Rob Reiner drops trailer for documentary on Christian nationalism – al.com

Director Rob Reiner dropped a trailer this week for his upcoming documentary, “God & Country: The Rise of Christian Nationalism,” which critiques the mixing of right-wing politics and Christianity.

“Christian Nationalism is not only a danger to our Country, it’s a danger to Christianity itself,” Reiner tweeted on X, as he released a trailer for the documentary that he said will open in theaters in February.
— Read on www.al.com/life/2023/12/rob-reiner-drops-trailer-for-documentary-on-christian-nationalism.html

Conservative LGBTQ+ group supports book removal from El Paso County schools | FOX21 News Colorado

(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — Conservative groups have submitted a petition urging a criminal investigation into the El Paso and Teller County schools over the possession and promotion of what they term “obscene books.” This move has sparked a response from members of the LGBTQ+ community who advocate for the removal of these books from […]
— Read on www.fox21news.com/news/conservative-lgbtq-group-supports-book-removal-from-el-paso-county-schools/

Woodland Park School Board sees change as elected members are sworn in

The three members were sworn in during a ceremony at the District Administration Building Thursday afternoon. Barkley said her goal as a new member is to promote more board transparency.

“My biggest hope is to be able to make sure that the conversations are happening out in the open now. A lot of the feedback we were getting as I was campaigning was that so much of the decision-making was happening behind closed doors,” she said.

— Read on www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/woodland-park-school-board-sees-change-as-elected-members-are-sworn-in

Letters to the Editor – 11/15/2023

From the 11/15/2023 Courier:

Close race should be a message

We were so proud to be a part of the campaign for Keegan, Mike and Seth. They ran a clean, honest campaign without negative false attacks on their opponents. We personally know them. They are good people of this community whose only concern is for a strong public school system that offers a valid academic curriculum with appropriate support structures in place.

Of course, the election did not completely go in the direction we had hoped. However, there is an important outcome that needs to be stated. The election results were close. Very close, which means almost 50% of the voters selected the above candidates. That 50% of voters included many traditional conservative voters who disregarded the false accusations against the candidates.

This election should never have been about politics. It should only have been about education. If the new board listens carefully to all of the voters, all the parents, all the taxpayers, they may be much more in line with the values of the whole community.

True leadership includes compromise, compassion and commitment to open conversation. It does not include bullying and closed-door deals or stacking meetings with young people who have no connection to the community other than the courses taken at the local bible school and being bused to the voter polls. The 50% of the community that voted against the present board are here to stay and are watching.

Michael Stewart and Darlene Schmurr-Stewart, Woodland Park

Outside influencers

As a fascinated outsider looking in, I believe that the two incumbents who won re-election surely must realize that their razor thin victories were due exclusively to Andrew Wommack and his Christian nationalist group known as the Truth and Liberty Coalition.

This should be a frightening wakeup call to the residents of Woodland Park and Teller County. Unless of course, in the not-too-distant future, you are at ease of living in a hierocracy with a religious autocrat in control.

Steve Plutt, Lake George

Can We Stop Pretending that Religious Conservatives Care About Parental Rights?

In a document in which she endorses Evanson, Darcy Schoening of Smart Choice Colorado makes clear that her aim is not to respect the rights and choices of all other parents. Rather, her aim is to “move school policy towards the Right, rather than further left.” she writes to those who share her views, “We must take control of our children’s education.” Even if that means taking control of the education of other parents’ children too.
— Read on coloradotimesrecorder.com/2023/11/can-we-stop-pretending-that-religious-conservatives-care-about-parental-rights/57910/

11/12/2023 Weekly Update

Last week:

  • This was of course the big election week. After around six months of campaigning, Seth Bryant, Mike Knott, and Keegan Barkley faced maybe the worse part, waiting for results. The evening started out on a positive note with all three ahead by small margins, though the last update of the day, shortly before Midnight, showed that only Keegan held her lead. Both Mike and Seth were trailing. Another update Thursday afternoon increased the deficit a small amount. The gap is close enough that we need to see how the ballot curing process goes, and how many mail-in military ballots may yet be received. Read more about the election at:
  • Wednesday’s board meeting was uneventful and quick. With Illingworth training Keegan Barkley by quite a bit, he took advantage of the opportunity to say goodbye to the board.

Here’s what’s coming up this week:

  • The county clerk is working on curing ballots (contacting people where a ballot was rejected for some reason), and there could still be some mail-in military ballots on the way. Both of those have until either 11/15 or 11/16 to be completed. Once that’s done, if either matches have less than a .5% margin of victory, an automatic recount will be triggered. Otherwise, we can expect the winners of the school board race to be announced.
  • The Ute Pass BOCES is putting on an informational meeting for parents, about special ed in the district. This Wednesday, 6PM, at the Ute Pass Cultural Center.
  • Even if Bates and Kimbrell hold on to their seats, there is some reason for optimism. Ken Witt’s contract is up next June, and I’m already hearing rumors from other front range districts that he’s likely to leave this town and join one of those larger districts.