Search Results

Evangelical Christian groups are spending millions to drive a socially conservative turnout for the 2018 midterms , but Pastor Doug Pagitt of Solomon’s Porch, a holistic missional Christian community in Minneapolis, MN, says “ Vote Common Good. " "I’m proud to be part of the resistance to the huge money effort to bully Christians into voting for Republicans.” ~ Doug Pagitt Vote Common Good will be barnstorming the nation Oct. 2 – Nov. 6, 2018, on a 31-city bus tour, inviting Christians to flip Congress by voting for the Common Good – calling people of faith and conscience to move from fear to faith in this November and against Republican members of Congress in 34 congressional districts nationwide. The group opposes the current administration's policies on immigration, refugees, health care, the 2017 tax overhaul, and poverty. Pagitt maintains that Vote Common Good rallies will be more like “revivals” designed to encourage voters to oust politicians who don’t reflect the common good for all people. The events will feature live music and speeches by a rotating cast of Christian leaders who are allies of the organization, including Rob Schenck, Brian McLaren, Shane Claiborne, and Frank Schaeffer. “We are going into places where two years ago those places voted for a Republican, Many of the states we are in have a Senate race that is important as well (Missouri, Minnesota, Texas, Arizona.)” ~ Doug Pagitt

Charles Taylor argued in his seminal work,   Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity  (1989), that our contemporary cultural landscape is characterized by a profound tension between modern and postmodern worldviews. In 2016,   Nicholas Hedlund and Annick de Witt  published research on how  four major worldviews (traditional, modern, post-modern, and integral) in the Netherlands and the USA relate to climate change . They found that in both countries, people with postmodern and integrative worldviews displayed significantly more concern about climate change as well as more sustainable behaviors, compared with moderns and traditionals. Hedlund and de Witt define worldview as “the inescapable, overarching systems of meaning and meaning-making that inform how humans interpret, enact, and co-create reality." They are the fundamental ‘lenses’ through which humans see and filter reality. A worldview   is "the fundamental cognitive  orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge , culture , and point of view ." Worldviews interface with people’s perceptions of global issues like climate change in ways that are profound, persistent, and frequently overlooked. Worldviews not only tend to shape how individuals perceive particular issues and their potential solutions, but they also tend to influence their willingness to partake in, or politically support, such solutions. Since worldviews are a fundamental part of individuals’ identities , people may react defensively, or even with hostility, when their underlying assumptions and beliefs about reality are called into question—reacting as if they themselves  were threatened ( Brown et al., 2008 ). Worldview Journeys identifies four major worldviews and has a 17-question online test to see where you score; this classification is similar to those described by Steve McIntosh in his various writings on Developmental Philophy: Traditional worldview - Religious/metaphysical monism. Reality as singular, transcendent. The universe is a purposively constructed whole. God created the universe ex nihilo . The transcendent God is separate from the profane world; dualism. Nature as embodiment of meaningful, imposed order (e.g., God’s creation). Naïve realism; emphasis on concrete-literal interpretations of religious doctrine (literalism, dogmatic metaphysics, ontotheology). Religious authority (scripture, divine revelation, tradition). Modern worldview - An Enlightenment-inspired, instrumental, disengaged, objectified understanding of reality. Secular materialism. Reality as singular, immanent. Mechanistic universe brought about by random mutation and selection. Material reality devoid of meaning, intentionality, consciousness; dualism, disenchantment. Nature as instrumental, devoid of intrinsic meaning and purpose. Resource for exploitation. (Post-)positivism; reality as objectively knowable (empiricism, reductionism, scientism). Secular authority (science, the state). Postmodern worldview - a Post-Romantic, expressive cultural current that sees nature as an inner source. Post-materialism. Reality is pluralistic, perspectival, and constructed. Cosmogony as a cultural construct. Reality is discontinuous and fragmented; anti-essentialism. Nature is constructed through a plurality of cultural values, meanings, and interests. Social constructivism; reality as constructed, perspectival (pluralism, relativism). Internalization of authority (e.g. moral, emotional, intuitive, artistic knowing) Integral worldview - a somewhat hypothetical, emergent, post-postmodern structure characterized by its self-reflexive attempt to bring together and synthesize many of the enduring elements of the earlier worldviews. Typically, older worldviews are dualistic and mutually exclusive, such as spirituality vs. science/rationality ; imagination vs. logic; heart vs. mind; humanity vs. nature - perspectives that in the West have been in conflict for centuries. Reality as singular and pluralistic (unity-in-diversity), transcendent and immanent. In the integral worldview, the universe is seen as an evolving and creative manifestation of the pervasive Source/Spirit. Exterior and interior reality are co-arising and interdependent. Reenchantment with nature is constructed and intrinsically real, meaningful, and valuable; Humanity is frequently seen as a part and expression of a divine Source. In an integral worldview, opposing perspectives are frequently understood to be part of a greater whole or synthesis—on a “deeper level”—resulting in “both-and” rather than “either-or” thinking. Such a holistic or integral perspective may lead to a profound sense of connection with nature, and other living creatures - an understanding of earthly life itself as imbued with a larger consciousness or “Spirit.” Universal, existential concerns—such as life and death, self-actualization, global awareness, and serving society, humanity, or even “life” at large—are often of central importance. The November 2024 Presidential election might be seen as a regression to values of a less evolved traditional worldview, but research reminds us that about 50% of U.S. residents and 70% of people worldwide still have a traditional worldview. Thus, those of us with a post-postmodern, integral perspective must realize that cultural values and worldviews change slowly, sometimes over generations. In 2000, sociologist Paul H Ray and his psychologist wife Sherry Ruth Anderson  wrote about The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World .  In 2002, Ray wrote the   New Political Compass : The New Progressives are In-Front, Deep Green, Against Big Business and Globalization, and Beyond Left vs. Right. " Ray gave the term " Integral Culture " to the growing subculture. He also refers to this as transmodernism , which he refers to as the  " Cultural Creatives ".  They are concerned with ecological sustainability  and, in the case of a core group, commit to personal and spiritual development. These are individuals who can meld the best of traditionalism  and modernism  to create a new synthesis, having a cognitive style based on synthesizing varied information from many sources into a big picture." An integral worldview is not the last stage, but I believe it is the next step. We should not lose sight of the progress in cultural evolution that has already occurred and continues to unfold at a rapidly accelerated pace, as the noosphere emerges. We might not have much luck persuading traditionalists or even modernists to adopt an integral worldview, but post-moderns are more likely to morph. I believe the key is to celebrate those positive values which we share in all earlier worldviews, while at the same time overcoming their pathologies. #Noosphere #IntegralWorldview #CulturalCreatives

Evangelical Christians in the United States, often part of the "Religious Right," may be skeptical about the urgency of the climate crisis, particularly if they have an apocalyptic, end-times view. But as the YouTube video above ( from Elim Pentecostal Churches ) demonstrates, this is not the case in the United Kingdom and in portions of the southern hemisphere already suffering the negative effects of global warming, caused largely by industrialized nations in the northern hemisphere. Christianity Today , in a November 5, 2021, article Why the Climate Change Movement Needs the Church identifies several youth-focused, global Christian groups concerned about climate justice: Lausanne/World Evangelical Alliance Creation Care Network (LWCCN) WEA Creation Care Task Force (Deerfield, IL) WEA Sustainability Center (WEASC) (Bonn, Germany) A Rocha International Tearfund Young Evangelicals for Climate Action Care of Creation In the United States of America, younger generations are more concerned about climate change than older adults. Pew Research Center notes that "Majorities of Gen Z and Millennial Republicans (57% and 59%, respectively) say large businesses and corporations are doing too little to help reduce the effects of climate change," According to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults, "few Republicans and Republican-leaning independents express deep concern about addressing climate change: Only 10% call it a top personal concern, compared with a much larger share of Democrats and Democratic leaners (49%)." "Republicans place economic considerations at the top of the list when asked about the factors they view as important in proposals to deal with climate change. About two-thirds of Republicans (65%) say increasing job and economic growth is a very important consideration to them in proposals to reduce the effects of climate change, and 61% say the same about keeping consumer costs low. Republicans place higher importance on these economic components of climate proposals than they do on other factors, such as protecting the quality of the environment for future generations." So discussions with Republicans about climate change should first address the values of increasing jobs and economic growth and keeping consumer costs low. More ecumenical and progressive churches, synagogues, and mosques in the USA are leading the way for the church to address the climate emergency. The World Council of Churches says: " The present world development model is threatening the lives and livelihoods of many, especially among the world's poorest people, and destroying biodiversity. The ecumenical vision is to overcome this model based on over-consumption and greed." Creation Justice Ministries "educates, equips, and mobilizes Christian individuals, congregations, denominations, and communions to protect, restore, and rightly share God's creation." A United Methodist Church 2016 Resolution says, " We understand climate justice not simply as an environmental or economic concern but rather as a deeply ethical and spiritual concern that the Church must address so that abundant life is ensured for our children and future generations." The 2017 United Church of Christ's Resolution The Earth is the Lord’s–Not Ours to Wreck: Imperatives for a New Moral Era was about "the moral imperatives that arise for people of faith in response to a presidential administration that 'ignores science, defunds the Environmental Protection Agency, and withdraws from the Paris Climate Accord.” The Unitarian Universalist Ministry For Earth "seeks environmental justice, beloved community and the flourishing of all life." The mission of Disciples of Christ's Green Chalice Ministry is "to connect Christian faith, spiritual practice, and creation consciousness to demonstrate the fullness of God’s shalom."

The September 2019 Special Issue of Scientific American is devoted to Truth, Lies & Uncertainty: Watching for Reality in Unreal Times . The former President was in the White House then, so people were still looking for answers to understand how people could be so gullible to believe his lies. How did people get caught up in misinformation and conspiracy theories leading to fear, anger, violence, and lawlessness? Michael A. Hogg emphasizes in his article The Search for Social Identity Leads to ‘Us’ versus ‘Them ’, "We are now in what is perhaps a time of unprecedented uncertainty. The early 21st century is characterized by rapid and overwhelming change: globalization, immigration, technological revolution, unlimited access to information, sociopolitical volatility, and automation of work and a warming climate." This uncertainty may lead to a profound sense of personal "self-uncertainty" where people are unsure of who they are, how to behave, and how social interactions will unfold - how to fit in to a rapidly changing landscape. To avoid this uncomfortable feeling, people often compensate by finding identity and security in polarized social groups. This makes them vulnerable to "assertive, authoritarian, even autocratic leaders who deliver a simple, black-and-white affirmational message about 'who we are' rather than a more open, nuanced and textured identity message... Perhaps most troubling is that self-uncertainty can enable and build support for leaders who possess the so-called 'Dark Triad' personality attributes: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy." Self-uncertainty, in other words, seems to fuel populism. Cable television opinion channels spew inflammatory political rhetoric that pits insider tribes against outsiders. Add to that the internet and social media, which are ideal places to decrease the discomfort of self-uncertainty. Confirmation bias is reinforced by algorithms that feed and amplify lies and misinformation, thereby creating a fragmented and polarized society. "People want to be surrounded by those who think alike so that their identities and worldview are continuously confirmed - an increasingly homogeneous echo chamber that confirms their identity." ~ Michael Hogg "The greatest threat/danger to our democracy and freedoms is not radical islam or china or socialism or immigrants, it is the rising tide of white christian nationalism facilitated by the GOP, Fox News, InfoWars, and all the other purveyors of hate." ~ Rev. Michael Dowd A positive, self-confident worldview is that everything in life is interconnected. "As our civilization careens toward climate breakdown, ecological destruction, and gaping inequality, people are losing their existential moorings. The dominant worldview of disconnection, which tells us we are split between mind and body, separate from each other, and at odds with the natural world, has been invalidated by modern science. ~ Jeremy Lent, Author of The Web of Meaning

On March 12, 2025, a Creation Justice Webinar: America in Search of a Soul was co-hosted by the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt , who serves as the Minister of Environmental Justice for the United Church of Christ, and the Rev. Michael Malcom, who serves as the Executive Director for Alabama Interfaith Power & Light and the People's Justice Council. The webinar drew its title from a 1976 sermon entitled “America in Search of a Soul,” by Howard Thurman, who prophetically understood that the soul of America was threatened by “ the Cult of Inequality. ” Today, we face our own moment of reckoning as we confront the crises of societal inequality, climate change, and the rise of authoritarianism. The following ( from the YouTube video ) are some comments from the panelists that help us unpack both the threats and the opportunities before us as people of faith: Rev. Cameron Trimble , Founder and CEO of Convergence “Look well to the growing edge.” Care for the common good is dying. Our spiritual journey is about “becoming stripped of our literal substance before God.” ~ Howard Thurman We are clearly headed for autocracy. The conditions were set many years ago. We must now face the “Dark Night of the Soul.” Meister Eckhart said, “ The shell must be cracked apart if what is in it is to come out, for if you want the kernel you must break the shell.” We can create an “ Island of Sanity ” as Meg Wheatley says, where we come together to practice together to learn wisdom and how to treat one another with kindness. There are seven critical steps congregations can take that might make a difference: Strengthen our local communities Leverage local and State government to serve its people Support Independent journalism and civic education Prepare for civil resistance and democratic resilience Stand firm for social justice and vulnerable populations Cultivate personal resilience and a commitment to generosity, creativity, and kindness Embrace climate action and environmental regeneration Find out more from Convergence in the November 2024 article: The future ahead of congregations in the age of Trump 2.0 The story we have been telling ourselves does not have a future. St. Thomas Aquinas, writing in the 13th century, integrated these earlier ideas with Christian theology. In his monumental work, Summa Theologica , Aquinas provided a robust understanding of the common good, particularly within the context of natural law and the role of the state. For Aquinas, the common good was closely related to the ultimate end of human beings, which is to achieve union with God, and the role of the state was to help foster conditions that would promote this end for individuals and society as a whole. . Rev. Dr. Jim Antal , author of " Climate Church, Climate World ” (2018) We have a shared vocation. The climate crisis was well recognized in the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, and Greta Thunberg spoke truth to power, but COVID, which struck in March 2020 and caused the death of 20 million people, was the perfect setup for a shift to authoritarian government. America’s emphasis on rugged individualism, racism, sexism, and unbridled capitalism played on "the fear that each of these is under attack." We now live under the threat of theft of our online identities.. We have lost the principles and assumptions that have guided our society in the past.. The Earth's life-sustaining capacity has been compromised. Truth, facts, and freedom are in the throes of attack by the tyrannical power on the throne. The Civil Rights Act was approved 55 years ago because 10 million people to took to the streets. But we are no longer living in that America. Hannah Arendt has said, “Our lives begin to end when we become silent.“ "We the people" are the ones we have been waiting for. We are in a theological emergency. We are being called to organize now. Read Rebecca Solnit’s books : Bill McKibben’s Third Act now has nearly 100,000 activists. Third Act is "a dedicated group of organizers, campaign strategists, and communications professionals working together to build a powerful elder-led movement for climate action and democracy protection." Third Act Faith , launched in 2021, is "one of the first affinity working groups that brings together elders from a broad range of faith backgrounds and spiritual traditions to address climate and democracy." Read Timothy Snyder ' s 2017 book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century . Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas , Canon Theologian at the Washington National Cathedral This is the urgent conversation - environmental justice is linked to inequality. The most marginalized people and the disposed are disproportionately affected by climate change. The World Bank projects that by 2030, some 32-132 million people will be pushed into poverty by climate change. The countries that are most affected are those that are causing the crisis the least. Boston University Economist John Friedman   says that when people feel they don’t have a chance, it breeds the fear that you are going to lose what you have, be left behind, and your children will be worse off. Inequity is the enemy and the greatest threat to a democracy.. Fear becomes the seed for anti-democracy. Check out the Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker. Scapegoating (who can I blame?) masks the real source of the inequality: the systemic reality that serves inequality. People are looking for a savior from the extreme reality of inequality and environmental injustice, but that savior is us. Empathy is what binds us together. Read Matthew D. Taylor 's 2024 book,   The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy .

