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livelectures2 · 6 months

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79+ Impactful Civics Project Ideas for High School

Civics education is essential for developing active and informed citizens. Well-designed hands-on projects enable students to directly engage with civic topics relevant to the real world. Here are over 79 amazing civics project ideas for high school students.

Dive into campaign speeches to analyze persuasive techniques.

Get to know a local politician by profiling their career path.

Examine diverse forms of government worldwide.

Break down differences between the House and Senate.

Uncover how political parties shape priorities and platforms.

Follow the money - research political action committees.

Look behind the scenes - how are data and polling used in campaigns?

Debate: does the electoral college system still serve voters?

Weigh arguments for and against instituting congressional term limits.

Redraw the lines - investigate the impact of redistricting.

Explore landmark Supreme Court cases and their lasting impact.

Examine high-profile trials through the lens of juries.

Chart how laws wind their way through local, state and national governments.

Evaluate the juvenile justice system - what works and what doesn't?

Follow a criminal case from arrest to verdict.

Analyze historical trends in crime rates and incarceration.

Debate policing policies like body cams and civil asset forfeiture.

Study the effects of mandatory minimum sentencing.

Compare police training programs and use of force policies.

Dissect how media coverage shapes high-profile trials.

Create a timeline of milestones in U.S. voting rights.

Weigh the impact of government whistleblowers.

Analyze the complex successes and failures of Reconstruction.

Explain the adoption of key Constitutional amendments.

Explore the rise of powerful political machines in the 1800s.

Document the growth of unions and progressive reforms in the early 1900s.

Shed light on the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.

Profile major congressional investigations like Watergate.

Dissect past presidential elections and what shaped outcomes.

Compare historical portrayals in films and media to actual events.

Tackle immigration policies, DACA and paths to citizenship.

Evaluate the costs and benefits of environmental regulations.

Dive into the charter school and Common Core movements.

Connect the dots between zoning policies and communities.

Analyze complex arguments surrounding gun control.

Explore public health challenges like addiction and mental illness.

Discover advocacy groups shaping public policy.

Follow the money - investigate agriculture subsidies.

Seek solutions for homelessness and affordable housing shortages.

Study how infrastructure projects get funding and prioritization.

Volunteer with political campaigns or advocacy groups.

Help register students and community members to vote.

Create informational materials to educate others.

Organize an issues-based debate with researched facts.

Launch a petition for a policy change at school or locally.

Plan a solutions-focused community forum on a problem.

Create a guide to effectively contacting elected reps.

Spotlight civic organizations creating meaningful change locally.

Document an important local issue through photos, interviews and research.

Volunteer with groups providing vital community services.

Analyze the criminal trial process from start to verdict.

Review the history and current impact of gerrymandering.

Follow a bill's journey to become law at the federal level.

Explore diverse perspectives around tax policies.

Evaluate media's role in shaping political narratives.

Demystify how the federal budget and debt ceiling are set.

Create a timeline of a major political movement.

Dive into federal agencies - what they do and how far they reach.

Analyze debates surrounding U.S. foreign policy decisions.

Examine the ongoing healthcare policy reform debate.

Document the goals and impacts of social justice movements.

Dissect how economic policies are developed, critiqued and implemented.

Connect the dots between civil rights, liberties and landmark court cases over time.

Experience local government firsthand through volunteering.

Identify a community need and start an advocacy group.

Organize a mock Congressional hearing on an important issue.

Brainstorm an action plan for electoral and voting reform.

Design an engaging infographic explaining how a bill becomes law.

Compare U.S. policies and politics with those in other countries.

Launch a podcast covering local government happenings.

Create a public service video/announcement on an issue.

Harness social media by starting a cause-based campaign.

Make voting accessible - organize a registration drive.

Experience voting up close - volunteer as a poll worker.

Attend local government meetings and report back on the issues.

Start a politics and policy blog.

Manage a campaign for student government.

Host a debate watch event and discussion.

Develop a plan to increase youth voter turnout.

Design an awareness campaign to get out the vote.

Produce a documentary on a local political or social justice issue.

The possibilities are endless for hands-on civics learning! Adapt these ideas as springboards for projects tailored to your high school students.

