1. Christmas cheer on chat roulette, from Santa Steve Kardynal (via).
2. Something called “LifeSite News” is praising Uganda’s new law mandating life in prison for all LGBT people (and for anyone who fails to report them). Because this is what “pro-life” means, apparently, throwing all the gays in prison forever. This word “life,” I do not think it means what they think it means.
3. Steve Benen traces the “Lifespan of a Silly Smear.” But he’s overly optimistic. Yes, the claim was false, stupid and indefensible. And, yes, that meant that those pushing it dropped it as soon as they realized it was being laughed at. (“Republican officials declined comment.”) But no, that doesn’t mean this silly smear has reached the end of its lifespan. These things never die. They live on and on, repeated by those who believe them for the only reason anyone ever could: Because they desperately want to. Such “silly” stories may be fully disproved to the satisfaction of everyone who prefers reality, but not everyone prefers reality. And for those folks, this story just gets added to the long list of outrages which, although not true, they will always cherish as a source of future outrage.
I haven’t mentioned which particular “silly smear” Benen addresses, so without clicking the link, you may not know which of the many such smears he’s referring to. That tells you all you need to know about American politics.
Related: The 10 Worst Junk Science Stories of 2013 (according to Real Clear Science).
4. In 13 countries, “people who openly espouse atheism or reject the official state religion of Islam face execution under the law.”
Atheists in Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen face religious persecution.
But of course white evangelical Christians in the United States also face religious persecution, because here in America it is illegal for white evangelical Christians to execute atheists.
5. Former Arkansas governor, radio host and avuncular bigot Mike Huckabee says he’ll “let the Lord decide” whether or not he should run for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. Huckabee may want to reconsider that. The Lord decided that Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry and Herman Cain should run in 2012 and that didn’t work out very well for any of them. The Lord’s track record just isn’t very good lately when it comes to the candidates He’s instructed to run.
6. John L. McKenzie on the apocalyptic:
Apocalypse is the cry of the helpless, who are borne passively by events which they cannot influence, much less control. The cry of the helpless is often vindictive, expressing impotent rage at reality. Apocalyptic rage is a flight from reality, a plea to God to fulfill their wishes and prove them right and the other wrong. Apocalyptic believers could hardly think the saying, “Go, make disciples of all nations,” was addressed to them. Had apocalyptic believers dominated the church since the first century, there would have been no missions to unbelievers, no schools, no hospitals, no orphanages, no almsgiving. The helpless cannot afford to think of such enterprises; they can only await the act of God, and then complain because that act is so long delayed. The gospels and epistles rather tell the believers that they are the act of God.
7. Here’s some Alex Chilton and Big Star.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In