The Big Lie Has Gone On Far Too Long

No legitimate question about the validity of the 2020 election ever existed.  There are far too many safeguards in place for the kind of "massive voter fraud" claimed by Trump to have happened, and there is absolutely not a shred of evidence to prove it did.  It's a danger to our representative democracy, to our elected officials and to everything that makes America what it is to allow those who continue to push this lie to have anything to do with government at any level.  This isn't protected free speech, it's an attempt to subvert representative government.  

The possibility that this is an attempt by a foreign power, or more than one foreign power, to interfere in this country in order to enhance their own power and influence is not only highly likely, but there is evidence, plenty of it, that it actually happened in 2016.  The Mueller Report is still in print.  It should be required reading for any government official, from school boards and city councils all the way up to the Presidential administration.  And every patriotic American should read every word of it.  Every.  Single.  Word.  

The first question that any candidate for office should be asked at any campaign event, town hall or open forum is, "Do you believe the results of the 2020 election are completely accurate and that President Biden was legitimately elected President of the United States?'  If their answer is no, walk out while loudly declaring that they will not get your vote.  

Last November, during our city council election, I attended a mayoral candidate's forum at which about two dozen people showed up.  After their initial remarks, the floor was opened for questions and I asked, "Do you believe Joe Biden was legitimately elected President of the United States?"  One of the candidates commented that he didn't really see how that question fit into the city council issues.  The incumbent mayor said, "Absolutely, he was, and you can trust the results of this election just like you can trust the results of the Presidential election."  He got a standing ovation, he got my vote and he won re-election overwhelmingly.  I wasn't aware of his political affiliation but found out he was a Democrat after the election was over.  

We have to be bold in confronting "the big lie" in every forum where it is appropriate to do so, especially where candidates are running for office.  No one should be elected to office who believes there was "massive voter fraud" in 2020.  How can they trust the results of the election in which they are running?  That gives the opposition the opportunity to question the legitimacy of anyone who holds office, undermining the effectiveness of any office holder.  

Limits to Free Speech

It is legally and constitutionally possible to defend against subversive or threatening speech.  There are lines which are defined that can't be crossed when public statements are made.  The proverbial example, that you can't yell "fire" in a crowded theater, gives some context as to exactly what can be done in situations like this.  Claiming that the election results are fraudulent, without any evidence at all to prove it, meets that threshold, in my humble opinion.  

We are way past the point when something should be done about the big lie.  Elected officials should be bombarded by phone calls and emails from constituents who keep it right in front of them and make them at least give some thought as to the possible consequences.  And if some statements can be labelled as "hate speech," some statements should also be labelled, at the very least, "subversive and anti-American," if not treasonous.  The constitution leaves it up to the courts to determine whether certain actions are illegal or unconstitutional, so some of these politicians who make these ridiculous claims should be sued and have to face the courts.  

During the next year, members of Congress, and a third of the Senate, are facing re-election.  They have to campaign.  At every opportunity, their opponents should be forcing them to go on the record and support for the January 6th insurrectionist and buying into the big lie should be a prominent part of their political record.  I believe those will be the two biggest negative issues of the 2022 midterm campaign and at the present time, are big vote-getters for Democrats, especially among Independents.  But there are even some disaffected Republicans who can be enticed to cast ballots for Democrats out of their revulsion for this anti-American subversion.  

No patriotic American who believes in this country's ideals, in its representative Democracy and who cherishes their constitutionally-guaranteed, fought-for liberty, believes that the 2020 election was stolen, nor do they consider anyone involved with January 6th a loyal American.  

Anyone who calls for violence if they are indicted should be arrested immediately for treason.

Fraudulent Electors Must Be Brought to Justice

How many Americans realize the seriousness of the fraud involved in forging electoral college documents naming fraudulent electors?  

The conservative propaganda media, like Fox News, Newsmax, Breitbart and USA Radio, aren't saying much about it and keeping those inside their bubble in the dark.  I'm not sure how much of a reaction it would get from their audience anyway, since it's not the progressives or liberals who were caught doing this.  Though they rage against the influence of "relativism" in our society, they believe in it just as much, refusing to hold their own side accountable to anything.  And it's gotten worse since Trump came on the scene.  

I'm outraged.  Actually, it goes way beyond that into feelings that words cannot describe.  This was a direct enemy attack against the people of the United States, against every American who believes in what this country stands for.  It was an assault on every person who died in defense of this country, and against every single person who ever fought for it or sacrificed for it.  It was an assault on the Constitution, on the nation's founders, on our liberty and on everything that makes America great.  

Anyone who was involved with that whole plan, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who that was, whether it was actually his plan, or whether it came from someone in his entourage with his blessing, should be brought to justice.  And I define justice, in this case, as the complete loss of the privilege of being a citizen of the United States of America.  They should have their citizenship removed and then be arrested for being here illegally.  

The Republican party has staunchly defended the Electoral College as its relevance has been called into question in recent years.  So for Republicans, some of them state legislators or members of Congress, to make a mockery of it like this and attempt to defraud the process of counting ballots is a form of extreme hypocrisy.  And there's no question that every person signing those forgeries knew exactly what they were doing.  It's fraud, it is a crime.  This is what the GOP under Trump's influence has become.  

The threshold in most state legislatures, as it is in Congress, for policing its own with regard to actions which indicate a violation of their oath to defend the Constitution, at a two-thirds vote, is too high when one party has transferred its loyalty to a person, away from the nation and the Constitution, and is more interested in defending its own power than it is in defending the country.  This needs to be a straight up decision, based on the law and on the evidence.  Signing a forged document with the intention of subverting the will of the people is as anti-American as you can get without actually declaring war against the United States.  And when the evidence is uncovered that connects this plan to the former President, he should suffer the same consequence. 

The fact that there is not more of an outrcy and a demonstration of outrage at what these documents represent is evidence that our people don't understand exactly what it means to be an American, and what government "of, by and for the people" means.  The fact that police are not having to protect the perpetrators and participants in this heinous and despicable crime from the anger and outrage of the people says a lot about what most people understand about the rights and freedom that we have and how it is that we have it.  Protesters should be swamping the state houses of each of the states where these forgeries were found, demanding justice.  

This was a crime committed against you.  And me.  We the people.  May justice be quick in coming. 

Sometimes, You Can't Fix...

After the 2020 election, on a message board site in which I participate, a post appeared declaring that Trump actually picked up 100 million votes in the election and actually won almost all of the states and their electoral votes.  My response was a post asking for actual evidence for such a claim, which was even more outlandish than the idea that Trump really won, even though he lost the popular vote.  About 30% of those who responded to the post were "pretty sure" that Trump really won, but only a few of them picked up on the post and joined the "100 million club."  

Most of those in the discussion dropped away as those who dealt with real facts and had real evidence bombarded their conspiracy theories and refuted, one by one, all of the collection of fakes and paid informants paraded around by Giuliani and Powell.  But there was this one guy who kept insisting not only that Trump won, but that he got 100 million votes.  He got that from somewhere else, because I've seen billboards and advertisements claiming the same thing.  But of course, he couldn't explain how he was so certain that was true.  

His arguments are purely anectodal.  Everyone he knows voted for Trump.  Who, after all, in his world would vote for Biden?  All the bumper stickers and yard signs around where he lives were for Trump.  When I posted that, for the entire election season, on my commute to and from work, I passed only one house displaying a Trump sign, while I passed literally hundreds of Biden-Harris signs.  Well, OK, he conceded, I must live in a heavily Democratic area.  Well duh!  But it just didn't seem to register that the city in which I live has twice the population of the entire state in which he lives.  

