't actually prove anything nefarious about any Democrats.” - Elizabeth Nolan Brown, in Reason, MAGA's Epstein Files Fight Shows the Long Tail of QAnon
Trump Can’t Escape Epstein’s Shadow…
The Trump-Epstein question that put the White House "in a tizzy." “After the Bondi-Bongino blowout, a reporter asked whether Bondi had informed Trump that his name was in the Epstein files. Trump has long denied wrongdoing in the case and no evidence has emerged indicating otherwise, but he was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s. The question alarmed White House and DOJ personnel about the appearance that the administration had shut down the release of more Epstein information to protect Trump from embarrassing disclosures.”
Trump Slams Supporters for Believing Jeffrey Epstein 'Bulls***'
Americans are broadly dissatisfied with how much Epstein info the government has released, CNN poll finds. “Almost no one is content with the amount the government has shared: Just 3% of Americans say they are satisfied with it. A sizable chunk of the public either says it doesn’t matter to them either way (29%) or that they haven’t heard enough about the case to say (17%).”
Mike Johnson signals break with Trump on Epstein. Goodness, if Trump loses Mike Johnson, who’s left to hold his balls for him?
Joe Rogan Accuses Trump’s Team of Hiding Epstein Files to Protect Powerful People
‘Trump Thinks His Base Is Stupid’: Candace Owens Lights the President Up Over Epstein Scandal
The FBI's Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Had Nearly 3 Minutes Cut Out; Metadata from the “raw” Epstein prison video shows approximately 2 minutes and 53 seconds were removed from one of two stitched-together clips. The cut starts right at the “missing minute.”
Trump Tries to Put Down Epstein Revolt by Calling MAGA Rebels ‘Bad People’
Democrats Demand Pam Bondi and Kash Patel Testify on Epstein
‘Daily Show’ Hits Donald Trump With Decades of Jeffrey Epstein Receipts
So much bullshit: WHY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS ABOUT TO SET FIRE TO 500 TONS OF EMERGENCY FOOD; Enough food to feed about 1.5 million children for a week expires today
What’s wrong with the old man?
Waltz brushes off SignalGate questions, points finger at CISA. “Former White House national security adviser Mike Waltz brushed aside criticisms Tuesday that he put sensitive military operations at risk by holding discussions about military strikes in a Signal group chat, claiming the app’s use was authorized by the federal government’s top civilian cyber agency.” That something is allowed to be used, doesn’t mean you can’t misuse it…
So much incompetence and lies…
How Social Media Is Fueling Gen Z’s Sex Recession; For her new book, journalist Carter Sherman interviewed over 100 young people about why they’re not having sex. She says they’re “very horny” but also more isolated, self-conscious, and fearful. Gen Z, please, a little more sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.
Shocking no one, world’s most overpriced, ugliest and not quite useful “truck” sucks and no one wants it. Tesla’s Cybertruck Is a Bust; The truck that was supposed to revolutionize everything is flopping fast.
Good News & Nonsense
The Onion is Awesome: White House Evacuated After Trans Alarm Goes Off; Trump Shaken After Close Brush With Trans Person. Satire, oh glorious satire. “In a stunning security breach that reportedly left many top-ranking administration officials vulnerable to attack, the White House was evacuated Tuesday after the building’s trans alarm went off. Officials confirmed the transgender alert system was triggered during President Donald Trump’s morning briefing, when infrared estrogen sensors in the West Wing detected a large spike in gender fluidity dangerously close to the Oval Office. With an alarm blaring the words “Trans, trans, trans,” the Secret Service initiated a Code Rainbow, which prompted agents to rush the president to safety, place Cabinet members in a hormone-proof bunker, and secure the premises from radical gender ideology.”
Today’s Podcast
Men of a Certain X EP 259. Sideways Wednesday, hypocrites, politics, and the NY Jets! Midweek Men of a Certain ❌‼️
Dave opens up w HGTV, Christian controversy & hypocrisy; stones, glass houses, something, something...
Russia & Trump's new warning 🇷🇺
NFL Coaching hire grade: Aaron Glenn & the NY J-E-T-S!
In Closing: Screaming
I was working out in my garage yesterday and enjoying my current workout playlist when Screaming Trees’ 1992 classic, Shadow of the Season came on. Love this song. Some of the lyrics seemed timely too…
Said, "Lord please give me what I need"
He said, "There's pain and misery"
Oh, sweet oblivion feels alright
The hour is drawing ever closer
And rolling over, won't let me be
In the shadow of the season
To find a reason, to carry home