Brad and Dan begin by discussing Biden's sweeping new vaccine mandates and measures. They explore the right-wing response to the measures in comparison with right-wing responses to the Patriot Act and other policies in the wake of 9/11.
They then dissect Ben Shapiro's statements about vaccines and COVID using the standard of a freshman logic course.
The second major topic is the planned "Justice for J6" rally planned at the Capitol on September 18. This is, in their view, a ritual enactment of the myth of the Big Lie--a return to the site of violence to commemorate battle heroes and martyrs.
They finish by discussing the alliance among the Proud Boys, the Anti-Vaxx crowd, and Christian nationalists like Tony Perkins and Charlie Kirk formed in opposition to public schools. Why are Christian nationalists always on the same side as the White Supremacists?
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Welcome to Straight White American Jesus.
My name is Brad Onishi.
I am faculty at the University of San Francisco this semester, and I'm here with my co-host.
I'm Dan Miller, Associate Professor of Religion and Social Thought at Landmark College.
It's good to see you, Brad.
We're fresh off.
We want to throw this out there, our first ever seminar that we had this week, and I know if any of those folks are listening, I want to thank them for the time and the great discussion, and just plug that we're planning on doing this again.
In the winter, probably January, so people can be aware of that, but it was a great time and it was just a lot of fun and I'm glad to be here with you and continue doing what we do.
Well, it's exciting.
I mean, it's a chance for a deeper discussion for folks to really do some kind of formal analysis without having to feel like they're signing up for like an 18-week class or anything like that.
And so I think it's pretty neat.
I'm glad folks had a great time with you and had a great conversation with each other.
I'm hoping folks are building community and get to know each other.
And I just think it's awesome.
So grateful to you for doing that.
This is one of those weeks, Dan, that is just full.
I think there's just no way to get around it, and I want to start today with vaccine mandates from Biden yesterday, talk a little bit about 9-11 and how that ties in, talk some more about the Proud Boys and the anti-vax violence we're seeing across the country and how it links up with Christian nationalism, and then finish up with a couple of other things.
So, Let's talk about Biden and the vaccine mandates.
Here we go.
So yesterday, the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, also known as OSHA, is developing a rule requiring all employers with at least 100 employees to make sure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require unvaccinated workers to get a negative test at least once a week.
Osha will ensure an emergency temporary standard to introduce the vaccine requirement.
Companies that fail to comply could face fines of $14,000 per violation.
Now that was just one of the mandates and changes that was announced yesterday.
Biden also announced vaccination requirements for health care providers that accept Medicare and Medicaid.
for all federal employees and contractors, and for the staffs of Head Start Programs, Department of Defense Schools, and Bureau of Indian Education-operated schools.
So basically, Dan, if you are sort of working on the payroll of the federal government in any way, you need to get vaccinated.
That's kind of the message from Biden yesterday.
Some of you might be wondering, what is OSHA?
Just so you know, a little explainer here.
It's kind of an obscure government entity.
The OSH Act covers most private sector employers and their workers, in addition to some public sector employers and workers in the 50 states.
It's under the Department of Labor and the Secretary of Labor.
And so it's officially the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
A lot of folks working in the Biden administration, Dan, I'm sure, to figure out how they could advance a kind of legal and government-mandated vaccine requirement by way of the federal government, and it seems that OSHA was the way to do it.
Now, as you might imagine, there have been some pretty strong responses from people on the right, including representatives in Congress.
So, we have—sorry, pulling up my notes here—Dr.
Neil Dunn, who's in Florida, just tweeted, mandates are not the answer, talking about how the federal government shouldn't be doing this.
We have Thomas Massey, who's saying this is absolutely unconstitutional, and that what Biden is mandating will not hold up, and it is un-American, and so on and so forth.
We have Lauren Boebert, somebody we talked about numerous times on this show.
All nine million federal employees should consult with their doctor and make a personal, informed decision about taking the vaccine.
Instead, Sleepy Joe says, take it or else.
You don't lead by coercion.
Biden has failed as a leader in every way.
You don't lead by coercion is just rich, Lauren Bovert.
I'm just going to say that.
All right.
How about Ted Cruz?
The federal government has no authority to force businesses in Texas and across the country to mandate their employees to get vaccinated.
American businesses are still recovering from this past year and a half.
It is cruel and burdensome to impose this authoritarian mandate, which includes, Brad is adding here, a free...
publicly available vaccine that anyone can get, and it takes about 15 minutes.
But yes, cruel and burdensome, sure.
Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey vowed that he would push back against Biden.
He says, this is exactly the kind of big government overreach we have tried hard to prevent in Arizona.
Now the Biden-Harris administration is hammering down on private businesses and individual freedoms in an unprecedented and dangerous way.
This will never stand up in court.
All right, Dan, I have a bunch of thoughts and a bunch of things I want to say, but I'll throw it to you.
What do you think?
So first, you know, again, the Republicans are going to do what they do, and they're going to use words like freedom and choice and basically appeal to free business, right?
The government shouldn't be telling private corporations and businesses what to do.
But people should have no doubt this is not about conservative principles versus liberal principles.
This is just culture war stuff This is just we're MAGA world and we're opposed to vaccines and this has become part of the culture war for us We're gonna do that.
How do I know that and why do I say that?
I mean first is of course these same GOP operatives and governors and others who are now saying you shouldn't tell private businesses what to do are the same ones that are undertaking executive actions in their own states telling private businesses what they can and can't do, right?
And we're looking at you, Ron DeSantis in particular.
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