For a while, he was on to the theory that thousands of ballots had been trucked across state lines from New York into Pennsylvania to boost Biden's numbers and give him the 20 electoral votes, since New York had plenty of Democrats and didn't need the ballots.  That's one of the most outlandish theories about voter fraud.  First of all, New York ballots would not run through Pennsylvania machines.  And these wackos keep forgetting that the ballots are not just for the Presidential election.  Why truck ballots across the border into Pennsylvania that had the names of New York candidates on them?  If thousands upon thousands of ballots were trucked across the state line, where's the discrepancy in the down ballot races?  Why didn't New York officials notice that thousands and thousands of ballots that had been registered as cast were missing from the final count?  

Ultimately, it doesn't really matter whether Trump got 100 million votes or not.  Biden got 306 electoral votes, and that's what elected him.  

Perhaps the epitome of phony accusations of voter fraud is the video of Mellissa Carone, who appeared at a "hearing" in front of hastily gathered Michigan Republican legislators in what was a made-for-camera event, but was not a legitimate "hearing".  Carone, who appears either drunk or impaired by something, makes claims about falsified records while one of the legislators is holding the records and noting that they are not falsified.  

Then there's the whole saga of the "Cyber Ninjas," a group led by major Trumpie Doug Logan, which claimed to be a legitimate "auditor" and was engaged by Arizona Senate President Karen Fann to "audit" Maricopa County's ballots.  Aside from the fact that neither Fann nor the Arizona Senate has the legal authority to order an audit of one county's ballots, the project went forward.  It was a comedy of errors, from mishandling of ballots, which is a crime, to exposing expensive counting machinery, which the county will now have to replace, to having to ask the county's election commissioners multiple times for instructions on how to manage their computer records, like kindergartners who can't remember the teacher's instructions after a minute.  

Ultimately, after pocketing $150,000 of state taxpayer dollars and $6 million from Trump campaign financiers, they released an ambiguous report in which the bottom line was their "discovery" that Biden actually got a few hundred more votes in Maricopa County than had been previously reported.  I'm not sure how they actually arrived at that conclusion, since they couldn't seem to walk and chew gum at the same time.  Nor can I explain why they arrived at that conclusion when their obvious intention at the outset was to prove Trump really won Arizona.  They claimed they had a "magic camera" that could detect "bamboo fibers" in paper ballots, which was supposed to prove they came from China.  No bamboo appeared.  

What they did accomplish was to make sure Karen Fann loses her Senate seat, and that the Democrats take over statewide offices and both houses of the legislature.  

The only thing you can do with all of this is laugh.  In 21st century America, the world's most powerful, wealthy country, there are people who believe the wildest thoughts from someone's imagination, but not what their own eyes and ears see and hear.  

And no, you can't fix......

And the Latest Poll Numbers Suggest...

Aside from numbers which are still relatively favorable for Democrats up for re-election in 2022, including the "generic poll" which I personally don't really pay much attention to because the district boundaries don't reflect the national mood, one of the numbers that indicates election night might still be a pretty sweet moment for the Democratic party is that pollsters continue to run "favorability" numbers on the recent former President, and they are not good.  The media likes to use negative terms to describe Biden's job approval, which has been slowly creeping back upward, but Trump's favorability has dropped like a stone in a well.  

An AP-NORC poll, rated as a class A with 1,100 likely voters polled, showed Trump with a 63% unfavorability rating, and 34% favorable.  The polling data was gathered between January 13-18 and has a + or - 5% margin of error.  It mirrors previous polls in which Trump's favorability hovers in the low 30% range.  That's a +29 unfavorable rating.  But even the outlier Rassmussen shows Trump tanking fast.

I haven't seen a Trump response to what can only be called disastrous poll numbers for him that have materialized in January.  Maybe he doesn't want to discredit polling data that has Biden's disapproval at +4 to +7, though several polls in January from YouGov, Morning Consult and an isolated Quinnipiac poll showed 50% job approval.  But I am absolutely certain that he's seeing these numbers and he's stewing over them.  

A Mid-Term Election Factor

People are still not paying a whole lot of attention to politics right now, so the numbers don't move very much.  Biden's Atlanta speech, his January 19 press conference (which I thought was completely characteristic of exactly who Joe Biden is and his Presidency, which just completed one of the most successful and accomplished first years of any Presidency since Roosevelt's first term) don't seem to have moved the needle much.  I can't imagine very many people actually stayed tune for the whole two hours of the press conference.  It's too early for either of those events to hit any recent polling data.  But Trump's fall directly correlates with the cataract of bad news about the full scope of his administration's attempt to subvert the Constitition, and overturn legitimate election results, disrupting the peaceful transfer of power.  

He's already launches an effort to take revenge against Republicans who don't back the big lie by attempting to run his own endorsees and "primary" some resistant members of the GOP.  That effort may knock some current Republicans out of their seats, but it will fail to deliver the GOP a majority in Congress.  What it will do, especially if his unfavorable ratings stay where they are or get worse, is open the door for a lot of Democrats who didn't have a chance to win seats against established Republicans to take them away from unpopular Trumpies.  

Democrats were already doing well in Arizona and Georgia, mainly because Republicans have failed to grasp the fact that population growth in both of those states over the past decade has tipped the political balance to the Democrats.  The Democrats have solid statewide majorities in both states, having flipped all four of the Senate seats, and a total of three house seats during the Trump era.  The only thing Trump's presence does in either state is motivate Democrats and Never-Trumper independents, to vote against anyone he endorses.  

If you haven't connected the dots yet, this is the January 6th effect.  High profile corruption and attempts to overturn votes in both states after the 2020 elecction deflated the GOP balloon and boosted Democrats.  It handed both of Georgia's senate seats to the Democrats, and it doomed chances of state officials in Arizona, led by Senate President Karen Fann, to win re-election.  Both states will have Democratic officials elected statewide in 2022, including Democratic governors and secretaries of state, and the Arizona legislature will be in the hands of the Democratic party for the first time in decades. That's a prediction, and I'll stand by that with confidence.  You can see it shaping up in both places. 

January 6th is a Gift That Keeps on Giving

Trump's "favorability," has fallen nine points in January as it becomes apparent that his role in the insurrection was that he was its leader.  I never doubted that he was, based on his actions, his incessant harping about "massive voter fraud" even about his first election and his obstruction of justice and interference with investigations into his own efforts to commit voter fraud, uncovered and evidenced by the Mueller investigation.  I sincerely hope that, now that the ball is rolling, all of that gets added to the charges against him, since he can no longer claim immunity. 

Even without a legislative landmark over the coming year, it's going to be extremely difficult for Republicans to counter this.  They've circled the wagons and they're huddled inside the circle in silence, but several of the wagons are on fire, and the flames are spreading, to use that analogy.  

The Supreme Court, bless their hearts, finally did something decent in shutting down the last of Trump's ridiculous assertions and what was discovered in the National Archives is apparently a treasure trove of his documented criminal activity, committed against the people of the United States.  

Random Stuff

Gretchen Whitmer comes in at better than 50% among Michigan voters, while J.D. Pritzker sits at 55-58% in Illinois polls. Stacy Abrams is the "apparent leader" in Georgia, no surprise there, and Democrat Katie Hobbs, who led the effort to protect Arizona's votes, has solid leads against all Republican challengers in Arizona, also at better than 50%.  

One of the Most Accomplished, Successful Presidencies in Modern American History

We are approaching the one year anniversary of the Biden-Harris administration.  Up to this point, it has turned out to be everything that I expected it to be.  Few individuals brought the government and public service experience to the White House that President Biden did.  And while there is an element that thinks time in public service and government is not an asset or a good thing in candidates running for office, specifically President, it's become very obvious that it has been exactly what this country needed at this time in its history.  

It's hard to believe what has been done in just one year.  And much of it has happened in the teeth of opposition from the most obstructionist Republican opposition.  While Biden has now distinguished himself as one of the most successful Presidents out of the gate, the Republicans have demonstrated an astonishing lack of vision, character, morals, ethics and above all of that, an incredible measure of uncaring selfishness when it comes to serving their constituents.  They're all about conspiracy theories and feathering their own nests.  They are a dark cloud hanging over America whose ideals they have abandoned in order to kiss the...ah, well, bow at the feet of an insane, narcissistic egomaniac.  

