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lees1975
lees1975's Journal
lees1975's Journal
March 11, 2024
Can this really be a surprise? Is it possible to keep something like this a secret?
Josh Kovensky, a staff writer for TPM, has posted an article about "The Society for American Civic Renewal", a men-only, right wing, secret group, with secret being one of the key descriptive terms here, with the goal of recruiting a "Christian government" that can be put in place after the far right achieves regime change in the United States.
"It sounds like the stuff of fantasy," says Kovensky, "But it's real."
"It is open to new recruits, provided you meet a few criteria: you are male, a "Trinitarian' Christian, heterosexual, an "un-hyphenated American", and can answer questions about Trump, the Republican Party and Christian Nationalism in the right way," says Kovensky, describes this group as "a shadowy network occupying the commanding heights of business, politics, and culture, open to only a select, elite few, committed to reshaping the United States to align it with the group's radical values."
That should scare the hell out of us.
Secret society pushing right wing Christian nationalist agenda.
https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/03/secret-society-pushes-right-wing.htmlCan this really be a surprise? Is it possible to keep something like this a secret?
Josh Kovensky, a staff writer for TPM, has posted an article about "The Society for American Civic Renewal", a men-only, right wing, secret group, with secret being one of the key descriptive terms here, with the goal of recruiting a "Christian government" that can be put in place after the far right achieves regime change in the United States.
"It sounds like the stuff of fantasy," says Kovensky, "But it's real."
"It is open to new recruits, provided you meet a few criteria: you are male, a "Trinitarian' Christian, heterosexual, an "un-hyphenated American", and can answer questions about Trump, the Republican Party and Christian Nationalism in the right way," says Kovensky, describes this group as "a shadowy network occupying the commanding heights of business, politics, and culture, open to only a select, elite few, committed to reshaping the United States to align it with the group's radical values."
That should scare the hell out of us.
March 8, 2024
It's clear, unless indictments from January 6th, or stolen classified documents, or voter intimidation, render the GOP presumptive nominee ineligible to be on the ballot, a feat that the Supreme Court does not seem capable of accomplishing, that Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be the two candidates of the major parties in November. This is the clearest, most obvious choice we have had for the Presidency in my lifetime, and in the scope of my ability to vote, which goes back to the 1976 contest between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.
The "he's too old" arguments more or less evaporated this week when it became clear, after Super Tuesday, that Trump would be the GOP nominee. If the GOP is willing to nominate Trump, then age isn't an issue for them, so it shouldn't be an issue for Democrats either, since the years rest better on Biden, obviously, than they do on Donald. Watching Republicans during the speech, it's clear from their demeanor, hunched over, eyes down, that they realized they're not going to capitalize on the President's age, or fitness for office.
About the only thing critics of the President's speech can say, at this point, is that "it was too partisan." Well, of course it was, the last State of the Union prior to his re-election campaign, though he successfully slapped the failure of the border legislation right squarely on the GOP and Trump, where it will be one of several failures they can cite in November as the reason for Biden's re-election. Quoting Ronald Reagan's statement to then-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" and contrasting it to Trump's statement, "Let the Russians do whatever the hell they want," was brilliant. That will go down in history as one of the best SOTU quotes of all time. And did you see the looks on the faces of the Republicans in the room when he said that?
President Biden is the clearest choice for President I've seen in my lifetime.
https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-2024-election-offers-clearest.htmlIt's clear, unless indictments from January 6th, or stolen classified documents, or voter intimidation, render the GOP presumptive nominee ineligible to be on the ballot, a feat that the Supreme Court does not seem capable of accomplishing, that Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be the two candidates of the major parties in November. This is the clearest, most obvious choice we have had for the Presidency in my lifetime, and in the scope of my ability to vote, which goes back to the 1976 contest between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.
The "he's too old" arguments more or less evaporated this week when it became clear, after Super Tuesday, that Trump would be the GOP nominee. If the GOP is willing to nominate Trump, then age isn't an issue for them, so it shouldn't be an issue for Democrats either, since the years rest better on Biden, obviously, than they do on Donald. Watching Republicans during the speech, it's clear from their demeanor, hunched over, eyes down, that they realized they're not going to capitalize on the President's age, or fitness for office.
