February 26, 2024

Is this a strategy of the "liberally biased" media?

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/02/is-this-strategy-of-liberally-biased.html

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.

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.

February 20, 2024

This would be funny if it weren't so tragic.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/02/christian-family-moves-to-russia-to.html

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.

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.

February 20, 2024

From a Grass Roots Democrat: Let's Get Our Priorities Straight

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/02/from-grass-roots-democrat-lets-get-our.html

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.

February 19, 2024

Mike Johnson claims the Bible is his worldview; If that's true, then he shouldn't be supporting Trump.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/02/mike-johnson-claims-bible-is-his.html

The current Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, a Louisiana congressman from the northern, "Bible belt" part of the state, an Evangelical by virtue of his membership in a Southern Baptist-affiliated congregation, has made the statement that those who wish to understand his "worldview" need only read the Bible, and that's it. I'm suggesting, based on the evidence, including looking at this particular passage from the Bible which directly relates to the issue of politics and leadership, that the Speaker's real worldview is not biblical at all.

That's based on my own observation. It appears that the Speaker has an unqualified devotion for, and loyalty to, former President Trump. And frankly, it is impossible to lay claim to holding a biblical worldview, and also support Trump in any way, shape or form, including from a strictly political perspective. "Integrity" and "Trump" is an oxymoron. One either has integrity, or he doesn't, and support for Trump is an indication of a lack of integrity. I don't really care what the Speaker says about his worldview, if that's what he wants to call his perspective, it's not biblical, if that's the measurement he's using.

As a Christian, I could never accept or support any leader, political or otherwise, who has such a record of pathological lying, business fraud and blatant dishonesty, who treated all three of the women he was married to with contempt, having multiple affairs and then humiliating his wives with the public proclamation of his adultery, who doesn't have a shred of integrity when it comes to owning up to his mistakes, but instead, seeks vengeance against everyone who holds him accountable to the truth. And so, the Speaker of the House has a choice. He is either a follower of a Christian worldview with its foundation in the Bible, or he is a follower of Trump, and is just another dishonest politician who can't operate outside of partisan blindness.

February 18, 2024

Every dollar Trump raises to pay legal fees and judgments...

...is a dollar the GOP won't have to try and elect their candidates for office.

February 15, 2024

What news stories about the Democratic party win in New York on Tuesday should be saying.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/02/what-democratic-victory-in-new-york.html

One of the best barometers measuring both the impact and significance of the special election in New York Congressional District 3 to replace expelled Congressman George Santos is Trump's reactions on his social media site. All of the spin, downplaying, indifference and obfuscation in the conservatively biased media is nullified by everything from Trump's attacks on the Republican candidate, whom he claims he didn't endorse, but which, in fact, he most definitely did, to his over the top, angry, and partly incoherent rants in response.

They wanted this win, they desperately needed it, they recognize the political significance of losing it and it is one more in a growing string of Democratic party election victories that is pointing to the re-election of President Biden, regaining a majority in the House and holding on to, and possibly increasing, their margin in the Senate. On the Democratic party side, the winning combination includes the same post-Dobbs reaction that has led to significant shifts in support for Democratic candidates over Republicans in a whole string of elections going back to the 2022 mid-term, a clear drop-off of support for election denying conspiracy theorists in the core of the MAGA cult, and, perhaps, the newest bad news for the GOP could be backlash from the political game they've played over border security.

This, along with the state legislative seat the Democrats claimed in a special election in Berks County, Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, is another part of the arrow pointing toward the Democratic party taking control of Congress in November. It's coming. Everything in this particular race, similar to other special elections in this winning streak for Democrats, including the re-capture of the state house in Virginia last fall, is a strong indication that the GOP does not have anything it can run on in order to win. Being Trump and MAGA is obviously not enough, and in fact, it is obviously a losing proposition when it comes to national elections, and even to a majority of elections in the states.

So ignore the gloom and doom news media. They're desperately trying to make money off this while it lasts, which won't be long.

February 14, 2024

This is the kind of biased media coverage Democrats are constantly fighting against.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/tom-suozzi-wins-new-york-special-election-george-santos-rcna138674

Suozzi wins, by almost nine percentage points in a district that went for a lying, conspiracy theory spouting idiot in 2022. It's a win that goes about six points higher than the best polls guessed. This big of a win, just as it is, is yet another in a string of wins that point to high levels of success for Democrats in 2024. And MSNBC has a Republican strategist in their coverage, obfuscating, making it sound like they should have done a lot better than they did, which is hogwash and hinting that border security, which the Republicans just blew up this week because of Trump, was the big issue.

Let's put it in its context, at least. It was expected, because of Santos' idiocy and demented rantings, that any Democrat would win this race. Experts thought it would be fairly close, because of the make-up of the district. But races like this are won on turnout, and Democrats had plenty of motivation to turn out more voters than she did.

