Worshipping the Golden Jackasses
The boys who commissioned the statue and put money down couldn't seem to come up with the balance. The artist knew the administration's playbook all too well and hid the sculpture in a warehouse until the balance was delivered and the check cleared.
Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[b] Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” -Exodus 32:2-4
Author's note: I started this piece a couple of times. I may have waited too long, in light of the news that there is now an actual, golden (leaf) statue of Trump erected in his honor at his Miami golf course. If you delay on satire with this cult, you're sure to be run over by the Trump reality train.
The massive upward shift of wealth
The number of U.S. billionaires has grown significantly, with estimates ranging from over 900 to over 1,100 in recent years. Forbes, a prominent source, counted roughly 900 in early 2025, up from 813 in 2024.
"On Sept. 29, 1916, it was front page news that a surge in Standard Oil's stock price likely made oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller America's first billionaire. More than a century later, the United States is home to hundreds of billionaires whose fortunes increasingly come from technology and financial markets. Together, they control a growing share of the country's wealth — approaching the percentage held by Gilded Age industrialists who built monopolies in railroads, oil and steel."
Christopher Nichols, a professor of history at Ohio State University said, "The billionaires of the Gilded Age and the multimillionaires were involved in what we think of as blue chip industries, where there are lots of jobs and stuff produced. The billionaires of today's world are mostly working in tech sectors and places that very often don't employ many people."
Today? America's billionaires are worth about $6.8 trillion. That's a trillion higher than last year due to a great year in the stock market. Billionaires control over a third of the nation's wealth. And the number of billionaires and the balance in their bank accounts continue to grow. Keep in mind, the Great Depression occurred in 1929 when the top 1% controlled around 50% of the country's wealth.
We are enamored by their wealth. We idolize the rich no matter how they got there. We have been socialized to associate all manner of virtue with the upper-upper class. "He's worth millions, he must be so smart!" "What a great businessman/woman, how righteous, how trustworthy, and how honest s/he is!!" We do the same with attractive people, and similarly, there is no correlation. But we want to be with attractive, wealthy people. (Maybe some of that beauty and money will rub off on us!) But more realistically, over time, we become subservient to wealth - depending on the rich for our own employment, support for our businesses, and yes, charity.
It’s not a stretch to say that self-made richies are sometimes quirky and often veer somewhere on the spectrum (I’m looking at you, Elon.) Their intensity often gives them almost sauvant-type characteristics. The ability to laser focus on success - in their education, their discoveries, and development of new products, software, medicine, etc. In their ability to effectively manage others to see and execute their vision. Some are gifted in growing wealth itself. Warren Buffett has said that he was “wired at birth to allocate capital.” Very early in his career, he told his then-wife that he was going to be rich… not because of his hard work, but because he was “born with the right skills at the right time.” Buffett is a rarity in his class - modest about success, not declaring himself a genius, and with little desire to influence politics.
With years of being surrounded by sycophants, yes-men, unlimited choice of attractive mates, and with all the money and resources to maintain any lifestyle of their choosing, most richies slowly begin to believe in their infallibility. With no one to challenge their ideas and everyone to nod enthusiastically in agreement, they, in short, begin to believe their own bullshit. Why not? Everyone else does. Maybe they ARE the chose ones. That kind of bullshit can get deep.
Elon Musk: He's our Mars man.
Billionaire Elon Musk's obsession with Mars is nothing new, and the SpaceX chief has been vocal about his views on establishing a human colony on the planet. He has repeatedly said that he wants to make humanity a "multi-planetary species" by establishing a colony on the Red planet. He also predicted that an uncrewed landing on Mars could happen as soon as 2026, with humans there before 2030.
Tick-tock, tick-tock... 2026 is here. Better get your sleeping bags and a couple of extra pairs of underwear. Maybe bring that cosmic ray/solar particle umbrella. And a few tanks of oxygen. More than a few. It's a long trip to a planet without breathable air. About 10 months in a space capsule to get there. Bring some cards and board games. You won't be able to play the "license plate game" on the way, or stop at Bucee's for some sugary beaver parts.
"It's not about going to Mars to visit once, but it is to make life multi-planetary so that we can expand the scope and scale of consciousness to better understand the nature of the universe and to ensure the long-term survival of civilization in the hopefully unlikely event that something terrible happens to Earth that there is a continuance of consciousness on Mars..."