#Civics #Project #Ideas #High #School

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nbmsports · 10 months

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PGA Tour and LIV Golf Seek to Drop Litigation Against Each Other

The PGA Tour, LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund asked a federal judge in California on Friday to dismiss the litigation that catapulted golf’s economic and power structure into the American court system.The request to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning that it cannot be refiled, came less than two weeks after the tour and the wealth fund, which bankrolled LIV, announced a tentative agreement to form a partnership. Although the deal may not close for months and faces mounting scrutiny in Washington, Friday’s submission in Federal District Court in San Jose, Calif., was a milestone in the abrupt détente between the rival circuits.Judge Beth Labson Freeman, who has been overseeing the case, is expected to approve the request, a cornerstone of the tentative agreement between the tour and the wealth fund. By abandoning the litigation, LIV, the PGA Tour and the wealth fund are limiting the potential for damaging revelations and surging legal bills, as well as closing off one avenue for recourse if the new alliance falls apart.Justice Department officials, who were already conducting an antitrust inquiry into men’s professional golf, are expected to review the deal closely and could even try to block it or compel changes to it. At least two Senate panels are demanding information about the planned transaction and its consequences, and the deal has not even secured the approval of the PGA Tour’s board.Much about the agreement itself also remains in flux, including the valuations of the assets of the tour, LIV and the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, that are to be housed inside the new for-profit venture. The tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, is expected to serve as the company’s chief executive, and Yasir al-Rumayyan, the wealth fund’s governor, is poised to be its chairman. The PGA Tour expects to hold a majority of the seats on the new company’s board, but the wealth fund will have extensive power over how it is bankrolled, assuring the Saudis of significant influence.Until June 6, when the deal was announced, the PGA Tour had warned against allowing Saudi money and influence to take hold in golf, fueling California litigation that had a costly, complicated life.The acrimonious proceedings began last August, when 11 LIV players, including the major tournament champions Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, brought a lawsuit that accused the tour of violating antitrust laws. LIV itself joined the case later that month.The tour also pursued its own claims against LIV, which it said had improperly interfered with existing contracts with players. The tour later received Judge Freeman’s approval to expand its case to include the wealth fund itself and al-Rumayyan, just one of the rulings that placed pressure on the Saudis and their allies, whose superior financial resources put the tour under immense strain.The tour, the wealth fund and LIV waged a ferocious battle over evidence collection in the case, and many filings in the case were redacted, but a federal magistrate judge concluded this year that the wealth fund was “the moving force behind the founding, funding, oversight and operation of LIV,” undercutting its contention that it was a passive investor in golf.A trial had not been expected until at least next year.Hours before Friday’s filing from the tour and LIV, The New York Times filed a motion that asked the court to unseal records in the case. The Times cited a “substantial and legitimate public interest in these proceedings and their outcome” and suggested that the planned partnership could make concerns of competitive harm moot.“To the extent that competitive harm existed at the time of sealing, those justifications may not apply with the same force today — or upon completion of the parties’ anticipated merger,” The Times’s filing said. “Sealing is a decision that can and should be revisited as facts change and circumstances require.”It was not clear when the judge would rule on either of Friday’s motions. Source link Read the full article

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anjaliseo123 · 11 months

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Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: N Chandrababu Naidu's Initiatives In Andhra Pradesh

Under the leadership of N Chandrababu Naidu, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has implemented groundbreaking initiatives to promote women's entrepreneurship and provide support for women-owned businesses in Andhra Pradesh. Recognizing the immense potential and talent of women, the TDP government has taken significant steps to create a conducive environment for women entrepreneurs, enabling their economic empowerment and fostering gender equality. TDP MLA's have been instrumental in driving the implementation of initiatives aimed at promoting women's entrepreneurship in Andhra Pradesh. Their proactive engagement and unwavering commitment have facilitated the successful execution of various programs and policies that support women-owned businesses. TDP MLA's have actively worked to remove barriers, provide mentorship, and create platforms for networking and collaboration, thereby empowering women entrepreneurs and ensuring their sustained growth and success. Top TDP Achievements in Promoting Women's Entrepreneurship under N Chandrababu Naidu's leadership, the TDP government has achieved significant milestones in promoting women's entrepreneurship. The establishment of the Stree Nidhi Credit Cooperative Federation Limited stands out as a noteworthy TDP Achievements. This initiative provides financial assistance, credit facilities, and capacity-building programs to women entrepreneurs, enabling them to start and expand their businesses.

