1.) **sigh of relief**
2.) Please call me "my BreadTangle" a lot. Heheheheheheh

But why though??? Whyyyyy???!!!!???? (Don't do it!!)

Tennessee 7th district, the nation is watching and cheering you on! #TN07 #Tennessee #TN

In the meantime, get organized.

• Get connected to the resistance:
www.fiftyfifty.one/groups

• Get trained on noncooperation:
nokings.org/rise

• Get bold for rapid response:
nokings.org/alliance

• Get engaged in politics:
pol-rev.com

• Get started:
Choosedemocracy.us

bsky.app/profile/park...

We need and deserve a tolerant, pluralistic society, and the politics to match. It will take an adjustment to our thinking. Let's improve the public discourse and reject the low standard of arguments like Jilani's. (END) www.levernews.com/the-bible-th... @jamestalarico.bsky.social #JamesTalarico

with a terribly impoverished version of public service from those who want their "team" to "win" over everyone else. It is genuinely American, and genuinely democratic, to govern for the needs and hopes of all voters, regardless of our differing personal beliefs... (18/more)

This is a kind of politics we're so unused to seeing in America that we can easily be fooled by Jilani's argument. But we need people of faith, who know that a career can be informed by personal values, while protecting voters' rights to self-determination. Americans have been putting up (17/more)

the practical benefit to-- and stated wishes of-- TX voters. This is entirely consistent with Talarico's strong support for the separation of church and state, and his fervent public stance against Christian Nationalism, too: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atj0... (16/more)

Talarico must oppose the legalization of casinos in TX to adhere to others' interpretation of "Christian values," to avoid accusations of hypocrisy. But here is the point: whatever Talarico's private beliefs about the morality of gambling, he's making a legislative decision based on... (15/more)

It's based on a problematic assumption that's been breaking American politics for a very long time: any person of faith must use their power to impose their beliefs upon others. In this case, even if most TX voters would welcome an influx of jobs, tourism, & money from the casino industry, (14/more)

When we evaluate the sincerity of a public figure's statements on their values, it makes sense to look for consistency between their words and actions. Jilani's article posits that Christian faith requires an elected official to hold the gambling industry at bay. Is that true? (13/more)

(That's from Talarico's office, quoted in the article.) Following this, Jilani very disingenuously pivots to the evils and harms of online sports betting, creating a vague, false impression that Talarico has somehow advocated to expand online sports betting. But back to the main problem... (12/more)

that "while the Bible does not explicitly ban gambling, it speaks in harsh tones about the exploitation of the poor." Jilani cites positions from prominent Christians to bolster this. Okay, some Christians see gambling as a bad choice. Talarico "supports adults making their own choices." (11/more)

It comes down to interpretation of Talarico's "Christian values." Jilani says Talarico's "support for expanding legal gambling has alarmed advocates who see it as irreconcilable with his stated values," that "there has long been a tradition of Christian opposition to legal gambling," and (10/more)

standing against casino gambling in TX. But nope. Talarico's public support for legalized casino gambling is fully consistent with the PAC funds he's received. Okay so, no hypocrisy there. Well then, what is being criticized? (9/more)