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Steve Johnson

@4astevej.bsky.social

370 followers 78 following 1K posts

Recently retired theologian. Interested in science fiction and fantasy. Concerned about ecology and climate change. Supporter of National Parks and NASA. Worried about the welfare of the poor and other marginalized people. I take Jesus seriously.

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Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 15h

That's the one saying of Jesus you've decided to take seriously is it? No "love your enemies." No " blessed are the poor?" I know we all pick and choose, but seriously.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 16h

I consider myself a liberal. I believe the concentration of wealth in the hands of a very few is immoral, an evil in and of itself, regardless of its political implications. That I assume that most of that wealth is also ill-gotten is almost beside the point. The concentration itself is evil.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 20h

They don't see the President as out-of-control. He is doing almost exactly what they want him to do.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 21h

The same thing with the "bail-out" of Argentina. One of Trump's allies expects to make a ton of money.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 22h

Antifa assaulting people's eardrums

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 22h

To stare someone down, don't you have to be close enough to see their eyes?

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 22h

Trump lives in an alternate reality with his cabinet and closest supporters. They truly believe it because they think it should be true.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 22h

That never existed.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 1d

You mean the way they "reported" everything wrong with President Biden, real or imagined?

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 1d

The Supreme Court has ruled that partisan gerrymandering is perfectly legal. Even when states like Ohio vote for constitutional amendments to end the partisanship, the Republicans simply ignore the will of the voters because they know they will get Supreme Court approval.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 2d

The reason it didn't happen 1.5 years ago was because Qatar hadn't been attacked yet. Trump's personal financial interests hadn't been threatened. He does not care about Gaza. He cares about his money. Nothing else.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 2d

Our question is how do we counter the emotional appeal, not how do we prove that he has the facts wrong. Facts are beside the point. Proving that Portland is not a war zone means nothing if we can't counter the emotional appeal. Proving that attacks on ICE aren't up 1000% does very little.

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Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 2d

Warning: I am making a point.
It is no exaggeration to say that Trump always speaks in hyperbole. Always. He never means to describe the world as it is. He intends to shape emotions, not communicate facts. Fact ✔️ is a waste of time because facts are never the point.

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Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 2d

Sounds anti-Semitic to me.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 2d

All those ukuleles look like deadly weapons to me. If the sound doesn't kill you, some might just break it over your head.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 2d

She was pretty clear. Her children face huge increases in health insurance premiums. It hit home at last because it affected her directly. I'm not holding my breath, but there may be hope for her after all. (Unlike Nancy Mace.)

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 3d

I am reading Katabasis by RF Kuang, a curious story of magic students in Hell. One of them reflected on the Ever Better Wine Paradox. The longer you wait, the better the wine. If you wait for perfection, you never drink the wine at all. Perfection becomes the enemy of the good, even the better.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 3d

The contrast of culture and policy is interesting. Certainly, that is how it appears. Republicans highlight culture with policy in service of cultural goals. Dems highlight policy, often with no clear cultural end. But it also about messaging. Reps are excellent at defining the issues.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 3d

On Bluesky there seems to be an assumption that there are "more of us." But when I hear about polls that continue to say people who voted in the last election still prefer Republicans to Democrats by a significant margin, I have to wonder. Are we deceiving ourselves?

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 3d

I see no downside to killing the AI industry. It is simply meant to consolidate power and wealth in the hands of ever fewer people.

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 3d

There is a danger in summarizing, thus the book. But here goes: racism is a mind-set of a group in power who identify and marginalize others based on superficial characteristics, usually skin color. They use that power to put limits on these others for the benefit of their own group

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Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 3d

I suggest everyone read A New American Justice by Daniel Maguire. Yes, it is an old book, but so am I, but it has the best definition of racism I have encountered and a thorough explanation of the reasons for that definition

Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 3d

I don't know if AI will be the great enemy of humanity it is pictured in SciFi, but I do know it is going to concentrate even more wealth in the hands of a very few individuals while driving up costs for the rest of us.

Reposted by Steve Johnson

United Church of Christ @unitedchurch.bsky.social · 3d

🙌🏾 In a moment where history related to slavery in the United States has been targeted for removal from national parks, national websites, and Smithsonian museums, a United Church of Christ congregation located in the heart of Washington, D.C., is determined to remember.

📰 👇🏾 Read more

‘We must tell the story’: D.C. church art installation honors people enslaved on their land - United Church of Christ

In a moment where history related to slavery in the United States has been targeted for removal from national parks, national websites, and Smithsonian

ow.ly

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Steve Johnson @4astevej.bsky.social · 3d

I often confuse the bowling league with gang members myself.