While I am encouraged by The Center from Christogenesis ' and support Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's original notion of the noosphere, I am disturbed by a techno-optimist push toward planetary nationalism. On May 13, 2025, Boris Shoshitaishvili  and Lisa H. Siderismay  wrote about   The New Planetary Nationalism .   in   NOEMA, a magazine " exploring the transformations sweeping our world" p ublished online and in print by the Berggruen Institute . Praxis Nation describes itself as the “world’s first Sovereign Network” or “network empire.” This “new form of nation — one that exists wherever its citizens gather, whether in physical space or across the digital expanse” — aims to “restore Western Civilization and pursue our ultimate destiny of life among the stars.” Dryden Brown, Praxis’s founder, is searching first on Earth for a place to establish "a proof-of-concept, crypto-based, libertarian-minded dream city" and sees Greenland as a potential site. Presidential donor Peter Thiel along with investors like Palantir ’s Joe Lonsdale and the Altman brothers' (Sam, Max, and Jack) Apollo Project , helped to fund Praxis Nation , On November 15, 2024, TechCrunch reported that " Praxis is one of the prominent examples of a 'network state,' a term defined by former a16z investor Balaji Srinivasan , as 'an internet community that acquires a physical home and “gains diplomatic recognition from pre-existing states.'” Srinivasan wrote an e-book on The Network State and has a podcast . A Network State Conference was held in Singapore on September 22, 2024. Marc Andreessen has praised the concept; see Andreesen’s Techno-Optimist Manifesto . Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin created his own network state experiment . " Mother Jones on September 7, 2023 , described Praxis as “a free-market city-state' which the company hopes to build under the leadership of a CEO [ Dryden Brown ] who, former employees said, is interested in fascist authors and occultism and has touted a book that argues Black people are intellectually inferior to whites.” The article details accounts and associations of the Praxis CEO and employees with Nazi-ism, occultism, race science, and various fascist ideologies; the account is substantial, and another piece of evidence that venture colonialism is fascist in character, and is being spearheaded by fascists." Venture Ca p ital Status has a rundown of Network States, Tech, and Crypto Cities . saying " Tech fascists are building The Network State -- a distributed nation-state made up of tech and crypto cities around the world. " You might also be interested in reading OpenAI's Infrastructure Blueprint for the U.S. , November 13, 2024: The President's Weird New 'Freedom Cities' and the Network State Cult ; and billionaire Elon Musk ‘s November 2024 proposal to turn Starbase (the South Texas site where SpaceX builds and launches its massive Starship rockets) into a new tech city. Meanwhile, in June 2025, Praxis is proposing Atlas, California: a defense-focused spaceport city on 3,850 acres at Vandenberg Space Force Base. NOEMA noted " Big Tech figures who drive projects that engage planetary themes have aligned themselves more closely with nationalism in recent years. A subset of this ' broligarchy ' sat prominently in the front row at the President's second inauguration. For instance, major Silicon Valley figures embrace the nationalist narrative that besting China in the A.I. race should be a primary U.S. focus . But positioning a transformative planetary technology like AI as a zero-sum contest between adversary nations impedes progress toward governing it on a planetary scale." On another end of the political spectrum, neither am I comfortable with explicit appeals to planetary concepts by nationalists like Steve Bannon , who has voiced a misguided interpretation of the “noosphere" - a planetary sphere of entwined human and technological activity. See the article published on July 9, 2024, by Counterpoint: Navigating Knowledge for clarification and a more appropriate contemporary interpretation of Teilhard's reference to the noosphere. # TeilharddeChardin #Noosphere # BerggruenInstitute # NOEMA #NetworkState #PraxisNation #broligarchy #SteveBannon

Some are dealing with the current crisis and chaos in American politics by taking a break from the media. I choose the opposite approach by taking a deeper dive and watching YouTube videos of PBS Newshour, Washington Week PBS and The Ezra Klein Show to try to make sense of the unfamiliar world we are now finding ourselves living in. Ezra Klein's March 14, 2025, very engaging and smart interview of Gillian Tett, " Is the President ‘Detoxing’ the Economy or Poisoning It?" on this YouTube video was a little over my head, so I had to dig deeper and find links to the various topics they discuss: The President's " mercantilist, hegemonic, power " mindset Resetting the global financial and trading system The so-called " Mar-a-Lago Accord " (weakening the dollar while maintaining its dominance as the global reserve currency) National populists ( Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro ) techno-libertarians (i.e., Elon Musk , Mark Zuckerberg , J eff Bezos , etc. ) Congressional Republicans Scott Bessent , U.S. Treasury Secretary and acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Steven Ira Miran , current chair of the Council of Economic Advisers ; Karl Paul Polanyi , Austro-Hungarian   economic anthropologist ,  economic sociologist , and politician; tariff strategy Robert Lighthizer , U.S. Trade Representative Tyler Cowen 's thoughts on cultural power; collectivist/collaborative moral values Market pain and global reactions to " detoxing the economy . " Performative tribute Honor-based vs. shame-based morality system Bond market National debt Book recommendations Gillian Tett is chair of the  editorial board  for the  Financial Times and she co-founded   Moral Money , the paper's sustainability newsletter. Four books Tett recommends are: Albert O. Hirschman, National Power and the Structure of Foreign Tra de (1945) David Graeber, Debt: The First 5,000 Years (2014) John Maynard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of Peace (1920) Matthew Engelke, How to Think Like an Anthropologist (2019) Thom Hartmann's March 17, 2025, article in The New Republic : The President's Imperial Fantasy: To Be Polk, McKinley, and Putin—All at Once: Trampling rights, imposing tariffs, gobbling up others’ territories. The President is imitating his role models to assert " from James Polk’s expansionist conquest to William McKinley’s imperialist scheming to Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian crackdowns, The President isn’t just following in their footsteps—he’s trying to outdo them all... Trump’s imperial fantasy isn’t just about power—it’s about dismantling democracy itself. Like Polk, he dreams of annexation; like McKinley, he thrives on manufactured conflict; and like Putin, he seeks absolute control." Jonathan Rauch, in The Atlantic article One Word Describes T he President , concludes that " the history of patrimonial rule suggests that their most effective approach will be hammering home the message that he is corrupt." PBS Newshour lays out the Administration's conflicts of interest.. Tett paints a picture of small countries looking for ways to pay tribute and appease the Emperor, as in the court of King Henry VIII or Louis XIV, or worse yet Europe of the 1930s. #EzraKlein #GillianTett #mercantilist # hegemony #MaraLagoAccord #ScottBessent #StevenMiran #RobertLighthizer #TylerCowen #PerformativeTribute #patrimonial #