About the only thing critics of the President's speech can say, at this point, is that "it was too partisan." Well, of course it was, the last State of the Union prior to his re-election campaign, though he successfully slapped the failure of the border legislation right squarely on the GOP and Trump, where it will be one of several failures they can cite in November as the reason for Biden's re-election. Quoting Ronald Reagan's statement to then-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" and contrasting it to Trump's statement, "Let the Russians do whatever the hell they want," was brilliant. That will go down in history as one of the best SOTU quotes of all time. And did you see the looks on the faces of the Republicans in the room when he said that?
March 6, 2024
Of all of the potential GOP nominees, Haley had the best shot at winning the nomination, next to Trump, whose former Presidency is his name and face recognition. Out of the traditional kind of Republican base that Mitt Romney and George W. Bush built their base, and with which they won, Haley was the best candidate to fit in with the ideology and bring some of her own perspective into the mix without losing voters. The problem is that base is now fragmented, scattered and no longer unified. Some of it has given into the MAGA philosophy out of party loyalty. The rest of it might have had a candidate around which to rally if Haley had given them something at the outset of the campaign, instead of joining in the chorus of sycophants who doomed their chances by trying to be Trump clones.
But she didn't make the turn into the sort-of anti-MAGA, never Trumper candidate until too late in the campaign. And that made her look less savvy and much less experienced than she needed in order to attract the kind of voter to the GOP that she needed to have a chance. There are moderates who are somewhat reluctant to support Biden this time around because of his age, voters at which she might have had a shot at getting, had she started by pointing out how far away from traditional Republican and Christian values the MAGA cult really has gone. But she joined the sycophants. Her line that he was a good President then, just not so good for now. She was weak and demonstrated a fear of his political power within the GOP. And ultimately, that was what sunk her boat.
She was also, frankly, just too Republican to attract the kind of voter who would have stuck through the campaign and voted for her instead of Biden. The Dobbs decision has been, and will be, a huge turnout machine and vote getter for all Democrats in 2024, especially the President. She either can't or by conviction won't go there, and that's what would have taken her out of the competition against Biden.
Where Nikki Haley went wrong.
https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/03/where-nikki-haley-went-wrong.htmlOf all of the potential GOP nominees, Haley had the best shot at winning the nomination, next to Trump, whose former Presidency is his name and face recognition. Out of the traditional kind of Republican base that Mitt Romney and George W. Bush built their base, and with which they won, Haley was the best candidate to fit in with the ideology and bring some of her own perspective into the mix without losing voters. The problem is that base is now fragmented, scattered and no longer unified. Some of it has given into the MAGA philosophy out of party loyalty. The rest of it might have had a candidate around which to rally if Haley had given them something at the outset of the campaign, instead of joining in the chorus of sycophants who doomed their chances by trying to be Trump clones.
But she didn't make the turn into the sort-of anti-MAGA, never Trumper candidate until too late in the campaign. And that made her look less savvy and much less experienced than she needed in order to attract the kind of voter to the GOP that she needed to have a chance. There are moderates who are somewhat reluctant to support Biden this time around because of his age, voters at which she might have had a shot at getting, had she started by pointing out how far away from traditional Republican and Christian values the MAGA cult really has gone. But she joined the sycophants. Her line that he was a good President then, just not so good for now. She was weak and demonstrated a fear of his political power within the GOP. And ultimately, that was what sunk her boat.
She was also, frankly, just too Republican to attract the kind of voter who would have stuck through the campaign and voted for her instead of Biden. The Dobbs decision has been, and will be, a huge turnout machine and vote getter for all Democrats in 2024, especially the President. She either can't or by conviction won't go there, and that's what would have taken her out of the competition against Biden.
March 4, 2024
The idea of America as some kind of a promised land for white, European Christians predates the founding of the country, according to Robert P. Jones, who authored the commentary on the research in Baptist News Global. It turns political contests in to apocalyptic battles, leading to the justification of violence, in spite of Christian principles against the use of violence under any circumstances. And, says Jones, it leads to the belief that political opponents who are perceived to be representatives of "evil," should be jailed, exiled, attacked and even murdered for disagreement.
Completely abandoning the core values taught by Jesus, the survey results provided by Jones indicate a significant percentage of Christian Nationalists believe that it would be right for them to resort to violence in order to restore a nation that has gotten so far off the track of its Christian roots. They believe that being an American patriot means that it is justified to take up arms and resort to violence to "save" the country, while others believe that some kind of upheaval will be necessary to sweep away the "elites in power" and restore the "rightful rulers."
