Lonnie King Broadcast Services

Online locker for a Houston-area independent broadcaster...

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Football, Gas Prices, and the Performance of Empathy

By LONNIE KING Donald Trump recently criticized the rising cost of watching NFL games, lamenting how streaming services are “taking football away from many, many people.” On the surface, it sounds almost compassionate. And honestly? There’s a piece of the argument that resonates. Sports fans are being nickel-and-dimed to death. What used to require a television antenna now requires a…

Football, Gas Prices, and the Performance of Empathy

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People Who Make Us Uncomfortable: When the Other Side Looks Familiar

By LONNIE KING The internet spent part of this week buzzing over the revelation that Texas state representative James Talarico has a girlfriend. On one level, I understand the interest. Public figures inevitably surrender some degree of privacy. People become curious about politicians, celebrities, athletes, and anyone who spends enough time in the public eye. James Talarico and Brianna…

People Who Make Us Uncomfortable: When the Other Side Looks Familiar

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The Sad Moment When American Politics Became Spiritual Warfare

By LONNIE KING This morning I read another political fundraising email. Honestly, it wasn’t even especially outrageous by modern standards. In fact, parts of it were rooted in legitimate concerns. The email warned that corporations are using AI and personal data in troubling ways and urged readers to donate money to stop political opponents from helping them continue. But what struck me wasn’t…

The Sad Moment When American Politics Became Spiritual Warfare

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When the Tool Becomes the Truth

By LONNIE KING The other day I watched a video from Dan McClellan that stuck with me for a different reason than he probably intended. I follow McClellan because I find many of his thoughts challenging and thought-provoking, even when I don’t completely agree with every conclusion he reaches. In this particular video, he was responding to a Christian influencer who had become emotional over a…

When the Tool Becomes the Truth

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When Does Ridiculous Become Dangerous?

By LONNIE KING Some things are funny right up until they aren’t. That thought has been rattling around in my head lately while watching modern political culture drift further into authoritarian absurdity, personality worship, and cruelty disguised as strength. Satire still matters. Mockery still matters. Authoritarian personalities often depend on spectacle, intimidation, and the illusion that…

When Does Ridiculous Become Dangerous?

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Faith, Hope, and the Things We Cannot Fully Know

By LONNIE KING There was a time in my life when I believed faith meant certainty. Not just confidence. Not trust. Certainty. I was taught that real faith meant never wavering, never questioning, never admitting doubt. If you struggled with uncertainty, the implication was that your faith was weak. Strong Christians “knew.” Weak Christians wrestled. But now, the older I get, the more I wonder…

Faith, Hope, and the Things We Cannot Fully Know

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Figuring Out Why We Are Who We Are

By LONNIE KING I write about politics sometimes. I write about religion sometimes. I write about media, culture, fear, hypocrisy, tribalism, and the strange ways human beings convince ourselves that our version of reality is the only acceptable one. And if I’m being honest, part of why I write at all is because somewhere deep down, I hope people like me might reconsider some things they’ve held…

Figuring Out Why We Are Who We Are

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Practicing What I Published

By LONNIE KING A few days ago, I published my book Thriving Among Time Wasters: A Real-World Guide to Focus, Boundaries, and Sanity in a Distracted Workplace. In it, I talk about the kinds of things that quietly drain our energy in the workplace—not just endless meetings or broken processes, but the emotional distractions, the interruptions, the tension and the moments that suddenly pull an…

Practicing What I Published

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The Problem with a Believing Pope

By LONNIE KING I watched a clip recently from a conversation between Timothy Snyder and Katie Couric that has been rattling around in my brain ever since. Snyder was talking about Donald Trump’s ongoing friction with Pope Leo, and he made a statement that initially sounded overly dramatic to me: “The problem with the Pope is that the Pope is, in fact, a believer.” At first, I almost laughed it…

The Problem with a Believing Pope

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When Distrust Becomes the Operating System

By LONNIE KING I recently watched an Instagram reel from Steve Lazarus, a retired FBI agent who was talking about the release of the Epstein files. His basic argument was this: the release of heavily redacted files and fragmented information isn’t transparency at all. It’s controlled confusion. A strategy designed to give the public just enough information to create outrage and argument, but…

When Distrust Becomes the Operating System

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The Hidden Stories of the Movies I Never Saw

By LONNIE KING I recently stumbled across one of those online articles listing the biggest movie from every year in history. I hoped I might find something that would trigger fond memories and make me wax nostalgic in a profound way.  But a stranger thing happened, as it often does when I try to find blog fodder. According to the article, the biggest movie the year I was born — 1961 — was West…

The Hidden Stories of the Movies I Never Saw

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What Do We Do With Them Afterward?

By LONNIE KING I’ll be honest. When I first saw the image of evangelical pastors gathered around a golden statue of Donald Trump praying for God’s blessing, I laughed. Not politely chuckled. Actually laughed out loud. Because how could you not? For anyone raised around church culture, the symbolism practically writes itself. It looked like a modern remake of the golden calf story from Exodus…

What Do We Do With Them Afterward?

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What if political satire is doing more than making us laugh? A reflection on why comedians like Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and Jimmy Kimmel may be performing a kind of civic work in anxious times—and why laughter itself can sometimes be democratic resistance. New at Randomly Rudimentary Life Stuff.

The Republic of Satire

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Can mockery expose what argument sometimes cannot? A new RRLS reflection on why authoritarian personalities may fear ridicule more than criticism—and why laughter can sometimes function as resistance. Why Tyrants Fear Laughter New at Randomly Rudimentary Life Stuff.

Why Tyrants Fear Laughter

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Two Songs at the Ballpark

By LONNIE KING On Sunday afternoons, I often have baseball on while writing or sorting through ideas. It is one of my favorite weekend rituals. But, last weekend, the local ball game actually prompted a few thoughts. Not about the current pitching woes of the local nine. Not about the injuries that are taking a toll on our hometown heroes. Not about the new ABS system the MLB is employing this…

Two Songs at the Ballpark

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The Death of a Dream, the Rise of Rage

On hopelessness, belonging, and whether democracy can survive without a future people believe in By LONNIE KING The recent shooting tied to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has stirred the predictable arguments. Gun laws. Security failures. Political extremism. Mental instability. Some of those conversations matter. But I keep finding myself pulled toward a deeper question: What…

The Death of a Dream, the Rise of Rage

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When Violence Pretends to Save Us

On assassination fantasies, broken systems, and the false promise of redemptive force By LONNIE KING In the aftermath of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a good amount of attention has turned to the alleged gunman’s manifesto—its grievances, its theology, its chilling confidence that violence could serve justice. What struck me most, though, was not only the rage behind…

When Violence Pretends to Save Us