The SnideShow: Recent Episodes
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Many readers will know that the late, great public intellectual Christopher Hitchens was celebrated as one of the Four Horsemen, a quartet of brilliant atheist writers, debaters, and orators that included Hitchens, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Daniel Dennett. When Hitchens died in 2011, many wondered who might step in to continue the fight against religion and superstition, and for secularism and enlightenment values.
One name that popped up frequently was that of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Born in Somalia and indoctrinated into fundamentalist Islam as a refugee in Kenya, Hirsi Ali eventually fled an arranged marriage and settled in the Netherlands, where she became a politician and an activist against radical Islam. After the 2004 assassination of her friend Theo Van Gogh (with whom she created the short film Submission, which protested Muslim subjugation of women), Hirsi Ali eventually immigrated to the United States, where she has continued her activism. Her books—which have become must-reads among fans of the New Atheism—include Infidel, Nomad, and Heretic.
Over the years, Hirsi Ali’s activism has shown an increasingly conservative bent. Her unrelenting criticism if Islam even landed her (ludicrously, in my opinion) on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of “anti-Muslim extremists.” She’s been associated with the American Enterprise Institute and Prager University, and her self-titled podcast has featured flattering interviews with the likes of Newt Gingrich and Christopher Rufo (the activist who single-handedly created the specious moral panic surrounding Critical Race Theory).
And now, in an essay with UnHerd, Hirsi Ali claims she is a Christian.
Well, sort of. She doesn’t claim that she’s a true believer in the Nicene Creed. She doesn’t clarify whether she’s a unitarian or a trinitarian, Protestant or Catholic, fundamentalist or not. She doesn’t touch on whether she believes in the historical accuracy of the Bible, the literal godhood of Jesus, hope for an afterlife, etc. (And I should add, before I go any further, that Hirsi Ali doesn’t owe us an explanation at all. She’s free to say and believe anything she wants, but since she’s made her thoughts public…)
So, what does she say? More or less, that atheism is unequipped to oppose the global cultural threats of authoritarianism (i.e., Communist China and Vladimir Putin), raging Islam, and “wokeism.” In any event, her explanation of atheism’s inadequacy is itself inadequate:
But we can’t fight off these formidable forces unless we can answer the question: what is it that unites us? The response that “God is dead!” seems insufficient. So, too, does the attempt to find solace in “the rules-based liberal international order”. The only credible answer, I believe, lies in our desire to uphold the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Now, there’s no denying that a Venn diagram of “the geography of traditional Christendom” and “places that enjoy modern liberalism” (in which democracy, rule of law, free speech, and freedom of religion prevail) would show considerable overlap. What we think of as the West emerged from a cultural substrate dominated by various strains of Christianity. How this is and why this should be has been the subject of debate for decades. One interpretation (Hirsi Ali’s, apparently) is that the central beliefs of Christianity somehow underly the principles of the free, modern West and provide a common religious/cultural system that would more closely bind Western cultures together. Another interpretation is that Western political and cultural forces came to the conclusion that interdenominational strife needed to be set aside for the sake of peace and prosperity, leading to centuries of defanged Christianity to which movers and shakers could give lip service while sponsoring and pursuing more practical matters, like how to govern justly, how to understand the mysteries of nature, and how to make money.
In any case, it’s hard to see how a revived Christianity can offer solutions to any of the threats Hirsi Ali is anxious about. Given the current attempts by various authoritarians (and authoritarian wannabes) to topple the wall separating church and state, and the fact that 21st century mainstream Christianity (in America, anyway) is determined to ignore everything Jesus Christ ever taught. I cannot think of anything that would be more problematic, say, in solving the problems in the Middle East, than presenting the Western powers as explicitly Christian entities, rather than neutral, secular factions interested in suppressing war and terrorism.
And finally, while the bond of shared religious belief may provide an evolutionary or cultural advantage in the survival of a group, it doesn’t make that belief true, or even beneficial to the individual. A resurgent Christianity very well might be capable of beating back Communism, Islam, and “wokeism,” but it probably wouldn’t be good news to non-Christians, homosexuals, women, and other minorities.
