- Jonathan Green on The good ending: “Curtis, what do you think happens when you stop giving food to malnourished children? What do you think happens to people infected with HIV who lose access to medication? You seem skeptical of some pretty mainstream news outlets doing basic factual reporting. What news sources do you trust?” Jul 2, 21:15
- on The good ending: “Well, I don’t think voting for Trump was a mistake. We seem to be living in alternate realities. No, I don’t trust NPR, or the AP, or the Washington Post. All these organizations have demonstrated more than once that supporting their political narrative is a higher priority for them than telling the truth. Three examples: “Trump colluded with Russia!” “The Hunter Biden laptop story is Russian disinformation!” “Joe Biden isn’t experiencing cognitive decline!” All these stories were later proven or admitted to be false. Why should I believe their horror stories about deaths caused by ending USAID, particularly when they are mostly sourced from people who were getting money from USAID? I’m not exactly a Trump fan. He has a lot of negatives that I’d rather do without. Besides being “Never Trump” in 2016, before the 2024 primary started I really hoped he would throw his support to someone like DeSantis and sit it out. But that isn’t what happened, so here we are.” Jul 2, 19:25
- on The good ending: “Thor, if you don’t trust NPR, try AP: Children die as USAID aid cuts snap a lifeline for the world’s most malnourished Or the Washington Post: In Sudan, where children clung to life, doctors say USAID cuts have been fatal Or pick your own source. Just do whatever it takes to find out about the children dying of AIDS and starvation because of what the Trump administration has done to USAID funding. As for Curtis’s motivation, I’m just going off my own experience here. I don’t like unfair criticism either! Where I especially don’t like them is with things that I actually like a lot, so strong negative reactions to unfair criticism are a good way to uncover actual preferences. The worst – of what was predicted by deranged Trump critics before the election – is indeed here. It’s even been surpassed. Did anyone predict the president would hawk his own brand of perfume? The worst that conditions will be in the US is probably still to come.” Jul 2, 17:28
- on Cutting-Edge Latter-day Saint Research, June 2025: “Thanks! I added an abstract to that one, and Chad Nielsen sent me a PDF of his article, so I added an abstract to that one as well.” Jul 2, 15:30
- on The good ending: ““The worst is here.” I think it is going to get worse. We’re not even six month’s into Trump’s term, with more than three-and-a-half years ahead of us. Yeah, and with regret, I think it is going to get worse. May God save our republic.” Jul 2, 15:08
- on The good ending: “I admit I chuckled at the absolute arrogance of presuming to know why Curtis Pew changed his mind and voted for Trump, while also quoting NPR that “thousands have already died because of the sudden USAID cuts.” This is the same NPR whose CEO said that “our reverence for the truth might be a distraction….” “The worst is here.” Truly? The worst? My friend, put the laptop down, touch grass and admit that hyperbole has consumed your analysis.” Jul 2, 14:45
- on Cutting-Edge Latter-day Saint Research, June 2025: “Here is the link to the UC Davis Business Journal article https://blj.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk15221/files/2025-01/Quaid%20Freeman_0.pdf” Jul 2, 14:39
- on The good ending: “Curtis, I don’t think you’ve thwarted the will of God, as the will of God will be realized whatever we do. I think you voted for what you thought would be best for yourself, the country, and the Church, based on what you saw during the first Trump administration and the campaign. At this point it should be clear that you made a terrible mistake – that’s okay, it happens to all of us – but it does give you a particular responsibility to help clean up the mess. Thousands of people have already died because of the sudden USAID cuts, for example, with millions more to follow. Did you call up your congressional representatives to tell them that you’re a Republican and a Trump supporter, but you want to keep feeding the hungry? They might listen to you, a reliable Republican voter, when they won’t listen to me. Trump is accurately described as a threat to democracy because he already tried to subvert an election outcome through violence. He pardoned people who were convicted of violently trying to storm the Capitol to halt certification of the election. He continues to insist that people under his authority repeat the lie that victory in 2020 was stolen from him. The threat to democracy could not be plainer. Russia attacked Ukraine every day Trump was in office. While the front lines were largely static during his first term, attacks continued throughout. Trump is a threat to Ukraine now because he has authorized no new weapons shipments, but instead canceled delivery of weapons previously authorized, including much-needed ammunition for air defenses. He won’t even permit Ukraine to purchase it from us. He has not imposed any new sanctions on Russia, but has instead lifted some sanctions. It’s not that Trump is indifferent to Ukraine – it’s that he’s on the other side. The simplest explanation for changing your mind about Trump because of unfair comments is that you actually liked him all along. What made the comments seem unfair and the predictions so overblown in his first term was that he was surrounded by responsible Republicans who kept the worst from happening. Those officials are now gone, and the overblown predictions now look prescient. The worst is here. It’s staring you in the face, if you’ll see it.” Jul 2, 11:06
- on The good ending: “Geoff: It is often overlooked, but post-election polling takes a long time to provide any kind of reliable results and the numbers tossed around right after an election are not useful. It’s only very recently that useful polling for broad demographics like age groups has become available. Whatever statistics you may have seen so far about LDS voting patterns in 2024 should be treated with skepticism. Carey, I’m glad there are conservatives who recognize the stakes and are willing to speak out. I wish the represented a larger voting bloc.” Jul 2, 10:27
- on Cutting-Edge Latter-day Saint Research, June 2025: “Looks like a good crop this month. Both Davis articles look very good. Thanks for putting this together as always.” Jul 2, 06:13
