Weekend Reads 1/23/16

The monumental fall of the Republican Party

Politicians whose rhetoric brought the right’s loyalists to a boiling point now complain that they don’t much like the result. But it’s a little late for that. Why shouldn’t the party’s ultra-conservatives and its economically distressed working-class supporters feel betrayed? At least with Trump, Cruz and Palin, they have reason to think they know what they’re getting.

Six-Legged Giant Finds Secret Hideaway, Hides For 80 Years

Looking at them, he said, "It felt like stepping back into the Jurassic age, when insects ruled the world."

Two Corinthians, one cup (Donald Trump at Liberty University)

He didn’t care about the context of the surrounding passage, or about the larger theological argument, or about the social, cultural, religious or political context for this verse. He looked up a word, found a verse with that word, and cited that verse as the final word on the subject.

Or, in other words, Trump demonstrated that he perfectly understands the hermeneutic of white evangelicalism.

The Best Answer to Bad Guys With Qur'ans Is Good Guys With Qur'ans

What do you do with Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known as the "Frontier Gandhi," and his legacy of nonviolence and peace-activism in 20th century India? As a Pashtun Muslim -- the same tribe as Afghanistan's Taliban -- Ghaffar Khan was inspired by the Qur'an and the example of Muhammad to lead hundreds of thousands in nonviolent resistance to harsh British rule.