On the one hand, I respect people like Neil DeGrasse Tyson and the late Carl Sagan, who have argued respectfully for the confidence one can have in science and the scientific method. This compared to religious faith, with its doctrine and dogma that have been responsible for so much death and destruction, and monstrous—and ignorant—behavior over the centuries.

Science is clear-eyed and logical, and when done right is self-critical, self-correcting. Religion is weighed down by tradition and fear, and no small amount of misunderstanding and selective interpretation.

It makes complete sense to me that, at least in part, religions enjoyed their (long) moment because they were born and gained traction largely in dark times, in the absence of much of the scientific knowledge we have at our disposal today. The God of the gaps enjoyed a much more prominent place in times past—what couldn’t be readily explained was attributed to divine intervention, the Hand of God (for example, the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis).

On the other hand, I am hesitant to dismiss religious faith altogether, if only because I find Tyson’s and Sagan’s and others’ confidence a subtle form of arrogance, maybe even a blind spot. Science does well with the who, what, where, when, and how questions. It’s the existential– not the cause and effect– “Why?” that trips it up.

If we can conceive of such a query, shouldn’t there be a satisfying answer for it, too?

Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. I was often a mix of relieved and stressed by this time in Lent– relieved that most of the forty days were behind us, stressed by the prospect of the daily prep and services yet to come, all the way through Easter morning.

Now? I am ambivalent about the whole thing. I don’t have any desire to go to church today and participate in a lifeless reenactment of an event that may or may not have ever happened. Even when I was leading worship, I was often wondering why we were doing the Procession with Palms—raising a palm frond in one hand while trying to follow the words of the Entrance Hymn on a piece of paper in the other, feigning joy and excitement, concerned that people would be distracted and upset because they might not get to sit in their usual spots. The whole thing seemed, at best, unwieldy and impractical, and at worst, half-hearted and embarrassing.

A paltry effort most were doing by rote, maybe even reluctantly.

When it was announced that Trump had been indicted, the audience reactions on the late night shows were indicative of a certain catharsis. I’ve never heard such immediate, loud, sustained cheers. Pent up frustration finding release.

Flip over to Fox News and it was a totally different story– real and contrived anger, thinly veiled threats from pundits, members of Congress, Don Jr. and Eric, and of course the usual cast of anchors and hosts at Fox. There were cries of “third world justice” and “communist bullshit” and “politically motivated”– the same tired list of complaints Trump himself has bellowed with regularity. Unrighteous indignation for consumption by The Base, the tired and sad base, which must be dwindling to only those who harbor the most unquenchable animosity and deep-seated paranoia. The hook, line, and sinker folks who are ready, I guess, to rekindle the Civil War.

The glee and what could be perceived as smugness on the part of Colbert, especially, probably didn’t sit well with the Tucker Carlson crowd (though we now know how Carlson really feels about Trump and others in his orbit). But let us have a moment. This has been a long time coming.

A whole lifetime of selfish, slimy wheeling and dealing appears to be crashing to the ground. Finally. Maybe. All the careless language and in-your-face public spectacle and hubris and manipulation, the behaving as if it was normal, the endless claims of victimhood, the sickening sight of a whole family of spoiled, entitled brats carrying on as if they had something important to say– maybe all of this exhausting ugliness is finally being checked and contained and exposed as the vanity it has always been.

Of course, it’s all far from over. The trial for this one series of charges may not begin until after the 2024 election– an election in which Trump can continue campaigning whether or not he’s sitting in a jail cell! The days ahead could reveal a real-life manifestation of what a cornered rat is capable of. Threats made, unrest fomented, roadblocks to justice erected, violence unleashed– all of this could be orchestrated by Trump himself and a relative handful of disciples and anarchists looking for any excuse to start something.

Maybe we’ll find out just how widespread all this Trump loyalty and “love of country” and passion for American “greatness” really is.

Maybe the jig is up?

The trouble with the Trump indictment hoopla is that other stories of equal or greater significance will go either unmentioned or be given coverage of undue brevity. This has always been the case with Trump. The media have always found him so fascinating, and I’ve never understood why. Probably has something to do with the fact that he was POTUS for four years.

And of course he’s always been Old Faithful when it comes to uttering ridiculous statements and coining unimaginitive nicknames. He’s a veritable treasure trove of inanity.