He is mostly asked, admiringly, about his timetable to get there, advances on his rockets, and his plan for all those Mars colonies. No one ever asks how many U-Hauls it will take to transport all the lumber, roof shingles, plumbing fixtures, and kitchen appliances it will take to tow behind Spaceship Musk to build his "continuance of consciousness." Nary a peep about who the chosen will be to seed this ultimate real estate development. And significantly, no one to my knowledge has asked, "With all them brains and money, how is it that you aren't smart enough to save or at least improve the home planet that we inhabit now?"
When asked "Why?" He very logically answers that we only have about 450 million years "before it gets so hot that life is impossible." Better sign up early.
Musk was historically an atheist. But conveniently (to fit into this administration?) now states he is a "cultural Christian"(?) and a "big believer in the principles of Christianity." Though prolly not a fan of commandments 1, 2, 7, and 10 to get us started. He has 14 kids (that are known) by 4 women. ("Be fruitful, and multiply.") (!) He is simultaneously a "pronatalist" who believes that intelligent and successful people should have large families to prevent population collapse.
Peter Thiel, Silicon Valley's Connection to the GOP and God
Peter Thiel is another billionaire tech bro who was the co-founder of PayPal. He personally contributed to Facebook as its first outside investor. He co-founded Palantir which has won government contracts worth billions. He has made dozens of other successful investments in tech. It will be of no surprise to anyone that he describes himself as a "libertarian, or a classical liberal," constantly spouting anti-government views while those government billions flow in. (He hilariously refers to Obama as a 'communist.') Palantir is known for creating software for the Pentagon, Dept. of Defense, various intelligence agencies, and ICE.
Thiel is generally credited for putting JD Vance in office, supporting his original Senate run to the tune of $15M. He made early (and generous) bets on Trump, and helped bring Big Tech into the gilded Trump Tent. He continues to give to GOP candidates at the national and state level.
He is part of a tech-bro group (backed by Trump) that wants to build "freedom cities" – unregulated areas promoting innovation and technological advancement. (You got the "unregulated" part, right?) He has also expressed support for "seasteading"—floating autonomous ocean communities that are not subject to government regulations or taxes. He loves and has made billions from cryptocurrency. Although a self-described libertarian, most would call him a dedicated authoritarian. In 2009, he wrote an essay for the Cato Institute where he declared, “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.”
Now he is promoting his unique "Christian" beliefs, and is treated like a guru. He wants to be known as a “small-o orthodox Christian.” He is openly gay, and (no surprise, again) doesn't seem to have a problem with the modern GOP and their anti LGBT views. Significantly, he doesn't engage with the other far-right Christian kids who would probably like to stone his gay pals. Lately, he has been focusing on Armageddon and the Anti-Christ. His theology on this issue is, well, non-traditional.
A basic definition of the antichrist. Some people think of it as a type of very bad person. Sometimes it’s used more generally as a spiritual descriptor of the forces of evil. What I will focus on is the most common and most dramatic interpretation of antichrist: an evil king or tyrant or anti-messiah who appears in the end times.
Specifically, he suggests the antichrist would be a “luddite who wants to stop all science”, referencing Greta Thunberg, Eliezer Yudkowsky, and Marc Andreessen.
He specifically hates? fears? The idea of unification of the world under one global state. To Thiel “antichrist” means “one-world state." He believes the Armageddon will be ushered in by an antichrist-type figure who cultivates a fear of existential threats such as climate change, AI and nuclear war to amass inordinate power.
So, the Jesus Killer who might bring about the end of times is a... tech hater? Fearful of AI? Wants to warn us about climate change?
And they pay hundreds of dollars a ticket to hear the Gospel of Peter (Thiel).
Speaking of religion...
Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, Making Texas in Their Image
Dunn and Farris are two billionaires who made their money the old-fashioned Texas way – stick a pipe in the ground and pump out some oil. They have used their billions to reshape Texas. Other kingmakers and modern influencers have nothing on these two.
They want the usual republican goodies: no taxes, no regulations, more power... and they have been relentless in donating to candidates that are willing to toe that line. Republican politicians have found themselves "primaried out" by a Dunn/Farris candidate over the slightest provocation, the smallest deviation from their expectations. Cumulatively, their hundreds of millions of dollars have flowed into campaigns, think tanks, PACs, and dark money ventures.
They have pulled some impressive stunts, like when they gave 3 million to Dan Patrick as he presided over Ken Paxton's impeachment trial. (Cowed R's would acquit Paxton, one of the most corrupt politicians in Texas history.) 70% of House Republicans had voted to impeach. Senate Rs knew that they were dead-campaigns-walking if they voted to convict.