But that's enough negative energy.  Many of them will be leaving the stage come November, trust me.  

What's been done with handling the COVID crisis and pandemic is a major accomplishment, especially since things were heading in exactly the opposite direction prior to his inauguration.  The financial relief alone has been the biggest key to battling the virus.  It's hard to tell how many hundreds of thousands more Americans would be dead had the vaccinations not been made available and 72% of Americans are now fully vaccinated, in spite of a campaign of conspiracy theories, lies and falsee information.  The COVID relief deal saved what was a sinking economy.  There's still work to be done and some distance to cover, but there's a plan in place and it's being accomplished. 

The economy has roared back, due largely to Biden administration initiatives.   Even before the $1 trillion infrastructure bill was passed, unemployment was falling and the stock market was surging.  All of the indicators that the previous administration considered signs of a healthy, growing economy have surged to heights it was never able to achieve as the stock market is healthy, growing and stable, with no sign of recession.  The drop in unemployment was unprecedented in such a short period of time.  Energy prices account for most of what's causing the inflation, though economic growth rates like we're seeing now are also a cause of inflation.  

But the administration has done what government is expected to do, well within its constitutional role and limits of economic regulation which provides stability.  The jobs that are being created as a result of the infrastructure bill will further drop the unemployment rate and other stimuluses, like the release of oil from national reserves, have already had an effect on inflation, which is dropping.  The retail sector, which has been sluggish for a while, saw a whopping increase during 2021, and that's another good sign of a good economy. 

Joe Biden listens and he responds.  

Measured against previous presidencies of the modern era of American history, Biden's first year ranks right up there with Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, in terms of what has been accomplished as well as what has had to be left on the table to try and get done in the second year.  But the only other President during that period of time who had to face the kind of visionless obstructionism that Biden now faces was President Obama.  Even Clinton didn't have that kind of senseless, selfish political stonewalling.  It's taken an experienced public servant with the kind of personality and optimism Joe Biden brings to the Presidency to get things done for the American people, not for feathering his own political nest.  

For me, personally, the biggest accomplishments are on the horizon. 

Build Back Better and the voting rights protections need to get passed into law.  It seems there's obstruction going on there, too, even within the Democratic party but the President has seen that sort of thing before and I have full confidence they'll figure out how to solve that problem.  Neither of those Senators has yet articulated a reason for their opposition that anyone is buying and the administration will figure out how to get through what's really behind their opposition.  Either that, or find weak links on the other side.  

It's going to require someone with the understanding and experience in government that President Biden possesses to navigate the country through what must be done to preserve and protect our representative democratic government and the United States Constitution.  Everyone who participated and aided the attempted Trump coup, including the former President, must be brought to justice.  It's been over 150 years since this country has had to deal with something like that, and we didn't do a great job of it last time around.  Selfish ambition cannot be allowed to subvert the constitution. 

So congratulations to the President, Vice-President, their spouses and the whole administration on an amazing, successful first year in office.

It's Time for a Much-Needed Civics and History Lesson

Transcript of George Washington's Farewell Address

Washington's farewell address is not outdated.  It is, as far as I am concerned, one of the seminal, foundational documents of American History, evidence which defines the very core essence of American idealism and patriotism.  It is one of the most articulate definitions of what can be called "The American Spirit" that exists from any of our founding fathers.  Washington not only understood that what was being founded in America was a new nation, requiring a sense of unity of purpose that went well beyond where most of the population understood or envisioned, but was also completely different than what had existed almost anywhere else in the world at the time.  

Putting forward that kind of change in thinking would be a hard sell today; in 1796, it must have been very difficult indeed.  And yet, Washington bridged the philosophical gap between the influence of "religion" as he defined it, and the influence of the Enlightenment philosophy that was also powerful among those who settled and developed what became the United States of America.  

When it came to having an understanding of the corrosive, destructive effect of what he called "the dangers of parties in the state," he was uncannily prophetic: 

"It [a political partisan spirit] serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in governments of a monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume." George Washington from his Farewell Address

That statement could have been written yesterday. 

Liberty is Exactly What it Is

"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty." George Washington's Farewell Address

One of the biggest mistakes we make is thinking about the freedom we have in this country as belonging exclusively to us, and not to anyone else.  That is, it belongs to them as long as they think like we do.  But one man's freedom becomes another man's oppression and tyranny if the system tilts in that direction. 

America is a representative democracy, which is, at least as far as I am concerned, the best way to place political power in the hands of the people, as the constitution directs.  There are several distinct periods of American history, influenced and marked by specific historical events, when one political faction and philosophy dominated politics for an extended period of time, long enough to be considered an "era" by definition.  And while those in the minority clearly do not like how the government operates under the opposition, if they are true patriots, and they understand how a representative democracy works,  including the constitutional protection of their rights regardless of the faction that is in power, they are still contributors to national unity.  

To be patriotic requires mutual respect when it comes to the rights and liberties of others.  And to get to that point, the prejudices and selfish interests of people must be overcome, as Washington says, "enlightening public opinion."  

It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?

Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.  George Washington's Farewell Address

Enlightening Public Opinion

One of the specific goals of compulsory public education as it began to form and then became the primary means by which American students get an education is to preserve the republic by providing an educated and informed electorate.  With conspiracy theories, misinformation and outright lies circulating and gaining as much acceptance as they currently receive, I'd say that public education is failing in its purpose.  Whether that's because we are overloaded with information from so many different sources, each motivated by profit when it comes to getting "hits" and "going viral," or because public education no longer delivers on this specific goal, representative democracy in America is suffering. 

Multiple audits, recounts and "pseudo-audits" have been conducted, including many by firms connected directly to Trump and his campaign supporters, and have been forced to conclude, based on hard evidence, that there was no massive voter fraud in the 2020 election and that President Biden was legitimately elected.  Most of these audits, because they are being conducted by Trumpies, are very low-key and understated when they present their reports, because what little evidence of fraud shows up looks like someone on the Trump side did it.  Well, if there's an opportunity for fraud, there's someone who will take it.  But the conclusions are universal in their agreement that there isn't a shred of evidence of "massive voter fraud" on a scale that would have affected the outcome of the election.  What has been discovered has subtracted more votes from Trump and added more to Biden's total. 

Being uneducated, or lacking proper education, is the only legitimate reason I can think of for believing "the big lie."  As a politician, Trump demands personal loyalty, while being a truly patriotic American demands loyalty to country, constitution and American idealism, not to any individual leader or politician.  Washington embodied and articulated those ideals, and anyone with a decent education should know the difference.  The insurrectionists who have been caught and arrested, every single one of them, claimed that they were there out of loyalty to Donald Trump, not to the United States of America.  They were in desperate need of a lesson in American history and civics to correct their ignorance. 

And don't feed me the line that "both sides are equally guilty."  That isn't true.  There are Democrats who demonstrate a level of ignorance about the function of civil government.  But as a party, Democrats do not exhibit the kind of "winner take all," "rig the system" kind of approach that Republicans do.  Even when they were the minority party, they didn't roll that way.  That's another consequence of the lack of enlightened public opinion among conservatives.  They've listened to extremists in the media like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson who ignore patriotic ideals which include respect for others who don't think like they do, and they've made liberals, moderates and independent, free thinking conservatives into enemies, rather than fellow American citizens with differences of opinion. 

And no, there aren't many "independent, free thinking conservatives," which is an oxymoron most of the time.  But look how they hate Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.  And they were ready to hang Mike Pence.  The only means of motivating ignorance is fear, and there's sure plenty of that on Fox News, Newsmax and the EIB Network.

