Sacred places profaned by the blasphemy of war

My Sunday movie was Sasquatch Sunset from 2024. It is the story of four sasquatch (also known as yeti or bigfoot) – two adults males, and adult female, and a juvenile male. They are perhaps the last of their kind. They live in a forest and we see them deal with the world around them. They encounter the other animals, decide what they can eat, groom each other, signal one another, have sex, all without language. Though one tries to count. It is billed as a comedy with plenty of hijinks. My reaction wasn’t so much laughter, but boredom. I thought we might get somewhere when they began to encounter evidence of humans, such as a road. But not much. Only at the end do we see they sense they are losing their habitat. I will give it credit for unique and bizarre. I rarely bother to see a movie with a Metacritic rating of 60 or less. This one got 42 reviews with a rating all the way from 100 to 25 with an average of 66. So I thought this would be decent. Alas, I agree more with the review that gave it a 50 – it would have been brilliant at 15 minutes, but this was 90. IMDb gave it 5.4 out of 10. I think that’s more accurate. Thankfully, I’ve watched very few duds. I had mentioned that Pope Leo has been criticizing the nasty guy and his wars. Emily Singer of Daily Kos has details. He’s been doing this for quite a while. Here are a few of his pronouncements.

God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. ... Absurd and inhuman violence is spreading ferociously through the sacred places of the Christian East, profaned by the blasphemy of war and the brutality of business, with no regard for people’s lives, which are considered at most collateral damage of self-interest. But no gain can be worth the life of the weakest, children, or families. No cause can justify the shedding of innocent blood. ... I would like to invite everyone to truly think in their hearts about the many innocent people, so many children, so many elderly, completely innocent, who would also become victims of this escalation of a war that began from the very first days

Kos of Kos discussed the current national conversation. After the firing of Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi the focus is back on the nasty guy. He’s crossed into more dangerous mental territory, to the point that even Tucker Carlson said he should not have nuclear codes. Others on the right have called for invoking the 25th Amendment. Yet, mainstream media has returned to sanewashing, filtering his comments and protecting him. Democrats aren’t much better:

Democrats push war powers resolutions that, even if passed, would spend years tied up in courts before a friendly Supreme Court neuters them. Everyone is still operating within boundaries Trump has already blown past, reacting to events instead of confronting the reality driving them.

And Republicans, who know they are in deep trouble in the midterm elections, have chosen complicity. On Sunday, the news out of Hungary was pretty sweet. Yeah, this is another story that got wide notice before I had a chance to write about it. Maybe I can share a view not widely reported. Viktor Orbán, the prime minister, who has been quite the dictator over his 16 years in office was defeated in Saturday’s national election. Even better, he conceded. The winner was Péter Magyar. Prime Minister is not a position voters elect directly. To be elected prime minister he had to create a political party, which he named Tisza, and recruit candidates to run for each seat. Then he had to convince the public to vote for them. And he did it – in an environment that Orbán made quite difficult, including extensive gerrymandering and public media in his pocket. TheCriticalMind of the Kos community reported Magyar won 138 seats of 199. That gives him enough of a majority he can undo the constitutional changes Orbán had made. Voter turnout was an impressive 78%. This means citizens soundly rejected autocracy and want democracy. They want to end Orbán’s veto of aid to Ukraine and resist Russia. The far right parties across Europe are taking note. AKALib of the Kos community has a bit on the night before the election. The photo of the nighttime rally with small torches is impressive. On Sunday afternoon Kos wrote about Magyar’s win. His party got 53% of the vote and Orbán’s party got 37%. Orbán had been following and promoting the autocrat’s playbook for quite a while. He spoke the language of MAGA (or they spoke his). He knew how to target scapegoats. He served as a model for and incubator of conservative power. And the people said no. Just a week before America’s vice nasty went to Hungary to campaign for Orbán. A tweet shows a Polymarket prediction of the winner moved sharply against Orbán after the vice nasty spoke. The nasty guy has lost a strongman ally. We’d like to lose him too. An open question is who is Magyar? He used to be a member of Orbán’s party. How much of that party platform is he keeping and how much is he rejecting? Where is he on the political spectrum? Probably more accurately, how far right is he? We don’t know yet. Rob Schmitz of NPR reported on the election. Citizens partied when the results were announced because they had doubts Orbán could lose. But with Orbán gone Magyar has aid he will rebuild ties with NATO and the EU. The EU had blocked aid to Hungary because of Orbáns anti democracy policies. Because the EU works on consensus Orbán, the leader of a small country, had enormous power through the use of vetoes, and could direct investment towards other authoritarian regimes, such as Russia, China, and Turkey. And members of Orbán’s government were caught handing EU memos about Ukraine to Russia. NPR host Michel Martin spoke to David Pressman, who had been ambassador to Hungary under Biden and is now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He said Orbán’s attacks on the EU and on Soros and Zelenskyy and his conspiracy theories could not explain failing schools, crumbling hospitals, and why Hungary was the poorest country in the EU. His great propaganda system couldn’t hide the disparity between the common man’s poverty and the prime minister’s palatial estate. Hungarians voted for change because they “were seeing the cost of corruption in their daily lives.” Magyar countered that by focusing on corruption. With that focus he was able to reach the conservative rural voters. He was prepared to fight and go places that he was told were off limits, places where people used government talking points to ask questions. Pressman said the vice nasty’s visit didn’t help Orbán because it was all about the nasty guy’s interest in rewarding loyalists – it was about the nasty guy himself. In Sunday’s pundit roundup for Kos Greg Dworkin quoted a pair of tweets, first from Garry Kasparov:

Apologists trying to credit Orbán for conceding are intentionally missing the point. He would’ve done anything to stay in power had he thought it possible. Hungarians made it impossible. Trying & failing to destroy democracy receives no credit. He didn't stop; he was stopped.

Michael Weiss added:

It was an overwhelming result and impossible to fudge without risking a protest movement that would have been Euromaidan on steroids. Also don’t discount the fear of the ignominious Ceaușescu exit.

I remember the news of the execution of Ceaușescu, president of communist Romania. If you really want to know more his Wikipedia page is here. I looked for it to remember which country he had led. Isaac Stanley-Becker of The Atlantic

The prime minister’s loss is a crushing defeat for Donald Trump and his vice president, J.D. Vance, who modeled their agenda in part on Orbán’s governance and staffed their movement with activists trained at his think tanks. As Trump alienated traditional U.S. partners, Washington looked to the like-minded leader in Budapest to represent its interests inside the European Union. The bond was so meaningful to Vance personally that he traveled to Budapest last week to campaign alongside Orbán as if they were running-mates.

A tweet from Jonathan Martin:

Orban's overwhelming defeat will, among other things, only prompt Trump to further question Vance's political utility. Perhaps tis not fair, the margin appears decisive enough that it woulda been same whether Trump or nobody from the U.S. showed, but Trump is who he is.

And a tweet from Harry Enten:

Vance's unsuccessful efforts to help Orban in Hungary are part of a larger problem. Vance's net approval has tumbled by over 20 pts since early 2025. He's the least popular VP at this point in a vice presidency. And most say the Trump admin is too focused on foreign matters.

Josh Keefe of the Maine Monitor discussing the race to be the Democratic nominee for US Senate between Gov. Janet Mills and Graham Platner. Mills says she will go toe to toe with the nasty guy, but is a part of the Democratic establishment.

Platner is up to something different. He isn’t running a campaign so much as seeking to build a mass movement against the status quo. He’s not trying to woo the working class to the Democratic Party; he’s trying to mobilize the working class to take over the Democratic Party and use it to fundamentally change the relationship between government and citizens. To him, Trump is a symptom of a larger rot, a fundamentally broken system, and the old rules of American politics are already beside the point. The Democratic establishment is “still existing in this world where they think that if you know the rules the best, you’re going to win,” he told me. “When the other side is just beating you over the head with the rule book, it doesn’t matter.”

Andy Kim, senator from New Jersey, commented on the single day effort by the vice nasty to try to get a deal with Iran.

Did Vance think he was going to solve decades of disputes with Iran in 1 day? He spent 5 days in Feb hanging out at the Winter Olympics. Iran got highest level negotiations with America ever and still controls the Strait of Hormuz, while Vance appears to be giving up. Diplomacy takes enormous planning, technical expertise, and persistent engagement, especially in war time. Our servicemembers in harm's way and Americans struggling with gas prices deserve serious negotiations, not the performance we just saw.

Another pair of tweets, first from Sami Gold:

Who’s gonna take over as world patron of the illiberal right now that Orban is gone? Trump clearly isn’t that concerned, Meloni’s too tactical, Bolsonaro’s in jail, Milei’s a libertarian, and Putin’s in a fortress mindset. Netanyahu? Fico? Modi?

Benjy Sarlin added:

Similar to Orban, Netanyahu also has high odds of being ousted by a somewhat less illiberal unity coalition in a few months.

