May 6, 2024

What happens with all of the work Jack Smith has done, the evidence gathered, the cases he has made?

It must be frustrating to realize that all your work has been for nothing, as it becomes apparent that Trump is not going to face justice for January 6th or in the documents scandal.

May 2, 2024

The complicated realities of peace in the Israel-Hamas war that protesters need to realize.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/05/peace-in-israel-is-elusive-it-defies.html

It was the major world powers, primarily the UK and US, who opened the door to the influx of Jewish immigration into Palestine following the Second World War and the aftermath of the Holocaust, and it has been the United States who has taken over the role of the pre-war British Empire in terms of influencing world politics. So the first question is whether the United States, who is the chief financial supporter of Israel, has the ability to pressure the Israeli government into taking the initiative to make peace and making the sacrifices required to achieve it. There is no question that the United States has the power to make this happen, but with our political situation being what it is at the moment, the question is whether our politicians will do it.

We've facilitated Middle Eastern peace between Israel and its neighbors before. President Jimmy Carter brokered the biggest peace deal to date when he got Israel and Egypt to the negotiating table at
Camp David and facilitated that peace deal, which still holds. It will depend on the leadership of the Democratic party to make this happen, since the GOP does not recognize the legitimacy of any Palestinian claim or sovereignty.

So, to those of you protesting Israel's destruction of Gaza, keep that in mind when the November election rolls around. If you really are interested in the people of Gaza, and in pressuring the US to put a stop to the destructive bombing and killing, staying home because Biden hasn't jumped to your command or voting for Trump out of protest will definitely affect the ability of the US to pressure Israel into making peace. It will lead to the complete destruction of Gaza and the loss of any hope for the Palestinian people in Gaza or the West Bank.

It's not anti-Semitic to protest against Israel's attack on Gaza. At this point, six months since the brutal attack on Israel, and the murder of over a thousand Israelis that resulted, Hamas has not surrendered, been captured, or been eliminated as an opponent to an independent and sovereign state of Israel. It's becoming pretty clear that's not going to happen. The result of the war has been the murder of over 30,000 civilians, a small percentage of whom were military combatants or terrorists, the majority of whom were innocent civilians who happened to get in the way of the fighting and bombing. Being opposed to that, to the point of protesting against it, doesn't constitute a denial of the right of Israel to exist.

May 1, 2024

Arizona State Senate Repeals 1864 Abortion Ban

Source: Sierra Vista Herald Review, Sierra Vista, Arizona

State senators voted Wednesday to repeal the 1864 abortion law, leaving just a procedural move to send it to the governor for her anticipated signature. The 16-14 vote came after the coalition of all Democrats and two Republicans defeated various procedural motions designed to preclude final action on the measure approved a week earlier by the House on a 32-28 vote.

But even when Hobbs signs the legislation -- an aide said that is likely to come Thursday -- it still does not mean the law immediately goes away, a move that would leave only a more recent law allowing abortion until the 15th week of pregnancy. That's because the repeal, like most measures, cannot take effect until the 91st day after the Legislature finally adjourns for this year. But with key issues unresolved, including the budget and additional aid for K-12 education, there are at least several weeks before that is set to occur.

That means the law, which dates to territorial days, would still be in place when there is a final order from the Arizona Supreme Court on its April 9 order declaring the older law trumps the newer 15-week limit.

Attorney General Kris Mayes figures that the Supreme Court ruling that the old law and its ban on abortion except to save the life of the mother trumps a more recent 15 week law is set to take effect on June 27. Mayes on Wednesday asked the justices to delay the effective date of their ruling for up to an additional 90 days so she can weigh whether there is a legal reason to seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court. But there is no guarantee they will grant her request.

Read more: https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/state/state-senate-repeals-1864-abortion-ban/article_aff6dbe6-07f8-11ef-b612-e36213d9f88d.html

---

It's kind of up in the air exactly what this repeal will do. The best explanation, in understandable terms, is that when the state supreme court ruled that this 1864 law was still enforceable following the Dobbs decision, that nullified a more recent law which forbids abortion beyond the 15th week of pregnancy. So repealing this law, in effect, will leave Arizona without a law restricting abortions once the legislature adjourns from its current session, a few months from now.