Expanding the Enlightenment of Public Opinion

There are those who think we are teetering on the bring of disaster, and representative democracy in America as we know it is about to cease its existence.  It is clear that there's a significant segment of the American public who are completely ignorant about American patriotism and idealism, and have no idea what's at stake except the advancement of their own selfish interests.  America's existence largely depended heavily, as Washington pointed out, on honesty and trust.  The insurrectionists who temporarily took over the Capitol building on January 6th shattered that, if there was much left to break at that point.  They want an autocracy of their own making, and are not interested in a representative democracy that permits other opinions.  So they are no longer patriots and no longer value the constitution.  

But I think they can still be defeated by the same idealism that we've always used.  Our revolutions and reforms come out of the ballot box.  Most Americans, 70% of them if you believe the composite polling data, were horrified by January 6th, hopefully horrified enough that when election time comes around, with a few reminders, they'll remember just how they felt that day.  Between now and November of 2022, most of those people need a few reminders that will help them know exactly how to cast their ballot.  If they are ignorant of civics, you'll hear it in their language and if a politician doesn't think January 6th was a subversive insurrection, they should not get elected.

Let's Talk About a Real Attempt to Steal an Election

Rachel Maddow, January 11, 2022

We have come to a point where, in their pursuit of political power, the Republican Party is willing to abandon their conservative agenda, throw many of their former leaders under the bus, abandon not only their own claimed values, but any sense of right and wrong in terms of society's standards, and sacrifice the Constitution, the American Republic and representative democracy, and every value and principle on which this country was founded.  

Last night, Rachel Maddow presented documentation and evidence that attempts were made to replace legitimate electors in five states with frauds.  That's right, phony documents were produced, almost identical to each other, and lists of Republican electors were written in, signed off and sent to the government purporting to be the real thing.  

That's the kind of thing you expect from some banana republic, autocracy or dictatorship, not the United States of America.  But, given his past history, his business record, the reputation he built for himself and his regular modus operandi, it is exactly what to expect from the defeated ex-President.  

I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the magnitude of this thing.  For 246 years, we have divided ourselves into political parties, argued, fought, went to war, and still, somehow, built a sense of national unity in what is, across the spectrum of world history, a relatively short period of time.  We've experienced violence over disagreeing how to go about building the country that includes four presidential and 52 other political assassinations, some brawls and fights on the floor of congress, at least one duel that we know of, and a nasty, bloody Civil War.  We've had corrupt, self-serving politicians, which is consistent with human nature.  But we've held on to our values and principles and the idealism of being "America" has always triumphed in the preservation and strengthening of our Democracy.  

So these forgeries, which can be interpreted as a direct attack against American patriotism and idealism, and against the Constitution and the government, represent a new low point in corruption and misplaced, selfish ambition.  

What the Reaction to this News will Demonstrate

Any honest person, regardless of their political affiliation, should be sickened by this attempted subversion of government.  What is encouraging is that there were several Republicans among the electors that had been named prior to the election, in each of those five states where these documents were found, who refused to have their name associated with this, and one who actually spoke up and publicly made that point.  What is horrifying and terrible is that there were 73 Republicans in five states who were willing to participate in this fraud and were willing to be identified by name.  

I'm going to say this, because it needs to be said and because I think I can back it up.  There is now an integrity dividing line between Democrats and Republicans.  No doubt, if such an attempt had been made by Democrats to do the same thing, there probably would have been enough people willing to try it and put their names on the forgeries.  But the reaction from the party leadership would have been swift and angry, and there would be immediate statements condemning the action from party leaders.  There would not be deafening silence and the perpetrators would be kicked out of the party.  It would be Democrats in Congress initiating criminal proceedings as soon as they could convene a session.  I dare you to prove me wrong. 

I'm willing to let this news sink in and to allow time for more verification.  But if Republicans don't initiate an investigation--and they've had plenty of time to do so since the first one of these forgeries appeared in Wisconsin about a month ago--it will tell you everything you need to know about their party and its complete lack of integrity.  We've already seen most Republicans abandon their values to support Trump, choosing political expediency over convictions and morals.  I expect their reaction to this news will be more of the same, and that's an indication that they are no longer supportive of a government of, by and for the people and they are no longer interested in a constitutional republic. 

This is Not a New Idea Among the GOP

After the 2016 election, social media erupted with right wing conspiracy theorists claiming that President Obama was going to use the power of his office to keep Trump from being inaugurated.  Nothing could have been further from the truth, but truth requires integrity and moral value that no longer exists among these extremists.  They claimed that Obama would find a way to declare martial law to delay or permanently stop the inauguration.  There was an accusation made that he planned to call out the national guard, seize voting machines in five or six states and run the election again after throwing out enough Trump ballots for Clinton to win.  There were claims that Democratic governors in states won by Trump planned to certify alternate slates of electors rather than the ones the Republicans had picked.  Certain members of the senate, they said, were prompted to filibuster in order to prevent the final certification of electoral ballots by Congress.  

There is absolutely no evidence that any of those things were ever even discussed by anyone in the Obama White House or the Clinton campaign, much less considered.  President Obama, like every one of his predecessors, participated in and facilitated the peaceful transfer of power, right down to allowing Trump's transition team access to everything they needed to do it.  Compare that to Trump's complete and total lack of cooperation and that's all the evidence you need to see exactly how despicably corrupt and morally bankrupt he, and by direct association, those who continue to enable him, really are.  

YOU and I, as Patriotic Americans, Have Been Attacked

The fact that the documents purporting to be elector certifications from five states were virtually identical in appearance and wording, according to Maddow, indicates that there was a single source behind them all.  Is there really any guessing or doubt that exists as to where they originated?  Is there any question about the existence of dozens of other such attempts to subvert an election that an unpopular demagogue knew he was going to lose, and lose big?  I would not be surprised to find that the 74 million votes credited to Trump turns out to be more like 65 million, or even less, and that Biden carried half a dozen more states than he did.  

I'm going to pat myself on the back, though I cannot take credit for this being an original thought of mine, but I concluded, after his first year in office, that Trump was going to do everything in his power to stay in, including messing with the election.  I knew all that whining, complaining and lip flapping (watch him talk, his lips literally flap) was a diversion, and that was what he was planning to do.  He talked about it all the time.  It wasn't a big step to actually doing it for a man that built his fame and reputation on just how corrupt and immoral he could be.  

This was an attempt to steal our country from us.  Kudos to Maddow for verifying the accuracy of the story and reporting it.  We need to raise our voices and make sure something gets done about it.

Anti-Vaxxers Seeking Religious Exemption Should Be Required to Demonstrate "Sincerely Held Religious Belief" Consistent with Biblical Teaching

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.  Exodus 20:7  NRSV

Sincere Christian faith is not meant to be used as a means of avoiding COVID vaccination mandates.  

Christian faith and practice is rooted in the Bible.  And while there are differences of opinion over its exact interpretation, and over whether or not to include a set of books called the "Apocrypha" with the other sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament canon widely accepted by Protestants, the Bible is the primary source of theology and doctrine for the vast majority of Christians. 

The more conservative branch of Protestant Christianity, known as "Evangelicals," generally believe that the Bible, in its original form, is fully and completely inspired by God and as such is without any human error in the text, making it infallible in content.  Any claim that their anti-vaccination stand is a "sincerely held religious belief" would have to be supported by a correctly, in-context interpretation of scripture.  Among all of the objections to getting a COVID-19 vaccination, I have yet to see one that meets that qualification.  

"We're Trusting In Jesus, Not Masks or Vaccines"

This is one of the most common arguments I've heard against getting vaccinated.  I question both the sincerely, and the consistency of such a statement.  If that's a "sincerely held" belief, then the person making that claim is saying that they never seek any kind of medical care at all for as long as they claim to have believed it.  They've never gone to a hospital or doctor or sought out any kind of medical care at all, not even taking an aspirin for a headache.  And they worship, and have church membership in a congregation that openly states it believes only in faith healing.  

One of the more common threads in this particular vein is the idea that taking steps to avoid infection is a demonstration of "weakness of spirit."  An oft-cited verse used by those taking this position is 2 Timothy 1:7, "for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.  The problem with that citation is that it is actually a sentence fragment, and using it to claim that precautions come from "a spirit of fear" is completely taking the whole concept out of context.  The sentence actually begins in the previous verse 6, where Paul reminds Timothy of his experience of the "laying on of hands," which was his ordination and introduction into the Christian ministry.  The term "cowardice", "fear" in some translations, has nothing to do with precautionary measures taken to avoid illness, it has to do with the fact that Timothy, knowing Paul was writing from prison where he had been arrested for his Christian ministry, was not fulfilling his calling because he was afraid of meeting the same fate.  

In fact, Paul actually gives Timothy some medical advice, No longer drink only water, but take a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments (I Timothy 5:23 NRSV).  

As far as having Biblical support for this position, I'm wondering where it is?  There are narratives in which Jesus miraculously healed the sick, and one reference in James 5:14-15 about calling the elders of the church to pray over the sick and anoint them with oil, but no prohibition of the use of medical assistance or an indication that to seek it out would nullify faith healing.   There are other passages where the Bible points out that God's sovereignty inspires wisdom and knowledge and that he answers prayer through those he has inspired.  There's no "sincerely held" Christian belief that attributes the massively beneficial amount of knowledge about how the human body works, and the progress of medicine that has enhanced the quality of human life immeasurably, to any other source but God's divine and sovereign wisdom.  

It's pretty clear, from multiple texts where healing occurs, that what Jesus did, and what happened in the early church was miraculous for the purpose of authenticating the ministry and presence of the Holy Spirit during the apostolic period of the church.  There's not even a hint that seeking out medical care nullifies the miraculous, since the Bible repeatedly emphasizes the application of miracles is related solely to God's sovereignty,  not to any human effort or lack thereof. 

This whole idea is theologically flawed.  It's obvious that millions upon millions of people have benefitted from being vaccinated.  On the other hand, some very prominent anti-vaxxer evangelists and ministers in the Evangelical tradition have died after contracting COVID-19.  Marcus Lamb, the Dallas-based evangelist who used his media network, Daystar, to make unfounded, inaccurate claims about the COVID epidemic and the vaccinations and to discourage his viewers from wearing masks and getting vaccinated, died in early December from a severe COVID infection.  

What happened as a result of that was complete avoidance in Evangelical circles of even talking about it.  The complete silence, and even refusal to discuss it in any context, among many Evangelical leaders not only demonstrates that they are unwilling to face a frank discussion about the subject, but also that the implications of his death from COVID--not the only death of a well-known Evangelical anti-vaxxer and mask denier by far--completely undermines everything they've said and claim to believe about the virus and vaccinations.  It exposes their faulty theology.  Lamb's anti-vaccination stance and inaccurate remarks about COVID in general made wrongful use of the name of the Lord.  

"We Don't Trust the Government" 

Let me try to wrap my mind around that logic for just a moment.  In order to avoid a demonstration of trust in the government, refusing to take a vaccination that it has authorized, but that it did not develop and does not produce, and perhaps dying as a result of that decision, is nothing more than an anti-government protest?  

There are three specific references in the New Testament, all related to the same concept of the sovereignty of God involved in healing, in which Christian obedience to the civil government is a demonstration of their obedience to the authority put in place by God.  The Apostle Paul clearly explains this in two of his epistles, Romans 13:1-7 and Titus 3:1.  Government authority, he says, "is God's servant for your good," and to "pay respect to whom respect is due."  This was the Roman government of whom he was speaking.  Judgement of an unjust government is left up to a sovereign God.  

Peter also speaks of respect and obedience to the governing authorities, not only as a matter of obedience, but as a testimony to the sincerity of their faith, their sincerely held religious belief, if you will.  "For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of foolish men." (V. 15) There is no appeal here to individual conscience.  Peter equates "doing right" for Christians with their obedience and respect of the governing authorities.  

The measure of the effectiveness of this practice can be found in three hundred years of church history following its establishment.  This same government turned on the church and began merciless persecution of its members.  There's no record of any rebellion or resistance.  Of course, fearing persecution and death, many Christians scattered, went underground and attempted to get off the radar screen.  Many succeeded, but others did not.  However, during this whole period of time, Christians kept their testimony intact.  Both Apostles had been prophetic in their position.  By the time the persecutions of the church ended during the reign of Constantine, Christianity was found in every part of the empire, churches were everywhere and while the empire itself split and then slowly dissolved, the Christian church became its most influential institution.  

The testimony of Christians is clearly at stake in this pandemic.  Evangelicals have singled themselves out as the primary opponents of vaccination mandates and mask mandates, without providing any Biblical support in a correct context.  Their opposition is rooted in their support and loyalty to the past President under whose administration the vaccines were developed in the first place, and who himself is now criticized for publicly acknowledging his own vaccination and booster shots, an unexplainable and completely backward position. There's no question that this has indeed called their Christian testimony into question.  The Biblical text clearly supports the idea that getting vaccinated against COVID,  including mandates which make sure those in groups which serve the public are healthy, can be defined as "doing right", if saving lives can be considered "doing right." 

If, as most Evangelicals and many conservative Protestants insist, there can't be a "sincerely held religious belief" without the support of the Biblical text, then being anti-vaxxer is not, under any circumstances, a "sincerely held religious belief."  That makes an anti-vaxxer position "wrongful use of the name of the LORD."

There Are Silver Linings in the Dark Clouds of January 6th

As we reach the first anniversary of what I will always call the "Trump Insurrection," because that's what it was, an insurrection against the will of the American people by one of the most notorious, narcissistic, selfish and blatantly evil men ever to be elected to the Presidency, we recognize January 6th as one of the darkest days in American history.  It is an event that will go down in history with April 13, 1861, the Ft. Sumter attack and the beginning of the Civil War, December 7, 1941, the Pearl Harbor attack, and September 11, 2001, the attack on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.  

In a country where freedom of speech and expression is still constitutionally guaranteed, we can talk about differences of opinion, perspectives and perceptions, but I'm going to call this what it is, an attempted coup aimed at disrupting the peaceful transfer of power, which is one of the foundational cornerstones of representative democracy in the United States.  It was a blatant and deliberate attack on the American people, against us, "we the people" who hold the very sovereignty of our nation in our hands via the ballot box, which was what the insurrectionist traitors were trying to destroy on that day.  

The insurrectionists were not patriots in any sense of the word.  No one who participated in that despicable riot demonstrated any love or loyalty to their country, they were acting out of misplaced loyalty caused by their radicalization to a selfish, would-be dictator, Donald J. Trump.  They were attacking the Congress of the United States, in session in the U.S. Capitol building, which, irregardless of which political party is in control, is a treasured historical symbol of the American Republic, "The People's House," as my high school history teacher once called it.  No patriot would ever stand for the desecration of that building by breaking down its doors, breaking out its windows, smashing its furnishings, defecating and urinating on the walls and floors, ransacking offices and acting like the barbarians who destroyed Rome.  Many of them looked exactly like those barbarians.  They are all traitors.

Patriots know how representative democracy works and they participate in it, accepting the full rights of all of their fellow citizens, not just those in their own party.  Ignorance and misplaced loyalty, leading to the belief in the lie that the election was "rigged" and "stolen" is not an excuse for violence.  There's a system in place for determining the accuracy of the ballots cast in an election and in this case, there was more scrutiny, security, observation, auditing, checking and re-checking than any other election in history.  There are always a handful of fraudulent ballots, as there were in this election, but just as many fraudulent ballots were cast for Trump as for Biden.  If you don't like the outcome of an election, go vote again the next time.  That's how it works.  If you're not in agreement with that, then you are no "Patriot."

