Patheos

BuddhistCatholicContemplativeEvangelicalGeneral ChristianHinduJewishLatter-day SaintMuslimNew VisionsProgressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Patheos

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

slacktivist

Each night I wait to get caught

Last updated on: September 25, 2015 at 5:14 pm   by Fred Clark

Each night I wait to get caught 2015-09-25T17:14:15-04:00 Fred Clark

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

• “Yogi was an anchor baby.”

• Mallory Ortberg’s “Style Guide for the Dystopia” is very funny. But, as I’ve noted before, if all the apocalyptic and dystopian movies are right about the End of the World, something like this might one day be necessary:

Screen shot 2015-09-25 at 4.42.42 PM

That screenshot is from the final moments of Resident Evil. The rest of the scene shows abandoned cars and buses and a deserted city in disarray. The assumption, as always, is that when The End comes, everyone will flee — everyone, that is, except for reporters, photographers, graphic designers, copy editors and press operators at the local paper. When the dead walk, or the mother ship descends, or the Old Ones awaken, or the killer asteroid strikes, it is assumed, those poor bastards will head to the office, make another pot of coffee, and crank out the next day’s paper even though there may be no one around to read it.

And, actually, the only thing I find implausible about that assumption is the idea that newspapers might still be around by the time the dystopian apocalypse gets here. (See also.)

• Speaker of the House John Boehner announced that he will be turning in his gavel and resigning from Congress in October. I’ve never had much affection or admiration for the man, but I’ve felt quite a bit of sympathy for him over the years as he has tried — and mostly failed and flailed — to do his job. That job, for nearly all of his term as speaker, was made nearly impossible — not by opposition from House Democrats, or by conflict with the Senate, or by the Democratic president, but by constant, insatiable and inchoate revolt from within his own party.

John Boehner has had the task of trying to govern as head of a party that hates government, governing and governance. His party wouldn’t allow him to govern well, and scarcely allowed him to govern at all. So his sudden announcement that he’s walking away from that dysfunctional bunch doesn’t surprise me at all.

• Republican Rep. Pete King lamented the resignation of House Speaker John Boehner, calling it “a victory for the crazies.” That’s astonishing for several reasons, including that: A) Pete King is bemoaning the existence of an irrational, extremist faction in his party; B) King doesn’t regard himself as a part of that faction; and, C) given the current state of the Republican delegation in the House of Representatives, King may even be right about that.

• RIP Phyllis Tickle. RIP John McNeill.

• Oprah Winfrey may have some idiosyncratic views that don’t perfectly align with the Athanasian Creed or whatnot. But  — as Scot McKnight shows, at great length — there’s nothing at all unorthodox or unbiblical about her belief, as a young child, that if God was her father, then Jesus was like a brother. (Sub-message: Mess with Oprah, you’re gonna get an earful from Chicago theologians.)

• The “supermoon” lunar eclipse should be visible in my area from around 8 p.m. until around 11:30 Sunday evening. If my current run of skywatching luck continues, that means it will probably be cloudy here in Chester County from, say, 7:30 until about midnight.

But that’s OK, because NASA will have us covered, live-streaming a cloud-free look at the eclipse from multiple locations. Thanks, Obama.

Uncategorized

immigration

journalism

religious right

science

Previous Post



September 25, 2015

Left Behind Classic Fridays, No. 52: 'Making the cut'

Next Post



September 27, 2015 Sunday WTF?


Browse Our Archives

Select a Category class warfare evangelicals Iraq Left Behind Mammon music Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003


Follow Us!

Follow Us on Facebook



TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I was lifted up on a pole that healed those who looked at me. What am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The bronze serpent The Stone Tablets The Golden Calf A healing statue

Related posts from slacktivist

Family

'One of the good ones' obscures a dangerous...

slacktivist

Family

The end of 20th-century white evangelicalism

slacktivist

Family

ICE vs. churches (cont'd.)

slacktivist

Family

Feliz Navidad

slacktivist

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Progressive Christian

The First Eucharistic Controversy: Christ’s Real Presence

For Catholics, the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian...

What a Stop Sign Can Teach Us About...

How to Make a Decision When You Can't Hear God Main point:...

Archdiocese Hosts Military Marriage Retreat in Germany

RASTATT, Germany — The transient military lifestyle, with its frequent deployments and...

Minted in God's Image

Nearly every morning, I make the drive to Detroit with my high-school-age...

The Real AI Story Is Adoption Without Trust

Artificial intelligence has crossed a political threshold. It is no longer a...

Walking through History

  A new article, written by Jeff Lindsay and Gale L. Pooley,...

view all Progressive Christian blogs

Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube