Articles of Distraction

[Fake Messiah]

I am blissfully unaware of the Baldwin's family dynamics, but I can easily come up with some reasons why Uncle Stephen may have not helped out with the sprog.

Well, for your information, Stephen Baldwin has been making headlines again in recent days for his unbelievable devotion to Jesus and the Christian creed.

Stephen Baldwin on walking away from Hollywood: ‘Jesus fascinated me’

Stephen Baldwin, a member of the famous acting dynasty that took America by storm in the 1980s, says he made a conscious choice to walk away from Hollywood after embracing Christianity and embarking on a life devoted to God, his family and service to the community.

“I probably could have pointed myself in the direction of becoming a big star,” Baldwin told People. “But that wasn’t me. I didn’t want to be Tom Cruise, and have to make $100 million at the box office. I’d rather be a schmuck from Massapequa!”
source

You see how he professes his devotion to his family, but it's obvious those are just empty words.

Not to mention the bigger tragedy which is that Jesus took away from us "Bio-Dome 2."

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I am blissfully unaware of the Baldwin's family dynamics, but I can easily come up with some reasons why Uncle Stephen may have not helped out with the sprog.

Well, for your information, Stephen Baldwin has been making headlines again in recent days for his unbelievable devotion to Jesus and the Christian creed.

Stephen Baldwin on walking away from Hollywood: ‘Jesus fascinated me’

Stephen Baldwin, a member of the famous acting dynasty that took America by storm in the 1980s, says he made a conscious choice to walk away from Hollywood after embracing Christianity and embarking on a life devoted to God, his family and service to the community.

“I probably could have pointed myself in the direction of becoming a big star,” Baldwin told People. “But that wasn’t me. I didn’t want to be Tom Cruise, and have to make $100 million at the box office. I’d rather be a schmuck from Massapequa!”
source

You see how he professes his devotion to his family, but it's obvious those are just empty words.

Not to mention the bigger tragedy which is that Jesus took away from us "Bio-Dome 2."

He may have had a falling out with his niece. He may have offered help and she refused. He may not have known she was pregnant. Or a number of other reasons that make him less of a hypocrite than you seem to want to paint him.

And 'devotion to family' generally means immediate family, not extended family.

Boru

[Fake Messiah]

He may have had a falling out with his niece.

Then that's not very Christian of him.

He may have offered help and she refused.

Maybe, but she seemed open to getting help, so if he were enthusiastic enough about it, as he is for telling everyone that he's a Christian, he might have very well succeeded.

He may not have known she was pregnant.

Then it shows that he's not a very warm/nice person that his niece doesn't want to confide in (while she has no problem talking to a reporter/stranger).

Or a number of other reasons that make him less of a hypocrite than you seem to want to paint him.

And what do you call a guy who claims that he could have easily been in the same rank as Tom Cruise when he was barely a recognizable face starring in irrelevant movies? The only movie of his worth mentioning was The Usual Suspects, which was a vehicle for Kevin Spacey, while he was forgettable. Tom Cruise never starred in a vehicle for someone else.

[awty]

Oh look what popped up in my browser:

Celebrities Who Have Shared Their Abortion Stories to Help Women Feel Less Alone

I guess this story drew my attention:

Ireland Baldwin

Baldwin said, she got pregnant unexpectedly with her boyfriend at the time, whom she was “very unhappy” with, “and he made it pretty clear that he never wanted kids or marriage. He barely wanted to be in a serious relationship.”

“I chose to get an abortion because I know exactly what it felt like to be born between two people who hated each other,” she shared.

Baldwin said “maybe, maybe not” when addressing whether she could have had the baby and put him or her up for adoption, “But choosing to raise a baby without my own financial security, without a loving and supportive partner, that wasn’t gonna work for me.”

https://people.com/celebrity-abortion-stories-12027981

What, she didn't have financial security to raise the kid? But couldn't her uncle, Stephen Baldwin, the born-again Christian who is a staunch opponent of abortion, help her out? I mean, how does one get to be fanatically against abortion and yet not even be willing to help his niece with emotional support, babysitting, and baby bills?

