Is the Problem That Brought Us Trump Racism or Sexism? Or Both? Commentary in Today's Newsfeed

A reader of Talking Points Memo gives Josh Marshall some feedback about the interconnection of racism and sexism in the rise of Donald Trump to power: 

Betsy DeVos' Attack on Obama-Administration Regulations re: Sexual Harassment on Campuses: It's What Heterosexual Males Want

Trump, DeVos, and the Creation of an American Oligarchy https://t.co/tOhKEXYIYv pic.twitter.com/UJ3jOB1Oxs

— April Spivey (@a35362) September 1, 2017

Trump's education secretary Betsy DeVos has ripped up Obama-administration regulations that sought to put teeth into the attempt of women in university settings to report sexual harassment and rape. She's actually defending rapists: that's the gist of her comments about her decision to ditch Obama-administration policies in this area. (See here, here, here, here, and here).

People Who Have Been Told That Their Gifts and Talents Don't Count: Unearthing Buried Stories of LGBT Family Members

I shared some of this story here a number of years back. Because I told the story again on Facebook today and a Facebook friend encouraged me to share it with wider circles, I'm going to tell it here again, with apologies if you read my previous posting in the same vein several years ago:

Opening to "Dialogue" in U.S. Catholicism and the Fracas Involving Father James Martin and Austin Ruse: My Take

I see mention online of some kind of fracas involving Father James Martin and Austin Ruse — or perhaps "fracas" is not the right word. What seems to have happened is that Ruse attacked Martin in an exceptionally ugly way on social media. That's not surprising: Austin Ruse is an exceptionally ugly man representing an exceptionally ugly iteration of Catholicism that has considerable sway within the U.S. Catholic church.

4 Sept. 1957: Elizabeth Eckford Walks Gauntlet to Integrate Central High; 4 Sept. 2017: Robert E. Lee's Great-Grandson Forced to Resign Pastorate After Denouncing White Supremacy

At Little Rock Central High School, National Guard is summoned to block entry of African-American students--60 years ago today: #Counts pic.twitter.com/0W6rXk7NZI

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) September 4, 2017

My statement to Spectrum News Charlotte on my resignation from Bethany United Church of Christ. I ask for your continued prayers. pic.twitter.com/BdRkw2p7Hd

— Rev. Rob Lee (@roblee4) September 4, 2017

Robert Wright Lee, "Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV Statement on Leaving His Church after Speaking Out Against White Supremacy at MTV Video Music Awards": 

In the News: Hurricanes, America's Moral Crisis with Trump, and What Are Churches Good for Again?

Some pieces I've read in the last few days that, to my way of thinking, tell a story. I hope you'll agree: what story do you hear as you read this commentary?

Neal Gabler, "America's Moral Crisis": 

What Do You Hold Onto After Floods Have Swept Everything Away? Questions LGBTQ Christians Are Also Forced to Ask

What do you hold onto after floods caused by a hurricane have swept through your house and destroyed almost everything? I haven't had that happen, and can hardly imagine.

It did happen to close friends of ours with Katrina, and to a cousin of Steve's and her family who live in New Orleans. These folks rebuilt and went on with their lives.