Reference to "Climate Change" is being scrubbed from Federal government websites. Politico reported on January 31, 2025 , that according to an internal USDA email, "employees have been ordered to delete landing pages discussing climate change across agency websites and document climate change references for further review." Futurism.com noted " The move could lead to the deletion of information from the Forest Service , Rural Housing and Utility Services , Natural Resources Conservation Service , and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture , among other subagencies. The memo has also circulated to the EPA, according to reporting by Jacobin . The website for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states its mission is "to protect human health and the environment," but it has no mention of climate change. But the EPA still says it "partners with more than 50 data contributors from various government agencies, academic institutions, and other U.S and international organizations to compile a key set of i ndicators related to the causes and effects of climate change ." The EPA has the following links to "learn more about greenhouse gas emissions , including sources, trends, and key findings and data": Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks repor t Inflation Reduction Act Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Climate Change Research EPA’s 2024-2027 Climate Adaptation Plan EPA's 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan (pdf) (2.31 MB, October 2021, 231-R-210-01) EPA's 2014 Climate Adaptation Plan (pdf) (12.44 MB, June 2014, EPA 100-K-14-001) EPA's 2013 Climate Change Adaptation Plan (pdf) (11.93 MB, June 2013) EPA's 2012 Climate Change Adaptation Plan (pdf) (1.11 MB, June 29, 2012) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate.gov " provides timely and authoritative scientific data and information about climate science, adaptation, and mitigation." The NOAA still has a Global Climate Dashboard. The NOAA Climate.gov Facebook page still lists the following Essential Principles Scientists understand the climate system through interdisciplinary observations and modeling. (Oct. 29, 2024) Greenhouse gases shape Earth’s Climate (November 4, 2024) Burning fossil fuels and other human activities are causing the planet to warm (November 12, 2024) Rapid warming and other large-scale climate changes threaten human and ecological systems (November 19, 2024) Climate justice is possible if climate actions are equitable (November 15, 2024) Humans can adapt social, built, and natural environments to better wioststand the impacts of climate change (December 4, 2024) Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities to net zero by 2050 can help limit global warming and climate change impacts. (December 7, 2024) A livable and sustainable future for all is possible with rapid, just and transformational climate action. (December 17, 2024) Other institutions are also adjusting to the new administration's shift away from climate change. On February 6, 2025, Bloomberg reported that " The Federal Reserve has ended its program that required the biggest US banks to submit data for climate stress tests, according to people familiar with the matter." The six biggest US banks were participating in a pilot exercise which started in 2023, but "even before the President returned to the White House, Fed Chair Jerome Powell had made clear he doesn’t consider climate a policy issue for the US central bank to focus on." In the meantime, several " banks in the EU commit to the climate group deserted by Wall Stree t ."

In " America at a Crossroads ," a December 19, 2023, PBS NewsHour special, Judy Woodruff explored what was driving the immense division among people, distrust in our government, broad dissatisfaction with the political system, how we got there, and what everyday Americans thought about the state of the country. Before the 2024 election, I had a blog post about Finding Common Ground , where I recounted my positive experience in my 2021 participation in Living Room Conversations . I believe the success of this approach is due to "a carefully crafted conversation guide that fosters connection and understanding." The intention is " to shift our cultural norms toward respect, understanding, and connection by equipping individuals, communities, and organizations with the tools to hold respectful and meaningful exchanges of ideas, develop new relationships, and find common ground." Now in 2025, with the President seven months into his second term, political and cultural conflict in America has become even more polarized! The threat of authoritarianism is real! We are in this together, and we need resources to mediate our conflicts. Mediators Foundation helps bridge divides with many current projects: Politics -   Civic Health Project Transpartianship - Inter-Movement Impact Project Congress - Bridge Grades Government transparency - Better Governance Institute leadership - Courageous Democracy Civic hubs - Better Together America Small groups -   Living Room Conversations Community Roundtables -  The Great Reset News/analysis -   Better Conflict Bulletin Truth-telling - American Sunlight Education Initiative Film and video -   Transformational Media Fund   Short videos - Systhesis Media Television series - Me the People Social media - Prosocial Ranking Challenge Communities -   Active Peace Entertainment -   Bridge Entertainment Labs Empowering young adults - Civic Synergy Schools -  AllSides Education Fund Families - Families and Educators Together Project Women's rights - Band of Sisters Im m igration legal solutions - Immigration Response Group Indigenous relations - Right Relationship Boulder Supporting Jewish Voices - Blue Compass Supporting wisdom leaders - Wisdom Beyond Borders While I am not a fan of Charles Koch's politics, I agree with the need for our Nation to overcome its deep polarization, including some wisdom in the Bridging Divides Playbook by Stand Together. The One America Movement partners with faith communities across religious, political, and racial divides to confront toxic polarization in our society. The One America Movement offers Public Workshops on polarization and listening. For over two years, Judy Woodruff has traveled the country exploring the roots of America’s divisions over race, religion, culture, wealth, and more for the series: America at a Crossroads . Look for her report twice a month on the PBS Newshour. Of particular interest are the interviews with political scientist Robert Putnam , who has spent decades studying these divides and how we might find our way back to a more unified nation. Robert Putnam told Judy Woodruff that strengthening the country’s democracy would begin with grassroots efforts by people stepping up in their own communities. Jigsaw by Google explores " How AI Might Enhance Our Digital Public Squares . " They say: " Innovations in this field offer real promise for strengthening societies, from AI-enabled platforms for crowdsourced wisdom to LLMs that can help find consensus and aid peace negotiations between seemingly irreconcilable groups. We are in this together. Be part of the solution. Let's see what we agree about and take appropriate action together.

