This is What the Conservative Agenda Looks Like. Are You Willing to Accept This?

Rick Pidcock: Conservative's Agenda for America Looks Like my Bob Jones University Handbook 

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.  

Pseudo-Christianity is at Work

The conservative agenda blended with conservative Evangelicalism is not what I call "Biblical" Christianity.  That is to say, it is not the Christian gospel, nor is the practice of faith which emerges from the faith formation caused by the Christian gospel political in nature, nor does it promote any of the controlling aspects described by Pidcock in his experience at fundamentalist colleges and universities.  That kind of perspective and means of control is based on "proof texting," which is simply citing single verses from the Bible out of their context to justify a controlling practice.  

There's a wide gap between the academic study of the Bible, in its historical context, along with using the literary forms of its original languages, contrasted with the single-verse citations of fundamentalist Christianity, which doesn't even consider the fact that the authors never intended to have fragments of their work lifted out of context in a "verse," which is neither a literary device nor a complete thought, but merely a numerical reference added by the early printers of the Bible to find specific passages.  It's not possible to come up with a literal application of a 2,000 year old work written in the ancient version of several foreign languages, Greek and Aramaic specifically, which are not easily translated into English without understanding its historical context.  

Fundamentalists and many Evangelicals get around this by simply declaring that the Bible is inerrant and infallible, and that it's spiritual inspiration is both verbal, meaning the very words were inspired by God himself, and plenary, meaning that the whole, which is the sixty-six books of the Protestant Bible according to them, is inspired, and nothing else.  

The practice of Christian faith that emerges from that blend of error compounded with error is a legalistic system of works, required to please God into blessing the nation in which one lives, specifically, a "Christian" nation, meaning one in which a majority of the population is Christian.  It is as far from the genuine, Apostolic-inspired Christian gospel as any other cult that has emerged from Christianity, like Mormonism or Jehovah's Witnesses or Christian Science.  

But it has become dangerous because it has inserted itself into far right wing politics, via leaders like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, and to a lesser extent, Franklin Graham and Rush Limbaugh, the latter of whom helped build the bridges between the secular aspects of far right extremism and fundamentalist Christianity.  There's no trusting human nature, so instead of a faith that is based solely on God's grace for the forgiveness of human sin, a set of required works is substituted for the salvation experience.  Morality cannot simply be inspired, according to these people, it must be enforced.  And since their own leadership includes the only pastors and church leaders who know the truth and aren't afraid to tell it, no other churches can be trusted, the Catholics and mainline Protestants have all gone apostate, according to them, and attendance at their worship services and classes is required, along with a set of rules to obey to prove individual worthiness to God in order to live correctly and go to heaven at physical death.  

If America Doesn't Follow These Rules, God Will Judge it and Destroy It, Just Like Ancient Israel 

The centerpiece of this false gospel has been the Roe v. Wade decision.  Abortion is the main reason for God bringing down his judgment on America like he did to ancient Israel for their idolatry.  Never mind that there's no such covenant found in the scripture pertaining to any other people on the face of the earth, except Israel, or that the covenant of the Christian gospel is not made with nations or countries, but with individuals.  So instilling the fear that God will judge America like he did Israel because of the sin of abortion is the centerpiece of the union between ultra right wing Christianity and ultra right wing politics.  

The only way to save ourselves, according to them, is to submit to their rules, and their authority, let them have the power and maybe their righteousness will appease God and keep him from destroying the country.  This will also involve the destruction of all of the evil elements in society holding it back from God's favor.  The name for this, in some Christian circles, is post-millenialism.  It's the idea that if the Christians are in political control of a country, they are helping to usher in the return of Christ.  

Are You Willing to Live Under This System and Rule?  

So I'm going to ask a straight up question.  Is this the America you want to live in?  Because this is what it will become if Trump is ever elected again.  So if this is what you want, then do everything in your power to facilitate Trump's re-election, because he will give these people the power to do whatever they want to do, in order for him to be President, and get away with doing as he pleases.  

Here's a very simple way to prevent this from happening.  Keep this, put it on your refrigerator, and remind yourself that you still have the power to stop this from happening to our country.  

• You must cast a ballot in the next presidential election.  
• Set aside all of your petty little issues, Biden's age which is a non-factor, your tendency toward hyper-progressivism or reserved moderate tendencies, and all of the side issues that are trendy to talk about but dangerous to vote for, and cast your ballot for Joe Biden.  Not Jill Stein.  Not RFK Junior.  Not No Labels.  Not some irrelevant distraction funded by Russia.  
• Vote ONLY for Joe Biden for President.  No protest, no uncommitted.  Joe gets your vote.  
• Do not fail to show up or make sure you drop your mail in ballot in the box in plenty of time for it to be counted.  You must vote, and any vote that a Democrat or committed independent makes for anyone besides Biden will be a vote for Trump. 
• Vote STRAIGHT PARTY DEMOCRAT for down ballot races.  Not third party, STRAIGHT PARTY DEMOCRAT.  

Is that simple enough?  

Conflicting Parental Messages in Highly Publicized Arrest of Congresswoman's Son

Westword: Details Emerge in Arrest of Lauren Boebert's Son, Tyler

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.  

His father seems to be another story.  

He chose to blame all of this bad behavior, from the sexual relationship that led to his grandson's birth out of wedlock, to his son's felonious crime spree, on the COVID shut down, and all of the other "social shut downs" associated with it.  That's ridiculous and unfounded.  Yes, his son is in the media spotlight, because of his mother's election to Congress, and more specifically, because of her extremism and her skewed Christian nationalism. But look at the example he's been given to follow. His father also had some highly publicized misdeeds exposed because of the media attention given to his mother.  He doesn't have any standing to blame anyone else for his son's behavior.  

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who has been a very vocal critic of Boebert and her politics, justifiably and rightly so, has said that the media needs to back off of this problem, which they must resolve on their own.  He's right.  The media attention isn't something her son chose for himself, and it shouldn't be something that alters what would be the natural course of events if he weren't the son of a highly visible, controversial extremist congresswoman.  

Boebert has plenty of strikes against her when it comes to her re-election.  Her son is off limits.  

So is Hunter Biden.   

"And They'll Know we are Christians by Our Love..."

Baptist News Global: Texas Pastor, Former SBC President Name-Calls Immigrants "Undesirables, Garbage and 'Raff'"

"Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love."  I John 4:8  

Preaching politics from the pulpit, instead of the text of the New Testament, the Christian gospel, is a clear sign that the church has been hijacked, and is in a state of apostasy.  Churches like the one referenced in this piece, Second Baptist Church of Houston, Texas, have never been about Christian ministry, evangelism or preaching.  They are collectors of large amounts of money, affluent congregations gathered in large numbers for protection from being asked to volunteer or do anything meaningful ministry-wise, to advance the mission and purpose of the church, who attract celebrity pastors addicted to the opulent lifestyle, and power they have over their congregation.

The preaching, which is a carefully constructed "feel good" inspirational piece, along with a nice dose of conservative ideology and aimed at the "perceived needs" of the congregation is pop psychology in a religious package.  It's orchestrated, with the worship music, and even the visuals, including set decorations, lighting and a blend of video and photographic images, aimed at making the point.  And the Christian content is usually just some dressing on the side.  The theme is completely pop psychology with a religious perspective and endorsement. 

So here is Ed Young, who has been pastor of Second Baptist Church since 1978.  He took what was a downtown church to the suburbs and under his leadership, saw its weekly attendance grow from 500 to about 30,000 on multiple campuses scattered around Houston, and a membership of over 80,000, mostly by attracting members from smaller churches around them which could not compete with the smorgasbord of ministry offerings at Second.  

Young turned being a pastor into a commercial enterprise.  Branding his product sales under "The Winning Walk," the name of his broadcast ministry, he packages and sells audio and video recordings of all of his sermons, as well as his books.  He has turned a church building into a commercial enterprise that includes a bookstore carrying his products, a fitness center and "family life center," where all kinds of things, including fitness training, can be purchased, a restaurant and conference center, and the church's sanctuary, holding about 10,000 people, has been designed to host concerts by Christian artists who sell their recordings in the lobby.  The facility was also built to accommodate conferences which attract high dollar keynote speakers and money from participants.  

The picture that comes to my mind is the description, in Mark 11, where Jesus cleared the money changers and merchants out of the Temple.  I've been to concerts there, and to worship services.  And that's my perception of it.  It's also a pretty protected pulpit.  Young doesn't leave it much, his sermons are broadcast to satellite locations, rather than having a pastor at that location preach.  At one point, before the video technology became available, he would take a helicopter from the Woodway campus out to the Katy campus to preach, to avoid traffic and get there in time to preach.  

