They do. There are a few elite non-religious private schools in Louisville.

But they are far outnumbered by parochial schools.

I grew up in the Assemblies of God denomination. When I graduated from high school, I left home to go to college, expanded my horizons, and ultimately ended up deconstructing my religious beliefs. I have considered myself to be an atheist for more than 20 years, but I still have strong ethical beliefs that basically parallel the Christian teachings of empathy for the marginalized and the disadvantaged.

For the past 8 years, I’ve watched my “decent Christian” family slide further and further into Trumpism. They are unrecognizable as the people who taught me the value of Christlike behavior.

Most days, I feel like I’m a better Christian than they are. I’ve wondered for a long time how the same people who instilled those values in me have been led so far astray.

I recognize in hindsight that they were motivated by fear of God rather than love for their fellow humans. Fox News and Trump have preyed on that fear and gradually expanded it until it has turned to hatred of anyone who doesn’t look or vote like them.

I don’t see any recommendations for The Lost Boys yet. It’s super '80s in the “both Coreys” way. It’s dated, but still a lot of fun.

Prince of Darkness is a guilty pleasure for me. I love religious horror, so it’s my favorite John Carpenter movie. There are some fairly violent bits, but it’s not overly gory like a slasher flick. If you’re okay with The Thing, this one should be fine.

The Endless is also religious horror, but it’s more psychological. There’s not much violence, but it’s very tense.

Little Monsters (the 2019 one) is a heartwarming comedy about a teacher who has to protect her class from a zombie apocalypse during a field trip. It’s got a moderate amount of zombie-movie gore, but it’s treated in a humorous way. If you’re okay with Shaun of the Dead, it should be fine.

Hubs and I didn’t love the movie, but we totally adore the series.

I recently saw a shirt for sale online that says, “I’m sorry for everything I said when I was evangelical,” and that really just about sums it up.

To be honest, I don’t trust The Telegraph any more than I trust The Onion. At least The Onion is straightforward about what they are.

Yes. Yes it does.

From Media Bias/Fact Check:

Bias Rating: RIGHT

Factual Reporting: MIXED

Country: United Kingdom

MBFC’s Country Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE

Media Type: Newspaper

Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic

MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

Every case of a random person hiring a “hitman” that I have heard of has, in fact, been someone hiring an undercover cop. And the people soliciting the services went to jail for a good long while.

There’s a big cake mix manufacturing plant near where I grew up, and I knew a lot of people who worked there. They all confirmed that the only difference between the name brand cake mix and the store brand they made was the box they put it into at the end of the process.

Oh, man. What a day that was. I was in first grade, still too young to understand that there were people in that thing and that those people died.

When we watched it blow up like fireworks, I don’t think we realized that wasn’t what it was supposed to do. Our poor teacher had to process it pretty quickly so she could explain it to us.

The way that someone responds to you is a reflection of them, not of you. If someone in your life is wildly inconsistent, all you can do is make sure that you are maintaining consistency yourself.

I’ve worked with a number of people who acted like we were besties one day and then gave me the cold shoulder for weeks. I spent too many years wondering what was wrong with me before I finally figured out that their mood swings had nothing to do with me.

I remember when Fox was a brand-new network that only broadcast during specific times of the day in my area.

Same.

There are multiple references to this in the Bible. This is the most uplifting one I found.

Psalm 90

10 Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

11 If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.

12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13 Relent, LORD! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants.

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

But for every one of them, how many of their peers are still in it? I’m the only one from my generation who got out of my terrible religious upbringing.

That’s because many of them are old enough to remember a time when you were supposed to be quiet about your racism because you knew the rest of society would shame you for it.

Unfortunately, America has never reached the point where a majority of people felt shame about their transphobia, so in their minds it’s okay to be more open about that.

Or when Howard Dean “ruined” his political career by whooping at a rally because it “wasn’t presidential.”

Our expectations are so low right now that putting together two cogent sentences could literally mean that you win the election.

I’m pretty sure that white supremacist ideals for maintaining a white majority in the US has more than a little bit to do with this. It’s gross.

A lot of my favorites have already been mentioned, but I don’t see “Caper” yet.

“Thanks for stopping by; thanks for breaking my cow lamp,” is still common parlance in our household.

And “The Cheat Is Not Dead” is a classic Strongbad hit.

I wonder what would happen if the world found out that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (or any other celebrity/athlete/role model) was using Chat GPT to respond to fan mail. My gut feeling is that people would find it disingenuous at best – and there would probably be significant outrage.

Where’s the AI that does my dishes and cleans my house so I have more time to write, create, and connect with others? That’s the technology I want – not one that does the meaningful part and leaves the menial stuff up to me.