Another milestone is the formation of the Mahila Empowerment Fund, which focuses on providing financial support to women-owned micro and small enterprises. This fund aims to bridge the gender financing gap and ensure equal access to capital for women entrepreneurs, empowering them to realise their entrepreneurial aspirations. Top TDP Contributions to Support Women-Owned Businesses under the TDP government has made substantial TDP Contributions to support women-owned businesses in Andhra Pradesh. One of the key initiatives is the implementation of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), which serves as a digital marketplace and networking platform for women entrepreneurs. WEP facilitates access to markets, mentors, and capital, thereby fostering business growth and encouraging collaboration among women-owned enterprises. Additionally, the TDP government has introduced skill development programs tailored specifically for women entrepreneurs. These programs provide training, mentorship, and capacity-building support to enhance entrepreneurial skills and equip women with the necessary knowledge and tools for business success. TDP Live Updates and Women Entrepreneurship under TDP government made sure to ensure real-time information dissemination and effective communication with women entrepreneurs, the TDP government launched the TDP Live mobile application. This app offers women entrepreneurs access to TDP Live Updates on government schemes, policies, networking events, and workshops. The app serves as a valuable resource, keeping women entrepreneurs informed and connected, while also providing a platform for feedback and suggestions.

N Chandrababu Naidu's vision for promoting women's entrepreneurship is rooted in gender equality and inclusive growth. His unwavering commitment to empowering women and creating an enabling environment for their economic participation has been the driving force behind the TDP government's initiatives. N Chandrababu Naidu's focus on skill development, access to finance, and mentorship programs reflects his dedication to uplifting women entrepreneurs and ensuring their long-term success. Under the visionary leadership of N Chandrababu Naidu, the TDP government has championed the cause of women's entrepreneurship in Andhra Pradesh. The initiatives implemented have provided vital support, including financial assistance, skill development, and networking opportunities, to women-owned businesses. By fostering an environment that promotes gender equality and economic empowerment, the TDP government has paved the way for the growth and success of women entrepreneurs in the state.

#chittornews #chittoor latest news #chittoor news today

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tony-barry-speech · 1 year

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MODERNISING A POLITICAL PARTY WITH ENDURING VALUES

The SA Liberal Network Friday 10 March 2023

INTRODUCTION

When a political party loses a series of elections, there’s an irresistible urge internally to retrofit the results to our pre-existing interpretations and prejudices.

In the last 12 months, in relation to both state and federal elections, we’ve heard simultaneous calls for the Liberal Party to run to the right and run to the left – the implication being that an identity crisis is the cause of our electoral troubles.

But there’s seldom a singular reason for an election loss, and the frequency and magnitude of the losses we’ve recently seen point to more a more complex and nuanced explanation.

The reality is there are multiple forces at work that have contributed to our poor electoral position.

Tonight, I want to deal with two of those significant issues: a structural change to the vote playing out on a national scale, and a failure to grow our natural constituency to account for Australians’ changing attitudes and experiences.

STRUCTURAL CHANGES TO THE VOTE

These challenges aren’t unique to the Liberal Party.

The political ground has been moving for both major parties and both are struggling to adapt.

But demographically Australia is a very different country to what it was twenty years ago.

You only need to look at the changing proportions of voter age cohorts to get a sense of the scale of the demographic shift.

For instance, in 2012 in South Australia, Millennials made up just 17.5% of the electoral roll. They now make up 32% of the roll.

Over that same ten-year period, the Gen X segment in South Australia has remained steady – going from 23.5% of the roll to 25%.

But the Boomer+ cohort has fallen from 59% of the South Australian electoral roll to just 43% of the roll.

This phenomenon isn’t isolated to South Australia.

In New South Wales, where there is an election later this month, Millennials made up 17.6% of the electoral roll in 2012. At the 2022 federal election, the Millennial cohort almost doubled as a proportion up to 34%.

The Gen X proportion of the roll in New South Wales over that ten-year period remained at around 26%.

But like South Australia, the Boomer+ segment collapsed from 57% to 40% as a proportion of the roll.