Intruders in the Church

When I read stories like this, I keep going back in my mind to this verse in the obscure little book of Jude.  "For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness, and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."  

Reading this piece in Baptist News Global made me angry.  The authors description makes it sound like this pastor is stoking hatred among the members of his congregation, venting personal frustration and getting in his political attacks on politicians he doesn't like.  It's nothing like his biblically based "sermon series" from which he earned his reputation.  As my Dad used to say, "It sounds like he's stopped preachin' and gone to meddlin'."  It sounds like a mega church pastor who has let his power and influence set the course of his preaching.  

He's not alone.  False religion has stolen into the pulpits and churches of this country.  It goes back to Jerry Falwell and his "Moral Majority," and to Pat Robertson and his "Christian Coalition."  There's absolutely no biblical support for Christian churches to become agents of secular politics, and this sounds like that, with a heavy dose of the heresy of Christian nationalism thrown in for good measure.  It's a far cry from his preaching in the earlier days of his ministry, even if most of that was done to make a nice package to wrap up for peddling purposes.

Young is just another example of a Christian church sliding into apostasy.  

Randall Balmer and Jemar Tisby: Lusting After Political Power by Christians Results in the Loss of Their Prophetic Voice

Baptist News Global: Balmer, Tisby Say Christians "Lose their Prophetic Voice" while Lusting After Political Power

Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty: Christian nation ideology came early and has stayed late in American history.

Post Alley: Maga and the Souls of Evangelical Christians

One of our main themes at The Signal Press has involved communicating the message that being MAGA and loyal to Trump is antithetical to having faith in, and practicing the Christian gospel.  So when we see something like this piece, where Christian leaders who are well educated, experienced in leading churches, which is frequently a very difficult job involving ministry to members of the congregation, maintaining spiritual unity amid doctrinal diversity and theological autonomy, also speak and write about the incompatibility of genuine, Biblical Christianity with Trump's MAGA cult, we take notice.  We link their commentary, hoping that those who read it will take the time to share it with their conservative, Evangelical Christian friends, and perhaps will show some of them that their acceptance of the MAGA movement's platform has corrupted their church and rendered it ineffective in meeting its mission and purpose.  

Randall Balmer, an Episcopal priest and professor at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and Jemar Tisby, professor at Simmons College in Kentucky, recently teamed up for a webinar pointing out the corruption of Christianity which has occurred as conservative, fundamentalist and Charismatic/Pentecostal Christians, churches and denominations have merged their claimed belief in Biblical authority and inerrancy with far right wing political extremists who make up the MAGA cult.  They're not the only kind of American Christian that has allowed politics to infiltrate their ranks, but because of their doctrinal flaws, it has infiltrated and corrupted their churches the most.   

Tisby says that gaining control through politics is more or less an admission by conservative Christians of the failure of their faith.  Unable to bring about the kind of social change and control that they think is their mission and purpose by spiritual means, they are now resorting to political power to get their way.  According to Tisby, this takes away the Christian identity of the church, making it more political.  

"It's not Christian in the sense that it doesn't resemble Jesus," he says, "but it is Christian in the sense that it does use Christian symbols like crosses, and the Bible, and it does use prayer," he added.  

"White Christian Nationalism strips away any semblance of gospel witness because its purpose is to seize absolute control of government and society by ending democracy and pluralism," said Balmer.  "Once you begin to lust after political power, and political influence, you lose your prophetic voice," he said.  

Along with the moderator of the webinar, Nathan Empsall, who is also an Episcopalian priest and director of "Faithful America," an online Christian social action community, Tisby and Balmer described White Christian Nationalism as having white supremacy at its core.  It's neo-Christian, according to them, because it uses a Christian justification, claiming that God is on their side and that they have some kind of spiritual commission to be the ones in control of American government and society.  

While there is absolutely nothing in the text of the New Testament, and more specifically, absolutely nothing at all in the words of Jesus Christ himself, that remotely indicates this is how Christianity is intended to "reach the world," that's simply evidence that this is a pseudo-Christian movement, using the veneer of Christianity to justify their actions and to gather support from people who either don't know enough about their faith to know the difference, or who have been primed by this error having crept into churches for a long time.  And in denominations and groups which often shun education in favor of current spiritual revelation, the racist, theocratic tendencies are already there. 

