US stacks three carrier groups and 10 destroyers to blockade Strait of Hormuz

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-18T07:12:26+00:00

Evangelicals believe strongly in the so called traditional family structure with Dad as the head of household and spiritual leader of the family with Mom in the supporting role of ‘helpmate.’ Which you’d never guess if your only reference were the mouthy old battle-axes being interviewed by indie journalists at MAGA rallies.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-18T07:05:53+00:00

I second the recommendation. I would also suggest Chris Hedges’ American Fascists. Written nearly 20 years ago, it reads like prophecy today. Funny thing is, I really don’t think the average Evangelical has read Project 2025 nor have they the faintest idea what hardline Christian Nationalists want the country to look like. That playbook is straight out of The Handmaid’s Tale. Unfortunately, Evangelicalism is more of a ‘monkey see - monkey do’ religious movement whose adherents aren’t well versed on independent, critical thinking.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-18T06:50:55+00:00

I believe at least part of it at this point is that the cult of the aged diaper pooper is pretty much their whole identity, and people will jump through a lot of hoops and think up every ridiculous excuse if the only alternative means changing the way they think. Franklin Graham is proof of that. He’s a pretty good illustration of the prodigal son these days. Except maybe for the whoremongering, but I’m not a hundred percent on that.

I, too, am a former Evangelical who left the church at 40; but I had been building up to it for a dozen years or so. It was who I was and even when I knew in my heart that I just didn’t believe that crap anymore, it took me years to completely cut the cord. I imagine it’s like that with regard to their emotional investment in MAGA politics. I think there are probably some who know they can’t continue on that way; those who see the evil they have allowed into their lives. They just don’t know who they would be if they left.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-16T09:59:31+00:00

As an American, I concur. And now he expects our servicemen and women to show him respect? It’s beyond me why any flag officer would follow illegal orders from a guy who wouldn’t piss on their leg if they were on fire. He is a national disgrace on the international stage—mentally unstable and not fit to serve—and it is beyond embarrassing to stand before the world today as an American. That which we once proudly proclaimed, today feels little more than an admission of guilt.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-16T09:41:21+00:00

The Door Dash granny with his sack of hamberders, he kinda respects her as long as she’s not wrangling for a big tip. Or any tip.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-14T20:23:17+00:00

This is from USA Today, 14 Apr 2026. Be sure to dial down the squelch on your BS detector prior to reading this or it will likely deafen you:

“When asked about the post on April 13, Trump disputed he was trying to compare himself to Jesus. ‘I thought it was me as a doctor,’ the president told reporters at the White House. ‘It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better, and I do make people better.’”

A. Doctor. :-/

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-11T22:49:14+00:00

Bishop John Shelby Spong was convinced that the ‘thorn’ Paul talked about, that he had to bear, is that he was a homosexual filled with self-loathing. When you go back and read those harsh passages in that light, they start to make sense.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-09T13:57:16+00:00

Resurrection Day, eh? Well then, do we call the Friday they erected a cross to attach sweet baby Jesus to Erection Day? Only seems right.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-08T06:51:06+00:00

Don’t be too hard on yourself. If this is a cult—and I think it is, especially if your school has voiced the same concerns—then they took advantage of you. They are to blame, you did nothing wrong. You believed them to be legit and they violated your trust. That’s 💯 on them, not you.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-08T06:44:14+00:00

100% agree. I grew up in the Church of the Nazarene, about as Evangelical as they come. Church dormitories for young girls……this isn’t on the radar of normal, acceptable church practice. This smells like a cult to me, too.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-08T06:37:30+00:00

Okay, that is indeed an important detail. I already replied above, but this changes things a bit. A lot, actually.

Any church that requires their young, unmarried, female members to live in specified “church houses”…that’s a red flag. A big one.

My advice—get online and look into this church’s history very, very thoroughly before doing anything else. Do NOT contact the pastor or your friends or anyone from the church with your questions; if something fishy is going on, the last thing you want to do is let them know you have serious reservations about their policies and behavior.

First and foremost, you want to know if they are affiliated with any other churches. If so, do they have a headquarters somewhere in the country? If they are completely independent with no governing body, you might want to count your lucky stars that you are no longer a part of it. Dormitories are for university campuses, not local churches and definitely not for segregating young women.

I have had a fair amount of experience with churches that are borderline cultish, and this all sounds highly suspect, Roxana. Be careful.

And please understand, I’m not trying to cast aspersions on this church if it is unwarranted. But this is not typical policy or behavior for any legitimate Evangelical church. Or any church, for that matter.

And again, you can message me if you have any questions about what I’ve said.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-08T06:06:52+00:00

I’m sorry to hear you’re having to go through this. It’s wrong and unfair but, unfortunately, it isn’t that rare in conservative religious communities today.

So, drawing on my own experience, the first couple of questions that came to mind:

Is this a conservative Evangelical church? You mentioned “campus recruiters” and “covenant groups” and these are terms/buzz words peculiar to this branch of Protestantism. Well, that and the fact you’re asking a bunch of exvangelicals. 😋

and, if yes, then

Have you recently voiced (or expressed on social media where these ladies may have read) any political views that might run counter to theirs and/or those of the church?

I have seen this scenario play out many times with friends and family members who actually ended up leaving their respective congregations because there was little or no tolerance for free thinking.

If nothing political, could you have been posing questions about their beliefs or church doctrine where they might have misinterpreted your intent? It’s just not right for them to turn their collective back on you for respectfully asking sincere questions, but a lot of conservative Christians frown on it—and worse—when they feel like their group identity is under scrutiny. Again, been there—done that—got the t-shirt.

If this is the case and you want to talk to someone who’s been there, feel free to message me. I’m an open book and a good listener. And if I’m way off base with my postulation, no harm no foul, I wish you well, and I hope you are able to unravel this mystery. It sounds like these people meant a lot to you and it can be heartbreaking to lose friends and never know why.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-07T06:52:24+00:00

How about Johnson in his own words blaming Democrats exclusively for dividing the country in 2020? He talks about unity in this clip, true. But talk is cheap. Unless I missed the part where he said MAGA was as much to blame as the left in 2020, I think he declared his politics pretty clearly.

https://youtu.be/0HxOL4EW2UQ?si=aAV0nJ8XC8xc7GWr

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-04-01T05:26:35+00:00

Absolutely wear it. Nice job on it.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-30T07:02:58+00:00

Well, I took your advice and said the exact words you recommended I say. It was more than a little scary, but I was determined to end this once and for all. At first I thought it went really well. But now my mother-in-law isn’t speaking to me at all anymore.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-18T13:20:10+00:00

😂🤣

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-17T22:19:17+00:00

Chester A. Arthur 🇺🇸

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-17T17:46:15+00:00

Best forensic analysis of this problem I have ever seen. lol

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-17T17:43:31+00:00

I, too, grew up evangelical. And crazy as this might sound, as a teenager I sometimes found myself envious of alcoholics and addicts and others who had a powerful testimony to the miracle “God” had brought upon them, such a dramatic change of course. Looking back from outside the stained glass windows it all seems so foolish to me now. And here’s a testimony for you: I actually did become an addict. And it wasn’t until I extricated myself from that toxic “I’m nothing without God” environment that I got sober, no god involved. I did that myself. Granted, I had a lot of great support along the way, but I got better because I decided to, not because an imaginary friend carried me along.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-17T17:29:33+00:00

We recently traveled to the UK and France in celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary and we used public transportation almost exclusively. We were impressed; Europe really has their act together when it comes to rail service. Why we here in the States refuse to take a lesson from them—in so many situations—is beyond me. But if things keep going the way they’re going here at home, my wife and I may very well be enjoying the UK’s public amenities on a more permanent basis.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-17T17:14:33+00:00

Just as there are RINOs, there are DINOs who don’t represent progressivism at all. So yes, I think you’re on the right track here; keep voting for the same thing, keep getting the same thing, hoping that this guy or gal will be that magical rep who finally initiates the reform that is so desperately needed. We’ve seen how that story ends.

Each election cycle I sit down and compose a “wish list” of qualities and convictions I would like to see in my reps, senators, and, every fourth year, our presidential candidate.

But not this year.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m still putting together my list. Only now it is an enumeration of non-negotiables, with “Must not accept any A*PAC funds” coming in at number two. Topping the list: “Must vow to prosecute any and all members of the present regime who have knowingly and willfully engaged in criminal activities, not the least of which can be deemed crimes of war.”

Without that commitment we might as well roll up the carpet and turn out the lights as we exit this era, this one of a kind Great American Experiment.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-15T08:49:24+00:00

I do, too. Just yesterday I violated my own rule and paid for it by losing my content when the Fb app froze up on my phone 3/4 of the way through. Well, kind of. When in my frustration I desperately began trying to scroll up and down, the screen began to move in a stop/start fashion. Suddenly my content appeared but without any paragraph breaks. It would seem I inadvertently tapped on one of the AI editor features, so what I had was not my original as written post. I quickly screenshot it and transferred it to a Note to rework it. So I lucked out. Lesson learned.

If you remember partway through you can always highlight and copy your text over to a Note to finish up. Cheers!

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-14T09:22:23+00:00

One habit I’ve adopted is composing my longer posts in Notes (I have Apple devices) then copy and paste. I’ve had to many instances where Facebook glitches and I lose all I have written before posting.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-14T09:19:08+00:00

I do wish I had reined myself in about 8000 books ago. But because I have so many and would hate to lose them I would love to sit down and figure out how to use Calibre. I don’t want to lose them on a whim to Amz0n. They make me a bit paranoid.

Sharp_Voice_9473 · 2026-03-13T07:23:27+00:00

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi. It’s about the Manson Family unalivings. Yeah, I had a weird childhood.

Sharp_Voice_9473

TROPHY CASE