Meteor Blades, Kos staff emeritus, posted without commentary a quote from an editorial board opinion from Israel’s left-leaning newspaper Haaretz. This is the entire quote:

Without a shred of shame, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again asked the Jerusalem District Court to postpone for at least two weeks his testimony in his corruption trial. In a letter to the judges, the prime minister’s lawyer claimed that “classified security and political reasons” related to the war justified the request. It is difficult to ignore the fact that the “dramatic events” due to which the request was submitted are the handiwork of none other than the person making the request. If Netanyahu uses the war as a pretext to postpone his trial, he should not be surprised when it is said that his military and diplomatic moves are driven by ulterior motives. This is how he manipulates the court time and again: With one hand he creates “dramatic events,” and with the other he points to them as a force majeure that prevents him from testifying in his trial and “proving his innocence.” But even if these are circumstances beyond Netanyahu’s control, the repeated delays in his trial in the wake of his requests confirm the logic of the petitions to the High Court of Justice demanding that he be barred from running in the next election precisely on account of the trial: There is an inherent conflict of interest between being prime minister and being a criminal defendant. […] Netanyahu and his lawyers behave like actors in a farce meant to ridicule the court and the principle of equality before the law. But those responsible for this farce are first and foremost the judges, who are letting the defendant play them as if they are the ones on trial, not Netanyahu.

Boise doesn't have to "fly" the Pride flag

Two weeks ago Lisa Needham of Daily Kos reported that Mark Zuckerberg, well, the social media industry, lost two lawsuits. This was in the news a lot so likely this is old news to you. The general complaint of one suits is the design of social media platforms – not the content on the platforms – is what is addictive to preteens. In addition, the platform designers knew that the design is addictive and that is why they chose that design. Both cases prove the companies want maximum profit even if what they do is dangerous to children. In the first suit the woman who brought it was awarded $6 million. In the second, the state of New Mexico was awarded $375 million. A large number of other suits around the country have been waiting for the results of this one. Also two weeks ago Shawn510 of the Kos community discussed an article by Paul Krugman. Krugman’s basic point is that immigration to the US has collapsed and it’s not because of policy, but because of fear. It may be spun as political success, but is actually economic sabotage. The US service industry – hotels, ride shares, landscaping, etc. runs on immigrant labor. In hospitality 31% of workers are immigrants. In agriculture it’s over half. In construction it’s over 30%. This is the backbone of daily life. These workers also pay taxes and support Social Security. When the workforce shrinks, economies shrink. Immigration is about the only thing working against that. We’re sending the message the US isn’t a place of opportunity, but of risk. Workers, students – talent – goes elsewhere. That shift doesn’t reverse easily. We’re not protecting the country, we’re hollowing it out. This is not something the public is asking for. A couple days ago Lisa Needham of Kos reported that the Justice Department is on its way to becoming a ghost town. Because the nasty guy wants it as a tool of vengeance only true believers and new, inexperienced attorneys are still around. The usual stacks of applications aren’t coming in. A lot of Judge Advocate Generals are being called in as replacements. Yes, JAGs are military lawyers who don’t know so much about civilian law. Yes, this is legal, though has never been done on this scale. Having JAGs work on Justice Department cases has an advantage. Because they’re military, they can’t quit. They also can’t refuse to do the nasty guy’s building. But shortages and inexperience means cases get dropped, such as when a defendant demands a speedy trial, which comes with a deadline.

Turns out that when you fire tons of people and demand that the remainder act unethically, you end up short-staffed. Who knew?

Down in the comments of today’s pundit roundup for Kos are a couple cartoons worth mentioning. The first is by Stephen Lillie. It shows a scene similar to the end of the movie Planet of the Apes, though this time those encountering the scene are the Artemis II astronauts and the statue looks like the nasty guy. The astronauts say, “Oh my God, we’re back!” The other cartoon is by Daniel Boris. He shows Putin saying to his smiling generals, “Now we just sit back and let Trump be Trump.” Haadiya Tariq of the Idaho Press reported the Idaho state legislature wrapped up its session last week and included several anti-LGBTQ bills. One demanded that the Pride flag could not be flown on city or county property. Another would require health care providers and schools report children that express interest in gender transition. The Boise City Hall at first kept their Pride flags flying because the bill didn’t include any enforcement mechanism. The legislature quickly changed that. But the city wanted to tell its gay citizens are still welcome. So instead of “flying” the Pride flag they wrapped the flag around the flagpoles. Pictures at the link. There is also a rainbow that clings to windows with the words, “Creating a city for everyone,” that appeared en many city hall windows. And a heart shaped rainbow sticker has appeared in many storefronts. Boise? Cool!

Federal agencies can simply be replaced by banks of computers

The nasty guy, the vice nasty, and the war nasty have been claiming they are doing their war-mongering with the encouragement and blessings of Jesus. Pope Leo has been doing a pretty good job saying those statements definitely do not align with what Jesus taught. Denver11 of the Daily Kos community wrote:

From the story at Alternet:

“In January, behind closed doors at the Pentagon, Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre — Pope Leo XIV’s then-ambassador to the United States — and delivered a lecture,” said Hale. “America has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world,” Colby and his associates informed the cardinal. “The Catholic Church had better take its side.”