Most of the apostles who became authors of the New Testament warn against this kind of heretical, apostate belief finding its way into the church.  When they wrote their prophetic warnings, the church was surrounded by a pagan society under Roman rule, and the idea of having the kind of political power necessary to rise up and throw off the Roman dictatorship with some miraculous, spiritual power behind them, was very appealing.  Most of the opposition from the religious leaders of Judaism that Jesus experienced resulted from the fact that his ministry didn't look to them like they had envisioned the Messiah after several hundred years of being under foreign rule. Conquests such as that of Alexander, the Romans and that of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, had convinced them that the Messiah would come as a military conqueror like David, re-establishing a political kingdom, not the spiritual domain which Jesus brought about.  

Even as soon as 20 years after the resurrection, the apostle Jude writes, "For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ." Jude, v. 4

The MAGA group and its leader certainly fit Jude's description of the denial of Jesus Christ, which they have publicly done on multiple occasions, passed over or excused by their pseudo-Christian apologists.  They fit the prophetic, biblical descriptions found in Jude.  Trump's lifestyle should be an open embarrassment to any Evangelical Christian, the adultery, the pathological lying, the glorification of worldliness, refusing to pay debts, and now, the open revenge he is promising that is antithetical to Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, which makes Trump an antichrist by definition of I John 4:1-3.  

Thankfully, there are Christians whose faith experience and educational background not only allow them to see this for what it is, but who are able to show how this clearly contrasts with the Christian gospel preached by Christ, and point out that white, Christian nationalism is not Biblical, is un-American and anti-Christian and corrupts both the church and the nation.  

Is This a Strategy of the "Liberally Biased Media"?

Since the 2016 election, I've limited my television news watching to local stations for local news, sports and weather, and the evening and Sunday lineup on MSNBC.  I reserve Saturdays for college sports.  I understand that while they try to avoid an obvious bias, they are commentators, not reporters, and they are putting their own perspective into their commentary, usually supported by evidence.  I much prefer their election coverage, especially on evenings such as the South Carolina Primary, where they can feel free to speculate, to be critical, to point out the obvious, and give a really realistic perspective of what's happening with the exit polls and the information being gathered.  

MSNBC's coverage of the South Carolina Republican Primary gives a great example of their approach.  They found some Trump voters who were willing to tell their reporters why they were voting for Trump, and there were no leading questions asked.  They just asked them who they were voting for and why, and they let them do the rest.  It was an eye-opening experience.  Everything that has been made part of the "deplorable" caricature of MAGA voters was right there for anyone to see, fully exposed in its unbridled ignorance and inconsistency.  MAGA is defined as a cult, in political terms, and those voters whose comments appeared on MSNBC's programming underlined exactly how dangerous it is to American Democracy and to the Constitution, as well as to the peace and social order that exists and protects us from violence and destruction.  

These people have, in every sense of the word, lost their minds.  And they are one hundred percent blind to the dangerous reality of the threat that they pose to the existence of the United States of America as we know it.  Comparisons to the Nazi movement in Germany in the 1930's are accurate.  There's been an abandonment of respect for societies norms, including respect for and obedience to civil law.  To them, laws they don't like are unjust, and it is just to disobey them, without consequences.  They are completely ignorant of this country's history, including of the volumes of words left behind by the founders which clearly state their intentions.  And they're full of fear, which causes them to look at everything as intentionally aimed at the destruction of their personal happiness. That's not an unfair evaluation of this movement.  

The fact that they've sold their loyalty to an individual who is one of the most psychotically disabled public figures in history should not be surprising.  Here's a guy who has aquired what they all really want for themselves, enough wealth to do as they please and ignore social standards, public opinion and the laws of a constitutional democracy.  He's been as "worldly" as they come, in terms of taking advantage of everyone with whom he does business, being openly dishonest and getting away with it, publicly humiliating wives whom he labelled as gold-diggers with numerous, publicly conducted adulterous affairs, and openly denying any adherence to the principles of the religion they claim is the most important thing in their lives.  

Their religion, conservative, Evangelical Christianity in most cases, is clearly not what they claim it is to them, or they would not be vulnerable to this man's philosophy of life as a pagan antichrist.  And that is what I got from MSNBC's coverage of the South Carolina Primary.  

