Top O' the Briefing
Happy Friday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Kosztennsyl spent every other weekend teaching jazz tambourinists how to clog dance with abandon.
It's been a couple of weeks since we've taken a good Morning Briefing swing at the latest faux centrist in the Democratic Party — Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. It's time once again to take a look at this wingnut.
I've written on several occasions that Talarico is perhaps his own worst enemy. On his best days, he's an extremely ill fit for Texas. Telling people that they need to stop eating hamburgers in order to save the planet is quite the boneheaded move in a state full of cattlemen. Things like that abound in the Talarico pitch to the Texas voters.
Then again, he's not just speaking to Texas voters. As I wrote last week, Talarico is really dancing for a national crowd. Every "Turn Texas Blue" great white hope Democrat gets intoxicated by all of the attention from the coastal elite Dems who throw money at them. The Democrats' flying monkeys in the mainstream media also take extraordinary interest in the latest poster child in the "Turn Texas Blue" fever dream.
In addition to selling him as a moderate even though he's not, the MSM hacks are crafting an involved fiction about Talarico being a good Christian. A new kind of Christian, one who magically turns the New Testament into leftist marching orders.
Yesterday, Chris wrote a lengthy dissection of where and how Talarico errs in his interpretation of scripture. Chris also examines some of the breathless media coverage that Talarico's Christian vision is getting. Here is some of Chris's response to a Talarico cheerleading article in The Atlantic:
“What has made his candidacy so controversial is what he says about God,” Bruenig writes. “An avowed progressive, Talarico argues that the country’s powerful Christian conservatives have distorted the lessons of their faith. The words of Jesus, he insists, endorse policies the left embraces. In deep-red evangelical Texas, does his brand of Christian politics have a chance?”
Of course, the truth is that Talarico is the one distorting Christianity. He has twisted scripture, practiced eisegesis (which is reading one’s own meaning into a biblical text — and in Talarico’s case, bringing his own agenda into scripture) to claim that the Bible says what it doesn’t, and even preached from heretical, false Gnostic texts to paper a far-left agenda over Christianity.
Please don’t misunderstand me: I’m not trying to claim that Christianity is the exclusive claim of conservatives and Republicans. Liberals can be faithful Christians and still have misguided political beliefs. But Talarico’s theology is so far outside the mainstream because he leads from his politics and builds his faith convictions around them. It should be the other way around.
I am going to disagree with my friend and “Faith All Over the Place” podcast co-host here — I don't think present-day liberals can be faithful Christians. Led by all of the power players in the Democratic Party, American leftists have spent decades championing radical secularism and doing everything they can to marginalize people of faith.
Yes, I am aware that this is all very judgmental and I do promise to seek forgiveness for this, but I am also confident that there is no way to interpret anything in the New Testament that leads to the almost joyful support of abortion that we see from the Democrats now.
The relentless assault by the left on Christians and Christian values in their attempts to completely secularize the United States haven't worked, so they're now trying to repackage Jesus Christ as a radical leftist icon. In the Talarico-esque telling of the story, Christ is closer to Fidel Castro than the Apostle Paul.
Stealth, heretical rebranding is more dangerous to religious freedom in this country than the open hostility that Dems have been leading with for years. It's yet another attempt to make truth subjective and open to constant reinterpretation for the sake of political convenience.
It's still a free country, but James Talarico isn't free to rewrite the Gospels or the Consitution of the United States of America, no matter how badly he wants to.
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The Mailbag of Magnificence
David P. gets us started today:
Kruiser, Now I know I'm getting old when I don't recognize most of the bands or songs in the music section. Why can't you put in some Cream when Eric Clapton played his best guitar, or Chicago or Led zeppelin? Yeah I know, they were before music videos. Getting old sucks.
I have shared some Chicago stuff. Honestly, I've never been much of a Cream fan, so that's probably not going to happen. And I don't know why I haven't posted any Zeppelin yet, I'll fix that soon. It should be noted that I'm not exactly a spring chicken. I've just always had very eclectic tastes in music and don't think age locks us in to a certain genre or time period. Having said that, I still maintain the superiority of the 1980s.
