• I understand that we’re marking the 500th anniversary of the Luther Insult Generator. Do I have that right? Worth celebrating, in any case.
• Somewhat related: Mark Silk writes about the “Catholic Civil War” between right-wing nationalists and, well, actual Catholics. The nationalist wing has even begun challenging the church’s long, unwavering stance in support of immigrants and refugees. That’s important. This is about Pentecost, and that’s the whole ball game.
• Speaking of “Remember that you were strangers in Egypt,” here’s Carol Kuniholm on Walter Brueggemann on the biblical Joseph — “the manager and chaplain of the nightmare of empire.” Joseph really is a monster. See earlier: “Joseph and the Appalling Tyrannical Despot.”
Note: My spell-check has not yet been trained to recognize “Brueggemann.” This calls into question my status as an alleged progressive Christian blogger.
• RIP to the great Robert Guillaume. Here’s a fun anecdote from Mark Evanier. And here’s my favorite Robert Guillaume scene from the cancelled-too-soon Sports Night — a fictional editorial that is, alas, still timely and pertinent decades later:
• Consumer Reports is doing something else with its beloved Consumerist site. It’s been a fantastic resource for the past 12 years, an invaluable source of reporting and advice and everything that the “business” section of your local news should be like. The Consumerist was everything a blog should be.
And since Google and Facebook have decided to marginalize blogs, things like Consumerist are getting squeezed out of existence. The site is going to be incorporated into CR’s main site — which is less reader friendly and relies more on the subscription model. Ugh.
• Former Trump Campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been indicted. That might even be a relief for him, since being $60 million in debt to Russian oligarchs/mobsters might make prison seem like your safest option. Not that I feel sorry for Manafort, who has helped to oppress and terrorize millions around the globe through his lucrative career as a lobbyist for repressive regimes.
Here’s what I wrote about Manafort last year: “The Bond villain running Donald Trump’s campaign.” We’ve now learned, thanks to the Mueller investigation, that Manfort’s email password was “Bond007.” OK, then.
• It’s the time of the year for spooky songs and this one is always on my Halloween playlist:
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