Total Dominance of the News Cycle With Mixed Results

As a former President, Trump gets more coverage in the news cycle than the current President does, by far.  He's developed a strategy which gets him in the news for free campaign advertising as often as they will cover, and he has a knack for making them jump and run whenever he issues a call.  It's frustrating to me, to hear the name "Trump," over and over and over again, and to watch these journalists, who tend to be educational elites looking down their noses at most of their audience, incapable of resisting the temptation to cover something he's done that no other former President would ever have covered.  

So much for being fair and balanced, for journalistic principles, and for being a free press that holds government accountable to the people.  

But...maybe I'm missing something.  

In spite of the total dominance of the news cycle by Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, to make my point, he's not getting the benefit of all of that free advertising.  Using South Carolina as an example, in spite of all that he did, in a deep red state among his own party, where, considering the coverage he gets, he should have scored 90% of the vote, he didn't quite manage 60%, and that was a full 7% less than the polls said he would get.  His only remaining opponent, Nikki Haley, former Governor of South Carolina, picked up 40% of the vote, and was an embarassment to him as his victory speech clearly indicated.  

And a pattern that is beginning to show up, as we are now several primaries into the election season, is that there is a solid segment of Republican voters, at least 4 out of 10, who aren't really all that enthused or excited about Trump running again, and among that percentage there's a significant number of them, at least 33%, who are saying that they're not going to vote for him in November.  He couldn't carry deep red South Carolina if he lost 33% of the Republican vote, not to mention the 60% of independent voters who are steering clear of his candidacy.  

So I wonder if there's some sort of strategy behind the media's coverage, without much commentary, of the stupid, idiotic things he says and does.  Clearly, there's no one around him who is either brave enough or honest enough to tell him that much of what he says and does, while it makes his MAGA cult happy, is turning off a much larger percentage of voters who, either subtracted from casting a vote for him, or actually turning out for Biden, which will lead to his certain defeat in November.  And the news medis is spending a lot of time covering everything he says and does.  

Ignorance Seems to be Bliss

I was stunned when the news came out with the report of his most recent gaffe, his claim that he is now more attractive to black voters because they can now more readily identify with him because he's had his mug shot taken and has been placed under indictment.  That's an openly racist insult, not even subtle in its content.  His support among black voters, 16% according to some analysts, not more than 12% according to more reliable ones, is a little higher than his Republican predecessors.  But statements like this won't increase those numbers, which have already started to decline as primary season got underway.  

The reaction he got from blacks in South Carolina was exactly what to expect in the wake of a statement like that. He didn't get 16% of the black vote there, yesterday.  The very small number who voted in the GOP primary voted for Haley.  And if an insulting statement like that helps wake some black voters up out of the illusion that they might benefit from a Trump administration in some way, then, by all means, take whatever time is needed to keep it in the news cycle long enough for people to get its full racist intent.  

Until recently, I haven't seen any network actually play very long clips of Trump speeches.  I'm sure they can hear television sets clicking off even as his image shows up.  But lately, even MSNBC has hung with some of his speeches, even giving a few close ups as he seems to space out, lose focus, mispronounce strings of words, lose his train of thought and mix up statements he repeats over and over.  The far right media loves to try and put together clips of Biden stumbling over words or seeming to take some time to gather his thoughts.  They got Mitch McConnell off camera as quickly as they could when he had his blank-outs.  

Trump's speech at CPAC was a disaster of mispronounciation, rabbit chasing, lost trains of thought, a droning, way-too-long bore fest that emptied the auditorium about halfway through.  I saw more of that on MSNBC than they've ever played, and the major networks actually focused on the gaffes and blunders.  I don't know who came up with it, but I saw a speech he made recently in which he was so out of it, he actually shortened sentences, mixed up words and basically endorsed Joe Biden.  And while he didn't catch it, social media sure did.  

So I don't know if there's really a strategy behind all of this coverage.  Conservatives have been claiming for years that the news media has a liberal bias, that most reporters and commentators actually are Democrats who vote for Democrats and in spite of their training, can't hide their bias and be neutral in their reporting.  Perhaps, by giving this kind of coverage to Trump, letting his own words and actions indict him, they are employing a strategy which will lead to his downfall.  I certainly hope it does.  For all the time he gets on television and in the news and on social media, he has lost ground when it comes to favorability, since the 2020 election.  His negative poll numbers are higher, positive poll numbers considerably lower, than they were the last time he ran, and he's not attracting new voters while he's losing independent voters badly and even among moderate Republicans, isn't getting good favorability ratings.  