So, as Hirsi Ali continues to “discover a little more at church each Sunday,” I’ll be interested to learn what she discovers that countless previous generations failed to discover, or failed to accept, in the long struggle that has blessed us and cursed us with modernity. She might feel a little better about herself and her views of the world, but I doubt she’ll find a silver bullet.
Several weeks ago, I recorded an interview for a podcast called The Divide. It’s co-hosted by Drew (a Christian turned skeptic) and Bill (a skeptic turned Christian). Here, we talk about my journey from faith to atheism, my experience as a secular officiant of weddings and funerals, and more!
Armageddon Time (2022) – I can’t validate the numerous comparisons that have been made with Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans (not yet having seen the latter), but I can recommend this story of a family of New York Jews at the dawn of the Reagan era, which features themes of racism and classism, and a strange cameo by a famous/infamous real-life figure whose son would go on to become the worst person ever to be president.
Empire of Light (2022) – Touching May-December romance set in early 80s England. Olivia Colman stars as a middle-aged cinema manager with fragile mental health who has a brief affair with a young Afro-Caribbean co-worker (Micheal Ward). It’s both a romantic look at the waning days of movie-theater culture and a dark reminder of Britain’s troubled racial and class divisions. I’m surprised this film hasn’t been nominated for more awards than it has, although it did get a nod for cinematography in the upcoming Oscars.
The Godless Girl (1929) – Legendary director Cecil B. DeMille’s final silent feature is an overlong, unsubtle slog that begins with a flirtation between an atheist girl (who wants to start an atheist club at her high school) and the pious class president. When a girl is accidentally killed in a riot between believers and unbelievers, both the atheist and the Christian are sent to reform school. The vast bulk of the movie is devoted to the sadistic goings-on at reform schools, and the whole debate between godlessness and faith is almost completely cast aside. This movie is recommended nowadays only for those interested in the history of depictions of atheism in cinema. Otherwise it’s drag and a bore.
Benediction (2021) – Biopic about the life of WWI hero and war poet Siegfried Sassoon. Certainly, Sassoon deserves to be remembered (and, perhaps, pitied as a closeted gay man forced into traditional marriage and a life of dull conformity), but this film, while well-acted, is uneven, spending too little time on Sassoon’s wartime experience and middle-age years, and too much time on his youthful romantic dalliances.
Children of the Damned (1964) – Stodgy but thought-provoking British sci-fi drama. It’s a thematic sequel to 1960’s Village of the Damned (which is itself based on a classic novel by John Wyndham). Two scientists try to solve the puzzle presented by a handful of children born at the same time around the world, who all share traits of advanced intelligence, telepathy, and telekinesis. Children may be the future, but every generation has some fear and trepidation about the up-and-comers. But what happens when the kids represent a quantum leap in the evolutionary process?
Cunk on Earth (2022) – Diane Morgan stars as clueless, self-obsessed Philomena Cunk in this mockumentary history series on Netflix. The groany puns and non sequiturs come fast and furious, punctuated with occasional laugh-out-loud moments. Recommended, although your mileage may vary.
Obvious Child (2014) – Jenny Slate stars as a struggling comedian who finds herself pregnant after a torrid one-night-stand. Raunchy, funny, and rawly emotional, with a straightforward treatment of the reality of abortion that you might not be able to get away with only nine years later.
The Man Who Would Be King (1975) – Legendary John Huston directs Sean Connery and Michael Caine in this film based on a story by Rudyard Kipling. Cringey treatment of third-world culture by today’s standards, but this possibly the last big-screen adventure before movies like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark changed the game forever. Recommended.
The Proposal (2009) – Disposable romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock as a high-powered publisher who coerces her assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to get engaged so she can avoid deportation. Funny in spots but never quite gels.
Loving Adults (2022) – Soapy Danish crime thriller follows the marital clash between an unfaithful architect and his possessive wife. Lots of twists and turns, but in the age of DNA analysis and ubiquitous cameras, this seems like something that should have happened 30 years ago. Skip.
You People (2023) – Cringey and unfunny, Jonah Hill and Lauren London star in this interracial romance, with Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, and David Duchovny in supporting roles. Skip.