In the media interviews and statements from insurrectionists after the event, especially those who have been rounded up, arrested and charged with crimes, it is clear that most of them are inexcusably ignorant of the Constitution, what rights it guarantees and how it protects them, the role of the government, how it functions, and the ideals around which America itself was built.  They were there because their loyalty was to a person, not to the nation, and their ignorance made them easy marks for an egomaniac who has no respect for the rule of law, who built his fame and reputation on debauchery, fraud, and the worship of wealth.  Their behavior demonstrates a level of selfishness that is epidemic, the result of way too much prosperity, disrespect and disdain for education to the point that they can't think for themselves and have hatred and resentment of anyone else who doesn't think like they do.

Few of the insurrectionists gave any consideration to the potential consequences of their actions, or the long-term effect of what would happen if they had succeeded.  They thought they were going to get away with it because they were told Trump would protect them. Do these people not realize that we share the planet with others, including those whose political aim is the destruction of American democracy, because its existence is a threat to their autocratic power?  Are they not capable of seeing that what protects us from destruction is the fact that our government utilizes our national resources to provide the kind of protection necessary to keep us safe and if our national unity dissolves, the ability we have to protect ourselves dissolves as well?  Are they so ignorant and so out of touch with the real world that they cannot see that the Civil War they keep threatening will simply open the door for someone like Vladimir Putin to achieve his political goal?

Maybe that was the point of it.  

Let's Talk About the Silver Linings

That's an old saying, "There's a silver lining in every dark cloud," and I don't want to get into cliches.  But the analogy works, so I'll use it.  

The biggest benefit we gain from January 6th is that it doomed any chance Trump may have had to get himself back in the White House.  I'm convinced of that for several reasons. 

First of all, it was clear from the results of the election itself that the country was done with Trump.  In spite of the Republican Party's supreme efforts to turn out their voters, the Democrats bested him both times, though the antiquated and quirky electoral college worked for him, but just one time.  In spite of massive efforts in Republican controlled states to suppress Democratic voters, Biden got all he needed, ultimately flipping five states that Trump carried in 20I6.  Even if Trump had not attempted to subvert the constitution and hadn't become the first President in American history to fight the peaceful transfer of power and attempt a coup, he had no chance of a comeback.  But after January 6th, his fate has been sealed. 

Though there appears to be a majority among Republicans who still believe "the big lie," and think that Trump had the election stolen from him, there's a sizeable chunk of them who see this for what it is, and who would not support his return to the White House.  I don't believe we're ever going to see an attempt by Trump to win the GOP nomination for 2024 because I think once the January 6th commission wraps up and the justice department is through, which I believe will happen before the 2022 mid-terms, Trump will be among several politicians and former advisors who won't be eligible to run for public office.  And I don't think that will come from a congressional vote, but it will come from the courts.

The numbers aren't in his favor.  Never a popular President, his favorability, even among Republicans, dropped considerably after January 6th.  The fact of the matter is that even though they may be a minority in their own party, somewhere around 30% of the Republican party are not on the Trump train, and that leaves him with nowhere near enough support to win a nationwide election.  And while there might be some muttering, and some shifts in President Biden's approval ratings, much of which depends on the way the questions are asked, there's no way the voters of this country would ever put Trump back in the White House.  

If you get past the rhetoric, you can hear that being expressed by Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, and even some real extremists like Rick DeSantis.  Reading between McConnell's lines, he'd be thrilled if Trump just disappeared completely.  Cruz and DeSantis are feathering their nests for a Presidential run of their own and in so doing, are sucking contributions and resources from contributors.  The cash stream is flowing, but what's going to Trump is a fraction of what it once was.  Recent Trumpie rallies feature more empty seats than people trickling in.  Attempts to "primary" uncooperative Republicans, while still in the early stages, are underfunded and don't appear to be gathering much steam.  

Then, there's the fallout that's inevitably going to come as the members of Congress who knew about what was going on January 6th and aided and abetted the insurrectionist mob.  I can't wait to see the names of everyone on that list, and the holes that will open up when all of that moves forward.  

A Growing Awareness of How Our Representative Democracy Works

We're going to find out just where we're headed and what needs to be done educationally if we want to preserve this democratic republic and see its existence continue into the future.  Schools have done an abysmal job of educating students in American History and Civics, it's been shoved to the side in favor of math, science and technology.  Maybe at some point we'll recognize how shallow our education really is, and learn from countries where students spend enough time in school each day to cover what they need, and do it in a way that sticks.  In twelve years of education, our students only get one complete run-through of American history, and about a semester's worth of government.  

This needs to happen among our entire adult population.  An educated electorate is a necessity for the preservation of representative democracy.  

Foreign Exploitation of American Weakness

As long as there is an element of the population willing to abandon American principles, follow conspiracy theories and stew in their ignorance and stupidity, the country is in danger.  Now more than ever, technology is available to "radicalize" people, organize them and turn them into a mob.  We've already seen the intrusion of the Russian government at high levels and found mountains of evidence of their interference in 2016 on Trump's behalf.  Having an ally in the Presidency with his hands on the nuclear football is the best thing that could happen to Vladimir Putin, and the extremist right wing media is already trying to change his image from hard line autocratic communist to "Vlad the Great."  Can you imagine if the North Koreans had a stool pigeon in the White House?  

The rest of the world's attention was fixed and focused on January 6th.  It brought fear to our democratic allies, the possibility of opportunity to improve their position to our enemies.  That's the dark side of this cloud.  

We cannot have any more January sixths.

From Salon: Reasons for Democrats to Be Hopeful About the 2022 Midterms

Salon Magazine: Good News for Democrats 

I like their analysis since I tend to agree with it.  Mid-term elections lost by the party in power are driven by turnout, not by some big shift in political opinion.  Yep, Biden's job approval numbers have gone down, though if you pay attention to that kind of news, you'd have noticed they rebounded and bounced back quite a bit in December, not all the way, but getting in the ball park.  And they can be compared in contrast to Trump's unfavorability, which is growing and hit a new high point in December, at 57%.  

Why I'm Optimistic About the 2022 Midterms

This particular author did a little bit of research, instead of buying the line that since Republicans control legislatures in several of the states that are getting new seats, they can simply re-district enough Democrats out of power to get control of the house.  But that's not what's happened at all.  

The author of the Salon article, Amanda Marcotte, says, "A lot of it comes down to the fact that demographic changes have been so dramatic that Republicans, in many places, decided to 'consolidate' their current position rather than take a riskier path that might expand their seats.  In the end, Democrats should have a shot at far more seats than previously believed."

Citing a Washington Post article by Paul Waldman, who states that the end result of redistricting will either be a "wash" or will wind up giving the Democrats a shot at more seats, Marcotte points to facts, rather than media speculation, which includes research done by experts who keep an eye on these things.  There are two sides to the story.  While Republicans do control state legislatures in several of the states that are getting new seats, Democrats control state legislatures in states that lost seats, which also have to be redrawn.  In Illinois, where Democrats are in charge of the process, the seat that was taken away was a Republican seat, and the redrawing of the district lines put Democratic majorities in at least two other districts where the GOP had a razor-thin advantage.  In Pennsylvania, an independent commission, which re-aligned the districts prior to 2018 and doubled the Democratic seats from five to ten, has essentially proposed the same thing, which moves Democratic majorities into two marginal GOP districts.  

Even a casual observation of the districts drawn in the state of Texas, for example, where room has to be made for two additional members of Congress shows that there was virtually no place for Republicans to go to create two more GOP seats, while still protecting the ones that they have, because the population growth in the state over the past decade has yielded far more Democratic voters, specifically Latino Democratic voters, while the white, Republican vote has diminished significantly since 2012, by more than 10% and more than a million votes, reflected in the statewide totals that Beto O'Rourke got in his run against Ted Cruz, and what Biden picked up in 2020.  Even Clinton's total in 2016 was up by nearly half a million over what Obama got in 2012.  