Ireland Baldwin didn't require her uncle's help making HER decision.  You are in the group that wants to make abortion about what a man thinks about it.  One of your dumbest stances.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

He may have had a falling out with his niece.

Then that's not very Christian of him.

He may have offered help and she refused.

Maybe, but she seemed open to getting help, so if he were enthusiastic enough about it, as he is for telling everyone that he's a Christian, he might have very well succeeded.

He may not have known she was pregnant.

Then it shows that he's not a very warm/nice person that his niece doesn't want to confide in (while she has no problem talking to a reporter/stranger).

Or a number of other reasons that make him less of a hypocrite than you seem to want to paint him.

And what do you call a guy who claims that he could have easily been in the same rank as Tom Cruise when he was barely a recognizable face starring in irrelevant movies? The only movie of his worth mentioning was The Usual Suspects, which was a vehicle for Kevin Spacey, while he was forgettable. Tom Cruise never starred in a vehicle for someone else.

1. How is it not Christian of his? Christianity has a long and noble history of falling out with people with whom they disagree.

2. That sounds like you think he should have paid her to have the baby. I find that reprehensible.

3. She spoke to the reported long after the fact. If Baldwin didn’t know his niece was up the spout, that’s on her. Nothing to do with whether he was a warm and caring person.

4. That’s not hypocrisy, that’s egotism.

Boru

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Penis Pump Causes Traffic Snarl

Authorities in Washington, DC, shut down traffic in a residential neighborhood after an adult toy was discovered outside a fire station.

The incident occurred around 7 a.m. on Aug. 12 in Tenleytown, a historic neighborhood in northwest Washington, DC. As authorities responded to the scene, rush-hour traffic in the area was shut down for nearly two hours, local TV station WUSA reported.

Officials labeled the item a "suspicious package," the DC Fire Department told USA TODAY, noting that the Metropolitan Police Department is investigating.


The item was later determined to be a "blue and black electronic sex portable pump device," according to a police incident report obtained by USA TODAY. Authorities recovered the item from the scene.

Boru

[Angrboda]

In one study, we asked participants to recall a situation in which another person believed one thing and they believed something else. Some participants described a situation involving different beliefs, while others recalled one with incorrect beliefs. For example, one participant recalled a disagreement about whether couples should live together before marriage, viewing it as a difference in priorities rather than a dispute over reality. By contrast, another participant recalled disagreeing with a friend who believed drinking soda and eating fast food was harmless, a belief the participant considered factually wrong.

Their emotional reactions were dramatically different: Participants who saw the other person’s belief as incorrect reported having felt more disturbed, frustrated and upset than participants who saw the belief as simply different.

In another study, participants first reported their views on divisive topics, such as climate change, capital punishment and policing. Then they saw a hypothetical social media post that opposed their view. The more confident participants were that the author’s belief was incorrect, the more disturbed they felt. They also said they would be more likely to avoid, distrust or block that person. By contrast, being confident that the other person’s belief was simply different – not wrong – did not predict avoidance.

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In our social media study, participants were less able to imagine having close relationships, such as family or romantic relationships, with someone whose beliefs differed from theirs, even if they did not consider those beliefs to be false. Shared beliefs and values may matter more when people think about spouses, relatives or close friends than when they think about neighbors, colleagues or strangers online.

But for less intimate relationships, the perception of wrongness was the key predictor of negative feelings and avoidance. People did not want to avoid those who disagreed with them; they wanted to avoid those they believed were mistaken.

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Public discussions often call for more fact-based debate, but we believe such a drive for hard truths may be counterproductive. Facts matter, and empirical evidence should guide debates, but our findings suggest a paradox: When people use facts to defend their preferences, tastes or values, they may turn a disagreement over priorities into a dispute over who is right and who is wrong, potentially turning up the emotional heat.

The false and the furious: We aren’t just bothered by different beliefs – we’re bothered when we think others are wrong

[Angrboda]

Rabab Deifallah sits inside her tent, clutching a small, battered lighter. She presses it once, then again, trying to produce a spark strong enough to ignite a pile of wood inside a stove.