The announcement of Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter has caused a firestorm of debate about free speech and misinformation. Will conservatives who have been banned from Twitter find a more friendly platform? Will the former President, who told Fox News that even if Musk lifts his ban follow-through, he will "not go back to Twitter" and stay with Truth Social* (the former President's new social media site)? Will Twitter continue with " pre-bunks" (hubs of credible, authoritative information, available in the Explore tab, Search, and Trends) ? Will Twitter " ban climate misinformation in ads " as Google said it would in October 2021? Joseph Winters of Grist's The Beacon writes: " Just days before the announcement that Elon Musk would purchase Twitter for $44 billion, the platform announced new steps to address the escalating urgency of the climate crisis. In a statement on Friday [April 22, 2022] , the social media giant said it will ban ads that “contradict the scientific consensus on climate change.” Tristan Harris, of Center for Humane Technology's Your Undivided Attention Podcast, says, " Now the opportunity is, if Elon were to take the company [Twitter] private, to make it no longer beholden to these quarterly earnings reports and having to grow each quarter to the public market." Sean Boyle, Twitter's Director of Sustainability, wrote in the Twitter blog about Accelerating our climate commitments on Earth Day " Tackling the climate crisis requires meaningful, sustained collaboration. Through #AdsForGood grants, on-service support, trainings, and more, we’re partnering with organizations committed to environmental conservation and sustainability. Earth Day Network United Nations (UN) Environment Programme UN Framework Convention on Climate Change UN Development Programme Greenpeace Voice for the Planet Let Me Breathe WWF 350.org FridaysForFuture We Don’t Have Time Climate Reality Project and others. It's not easy to find the truth. Since we live in a culture of disinformation, Rev. Roger Wolsey wrote Church Members Need Help Navigating Our Rapidly Changing World , saying "before you share information, search (“Google”) to see if those claims have been verified or debunked." Here are some fact-check sources: https://www.reuters.com/fact-check https://apnews.com/hub/ap-fact-check https://www.usatoday.com/news/factcheck https://www.snopes.com https://www.politifact.com https://quoteinvestigator.com Be sure to watch PBS Frontline's three-part series, which premiered on Tuesdays, April 19, April 26, and May 3, 2022. The Power of Big Oil, Part One: Denial It examines the fossil fuel industry’s history of casting doubt and delaying action on climate change. "What the geniuses of the PR firms who work for these big, big fossil fuel companies know is that truth has nothing to do with who wins the argument. If you say something enough times, people will begin to believe it.” ~ John Passacantando *Interestingly, Elon Musk tweeted on April 27, 2022 , "Truth Social (terrible name) exists because Twitter censored free speech... Should be called Trumpet instead!"

For nearly half of U.S. voters, the new year 2025 does not easily bring hope. The values expressed by the new administration about social justice issues and not addressing climate change are in conflict. New York Times/Ipsos polling , released January 18, 2025, shows significant cleavages around the upcoming administration, the economy, and immigration. News of polarization of societal values and environmental degradation may cause one to wonder about " human-nature ." Some believe we have already reached societal and environmental tipping points, and it is best to adopt a post-doom perspective. Fear and cynicism can overshadow the scientific evidence that there actually is a positive direction of evolution toward greater complexity and unity. This was recognized a century ago by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who coined the term "noosphere." This long, cosmic view helps put current events in proper balance. We live in southern Oregon, where fog and overcast are typical during winter. It is sometimes hard to remember that the sun is always shining brightly above the clouds. Hope is sometimes like that - it's a matter of perspective. Some of us are turning to the Source to find balance and hope. Beatrice Bruteau , in her 1993 book Radical Optimism says "The way to meaning is the path of perspective. We have to find the right angle from which to view our situation." When we "shift our identity to the root, to our real self, to the source of our being in God, and all looks very different....The deepest truth is our union with the Absolute, Infinite Being, with God. That's the root of our reality." In the recent YouTube video above , Nicholas Vesey similarly quotes Cynthia Bourgeault: "We ourselves are not the source of that hope. We do not manufacture it, but the source dwells deep within us and flows to us with an unstinting abundance, so that so much of it might be more accurate to say that we actually dwell within the hope." ~ Mystical Hope , p. 20 Cynthia Bourgeault goes on to say: "Hope’s home is at the innermost point in us , and in all things . It is a quality of aliveness . It does not come at the end, as the feeling that results from a happy outcome. Rather, it lies at the beginning , as a pulse of truth that sends us forth . When our innermost being is attuned to this pulse, it will send us forth in hope, regardless of the physical circumstances of our lives. Hope fills us with the strength to stay present, to abide in the flow of this Mercy no matter how the outer storms assail us. It is entered always and only through surrender; that is, through the willingness to let go of everything we presently cling to. And yet when we enter it, it enters us and fills us with its own life - a quiet strength beyond anything we have ever known." ~ Cynthia Bourgeault, Mystical Hope , p. 86-87 Wisdom from the Top of the World offers an annual subscription to the Aspen Explorers Club to " bring together like-minded people to explore with those who have pushed the envelope in their lives." In a YouTube video Ilia Delio explores Teilhard's notion of Omega, as a governing principle of increasing complexity and consciousness, accompanied by increasing spirit and the energy of love. The Omega principle provides a framework to discuss a possible direction of evolution.

PBS Newshour reports that only “11% of Republicans and 37% of Democrats say they trust National media organizations.” In 2017, the term “fake news” was used 174 times in tweets by the President. Perhaps that’s why? Wikipedia defines fake news as “a type of yellow journalism or propaganda that consists of deliberate misinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional print and broadcast news media or online social media. Fake news is written and published with the intent to mislead to damage an agency, entity, or person, and/or gain financially or politically, often using sensationalist, dishonest, or outright fabricated headlines to increase readership, online sharing, and Internet click revenue.” By such a definition, many think that much of Fox “News” should qualify as fake, but instead, last week, the President had his own list of “fake news” awards   for the New York Times, ABC News, CNN, Washington Post, and Newsweek. Some inaccurate reports by these media have been acknowledged as a mistake, which is different than fake. Now the Pope is warning the world against “fake news and likens it to the “crafty serpent” in Genesis in his 2108 World Communications Day Message: Fake news “has to do with false information based on non-existent or distorted data meant to deceive and manipulate the reader. Spreading fake news can serve to advance specific goals, influence political decisions, and serve economic interests… It appeals to the insatiable greed so easily aroused in human beings. The economic and manipulative aims that feed disinformation are rooted in a thirst for power, a desire to possess and enjoy, which ultimately makes us victims of something much more tragic: the deceptive power of evil that moves from one lie to another in order to rob us of our interior freedom.” On the one hand, there clearly are some malicious deceptions intended to increase online advertisement revenue and foreign attempts to influence political elections. Facebook and other social media have been implicated in spreading fake news and are changing their focus in response to such criticism . On the other hand, there are “alternative facts” and other untruths coming from politicians and political-opinion-personalities on cable TV who masquerade as purveyors of objective, unbiased news. Those who regularly watch Fox News “live inside an entirely different worldview bubble” than those who get their news from the PBS Newshour and NPR! And how does one label the deliberate attempt by some members of Congress and the White House to discredit the integrity of our Justice Department and Special Counsel investigating possible Russian collusion? It’s an orchestrated “ cycle of distraction .” Shouldn’t we just call this all yellow journalism or propaganda? The Pope is imploring a “rediscovering the dignity of journalism and the personal responsibility of journalists to communicate the truth.” Unfortunately, I expect the dignity of journalism will not be rediscovered until the Oval Office is occupied by someone with more respect, restraint, decorum, and humanity, appropriate to the high office of the President of the United States, instead of someone who cries “fake news” as a counter-punch to divert attention. In the opinion of most people I know, journalists are not the problem! Thank you, to the majority of professional journalists who dare to speak truth to power, in spite of continued insults from those currently in power who attempt to distort the truth. Thank you, Snopes and Poynter ! Neiman Labs publishes weekly Real News About Fake News . RAND Corporation has released a 300-page report entitled Truth Decay: An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life . “Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts” – Patrick Moinahan The Truth Will Set You Free ~ John 8:32 Image Credit: “Fake News” from an 1894 illustration by Frederick Burr Opper #Poynter #yellowjournalism #FakeNews #cycleofdistraction #Propaganda #Snopes #TruthDecay