The Republicans have a very narrow majority in the Arizona legislature, and it is quite possible that this particular issue will turn it blue the next time around. Voter registration and recent trends suggest that's the case. So there are some Republicans in very marginal districts in the bigger counties who see a pro-choice position as a means of saving their job.

April 30, 2024

Ignoring the mainstream media's sensational hype of the 2024 election, things are not nearly so bad as you think.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/04/can-medias-hype-of-2024-election-be.html

The impression that we are given is of a close rerun of the 2020 election, polls shifting back and forth as the GOP makes it clear Trump will be renominated, and the Democrats go with Biden. Trumpies are planning violence at their candidates insistence that he's not being treated fairly, third party candidates and independents are being given a huge share of media time, far beyond what their support warrants, and the fact that the GOP's presumptive nominee faces 88 indictments and is now on trial, giving all kinds of fodder to the sensationalism.

But, is that a realistic perspective of what's actually happening?


---snip---

What I do think will happen is that President Biden will comfortably win the 2024 election. He'll carry all the same states he did in 2020, expanding his margins of victory in Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan, he'll pick up North Carolina and Florida, and has a good chance of adding Ohio. He'll get a Democratic House of Representatives by a comfortable margin and he'll have a senate in which he won't have to worry about the whims and whines of Joe Manchin or Kristen Sinema.

I don't think that's just wishful thinking. I think that's a fairly accurate analysis, based on doing some digging, applying logic and listening to the few independent media sources who seem to be on the ball when it comes to finding out what is really happening. It seems, by observation, that Trump has lost more than he can afford to lose from his party, whether their current, out of touch leadership is willing to admit that or not. He already lost independent voters, and isn't doing anything to get them back. His campaign of retribution and vengeance is even turning off some notable conservative, Evangelical support. He has to increase his base to win, not decrease it, and with the electoral college relic still a factor, he has no place to go to make things any different than they were in 2020.

April 29, 2024

"I am your retribution" is the opposite of "Love your enemies." White, conservative, Evangelical Christianity is phony.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/04/right-wing-trumpism-is-denial-of.html

So, be honest. If Trump is a Christian's retribution, then that Christian has failed to acknowledge and practice this basic, core principle of his or her faith. And it means that all of the other evil that goes along with Trump, his adulterous affairs, his pathological lying, his cheating, the hatred and vitriol he spews against those he perceives as disloyal to him, also belongs to those who support him and accept this rhetoric. There's no way around it. And there's no Christian theological or doctrinal argument that can be made from biblical evidence to support this position.

Jesus told his disciples and followers, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." So, in Christian practice, following Trump as retribution is denying Christ as redemption. And it is not taking up a cross, it is taking up the adulterous affairs, greed that perpetrates dishonesty in business dealings, pathological lying, and all of the worldly evil that Trump claims as his identity.

The support this man receives as a candidate for this nation's highest office is evidence that many conservative Evangelicals are no longer sincere Christians, if they ever were, but in believing what amounts to heresy, are in a state of apostasy.

April 26, 2024

It's time to pack the Supreme Court. And I think that might be possible.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/04/its-time-to-pack-supreme-court.html

The political nature of the Supreme Court is telling us that the time has come for the Democrats in the Senate to pack the court with justices who are committed to the rule of law. Impeachment and removal of corrupt and incompetent justices like Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Neal Gorsuch is the best way to go, but with the sharp partisan wall that now exists in Congress, getting a two thirds majority would require Republicans voting with integrity instead of by their politically driven opinion, and there aren't enough Republicans with integrity left, if any at all, for that to happen.

So, packing the court with more justices, by amending the Judiciary act, is the only recourse.

In a legal system, justice system and government that is committed to cumbersome procedures which make it difficult to do anything quickly, this can be done fast enough to stop the current chaos and confusion of the Roberts court, and save the rule of law before this court destroys it. With the vote of Vice-President Harris there if necessary, this could be done in a matter of a month or so. Whether it will be, or whether it would even be considered, is uncertain. I'm just adding this voice to those who are now calling for it to happen.

Visionary leadership requires taking bold, courageous steps to make things happen which sometimes result in saving the country from disaster. And this is one of those steps.

