Friday, July 29, 2022

Glad I'm 89

 

Growing up in a religious and racist South did not prepare me for White Christianity Nationalism

John Blake of CNN calls White Christianity Nationalism an "imposter Christianity" and exclaims it "is threatening American democracy." I grew up in a racist Tennessee but in the late forties and fifties it was simply the way things were. After witnessing my first lynching of a black man, I determined this was not something I could live with and thereafter made it clear I was anti racism. didn't sit well with many of my friends and I would eventually move out of the South for good.

The words racist and racism weren't even a topic of conversation, at least in that part of the country, in those days; just accepted cause that's the way it had always been. And, it still is, after tons of legislation to prevent it, but as the saying goes, 'you can't legislate morality." And racism is by no means restricted to the South, as Blake points out...

"The insurrection marked the first time many Americans realized the US is facing a burgeoning White Christian nationalist movement. This movement uses Christian language to cloak sexism and hostility to Black people and non-White immigrants in its quest to create a White Christian America."

There's more...

"A report from a team of clergy, scholars and advocates — sponsored by two groups that advocate for the separation of church and state — concluded that this ideology was used to "bolster, justify and intensify" the attack on the US Capitol."
There is a picture of a group at the Jan. 6 insurrection gathered around a large

wooden cross with one man hugging it. A caption says, "Demonstrators pray outside the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021." But I say these moronic traitors are offering themselves up to their false idol, Donald Trump. You have to be Godless to do what this insurrectionist gang did at the U.S. Capitol. Now, define White Christianity Nationalism...
Paul Gorski says..."it is an ideology based on a story about America that’s developed over three centuries. It reveres the myth that the country was founded as a Christian nation by white Christians and that its laws and institutions are based on Protestant Christianity. White Christian nationalists believe that the country is divinely favored and has been given the mission to spread religion, freedom, and civilization. They see this mission and the values they cherish as under threat from the growing presence of non-whites, non-Christians, and immigrants in the United States."

He adds...

"This is one point at which white Christian nationalism overlaps with the Make America Great American narrative. It’s the view that somebody has corrupted the country or is trying to take it away. White Christian nationalists want to take it back."

 This is what it means to be a 'White Christian nationalist'


These days, it seems that anything bad has a connection to Donald Trump and his MAGA movement. But speaking of Paul Gorski, he and Samuel L. Perry have a new book, The Flag and the Cross, where they closely "scrutinize" white Christian nationalists. Gorski and Perry believe that these people "share a set of common anti-democratic beliefs and principles."With T-rump as their leader, this makes complete sense while at the same time is terrifying.

Perry says there is a wide distinction between whites and people of color. I have a vivid picture of that from an experience from the state of Mississippi. My aunt and uncle had two 500-acre plantations and the caretaker was a black man named Man. In addition, he managed and was the butcher at my uncle's grocery store in the tiny town of Como, Mississippi. Man called me Mr. Jack and on several occasions we had long conversations; at the time I was only seven or eight.

When Man would come to my Uncle's house, he would always go through the side yard and come through the back door. I asked him once why he didn't just come through the front door. He answered me, 'Mr. Jack, I know it seems strange to you but that's the way it is here. It just makes it easier on everybody if I use the back door.' I didn't fully understand then but as I got older it became clear, blacks did not have the same rights as the white folk. It became repulsive and has never changed.

You won't be disappointed if you read both of these articles, unless...you are a White Christian Nationalist.

At the age of 89, one has a very different perspective on the above. It's not hopeless, it's really a contentment.


 

 

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Glad I'm 89...

 

Robert Reich and the future of the Jan, 6, Panel Hearings...


My wife, Barbara, commented recently, 'You're not getting old, you are becoming an ABLE ELDER.' That certainly made me feel better and provided more affirmation of my feeling that it's good to be in this place in time, rather than starting everything anew. And the term ABLE ELDER indicates to me that, although I am 89, there is still some vitality left in the aging body. It takes it to cover politics today and I hope I never get too old to voice my liberal opinions.

And, Robert Reich says that, although the Jan. 6 hearings are closed in the meantime, Donald Trump's overthrow of the 2020 election is still a continuing fact of life. Here's Reich's opening comment...

"The committee has produced history’s most detailed account of an American president’s cruel and seditious pursuit of power. Even now, Trump continues to push states to alter the outcomes of the 2020 election."

He still gives speeches that rile up his supporters and other Trump minions to the point of provoking violence...

"the lives of committee members and their families have been threatened. Witnesses have received gangster-style warnings not to cooperate."

He still contacts state leaders to change their electoral votes from Biden to him, the most recent being Wisconsin assembly speaker Robin Vos, who was asked, "to support a resolution to retract Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes cast for Biden." And T-rump was just in Arizona to support, perhaps, the most unqualified potential governor this state has ever had, Kari Lake. And that's really saying something when our current Gov. Doug Ducey is a former ice cream salesman.

