- Bulk sales for the Melania movie; an example of natural selection among aggressive religions; another prophecy that will not come true;
- The Onion suggests conservatives might boycott all forms of entertainment, since they’re all liberally biased (because that’s how art works);
- WWJD in Minneapolis: the Christian struggle between the Beatitudes and reality on the ground;
- John Pavlovitz on how MAGA Christians wouldn’t really want a Christian America.
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Let’s do the fringe and the crazies first.
- MTN, aka MeidasTouch News (via JMG): White House Advisor Pushed Bulk Sales for Melania Movie, subtitled “Supporters are encouraged to buy group tickets and private screenings, raising questions about ethics and actual attendance”
- Conservatives do this with books too, which is why NYT bestseller lists put asterisks on ranking titles with evidence of “bulk” sales; because they’re not sales to people who buy the book because they want to read it.
- Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta, 3 Feb 2026: New Hampshire Republicans want to change their constitution so it favors Christianity, subtitled “A proposed amendment would undo decades of church–state separation and make non-Christians second-class citizens”
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New Hampshire Republicans have proposed a constitutional amendment that would elevate Christianity over all other religions and allow local communities to elect public school teachers… who presumably share their Christian faith.
The goal is to turn the state into a full-blown Christian theocracy.
- I could comment about their defiance of the Constitution — but we’ve been there. What’s notable here is that this is evidence that the most aggressive religions are those they tend to predominate. It’s a kind of natural selection, driven not by evidence of truth, but by aggressive proselytizing. Verifiable truth has nothing to do with it.
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Satire. On the heels of the conservative upset over the Grammy Awards, including the mere existence of Bad Bunny, and accusations against Netflix as being too woke (e.g. here), this is entirely plausible.
The Onion, 3 Feb 2026: Conservatives Boycott All Forms Of Entertainment
Decrying the un-American nature of any activity intended to provide amusement or the slightest bit of diversion, conservatives across the country announced an immediate boycott Tuesday of all forms of entertainment. “The insidious liberal bias in music, movies, literature, and television is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Nashville, TN, resident Drew Cardona, one of the millions of conservatives nationwide seen dragging trash cans overstuffed with books, laptops, and artwork to the edge of their driveway, not to mention others observed in groups setting fire to piles of game consoles.
There’s more. But it’s exactly true. The arts, from music to movies to video games, are always about exploring the norms of any one era, and then challenging the norms and overturning them to create new norms. This is how humans create, how they learn. It’s been true in science fiction literature; it’s been true in pop music; it’s been true in movies; it’s been true in every artistic form. And that’s why conservatives are uncomfortable with all of them. They look back in time to when music or movies were great, unlike anything now, but they are only regressing to their childhoods. And they accuse change as being leftist. Whereas change is inevitable. They just can’t handle it.
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A couple more serious pieces. First, on a theme I’ve noted repeatedly.
The Bulwark, Jonathan V. Last, 3 Feb 2026: WWJD in Minneapolis, subtitled “We are fighting the regime not on the grounds of power but of legitimacy—and it’s a Christian struggle.”
This section:
2. The Beatitudes
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
To be poor in spirit is to be humble and cognizant of your own failings. Here is an exchange between a reporter and President Trump two weeks ago:
Reporter: Looking back one year, do you believe that God is proud of the effort that you’ve—
Trump: I do. I think God is very proud of the job I’ve done.
“Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
There’s been a lot of mourning in Minneapolis, obviously.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.”
Here’s Greg Bovino over the summer addressing his agents in Los Angeles:
Agent: Whose city is it chief?
Bovino: It’s our fucking city.
Much more.
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And on the insularity of Christians. (Or of the religious, I would say.)
John Pavlovitz, 1 Feb 2026: No MAGA Christians, America Isn’t a Christian Nation, But You Wouldn’t Want One Anyway.
This goes to the insularity of Christians, who think themselves at the very center of all creation, the reason for all being. I’ll quote a bit.
I’m sorry to break it to you, MAGA Christians, but America isn’t a Christian nation.
In fact, God doesn’t bless it, either.
That’s not how this works.
Now, I know this blows up the convenient narrative you’ve been selling for the past 250 years (and pretty violently the last year or so), but honestly, that nasty bit of heresy is straight-up of the devil, and it needs to go.
I’m not sure where you’re getting your information from, but I know it isn’t from the Bible.
Your beloved John 3:16, which you always have ready to throw out like a grenade, is pretty darn clear.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
God loves the world.
The planet.
Like, everyone here.
Everyone.
God is in the world-loving business, not the America-blessing business.
And later:
There’s no way America could be a Christian nation, and that’s really good news for you.
You wouldn’t want America to be a Christian nation anyway (if such a thing were even possible). That would mean you’d be living in a country that embodied Jesus’ teachings; a country where the hungry would be fed and not shamed or starved; where the sick would be made well without needing to earn it or justify themselves.
If America were a Christian nation, that would mean that the assailed would receive rest and refuge, that the foreigner would be warmly welcomed, that every human being would be treated like a treasured neighbor made in the image of God, and that you would be compelled by your faith to make sure this all happened.