This is a very real threat. As many as 30% of Americans believe in Christian nationalism. There is absolutely no justification in the Christian gospel, or in the scripture Evangelical and conservative Christians claim is their "authority" for faith and practice, for the use of violence in this way.
Christian Nationalists, in any form, are people who are advocates of political revolution, which is also an anti-Christian concept (Romans 13:1-7 and I Peter 2:13-17). And the best way we have in our American constitutional democracy to neutralize their influence and prevent them from getting into any position of power is to vote against them when they run in any election. And since they have established themselves as the "ideological keystone" in today's Republican party, we must commit to cast our ballots against every Republican running for office in America. Every single one.
Voters had better educate themselves about the danger of Christian Nationalism
https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/03/voters-need-to-educate-themselves-about.htmlThe idea of America as some kind of a promised land for white, European Christians predates the founding of the country, according to Robert P. Jones, who authored the commentary on the research in Baptist News Global. It turns political contests in to apocalyptic battles, leading to the justification of violence, in spite of Christian principles against the use of violence under any circumstances. And, says Jones, it leads to the belief that political opponents who are perceived to be representatives of "evil," should be jailed, exiled, attacked and even murdered for disagreement.
Completely abandoning the core values taught by Jesus, the survey results provided by Jones indicate a significant percentage of Christian Nationalists believe that it would be right for them to resort to violence in order to restore a nation that has gotten so far off the track of its Christian roots. They believe that being an American patriot means that it is justified to take up arms and resort to violence to "save" the country, while others believe that some kind of upheaval will be necessary to sweep away the "elites in power" and restore the "rightful rulers."
This is a very real threat. As many as 30% of Americans believe in Christian nationalism. There is absolutely no justification in the Christian gospel, or in the scripture Evangelical and conservative Christians claim is their "authority" for faith and practice, for the use of violence in this way.
Christian Nationalists, in any form, are people who are advocates of political revolution, which is also an anti-Christian concept (Romans 13:1-7 and I Peter 2:13-17). And the best way we have in our American constitutional democracy to neutralize their influence and prevent them from getting into any position of power is to vote against them when they run in any election. And since they have established themselves as the "ideological keystone" in today's Republican party, we must commit to cast our ballots against every Republican running for office in America. Every single one.
March 4, 2024
What if Colorado just ignored the Supreme Court decision and kept the buffoon off the ballot anyway?
How would they enforce the decision? Go to Colorado and hand letter his name on the ballot?
The Republicans just defy the courts when they don't get the rulings they've bought and paid for. Why doesn't our side just ignore this ruling and do as we please? Choose our own electors and send their votes in ahead of the election to beat the rush. There are no consequences, obviously, for giving that a try.
March 4, 2024
Garland moved too slowly. Those here who said this were right.
The odds of seeing a trial of Trump before the election are winding down to just about zero.
March 3, 2024
Is Biden too old for a second term?
Why don't we just ask the question straight up and see what this constituency thinks?
March 1, 2024
We have to get past all of the trash that is being thrown around now to try and fragment the Democratic, moderate independent and moderate Republican vote that will be large enough to defeat the orange headed menace. The author suggests putting the reminder on your fridge.
What's the biggest issue Democrats need to get past in order to unify the party and win the election?
This is what the conservative agenda looks like. So where are the priorities of Democrats?
https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/02/this-is-what-conservative-agenda-looks.htmlWe have to get past all of the trash that is being thrown around now to try and fragment the Democratic, moderate independent and moderate Republican vote that will be large enough to defeat the orange headed menace. The author suggests putting the reminder on your fridge.
What's the biggest issue Democrats need to get past in order to unify the party and win the election?
March 1, 2024
In the third paragraph of the linked article, author Rick Pidcock, who was raised in fundamentalist Christianity, says this:
"In my two decades growing up in fundamentalist Christian institutions, the schools dictated to our families where we could go to church, how we were to dress, what music we were allowed to listen to or movies we could watch, even what coffee shops we could patronize. In short, they had complete authority over our family.
So imagine those people expanding their territory to include entire cities, states and countries."
Imagine, indeed.
Get a clear picture of what that would be like, because that is exactly what the part of the MAGA political movement that has emerged from within the Evangelical Christian segment of the American church is aiming to do.
When people like this tell you they are going to do something, when they get the power to do it, believe them. And then do everything you can to keep them from getting the power to do it.
