https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2023/04/from-her-own-perspective-boeberts.html

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert's recent announcement that her sixteen year old son would be making her a grandmother at age 36 was accompanied by some remarkably hypocritical comments from her.

"So we can nitpick what the Bible says is right and wrong, but I think just having that heart posture of wanting to serve God and do the right thing is so important," she told Dave Rubin, a conservative talk show host. That comment followed her saying, "Obviously, I'm a Christian and you know there are standards we like to uphold, but none of us do it perfectly."

Boebert is not an articulate speaker, so the position she is actually taking isn't always clear. But for one who campaigns frequently with a microphone and a preacher-like pacing and pointing that frequently makes use of church buildings as campaign venues, and whose rhetoric and perspective is a classic, textbook blend of right wing politics with fundamentalist religion, going soft on the issue of personal morality, which is a major component of both Jewish and Christian doctrine, is inconsistent with most of the rest of her politics and her brand of Christianity.

She's right when she says that none of us uphold standards of Christianity perfectly. But she missed the point completely. It's not a matter of "nit picking." Christianity is a faith that rests wholly on grace. And while she doesn't want to "nit pick the Bible" with regard to her son's situation, she doesn't seem to mind doing the equivalent of that to those she identifies as her political opponents.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2023/04/age-not-factor-signal-press-endorses.html

The economy is moving along well. Inflation, which is the sign of a strong economy and a good job market, is under control. That's not something heard in the media now, as the focus on the 2024 election coverage ramps up, but that's a fact. Gasoline prices are stable. The unemployment rate is at a historic low. Lots of people love to complain that they don't have it as well off as they should have, but the fact of the matter is that, two years into the Biden Presidency, the contrast between his success and the failures, inept mistakes and corruption of his predecessor, are as stark and realistic as any in history.

So, with nothing else from which to manufacture news, the media is focusing on Joe Biden's age. O.K. Well, that's a factor. He's the oldest President we've ever had. So what? It opens him up to criticism from enemies and political opponents who throw around terms like "dementia" and slow mindedness. There's been no evidence of that. He grew up with a stutter, which still affects his speech, his voice, because he uses it so much, does get raspy on occasion. But it is clear to anyone who knows and is objective about it, that his age is not a disability, and hasn't been one up to this point.

And as far as Nikki Haley's remark is concerned, that electing Joe Biden is just setting things in place for a Harris presidency, well, if that turns out to be the case, a Harris presidency would be a considerably better prospect than a Haley presidency, especially if the latter follows the pattern of mediocrity and absence of service to the people that her governorship of South Carolina did. Having Kamala Harris as Vice President is an additional reason to vote for Biden. And it would be infinitely better than the orange buffoon.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2023/04/just-so-you-know-in-case-youre.html

It is because I believe faith means living according to virtues that give our life meaning and purpose that I am a Democrat, who believes in democracy and all of the individual freedom that comes with it. I will stand up for it and fight for it.

I will also stand up for, and fight for a pure Christian faith in the face of an intrusion of apostasy and heresy that is distorting its doctrine, corrupting its theology and undermining the effectiveness of its mission and purpose. I'm talking about the intersection, and I use that word with deliberate smugness, of Christianity with right wing Republican politics and MAGA Trumpism, that has subverted loyalty to God and replaced it with loyalty to power and influence. It is not possible to be loyal to political leaders whose lifestyle is diametrically opposite the values and principles, mission and purpose of the Christian gospel. That is the main false, paganism of our time and place.

It is not necessary for anyone to intellectually challenge what I believe, or try to prove it wrong, or belittle it, or criticize me for believing it. If you're not a believer, that's OK. I'm not asking you to become one in order for us to agree politically, socially, or otherwise. But it's not necessary for you to justify your perspective by bashing mine.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2023/04/arizona-county-hires-election-denying.html

After multiple controversies, lawsuits and actions demonstrating an incredible amount of gross incompetence, two county supervisors in Cochise County, Arizona have approved the hiring of a conspiracy theory-spouting election denialist as the man in charge of counting their ballots. These two supervisors continue to insist on casting doubts on the accuracy of the last two elections, despite evidence that proves those accusations to be lies.

