Transpeople aren't taking away our healthcare, its the billionaires!
"The only minority destroying America is the billionaires. Transpeople are 1% of the population. Muslims are 1% of the population. Undocumented people are 1% of the population. We are focused on the wrong 1%! Transpeople aren't taking away our healthcare. Muslims aren't defunding our schools. Immigrants aren't cutting taxes for themselves and their rich friends. Its the billionaires and their puppet politicians." - James Talarico, Member of the Texas House of Representatives
James Talarico, is a 36 year old American politician, Presbyterian seminarian, and former public school teacher. He was a son of single mother, and is a candidate for the 2026 US Senate Race in Texas.
He was invited on Joe Rogan to discuss his views that argue against a Republican bill that would place the Ten Commandments in Texas public schools. In the interview, it was refreshing to hear progressive views of Christianity in America, abortion, sexuality, and poverty, that challenge the stereotypical Christian "Nationalist" or "Evangelical" views that appear in mainstream media.
It is pretty amazing that the most radical things Joe Rogan speaks of in this interview are Universal Basic Income (UBI) and cancelling student debt (ok, there is a little Epstein, JFK, and UFOs). Unfortunately James (like most Joe interviewees) does not push back on Rogan's climate change conspiracy theories (but its the only real blip in an otherwise great interview).
James quotes Dorothy Day (who was an American journalist, social activist and anarchist who, became a Catholic without abandoning her social activism) in the interview, "You truly only love God, as much as you love the person you love the least" - in other words, the test of Christianity is not do you love Jesus, but rather do you love Judas?
He also warns of the Republican billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks who hold very religiously conservative views and who James says are set on using their money to support conservative causes to divide America through culture wars, and ultimately establish a theocracy.
You can find his interview with Joe Rogan here:
You can follow James here:
And his race for the Senate here:
A good documentary that examines the implications of Christian Nationalism and the potential to distort the constitutional republic, and Christianity itself is God and Country. It features a quote from Bishop William J. Barber II, Congregationalist Minister Founder, Repairers of the Breach:
"There is no way you can look at Jesus in the gospel and put him on the side of greed, on the side of injustice, on the side of wrong. And often times what you end up with, is people who are so loud about what God says so little about. And so quiet on what God says so much about. So they are so loud about gay people. They're so loud about a woman's right to have an abortion. They're so loud about cutting taxes for the wealthy. They're so loud when it comes to guns. They're so loud on those things, but they're so quiet on how do we end poverty, how do we care for the least of these. You are in essence being so loud about what God says so little about, and you're being far too quiet about what God says so much about." - Bishop William J. Barber II, Congregationalist Minister Founder, Repairers of the Breach
The documentary can be found here (amongst other places):