So, do the Florida State Police or National Guard surround Mar-a-Lago and protect Trump from extradition to NYC? If Ron DeSantis holds to his words from yesterday afternoon, there is a confrontation in the offing if Trump decides not to go peacefully. Nice going, Ron. Have you thought this through?

One commentator mentioned this as having a Fort Sumter feel to it. I guess in a way it’s not surprising—people have been sore about the Civil War ever since Appomattox. Still, wow. That’s a fairly stunning analogy to employ.

I’m sure the indignation and fiery rhetoric on the right is just getting started, but how long are they going to be willing to sustain it? Are they really that angry? Are they really willing to stay the course for… Donald Trump? Or is Trump just a convenient line in the sand for their long list of empty grievances?

Hey, anything that gives voice to their paranoia and lends credence to their faux patriotism.

There are certain sounds that signal a welcome change of seasons. Mostly bird songs that had gone missing since November or so. Cardinals, sparrows, finches, and especially robins. Their early morning start is always a welcome reminder that milder temps and greening grass and flowering trees are not far off.

Hey—52 weeks ago tonight I broke both my arms. It’s been a year already.

And Trump has been indicted, on the hush money charge and who knows what else. It’s a start. We’ll see if we survive this.

It’s little wonder that the Church is taking a hit nowadays. Not only are people listening more intently to scientists like Neil DeGrasse Tyson and other prominent agnostics and atheists, but Republican lawmakers who consider themselves people of (Christian) faith are expending all their energy on scare tactics and paranoid, reactionary legislation—banning books and passing laws intended to make life difficult for gay and transgender people. And minorities, and Democrats in general. In their small-mindedness, these are the real enemies of society, the scourges that need to be controlled or eradicated. The easy targets.

Republicans just keep digging themselves a deeper hole, only reinforcing the idea that they are the party of fear and ignorance and paper tigers and faux patriotism and incompetence. The conveniently distracted party of nostalgia and bygone days that are better left as bygone days. The party of Leave It To Beaver and Father Knows Best, and an AR-15 or three behind every door.

The party of separate but equal, the party of Archie Bunker. The party of Sunday best.

Masters of the misread.

The delay in any kind of word from the grand jury in NYC is, hopefully, not an indication that the DA and his team are losing their mojo, losing steam, and, worst of all, succumbing to Trump’s attempts at derailing the process.

Apparently, nothing will be decided or announced until sometime next week now. So, the rumor mill and prognosticators of all stripes will be pumping out their assessments and predictions, and Trump will just keep chugging along as if nothing is wrong.

He is a louse, an unfortunately larger-than-life ongoing distraction who has no business remaining in the public eye. Yet he must be loving the fact that everyone is still talking about him. When will it dawn on people that what he’s doing is blatantly reckless and astonishingly selfish?

Outrage is an overused word anymore, but we should all be outraged that this bitter man child keeps elbowing his way into some diminishing brand of relevance.

Brian Kemp is a spineless jelly fish.

Republicans in Georgia have gone and done it: they will soon have the power to fire prosecutors they don’t like, starting with Fani Willis. And unless things change, Kemp will sign this bill into law with nary a whimper of opposition in the streets.

Maybe this apathy only corroborates a symptom that many Americans now manifest—they don’t care, as much as they used to, about American ideals or democratic principles. So times are ripe for exactly this sort of legislation. What at one time would have been a stunner now just slips through with hardly a protesting voice to be heard.

This in contrast to recent victories by the protesting masses in Georgia (the country) and Israel, where democracy appears to mean much more to the people than it does here.

So, say goodnight, America. Our claims to fame anymore seem to be mass shootings and just not giving a shit.

Like running into a Category 5 wind, or trying to be heard while standing next to a fully-throttled jet engine. Might as well not try. This is what is going to happen every time we get news about another mass shooting.

In an attempt to garner some attention, Maddow tried a different tact last night, highlighting the perspective of news anchors and field reporters reporting in real time on unfolding mass shootings where their own children were caught up in the lockdowns. She also featured people for whom this was their second direct encounter with such a situation.

Nothing’s gonna work, Rachel. Nice try, though.

This is such a black mark, isn’t it? Shouldn’t it be? Nowhere else on earth comes anywhere close when it comes to the frequency of such events. And they’re gonna keep happening because profit margins and the precious Second Amendment are more important than sensible—and popular—gun control measures. That, and people can’t cope anymore.

Get ready for the next one(s). Shouldn’t be a problem, right? Ghastly violence that we just file away with the rest of the news.