Ever since he landed in the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth has been stuffing his religious agenda down the military’s throat. His latest crusade? Narrowing down the list of recognized religions. There are some strange dynamics at play here, which Esquire columnist Charles P. Pierce unpacks down below.
—Chris Hatler, deputy editor
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The tinhorn Fox News theocrat has evangelized the military to the point that it only recognizes a handful of religions and spiritualities.
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Senator Mike Lee, the konztitooshunal skolar from Utah, has a problem with the Department of Defense that he felt obligated to share, at length, on social media all weekend. It seems that, for reasons that surpasseth understanding, Pete Hegseth’s little pop stand decided to cut 180 denominations from the list of DOD-recognized religions. Among the 180 religions dropped from the list were Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists, and various Wiccans.
The real issue that has gotten up Lee’s nose is the notion that Mormons are not Christians. Which is now another means by which we have devolved back to the 19th century again. This business about who is “really” a Christian also has a long and sorry history in this country and around the world. There also are considerable theological reasons why Mormons are not Christians. However, there seems to be little doubt that this is all a part of Hegseth’s weird evangelization of the military engaged in what he seems to believe is literally a crusade.
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Traveling is one of life’s great pleasures—until it isn’t. Wrangling an overpacked suitcase. Realizing you’ve got no idea where to get a decent dinner in a city full of tourist-trap restaurants. Trying (and failing) to beat a nasty case of jet lag. We’re lucky enough to live in a time when seeing the world is more open and accessible to all, but getting out there and exploring still comes with its own set of challenges.
We want to help you overcome those challenges in style. That’s why we reached out to a bunch of travel pros from all sorts of industries to tap into their collective knowledge. How does a creative director of a major fashion brand score a reservation at a local hot spot when he’s not a local? What does a veteran actor do to properly revitalize himself after a red-eye? And how does a globe-trotting magazine editor manage to fit everything she needs for a trip into a carry-on bag?
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In the great state of Texas, a young pastor and Senate hopeful named James Talarico is gaining popularity while coming off like a thoughtful, empathetic, and evolved kind of guy. The men of right-wing media are being super cool and normal about it.
Thinking out loud about a political rival’s undergarments and bodily fluids is textbook secure-guy behavior. It’s great that these guys get paid to do it, and it’s great that actual congressional candidates like Florida’s Dan Weldon are taking the ball and running with it. Jokes like these have never come from a place of comfort or security. These men fall short of their own definitions of masculinity, and it is killing them. And the conflict is happening in a part of their brains and souls that they are too terrified to examine, so all they can do is lash out at the men who don’t care to follow. All they can do is reflexively insult a James Talarico, and the only insult that they can come up with is that he’s not actually a man. “Examining his own manhood, instead of living inside a cage of his own making? What is he, some kind of girl?”
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