Dave A. writes:
Kruiser, Your ode to AZ summer hit just as I returned from a trip from Yuma. Day I landed, I wanted to relax poolside with a cigar, but the 114 degrees forced me to find a cigar bar, which wasn't a bad thing. My job entails dropping things from airplanes so I spent quite a bit of time out on a desert drop zone and now I know how Jimmy Stewart and crew felt in "The Flight of the Phoenix" I know, I know, it's a dry heat they say but darn, it'll get you for sure - and I'm from FL and know a little bit about hot days. Keep up the great work!!
Yeah, Yuma gets a little toasty. My neighbor from Michigan was wondering why I hadn't headed there yet. I'm waiting for it to get hot. We haven't even hit 105 yet this year. Parka weather! I'll start looking for flights when we string together some 108s and above.
Dianne is in with a song suggestion:
Welp, it's about time to pull out "Lunatic Fringe" by Red Rider.
Great song, and one I hadn't thought about in years. I'll add that to the song request list I'm starting now.
Timothy L. has coined a new word:
As HS Five O'clock Somewhere stalwart said it's good for us that your wrist is back in working order. Just don't "Platnerize" it back out of service please!
LOL, well played. And thank you. It's at about 99% after four weeks. It's my right wrist, which made computer work annoying. Fortunately, I'm a bit ambidextrous and shoot a gun better with my left, so I've been fine on the home defense front this whole time.
Friend of the Briefing Sharon P. weighs in with this:
Gotta hand it to you, Kruiser! Put on your press pass to spread the news that CBS is pulling Pelley! (Not that I care one way or another as mainstream TV has been dead on my TV for over 2 decades!) And back to the MB business at hand with the feel-good Victoria's Secret comeback! (Don't give 2 hoots, as I only have 1 left, but am curious as to the need for a garter belt now-a-day!) Then cruising on down to Kabana Tunes to scan the titillating Joan Jett proves you got that magic to reach out and touch us! A gift - keep on giving!
I hadn't thought about it, but I was all over the place when I was putting together the Briefing that night, wasn't I? It is my promise to all of my readers that you will be kept abreast of any Victoria's Secret news in the future.
Gail W. — another Friend of the Briefing — wraps things up for us this week:
Hello again, Stephen! I never would have known about this work of art, or the artist, if not for your selection at the end of April: Joseph Wright of Derby, “Lake with Castle on a Hill.” The painting didn’t speak to me…it whispered. I immediately put down my coffee, found the print online and ordered. Custom-matted and framed, now I glance up from my comfy chair every morning and thank you again. — Random thoughts: Columnists refer to “Congress critters.” May I suggest “Congress creatures” instead? Less cutesy, more Black Lagoon. — How great is it for Karen Bass to actually be named Karen? (FYI: Whoopi’s real name is Caryn.) — My pet peeve: Stoopid people saying “whenever” instead of “when.”
I'm thrilled that you found a new artist to like! You've probably noticed that, like my taste in music, my taste in art is pretty eclectic. I've spent a lot of time in art galleries. I agree that "Congress critters" is too nice, which is why I don't use it. I like Congress cretins.
I don't like the whole "Karen" thing, because my sister is named Karen, and she's not a jerk. And I do prefer to use when whenever I can.
Great finish to the week. Thank you, everyone!
Everything Isn't Awful
Feline spa day.
Cat is living his dream.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/vHPb32Pf5M
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) June 4, 2026
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The Kruiser Kabana
Kabana Gallery
In Pine Forest II (1901), Klimt masterfully blends diverse influences. The rhythmic verticality of trunks echoes Vienna Secession's grid style, while mosaic-like brushwork reflects the atmospheric influence of Monet's later works. #artbots #klimt pic.twitter.com/F8WARPpbR8
— Gustav Klimt (@artistgklimt) June 4, 2026
Kabana Comedy/Tunes
Weekend Bonus
Celebrating the Border Blaster Mexican radio stations. We listened to X-Rock 80 out of Juárez at night when I was a kid.
POTUS Press Today
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