From the organization name Interfaith Alliance , one might infer that its purpose is to promote multi-faith dialogue, but its mission specifically is to "celebrate religious freedom by championing individual rights, promoting policies that protect both religion and democracy and uniting diverse voices to challenge extremism." While Interfaith Alliance believes that "religious and cultural diversity is essential in building vibrant communities. they also stress that "no one has the right to impose their beliefs on others and that "religious and political extremists are a threat to individual liberty and democracy." Listen to State of Belief host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, who talks with Dr. David P. Gushee about his new book, Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies . What Gushee sees as a threat to American democracy, he calls 'white Christian nationalism" or 'authoritarian, reactionary Christianity." He sees "Christians claiming to act in the name of Jesus Christ and his supposed representative on earth, The then Prseident at the forefront of the January 6, 2021 storming of the nation's Capitol." Gushee makes a robust case for a renewed commitment to democracy on the part of Christians - "not by succumbing to secular liberalism, but by drawing on our own best traditions." The ABC News series Democracy in Peril examines the distorted belief that " God is on their side in a divinely inspired fight against evil." ABC News writer Oren Oppenheim, in a November 7, 2022, article entitled " Christian nationalism' threatens democracy, some experts say , " quotes Rev. Meriah Tigner, who speaks against 'religious nationalism' in terms of how it contradicts her faith and her identity as an American: "Through compassionate conversations with people you disagree with, you may actually find middle ground about things, and maybe actually able to have enough humility in the conversation, to hear a new perspective and to change your beliefs," I believe that open, thoughtful, interspiritual understanding is necessary both to preserve our democracy and to effectively address our global environmental challenges. The belief that "God is on our side" can often be very dangerous. I support the work of Interfaith Alliance . Do you?

On March 17, 2025 Aspen Initiative (Wisdon From the Top of the World) offered a free webinar with some of the foremost non-dual thinkers (Tom Shriver, Marianne Williamson, Cynthia Bourgeault, Matthew Fox, Cyprian Consiglio, and Sherri Mitchell, moderated by Heather and Nicholas Vesey), addressing to the question: How do we respond to the time we are living through? During the webinar, they asked the question ‘How do we respond to the time we are living through?’ Some of the takeaways are: We have to prepare ourselves in the inner world so that we can act in the outer world. We need to ‘show up’ in confronting the circumstances we find ourselves in. It is in the community that we find our strength; therefore, join something! We need to be ‘Spiritual Warriors’, coming from love rather than violence and fear. How we take action individually is important to the evolution of consciousness. Courage will be needed. And we need to be grounded in our hearts as well as our minds.   Timothy Shriver pointed to the Dignity Index ,   which scores phrases along an eight-point scale from contempt to dignity. Level one escalates from violent words to violent actions. It’s a combination of feeling the other side is less than human and calling for or approving violence. On the other end, a person at level eight "sees themself in every human being and refuses to hate anyone.   Aspen Initiative has put aside the weekend of June 7-8, 2025 to revisit in greater depth: Rediscovering generosity in our community. The March 21, 2o25, PBS Newshour conversation of Brooks and Capehart offers a contrast in response to the cruel, ruthless bullying by the current Administration between persuasion and standing up and fighting. Can progressives effectively reason with those who voted for and continue to support the President and persuade them that his incompetence is causing them direct harm? David Brooks also made an interesting insight that this is not a populist fight, but between two elitist groups - the libertarian DOGE graduates and well-educated liberals. " The argument about a battle between elites refers to the idea that much of the conflict in politics today is driven by those who are already powerful, rather than being a struggle between the elites and the working class. Musk, despite his background in elite education and industries, often positions himself as an outsider to traditional power structures. His political and social views have ranged from libertarian to a more contrarian stance, which doesn't fit neatly into a populist or elitist category."

"The President is running the Republican Party and asserting presidential power in ways unseen in American history. His requests are taken seriously. At the least, the outline he is presenting here will influence congressional deci s ions." ~ Lisa Desjardins Thanks to Lisa Desjardins, PBS News Correspondent, for this great reporting on June 3, 2025: "This news came as part of the budget “appendix” the White House released Friday , which provides 1,224 pages of numbers on how the President wants Congress to appropriate funds next year. That was Part 2 to his 46-page initial or “skinny” budget proposal.   We read through both documents and there are some key points to understand here: The President’s budget proposal contains many specifics, it is worth reading. But it leaves out some critical information , such as the summary tables that usually provide bottom-line cuts and spending amounts for agencies and the government overall.  Without that, the overall deficit and agency effects are harder to understand. The President's budget would eliminate more than 40 programs and agencies. We spotted these while reading through the document. From the White House and Republican perspective, his plan to eliminate some programs underscores that he is pushing for action that others have avoided. But many of these programs have vocal advocates who say, without them, critical oversight, protections, and functions will be gone. At the same time, as you’ll see, this target list is composed mostly of programs with relatively small budgets. Eliminating them saves a sum barely worth mentioning relative to the federal deficit. Not the scale many fiscal conservatives hope to see. Example: The largest proposed elimination is the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program , or LIHEAP, a national program that helps people afford heating and energy bills. Its roughly $4 billion in funding is just .06 percent of the discretionary budget Congress controls. The Office of Management and Budget did not respond to our request for comment on the proposed cuts by the time we sent this email. Trump’s elimination list Here are programs and agencies Trump proposes to eliminate in his budget. For perspective, we are including the estimated funding amount for the current year, fiscal year 2025, when the budget provides them. Economic and jobs programs Economic development assistance programs. This provides some $2 billion in grants to economically struggling communities. Economic Development Administration. $113 million. Job Corps. More than $1.7 billion. AmeriCorps (officially known as the Corporation for National and Community Service). $976 million. Minority Business Development Agency. $68 million. Community Service Employment for Older Americans. $405 million. The Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau. NASA’s Office of Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math Engagement. $143 million. Oversight Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. This office is a watchdog, tasked with making sure there is no discrimination in contracting. $111 million. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. $14 million. Health and living programs Administration for Community Living , which supports older and disabled Americans' ability to live independently. More than $2.4 billion. U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. $4 million. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Prevention and Public Health Fund. $1.4 billion in funds planned for FY 2026. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund. $338 million. Assistance programs LIHEAP , the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. More than $4.1 billion. Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve. $7 million. Refugees and asylees. Cash, medical, and other social service assistance is eliminated. No summary figure given. Legal and labor programs The Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service. This division works to mediate and confront community tension. $24 million.  Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which mediates labor disputes. $54 million. Legal Services Corporation, one of the nation's largest funders of civil legal aid. $560 million.   Media and communications U.S. Agency for Global Media, which includes Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe. $857 million. Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private nonprofit that distributes federal funding to public media organizations, including to NPR and PBS. This would affect local stations and programs  like the PBS News Hour. $595 million. Democracy and international development Inter-American Foundation, funding community development in Latin America and the Caribbean. $47 million. Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs (formerly part of USAID). $741 million. Woodrow Wilson Center. $15 million. U.S. Institute of Peace. $55 million. African Development Foundation. $45 million.   Arts National Endowment for the Arts. $207 million. National Endowment for the Humanities. $207 million. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a small federal agency that  supports museums and libraries around the country. $295 million.   Regional authorities Delta Regional Authority. $41 million. Denali Commission in Alaska. $38 million. D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant program. $40 million. Northern Border Regional Commission. $46 million. Great Lakes Authority. $5 million. Southeast Crescent Regional Commission. $20 million. Southwest Border Regional Commission. $5 million.   Native American programs Indian Land Consolidation Program. $4 million. Indian Guaranteed Loan Program. No new loans to be guaranteed. Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development, a higher education institute in Santa Fe. $12 million. Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation. $2 million.   Wildlife State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program. $72 million. Multinational Species Conservation Fund. $21 million. Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund. $5 million. Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. $23 million in discretionary funding. Marine Mammal Commission. $5 million. What happens next?  Congress must pass the next funding bill by Sept. 30, 2025, to avoid a government shutdown. Appropriators in both the House and Senate will go over this list and make their own version of what stays and what goes. It is not typical for Congress to eliminate many agencies or programs, but we are not in a typical year. Fiscal conservatives and the President are pushing to show that they are slimming down the government."

