The English rock band "Tears for Fears" recorded a song released in 1985 called Everybody Wants to Rule the World, which reflects political themes of the time. It was mostly considered a "cold war anthem," that's the best description of it, including that of its authors, who disagreed at one point over whether the line should be "Everyone wants to go to war." There are lines in the song which talk about turning one's back on mother nature, about the bombs come tumbling down, and the theme can be seen in the original music video that accompanies the song.

The use of the Christian religion to gain political power is a theme that runs for almost as long as the Christian church has existed. Christian nationalism emerged with Constantine, after two centuries of persecution of Christianity at the hands of the Roman emperors produced exactly the opposite result intended, and led to the conversion of something like half the Empire. Constantine recognized that his ability to ascend to the emperorship, and maintain military control would depend on the support of the Christian church. His successor, Theodosius I, who was Christian, saw a pathway to political success by making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, turning it into a Christian nationalist state.

Though there is nothing at all anywhere in the writings of the apostles that survived to become the canon of the New Testament to indicate that anything Jesus did, or taught, led to any indication that he intended for those who converted to Christianity to rule the world politically, and in fact, the values he emphasized and prioritized into Christian practice indicate that exactly the opposite is true, Christian nationalism, with a heavy dose of racism tilted toward light skinned Europeans, grew into the most influential heresy in the history of Christianity

What we are seeing, with Project 2025, is a takeover of the federal government by the Heritage Foundation, a group of pseudo-Christians who are once again aiming at the use of government and political power to acheive ends they claim are "Christian," and in line with "the will of God" ostensibly to prepare the world for the return of Christ, but in reality, to acumulate for themselves enough wealth to have the power to literally rule the world. Someone has to manage all of that wealth and power while waiting on Jesus to descend from the clouds, right?

So while 60% of the American people accurately observe the subversion of the Constitution and American democracy for exactly what it is, the only praise for Trump's first hundred days of his second term is coming from a minority of MAGA leaders and influencers, and the media outlets they control. Even the mainstream media, heavily biased in his favor, is not obseving anything but disaster from the illegal acts, aimless executive orders and ramblings of a demented President who is not completely under the control of his handlers.

They [the Heritage Foundation leadership] are bragging that about 41% (how they've arrived at that figure is hard to determine, and hard to swallow) of the Christian nationalist Project 2025 has been implemented so far. What steps do we think they are willing to take to make sure Congress doesn't get in the way of implementing all of it, or abolishing it if the Democrats gain control in 2026?

Please go ahead and correct me if I am wrong, I'll be glad to be wrong about not seeing any Democrats point this out, be concerned about it or actively engaged in doing something about it. We are here now because Democrats weren't bold to take some risks to stop it from happening, and use the power they had. Why should we think anyone is doing anything about it now?

So much for making a big deal out of fighting against an anti-Christian bias in government, huh?

Reverend William Barber, pastor of Greanleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and Reverend Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, who associates himself with a movement known as "New Monasticism," and promotes Christian peacemaking, were arrested for praying in the rotunda of the United States Capitol. They were charged with "crowding, obstructing and incommoding," considered "demonstrating" inside the Capitol building.

You know, the U.S. Capitol. The building where thousands of MAGA supporters, following Trump's instructions to incite an insurrection to stop the counting and certifying of electoral votes on January 6, 2021, broke out windows, set off smoke bombs, defecated on the floor and smeared the feces on the walls, urinated, and generally desecrated and disrespected the building, attacking police officers and aiming at attacking its occupants.

That Capitol.

There is an anti-Christian bias in the government. It's the whole Trump administration. It is completely opposed to the practice of any Christian value, especially in a government building.

It is not possible to defend the Constitution by violating the Constitution.

Let's be clear, right wing conservatism has abandoned every value it once laid claim to defending, in order to try and hang on to power. Trump embodies every "sin" they once claimed to crusade against, including being a pathological liar about everything he talks about, an adulterer and misogynist, a convicted felony rapist, a business fraud and cheat, who's moral bankruptcy spits in the face and who's denial of respect for his primary constituency's religious beliefs and practice makes them pathetic hypocrites.

The moral high ground, along with the defense of, and fidelity to patriotic American values, and to the Constitution and the rule of law belongs to any part of the left that is opposed to Trump's regime and is doing all it can to resist supporting or enabling it.

He is subverting the Constitution and its provisions for separation of powers with his lawless executive orders and with the support of members of a Congress who are not upholding their oath to defend the Constitution of the United States. He has crossed lines against rulings of the Judicial branch. He has crossed a lot of lines using power he does not have, leaving those who are affected by his illegal actions scrambling to pay for attorneys and file lawsuits.

I just want to put a question out here, and see if there is someone who can come up with an answer. He has been ordered, by more than one federal court, to facilitate bringing home Kilmar Abrego Garcia, including getting him out of the prison camp in El Salvador, and bringing him back to the United States. He's been threatened by judges. "You must execute this order now." Then he doesn't do it, so another court comes along and says, "We mean it this time." And then again, "Come on, you have to do this, so when are you going to do it?"

And Kilmar Abrego Garcia is still in El Salvador.

From the start of Biden's term in office, I was not pleased with the direction the party was going and with the things its elected leaders, especially in Congress were doing. I'm a Democrat who earns the right to speak up. I knock on doors for candidates and I contribute. I'm not silent when I need to speak up. I send communication to both Senators, my representative, and my state legislators.

