Thanks to legal scholars like retired Judge Michael Wolff and Professor Marcia McCormick of SLU Law for debunking the bogus theory that Amendment 3 has anything to do with gender-affirming care. It doesn’t. The St.Louis Post-Dispatch explored this issue in its front-page article this morning.
Jess, thank you once again for your devotion to your state and fellow Missourians. I believe you are making a difference and we can only hope your efforts bear fruit. I love your Substack detailing what you are doing, keep up the good work. I hope we can all breathe more easily after Harris elected.
When you do break through and start to win, it will be like when you were a kid and someone was holding a door shut and you were pushing it to get in. Then, all of a sudden they let go, the door flew open and in you went with a crash, and then everyone laughed, and went outside to play. I still am hopeful the rule of the majority will succeed and our citizenry’s beliefs of opportunity and freedom will prevail over the darkness. I would like to see you become an elected official in MO. And I am 77. When the crazy Right Wing collapses it will fall fast. The hard part is that the Right wing and the Left Wing belong to the same bird. Maybe we will fly straight for a while…again.
Richard, although money is a corrupting force in both parties. Never compare a Fascist party, running a 34 count felon, rapist, seditionist as their candidate with anything close to Democrats. Not buying that kind of comparison at all!
Richard, you are so right about the "hard part" ~~Thank you for pointing out to us that the Right wing and the Left wing belong to the same bird. We need to learn to listen to each other without judgment; we are all ONE, belong to each other and need to care for each other, no matter what our beliefs.
Thank you again for your wisdom and grit and determination. It’s a hard road in areas where clear-mindedness has become a rare attribute. But we are still here and haven’t forgotten what truth is. I am choosing to be cautiously optimistic that collectively, the women of America will save us from the imminent threat of a Trump/Vance dictatorship. They are a reliable bunch to count on. But even assuming we do survive this next election, the work to defeat, diminish, and disable the MAGA and Christian Nationalism movement will continue for years to come. We must not let up or take our eyes off the objective.
The ordinary folks in the MAGA and CN movements are pawns of the mega billionaires who know they can't win power by numbers, so they have to dupe ordinary folks into voting against their own interests. Dems need to get better at helping these folks recognize their true best interests. You are a guiding light, showing us the way. Thank you for that!
I always get inspired to "do more" after reading one of your columns.
This afternoon I will do my second shift as aninside poll observer. (Friday, day 2 of early voting, was my first). Monday, I'm scheduled to do my second shift as a poll greeter (yesterday was my first). And so it will go. But I'm in an urban county and so far all the EV sites I have been assigned are within a 10 mile radius of my house.
I just don’t know how almost half of America believes the nonsense this dementia riddled old man spews. Everything out of his mouth is a lie…it’s disgusting. And to even stand there and say you are Christian and then spread lies and conspiracies, makes you just as culpable. Republicans get annoyed when they lose elections…the saying, “Follow a clown and he’ll take you to the circus” always comes to mind.
Silvino, Half of the US does NOT believe trump. Another misleading idea from the right wing owned press.. Joe Biden beat Felon Trump by almost 8 million more votes before J6 seditiinist attack incited by trump, before Roe v wade was reversed, before trump found guilty of 34 felonies, before found guilty of RAPE! What logic leads you to conclude that suddenly after all this crap, Harris will garner fewer votes than trump?
I do not agree that all churches are built on a lie. There ARE Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other churches that follow the real teachings of kindness, generosity, and selflessness. It is also true that many religions have lost their way and are now preaching Trumpism. It’s sad.
Judy, all of those religions are also responsible for shaming with their bizarre antiquated beliefs and have caused the deaths of multi millions over time, including current times. They are ALL based in non-verifiable stories that numerous men wrote thousands of years ago. Don’t be blinded by that! There are wonderful religious people who believe in following the good parts. But religion itself cannot be classified as good when it is based in such flawed presentation.
Speaking of churches, my brother attends a Methodist church in NC, and he mentioned something to his minister about how awful Mark Robinson is. The minister stopped him and said that the Democrats were making all that up and none of it is true. This minister is voting for a depraved, sick individual to be the governor of our state.😳
Thank you, Jess for your hard work on behalf of us who believe in democracy!!
So, the words coming out of Robinson's mouth are made up by Democrats. And, if a church leader (in this case a minister) is advocating for a particular candidate, they might do well to read the laws that govern their non-profit status.
I would add that metaphors are a useful way to explain or illustrate, but can be also used to mislead. We must always remember that a metaphor does not stand in for the concept being referred to. It is important to recognize where the resemblance begins and ends. Taking a metaphor literally can result in missing the point. The writings that became the bible come through a culture that used metaphor and allegory liberally, and the intended audience understood that. Our culture often does not, and frequently misunderstands or misuses the meaning. In addition there is the question of what repeated translation does to meaning, and the also pertinent question of who got to choose which writings to include and which to exclude. Over the centuries, the answers to those questions varied, and the motivations did too.
There is a difference between mythology and faith. Churches, seems to me, are built on faith in that which can only be seen by the heart - love, compassion, mercy, grace. Sadly, those tenants of faith are often set aside when myths of power are prioritized. Still, the myths are not the founding principles.
No, of course not. You know that Dec 25 is a made up date of birth don’t you. That time of year is based on the winter solstice. Many dead religions used the same dates for their made-up deities.
Jess - Randy from Branson here - I would like to get the word out that the 2 Mo. Supreme Court Justices up for retention vote - Ginger Gooch and Kelley Broniec, both voted AGAINST allowing Amendment 3 on the ballot - These retention votes are usually rubber-stamped by 80-90% of voters. Let's get them out of there!
I agree. I have been posting about it and the good news is every event that I have attended in the last couple weeks has had someone bring up their names. We know. But it will be difficult. About 98% of judges are retained. It’s worth a try though.
If preachers are telling their congregations about candidates, ballot issues and how to vote, then they are preaching politics. That's certainly up to them but it means that their churches should be paying taxes.
Your persistence is amazing Jess, and inspiring.
Thanks to legal scholars like retired Judge Michael Wolff and Professor Marcia McCormick of SLU Law for debunking the bogus theory that Amendment 3 has anything to do with gender-affirming care. It doesn’t. The St.Louis Post-Dispatch explored this issue in its front-page article this morning.
The Missouri independent also ran an article which I have sent to the churches. They don’t care. Hopefully we can breakthrough to others though.
Time for churches to be taxed. Most are republican PACs.
All that is required is another reason to vote for assholes
Jess, thank you once again for your devotion to your state and fellow Missourians. I believe you are making a difference and we can only hope your efforts bear fruit. I love your Substack detailing what you are doing, keep up the good work. I hope we can all breathe more easily after Harris elected.
Jess, what you do is nothing less than heroic. And, that is not a word I use often. You are doing the sometimes hard work democracy requires. Thank you. I apologize in advance for the self-promotion I’m about to do, but since you mentioned “Kool-Aid” . . . here’s a link to an essay I published yesterday, “Drinking the Orange Kool-Aid”. https://open.substack.com/pub/thestormbynorm/p/reasoning-with-the-unreasonable?r=1qaj9v&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Solidarity, friend
When you do break through and start to win, it will be like when you were a kid and someone was holding a door shut and you were pushing it to get in. Then, all of a sudden they let go, the door flew open and in you went with a crash, and then everyone laughed, and went outside to play. I still am hopeful the rule of the majority will succeed and our citizenry’s beliefs of opportunity and freedom will prevail over the darkness. I would like to see you become an elected official in MO. And I am 77. When the crazy Right Wing collapses it will fall fast. The hard part is that the Right wing and the Left Wing belong to the same bird. Maybe we will fly straight for a while…again.
I could picture your analogy in my head. Thank you.
Richard, although money is a corrupting force in both parties. Never compare a Fascist party, running a 34 count felon, rapist, seditionist as their candidate with anything close to Democrats. Not buying that kind of comparison at all!
The false equivalencies are dangerous.
"The right wing and the left wing belong to the same bird." Nice analogy but that was before DT and hopefully after too.
Richard, you are so right about the "hard part" ~~Thank you for pointing out to us that the Right wing and the Left wing belong to the same bird. We need to learn to listen to each other without judgment; we are all ONE, belong to each other and need to care for each other, no matter what our beliefs.
Thank you again for your wisdom and grit and determination. It’s a hard road in areas where clear-mindedness has become a rare attribute. But we are still here and haven’t forgotten what truth is. I am choosing to be cautiously optimistic that collectively, the women of America will save us from the imminent threat of a Trump/Vance dictatorship. They are a reliable bunch to count on. But even assuming we do survive this next election, the work to defeat, diminish, and disable the MAGA and Christian Nationalism movement will continue for years to come. We must not let up or take our eyes off the objective.
Yes!
The ordinary folks in the MAGA and CN movements are pawns of the mega billionaires who know they can't win power by numbers, so they have to dupe ordinary folks into voting against their own interests. Dems need to get better at helping these folks recognize their true best interests. You are a guiding light, showing us the way. Thank you for that!
I live in Arkansas and have signed up for this text bank for our neighbors in Missouri!
https://www.mobilize.us/ilrca/event/711084/
I always get inspired to "do more" after reading one of your columns.
