EMERGENCE: Spirits are using us as Tuesday nears!

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2026

Voices of outreach emerge: "Spirits are using me," Stephen Stills wrote. "Larger voices calling."   

In the famous song in question, Stills was discussing a marriage which failed. That isn't exactly this—what we're all dealing with now. 

Stills wasn't discussing this. But just for the record, here's part of the leading synopsis—and a key word is lurking here:

Southern Cross (Crosby, Stills and Nash song)   

"Southern Cross" is a song written by Stephen Stills, Rick Curtis, and Michael Curtis and performed by the rock band Crosby, Stills & Nash. It was featured on the band's Daylight Again album and was released as a single in September 1982. With a theme concerning the healing power of sailing amongst the natural world, it was a hit for the group and has received classic rock airplay in the decades since.

[...]   

Stills explained, "The Curtis Brothers brought a wonderful song called 'Seven League Boots', but it drifted around too much. I rewrote a new set of words and added a different chorus, a story about a long boat trip I took after my divorce. It's about using the power of the universe to heal your wounds. Once again, I was given somebody's gem and cut and polished it."  

Spirits were using him, Stephen Stills wrote, as he was trying to heal.  

We focused on the concept of healing a few weeks back. To our reckoning, spirits are floating around in the news as next week's elections draw near.   

This nation has a desperate need—a need to find a way to heal. Various spirits are lurking about as an ancient battle is fought. Let's start with the fury of Senator Bernie Moreno, (R-Ohio).  

Yesterday, Moreno spoke at a Republican rally in Chillicothe, Ohio. As reported by Mediaite, with videotape provided, some very familiar spirits seemed to be speaking through Moreno:  

[Moreno] Says Non-Christians Are Unfit for Senate: ‘Should Be Nowhere Near Washington’   

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) said on Wednesday night that anyone who does not believe that Jesus died for their salvation is unfit to serve in the Senate and “should be nowhere near Washington.”

Moreno spoke at a rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he was joined by President Donald Trump and Sen. Jon Husted, who is in a close race against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

During his remarks, Moreno turned his attention to Michigan, where Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is in a similarly tight contest with former Rep. Mike Rogers. If El-Sayed wins, he would be the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. Senate.   

“On Monday, I went up and campaigned with Mike Rogers because he’s in a race with somebody that just is an affront to me as an American,” Moreno said. “By the way, an affront to me as a naturalized citizen to this country.”

Did Moreno really say what Mediaite says he said? Did he really say that you're unfit to serve in the Senate unless you believe that Jesus died for your salvation?

It's hard to believe that he could have said that. But here are a few more of Moreno's peculiar remarks:

“This character, Abdul El-Sayed, can be nowhere near Washington, D.C.,” he continued before saying non-Christians have no business in the Senate. “Do you think he understands that concept? That our rights come from God Almighty? That Jesus came here for our salvation? He should be nowhere near Washington, D.C. And Mike Rogers is gonna kick his ass on Tuesday.”

Astonishing! On balance, we aren't fans of the prickly way Candidate El-Sayed has conducted his Senate race. At times, it has seemed to us, perhaps incorrectly, that his prickly ways might be costing him the Michigan Senate seat.

That said, does a person have to believe "that Jesus came here for our salvation" to be allowed to serve in the Senate? An ancient part of the war of the (human) world was playing out in those astounding prehistoric remarks. 

Ancient spirits of tribal conflict were in the air yesterday—and it isn't just Senator Moreno who has brought that prehistoric impulse to the ongoing campaign. In this report, USA Today describes intemperate remarks by the furious Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas):   

GOP makes Islamophobic attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race   

Republicans are ramping up Islamophobic attacks against Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, using recent campaign trail appearances to claim he would be a threat to American security if elected. 

At an Oct. 28 event near Detroit, Sen. Ted Cruz called El-Sayed a "jihadist leprechaun" and said he believed El-Sayed was a "passionate supporter" of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group the Democrat has disavowed. The Texas Republican said that if El-Sayed wins and is put on the Senate Intelligence Committee, there is a risk that "Americans will die as a result."

Cruz said he believed the Democratic candidate could use the panel to help terrorists avoid detection by U.S. troops or intelligence operatives.  

"We have every reason to believe that Abdul El-Sayed, if he found out, 'OK, they're about to apprehend these terrorists,’ that he would let those terrorists know," the senator said.   

Cruz’s comments are the latest escalation in Islamophobic rhetoric from Republicans against El-Sayed, who would be the first Muslim American elected to the U.S. Senate if he wins on Nov. 3. 

Can those remarks fairly be called "Islamaphobic?" It's hard to say that the answer is no.

Fear of The Other is bred in the bone. It's part of the way our imperfect species is wired. Spirits are using us as we proceed toward Tuesday's midterm elections.   

Up in Alaska, the Peltola campaign—and, we'll suppose, Peltola herself—has engaged in the kind of braindead behavior which may keep Democrats from winning control of the Senate. From the standpoint of Blue America, it would be a disaster if ridiculous conduct of that type allows the the sitting president retain control of that body.   

On the other hand, possibly this:   

Last night, Candidate Annie Andrews made a brief appearance with Lawrence O'Donnell on The Last Word. Earlier in the day, the New York Times had reported its new poll, in which Dr. Andrews was running even in the South Carolina Senate race.   

Could some such breakthrough really occur in the Palmetto State? As in Ohio, so too here—the Democratic Party has turned its hopes over to a female candidate who is a doctor—who literally is a healer. 

Last night, the analysts came out of their chairs when the healer in question said this:   

DR. ANDREWS (10/28/26): There is so much hope and optimism and energy on the ground because we've been building a campaign that's for everybody, not just the Democrats who are feeling hopeful in South Carolina, but for Independents who are ready for change and for Republicans, like my own Dad, who care more about South Carolina than they care about politics in D.C.    

The candidate was speaking the language of the healing of rifts! Soon, this exchange occurred:  

O'DONNELL: Your Dad is not the only Republican voting for you. You've got a former Republican governor of [South Carolina] endorsing you, in a kind of team endorsement with a former Democratic governor of [South Carolina]. What is your pitch to Republican voters?   

DR. ANDREWS: Yeah, I'm really excited to have the support of former Republican South Carolina governor and David Beasley and former Democratic South Carolina governor Jim Hodges....They ran against each other. They disagree on a lot of things, but they're coming together because they see in me a senator who will put South Carolina first, and that's what I'm hearing from the over one hundred Republicans across the state who have endorsed me... 

The spirit of outreach was again being voiced by the candidate on the Blue side of the aisle. Elsewhere, the spirit of civilizational war was being expressed.  

Spirits are using us as this prehistoric conflict is being played out again.  Elsewhere, the spirit of Puck prevailed:

‘Pitch Perfect!’ Critics Delight as Obama Mocks Trump’s Cheesecake Factory Joke ‘Tantrum’  

Former President Barack Obama took another swipe at President Donald Trump on Wednesday, days after the commander in chief’s furious reaction to his Cheesecake Factory joke, much to critics’ delight.

Obama reignited the bit on Wednesday night at a Democratic campaign rally in Atlanta, mocking Trump for apparently taking greater offense at being compared to the restaurant chain than to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

And so on, with laughter, from there.

Is Obama wiping the floor with the sitting president? Next Tuesday, we may find out. But larger ancient voices are calling as this struggle plays out once again. Spirits urging the end of war may be using Blue America's newest candidates. 

We Blues will have to cop to the ways we've been wrong. It can't just be the Reds. 

Tomorrow: Attention C-Span callers