Josh Hawley, the evangelical Christian Senator from Missouri, has really made a name for himself in 2021. In January, he fed the conspiracy theories about the illegitimacy of the 2020 presidential election by refusing to vote to certify the results. […]
Afghanistan
“Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their opinions.” The latest from megachurch pastor Jack Hibbs
If you want to see just about everything that is wrong with American evangelicalism today watch this clip (below) from Jack Hibbs‘s Sunday sermon at Calvary Chapel-Chino Hills. Hibbs is not leading a Sunday morning worship service here, he is […]
Joe Biden: Please stop using the Bible in political speeches
After a busy first week of classes I am finally getting around to this story. In the past I have been very critical of politicians who use the Bible to advance political ends. In the last administration I was particularly […]
Rothkopf: “Biden deserves credit, not blame for Afghanistan”
David Rothkopf‘s piece at The Atlantic is helpful. He argues that “Americans should feel proud of what the U.S. government and military have accomplished in these past two weeks.” A taste: They all conveniently forgot that they were responsible for […]
Who is ISIS-K?
Like most Americans, I had never heard of ISIS-K before it claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack at the Kabul airport. Amira Jadoon of West Point and Andrew Mines of George Washington University gets us up to speed in their recent […]
A sad day in Afghanistan
I have not had much time to today to watch the news and process what happened in Kabu. I read David French’s newsletter and found many of his observations helpful. French reminds us that military retreats and defeats “are always […]
Song of the Day
Biden is not the only one to blame for the Taliban takeover
Here is William Saletan at Slate: Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump’s former secretary of state, blames President Joe Biden for the chaos in Afghanistan. “We’re letting the Taliban run free and wild,” he complained a few days ago on Fox News. Pompeo, […]
Franklin Graham calls for a day of prayer for Afghanistan days after he asks his followers if they “miss President Trump.”
Franklin Graham is calling for a day of prayer for Afghanistan on Sunday, August 22, 2021. Here is his Facebook message to followers: DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN I’m asking for Christians around the world to join […]
Kazin: Biden must tell the truth about Afghanistan to save his presidency
Georgetown University historian and Current contributor Michael Kazin compares Biden to LBJ. Here is a taste of his piece at The New York Times: For days now, the news media has likened the chaotic end of our misadventure in Afghanistan, and the […]
Donald Trump on the “right” way to leave Afghanistan
Either Trump doesn’t realize that a lot of Afghans are American allies or he does know this and just doesn’t care. What a fool.
“To charge President Biden with ‘losing’ Afghanistan makes no more sense than tagging President Gerald Ford with ‘losing’ Vietnam”
Historian Andrew Bacevich, in an op-ed at the New York Daily News, writes, “The war in Vietnam was effectively lost well before Ford even took office. The same judgment applies to Biden and Afghanistan.” Here is a more extended taste […]
Barbara Lee: The only member of Congress who voted against the war in Afghanistan
On September 14, 2001, both houses of Congress authorized the use of the United States Armed Forces against those who “planned, authorized, committed or aided” the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Senate vote was 98-0. The House of Representatives voted […]
Trump on Afghanistan: Then and now
Here is former president Trump on April 18, 2021: I wish Joe Biden wouldn’t use September 11th as the date to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan, for two reasons. First, we can and should get out earlier. Nineteen years is […]
Biden botches the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Christian Right pounces.
The Christian Right response to the Afghanistan situation should remind us that it is primarily a political movement. Charlie Kirk, the founder of Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center, knows what is really going on here. It’s all about Biden […]
George W. Bush and Laura Bush on Afghanistan
Here is a statement from the President of the United States who launched the war in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks: Laura and I have been watching the tragic events unfolding in Afghanistan with deep sadness. Our hearts […]
Biden speaks to the nation on Afghanistan
I appreciate Biden’s defense of the withdrawal last night. This is a very presidential speech. The buck stops with Biden and he comes across as a leader of conviction. As Current writer and historian John Haas wrote yesterday on my […]
“Processing ten years of denial in ten hours is rough”
I am still processing everything that happened in Afghanistan over the course of the last several days. At the moment, I am asking the same question everyone else is asking: Why didn’t Biden do a better job evacuating Americans and […]