This election, if you want to call it a bellwether, was a smashing loss for Trump, for the GOP and for their hopes of keeping control of the house. This is a +7 Democrat, -7 GOP turnaround in a redrawn district that was, allegedly, 7 points more Republican after the lines were redrawn. If Democratic candidates do this well in districts Biden won in 2020, against Republicans who won in 2022, it would shift the majority to the Democrats by about 14 seats.

February 14, 2024

Polls miss it again.

It was difficult to find a lot of polling data for the NY 3rd district election, but most of what I saw had the Republican behind by as much as 3 points. Whether that was an educated media guess or an actual poll take of voters, it looks like 8% will be the actual margin for Suozzi. Yes, there are a lot of factors involved, including Trump sending hints to Republicans to play politics with the border, which ought to be good for about 5% of the vote switching to Biden nationwide. Of course, the last Republican to hold the seat was an ideal Republican, a flagrant, pathological liar and all-around nut job, and that probably helped. Then there's the post-Dobbs effect, which is probably the biggest attraction to independent and more moderate voters to go with the Democrat. And frankly, I think the news media's fascination with Trump and their compulsion to broadcast everything he does is a big contributor to Democrats as well, since he's an insane, demented pathological liar himself and the more people who see this, the more voters there are who will vote against him.

If I wanted to set odds and make a bet, I think Biden sits at about 55-41 at this point, and will carry all the states he did in 2020 and add Ohio and North Carolina to the mix.

February 12, 2024

This is not protected free speech, people.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/02/this-is-not-protected-free-speech-but.html

We have a real problem if a statement like this one, "Let Russia do whatever the hell it wants," made by a candidate for the Presidency, can be made without any consequences. This is not protected free speech by any definition that we know. And the real problem we have, aside from the danger this creates in possibilities of kicking off another World War, is that it doesn't appear America has the will, or the mechanism, to control it and do anything about it.

The fact that there are Americans who not only don't have a clue when it comes to the significance of a statement like this, made by a former President and current candidate for the Presidency, but who will allow treasonous remarks like this to sway their own opinion because of their ignorance, is a sign that the constitutional democracy under which we have prospered and lived for almost 240 years is in real danger. It is also a sign that the world is in danger of another conflict, this time with nukes, that has the potential to completely destroy human civilization. And that's not an exaggeration.

The constitutional definition of treason is, "levying war against the United States, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort." This is from Article 3, Section 3 of the Constitution. This would include NATO alliance countries, with which the US has mutual defense agreements through the treaty. An American, encouraging Russia to attack an ally, meets the definition of treason and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Is our democracy too weak to defend itself against this?

February 9, 2024

People are laughing at this because its funny.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/02/people-are-laughing-because-this-is.html

Mainstream conservative Evangelical doctrine does not accept that there are prophets being sent among us along the lines of those who are recorded to have delivered some very specific messages during Old Testament times, particularly when Israel became a divided monarchy after the reign of Solomon, and many of the kings fell under the influence of paganism. However, particularly among the Charismatic and Pentecostal traditions of Evangelicalism, there is a belief that God does provide individuals with a specific gift to predict future events, and they issue all kinds of pronouncements, mainly connecting specific persons or events with the "end times" or the coming end of the world, or involving politics.

Any observant person with reasonable intelligence can figure out the odds of someone making an accurate prediction based on a number of factors which point to it, and which doesn't necessarily depend on a supernatural intervention of the Holy Spirit to make. Even at that, there is no religious prophet today, and I'll repeat that so we understand that what we are looking at when we examine self-proclaimed prophets today are frauds and phonies, there is no religious prophet today who has the record of the 100% accuracy required by the Old Testament standard found in Deuteronomy 12:21-22 to lay claim to being a true prophet of God. Not one.

Hank Kunneman, a pastor who says his predictions are remarkably accurate, has indulged in a little bit of persecution as confirmation of his correctness. "People have laughed at you," he prayed. "They've laughed at your prophets, they've laughed at your church, they've laughed at your intercessors, they've laughed at the patriots, they've laughed at those who voted for 45."

Of course they've laughed. How else can they deal with such blatant contradictions and hijacking of true Christian faith? It is, in fact, funny to hear people who were involved in a riot aimed at bringing down the Constitution claim to be patriots. They laugh because people who claim to be better Christians than those they label "liberals" and "woke" lie through their teeth with a straight face and make ridiculous predictions which a six year old can check out and determine is absolutely false, and then, they lie with a straight face while saying, "I never said that." These are all men who already have a reputation as charlatans, deceivers and who use Christian faith as a means to make themselves rich, so they already have a credibility problem. The fact that they're going on a nationwide tour, obviously to rake in more cash from the duped, is, frankly, laughable. So why not?