April 26, 2024

Time to pack the court.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/04/its-time-to-pack-supreme-court.html

The political nature of the Supreme Court is telling us that the time has come for the Democrats in the Senate to pack the court with justices who are committed to the rule of law. Impeachment and removal of corrupt and incompetent justices like Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Neal Gorsuch is the best way to go, but with the sharp partisan wall that now exists in Congress, getting a two thirds majority would require Republicans voting with integrity instead of by their politically driven opinion, and there aren't enough Republicans with integrity left, if any at all, for that to happen.

So, packing the court with more justices, by amending the Judiciary act, is the only recourse.

This is also a place where the President can make some strides in gaining support among progressives in his own party. There's not a better way to ensure progressive influence for a generation to come than to nominate judges for the federal bench committed to that particular perspective.

April 26, 2024

Quaker peace plan for Israeli-Palestinian conflict comes from strong values, and "on the ground" experience.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/04/a-values-focused-faith-produces-plan.html

You could say that, when it comes to the Middle East, Quakers are "woke." And that's a good thing, because the hatred and violence that is advocated by those who are critical of, and opposed to this kind of societal wokeness only makes the problems worse. Being woke is the only hope there is to resolving them and to bringing peace.

So the Quakers are speaking with first hand knowledge, from a position that has a foundation undergirded by real values that are actually practiced, and not just talked about, and from the experience of having actually helped to bring about peace, equality and justice in those places where they've been able to minister and apply the resources available to them. They speak with authority. And instead of listening to those whose vision for both Israel and the Palestinian people always end in violence and have failed over and over, maybe it is time to listen to those who actually value peace, equality, and justice, and have the integrity to be consistent in their application.

This plan is not advocating for a cheap, easy peace. There is a recognition of sacrifice required from all parties. Hamas, and other Palestinian militant groups born out of the tangle of Middle Eastern politics, must deny their own nature, and hold those who have committed human rights violations, or who broke the law, accountable. This means they must take responsibility for the October 7th attack by bringing those responsible to justice. That's a gigantic ask, but a necessary one if peace is to be achieved.

Likewise, Israel must release Palestinian political prisoners, and it must recognize independent, autonomous Palestinian territory, which means giving up settlements in the West Bank and extending full civil rights to all Palestinians who are in its own territory. The Western Allies, specifically the United States and the United Kingdom, must assume responsibility for backing these policies, treating Palestinians and Israelis equally, supporting and helping enforce the ICJ restrictions on Israel and basically guaranteeing the original two-state solution.

April 26, 2024

Any hope of seeing Trump brought to trial for January 6th, or the stolen classified documents is gone.

It's not going to happen, and the Supreme Court is why. It'll be up to the voters, to us, to decide if we want the country that we've had, or if we just want to let it go. The balance of power is not a true balance when there's really no effective way of eliminating corrupt justices who refuse to follow or enforce the law.

Lying is now a core value accepted as a legitimate way of governing by the Republican party. That's Trump's legacy and unfortunately, it has gotten to the point where there's not going to be much we can do about it. It's too late, and our party's values are proving to be powerless in the face of massive evil and corruption.

April 19, 2024

In taking down Trump, actor Alan Ritchson, a.k.a. "Jack Reacher," doesn't get why Christians support Trump at all.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/04/i-dont-get-it-either.html

If you've never heard of Alan Ritchson, you're not alone. Ritchson is an actor who plays an ex-military police officer turned vigilante in an Amazon Prime series. That's not really my kind of entertainment, though I've seen advertising and video clips for the series. But I picked up really quickly on the article, linked above, in the Huff Post. It was who Ritchson is, and what he said that got my attention, mainly because he said what I've been saying for years now, and the reaction, predictable and typical of the kind of behavior exhibited by many American Christians who can't tolerate disagreement or dissent with their perspective.

Ritchson, a Christian, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, expressed confusion over Christians who support the former President.

"Christians today have become the most vitriolic tribe," said Ritchson in the interview. "It is so antithetical to what Jesus was calling us to be and to do."

If he'd made that statement from the pulpit of a church, and I was in the congregation, I'd have given him a hearty "AMEN!", applause, and a standing ovation. Contrary to popular perception, I think there would be quite a few other members of the congregation who would join in and support that position.

"Trump is a rapist and a con man," he said, "And yet the entire Christian church seems to treat him like he's their poster child and it's unreal. I don't understand it."

Neither do I.