As usual, Andy Whitman says it better than I could:

I love Jesus. This is why I continue as a Christian. But one has to ignore a lot of absurdity from Christians. I can deal with virgin births and resurrections far easier than I can deal with the mental and spiritual gymnastics that have to take place to not only excuse, but to exult Donald Trump.

When the Trump presidency is finally over and the spell is broken, how many Christians will realize just how badly they compromised their faith and integrity for the man, and for what? ​“Owning the libs” isn’t exactly the stuff that legacies are made of.

It’s been 11 years since The Cure’s last album, 2008’s 4:13 Dream, and rumors of a new Cure album have been swirling around ever since, especially as Robert Smith et al. have debuted new material in concerts. Now Smith is saying that there are three new Cure albums in the words, and the first one — tentatively titled Live From the Moon — may be released by Christmas. Smith has described the album, which was influenced by the recent deaths of Smith’s father, mother, and brother, as ​“very much on the darker side of the spectrum” and ​“a little bit more doom and gloom.”

Big surprise, I completely agree with Tobias van Schneider’s thoughts on personal websites: ​“Having my own website says I care about what I do beyond clocking in and out and cashing a paycheck. It shows I’m proud of what I create… My site is the little place I’ve carved out for myself on the world wide web. It’s mine.” Via

He may not be as well-known as Hayao Miyazaki or Mamoru Oshii, but Shoji Kawamori is just as influential a figure in animé history, due in large part to being one of the creators of the Macross franchise. But he’s also worked on a number of other series, including Transformers, Patlabor, Eureka Seven, and Ghost in the Shell. Brian Ashcraft recently sat down with Kawamori to discuss his influences, the creation of Macross, and how animé has (and hasn’t) changed over the years.

From Rolling Stone​’s recent profile of Ethan Diamond, co-founder of Bandcamp (aka, my favorite music service):

In the era of plummeting revenue from actual recorded music, Diamond’s service has evolved into the information-age equivalent of your favorite indie record shop, a place where hundreds of thousands of artists and around 6,000 labels sell music and merch directly to fans.

There are things I wish Bandcamp would do differently — like, ahem, offer playlist functionality — but I also agree with the quote that kicks off the profile: I really don’t want them to screw it up.

The latest article by The Atlantic​’s Adam Serwer explains why Republicans won’t turn on Trump in light of impeachment, but rather, will dig in even deeper:

Attempting to use one’s official powers for private gain is the most basic definition of corruption. Yet because the base of the Republican Party believes itself to be the only legitimate expression of popular will, whether or not its members constitute an actual majority of the electorate, it does not matter what Trump’s motives are. Much of the Republican base believes, as Trump does, that loyalty to the country and loyalty to himself are one and the same. Therefore, nothing Trump could do is corrupt, and even using his official powers for personal gain is an act of selfless patriotism. In this warped view, attempting to extort foreign countries into attacking his political rivals is not a betrayal of his responsibilities as president; it is the fullest expression of them.

Unless Republican support for Trump craters, Republican legislators will not turn against him. And Republican support for Trump cannot crater as long as many Republicans view their political rivals as illegitimate political actors rather than fellow citizens.

Serwer also excoriates Democrats for dragging their heals on impeachment: “[W]hen the president attempted to use his authority to extort a foreign leader into implicating one of his political rivals, a former vice president and longtime Democratic senator, in criminal activity, the leadership of the Democratic Party seemed to suddenly recognize what it was facing.”