The mother of five has carefully looked after the lighter. Her son has repaired it several times since it became difficult to buy a new one after Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023.

Firewood has become essential for 46-year-old Rabab. She uses it to bake bread, heat water for her children, prepare food and make tea amid shortages of cooking gas and soaring fuel prices.

“Our whole daily life depends on fire,” Rabab told Al Jazeera. “But getting a fire started begins with a lighter and this small object has become one of the hardest things to find in Gaza.”

Before the war, lighters were so cheap and readily available that she remembers buying three for one shekel ($0.33). Today, a new lighter can cost between $27-33 and Rabab last spent $12 to repair her old lighter.

“Should I spend that amount on a lighter, or should I buy a bag of flour?” she asked.

How a simple lighter has become the backbone of life in Gaza

[Angrboda]

The divergent takes on Talarico can be explained in part by differences between the mainline Protestantism he espouses and the evangelical Christianity that makes up a plurality of Christian voters in Texas.

Mainline Protestants tend to view faith as part of a pluralistic religious and social landscape that can adapt to the needs of the people it serves. Evangelicals recognize only one form of salvation — through Jesus — and the infallibility of the literal text of the Bible.

Roughly 67 percent of Texas adults identify as Christian, with roughly 27 percent identifying as evangelical, compared to only 10 percent identifying as mainline Protestant, according to Pew Research Center. Catholics make up about 22 percent of Texas adults, making them the second largest denomination in the state.

Evangelical voters have been some of the Republican coalition’s most reliable supporters. Nearly 70 percent of White evangelicals nationally approve of President Donald Trump’s performance, according to Pew.

Paxton identifies as an evangelical and has invoked his faith throughout his time in office as a major motivator for his conservative beliefs.

He and his wife were longtime members of the influential Prestonwood Baptist Church, and he worked at its pregnancy and family care center, which ministers to women while discouraging them from having abortions. He has also questioned the constitutionality of separating church and state and called for encouraging public school students to pray and read the Bible in school.

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Some of Paxton’s evangelical supporters say forgiving lapses in judgment is easier than looking past fundamental disagreements on doctrine.

“I say, Here for the grace of God go I. There is nobody without a past,” said Jennie Evans, a nondenominational Christian and Paxton supporter from Dallas, reflecting the core evangelical belief that humans are all equally sinners and in need of redemption. Evans said all elected leaders have fallen short personally, but she felt Paxton’s core values still aligned with hers. Talarico’s did not, she said.

Senate hopeful Talarico touts his faith. Texas Republicans call it blasphemy.

[Angrboda]

While Southeast Asian countries do not want to be trapped in a great-power clash between the United States and China, “they still want to feel the United States is a healthy counterweight to the P.R.C.,” said Mira Rapp-Hooper, who served on the National Security Council during the Biden administration and is now a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. She was using the initials for the formal name for China, the People’s Republic of China.

“So the perception that the United States is drifting as an alternative has also left a real impression on many of these partners,” she added.

While Mr. Trump has talked about China as an economic rival, he also embraced the superpower after it successfully retaliated during his tariff war last year.

During a summit in Beijing in May, Mr. Trump expressed admiration for President Xi Jinping of China, and he is preparing to host Mr. Xi at a state visit in Washington in late September.

Mr. Trump’s move to build what he calls a “G2” — Group of Two — relationship with China has upended a growing bipartisan push in Washington in the last decade to confront China as a hostile rival.

As the Trump-Xi bonhomie grows, some Asian countries are feeling left out, yet are also opting to stay on China’s friendly side.

That is especially true when China remains the largest trading partner for many of the countries, and the United States is not working on presenting economic alternatives.

“We’re in a very difficult position because you know we want to have that maximal relationship with both sides,” said Richard Heydarian, a political scientist from the Philippines. “And then for countries like the Philippines, it’s even more impossible because the U.S. is a military ally. We need the U.S. when it comes to the China threat, but the U.S. is not giving us much love on anything beyond the military aspect.”

As China Pushes to Expand in Asia, Trump Focuses on Iran