Force Majeure (2014) – Thought-provoking international production about a Swedish family on a ski trip to the French Alps, and the aftermath of a middle-aged father’s reaction in a moment of crisis. Recommended.
Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape (2016) – An alternatively exuberant and depressing documentary about the history of the cassette tape (invented in 1963) and its democratizing effect on music culture. Includes interviews with celebs like Henry Rollins, enthusiastic collectors, and the near-monosyllabic Dutch inventor who acts like he’d rather talk about anything else.
Little Children (2006) – After seeing Tár, I wanted to re-re-visit Todd Field’s film about the superficial conformity of white suburbia and the soul-crushing angst it can cause in anyone with an inner life. Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson star. Highly recommended.
Tár (2022) – Actor Todd Field has only done two movies previous, with his second (Little Children) becoming a cult classic. Tár is bound for the same destiny. Cate Blanchett is the eponymous star, a world-famous conductor who eventually runs afoul of her ego, her appetites, and her desire for artistic achievement. The diacritic over the “a” in her name is the least pretentious thing about her. It’s a meditation on power, feminism, and cancel culture. Sure to stir controversy and animated post-viewing discussion. Recommended.
Prisoners (2016) – Denis Villeneuve has been knockin’ ’em out of the park lately with his sci-fi blockbusters (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Dune), but I’ve just now gotten around to this crime-thriller starring Hugh Jackman as an American everyman so desperate to find his missing daughter that he’ll stoop to kidnapping and torture. Jake Gyllenhaal co-stars as a rule-bending cop trying to solve the case, with Paul Dano as the hapless target of Jackman’s wrath. It’s a superior production, well-acted, well-directed, but the drumbeat of sadism and depravity was so ick-inducing I can’t say I’d recommend it.
Imperium (2016) – Daniel Radcliffe made his fortune off Harry Potter by the time he was a grown man, and he’s used that financial freedom to take on crazy roles (see Swiss Army Man, Guns Akimbo, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) and serious roles (see Escape from Pretoria and the under-rated Jungle). In Imperium, he plays an inexperienced FBI agent who goes undercover to foil a plot by white supremacists to explode a dirty bomb in DC.
The Wonder (2022) – Florence Pugh stars in this parable of reason-vs-faith set in 19th century Ireland. Recommended.
Pelosi in the House (2022) – Alexandra Pelosi delivers an excellent (albeit understandably biased) documentary look at her mother’s tenure as America’s first woman Speaker of the House, including the infamous events of January 6th and the second impeachment of Donald Trump. Recommended.
Windfall (2022) – A tedious, pointless, anti-thriller about a bungling burglar (Jason Segel) who improvises a hostage situation when a billionaire (Jesse Plemons) and his wife (Lilly Collins) unexpected arrive at their desert home. There’s no edge, no real menace, nothing to make us care who wins or dies. Skip this one.
Chernobyl (2019) – Rewatch of this top-notch miniseries dramatizing the events of 1986-7 that killed hundreds (perhaps thousands) but could have been much, much worse were it not for the heroic actions of bureaucrats, soldiers, and scientists who did the right thing at great risk despite the crushing corruption of the late Soviet system. (The show’s companion podcast is worth a listen, too.)
Private Life (2018) – Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn star as married middle-agers who don’t like themselves, or each other, but somehow think spending all their time and money to conceive a child is a good idea. I get that some people are like this–that they desperately believe that childbearing and childrearing will somehow validate them and lead to a life of happiness and security–but frankly it’s excruciating to watch.
Fear the Walking Dead Season 7 (2022) – My god, where do I start? This companion series to The Walking Dead started out in California, wandered into Mexico, and ended up with a madman nuking Texas at the end of Season 6. The logic of nuclear fallout and how it might interact with geography and weather patterns has been thrown out the window, and beloved characters now do any and every ridiculous thing in the service of moving the plot in a particular direction. A shortened Season 8 (out later this year) is supposed to end the series, and in this case it’s a mercy killing. Skip it unless you’re a TWD completist.