It’s a similar demographic story in Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia.

This demographic picture collides with the fact the Liberal Party has internalised the orthodoxy that young people don’t vote Liberal, and the cost of acquisition of those votes is too high.

Consequently, younger voters and their concerns have been written off in favour of more immediate electoral payoffs: housing and superannuation policies that have demonstrably favoured retirees; a range of socially conservative positions; and climate and energy policies that are out of step with how younger Australians see the world.

Unfortunately for both major parties, those voters have grown up, and they’re taking longer to reach the sort of milestones that have historically led to more conservative voting patterns. They’re starting families later, and at a time when it’s increasingly difficult for them to enter the property market.

In polling the RedBridge Group conducted earlier this month in the NSW seats of Penrith and Parramatta, of those who indicated they were between the ages of 18 and 39, and either renting, or living with a parent, fully 60% do not think they’ll ever afford to buy a home. In the same poll, the Boomers+ cohort were similarly pessimistic with 73% believing their children will never be able to buy their own home. Of that same cohort, 67% said they were not realistically in a financial position to assist their children with a home deposit.

There have been other structural changes to the vote too.

Over the past two decades, around three million migrants have settled in Australia, most in capital cities. They have engaged across all sectors of the economy, and many have since established their own young families. In our polling, the values of many of this cohort align with traditional Liberal values - they see themselves as wealth accumulators and value opportunity and choice. They should mostly be Liberal voters, but they are mostly not.

There’s also the Liberal Party’s well documented electoral problem with women, which was a subject of the Party’s recent Federal Election Review. It’s no coincidence that young professional women (and their partners) who want to resume their careers are over-represented in what are now the Teal electorates.

In RedBridge polling conducted in the lead-up to the federal election, female voters felt their values were unaligned with Liberal Party values. Our vote share amongst women in the so-called Teal seats was consistently three to four points less than the male vote.

The results speak for themselves. In the 30 seats with the highest proportion of female professional voters, the Liberal Party now holds only three. It previously held 15.

In the past, education levels were also a reasonably accurate indicator of Liberal voters, or at least persuadable-Liberal voters. They still are, but in the opposite direction.

In polling we have done at the RedBridge Group, the Labor Party now captures over 40% of the tertiary educated vote, and the combined Greens and independent voters make-up another 25%. By comparison, the Liberal Party struggles to break through 30%.

This is not solely an Australian phenomenon. We see similar trends in other major western democracies. In the United States, around two-thirds of registered voters with tertiary qualifications supported Joe Biden at the last presidential election. In the United Kingdom, where the centre-right have been more competitive recently, that figure is lower but still a predictive tool for vote intention.

So, what does the Liberal base now look like in demographic terms? The typical Liberal voter is a male, non-migrant asset owner over the age of 50. In recent cycles we have lost renters, under 50s and the tertiary educated.

Labor’s base is now mostly higher-educated voters and migrants, but in the process of losing renters and the precariat class to minors and independents.

Of the twenty federal seats with the highest proportion of renters, the Liberal Party now holds just three.

And the class that we once pejoratively described as ‘doctor’s wives’ are actually professional women, including, ironically, doctors. Incidentally, in 2020 in Australian universities, 52.8% of all medical graduates were female.

The proportion of Australians – especially women – who are tertiary educated is growing.

The proportion of Australians who do not believe they can afford to buy a house is also growing.

These demographic realities are now redefining the political conversation and the electoral math.

THE POLITICAL GROUND IS MOVING

Demographic change does not solely impact the Liberal Party. Both major parties are struggling to compete in this new paradigm, and that’s driving dramatic growth in the combined minor party and independent vote.

In the 2004 federal election, the combined vote of minor parties and independents was just 15.7%. In other words, 84.3% of the electorate voted for the Coalition or Labor. But at the last federal election, the combined minor and independent vote doubled, to 31.7%.

Both Liberal and Labor bases are eroding.

In the past, many of us have described Victoria as the ‘Massachusetts of the South’ – its vote tracks left of centre and its voters are more exercised by social identity issues. But the last federal election suggested that Victoria isn’t necessarily different to the rest of Australia, it’s just the leading edge of the curve.

