Sunday, November 12, 2023

News bits: Trump plans a third term; Lawmakers invoke God's authority; Christian flag dustup

Believe it or not, Donald Trump says he should get a third term

Even as he fights for a second term in November, President Donald Trump already has his eye on extending his stay in the White House for a lot longer.

“We are going to win four more years,” Trump said at a rally in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on Monday. “And then after that, we’ll go for another four years because they spied on my campaign. We should get a redo of four years.”
Well, there you have it. He was spied on so he deserves a redo of four years. Makes perfect sense to me. MAGA!! (/s, in case it's needed for clarity)
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This is a juicy one coming at us from the enraged Christian nationalist zealots, theocrats & kleptocrats:
Ohio Republicans Say It’s Their ‘God Given Right’
to Restrict Abortion Access

Republicans in Ohio want to undermine the will of voters who approved a measure enshrining reproductive freedom into the state’s constitution

Ohio Republicans are claiming a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights, which was approved by voters in Tuesday’s election, doesn’t actually do that — and they’re promising to take steps to prevent the legal protection of reproductive freedom in the state.

“No amendment can overturn the God-given rights with which we were born,” state Rep. Beth Lear (R-Galena) added in the Republican’s statement. Another representative, Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester), claimed the referendum had only passed due to “foreign election interference.”

Rep. Bill Dean (R-Xenia) said the amendment “doesn’t repeal a single Ohio law,” and that its language is “dangerously vague and unconstrained, and can be weaponized to attack parental rights or defend rapists, pedophiles, and human traffickers.”
Well, there you have it. One cannot argue with God Almighty. Darn those rapists, pedophiles, and human traffickers, you know, nasty people like Trump. 
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Hose speaker Mike Johnson is a hard core Christian nationalist. He supports Christian Sharia law over the secular US Constitution. The New Republic reports:
A new report confirmed that the House speaker is displaying an “Appeal to Heaven” flag outside his door

The flag is white with a green evergreen tree in the middle and the phrase “An Appeal to Heaven” at the top. A report published Friday by Rolling Stone confirmed that the flag is outside his district office in Washington.

The flag was originally used as a banner during the Revolutionary War, but over the past decade, it has been embraced by a sect of Christianity called the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR. A central tenet of NAR’s belief system is that it is God’s will for Christians to take control of all aspects of U.S. society—including education, arts and entertainment, the media, and businesses—to create a religious nation.

Available at Amazon for $9.43 + S&H 
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This is an odd snippet. Not sure what it means, but it doesn't sound good:

Israel government spokesperson Eylon Levy claims the Red Cross, the World Health Organization & the UN are "complicit with Hamas"

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Apparently, most of ARRRP (authoritarian radical right Repub Party) elites do not see  anti-abortion laws issue as unpopular. Instead, anti-abortion laws are popular but just the messaging and strategy are not quite right. A WaPo article reports about the ARRRP's thinking and evolving anti-abortion rights tactics:

Voters defended abortion rights and Issue 1 in Ohio lost 
(he's not celebrating)
Opposing abortion rights -- it is a matter of 
protecting parent's rights or children or something else?

Republicans still struggle to find a winning strategy on abortion

Many say the problem is messaging or strategy, while Democrats and some Republicans say the GOP is stubbornly sticking with deeply unpopular policies

Republicans still have no clear strategy on how to talk about abortion, how stringent limits on the procedure should be or how to cope with the ongoing political backlash that Democrats plan to capitalize on next year, according GOP lawmakers, activists and consultants.

In interviews and public statements, Republicans were all over the map on how to address the abortion issue heading into 2024. Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel told NBC News last week that Republicans should campaign more aggressively on the issue, calling for a “consensus as a country” that abortion should be banned with exceptions after “around 15 weeks.” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America released a memo suggesting that the GOP needs to “define where it stands on the issue nationally,” “put real advertising dollars behind it” and paint Democrats as extreme. Others have argued that Republicans need to emphasize support for exceptions, demonstrate more sensitivity when talking about abortion and use phrases such as “limitations” and “late-term” abortions as opposed to bans.
Given how disciplined, focused and effective ARRRP propaganda has been over the last 40-50 years, it is surprising that their dark free speech Leviathan has failed to settle on a two, three or four-word catch phrase to tip the propaganda war to their advantage. Simple, short slogans tend to be effective. Death tax. Compassionate conservative. Pro-life. MAGA. Deep state. Pedophiles. Stolen election. Legitimate political discourse. Etc. 

Maybe they could pick something catchy like Baby Killer, Murdering Butcher or Satanic monster for abortion rights supporters. That ought to fire up the base.

Regardless, ARRRP elites are not going to give up. They will never admit that most Americans simply support abortion rights, whether they believe or know it or not.

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