Bad Faith

Every dictator or wannabe dictator relies on a base of support to stay in power. For Putin, Orban, and Trump, their base is Christian nationalism – claiming God wants white, straight "Christian" men to rule, even if this means violently stripping all others of their human rights. (Nevermind what Jesus actually taught in the Gospels about loving thy neighbor!) The Republican Party has been taken over by Christian nationalists backed by American and Russian oligarchs, in a death cult commonly known as MAGA. Trump is the strongman they've been searching for over decades of laying the groundwork for turning America into a dictatorship. Here to break it down for us is veteran filmmaker Stephen Ujlaki, who delved into the terrifying game plan of Christian nationalists for his new film, Bad Faith, out April 26 and available for pre-order. Gaslit Nation listeners who host viewing parties of Bad Faith with their friends and family can send us a photo or email to GaslitNation@gmail.com about the event for their chance to get Gaslit merch and other fun prizes, to help spread the word about this important and urgent film. This week's bonus episode, exclusively for our subscribers at the Truth-teller level and higher on Patreon, will cover Iran's attack on Israel, why Ukraine must receive the same protection as the U.S.-led coalition that defended Israel, especially as MAGA continues to block aid in the House, and reports of Paul Manafort's work for Trump in the 2024 election. We're also launching today a NEW chat group, inspired by our recent Make Art Workshop: The Business Side of Things, to complement our current general chat group, called Victory. The Art is Survival chat group is for artists in our community to share their works in progress, discover resources, and join with a community of like-minded creatives envisioning a world beyond the dictatorships the fascists want us to believe are inevitable. Thank you to all the artists out there and those who support art for believing that another world is possible! The recording of the Make Art workshop will be published Saturday May 4th, along with the transcript and a list of resources.  To get access to both chat groups – Victory (the general chat group) and Art is Survival – all bonus shows, all episodes ad-free, exclusive invites to events, and more, be sure to sign up at the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon.com/Gaslit. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!   Show Notes:   Bad Faith documentary: https://www.badfaithdocumentary.com/   Meet Stephen Ujlaki, the filmmaker behind Bad Faith: https://sftv.lmu.edu/faculty/?expert=stephen.ujlaki   Putin Ally Declares Mike Johnson 'Our Johnson' https://www.newsweek.com/putin-ally-declares-mike-johnson-our-johnson-1890071   Europe is already planning for what happens if Ukraine loses. It’s ugly A newly energized Russia is already escalating grey-zone operations in Eastern Europe, says Estonia’s defense minister. https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2024/04/europe-already-planning-what-happens-if-ukraine-loses-its-ugly/395715/   Why Did U.S. Planes Defend Israel but Not Ukraine? There are lessons for other nations in the events of the past few days. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/04/ukraine-israel-war-comparison/678077/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK3zBTrwyTVOGzmWK5yps1Kck&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share   U.S., NOT ISRAEL, SHOT DOWN MOST IRAN DRONES AND MISSILES American forces did most of the heavy lifting responding to Iran’s retaliation for the attack on its embassy in Damascus. https://theintercept.com/2024/04/15/iran-attack-israel-drones-missiles/   How Israel and allied defenses intercepted more than 300 Iranian missiles and drones https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/04/14/middleeast/israel-air-missile-defense-iran-attack-intl-hnk-ml