It won't make any inroads with his core base.  But he needs a lot more than that to win the election, and the more exposure he gets, the lower his support seems to go.  

 

 

This Might be Funny, if it Weren't so Tragic

Christian Family moves to Russia to escape LGBTQ, and now they're living in a nightmare 

There are times when the ignorance that comes to the surface in the mix of pseudo-Christianity that often passes for the real thing in North American culture, particularly in the more conservative sects of Christianity, is just absolutely unbelievable.  It really has become virtually impossible to practice the kind of Christian faith that is actually described by the apostles and other authors of the New Testament, and gives a theological and doctrinal foundation to the practice of the Christian gospel without being accused of being weak, or liberal, or of misinterpreting some already misinterpreted passage of Christ's recorded teaching.  Most Christians rest on their own definition of God, their own theology and doctrine and their own personal preferences, twisting what they call their faith into shapes that fit their ideology, with no resemblance at all to the life that Christ called his followers to live.  

Christians have been living, successfully, in full freedom to practice their faith as they feel led by the Spirit of God to do, in openly secular cultures around the world, for twenty centuries.  In Canada, which has guarantees of basic human freedom similar to the United States, no one is forced to accept any moral position they deem unsuitable, by religious conviction, for their family.  There are secular influences everywhere, all around, but Jesus and the Apostles did an outstanding job, in their written work and the record of Christ's spoken word, in preparing and equipping their early church for existing, living, and surviving in a pagan world surrounded by immorality and worldliness without having to compromise anything.  That is, in fact, the very foundational essence of Christianity, spiritual freedom.  

Apparently, Arend Feenstra and his wife found the atmosphere in Canada, favorable to lifestyles that they do not agree with, too oppressive for raising their nine children.  I see nothing in this story to indicate that they were being persecuted by persons of LGBTQ lifestyles, or that they were being forced by the government to expose their children to any of this.  

"There's a lot of left-wing ideology, LGBTQ, trans, just a lot of things that we don't agree with that they teach there now, and we wanted to get away from that for our children."  

And so, to get away from it, instead of just taking charge of their family, being intentional parents and dealing with adversarial ideology in the same way everyone else deals with it, they decided to find a place in the world where they wouldn't be exposed to these kind of ideas, and move there.  So they sold their farm and they moved.  

To Russia.  

That's the first sign that not all of the brain synapses are connecting, in either parent.  Thinking that Russia would be a more ideal place to raise your children than Canada, where no one is forcing anyone to accept lifestyles or ideologies or immorality that they choose not to accept, is inexcusable ignorance.  These parents have now moved eight of their nine children into an oppressive trap from which they might not ever be able to escape, because they have believed the lies that have been circulating around because of political stupidity, probably originating in the gool ole US of A.  Did they not pay any attention in school?  Clearly, what they thought they knew about Russia was pure poppycock.  

In Canada, they were free to be critical of the left wing ideology that they claimed was forcing them to move.  In Russia, well, apparently they're not free to be critical of anything.  And after the experience they endured when Anneesa Feenstra expressed criticism of the Russian officials after their money disappeared into a Russian bank, I wonder if they think their children are safer in Canada, where there is freedom of conscience for people to express their liberal ideology or extremist Christian views, or in Russia, where there is no freedom of conscience at all and where expressing one's opinion can be mortally dangerous?  

I guess there are Canadians who are as susceptible to the kind of mindless ignorance and blatant stupidity to which some Americans have fallen victim, as a result of our extremist right wing politics.  

Through work, I've met a couple of Ukrainian families who emigrated to the United States before the war broke out.  Even then, their fear of living so close to Russia under Vladimir Putin drove them to sacrifice everything, a restaurant business in one case, a medical career in the other, to bring their children to the United States to get them as far away from the reach of Russia as possible.  They've just been absolutely stunned to find Americans who think of Russia as some sort of Christian Nationalist paradise, full of white people and under the dictatorial thumb of a ruler enforcing Orthodox Christian principles.  

"Anyone who believes that lie," said my friend, whom I'll call Mikola, "has never been to Russia, or anywhere near it."  