The President's AI Policy On January 20, 2025 , the President issued Executive Order 14148 , revocation of the Biden-Harris AI Executive Order 14110 of October 30, 2023 (Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence), "which hampered the private sector's ability to innovate in AI by imposing burdensome government requirements restricting private sector AI development and deployment." On January 23, 2025 , the President issued an   Executive Order  "to sustain and enhance America’s dominance in AI to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security. American development of AI systems must be free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas." The order directs the development of an AI Action Plan "to sustain and enhance America’s AI dominance," The AI Action Plan is being led by: John P. Holdren , Assistant to the President for Science & Technology David O. Sacks , White House AI & Crypto Czar, Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology . Sacks is a venture capitalist and an early executive at PayPal who launched a hit All In podcast . Marco Rubio , Acting National Security Advisor On June 19, 2025 , AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks said, " For the U.S. to outmaneuver China in the race to be the global leader in artificial intelligence, Washington needs to trash its traditional regulatory playbook in favor of a private sector-friendly model that aims to “out-innovate the competition. '” On July 4, 2025 the President signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1). The May 2025 House-passed version included a provision to impose a 10‑year moratorium prohibiting states and local governments from regulating AI. The House proposed centralized AI oversight to bolster U.S. competitiveness in the global AI race. However, that provision was removed during the Senate process on July 1, 2025. Senators voted 99‑1 to strip the clause. {Gemini verified that the provision faced opposition and issues with the Byrd Rule (which controls extraneous provisions in budget reconciliation bills). While there were attempts to revise it to a 5-year "temporary pause" and tie it to federal funding, ultimately it was removed.] The final version, signed into law on July 4, 2025, contains no moratorium—states remain free to regulate AI. Stargate Project The President has courted AI luminaries, most notably Sam Altman, Larry Ellison, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. On Trump's second day in office, he announced the Stargate Project , calling it “the largest AI infrastructure project, by far, in history.” The Bloomberg Businessweek AI Issue of May 20, 2025 ,   has an extensive description "Inside the First Stargate AI Data Center" in Abilene, Texas, including a fascinating 42-minute video tour with Emily Chang. A July 2, 2025, Bloomberg article Oracle, OpenAI Expand Stargate Deal for More US Data Centers   reports that OpenAI has agreed to rent a massive amount of computing power from Oracle Corp. data centers as part of its Stargate initiative and that Oracle will develop multiple data centers across the US to meet the additional demand from OpenAI, perhaps in New Mexico, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. On May 22, 2025   OpenAI introduced the launch of Stargate UAE - "a partnership that expands global AI infrastructure and access, in coordination with the U.S. government." It is “the first international deployment of Stargate (OpenAI’s AI infrastructure platform). Stargate represents our long-term vision for building frontier-scale compute capacity around the world in service of safe, secure, and broadly beneficial AGI.” This is also the first partnership under OpenAI for Countries , their “new global initiative to help interested governments build sovereign AI capability in coordination with the U.S. government—rooted in democratic values, open markets, and trusted partnerships.” “The agreement – which includes our partners G42, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco, and SoftBank, was developed in close coordination with the U.S. government, and we greatly appreciate the President for his support in making it possible.” The new partnership includes dual investments: A 1GW Stargate UAE cluster in Abu Dhabi with 200MW expected to go live in 2026 UAE investment into U.S. Stargate infrastructure, building on the U.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership announced during President Trump’s visit last week.” [May 15, 2025] The Wall Street Journal reported in July that " Just weeks after Musk’s xAI raised $10 billion through sales of stock and debt, the startup is working with a trusted financier to secure up to $12 billion more for its ambitious expansion plans, and SpaceX will invest $2 Billion Into Elon Musk’s xAI. The Wall Street Journal reported on July 23, 2025, that the The Administration Pledges to Stimulate AI Use and Exports ‘Action plan’ for AI aims to boost the construction of data centers and encourage exports. What AI says about President Trump In a July 1, 2025  Opinion piece ,  the Washington Post  recalls that "the President has presented himself as a strong champion and consistent supporter of artificial intelligence. It is interesting that al though the President appears to support AI, that does not mean AI supports him, as their recent AI analysis   of some of the president’s many questionable public statements shows. They posed questions to the five leading AI models: ChatGPT (OpenAI/Sam Altman) Claude (Anthropic/ Dario Amodei ) Grok (X/xAI/ Elon Musk) Gemini (Google) Perplexity ( Aravind Srinivas , Denis Yarats )

On April 7, 2025 the President posted on Truth Social: "Don't be a PANICAN (a new party based on Weak and Stupid people.)" The name is a dig at those inciting panic about the possible effects of his tariffs on the economy. CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, host of “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” shares his take on developments surrounding the President’s tariff policies, and why he thinks it’s “getting dirtier fast.” Fareed’s Take: "Trump’s tariffs will bring about an orgy of corruption." On Sunday, April 13, 2025, Zakaria interviewed Oren Cass and Larry Summers on GPS about A tariff debate . Cass is the founder of the conservative think tank American Compass , whose advisors are Robert Lighthizer (Former U.S. Trade Representative); Jeff Sessions (Former U.S. Attorney General), Elbridge Colby ( The Marathon Initiative ); and Michael Pettis ( Carnegie Endowment. ) Both Cass and Summers agreed on the crude, ineffective way the President's tariff policy has been rolled out and that it does not benefit the middle class. Summers was quick to agree with Zakaria that the President's negotiation approach is "rent seeking", which ushers in cronie capitalism. This is the worst self-inflicted wound since the era of WWII. #CNN

