Alison Weis

I spoke with Haley Stevens yesterday. Feeling a bit absurd in pointing out the obvious and being far kinder than I should have been, I reminded her that the outcome of this senate race will be viewed in the light of a future Supreme Court vacancy, and I expressed a hope that all of us understand the stakes. She assured me she's supporting Dr. El-Sayed, sent me a video of a recent speech she gave blasting Mike Rogers and said this: "Still stands. I promise." She also said she's been sending this video to other folks to make it clear where she stands on this race. Again: that was yesterday. I have known Haley Stevens for years. I have counted her as a friend and an ally. We've had many thoughtful conversations about this country, and she has never failed to remind me that her mother is a fan of my writing. Whatever other political differences we have, she has always made it clear to me she would stand with LGBTQ people. It was a red line she refused to cross. Instead, she has made the inexplicable decision to endorse a man who views LGBTQ Americans as second-class citizens unworthy of full equality. I can't help but wonder what her mother must be thinking right now. I have no idea what has happened to the person I thought I knew, but clearly, she has completely taken leave of her senses in endorsing a Republican who is little more than a Trump sycophant -- less than 24 hours after promising me that she has not wavered from the bigger picture. I am disgusted with her cynicism and cowardice in this moment. God forgive me for trusting her. If you're a Michigan voter and as disgusted as I am, get to your polling place and vote for Dr. El-Sayed.

God keeps taking the wrong 80-year-olds from us.

The debate over James Talarico calling God "nonbinary" is silly because it shouldn't be a debate. It is scripturally true. God is everything. God is everyone. God is every gender. Case closed. But we get into this ridiculous convo because conservatives find it Very Important to describe God as masculine. More importantly, they demand God be described as a man. Several years ago, I did a segment on MSNBC and referred to God with "she/her" pronouns. I wasn't being political with that. I really wasn't. That's just how I refer to God, and it is scripturally sound even if conservatives swear it isn't. So, this rightwing reporter reaches out to me on LinkedIn because he watched the segment, and he was quite upset with me for using she/her pronouns in reference to God. I asked him: "What is your scientific argument that God is male? Do we know anything about his anatomy?" He responds: "No, of course not. It's because God is referred to as 'he' and 'him' all throughout Scripture." And I said: "So, let me get this straight: you have no scientific evidence that God is male, no descriptions of God's anatomy that would support that claim, but because God identifies as male and uses he/him pronouns, you respect and honor that. What does that sound like to you?" And he started typing and then he stopped typing and then he blocked me. These folks are loons and we should call them loons and we should challenge them on Scripture and we shouldn't back down from that conversation. So, yeah, I think James Talarico is spot-on and I give thanks to God, in all Her wisdom, that She inspires him to speak the truth.