It even got to the point where Colby

“reached for a fourteenth-century weapon and invoked the Avignon Papacy, the period when the French Crown used military force to bend the bishop of Rome to its will.” Apparently Colby and his team were flummoxed that the Pope didn’t particularly like the [nasty guy]’s “might makes right” approach to diplomacy.

Don’t expect the pope to attend the American 250th birthday party. At 12:30 pm yesterday Oliver Willis of Kos posted an article about the Iran cease fire deal.

After the U.S. and Iran announced a ceasefire on Tuesday night, many of the details appeared to favor Iran’s cause, giving that nation more power in the Middle East than it had before President Donald Trump’s decision to engage in a bombing campaign. Despite this, the Trump administration took a victory lap that seems detached from the reality of the situation.

In the comments of a pundit roundup for Kos are a couple good articles and a couple good tweets. A comment by kurious discussed an article titled Dark Enlightenment Rising: The Billionaire Experiment to Kill Democracy, from the Hartmann Report of 3/21/25, a year ago. I don’t know why kurious is discussing it now. A couple excerpts of what kurious quoted:

A radical ideology known as the Dark Enlightenment is fueling a billionaire-led movement to gut our government, erase democratic norms, and install a technocratic elite in their place. Trump and Musk aren’t just tearing down institutions—they’re laying the groundwork for an experimental new kind of authoritarian rule. ... The audacious experiment Musk has embarked on — which Trump probably doesn’t even understand — involves the fundamental transformation of America from a nation ruled by its own people into one where decisions are made by a very specific elite group of self-selected “genius” white male technocrats… ...And once AI reaches the ability to think with the intelligence of a genius-level human...some of these guys believe that most of the decision-makers and agencies of the federal government can simply be replaced by banks of computers, deciding who gets what, when, and why.

In a later comment stream RandomNonviolence wrote:

Yep — first question: What is the purpose of an economy? 1. Facilitate the buying and selling of useful products for people 2. Provide jobs to workers 3. Ensure high profits for investors Second question: What is the purpose of AI? 1.Help produce more useful products and services for people 2.Reduce the number of workers 3. Ensure high profits for investors Right now, the third answer seems to dominate in each case. Maybe listening to what the humanities have to say might give us another answer.

A ways further down is a tweet by Richard Farr:

So we went to war with a country but during that period never once stopped their ability to pump nor ship oil. We allowed that to continue despite them blowing up our regional bases and their repeated attacks on their neighbors. They then shut down an international waterway, held the whole world hostage by it, and we just agreed they can control and charge fees for that waterway going forward. Meanwhile the regime didn’t change. They still have nuke materials and missiles. Americans are dead. We’ve spent and lost billions. But our leader claims we won the war.

And a tweet by Robert Pape:

The Iran ceasefire is being called a “pause.” It is not. It’s a revelation: The U.S. used overwhelming force – and still could not control the outcome. That’s a structural shift in power.

Emily Singer of Kos reported that the nasty guy has threatened to commit war crimes in Iran, yet that has “left the public screaming at Democrats to do something.” Like what? They don’t have control of levers of government. They don’t have power to actually stop the nasty guy. Many Democrats are saying how much they oppose what the nasty guy is doing. They are even calling on the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and forced multiple war powers resolutions to the floor that would call for Congressional approval of any more military action. They don’t have enough votes in the House for impeachment or in the Senate for conviction.

Just look at the responses to Democratic lawmakers’ criticism of Trump’s latest disturbing threats; they’re filled with leftists demanding action from Democrats and slamming their statements as weak and ineffective. But, sit down while I tell you this, that anger is severely misdirected and wildly unhelpful to actually stopping Trump. Rather than blame Democrats for “not doing something”—as many on social media accounts have been doing since Trump issued his threat—the public's anger should be directed at Republican lawmakers, who have both the House and Senate majorities and thus the actual power to stop this insanity. ... Anyone screaming at Democrats to do something needs to explain what, exactly, they think that Democrats can do at this point. And without a convincing answer to that question, they need to stop with the Democrat-blaming nonsense.

Audrey Carleton, in an article for Capital & Main posted on Kos reported that climate organizations have added another cause to their mission – fighting authoritarianism. For that they are starting to join up with organizations who protest ICE and the nasty guy’s administration in general.

The shift in strategy comes amid mounting environmental deregulation — there is an abundance of climate policy rollbacks on which these groups might normally focus — and a growing threat from the federal government to quash left-wing activism. ... The moves are also strategic — leaders say addressing what they see as fascism is a necessary precondition to climate action.

Helping in other movements is also a good way to recruit for your own. A tweet by Paul Rudnick from a couple weeks ago:

Trump can't read so he gets his briefings on video. Hegseth won't read because it's not manly. Rubio denies being able to read, to fit in. Pam Bondi fears reading because it's usually a subpoena.