Ilia Delio & Pete Enns: the Future of Religion "Here's the urgency – if religion doesn't step up, technology is gonna replace it. We're evolving technology exponentially, but our religious imagination is stuck in neutral. The choice is clear: embrace a new religious "zest for life" that connects us to cosmic processes or watch Silicon Valley billionaires become our new high priests."   ~ Ilia Delio Earth-centered religion focuses on the veneration of the Earth and natural phenomena. Pantheism is sometimes inappropriately labeled as a pagan religion (along with animism, druidry, and wicca), but it merely means that everything in nature and the universe is God. Pantheism emphasizes the sacredness of nature and the interconnectedness of all living things. This belief expresses itself in practices of taking care of the environment and human and animal rights. Panentheism is a variation stating that God is in everything and everything is in God. Dr. David Grumett, in his monograph Christ in the World of Matter: Teilhard de Chardin's Religious Experience and Vision ,   says, " Religious experience and vision announce the completion of materiality rather than its annihilation, revealing the true spiritual significance of material objects in the world. Religious experience leads not to disengagement from the world, but to a renewed commitment to active living within it." Robert Nicastro , talking about   The New Coherence ,  says, "The world is not God and God is not the world, yet God is 'the unlimited depth of love, the center of all that is...'" God is described as "a creative energy of love on all levels of matter and life." In this sense, humans are co-creators with God. If God is in love with matter, we should be so too! The Homebrewed Christianity podcast features a video (above) from Theology Beer Camp 2024. Former neuroscientist-turned-Franciscan sister Ilia Delio offers a thought-provoking conversation as she presents a radical vision for the future of religion . "Speaking to a community of spiritual seekers, Delio places humanity within our cosmic context—mere seconds in the universe's 13.8 billion-year story—while arguing that we are the universe becoming conscious of itself. She challenges institutional religion's static cosmologies, drawing on Teilhard de Chardin's integration of evolution and faith to advocate for a " religion of the Earth " that recognizes God as "in love with matter." "The conversation, complemented by responses from biblical scholar Pete Enns, exemplifies the kind of boundary-pushing theological dialogue that makes a unique gathering for those reimagining faith at the intersection of science, ecology, and spirituality." Theology Beer Camp 2025 was in St. Paul, MN. Theology Beer Camp 2026 will be in Kansas City, MO, October 8-10, 2026 . It is " a unique three-day conference that brings together theology nerds and craft beer for a blend of intellectual engagement, community building, and fun. " Follow Tripp Fuller and Homebrewed Christianity on his “Process This” Substack , which has some 80k followers. The @TrippFuller YouTube channel has 9.92K subscribers and 896 videos! #Pantheism #Panentheism #Christogenesis #TheologyBeerCamp #TrippFuller

Photo Credit: Lake Atitlán, Guatemala; Max Harpur/Unsplash "We dwell within an intricate and evolving community of planetary life. The world speaks—to itself and to us—in a multitude of voices, each representing a unique way of being and knowing. Many of these voices are organic, such as birds, mushrooms, and trees. Others are elemental bodies like rivers and mountains. Yet each is an integral member of the whole. Since our species emerged in evolutionary history, we have practiced diverse traditions—spiritual, philosophical, and scientific — to understand the intricate dimensions of Earth’s interdependence." ~ Garrison Institute On February 10, 2026 , at 11 a.m. PST, the Garrison Institute   is having a live virtual forum on Zoom: A Conversation Exploring the Living Earth Community , with Jonathan F.P. Rose and Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker, cofounder of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology,  that helped create the Living Earth Community. This conversation will explore the varied spiritual responses to the intelligences of nature and the implications for our current ecological challenges. It will highlight the new Living Earth Community  website as a source reference for this discussion. As a website, the Living Earth Community is "a multimedia source for information and inspiration about the many ways that Earth and all its inhabitants exhibit different kinds of activity and agency, even sentience, intelligence, and consciousness.   Ecological Worldviews  This section of the Living Earth Community website "invites you to explore ancestral and contemporary orientations within place and culture. It presents a diversity of spiritual and philosophical traditions and lifeways that affirm the interdependencies of life. Join us in this dialogue of worldviews to foster and deepen an appreciation for both the biological and spiritual dimensions of our shared journey." Earth Law "Various cultural expressions of protecting the integrity of the more-than-human world are growing worldwide through an impressive range of legal theories and practices." Journey of the Universe This "dramatic and expansive multimedia project that reimagines the universe story and reframes the human connection to the cosmos. The project includes an Emmy award-winning film, book, educational series, curriculum, and more. The film has been shown around the world and, along with the book, has been translated into many languages." Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology "The Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology is an international, multireligious project contributing to a new academic field and an engaged moral force of religious environmentalism. With its conferences, publications, monthly newsletter, and website, it explores religious worldviews, texts, and ethics in order to contribute to environmental solutions along with science, policy, law, economics, and appropriate technology. → Sign up for Yale's monthly Forum newsletter ← Newest additions to the Yale Forum website: Ecojustice: The Yale Forum's "ecojustice hub includes thorough resource lists for each of the major world religions; extensive bibliographies; information on the history of the movement, and much more." Ecoanxiety: "Our eco-anxiety and eco-grief section provides both ample learning opportunities on this increasingly important topic, as well as a variety of hands-on tools and practices for coping." Religion and Ecology Online Courses "Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim have created a series of six Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) at Yale through the Coursera platform. These courses explore the ecological dimensions of the world’s religions. They draw on a rich variety of lectures, videos, readings, and interviews with scholars, religious leaders, and environmental practitioners from around the world. Highlighted are religious ideas and practices inspiring ecojustice movements in response to the challenges of the climate emergency, biodiversity loss, and pollution." Orbis Ecology & Justice Series "Tucker and Grim serve as Advisory Board Members, along with Leonardo Boff and Sean McDonagh, for the Ecology and Justice Series published by Orbis Books. This series seeks to integrate an understanding of the Earth as an interconnected web of life with concerns for just and sustainable systems that benefit the entire Earth community. Viewing the present moment as a time for responsible creativity, this series asks authors to speak to ecojustice concerns from the Christian community, from the world’s other religious traditions, from secular and scientific circles, and from new paradigms of thought and action." Thomas Berry "Thomas Berry was one of the twentieth century’s most prescient and profound thinkers. As a cultural historian, he sought a broader perspective on humanity’s relationship to the Earth to respond to the ecological and social challenges of our times. Berry urged humans to recognize their place on a planet with complex ecosystems in a vast evolving universe. He sought to replace the modern alienation from nature with a sense of intimacy and responsibility. This website chronicles his life and work, providing ample written and multimedia resources to explore Thomas’ thoughts and ideas further. See also their Coursera course: The Worldview of Thomas Berry: The Flourishing of the Earth Community ." In 2022, on his 97th birthday, John B. Cobb Jr. launched the Living Earth Movement. "The Living Earth Movement strives to foster global collaboration to benefit all life on Earth, starting with the United States and China. Our mission is to advance a new human society that coexists harmoniously with the entire ecosphere." #LivingEarthCommunity #YaleForumonReligionandEcology # ThomasBerry