The Runback: Total Eclipse of the Heart
A total eclipse of the heart you don't have to worry about. The brain, however......
Welcome to another week of The Runback. Have you been enjoying The Duckpin? Do you have comments or suggestions? Do you want to write for us? Let me know at theduckpin@gmail.com. And please be sure to follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and YouTube. Thanks in advance.
News and Politics
Rebuilding the Key Bridge: Opportunities and Barriers: A Road Map for Renewal
The Democrats are Raising Your Taxes: The eight years we did not have tax or fee increases certainly were the good old days, weren’t they?
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The Monday Thought
As I write this, I am located in upstate New York. We traveled here not just because we are visiting family, but because we are located in the path of totality for today’s total solar eclipse.
During the three o’clock hour, our area will be engulfed in total darkness. In the middle of the afternoon, our world will go black for three whole minutes. Hopefully, the clouds stay at bay, which is not looking that promising.
I’ve been waiting for this for seven years….
We too are coming out of a period of darkness. After suffering on the Cross for our sins, Christ was gone from us for two days. Our world was dark. Our tabernacles were empty. But like the Sun in the Sky, Christ came back on the third day to provide the light for our entire world.
But over in the secular world, the world continues to live in a state of darkness. Not only does it seem like hearts are in the dark, but also so many brains too.
God doesn’t send us eclipses because He’s mad at us. No, strange oddities are foretelling certain events. God made sure we live in a time where total eclipses can happen, the rarest celestial event in the known universe. We’re so good at predicting these things that we know that an eclipse with a maximum totality of 7 minute, 4 seconds will take place on July 16th, 2903 AD.
Imagine living in a world where your brain thinks like that. Then again, we have a world where broken brains think like this.
That tweet got 63.5 million views. It contained not a single kernel of truth in it:
NOT VOTER FRAUD. If there has been one maddening thing over the past eight years for me as a reporter, it's having to track down the never-ending false claims of vote fraud coming from Republicans. We saw yet another example of that this week, which quickly found its way into the halls of Congress.
VOTER ID. From out of nowhere, there were suddenly GOP claims this week of dramatic increases in new voters in Arizona, Texas, and Pennsylvania - supposedly without any checks on their identity or citizenship. "The number of voters registering without a photo ID is SKYROCKETING in 3 key swing states," read one warning.
GOP. That was quickly grabbed by one familiar GOP voice. "We must have voter ID that proves citizenship," said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). Meanwhile, X (Twitter) owner Elon Musk called for voter ID laws in all states, amid hints that illegal aliens were registering to vote en masse.
POPPYCOCK. That was quickly shot down by Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, who is a Republican. "It is totally inaccurate that 1.2 million voters have registered to vote in Texas without a photo ID this year," Nelson said. "The truth is our voter rolls have increased by 57,711 voters since the beginning of 2024."
It’s not just that broken brains think like that. I am almost positive that “@EndWokeness” knows that the numbers they tweeted were lies. It’s the fact that so many people bought the numbers despite the complete absurdity of it all, which gives people like “@EndWokeness” and a thousand other extremely online Trumpworld celebrities all the reasons in the world to just make stuff up and hope that it sticks. Because the modern public doesn’t give a single thought to verifying things before believing them and amplifying them:
The incident sheds light on how social media accounts that shield the identities of the people or groups behind them through clever slogans and cartoon avatars have come to dominate right-wing political discussion online even as they spread false information.
The accounts enjoy a massive reach that is boosted by engagement algorithms, by social media companies greatly reducing or eliminating efforts to remove phony or harmful material, and by endorsements from high-profile figures such as Musk. They also can generate substantial financial rewards from X and other platforms by ginning up outrage against Democrats.
Many such internet personalities identify as patriotic citizen journalists uncovering real corruption. Yet their demonstrated ability to spread misinformation unchecked while disguising their true motives worries experts with the United States in a presidential election year.
What caused all of this? It’s easy to blame Donald Trump, but this kind of total eclipse of the brain has engulfed our country for decades. It’s led to a point where Russian propaganda has become an acceptable source of Republican orthodoxy.
Unless we come out of it sooner rather than later, our country may be destined for eternal darkness.
Nations, like stars, are entitled to eclipse. All is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not become endless night. Dawn and resurrection are synonymous. The reappearance of the light is the same as the survival of the soul.
Victor Hugo
And now, for something completely different and yet appropriate: