This Is The Most Important Week Of Your Life-- Just Like Every Other Week Has Been And Will Continue To Be

 

Asterisked-- The Worst President In History by Nancy Ohanian

Satan's doorway into American Christianity has always been through the hucksters, charlatans and cranks who make up the leadership of the evangelical movement. And then came Trump... and the next step. Washington Post reporter Sarah Bailey wrote about the rise of so-called Patriot Churches last week. Today they are "praying for a Trump landslide [and that] 'communism and socialism and transgenderism and homosexuality and abortion will not have their way in this land.'... While most White conservative Christian churches might only touch on politics around election time and otherwise choose to keep the focus during worship on God, politics and religion are inseparable here. The Tennessee congregation is one of three Patriot Churches that formed in September. The other two are near Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia., and in Spokane, Washington [see Matt Shea], and [Pastor Ken] Peters says he is talking with several more pastors of existing churches who want to join them... Peters’s flock is not affiliated with a specific denomination, but it does have a distinct identity. The Patriot Churches belong to what religion experts describe as a loosely organized Christian nationalist movement that has flourished under President Trump. In just four years, he has helped reshape the landscape of American Christianity by elevating Christians once considered fringe, including Messianic Jews, preachers of the prosperity gospel and self-styled prophets. At times, this made for some strange bedfellows, but the common thread among them is a sense of being under siege and a belief that America has been and should remain a Christian nation."

They call masks "face diapers" and their perceived enemies are, government-mandated vaccines, Planned Parenthood, anti-fascists and Black Lives Matter. When one woman at a service said she wished there was some social distancing, another crackpot told her "Oh, trust the Lord with your health." People are encouraged to not wear masks. Newt Gingrich's sister, always an even crazier version of him, is a prominent member of the congregation in Tennessee. "Christians are being persecuted. That’s why we’re raising up people right now. We’ve had it with being second-class citizens," she said. "Even if Trump wins, the fight isn’t over."

Way on the other side of the Christianity spectrum are the Jesus followers, who are also very concerned with politics-- although in a very different way than Ken Peters, Susan Gingrich and Matt Shea (did you check him out?). Take John Pavlovitz, whose recent post, The Most Important Tuesday of Your Life has been on fire in woke evangelical precincts. He wrote that Americans' minds and hearts are solely fixed on Tuesday. But they shouldn't be.

"Regardless of what happens on Tuesday," he wrote, "whatever propels you into the voting booth needs to push you to your feet when the sun comes up in the morning. Because no matter the outcome and whether you feel vindicated or crestfallen-- many things will still be the same: You’ll still be surrounded by systemic ills and relational fracture and national discord. You’ll still have seen every grotesque reality that’s been uncovered over the past four years. You’ll still be walking shoulder to shoulder with weary, wounded human beings who will be looking for compassionate people to see their suffering and to move toward them. You’ll still have a specific front row seat to a place filled with terrors and traumas, and you’ll be the only one with your unprecedented ability to be what that world needs. This isn’t just about an election." 

I’d like to think that we are moved by something far greater than a date on the calendar or an election result or a candidate’s victory; that our collective elation or devastation do not reside in those things.

And ultimately, this isn’t just about the current President either.

If he were to disappear tomorrow, we would still be left with the fallout of everything he revealed: every bit of exposed ugliness, every cruel word uttered toward strangers, every disconnection we’ve endured from people we love.





We’ll still be who we are, surrounded by people being who they are, in the nation we’ve become-- and in the resulting tumult we’ll need to navigate the turbulence around us and bridge the expanses between us.

So where will hope be if it all hits the fan on that Tuesday?

It will be you, finding whatever it is that is that pulls you out of the crippling funk of grief and sadness and disbelief you’ll want to stay in-- and back into the fray of living. 
It will be found in your faith convictions and your personal burdens; in your activism and your advocacy and in the stuff you’ll still believe in.

It will be found in you deciding what matters most in this life, and whether or not it still matters enough to defend and protect it even if the threats seem greater than they are now.

Hope will be in the sunrise and how you decide to meet it.

In that way, Wednesday is actually pretty important, too.

On that day, there will still be hungry people needing to be fed, strangers seeking refuge, outsiders needing welcome, hurting people looking for the healers.

No matter what happens, win or lose-- you and I will need to place our energies and fix our gaze on the ways that we can choose gentleness and peace and generosity, far away from the ballot box.

On November 3rd, we’ll experience one of the pivotal, unprecedented moments in our lifetime. 
We’ll have a chance to allow our voices to be heard and to transform the very planet we’re standing on-- as well as the one we leave to people who will follow us.

We’ll get to leave an inheritance to those we love, and a legacy for those we’ll never know.

This particular Tuesday, we’ll get to let our lives impact the lives of countless human beings with one simple, yet profound act that we participate in. It will be our sacred opportunity to speak precisely from our deepest convictions, to let our hearts clearly resound into the world, and to know that we can be the difference in the day. In the face of a deafening fear that would gladly overwhelm us, we’ll get the chance to let love have the last, loudest word.

This is beautiful news, but the even better news is that we have that opportunity well before Tuesday and we’ll have it long after it as well.

As you read these very words, you have it.

Every single moment we’re here, you and I get to be agents of equity and justice. We don’t have to wait for an event to choose such things, and we can’t be fooled into believing they have an expiration date either.

The gravity of this moment isn’t just about changing Presidents and Senate seats and flipping districts and political victories (though it is certainly is about all those things.) Yes, legislatively there is so much hanging in the balance this particular Tuesday-- but the stakes are always similarly stratospheric, even if they are less noticeable.

The really critical act, is remembering that leveraging your life on behalf of others isn’t an event, it’s your ever-present calling. It’s about you and your daily ability to make this place more compassionate and generous and kind than when you found it. You get to be helper and healer and listener; to be an ally and an advocate and an activist.

There will be no way you can lose that.

As you move toward this Tuesday, don’t miss the countless opportunities you have, with every seemingly infinitesimal decision to elect hope, well before you ever step into a voting booth, and long after you walk out into the day.

So yes, please vote-- but regardless of the results of the election, remember that you always have that choice.

Yes, Tuesday is important.

Wednesday, too.

Today is just as critical.

This week is the most important week of your life.

It always is.

Jesus saves; Trump spreads COVID.

Now That Rep. Matt Shea Been Expelled From The Washington State GOP Caucus For Domestic Terrorism, Perhaps Trump Can Appoint Him To A Judgeship

No one in the Spokane area was surprised to read last week that one of their state legislators is a dangerous fascist freak who wants to overthrown the government. DWT has been covering Matt Shea for years, though mostly noting that if you were to sctach the surface of most Republicans these days, Matt Shea is what you would find. He's certainly not very different from congressional sociopaths like Matt Gaetz, Gym Jordan, Devin Nunes, Liz Cheney, Clay Higgins, John Ratcliffe, Debbie Lesko, Steve Scalise, Steve King...

Officially exposed by the state legislature as a domestic terrorist and expelled from the Republican caucus, Shea took to the pages of Facebook and started whining like a stuck pig (Trump): "Like we are seeing with our President this is a sham investigation meant to silence those of us who stand up against attempts to disarm and destroy our great country. I will not back down, I will not give in, I will not resign. Stand strong fellow Patriots."

Chad Sokol has been following this madman's career for years and warning his benighted constituents about him on the Spokesman-Review. Apparently his crackpot constituents-- east of Spokane to the Idaho border-- are as crazy and un-American as he is. It's a completely rural district (91.8% white) with no cities or towns-- but lots of compounds where crazy people on meth and pain killers. Even after Shea was exposed as a neo-fascist terrorist, he won reelection with 57.7% of the vote. This is Trump-Country! Yeah... and this is the whole 108 page independent report issued to all members of the state legislature. After it was released, Sokol wrote that "Leaders of both parties called for Shea’s resignation and said the findings had been forwarded to the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office. 'He absolutely should resign,' said Republican Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox, of Yelm. 'His role as a House Republican is over.'"

Matt Shea isn't all that different from any garden variety Republican under 60 years old

The House hired the Rampart Group, a Seattle firm headed by a former FBI agent, to conduct the investigation in July. The probe involved interviews with more than two dozen witnesses and drew on troves of documentary evidence, including private texts and emails that have been leaked by Jay Pounder, a former Shea confidant and bodyguard.

The report largely corroborates previous news stories about Shea’s involvement in the far-right “patriot” movement, his preoccupation with military-style prepping and reconnaissance, his belief in an imminent civil war and government collapse, his conspiracy theories about Muslims and liberals and his dream of achieving a Christian theocracy.

But the report also reveals new details about Shea’s involvement in standoffs with federal agents in Nevada, Oregon and Idaho, and it offers an official determination that Shea has sought to intimidate political opponents and condoned acts of violence by his supporters.

In the days leading up to the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the investigation found, Shea was among a group of state officials who participated in several “preplanning” phone calls with Nevada rancher Ammon Bundy. Shea was operating as chairman of the Coalition of Western States, or COWS, a group that included lawmakers from several other states, including Idaho state Rep. Heather Scott.

The report also describes how Shea “authored and circulated an operations plan” for militia members to use during the standoff and how he sent one of his most trusted associates, Anthony Bosworth, to participate.

The Malheur standoff ostensibly began as a protest of the criminal sentencings of two ranchers who had been convicted of intentionally setting fires on public land. The 41-day standoff ended only after dozens of protesters were arrested and one, LaVoy Finicum, was shot and killed.

“The action was portrayed as a spontaneous act, but this investigation has obtained information that the armed takeover was meticulously planned in December 2015 by conspirators that included Representative Shea,” the report states.

That’s contrary to Shea’s previous characterizations of his involvement in the standoff. He told the Legislative Ethics Board in 2016 that his visit to the refuge was merely a “fact-finding” mission aimed at ensuring a “peaceful” resolution.

The report also details Shea’s involvement in the 2014 occupation of federal land near Bunkerville, Nevada, which began after Ammon Bundy’s father, Cliven, refused to pay cattle grazing fees. And it reveals that Shea took part in a third armed confrontation in Priest River, Idaho, in August 2015, which has not been widely reported.

According to the report, Shea called on supporters to gather in Priest River to block federal officials from seizing firearms from an elderly veteran. A health care professional had determined the man should not possess guns after he suffered a stroke, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs planned to seize them “pursuant to VA regulations for individuals receiving VA benefits,” the report states.

About 100 people, including Shea, stood outside the man’s home and prevented a VA employee from entering, according to the report. Many were armed, though no one was hurt.

Speaking later at a rally in Priest River, Shea described the VA’s actions as “bureaucratic terrorism.” According to the report, he told his supporters, “We are telling the federal government they are going to have to come through us to get to this veteran.”

The final section of the report provides a damning “risk assessment” of Shea. It notes that he “has suffered no negative repercussions to his actions” and draws political power from his activities in the patriot movement.

“With angry armed insurgents called into action against elements of law enforcement, every situation instigated or planned by Representative Shea carried with it significant risk of bloodshed and loss of life,” the report states. “ … Representative Shea presents a present and growing threat of risk to others through political violence.”

Before the report was made public Thursday, Shea’s attorney, Mark Lamb, issued a statement calling the investigation an unprecedented look into “lawful communications between a member of the House and citizens of this country.” The statement also asserted Shea had been “denied any opportunity to review and respond to its results,” though the report says he declined to meet with investigators.

Lamb, who has indicated he plans to file a lawsuit over the investigation, did not respond to messages seeking further comment Thursday evening.

The report prompted House Republican leaders to expel Shea from their caucus and strip him of his committee assignments, including his ranking position on the Environment and Energy Committee. His name and picture disappeared Thursday from the House GOP website.

The six-term lawmaker will have to find a new office, won’t receive assistance from caucus staff and won’t be allowed into caucus meetings to discuss legislation and strategy when the next session begins, said Wilcox, the minority leader.

Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, said he was “very disturbed by the details of this report” and agreed with Wilcox that Shea should resign.

But if Shea does not resign voluntarily, it would be premature to talk about expelling him from the Legislature, Wilcox said. That, he said, would sidestep the will of voters in the 4th Legislative District.

Attempts to reach other Spokane-area Republicans, including Shea’s fellow 4th District lawmakers, Sen. Mike Padden and Rep. Bob McCaslin, for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.

“The inquiry into Rep. Matt Shea’s conduct displays an obsession with conspiracy theories and violence that is incompatible with public office,” Lindsay Schubiner, program director at the progressive Western States Center in Portland, said in a statement. “The Washington House of Representatives must act immediately to hold him accountable. Shea’s egregious and threatening behavior warrants removal from office.”

Expelling Shea would require a two-thirds vote in the House. Although Democrats have a majority, the move would require at least some Republican votes. Only one lawmaker has been expelled from the Legislature in the history of the state. Nelson G. Robinson was ousted in 1933 for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl.

If Shea resigns or is expelled, Republican precinct committee officers would nominate three possible replacements, and the Spokane County commissioners would choose one from that list to serve in the position until next November’s election.

House Speaker Designate Laurie Jinkins, of Tacoma, said Democrats would work with Republicans and “review and digest” the report before agreeing on the next step.

Both Wilcox and Jinkins, who previously served as chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee when Shea was the ranking Republican on that panel, said the investigation had nothing to do with Shea’s political views.

“We respect Rep. Shea’s right to free speech and his personal beliefs, but those ideals are not what this is about,” Jinkins said in a statement. “This is about a state lawmaker who, according to the investigative findings, engaged in an act of domestic terrorism rather than choosing political or legal avenues to change laws and policies he disagrees with.”

Lori Feagan, a Spokane Valley nurse practitioner who plans to campaign against Shea as a Democrat in 2020, called the report “incredibly disturbing.”

“We must put our community’s safety and our future over party loyalty,” Feagan said in an email. “I’m grateful to Republican leadership for acknowledging that Matt Shea’s extremism is unacceptable and unwelcome. Now that his true character has been more fully revealed, I have confidence that our voters, both Republican and Democrat, will send the same message next year. Once we know better, we must do better.”