December 1, 2022

Don't elect lunatics to positions of public responsibility

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/12/dont-elect-lunatics-to-positions-of.html

The supervisors of Cochise County, Arizona, or should I say two Republican supervisors out of three, one of whom is a Democrat, are on the verge of making a boneheaded, ridiculous move, out of their baseless belief in election denialism, which will nullify over 44,000 votes, the majority of which are from Republicans. Not because of any glitches or problems with ballots, or machines in their own county, mind you, but because of rumors and innuendo spread mainly by Kari Lake's campaign, about a small handful of ballot glitches in Maricopa County.

Not knowing what options are available to the voters in Cochise County, I would suggest that whatever options they have to remove these two supervisors, who are more interested in forcing their own ignorance and superstition, and willing to risk the right to vote of every registered voter in their county for it, be done as quickly as possible. I don't know if Arizona provides for the recall of public elected officials, but I'd say that would be the way to go if its' available. Beyond that, joining in calls for them to step down would be another option. And apparently, since they are in violation of the law, arrest is also a possibility.

Whether these antics are a wake up call for Republicans in Arizona, I don't know, but they should be. This is the Republican party we have now, a group of people willing to take away your rights so they can gain political power for themselves. But these antics, and that's what they are, have the potential to cost the GOP two seats, one in Congress, where the upcoming majority is already razor thin, and may be getting thinner, and one in the State Superintendent of Public Instruction's office. They richly deserve for that to happen and I hope it does.

November 30, 2022

So, they got the two top Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracy.

And this was instigated by Trump, with plenty of evidence to show they responded to his call to come to Washington and to his orders to attack the Capitol.

So when is FP45 going to get indicted for seditious conspiracy, tried, convicted and sent to prison for 20 years?

November 28, 2022

Election deniers think their supporters are ignorant and stupid.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/11/election-deniers-think-their-supporters.html

The whole premise behind arguments claiming that American elections are "fixed" or "rigged" or that there was "massive voter fraud" is getting people who are completely ignorant of the processes of voting and counting ballots on board with the claims. That's really the whole thing in a nutshell. I seriously doubt that any candidate running for office believes that their loss was due to a "rigged" or "fixed" election. They know, before they decide to run, that the process is checked, double checked and completely secure, or they'd never run in the first place. When they make those claims, either after they've already lost, or in anticipation that they might, they are counting on those among the electorate who buy into the false conspiracy theories and think that there's someone out there somewhere who is "out to get them."

No matter how secure or organized a process is, there is always human error. Most issues with elections involve malfunctioning equipment, like the situation with the printers and computers in Maricopa county, Arizona. But election workers are trained to handle those errors, and to make sure that everyone who wants to cast a ballot gets to cast one. That does include allowances to keep a polling place open until everyone who was in line before closing gets to vote, or to make sure that any prior glitches were handled correctly.

Kari Lake was depending on the ignorance and stupidity of enough Arizonans to carry out a big rally at the state capitol and create a show, to put pressure on the county board and the Secretary of State, in the hopes of changing the inevitable outcome of the election. That's not going to happen. There were, in fact, fewer complaints about ballot issues in Arizona this time around, including those that Lake collected on her website, than in 2020, and even then, not nearly enough to alter the outcome of the election.

Arizonans do know B.S. when they see it, Kari. And apparently plenty of them see it in you.

November 28, 2022

I think that is an exact characterization of what's happening.

That's a photo that says it all, btw.

There probably aren't a lot of DU'ers who get too much into what's going on in the world of the conservative Evangelical personal empires that some of the self-appointed and frequently quoted "leaders" run, but it's a mess. Not much in the way of "Christian" values or virtues, but a whole lot of sniping, fighting and some genuine crime to deal with, a major clergy sexual abuse scandal among Southern Baptists that rivals the Catholic child sex abuse scandal, and the kind of infighting that occurs as revenue declines because the whole constituency is collapsing.

On top of that, Donald Trump Jr. and Charlie Kirk, with their "Turning Point" rallies, are throwing the teachings of Jesus under the bus, telling conservative Christians that turning the other cheek and being meek and humble won't get them anywhere in this world and to "win the culture wars" they have to use hate and violence. The fact that this rhetoric even gets a hearing, and the response from those who disagree is silence, not repudiation, says a lot about who they're worshipping, like that golden calf. The fact that those who see this for what it is and call it out put their livelihoods on the line, and risk violence, is an obscene distortion of the Christian gospel, and of American patriotism and the constitution.

November 27, 2022

Wondering why I still do this and whether or not it's worth it.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/11/wondering-why-im-still-doing-this-and.html

There have been times, in the circles of relationships in my life, when I have wondered if I was the only person who thought the way I did.

While there have been some temporary departures from my original purpose, sometimes to chase rabbits, sometimes to address something that became part of the political-religious narrative, I've had two main purposes for writing The Signal Press:
1.To defend American democracy, and more specifically, to support and defend the first amendment right to freedom of conscience, with an emphasis on the preservation of the Establishment clause of the first amendment, which is the right to have a free church in a free state, the principle of separation of church and state that was the clear intent of founders James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. This is for the benefit of both church and state.

2.To oppose the conflation of Christianity, primarily the conservative, Evangelical branch of American Christianity, with the extremism found in far right wing Republican politics, and to support and defend politicians who see the danger and error inherent in this perspective and have the courage to oppose it, knowing the accusations and criticism that their opposition will cause. To help those within the Christian faith, and specifically within conservative, Evangelical churches and denominations to know that they do not have to minimize their religious convictions to be members of the Democratic party.