They've cost the taxpayers of the county thousands of dollars in legal fees for their incompetence. Their antics led to the resignation of a competent, professional election supervisor, something they apparently had on their agenda when they were originally elected. They almost caused the county to not have any of its votes counted in the 2022 midterm elections because of their illegal delay in failing to certify the vote total, making the same false claim about Dominion voting machines that have been proven false time after time after time.

All but one of the county residents who came in to provide testimony during the supervisors meeting expressed their displeasure at the hiring of this individual, who was one of the election deniers leading the effort to attempt to stop certification of votes in November, 2022, in order to try to save the election deniers who lost.

It's time to put an end to this nonsense. These nut jobs don't outnumber us. Finish the recall effort against Crosby, and that's enough to make some change. It might just be the encouragement others need in other places like Cochise County to motivate and bring an end to this creeping fascism.

https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/cochise_county/bartelsmeyer-approved-as-new-county-elections-director/article_b20f3d06-e3aa-11ed-bab4-07574fe1cb27.html

Excerpts:

Sierra Vista resident XXXXXXXXX stated, “After learning who Bob Bartelsmeyer is and what he has done, my first statement about the board of supervisors’ voting on hiring him to replace our previous elections director, Lisa Marra, would normally be ‘You’ve got to be kidding!’ Yet, after all the chaos and embarrassment brought to Cochise County by Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd, along with Recorder David Stevens, how could anyone be surprised by their determination to hire this nut job?

He went on to say Bartelsmeyer spread false claims about election equipment manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems, the company that just won $787.5 million in a defamation lawsuit.

Portal resident XXXXXXXXXXX was “vehemently” opposed to Bartelsmeyer’s appointment and stated, “Why would we hire a man who abandoned his former post as slections director in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, after just eight months of employment and right before a primary election? Now he is willing to ditch his current job as elections director in La Paz County after just one year of employment there? Perhaps it won’t be long before Mr. Bartelsmeyer moves on to an even larger county — such as Pinal or Maricopa — leaving us in the lurch before an upcoming election, as he has done in the past.

“The strongly partisan and false narrative that Mr. Bartelsmeyer spreads on social media is neither professional nor appropriate for a person entrusted to perform fair and secure elections in an unbiased, non-partisan manner.”

“It should be clear by now that folks like Bob Bartelsmeyer, Tom Crosby, Peggy Judd and David Stevens, who repeat these disproven lies and debunked theories, have no place in county government and there are very real consequences when they are publicly and unabashedly promoted.”

before the nominating conventions.

There is no excuse for that not happening and if it doesn't, then they're not doing their job.

People all over the world are looking at the US and wondering how it is that someone who can openly commit crimes that are obvious violations of the law and the constitution can be walking around, campaigning for the presidency and mocking representative democracy at every step.

There are third world countries with cleaner politics.

We talk about being serious about our democracy but we act like we don't care.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2023/04/on-political-and-religious-right-does.html

Who groomed Lauren Boebert's son for getting his 15 year old girlfriend pregnant? Who launched the message that the Congresswoman "wasn't going to nitpick the Bible" in her response, after nearly three years of nitpicking the Bible on the campaign trail? Who groomed Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol? Who influenced her boyfriend to use his new-found fame and grab some cash by posing for a photo shoot in a pornographic magazine?

With "one man, one woman equals one marriage for life," as the centerpiece of the religious right's position on "family values," it seems a little strange to me that in 1980 they chose to nominate a divorced, "B" movie actor with marital fidelity problems over the most visibly Evangelical Christian ever to occupy the White House. Or that they ended up giving the most support they've ever given any candidate to the man with the most worldly, anti-Christian image they could find, twice divorced, multiple extra-marital affairs, including with known porn stars and make him their standard bearer. Strange, perhaps, but surprising, no not really. It's standard M.O.