Argentina, 1985 (2022) – An excellent courtroom drama based on the true story of the civil prosecutors who tried top Argentinian military commanders who authorized torture and murder of civilians under that country’s last dictatorship. It’s already won awards, and it’s a sure be to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Picture. See it.
Fleishman Is in Trouble (2022) – This Hulu miniseries tells the story of the eponymous Manhattan doctor (Jesse Eisenberg) who struggles to keep his sanity and his family together after his ambitious ex-wife (Clare Danes) suddenly ghosts him and the children. Fleishman turns to college best-buds (Lizzy Caplan and Adam Brody) for comfort and meaning, but they’re dealing with their own midlife crises. It’s a heartfelt (and at times heartrending) story, but viewers will struggle to find any message other than “live life while you can.”
The Pale Blue Eye (2022) – Not a big fan of murder mysteries, but this one, set in 1830, features Christian Bale as a retired police detective who teams up with young cadet Edgar Allen Poe (Harry Melling, who’s come a long way since his days as Harry Potter’s cousin Dudley) to solve a series of murders at West Point. Beautifully shot, but marred by the usual implausible switcheroos endemic to such stories, and some less-than-stellar supporting turns from Gillian Anderson and Robert Duvall.
The Last of Us pilot episode (2023) – A lot of us have started to suffer from zombie ennui (zombui, if you will), so at first flush, HBO’s The Last of Us seems like an offering that’s arrived far too late to grab the sci-fi audience’s attention. Based, apparently, on a popular video game that I know literally nothing about, it stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey (both Game of Thrones alumni) in an alternative present where not a virus, but rather a fungus, has turned legions of human beings into mindless killers. Pascal plays Joel, a gruff everyman who finds himself the reluctant protector of Ellie (Ramsey), a valuable girl who is apparently immune to the ravages of the fungus. It’s well-acted, well-produced, and takes its time to set up the central quest, but it doesn’t really offer anything particularly fresh in the sub-sub-genre of zom-drams. I’ll be watching nonetheless.
The Walking Dead, Season 11 (2022) – An uneven end to one of the best sci-fi series ever. Without Andrew Lincoln, it couldn’t follow the comic book source material as closely as fans would have liked, but it still gives us plenty of opportunities to swell our chests or dab our eyes as the zombie apocalypse settles in for the long haul. Most of our survivors find themselves in the Commonwealth, a huge (by post-apocalyptic standards) settlement of 50,000 people that’s much like the world of “before,” with a little Brave New World mixed in. Brace yourself for the three new spin-offs coming in the months and years ahead.
She Said (2021) – Fact-based drama about the New York Times reporters who helped expose the decades-long sexual misconduct of producer Harvey Weinstein. Somebody’s gonna win an award. An excellent entry in the subgenre of “true life journalism stories,” joining more recent offerings like Spotlight and classics like All the President’s Men.
The Menu (2021) – Billionaires and influencers are having a moment at the movies lately, and not in a good way. In a story that could exist in the same universe as last year’s Glass Onion, Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy star in this stylish and darkly humorous thriller about a collection of rich elites and their hangers-on who attend an exclusive dinner on a tiny island. The mockingly artsy multi-course meal (which includes such things as bread accompaniments sans bread) is supervised by Chef, a sadistic perfectionist who pushes his guests to the limits of endurance, punishing them for consuming food like a spectacle and not for the joy and sustenance it can provide. You’ll never think of a cheeseburger the same again.
After Fate (2022) – This forgettable confection–the latest entry in the New Year’s Eve rom-com genre–stars Emma Roberts (daughter of Eric, niece of Julia) and Thomas Mann as total strangers bound together by an improbable accumulation of coincidences (including that a 21st-century 20-something man’s favorite movie is Breakfast at Tiffany’s).
The Guilty (2021) – Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this faithful (but unnecessary, in my opinion) remake of the acclaimed 2018 Danish thriller. The story follows an L.A. cop assigned overnight duty in a 911 call center when he receives a call from a kidnapped woman. The unfolding revelations will shock you to the core. Worth a watch, but I’d recommend the original instead.
