Footnotes: Political discourse, erasing God, and Supreme vacancy?

Trolls vs. elitists

The state of play in political discourse

1. There is an excellent op-ed in the New York Times by Katherine Mangu-Ward, the editor in chief of Reason. The premise is: "Differences remain as fundamental as ever, but the way we talk about them is so superficial as to have become incoherent."

[Read: "When Smug Liberals Met Conservative Trolls"]

2. Why this matters: These loud voices rise to the top, because they are more entertaining. Twitter pervades, while 3,000-word think-pieces decline, because people don't want to think long and hard. They want to be told what to think. Believe me, because I said it! (See what I did there?

3. To make matters worse, what happens when both sides begin to take this downgraded rhetoric and blend in identity politics?

[Roaming Millennial discusses this problem in one of her most CRTV recent episodes]

A Wrinkle in 'Wrinkle'

What fans feared most

1. I've mentioned a few times that I was excited, but nervous, about A Wrinkle In Time getting reboot with an A-list cast. It seems my worst fears are coming true, and the movie seems to be devoid of the story's Christian core.

[But don't take my word for it; even uber-left Vox agrees]

2. The book has always been controversial, warranted or not, and to remove that piece of the puzzle seems to remove its heart.

[The long history of controversy]

3. The film will be a disappointment, and it could ruin the branding of the book forever if parents don't encourage their children to read it.

[Taking away the Christianity truly removes its "deepest center"]

Meeting the NorKs

Trump will meet with Kim Jong Un by May

1. Is it possible that Trump's strategy on North Korea brought the mad man to the table?

[Jordan Schachtel's analysis is worth reading]

2. Senator Lindsey Graham had an ominous warning for the NorK leader.

["...the worst possible thing you can do is meet with President Trump in person and try to play him."]

SCOTUS vacancy during vacay?

The rumors keep swirling

1. The most vulnerable GOP senator, Dean Heller, is on record saying he believes that Justice Anthony Kennedy will retire soon.

["Around sometime early summer"]

2. The age of each justice currently:

• Chief Justice John Roberts — 63
• Anthony Kennedy — 81
• Clarence Thomas — 69
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg — 84
• Stephen Breyer — 79
• Samuel Alito — 67
• Sonia Sotomayor — 63
• Elena Kagan — 57
• Neil Gorsuch — 50

Behind the World

1. Guns: There are a lot of media falsehoods out there about guns and terminology. Nate Madden at CRTV has a mini-series called Firepower 101, where he dispels myths and educates on the proper terms and functions of guns.

[Check out the series, and send it to your favorite journalist!]

2. Medicine: Hundreds of doctors in Canada are protesting their pay.

[They say it is too damn high!]

3. Technology: Do you know what AMP is?

[It could change the way the internet works — for the better]

4. Drugs: Taking lots of medicine, even the good stuff, is bad.

[Who knew?]

5. ICYMI: Hacking prison.

[Getting inside, from the inside]

6. Teachers: So, are we arming teachers or what?

[CRTV host Steven Crowder chats with Chuck Woolery about that]

Editor's note: The content of this post originally appeared in the Footnotes newsletter.

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