More from Reich...

"It has shown the deception behind Trump’s big lie, including Trump’s attorney general William Barr, saying 'I saw absolutely zero basis for the allegations' and that promoting it was 'a grave disservice to the country'.
Even Republicans warn against defending the "indefensible." Liz Cheney: “there will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.” The comment clearly illustrates the disgrace that Trump has brought this country. And he continues at breakneck speed infiltrating right wing bastions like Arizona. After arriving in this state almost 25 years ago, and assessing the current state of politics at the time,  I felt I could be a force in change. And that may yet happen.

Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 focus of eighth House hearing...


A major effort of this valiant drive to protect our democracy are the Jan. 6 Insurrection Hearings, having just completed the 8th episode. But there's more to come. Was Thursday's hearing really the last one? The answer is a resounding NO, based on a flood of new information that continues to flow into the committee. Hearings will resume again in September where Republican Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. plans new evidence and more witnesses to consider...
"Doors have opened, new subpoenas have been issued, and the dam has begun to break," Cheney said.

Her remark, "the dam has begun to break," indicates to me the assurance she will hear this through, and confirmation there is enough evidence there to do the job. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. said "We're just getting a significant amount of information." And the new evidence "pushes the timetable out." The next question is, what's next for the panel? Cheney says, "the panel will now return to its investigative mode for the next several weeks."

California Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar, rather than call an end is simply calling it the "next chapter." He continued...
"There's questions we want to get to the bottom of and significant progress we've made within the hearings to date," Aguilar told NPR. "I look forward to carrying forward and doing more work, but ultimately we made a commitment to find the facts, to chase the truth and that's what we seek to do."
The committee is still looking into, allegations that the Secret Service deleted text messages during a two-day period surrounding the Jan. 6 attack. They have turned over only one message, not what the panel was looking for, and I have read where the Secret Service has refused requests like this in the past and gotten away with it. The big question is...
"whether the panel will decide to formally recommend a criminal referral for Trump to the Justice Department, and whether he or former Vice President Mike Pence should be formally asked to testify."

 At the age of 89, one has a very different perspective on the above. It's not hopeless, it's really a contentment.

Stay tuned for the post-July 4th fireworks. 



 

Monday, July 25, 2022

Glad I'm 89...

 

The Jan. 6 Commission Hearings

Have you been watching the insurrection hearings from the Jan. 6, Commission? Republican Liz Cheney has done a remarkable job of illustrating Donald Trump's commitment to the demolition of American democracy. He promoted, then perpetuated, the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Cheney, with a long lineup of Republican and Trump-loyal witnesses, has all but indicted T-rump, but the expedition to justice isn't over yet.

I've said before that I agree with little of the Republican ideology Cheney believes in, but I do believe sincerely in her commitment and determination to bring Donald Trump to justice. She is literally sacrificing her career in the U.S. House to get this job done. And it is tragic that she won't have the chance to work on the committee after the first of the year. Unless...there is a miracle. The latest polls show she is behind the Trump supported contender by 22 points. Ugh!

And while working on this post yesterday, Donald Trump and Mike Pence came to Arizona to do battle in our Republican governor's race. It features two misfits, Kari Lake and Karrin Taylor Robson, but then, Arizona is used to oddballs for this office. Remember Jan Brewer and now the current Doug Ducey, both of which leave much to be desired in the brains department...

"The dueling appearances underlines the importance of Arizona on the national stage, with the 2 August primaries likely to serve as a litmus test for Trump’s endorsement prowess ahead of the midterms, where the Republicans hope to win key state races and regain control of the Senate and House."
Jan. 6 Hearing Room Laughs At Video Of Josh Hawley Fleeing Capitol Riot...


But the real point in contention is, did the January 6 committee prove its case? CNN has "A point-by-point breakdown of its major claims and the evidence presented:"
"President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack."

"While the violence was underway, President Trump failed to take immediate action to stop the violence and instruct his supporters to leave the Capitol."

"You will see that Donald Trump and his advisers knew that he had, in fact, lost the election...President Trump corruptly pressured state legislators and election officials to change election results."

"President Trump engaged in a massive effort to spread false and fraudulent information ... and invested millions of dollars of campaign funds purposely spreading false information..."

"You will see that President Trump corruptly planned to replace the Attorney General of the United States so the U.S. Justice Department would spread his false stolen election claims."

"...we will focus on President Trump's efforts to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to count electoral votes on January 6th...in private and in public."

At the age of 89, one has a very different perspective on the above. It's not hopeless, it's really a contentment.

NEXT: What to expect and more from the Jan.6 hearings on the Capitol insurrection by Donald Trump.  

 

 



Donald Trump Says He Will Be Indicted On Tuesday

  THAT'S TODAY... Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has brought the case to this point, now looking at a possible indictment. Trum...