Editor’s Note: In the next few weeks, we’ll be posting the audio from a 6-part course on biblical imagery. If you’d like to join the upcoming course on deconstruction, sign up here. The new course starts on September 4. Earlier this year, we launched a 6-part course on the images of water, gardens, and mountains in the Bible. We looked at the Sea of Chaos, the River of life, the Tree of Life, the Mountain of God, and the Anti-God Mountain.

A year ago most economists predicted the US would fall into recession in 2023: the solid near-3% GDP growth outturn makes this ‘miss’ one of the worst in a long trail of past errors. Part of the reason may be that the old-fashioned business cycle based on waves of new capital spending is less important, as evidenced by the growing disconnect between the inverted US Treasury yield curve and a still buoyant US domestic economy.

Imagine you’re on a fully packed train platform during peak rush-hour. You’re standing in front of the line while looking your phone screen, completely engulfed in replying to a work email. Out of the blue, you feel a forceful push on your right shoulder! You spasm and completely lose your balance! Suddenly, you feel a hard object hitting your knees and your chest… You realize you have have fallen right onto the train-tracks!

"Last night was a disaster from which Biden cannot recover,” said Senator Tom Harkin, retired.“ He stood there with his mouth hanging open, head bowed down much of the time; it looked like someone put flour on his face for makeup.” Harkin expressed his opinion in a private note to friends. With his permission, I share what he had to say. These are his words: Although not as important as appearance (TV is all about visuals, not verbiage-all the way back to Kennedy-Nixon), Biden’s sentences were mainly incoherent.

Heyo! Every so often, like clockwork, a Whataburger vs. In-N-Out debate will rage violently online. I never really know what these people are debating exactly, but the discussions are always stoked by a wide range of indignant claims. The chaotic mudslinging usually features such eloquent arguments as “Whataburger > In-N-Out” and “Whataburger is straight up doggy doo-doo. Go In-N-Out.” Occasionally, though, somebody will pierce through the unfounded claims and get to the heart of the question—what exactly are we debating here?