Mystic Politics

A Guide to Romney’s Mormonism: The Book of Mitt

‘Despite its transparently ridiculous dogma and sordid history of racism and murder and extremely unorthodox marital practices, Mormonism has come to thrive, thanks primarily to its ability to market and rapidly reinvent itself.’

Counter Islamists and Islam: The new religious opposition

‘As the leadership of Muslim Brotherhood seek to increasingly manifest their Islamism on the level of public policy, they will find opposition from an expected quarter: deeply religious, but non-Islamist, Muslims.’

Jon Stewart, Mormonism, and the Latter-daily Show

‘When Mormons do something stupid, which we will, I have no doubt that they will nail us for it. This is right and good. But I appreciate the fact that on The Daily Show, Mormonism is regarded as no more or less inherently ridiculous than any other religion.’

$8 million per day to Israel? #IfAmericansKnew

Ayn Rand or Jesus Christ? Conservatives Can’t Have It Both Ways

‘This is the ultimate irony in American political life right now, the conservatives who swear on a stack of Bibles that they worship Jesus Christ when they really bow down to the philosophy of Ayn Rand and the golden idol of the free market to be placed at the center of all other things’

Ayn Rand or Jesus Christ? Conservatives Can’t Have It Both Ways

‘This is the ultimate irony in American political life right now, the conservatives who swear on a stack of Bibles that they worship Jesus Christ when they really bow down to the philosophy of Ayn Rand and the golden idol of the free market to be placed at the center of all other things’

Homophobia Is Totally Gay, As Proven By Science

‘There certainly has been a lot of anecdotal evidence from notable political figures to support this theory, but now science is stepping in with some raw data.’

Science and the Republican Brain

‘Republican penchant for denying science is so pronounced and marvelous a phenomenon that in order to grasp it we must turn to the latest revelations of neuroscience.’

The Politics of Faith and American Exceptionalism

‘Two major objects of attention during this election season reflect a key dimension of American exceptionalism: religion.’

China Flaunts Faux Panchen Lama at Hong Kong Buddhist Forum

‘A Tibetan youth named by Beijing as the 11th Panchen Lama but reviled by many Tibetans as a fake made his first trip outside mainland China on Thursday as he is groomed to become the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama dies.’