KunstlerCast #175: Despotic Christian Theocrats on the Rise

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10/06/11 • 51 min

KunstlerCast - Conversations: Converging Catastrophes of the 21st Century

There's a crazy Christian cult on the rise in the US and JHK believes Americans needs to watch out. The New Apostolic Reformation is a dangerous movement exerting its influence on the American political sphere during a time when this country is so fraught with problems that we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to being pushed around by crazy people like this, Kunstler says. The group -- which has connections to presidential candidates Rick Perry and Michele Bachman -- not only believes in literal devils but that certain American politicians are afflicted by these demons. More concerning is their belief in dominionism over all aspects of American culture, politics and business. The "apostles" claim to speak directly to God and feel they have a mission to convert all Jews to Christianity. Kunstler sees this group, and others like it, becoming more troublesome as The Long Emergency unfolds. He can imagine that the country may find itself in a new Civil War in the years ahead. During the conversation JHK also describes his experiences reporting on religious cults, his own thoughts on religion as an agnostic, and explains how the story of the New Apostolic Reformation may resemble some of the aspects in his fictional World Made By Hand novels.

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KunstlerCast #174: Big Sky Country

After a recent visit to Montana, JHK asks: What is living in a town in Montana all about? He observes that it’s mostly about the scenery outside of town, not the town itself. The streets are too wide, the buildings too low and the public face of the urban fabric is too thoughtless and badly proportioned. Yet many so-called progressives in these places are arguing for more “open space” in their towns. Sustainability is the new buzzword there and elsewhere in America. But what many overlook is that the future of tourism looks pretty grim as more and more people have less money to spend on activities like skiing. There are many sophisticated people running high-tech businesses in places like Butte and Helena, but it remains unclear what the fate of telecommuting and Internet commerce will be, especially now that our national post office is in dire straits.

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KunstlerCast #176: Listener Mailbag

JHK and Duncan get caught up on listener calls. Question topics include: Phoenix vs. Georgia; repealing the gas tax, The Long Descent, Landscape Urbanism and why aren't there any African-American characters in Jim's World Made By Hand novels? One listener also shares a bizarre and raunchy conspiracy theory.