The power of their purse was most evident, however, in their years-long struggle to implement school vouchers in Texas. Like many hard right-wingers, they loathe public education and the "woke" ideals they believe are taught in that setting. Some would say they don't care for how deeply integrated public schools are - probably just a rumor, right? So election after election, session after session, they winnowed down their loyal toadies, the ones who would vote for vouchers, no matter what their home districts wanted. It was no secret that vouchers were unpopular in rural (RED) districts; they would pull dollars away from already struggling schools. Vouchers were finally passed and signed into law last Spring. Many a hard-core republican lost their seat when they stood up for public schools.
And, surprise! They are ultra-religious. Their agenda is to protect "Judeo-Christian values and promote a biblical worldview," or more simply, Christian nationalism. Scholars have described them as Dominionists. Their goal is to put Christians in office to shape laws and regulations to fit the Bible. Joe Strauss, the first Jewish speaker of the Texas House since statehood, claims that Dunn once told him that only Christians should hold leadership positions. (Dunn denied saying this.)
Both men are self-appointed pastors. Wilks preaches at a church that his family built. His congregation doesn't celebrate the "pagan holiday" of Christmas. He must be popular with the kids! He preaches an Old Testament-based religion; the church is the "Assembly of Yahweh."
Their congregations listen and pray intently. Fellow Christian Nationalists and many evangelicals support their power quest. And there's always another politician willing to kiss the rings as long as those bags of cash are being handed out. And these are the guys putting prayer, the Ten Commandments, and whatever their idea of Jesus, er, uh, Yahweh is in your kids' classroom.
Trump
Speaking of gilded... the man who remodeled the Lincoln bathroom in marble and is putting in a gold-accented ballroom while the public is losing SNAP benefits, medical insurance, and jobs by the hundreds of thousands is the most goldenest of our golden jackasses.
He engages in an unforced shooting war with Iran. Also an unforced trade war, which is leaving farmers without buyers for their crops. Immigration policies have unleashed thousands of brutal thugs, who tackle, capture, and sometimes kill undocumented and legal citizens alike, and warehouse them in camps around the country. Inflation keeps rising. Housing is unaffordable to the young. Yet fully a third of the country STILL celebrates his presidency as if he were the Second Coming. And indeed, it is not unusual for them to speak of him in Messianic terms. They buy his autographed bibles - he has made well over a million bucks from hawking his Trump-branded bibles. The dollar has fallen more than 10% against other currencies so far this year (the largest drop in half a century) while the Trump Crypto coin is still falling, kept alive only by people, corporations, and countries that need access to the president. And more than a few goober 'investors' among his faithful.) Render unto Trump what is Trump's, and what is yours and everyone else's, too.
As an aside: the “Don Colossus" as the Trump golden statue is now known, was commissioned by Crypto bros and a few wealthy supporters. With the gold leaf upgrades and a second pass to make the 3.1-ton Golden Colosso a little skinnier, Ohio-based artist Alan Cottrill's fee was 450K. The boys who commissioned it and put money down could not seem to come up with the balance. Cottrill knew the administration's playbook all too well and hid the sculpture in a warehouse until the balance was delivered and the check cleared.
Look, I'm no preacher, and I have no religious authority to scold anyone's religion or their practice of it. But you don't have to be Pope Leo to see how this, once again, drips with ig'nunce and hypocrisy.
Then again, prominent Christian Nationalist and bigot Pastor Robert Jeffress proclaimed on Fox News that, “It looks like President Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches than the Pope.” Sure, Bob.
As popular progressive Christian writer John Fugelsang put it, "For the true believers who panicked over Starbucks cups, but flocked to a giant golden idol of a rich adulterous political strongman at a luxury resort and said: “Finally, traditional Christian values!"... Nothing says “We worship Jesus, not idols” quite like unveiling a giant gold statue of a reality TV billionaire felon politician at a golf resort. Somewhere Book of Exodus just filed a copyright infringement claim."
Former pastor and writer John Pavlovitz wrote, "I know that in the Bible, religious people ended up abandoning God and mindlessly worshiping a golden calf, so it shouldn’t be surprising that so many today are now bowing down to this orange jack*ss. It’s just more terrifying seeing it this close.
It was a lot easier to view the tragic story in the distant rear-view mirror of history in a land thousands of miles away, and not in the windshield of the present here in the country I call home, with the sycophantic cultists so close and prevalent."
And we continue to worship men of great wealth and power. We are, comically, or what we would consider comical only a few years ago, building "graven images" in their likeness to worship, even though many of them are objectively nuts.