This afternoon I will do my second shift as aninside poll observer. (Friday, day 2 of early voting, was my first). Monday, I'm scheduled to do my second shift as a poll greeter (yesterday was my first). And so it will go. But I'm in an urban county and so far all the EV sites I have been assigned are within a 10 mile radius of my house.
Omgoodness!!! Thank you for doing the work
I just don’t know how almost half of America believes the nonsense this dementia riddled old man spews. Everything out of his mouth is a lie…it’s disgusting. And to even stand there and say you are Christian and then spread lies and conspiracies, makes you just as culpable. Republicans get annoyed when they lose elections…the saying, “Follow a clown and he’ll take you to the circus” always comes to mind.
Silvino, Half of the US does NOT believe trump. Another misleading idea from the right wing owned press.. Joe Biden beat Felon Trump by almost 8 million more votes before J6 seditiinist attack incited by trump, before Roe v wade was reversed, before trump found guilty of 34 felonies, before found guilty of RAPE! What logic leads you to conclude that suddenly after all this crap, Harris will garner fewer votes than trump?
Thank you for all the hard work of saving our country, keeping our democracy.
Ben Franklin when asked what kind of government this country would have supposed to have said: A Republic if you can keep it.
Thank you, Jess. You are fighting the good fight.
Great writing and great work!
Blue Missourians. Your persistent outreach and truth telling in the face of anger and denial is truly admirable. I'm glad I found your Substack.
“ If your church is lying to you, find another church.”
Sorry but aren’t all churches built on a lie of believing mythology is the truth?
I do not agree that all churches are built on a lie. There ARE Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other churches that follow the real teachings of kindness, generosity, and selflessness. It is also true that many religions have lost their way and are now preaching Trumpism. It’s sad.
Judy, all of those religions are also responsible for shaming with their bizarre antiquated beliefs and have caused the deaths of multi millions over time, including current times. They are ALL based in non-verifiable stories that numerous men wrote thousands of years ago. Don’t be blinded by that! There are wonderful religious people who believe in following the good parts. But religion itself cannot be classified as good when it is based in such flawed presentation.
Exactly.
Speaking of churches, my brother attends a Methodist church in NC, and he mentioned something to his minister about how awful Mark Robinson is. The minister stopped him and said that the Democrats were making all that up and none of it is true. This minister is voting for a depraved, sick individual to be the governor of our state.😳
Thank you, Jess for your hard work on behalf of us who believe in democracy!!
So, the words coming out of Robinson's mouth are made up by Democrats. And, if a church leader (in this case a minister) is advocating for a particular candidate, they might do well to read the laws that govern their non-profit status.
May I suggest you read Marcus Borg who writes that metaphor is a type of truth that can often lead to deep insights .
I would add that metaphors are a useful way to explain or illustrate, but can be also used to mislead. We must always remember that a metaphor does not stand in for the concept being referred to. It is important to recognize where the resemblance begins and ends. Taking a metaphor literally can result in missing the point. The writings that became the bible come through a culture that used metaphor and allegory liberally, and the intended audience understood that. Our culture often does not, and frequently misunderstands or misuses the meaning. In addition there is the question of what repeated translation does to meaning, and the also pertinent question of who got to choose which writings to include and which to exclude. Over the centuries, the answers to those questions varied, and the motivations did too.
There is a difference between mythology and faith. Churches, seems to me, are built on faith in that which can only be seen by the heart - love, compassion, mercy, grace. Sadly, those tenants of faith are often set aside when myths of power are prioritized. Still, the myths are not the founding principles.
This comment makes no sense to me. Think about it.
No, most are supported by History!!
Not true.
Easily said! Is Jesus historical?
No, of course not. You know that Dec 25 is a made up date of birth don’t you. That time of year is based on the winter solstice. Many dead religions used the same dates for their made-up deities.
No they aren’t Fraser. Have you read the bible in its entirety…how about the King James? Start there.
Money is the myth!!
Huh?
Jess - Randy from Branson here - I would like to get the word out that the 2 Mo. Supreme Court Justices up for retention vote - Ginger Gooch and Kelley Broniec, both voted AGAINST allowing Amendment 3 on the ballot - These retention votes are usually rubber-stamped by 80-90% of voters. Let's get them out of there!
I agree. I have been posting about it and the good news is every event that I have attended in the last couple weeks has had someone bring up their names. We know. But it will be difficult. About 98% of judges are retained. It’s worth a try though.
If preachers are telling their congregations about candidates, ballot issues and how to vote, then they are preaching politics. That's certainly up to them but it means that their churches should be paying taxes.
Thank you!