I'm wondering where it was, in Canada, that this family encountered this ridiculousness anywhere in Christianity.  They missed the whole point of the Christian gospel and the New Testament.  Christ taught, and his words were recorded, and the apostles taught and wrote what conservative Christians believe is sacred, inerrant, infallible scripture with the main point being the instruction of followers of Christ in Christian living, how to live out your Christian faith in a world that was full of all kinds of pagan influences.  If they couldn't figure out how to protect their children from ideology they don't agree with, then they haven't learned anything about the faith they claim to practice, either. 

 

From a Grass Roots Democrat: Let's Get Our Priorities Straight, Get Control of the Narrative, Win the 2024 Election and Save Our Democracy

To my fellow Democrats, it's time to get our act together.  This cannot be overstated.  The Constitution and the government of, by and for the people that was established after ratification in 1788 is in danger of being destroyed by a political faction that has kidnapped and subverted the larger part of one of our major political parties.  George Washington warned us of the danger of partisan politics in his farewell address, something which most Americans have since ignored.  

But the danger has already presented itself.  It has built a following based on ignorance, selfishness, fear and bigotry, and it has succeeded in finding the weaknesses in a system built on a foundation of guaranteed individual rights and purely democratic values.  In fact, some of the safeguards put in place by the founders, originally for the protection of the constitutional democracy from becoming an imperialistic monarchy have played a role in their own weakening, and we can only hope that the creeping fascism now aimed at destroying our constitution and the liberties it guarantees has been caught in time, put in check and will be stopped before it can do further damage.  

I'm just a grass roots Democrat.  I volunteer to help out, I contribute as much as is possible for me to do on my income, and I spend some time writing pieces for The Signal Press, with the hope of contributing to party unity and party victories in elections, encouraging the 2,500 or so readers who visit here each month and offer back their encouragement.  So what I'm offering here is heartfelt conviction.  I am well educated, deeply involved in politics, know what is going on and desire to see our political party come to its largest majorities in the House and Senate, because I know that when we are in charge, the people benefit from it, and it's what's best for our country in terms of preserving and protecting the rights which the constitution guarantee to every individual, as well as keeping the country strong in the face of its enemies. 

The goal is to win across the board in November.  It's to win as many elections as we possibly can, from the Presidency on down.  

We're Not a Party "In Disarray"  

It's heartwarming to see the disarray going on in the House of Representatives on the other side of the aisle.  With the slimmest of majorities, under a Democratic President, the GOP can't hold it together.  They have no leadership ability, they have sabotaged their ability to govern with their inability and their prejudices. Democrats need to cash in this gift of political capital in every way.  

That means our party leadership needs to tighten things up and work with everyone to unify the party.  I sympathize with most of the causes that get reactions, draw attention and start protests.  But the people who do this need to keep from elevating the importance of their cause over the importance of all other causes.  Anyone who comes from a progressive viewpoint, regardless of where it falls on the spectrum needs to understand one basic truth.  

Their cause is dead if Trump wins.

Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib has passionately taken up the cause of the Palestinian people of Gaza.  I respect her position, and as an American and a Democrat, she has every right to publicly protest, hold her position and influence the government in her direction.  But, she is where she is because of the Democratic party, and she is part of it.  She needs to understand there's a way to go about protesting without rupturing the unity of the party.  To me, it seems that the Democratic party leadership in the House needs to get a handle on this.  It does not seem to me that she understands the manner in which she is making her protest will not change government policy.  And if her protest causes Biden to lose the election, then that's a fatal blow to her support of the Palestinians, and to anything else she hopes to accomplish as a member of Congress.  

Encouraging Democratic primary voters to cast an "uncommitted" primary ballot is, frankly, going way too far to make her point.  That's not the way this party handles its internal differences of opinion, and it will be counterproductive to any negotiating strength the Biden administration has with the Israeli government to bring about a solution, especially one that would satisfy her and her supporters.  The fact is that Tlaib and pro-Palestinian progressives in the Democratic party need the support of the leadership.  They need to do a better job of handling this if they want to have an impact and influence on the administration on behalf of their cause.  They can't elevate the value of their single issue over the whole party agenda, any more than the party should minimize theirs.  This needs to work.  