This is what a "Conservative Agenda" looks like. Are you willing to live under this?
https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/02/this-is-what-conservative-agenda-looks.htmlIn the third paragraph of the linked article, author Rick Pidcock, who was raised in fundamentalist Christianity, says this:
"In my two decades growing up in fundamentalist Christian institutions, the schools dictated to our families where we could go to church, how we were to dress, what music we were allowed to listen to or movies we could watch, even what coffee shops we could patronize. In short, they had complete authority over our family.
So imagine those people expanding their territory to include entire cities, states and countries."
Imagine, indeed.
Get a clear picture of what that would be like, because that is exactly what the part of the MAGA political movement that has emerged from within the Evangelical Christian segment of the American church is aiming to do.
When people like this tell you they are going to do something, when they get the power to do it, believe them. And then do everything you can to keep them from getting the power to do it.
February 29, 2024
Controversial Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert's son Tyler was recently arrested for allegations related to multiple crimes in the area around where he and his family lives, near the town of Rifle, Colorado. He's eighteen, and has been charged with both felonies and misdemeanors. His arrest has gathered a lot of media attention, not only because his mother is a member of Congress, but because she is a right wing extremist who campaigns while also touting her Evangelical Christian faith, at least, in the way she understands it, in its white, Christian nationalist form.
As much as I despise her political perspective, and her hero worship of the MAGA cult leader instead of being a patriotic American, I think leaving her son and his troubles out of the scope of politics is the best course of action to pursue. Her ignorance and inability to function as a productive Congresswoman is one thing, open to criticism and the target of a movement to get her ousted through the ballot box. But dragging her son, and her family problems into the mix is a different matter. For his sake, this needs to be left alone for them to handle as they see fit, and as they are capable of doing.
According to the article in Westword, the Congresswoman appears to be holding her son accountable for his actions while supporting him because he is her son. Asserting that he "should be held accountable for poor decisions as should any other citizen," she stated, sounds like she's not expecting that he would get any special treatment because he is her son.
It would be tempting to ask her if this same attitude applies to Trump, in her mind, given the crimes for which he has been indicted. But, at least publicly, she's not asking for special favors for her son. Whether law enforcement in their hometown takes that same attitude may warrant keeping an eye on this situation. But using this as a campaign wedge is as far out of bounds as it is for Republicans to try to get to the President through making allegations about his son. At the very least, I hope she gets this, and backs down from her position regarding the President's son. At least, this may make her think twice, or we can always hope that it does.
Boebert family drama should be off-limits politically.
https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/02/conflicting-parental-messages-in-highly.htmlControversial Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert's son Tyler was recently arrested for allegations related to multiple crimes in the area around where he and his family lives, near the town of Rifle, Colorado. He's eighteen, and has been charged with both felonies and misdemeanors. His arrest has gathered a lot of media attention, not only because his mother is a member of Congress, but because she is a right wing extremist who campaigns while also touting her Evangelical Christian faith, at least, in the way she understands it, in its white, Christian nationalist form.
As much as I despise her political perspective, and her hero worship of the MAGA cult leader instead of being a patriotic American, I think leaving her son and his troubles out of the scope of politics is the best course of action to pursue. Her ignorance and inability to function as a productive Congresswoman is one thing, open to criticism and the target of a movement to get her ousted through the ballot box. But dragging her son, and her family problems into the mix is a different matter. For his sake, this needs to be left alone for them to handle as they see fit, and as they are capable of doing.
According to the article in Westword, the Congresswoman appears to be holding her son accountable for his actions while supporting him because he is her son. Asserting that he "should be held accountable for poor decisions as should any other citizen," she stated, sounds like she's not expecting that he would get any special treatment because he is her son.
It would be tempting to ask her if this same attitude applies to Trump, in her mind, given the crimes for which he has been indicted. But, at least publicly, she's not asking for special favors for her son. Whether law enforcement in their hometown takes that same attitude may warrant keeping an eye on this situation. But using this as a campaign wedge is as far out of bounds as it is for Republicans to try to get to the President through making allegations about his son. At the very least, I hope she gets this, and backs down from her position regarding the President's son. At least, this may make her think twice, or we can always hope that it does.
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Tucson, Arizona
Current location: Chicago, Illinois
Member since: Wed Dec 25, 2019, 01:02 AM
Number of posts: 3,845
