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I found the most recent PRRI survey interesting. The trend of increasing unaffiliated seems to have stabilized and maybe even slightly reversed. https://www.prri.org/research/2020-census-of-american-religion/ There’s also hints of slight good news for mainline Protestants, though the data by...

Illegal Immigration Is Down, Changing the Face of California Farms "As a consequence, the total population of unauthorized immigrants in the United States peaked in 2007 and has declined slightly since then. California felt it first. From 2010 to 2018, the unauthorized immigrant population in...

This article is interesting reading. It describes late 19th Cent political chases and how it was eventually calmed. The Forgotten Precedent for Our ‘Unprecedented’ Political Insanity Little useful happened during the period of chaos. After the calm lots of really important advances happened...

Column: New evidence undermines the COVID lab-leak theory — but the press keeps pushing it The article points to several papers which together make a lab leak theory pretty unlikely. Apparently early cases were associated with two different meat markets, and they have slightly different...

The OT is a complex set of books. There’s lots in it that Jesus used. But the fundamental theme of the historical books and prophets is about the nation Israel. God gave Israel the Holy Land. When it sinned, he arranged for them to be punished by foreign invaders. When they repented he brought...

These results suggest that the decline may be stabilizing. The 2020 Census of American Religion | PRRI The numbers are from surveys, so they may not be reflected in church membership. It appears that growth in mainline Christianity is making up for decline in evangelicals. It will be...

Zuckerberg's Biden problem though for different reasons. He thinks Facebook is a major vector for false information and hate. He thinks -- with some reason -- that section 230 lets it ignore its own bad effects. I share Biden's concern, but I think public forums are important, and I don't see...

One of the questions is whether there should be consequences for members of Congress who helped create the mob. I favor very narrow definitions. No one us suggesting ejecting all Republicans. But I think those Republicans who spread false information about the election have at least moral...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/d45acb92-4dc4-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html This article includes excerpts from a conversation between the President and Georgia (Republican) officials. He seems to think he won Georgia by hundreds of...

Charles Koch: I "screwed up" Koch has finally acknowledged his role in creating the current hyperpartisanship, and claims he's going to change. We'll see. He's still supporting a Senate candidate in Georgia that wants their secretary of state to resign for doing his duty.

First on CNN: GSA tells Biden that transition can formally begin - CNNPolitics

It looks like the lack of a plan to deal with Covid is matched by lack of a plan to monitor the effects of vaccines. The Trump Administration Shut a Vaccine Safety Office Last Year. What’s the Plan Now? This has to be high on the priority list for a new president.

An 'ANTIFA' Twitter account that called for looting 'white hoods' was actually run by white nationalist group Identity Evropa I actually have serious doubts whether Antifa exists as an actual organization, though there’s certainly a set of ideas.

I recently did a new search for recent evidence on use of masks. I found the following interesting article: Masks help stop the spread of coronavirus – the science is simple and I'm one of 100 experts urging governors to require public mask-wearing The claim is that early evaluations of masks...

I'm not quite convinced it's going to happen, but let's assume 12 - 18 months of the kinds of restrictions we're seeing. I think it's going to have long-term impacts: * Large retailers that do online business are going to continue displacing small ones. This has been a trend anyway, but I think...

Groups from the central conferences (i.e. non-US areas) came up with a proposal that hasn't received as much publicity as I would have expected: Delegates offer proposal for church unity | United Methodist News Service It has three parts: Suspension of all actions furthering any dissolution or...

I was one of the founders of the Traditional Theology forum. I think a refresher may be called for on the purpose. Many forums in CF are defined by specific traditions. TT is not. Rather, the intention is for it to be characterized by the nature and spirit of the discussion. The goal was to have...

A group containing representatives from a variety of perspectives has just announced a plan for separation of the UMC. See Council of Bishops: United Methodist Traditionalists, Centrists, Progressives & Bishops sign agreement aimed at separation, and the FAQ: Council of Bishops: Frequently Asked...

I thought you might find this interesting. It talks about female writers in the early period of the reformation. The Cove Community: Presbyterians Today - The feminists of the Reformation

What Our Poll Shows About Impeachment Views in 6 Swing States This article talks about lots of things, but I want to point out one specific aspect. Polls show that people who support Trump, and also others, doubt there’s grounds to remove him, because his behavior is no different from other...