The Guilty (Den skyldige) (2018) – Danish crime thriller. Holy shit, you have to see this film. Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren), a police officer asssigned to the emergency response center, takes a 911 call (actually, in Denmark, it’s “112”) from a distraught woman he believes has been kidnapped by her ex-husband. Although the entire story takes place at Asger’s workstation, its twists and turns will have you on the edge of your seat until the shocking, devastating conclusion. (This film inspired an American remake of the same name starring Jake Gyllenhaal.)
Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace (2000) – Biopic about the German clergyman and resistance fighter who was ultimately executed by the Nazi regime just weeks before the end of World War II. Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s writing continues to be influential even in the 21st century, and how a liberal theologian ended up involved in a plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler is a fascinating paradox. Not a bad film, but not the big-budget deep dive this man’s life deserves.
Jim Geraghty (senior political correspondent for National Review) has a guest column today in The Washington Post Opinion section titled “How did politics get so awful?? I blame MTV circa 1992,” in which he lays the blame for today’s political dysfunction in America at the feet of MTV’s “Rock the Vote” campaign, which used celebrities, humor, and sex appeal to encourage young people to vote. This has led, according to Geraghty, to ignorance, crassness, publicity chasing, and short-sightedness in today’s generation of pundits and elected officials. Here’s my response:
Oh, yes, encouraging young people to vote has brought us to the brink of destruction.
It has nothing to do with conservative televangelists telling us that their political and social opponents are in actual league with the actual devil. If not being actually the actual devil.
It has nothing to do with grasping politicians like Newt Gingrich who espoused zero-sum politics and taught one major party that the name of the game is not policy, but pure power for its own sake.
It has nothing to do with blathering conservative talk-show hosts who howled into the ears of truckers and commuters and reclining retirees about the socialists and Marxists and communists who are taking over the country.
It has nothing to do with ambitious governors and prosecutors who tell suburban moms that LGBTQ+ people are groomers and pedophiles and want to turn your toddler into a transgender cyborg.
It has nothing to do with the fundamentalist evangelicals who have given their full-throated support to a toxic narcissist who’s not only not a Christian, but also a tax cheat, a rapist, a swindler, a proto-fascist (at least), and a liar. (And who wears more orange make-up than the cattiest drag queen.)
It has nothing to do with redneck militia poseurs and conspiracy theorists who decided it was a good idea to take pepper spray and zip-ties and riot gear, and storm the Capitol in order to disrupt a legitimate count of a legitimate electoral result.
No, it has to be encouraging young people to vote.
The year 2022 was filled with major events, any one of which would mark it as significant. The Russian invasion of Ukraine. The death of Queen Elizabeth II. The Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The expected Republican tsunami that ended up more or less a draw. Former president Donald Trump’s ongoing legal troubles (including a damning report and criminal referrals from the House of Representatives’ January 6 Select Committee, the release (finally!) of his tax returns, an impending grand jury report in Georgia regarding his attempt to interfere in the 2020 electoral count, an ongoing investigation by the Justice Department over his post-presidential mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, and a fraud trial in New York set to begin late next year).
Either the war in Ukraine or Trump’s comeuppance could end up as much bigger deals in the months or years to come, but there’s another, wonkier story that may end up being the most significant development for the future of America: the “Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement” section buried in the massive $1.7 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act that President Joe Biden just signed into law.
There’s a reason your lawnmower comes with a warning stating “Do Not Use to Trim Hedges” and the desiccant that comes with your Amazon packaging says “Do Not Eat.” It’s because somewhere, sometime, somehow, someone decided to do just that, and has now made life more complicated for the rest of us. Since the beginning of history, sea lawyers and actual lawyers and weaselly politicians have tried to find loopholes in order to make mischief and/or enrich themselves at the expense of the people.
For good or ill, the U.S. Constitution established the Electoral College as the method by which our presidents and vice presidents are selected. (Let’s set aside the wisdom or folly of the EC for now; suffice to say that, for the foreseeable future, this is the system we are stuck with.) The Constitution, for all its greatness, is infamously skeletal on implementation of the Electoral College. Article II leaves the process largely to the states. The Electoral Count Act of 1887 was an attempt to clear up some of the ambiguities and put some rigor into the process.