Observing vote totals from elections since 2010 show that the Republican share of the vote in congressional elections nationwide has shrunk by 5%.  And while both parties are guilty of gerrymandering, by definition, it is much more obvious in states which have a statewide Democratic voter majority but a Republican legislature drawing the lines.  When an independent commission was ordered to redistrict Pennsylvania in 2017, prior to the mid-terms, because of a lawsuit, the lines they drew, along geographic and political boundaries, and evening out the populations in the districts, changed the political affiliation of its congressional representatives from 5 Democrats, 14 Republicans to 10 Democrats, 9 Republicans.  That's much more aligned with the voter registration, though there are still a couple of "packed" districts in the Philadelphia area.  

Even states that had population growth, but didn't quite reach the threshold of adding a new seat, like Arizona for example, will find it almost impossible to draw congressional districts that don't reflect the significant growth among Democratic voters in the state.  Arizona also has a commission that draws the districts, and the maps they have released reflect the big political reality that Maricopa County, where three out of four Arizonans live, has become blue territory.  In a record voter turnout, Biden won the county by 40,000 votes and since that's where 80% of the growth has been, the new district alignments reflect this fact.  Portions of at least two marginally Republican districts have had to add more of Maricopa County to even out the populations.  That they would remain GOP is based on past assumptions, but the majority of Arizona's new residents are former Californians, who are Democrats by a 65-35 margin, and Latinos who, in 2020 in Arizona, were a 70-30 Democratic majority.  Latinos make up 60% of the new voter registrations since 2010.  

According to both the Washington Post and Salon, this is what the experts who do the digging on this think it looks like.  Maybe the rest of the media will pick up on it at some point, but I'm not holding my breath.  

Mid-Term Elections Are All About the Turnout

Marcotte's #4 reason for Democratic optimism has to do with the "vomit inducing" line-up of Republican candidates running for office.  It's unfortunate that the GOP has already managed to elect a number of these kinds of people, but it is fortunate that many others like them who have run for office haven't been elected.  I believe the "Trump factor," including his endorsements and pushing candidates, represents some of the best chances Democrats have for increasing their congressional majorities in both houses.  

It means that Democrats and moderate leaning independents will have to turn out and vote in November.  The Virginia election this past November is, perhaps, the best wake-up call that exists to drive this point home.  With a GOP candidate who was only marginally a Trumpie, and a not-so-exciting Democrat at the top of the ticket, it turned into a lower than expected Democratic turnout.  That can't happen in 2022, and it doesn't have to.  

The DNC does appear to have a very workable strategy and they are being very supportive.  The contributions, motivated by Trump's shadow, will underwrite a lot of strategy.  Democrats who will be on the ballot are, in many states, popular, have sizeable leads in early polling and have solid, well organized campaign teams that are working on getting the turnout they need.  In Arizona, where Senator Kelly has a strong, deep campaign aimed at turnout, there's also a strong, popular Democrat looking for a primary win for Governor, current Secretary of State Katie Hobbs.  She excites voters in Arizona because she's provided fact after fact to prove the vote totals in 2020 were accurate, and successfully engaged with the "Cyber Ninjas," the Trump fraud group that spent $6 million finding out that Trump really did lose to Biden in Arizona.  

The setup is similar in Georgia, where Stacy Abrams is set to make another run for Governor, and will be on the ticket with Senator Warnock.  That's a well funded, powerful ticket.  Those will be exciting campaigns.  In Pennsylvania, several popular Democrats are running for the senate seat being vacated by Pat Toomey, who is retiring.  The GOP is offering a slate of deplorable Trumpies, in a state he lost by a hundred thousand votes.  

But one of the things Democrats need to learn how to do is not rest on winning the Presidential race, but go back and make sure they cast a ballot in the mid-terms.  As we have learned, elections have consequences and even though there have been more Democrats voting nationwide since 2000 than Republicans, and that number grows, the turnout needs to be high because of the gerrymandering.  

This can be done.  Doug Jones won a special election in one of the most Republican states in the country by having a campaign that got the turnout against one of those "vomit-inducing" Republicans.  And even though he knew his term would be short, and in a general election he would be overwhelmed by straight-ticket voting Republicans, he was committed to the Democratic agenda while he was Senator.  He'd be an asset if he were in there now, coming from a state that is as conservative as West Virginia. 

For What It's Worth, Some Suggestions For Winning This 

Trump's strong disapproval rating, which averages 57% in composite polling data, isn't getting any better and in fact, gets worse with each passing month.  If the media just stopped paying attention to an ex-president who offers nothing but lies, he would fade into oblivion.  If you take the percentage of Republicans who say they don't support him, add that to independents and Democrats who say the same, you come to somewhere slightly above 70% of the electorate.  The Democrats have a strong core base and if Trump pushes a list of "vomit-inducing" nut jobs, who wind up beating some mainstream Republicans in primaries, the Democrats can count on winning some of those seats.  

We need to take advantage of that in every place possible.  These GOP candidates have nothing to offer and are basing their campaigns on falsehoods.  Compare and contrast everything the Democrats are doing to genuinely make things better for people with Republican opposition to any kind of help, support or stimulus and their tendency to redistribute income from the working class to the rich.  That should be a major motivator for voters.

Ignore the media, even the mainstream media, and anything that speculates or relies on past trends without pointing out facts.  Amanda Marcotte, of Salon, is to be commended for doing exactly that in this piece which makes it worth citing and sharing.  Likewise, several Washington Post and New York Times political writers do the same thing.  Both of those publications are worth the ridiculously cheap electronic subscription rates.  MSNBC's evening lineup, specifically Joy Reid, Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell, are A+.  The weekend lineups are also excellent.  Let's see if we can't improve their ratings.  

The economy is roaring.  There's been some obstruction within the party, but there's also been some movement in a positive direction, especially by a couple of Senators in particular.  I'm working on digging up some facts, but I'm hearing that Democrats in both West Virginia and Arizona have made significant impressions on Senators from their respective states, in West Virginia specifically, where over 60% of the voters strongly approved of the Build Back Better bill in its original form, I hear that the response was "overwhelming."  

Vote.  Every time there's an election, get in line and cast a ballot.  I got some strange looks at a recent gathering for local, city council candidates when I raised my hand and asked the question, "Do you believe Donald Trump really lost the 2020 election?"  One of the candidates started in with the line that those issues really had nothing to do with the council election and I countered by saying I would not vote to put anyone in public office who believed that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, regardless of the issues or the level of the election, and I got some applause for saying it.  And I voted for the candidate who quickly and boldly said he believed the election was secure and accurate, and Trump was a liar.  He won, by the way.

Christian Doctrine Based on the Bible is Pro-Vaccine, Pro-Mask, Pro-Precautions

 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.  Let each of you look not in your own interests but to the interests of others.  Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus..."  Philippians 2:3-5, NRSV

One of the doctrinal positions that is taken by most American Evangelical Christians, and which they claim is one of the distinctives that sets them apart from other Christian denominations and traditions is that they believe the Bible is completely authoritative in all matters of faith as well as all guidance for individuals living a life of faith as a confessed believer in Jesus as their savior. They believe the words of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, apart from the Apocrypha, are without error in their transmission to the original authors and infallible in practice.  

What that means, in an American Evangelical context, is that the life decisions of someone who claims to be a Christian, and who affirms this particular doctrine, would make decisions affecting their lifestyle based on the principles that are found throughout the Biblical text.  So someone who believes the Bible is the sole authority for their lifestyle would certainly consult the scriptures when making a decision about whether or not to get a vaccination.  And if there were a "religious objection" to receiving a vaccine, such an objection would have to be found in the Bible, in an applicable and correct context, in order to be considered valid.  

Conclusion:  There is No Supporting Biblical Evidence for Religious Objections to COVID Vaccines, or Which Supports an Anti-Vaccination Position

Not only is there not a Biblical text anywhere, even among Old Testament passages which, in their correct context, apply to the old covenant between God and the Jewish people and for which there is no longer a context for literal interpretation, but the Biblical text, specifically the inspired words of the church's early Apostles, actually place a responsibility on Christians to be the leaders who set the example for the community when it comes to doing the right thing.  When it became clear that vaccinations had been approved, were effective in fighting off the effects of COVID, preventing it in most cases, and that the pathway out of the pandemic nightmare is a fully vaccinated community, Christian churches should have opened their doors to vaccination clinics and their members should have been the first ones in the line, bringing their neighbors with them and encouraging them to get vaccinated.  

