“It is always easier to fight for one’s principles that to live up to them.”jfish26 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 12:55 pm https://x.com/qasimrashid/status/174667 ... PzNG4aOfKQ
MAGA: We need to run the country based on the Bible
Bible: "The foreigner who resides with you must be to you like a native citizen among you; so you must love him as yourself." Leviticus 19:34
MAGA: Not that part
Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Jan 17, 2024 12:48 pm Last night's Sarasota School Board meeting:
(BTW, the only person who can remove her from the school board is "small government", "conservative", Christo-Fascist Republican, Gov Ron DeSantis. But, they're friends, so...)
Bridget Ziegler digs heels in, refuses to resign amid 3-way sex scandal
SARASOTA, Fla. — Bridget Ziegler isn't going anywhere, at least that's the message she appears to want the public to know
On Tuesday, the embattled conservative school board member caught in a three-way sex scandal with her husband and another woman, still didn’t budge as her future on Sarasota’s school board, once again, became the focus of public comment, criticism and ridicule.
"Your involvement is a distraction," said one citizen.
"Our meetings have become a circus," said another.
Ziegler, an original Moms for Liberty founder whose political platform has focused on eliminating LGBTQ+ rhetoric in public schools while advocating for traditional Christian family values, has faced a mountain of scrutiny over her apparent hypocrisy after rape allegations lodged against her husband exposed the couple’s untraditional personal lives.
Court records show Bridget Ziegler admitted to police that she and her husband Christian Ziegler, former chairman of Florida’s Republican party, had a consensual three-way sexual encounter with a woman now accusing him of rape during a separate, more recent planned hook up that Bridget backed out of.
Christian Ziegler denies the allegation, claiming the encounter was consensual.
Tuesday night, Bridget Ziegler remained, for the most part, stone faced, tearing up only briefly amid nearly three hours of public comment where few showed their support while the majority said it was time for her to go...
Dozens of speakers at Sarasota Co. School Board meeting call for Bridget Ziegler to step down
If Jesse don't like it then it's prob'ly not artThe West Virginia House of Delegates has passed a bill that would allow for the prosecution of museums that display purported obscenity to children, as conservative lawmakers around the country crack down on libraries and schools with book bans.
House Bill 4654 passed with a vote of 85 to 12, mostly along party lines, on February 16 and was sent to the West Virginia Senate on February 20. It has been deferred to the senate’s judiciary committee for consideration. If the bill passes the upper chamber of the state legislature, it would likely be signed into law by Republican Gov. Jim Justice.
If enacted, the law would amend the state code to remove exemptions for criminal liability from schools, libraries, and museums, allowing them to be criminally charged for the distribution and display of “obscene” matter to minors.
The bill does not redefine what qualifies as “obscene” and is otherwise vague on how it would be applied and enforced. Under the existing state code, those found guilty of distributing “obscene” materials to minors could face five years in a state prison or a fine up to $25,000.
The existing definition for “obscene” under state law means any material that “an average person” would find depicts or describes sexually explicit conduct “in a patently offensive way.” A second definition includes material that “a reasonable person” would find lacks literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
“What this bill does do is stop obscene and pornographic material, sexually explicit materials from being available to children in public taxpayer-funded spaces,” Del. Elliott Pritt said in comments to The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
The bill was introduced by State Del. Brandon Steele, who did not respond to a request for comment. Previously, the lawmaker called libraries “the sanctuary for pedophilia,” according to the West Virginia Watch.
Opponents of the bill have largely spoken out against potential unintended consequences for libraries especially, noting that the legislation could increase challenges to books that simply include mentions of sex. Additionally, undue criminal charges could be brought against library staff and educators.
“Because this is still vague, I’m scared,” said House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell. “This is a very dangerous bill.”
Museums face the same risks, as acknowledged by the West Virginia Association of Museums, the statewide museum association that serves and advocates for West Virginia’s 250 museums and cultural institutions. The organization has released a statement voicing opposition to House Bill 4654.
“An attack on these institutions is an attack on the present and future development, success, and prosperity of the state of West Virginia,” the statement reads.
The association urged state lawmakers to revise the language of the bill, adding that it is not opposed to protecting children from potentially harmful materials. However, the association blasted the law as an “indiscriminate change” with “vague language” that endangers the community of library and museum professionals.
“This vague definition opens the door for attacks and legal challenges on any exhibit, program, lecture, publication, or other project that some member of a community may not agree with,” the association said. “‘Obscene Matter’ as defined in the bill, is not clear and could be left up to interpretation.”
The bill follows an increase in conservative education legislation in Republican-led states, most of which has revolved around book bans. In April 2023, the Arkansas General Assembly passed an amendment to a law that cracked down on schools and libraries for distributing materials allegedly “harmful to minors.” The law did not remove an existing exemption for museums. State Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, said before it was passed that constituents were not concerned about obscenity at museums.
Minors’ exposure to “obscene” art has been the subject of conservative scrutiny in Florida, however, where a school board fired a principal after parents complained about a “pornographic” lesson featuring Michelangelo’s David (1501–04), the 14-foot-tall nude marble Renaissance masterpiece.
The West Virginia bill would seemingly be the first time a law in the U.S. specifically targeted museums for obscenity.
On a national level, a group of leading organizations for museums and their staff issued a joint statement condemning the bill. The statement was released on February 21 by the Association of Art Museum Directors, American Alliance of Museums, the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries, and the Association of Art Museum Curators.
“Our organizations—which represent North America’s leading art museums—strongly condemn the recent passage of West Virginia’s House Bill 4654,” the statement reads. “By removing these exemptions, HB 4654 jeopardizes the ability of art museums and their professionals to curate and display diverse and challenging artworks that are essential for fostering creativity, critical thinking, and an educated citizenry.”
When a Democrat may have broken the law, you gotta get a Republican to look into it to be fair.
When a Republican may have broken the law, you also gotta get a Republican to look into it to be fair.
Either way, Republican will complain the investigation was unfair.
Garland has to go if Biden is reelected. It's obvious he can't control his compulsion to overcompensate for who knows what, so let's stop making his affliction our country's problem.jfish26 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 10:43 am Shirley, your point in short:
https://x.com/mattgertz/status/17675592 ... q_-8Yt1KMA
When a Democrat may have broken the law, you gotta get a Republican to look into it to be fair.
When a Republican may have broken the law, you also gotta get a Republican to look into it to be fair.
Either way, Republican will complain the investigation was unfair.
Earlier this week, Donald Trump unveiled his newest grift to squeeze money out of his cult followers: Trump-branded Bibles. Claiming the book contains the "King James version" and "also includes the Founding Father [sic] documents," Trump promised "you have to have it for your heart, for your soul." The screenshots of the video are funny by themselves, but I highly recommend watching the ad Trump cut for these Bibles. Trump radiates total contempt for Christianity.
This is Trump in his angry-bored mode, letting viewers know with his listless tone and posture that he thinks all this Bible stuff is dumb. The not-at-all subtle message of the video is that Trump doesn't believe any of this faith-in-God crap, but he definitely believes in using Christian identity as a weapon to make money and dominate his foes.
Many Trump opponents on social media replied with video clips underscoring how Trump may be the single most ignorant person in the country about the contents of the Bible.
It's a point I've made many times myself. But it's time to consider the strong possibility that Trump's disdain towards the practice and theological beliefs of Christianity is not a surprise to his followers. It's likely a selling point that Trump's version of "Christianity" is void of faith and morality. His pitch to his followers has a certain appeal: They can have the identity "Christian," and all the power that goes with it, minus the parts they don't like. No boring church services or Bible study. No tedious talk about "compassion" and "grace," which only gets in the way of the gay-bashing and racism. And definitely no need to worry about that Jesus guy, with all his notions about "loving thy neighbor" and "welcoming the stranger."
Their new lord is Trump himself. He's a lot more fun for the redhats since his message is "kick thy neighbor" and "build the wall." Frankly, I'm sure most of them find it a huge relief, not having to pretend they ever cared about that peace-and-charity crap.
Trump products tend to be marketed with claims that range from "deeply dubious" to "FTC violation." While I am not about to waste $60 on a Trump Bible to see where it falls on the misleading advertising scale, I will note some red flags in the quality control department. The ad copy promises that, within this book cover, customers will get the "King James Version translation," as well as a copy of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the lyrics to "God Bless America," among other texts. But it also promises an "[e]asy-to-read, large print, and slim design." People who actually read books should instantly see the contradiction.
True, Trump's stubby fingers make anything he holds look bigger. Still, anyone can see that this is a lightweight volume. Page count-wise, it looks less like "War and Peace" and more like a user manual for a can opener. Most King James Bibles have teeny-tiny print and thin paper and still are pretty heavy. The actual Bible has a lot of words — 783,137 to be exact. That makes it almost eight times as long as "The Art of the Deal," which clocks in at 384 pages. (Probably only by dint of generous font size.) It seems impossible to stuff the entire Bible — as well as all those other documents — into that sleek bit of binding, even if you do cut out every passage where Jesus does "woke" stuff like healing the sick and feeding the poor.
Not that it matters, of course. The pages of Trump's "Bible" could all be blank, and there's a good chance no one would ever know it. In the right-wing publishing industry, books are not made to be read. They are to be displayed on your shelves, unopened, so you can glance at them and feel that somewhere, a liberal is "owned." (When I visit right-wing relatives, I open the books on their shelves. I enjoy cracking the spine and getting that new book smell, even off tomes I have to blow an inch of dust off.) The point of a Trump-branded Bible is to use it like their Dear Leader does: As a photo prop, not something to turn to for guidance or wisdom.
The teachings of Jesus Christ were always a poor fit for Republicans. They're just way more into decimating Social Security than they are into loaves and fishes. What Trump offers when it comes to Christianity is what he offers his followers in every other aspect: permission to stop pretending to be good people. His gift to them is his shamelessness. Through Trump, his followers can realize their fantasies of being unapologetic bullies. This is the same schtick as MAGA members who claim to be "patriots" while attacking the rule of law and democracy. Trump tells them what they want to hear: You can be a Christian without compassion.
Even before Trump's version of a "Bible" was being sold, his hollowed-out version of "faith" had cannibalized what was left of evangelical Christianity, which had already spent decades remaking itself as the culture war arm of the GOP. This is most easily tracked in the rise of churchless Christians. Over 40% of self-described evangelicals go to church once a year or less. Instead, as the New York Times reported, MAGA is basically their religion. Instead of prayer and Bible study, they "practice" their faith by watching Christian-branded online content that is, in actuality, just about right-wing politics.
But, even that number underplays how much Trumpism has displaced traditional theology in evangelical religion. In my report on the online Christian right, former evangelical minister Brad Onishi argued that churches themselves learned they must wholly embrace the views and rhetoric of the MAGA movement if they wish to keep their parishioners. For instance, the "churches that refused to shut down during COVID" are "booming," swelling from "from 100 people to 1000 people," while churches that behaved more responsibly often found themselves shutting down. "I do think it's making it more extreme. If you're not willing to go there as a pastor, you may lose your church," Onishi told Salon.
Replacing the real Bible with Trump Bibles is a too-perfect symbol of what has happened to evangelical Christianity. The mistake is in believing Trump's followers are confused or ashamed about their devotion to a godless creep who laughs at true believers. In Trump's hands, the Bible is not a text for prayer and reflection, it's just a weapon. It's much easier to beat people down with a book if it's closed.
