You May Not Be Interested In The ONT, But The ONT Is Interested In You

Howdy Horde! Welcome to Thursday's ONT! Gonna be a short one, had a Chamber of Commerse meeting tonight, and they held it in Flint, whih is almost an hour away. Why on earth would you hold a meeting for the Tyler CoC in Flint? Anyhow, travel time has me behind the 8 ball.

Blackbird Was Badass

I think I've used this before, but WTH. It's a great story.

Squish Republicans

To Hogan or not to Hogan, that is the question for Trump supporters

I will be leaving the Senate race blank on my ballot because Hogan will be far more problematic than his opponent over the next four years of the Trump presidency. Hogan will spend his time chasing Washington Post headlines as the independent senator who has the guts to stand up to Trump, looking for opportunities to block the Trump agenda.

As an ostensibly Republican senator, his continued opposition to Trump nominees and policies will be exaggerated and as someone who sees himself as a GOP or No Labels nominee for president in 2028, Hogan will spend the entire Trump administration working with Chuck Schumer to subvert President Trump’s presidency and promote himself.

I also will not vote for Hogan’s Democrat opponent, because unlike the former congresswoman from northern Virginia who has embraced Harris, I won’t vote for someone whose entire belief system is antithetical to mine and a profound danger to individual liberty in America.

A Hogan type Republican (squish) is the best you're going to be able to get for a statewide office in Md. Andy Harris is pretty strong, but he's in the one district, 1, that the Dems concede to the Republicans. You might be able to flip 6, Dan Bongino came real close a while back, but they've stuck enough of Montgomery County (suburban DC) into 6 that it's really hard. The state is gerrymandered to hell and gone. (Maryland looks like a gun. 1 is the grips and firing chamber, 6 is the barrel).

Ronald Reagan famously said “The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally - not a 20 percent traitor.” Now, I don't think that Hogan gets to 80%. He maybe tops out at 70, but I'm not sure if his anti-Trump rhetoric is what he has to say to get elected in a blue state, or if he truly does have a personal antipathy for the man. If it's the later he may not get to 70 %.

So, tonight's question: Would you vote for Hogan if you lived in Md? I don't have to worry about it down here in Texas, I am voting for Ted Cruz. Texas rocks!

* Little voice whispers “John Cornyn” *

Crap.

Do No Evil

When Did Google Search Become Totally Useless?

Similarly, you might find yourself hungry while on the road, so someone in the car Googles “restaurants near me.” There was a time when this feature was useful. Now, the restaurants are paying to play and the resulting results are ridiculously skewed. While I’m not going to dox myself here with screenshots of the results I get when I Google “restaurants near me” while sitting in my house, suffice it to say that the top results aren’t necessarily the closest, or even highest-rated, eateries. Some that I know are there — because I live in this area! — aren’t even listed. 

Granted, these aren’t extremely pressing issues. People researched oil paints and found places to eat for decades upon decades without the assistance of the internet. What is a bigger deal is how nakedly partisan Google has become. Former President Trump has even complained about it, taking time to call CEO Sundar Pichai to point out the problem.

He then goes on to talk about the blatant political bias. Frankly, I've noticed most search engines are pretty useless. Someone suggested Yandex, but a Russian search engine? I dunno. Do any of y'all know of a search engine that doesn't return ridiculously skewed results?

Mere Christianity

Staying Out Of Politics Is Not The Moral High Ground Some Christians Think It Is

The rise of the “seeker-friendly” church model has also led an increasing number of churches across America to avoid politically controversial teachings in order to appeal to as many people as possible. 

When it comes to Mark 12:17, though, the context matters. When Jesus says “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar,” he is referring to tax policy. Similarly, 15 years ago, the most pressing political issue of the time according to voters was the economy.

Today our political debates are no longer just about taxes; they’re about the definition of marriage, gender ideology, and the humanity of an unborn child. These are not questions of policy, they are questions of theology.

A study by the Barna Group revealed that while 90 percent of pastors believe that the Bible speaks to issues like sexuality, marriage, and abortion, 50 percent of them are hesitant to speak out on these issues for fear of creating division along political lines.

The scope of the political conversation is shifting to include theological questions, but now that these theological questions also have political implications, the church is going silent. The political umbrella is expanding into theological territory, and we are being manipulated into giving to Caesar what belongs to God.

I think he makes a good point, and I'm not even talking about heretical churches where the pastor wears rainbow vestments or speaks proudly from the pulpit about her abortions. IF the bible is true, and human life is sacred, than abortion is definite a subject that churches should be involved in. And many are. But many also want to avoid the subject for fear of “offending” someone. Well, I would remind them that Jesus went to the temple with a whip in his pocket. I bet the money changers were quite offended at his actions.

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by illegal sandwiches:

posted by WeirdDave at 10:00 PM

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