How can I draw this conclusion?  Take a look at the passage cited at the beginning of this article, authored by the Apostle Paul to the Christian church at Philippi.  Paul says, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus," and he concludes that statement by saying, "who though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."  Philippians 2:6-8, NRSV

So Christians are prompted to be like Jesus, putting the needs of others ahead of their own interests. Healing was one of the key cornerstones of his ministry, not merely an attention-getting device for his sermons, but a way of meeting the needs of people who were suffering.  The COVID vaccinations which have been developed have provably saved lives, prevented people from getting sick and among those who have received them, has slowed and stopped the spread of this virus and its variants.  A Christian following Biblical principles making lifestyle decisions would be an activist for vaccination, not only setting the example by getting vaccinated personally, but encouraging others who may have doubts or fears to get them as well.  

I have seen some Christians take the lead on this.  One congregation that meets not too far from my home has enlisted volunteers and is using its two vans to transport people to vaccination sites, one of which is located in their church hall.  I saw posts from a church on social media declaring that because their congregation wanted people to feel comfortable about coming back to church, the entire membership was getting vaccinated and would wear masks at church gatherings and worship services.  Neither of these churches would be considered "Evangelical."  But they certainly understand the mind of Christ. 

Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.  Philippians  2:I4-I5, NRSV

You tell me, do you see Christians "shining like stars", taking the lead and setting the good example as far as this pandemic, in this country, is concerned? 

There is no Biblical support for an anti-vax argument.  Nothing I've seen regarding "religious objections" to vaccinations, or in the politics of the anti-vaxxer movement comes from any Biblical precept or principle, and there's no supporting texts.  It's all about personal choice, individual "rights" and whining about "tyranny," and "if the government can tell you to do this, they'll tell you to do something else." It's usually sprinkled with falsehoods about the vaccinations being "rushed" (If they were, wouldn't that be Trump's fault?). But that's not tyranny, and that's not true.  

Of course, the fact that over 90% of Americans, including about that high of a percentage of anti-vaxxers, have submitted to mandatory vaccinations for rubella, diphtheria, polio, small pox and a variety of other diseases, none of which are as deadly or contagious as COVID.  So there's some hypocrisy blended in here as well, along with a fair dose of ignorance.  It seems that being an anti-vaxxer involves an awful lot of grumbling and complaining, and not much in the way of "looking after the interests of others."  

Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.  James 4:I7, NRSV. 

Yes, that is cited in context.  

The Issue of Obedience to the Governing Authorities 

The government's involvement, taking the lead in directing the scientific, medical response to the pandemic, is part of its constitutional obligation to protect its citizens.  It has worked with private sector medical resources to conduct research and develop vaccines which are effective in preventing the spread of this coronavirus. The end result has been wide open access to both testing and to the vaccines, both of which are vital in stopping this pandemic.  

Had the government not become involved, the cost of tests and vaccinations, driven by the supply and demand "free market," would have been prohibitive.  Just a little over a year ago, from a private medical clinic, a test and consultation with a doctor cost $250.  Ending a viral pandemic can't happen if only those who can afford the necessary elements of medical care don't have access to them.  

It's pretty clear that being anti-vaxxer is an extremist right wing political position, with principled opposition not based on anything related to actually being vaccinated, but because it is a means to take a stance against the current government leadership.  I have absolutely no words to address that, except to say that it is a position of gross ignorance and bottomless stupidity.  A lot of prominent anti-vaxxers have died from COVID, which makes taking an anti-vaxxer stand successful if that was the goal.  Otherwise, it's gross ignorance and bottomless, fatal stupidity. 

Any Christian, Evangelical, Mainline Protestant, Catholic or Othodox, should be diametrically opposed and clearly on the opposite side of the anti-vax argument by clear, Biblical directive: 

From the Apostle Paul--

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.  Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed and those who resist will incur judgement.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.  Do you wish to have no fear of the authority?  Then do what is good and you will receive its approval, for it is God's servant for your good.  But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain.  It is the servant of God to execute wrath upon the wrongdoer.  Therefore, one must be subject, not only because of wrath, but because of conscience.  For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants busy with this very thing.  Pay to all what is due to them, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.  Romans I3:I-7, NRSV

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarelling, to be gentle and to show every courtesy to everyone.  Titus 3:I-2, NRSV 

From the Apostle Peter--

For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.  For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish.  As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil.  Honor everyone.  Love the family of believers.  Fear God.  Honor the Emperor.  I Peter 2:I3-I7, NRSV  

Emphasis in boldface is mine. 

Following what is a very clear and literal interpretation of scripture, noting that these two Apostles were referencing the Roman government, which was not a representative democracy, but an imperial dictatorship which would eventually take to persecuting Christians when emperor worship became the "official" religion of the empire, an anti-vax position would be opposed to the government, and would, be the opposite of Biblically directed Christian practice.  

There's not a mandate in place requiring Americans to get the COVID vaccination, which gives the anti-vax stance even more anti-Christian character.  But this principle of obedience to governing authorities, without qualification, which both Apostles attribute to God's authority and God's will, does indeed apply to states that have put emergency procedures in place to protect citizens from COVID, such as mask mandates and requiring proof of vaccination or recent negative test to attend public gatherings and events.  

Getting Vaccinated Does Not Demonstrate "A Spirit of Fear" 

...for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.  2 Timothy I:7 

When I've seen this verse applied to the reaction of people, including medical experts and those who, in their occupation are responsible for the safety of others, it is take completely out of its context.  First of all, in order to claim that mask mandates, vaccinations and other steps to prevent COVID, including quarantines and closures, are the result of a "spirit of fear" requires making an unqualified judgement of someone elses feelings and actions, which is not possible.  Jesus himself says that judging the actions or intentions of someone else by our own personal convictions or standards is hypocritical.  If I say that wearing a mask, getting a vaccination or staying home from work is not the result of fear, then that's the way it is and the words of Christ in scripture say so.  

The first part of this complete thought, that gives it its context, is found in verse 6, 

For this reason, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands;  

Paul is addressing Timothy, who needed some encouragement to continue his ministry.  Paul is writing from prison, arrested and sent there because of his preaching and ministry.  Timothy may have paused in his work at this point because he feared persecution and Paul is encouraging him to continue, reminding him of his gift.  Being fearful of things that have the potential to harm us is natural, but doing something to alleviate the potential harm isn't a demonstration of fear, it is a demonstration of strength.  Paul reminded Timothy of the significance of the "laying on of hands" in which his spiritual gift was imparted and that, along with the faithfulness of his mother and grandmother, were his hedge against fear.  

Go Get Vaccinated 

The right thing to do is to take action which will contribute to the greater good.  We have all the scientific, medical information we need to know that the more people who get vaccinated, the quicker this pandemic will come to an end.  We may never be able to completely eradicate the coronavirus, but vaccinations will help us get to the point where they have limited ability to infect because there are few hosts who don't have immunity to it.  The more people who are vaccinated, the less chance a dangerous, more contagious variant will develop and spread.  And the higher the vaccination rate, the quicker the restrictions that none of us likes will go away.  

This was an opportunity for American Evangelicals to set the kind of example for others that both Paul and Peter instructed and encouraged them to do.  It's been pretty obvious that what should have been their finest hour in terms of theit testimony for Christ and the example they have set has turned into a missed opportunity and very bad publicity because of the anti-vax stance of high profile church leaders.  That lost reputation is not salvageable at this point, at least not in terms of anything that can be done regarding the pandemic itself.  President Biden, Vice President Harris and the administration, not the churches of Evangelical Christians, are the leaders in America's fight against COVID.  

Give that a little bit of thought.