To be honest, prior to the midterms, I was thinking of just giving up. It wasn't looking good for this cause, and in the barrage of fake news polls and all of the ridiculous flood of rhetoric that came from some of the extremists, I wasn't sure of where to go. Then I read the piece from Michael Moore. Whether you like the guy or not, he's not someone who puts his credibility on the line by making statements of pollyana optimism in the face of certain defeat. By 11:00 p.m. on November 8th, I was back in business.

November 26, 2022

Texas Baptists reject Christian nationalism in November resolution; affirm religious liberty

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/11/texas-baptists-reject-christian.html

The largest state-affiliated group in the Southern Baptist Convention, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, with 1.7 million members, has rejected Christian nationalism in a resolution passed by messengers at their annual convention in Waco this month.

The resolution avoided using the specific term "Christian Nationalism,' but the content clearly rejected any of its tenets. It affirmed religious liberty and also condemned any government attempt to commandeer churches for secular purposes.

Some of the critics of the resolution, according to the report in the Baptist Standard, felt that the resolution should have called out Christian nationalism by name, citing examples from Germany in the 1930's when Pastor Dietrich Boenhoffer and other confessing Christians called out the Nazi movement by name. It was also noted that the resolution was introduced and supported by many younger pastors and church leaders. Supporters said the term was avoided to steer clear of politics, and focus on the mission and purpose of churches.

November 26, 2022

To Georgia Democrats: Flood the Polling Places Tomorrow!!!

Just so you know, friends, I've made a sacrificial contribution to Senator Warnock's re-election in the runoff campaign this week. I'm not a major giver by any stretch of the imagination, but this is important enough for all of us to support and do whatever we can to get this Senator back to his seat. I've also talked to many of you on the phone, encouraging you to go to the polls during this runoff.

If I lived in Georgia, I would be standing in line in the dark, before the polls open tomorrow, to purposefully cast my ballot on a Saturday, to make a statement on purpose in support of the right to vote, for early voting to be convenient, and for Senator Warnock.

Since I can't vote in Georgia in person, I would like to ask you to vote on my behalf, and on behalf of the millions of Democrats who are supporting you and pulling for you. If you can vote tomorrow, that would be absolutely wonderful.

Thank you!

November 26, 2022

A "slow awakening" to the subversion of the church by Trumpism is happening among some Evangelicals

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/11/a-slow-awakening-finally-some.html

When Donald Trump Jr. spoke at a Turning Point USA gathering in Phoenix in December of 2021, and said, "We've turned the other cheek, and I understand, sort of, the biblical reference--I understand the mentality--but it's gotten us nothing. OK?" that should have done more than "ruffled a few feathers," as he suggested. The message in that statement, along with the entire manner in which Trump Junior, and Charlie Kirk, who is the founder of the Turning Point organization that promotes the "culture war" side of Trumpism, present their message, is the complete opposite of the Christian gospel and the way that Jesus taught his followers to live in the world.

Those words, from Trump Junior, when reported, as they were, should have caused an earthquake shock of horror among conservative Evangelicals who claim to believe the Bible is the "inerrant, infallible, only authority for Christian faith and practice." The fact that it really didn't do that is a clear indication that there's been a shift in conservative Evangelicalism from depending on God's Holy Spirit and written scripture, to attempting to align their mission with secular political interests and become a tool used to win elections for a demagogue.

As a result, a Phoenix pastor has determined his cause is now to lead Christians away from the MAGA cult. In an interview with the Toronto Globe and Mail, Pastor Caleb Campbell revealed that he decided to make wooing Christians away from the MAGA movement his personal cause after he attended a Christian event hosted by Turning Point USA, the right-wing activist group founded by Charlie Kirk. During the event he attended, says Campbell, Kirk misappropriated quotes from the Bible in order to make it sound like God wanted Christians to be armed to the teeth with firearms. "I was absolutely terrified and horrified," Campbell tells the Globe and Mail.

It's about time. Or is it too little, too late?

November 23, 2022

I wonder if a few corporate donors were willing to set up PACs for some of the GOP congressmen

who are representing very marginal districts, and who need to be more centrist to have a shot at re-election, if they agree to stonewall the agenda of hatred and revenge, and only support congressional measures aimed at resolving inflation, crime and avoid the extremist Marjorie Taylor Green junk?

What do you think is their price?

November 23, 2022

Two deep red Arizona counties have supervisors who are threatening not to certify their vote.

According to Chris Hayes this evening. They are supporting the claims of election denying, anti-Patriot, anti-Democratic anti-American Kari Lake, who lost the governor's race.

But these are both deep red counties and one of them, Cochise, is where the GOP candidate for US House of Representatives district 6, gained most of his margin of about 5,000 votes over Democrat Kirsten Engel. Legally, county supervisors have no authority to certify or not certify the vote totals in Arizona, that's the Secretary of State's job. So if these two counties don't submit their count by the November 28 deadline, their votes are excluded from the total. If that happens, then Engel would win the congressional seat by about 10,000 votes, two state representatives and one state senator, all Republicans, would lose their races, and almost all of their votes, and the Republican attorney general candidate, who trails by about 500 votes, would lose by over 20,000, and the Republican who was elected state sutperintendent of public instruction would lose about 50,000 votes, and also lose his race.

Cochise County has been plagued by a host of inept, incompetent, corrupt politicians who have fallen into the fantasy land of election denying. They wanted to mandate hand-counting of ballots in their county, something to drag the results out for weeks after the election.