Off the reaction to the January 6th insurrection, we got an impeachment with a dead end conviction that we knew would be the outcome in the senate. But we also got a Congressional investigation that produced a mountain of evidence, more than enough for a guilty verdict to many different crimes, including leading an insurrection against the government of the United States. That should have been followed up by some bold steps requiring some risk to be taken, but necessary for justice to be served.

And the justice department of the United States of America, in the hands of the Democratic party and the administration of President Joe Biden, failed to take the bold, risky steps necessary, dragged their feet, and let the opportunity to prevent Trump from ever taking office again, and most likely spending prison time justifiably, pass without taking advantage of the use of the power that they had.

People want things to get done, quickly. They don't want to drag things along until the right person has the chance to approve some idea or plan. Democrats turned off a lot of potential constituents by the panic and confusion that happened when the party couldn't get a handle on who was running the show, in the weeks leading up to Harris' nomination. The fact that the big shots and major donors had to put their stamp of approval on everything was a huge turnoff that drove a lot of voters away.

I think Hogg is on the right track here. He wants to cut through all of that partisan political goo, and get right to the point of finding leaders who will get things done and ignore the old line, old school protocol. He wants to find and empower leaders who will take risks and who will be bold enough to get things done without worrying about setting themselves up for future political success. He's looking for people who will represent the people, not the money interests or the influence peddlers. So he doesn't want to play the games, and that's brought out the critics whose power is vested in old school thinking, and threatened by something more popular than they are.

I've heard his critics say he should focus on helping Democrats beat Republicans, not on primarying Democrats. But I think this route is the way to victory for Democrats. We need to win Congressional seats and our playing by the old rules isn't cutting it. The establishment has played itself out, and it is clearly not leading any resistance to Trump, that's being done by a whole different constituency. We are facing a constitutional crisis because Democrats weren't bold enough to take the political risks necessary to have Trump sent to prison where he belongs, instead of being re-elected to the White House, where he doesn't belong.

Let's give new leadership a shot at it. Thanks, David. Speak the truth to power.

Any American politician that does not support a Ukrainian peace agreement that restores all of Ukraine's sovereign territory to its rule, including the Crimea, and the Donbas, is a traitor to America.

All of this talk about negotiating this and what price Ukraine must pay for peace in a war that it did not start is ridiculous. It shows no understanding whatsoever of any kind of American idealism, the kind of strength, freedom and humanitarian consideration upon which our nation was built, and after whom the Ukrainians modelled their democratic republic.

Any true, patriotic American who has any understanding at all of what our own country stands for, and the values it represents cannot take any other position, other than demanding Russia withdraw from Ukraine, all of its territory is restored, all of the people they have kidnapped are returned and then, that Russia pay for the damage they have inflicted.

There is no integrity in anything else. There is no value and respect for freedom or democracy in any other position.

Nevertheless, I did not expect the Democratic party leadership to disappear after it was all over. They left behind a bigger vacuum than I would have expected, into which Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have come with a uniting, progressive narrative. They are directly responsible for spurring what appears to be growing anti-Trump sentiment coming from some unexpected sources, including more conservative independents and some Republicans. The Democratic party in Congress seems to have gone into self-preservation mode. Yeah, there are some signs of leadership here and there, Cory Booker's filibuster, Chris Van Hollen's trip to El Salvador, some angry speeches and fist pumping.

Trump resistance and opposition, however, is going in a bit of a different direction. There are signs that "corporeal politics" are developing in response to the tyranny that is unquestionably unfolding. Perhaps in spite of the scattered policy wonk messaging that Democrats are known for, a simpler message is appealing to people and capturing their attention. That message is, "Get him out." That seems to be the one thing providing the energy and enthusiasm that is getting people into the streets, and motivated to action against the war on our democracy and our freedom. Democrats who want to lead need to pay attention to this message, and get on board with it.

Just before the election, in fact, when polls were bouncing up and down like tennis balls, a political analyst, Rachel Bitecofer, appeared on the David Pakman podcast, and said that there was still a way for Democrats to concentrate their messaging and win enough support to eke out a narrow win. They didn't follow her advice. And they lost by a razor thin margin. Somehow, that has caused this paralysis of leadership. The poll numbers are dismal for Trump, but they are a disaster for Democrats. And yet, a clear majority of Americans are highly dissatisfied with everything Trump is doing.

Democrats need to hook up with the opposition's message. Messaging is difficult for Democrats but this is an opportunity that cannot be wasted.

If there's anything that actually indicated this Pope was on the right track when it came to reforming the Catholic Church, aiming to return it to its biblical roots, it was the opposition he received from the more conservative elements within the church, especially in the United States. A quote from an article in America Magazine, a Jesuit publication, says, "What really bothers the detractors of Pope Francis is that his theology stems from reality: from the reality of injustice, poverty and the destruction of nature, and from the reality of ecclesial clericalism."

In other words, because he was from South America, his ministry faced a different world than that of most previous popes, one where the academic side of church theology found itself much less relevant in the face of the kind of ministry necessary to bring spiritual comfort along with meeting the physical needs of an overwhelming amount of political oppression, instability and injustice, and a high level of poverty. He was, according to his critics, not authoritarian enough when it came to pronouncements of sin, too merciful when it came to controversial issues like homosexuality, too lenient on dogma and too critical of conservative politicians supporting the church's political influence in those parts of the world where it is still exercising its Christian nationalist power.

In other words, he was too connected to an emphasis on practice of the core principles of the gospel of Jesus, and on building a ministry foundation based on that, and that made him seem like a left-wing crusader bent on undermining the church's political influence.

In other words, Pope Francis was, in whatever way being Pope allowed him to be, "woke."