Let's Show the Country How a Real Political Party Should Work

Though we have two major political parties in this country, only one is still functioning as a political party, believing in principles of negotiation, compromise and mutual benefit of the American people.  The GOP has adopted a "winner take all" perspective, a selfish, "our way or the highway" approach that has led us to this point, where the whole idea of constitutional democracy is in danger, because they no longer understand cooperation for mutual benefit, and they don't want to.  

Individual rights can be provided without interfering with someone else's individual rights.  I'd like to see the Democrats who are further to the left work to incorporate issues and interests from those who feel they are outside the margins, and will vote for someone like Jill Stein.  While Stein may align with their views, other than express them, she is powerless to do anything about it.  She stands zero chance of being elected.  But there is a chance that she could draw enough votes away from Joe Biden to hand the election to Trump, just like she did in 2016.  And just like Rashida Tlaib, the chance of her supporters in the Green Party having any voice in government at all after that is less than her chance of winning the presidency.  Zero.  

Frankly, I have a difficult time understanding the point of the Green Party.  Most of their agenda is also included in the Democratic party's agenda.  They're more intense and extreme in some areas, which is neither an insoluble problem for resolving with Democratic leadership, and could be an advantage in helping get some things done.  The fact that a group of seemingly well-informed, well-educated voters on the left side of the Democratic party don't see themselves as a possible contributor to the loss of an election that dooms their own causes is a bit troubling, though, as is Stein and some of her politics, including her fascination with, and admiration of Vladimir Putin.  

So how about the Democrats developing a platform and a narrative that welcomes the groups on the left, including the Green Party, and neutralizes the threat of an electoral college disaster in swing states.  It's not that we're ever going to get any votes by appeasing conservatives anyway.  Trump is alienating a good segment of his own party who will, at the very least, stay home on election day.  We might as well go after the liberals with whom we're comfortable and who will actually vote for us at the end of the day when they're included and respected.  

"Time to Fight Dirty" 

Rachel Bitecofer's Tough Love Lesson for Democrats

When Democrats go off the rails in political campaigns, its because they lose control of the narrative.  We tend to be policy wonks, while Republicans beat the drum of a social agenda based on false information and run on personality.  But Democrats have, for the most part, had some pretty clear sailing through political waters since the 2018 election, especially when we've been able to communicate our message.  

"Shape the electorate and meet voters where they are."  Rachel Bitecofer, who has been spot on as a political analyst in this century, points to the strategy that has brought Democrats through unprecedented political wins over the past six years, based on controlling the narrative.  She suggests turning Republican political strategy around, and using it against them.  And when Democrats have followed her advice, they win.  

I'd suggest our party leadership take a close look at her new book, "Hit 'em Where it Hurts," and follow her advice which has worked.  Democratic party policy, as far as it benefits the people, is always a winner.  But the problem is that politics is no longer a debate over the finer points of policy.  With most of the political debate controlled by very biased, right wing media sources, and the think-tank institutions and their donors who support it, the Republican side of politics simply attacks candidates and focuses on the negative.  

There are some issues which Republicans have gift-wrapped and given to Democrats to use against them in full scale attacks. Bitecofer points out two that have given Democratic candidates in swing states considerable traction, enough to win elections.   In Arizona, for example, Adrian Fontes ran for Secretary of State against Mark Finchem, an actual participant in the Trump Insurrection, making that the central issue of his campaign, and won by a bigger margin than the other Democrats running for statewide office.  In Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer focused her attacks on Tudor Dixon's extremism with the unpopularity of the Dobbs decision, and also won big.  Rafael Warnock ran directly against a high profile Trump endorsee, and won re-election to a senate seat for the second time in just two years, also in a swing state.  

Democrats, in each of those examples, controlled the narrative.  And they won in swing states carried by Biden just two years before, by even larger margins.  From someone who really has a knack for getting the political predictions right, unlike most pollsters, this is the advice we need to take to a big win in 2024.  

I'm an Optimist, but I'm Also a Realist

So maybe a small, amateur blogger, who does his part to help Democrats win, has something worthwhile to say after all.  We're going to win in November, because a majority of Americans are well informed enough to know what's at stake.  We're going to win because our party candidates and strategists are smart enough to figure out how to get the message across to convince voters.  And hopefully, our leadership, which includes those in the Biden Administration and in Congress, are willing to work to keep petty bickering in check and focus on what is the real danger.  

And we'll all be voting for Joe Biden, who will be the only candidate running whose election will prevent America from falling into a totalitarian abyss.