This worked reasonably well until 2020, when Republican operatives—and Trump himself—attempted to jigger the process in order to deny Joe Biden his rightful victory. These attempts included, but were not limited to, trying to convince governors, state attorneys general, legislators, poll workers, judges, and even the Vice President, to throw out or modify election results on some thin pretense or other. And let the courts sort it out if they dared. In some cases, the conspirators even went so far as to appoint bogus “alternative” electors, who kabukied their way through a mock process that produced blatantly fraudulent certificates.
At the summit of this mountain of conspiracy was the hope that Vice President Mike Pence—Trump’s most obsequious bootlicker—would simply declare certain state certificates invalid, something he is not Constitutionally empowered to do, and throw the election to Trump (and, by extension, himself). Pence, whether out of some eleventh-hour spinal fortitude, or sensing that such a course might lead, ultimately, to prison and infamy, decided to stick to the script. This rare profile in courage nonetheless resulted in a Trump-incited MAGA riot that defiled the U.S. Capitol building and fueled the Big Lie that Trump actually won the election but was denied victory because of the cowardice of his own VP.
And in the two years since, Republicans have beavered away, with limited success, at putting into place state legislators, attorneys general, etc., who have sworn fealty at the Altar of Trump and promised they would never let a Democratic certification cross the threshold. What to do if some future Republican VP actually did try to throw out EC certificates, or a GOP legislature tried to certify a slate of electors contrary to the popular vote? It’s not clear that existing political, judicial, or social remedies would be enough to stop an attempt to capture a presidential election through specious or cleverly corrupt means.
To remedy this, the current Congress (whose term ends on January 3, 2023) embedded into the gigantic Consolidated Appropriations Act the “Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement” section, which (among other things) tightens the rules on the when and how of electoral counting, and clarifies that the Vice President has a mandatory and purely ceremonial role in opening the envelopes and declaring the count. This should have the effect of nipping in the bud, or tamping down on, shady shenanigans in the future.
Will this cure America of the MAGA cancer? No. Will it absolutely prevent dishonest or power-mad GOP partisans from trying to bend the rules just short of the breaking point in order to ensure Republican control of the federal government? No. But this late-term legislative victory for Biden and the Democrats has made it a whole lot harder for Trump and his ilk to manhandle our electoral system. And in the long run, this might end up being the most important development of 2022.
Remember when presidential candidate John McCain was confronted at a townhall by a half-addled little old lady who (mistakenly) lamented that McCain’s opponent, Barack Obama, was “a Muslim”? He immediately, firmly, but kindly, corrected her, emphasizing that Obama was a good man with whom he simply disagreed. Weeks later, McCain was visibly shaken by the raucous boos and jeers at the mere mention of Obama’s name, sullying what would otherwise have been a graceful concession speech.
Fast forward to 2022. A preacher at an event for Herschel Walker, currently running to unseat Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, prayed thusly: “We ask you [God] to rebuke the devil so Satan will not get the victory.”
So, a minister asserts that Raphael Warnock (who, in addition to being a senator, is pastor of the same historic church once led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) is in league with Satan (if not actually a devil or Satan himself).
To which Herschel Walker says nothing. He lets a man with whom he shares a stage literally call another man Satan and makes no sound of protest.
This is where the Republican Party is today. At one time they could at least pretend to run the best race they could, and if they lost, they would pledge good faith to the Democratic victor and hope for better luck next time. (Democrats would do the same.) Now there are no pretensions of good will. Democrats are literally baby-eating cannibals, or tools of Satan, or the wiliest cabal of cheaters who have pulled off the greatest, most sweeping election fraud in American history and left nary a crumb of evidence. And even the Republicans who don’t believe these things let them be said as long as it benefits them. (GOP fence sitters may also fear being actually shot dead on the sidewalk for being insufficiently rabid and unconvincingly pro-Trump.)
Conservative talker Dana Loesch said it didn’t matter if Walker paid for an abortion (which, in Republican eyes is tantamount to paying for a murder). What matters is “control of the Senate.” She also said, “Winning is a virtue.”
Really, this is what is boils down to. Republicans have come this close to taking over the country, and the smell of power has driven what little sense they had out of their heads.
[Originally posted on Facebook.]
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