One of the early efforts to bring Evangelicals into the political far right involved a movement in the Southern Baptist Convention which started in 1979, known as the "conservative resurgence." It's two architects, Dr. Paige Patterson and a Texas appeals court judge, Paul Pressler, are in legal and ethical battles, one over handling of sexual abuse cases on seminary campuses, the other over allegations of homosexual assaults made against young men with whom he came in contact while involved in local church ministry, or his law firm.

are wanting someone else to run is just cable news overdrive. It's something to talk about, like rehashing, over and over, the Desantis-Trump race. Poll questions can be fashioned in such a way as to get a specific response. I saw one poll online in which the questioning was asked like, "Would you vote for a mentally declining, 82 year old for President?"

Here's the deal. Biden is running again, with no sign of mental or even much of a physical decline. He has somewhat of a stiff walk, but he took a nice long walk through downtown Kyiv in the middle of a war. If he runs, at 82, I have no doubt that he will be able to do the job as well as he has so far, which is as well as it has been done since Obama. And if something happens, which is a risk for anyone, including in their 80's, there's a backup.

We're more than a full year away from the election and I'm already sick of hearing the repetitive hash of Desantis-Trump noise. If Biden runs, he wins.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2023/04/a-747-million-admission-by-fox-news.html

There was never any doubt in my mind, at any point, that Fox News, including most of its local network affiliates, put a spin on the news that made facts unrecognizable and that it served as a de-facto propaganda arm of the Republican Party. Frankly, I've really never watched it. The closest I've come is when interviews are played on other networks because certain politicians won't appear anywhere but Fox. Other than Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson, I couldn't name another person who appears on the network.

What we now have are admissions from those within the company responsible for content of news and commentary broadcasts that they knew the claims about rigging voting machines was a complete and total invention of the Trump campaign, and that the "reams of documented evidence" promised by Rudy Giuliani, which never made it into a single courtroom, did not exist. This is no small amount of money, but I'm sure it represents the accounting department's best guess at what it can afford to get this out of the court without completely bankrupting the company. Unfortunately, with much more to come, based on this same lie, I don't believe Fox News will be able to continue to exist in its current form.

Personally, I believe everyone involved should be held accountable. This was a crime committed against the American people, a lie that they continued to circulate when they knew that what they were reporting wasn't true. And those in Fox's lineup who opened their mouths and spread it, including the likes of Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, should have to pay out every penny they have to their name to cover the damages. Frankly, they should serve time in prison, along with Trump when he is convicted of seditious conspiracy.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2023/04/will-political-victories-in-tennessee.html

There will be political successes down the road for Democrats, including in parts of deep red states, for which credit can be given to the "Tennessee three." Tennessee's house speaker, Cameron Sexton, took the opportunity provided by a protest that descended on the state capitol building to try to expel three Democrats from the already veto-proof state house of representatives. What he and his fellow Republicans did will go down in history as one of the most politically stupid moves they could have made.

Their attempted expulsion of the three Democrats did more, politically, to advance the cause of common sense gun control than any Democrats in the legislature have been able to do. Expelling the two young, black men, but not the white woman, made them look pitifully racist. The lack of any acknowledgement or denial of that, especially on Sexton's part, was a huge political mistake. Trying to equate the protest at the capitol in Nashville with the violent, rebellious insurrection in Washington on January 6, 2020 was laughable. And trying to shift the focus away from the pressure put on the Republicans in the legislature for Tennessee's lax, virtually non-existent gun control laws, which were responsible for the deaths of six people on a Christian school campus in Nashville, was about as unsuccessful as possible as a political move.

Both of the young, African American gentlemen expelled by the Republicans from the legislature are back, at the overwhelming request of their respective local authorities. I would say they both are guaranteed re-election, if they choose to run again. They succeeded in making speaker Cameron Sexton, look very bad in terms of both being against what people want with regard to gun control and in what turned out to be an ugly, racist event in expelling two black men from the legislature. Likewise, Florida educators have successfully blocked "Stop Woke" temporarily, in the courts, on its way to appellate courts which Desantis says will be more sympathetic to his perspective. But these "wins" are not enough.