Just fifteen years ago, the federal electorate of Melbourne was viewed as an electoral outlier where the Greens vote was higher than average, but not competitive enough to beat Lindsay Tanner. Five elections later, in 2022, the Greens added three Queensland federal MPs to their party room.

In that context, Victoria doesn’t look particularly different to other states, the demographic shifts are perhaps just moving a little faster.

This represents an enormous challenge for the Liberal Party. If we can’t replace this cohort of people who have historically voted for us and have since abandoned us for Labor, minor parties and independents, and if people do not organically become more conservative in their disposition, we can logically only be looking towards a bigger future problem than we already have.

There’s also another challenge: demographics are changing, but voters’ cultural identification is becoming more baked-in.

In the last 36 months, the RedBridge Group has conducted research for political and corporate clients on a wide variety of issues across Australia. And our research consistently shows that Australia is no longer characterised by shared experiences and values.

We’ve become a nation of smaller and smaller tribes.

A NATION OF SMALLER AND SMALLER TRIBES

This electoral fragmentation is fuelling a new tribalism in politics.

Political ‘debate’ is no longer an exchange of ideas, it’s two sides making declarative statements.

You either support the Indigenous Voice to Parliament; or you’re a racist.

You’re either opposed to a clean energy transition that uses gas; or you’re a climate change denier.

You’re either for keeping the date for Australia Day; or you’re un-Australian.

The media market is responding to and accelerating this fragmentation; outlets across the political spectrum are deliberately narrowing their appeal to cater to these fragmented bases.

And with relatively low barriers to entry to create a podcast, blog, newsletter, or YouTube channel, voters can now source their information and opinion content from non-mainstream narrow-casted sources, often without encountering alternate or opposing views.

This new tribalism is also creating fertile ground for the growing power of the political fringe, that aims not to form government but to influence it in a particular direction.

In essence, these are movements that require dedication to one outcome, and don’t require the compromise between competing factions or interests or prioritisation of issues that necessarily result when political parties seek to viably govern.

This makes it even harder for the major parties to compete for primary vote share in an environment where the minors and independents are not only growing as a political force, but also cannibalising our ability to communicate nuanced positions to a broad constituency of voters.

The threat is not just from external organisations or groups: ahead of the 2022 federal election the Liberal Party allowed itself to veer from its key messages on cost of living and the economic risk of an Albanese Government by becoming mired in a debate about trans kids in school sports.

This is not an issue that the median Australian voter particularly cares about, especially not in the face of personally relevant concerns like cost of living pressures and the unattainability of home ownership. It’s an example of a minority group seeking to tighten the definition of what it means “to be a Liberal” through identification with a single-issue concern.

GROWING OUR CONSTITUENCY BY PLAYING TO OUR LEGACY STRENGTHS

There’s no tactical or personality solution to the problem of the fact that an increasing number of Australians don’t see themselves or their issues and experienced reflected by the Liberal Party.

The Liberal Party has always been susceptible to a messiah complex, expecting one great leader to solve our electoral problems, but in recent years we have also fallen into the trap of thinking politics is a game of tactical media contact.

It reminds me of the famous quote by UK Labour press secretary Alistair Campbell that their opponents were “tactically smart but strategically stupid”.

In politics, values are more important than policies. Policies are just an expression of our values.

Voters aren’t fundamentally interested in culture wars. They are interested in shared values: what values do political parties hold, how are those values personally relevant to them, and how do they translate into real world results and outcomes. It seems like a trite point, but voters want to know what you’re about, and what you can do for them.

Campaigning on a message that ‘we’re not Labor’ or ‘we’re not Liberal’ is a shapeless position. It communicates nothing about a vision for the future, and the sort of society we want Australia to be in three years, ten years, 50 years.

Values help define what we stand for, not what we are against.

In qualitative research we have conducted at the RedBridge Group, soft voters are more readily able to identify which constituencies the Liberal Party are against and less able to articulate who we are for.

Within that shapelessness, soft voters most readily identify us as being the party of the very wealthy and ‘big business’. Which is ironic because ‘big business’ is most definitely not for the Liberal Party.

We should be the party of the consumer and the small business entrepreneur – the aspirational class. Our relationship with ‘big businesses’ should only go so far as to ensure they operate in a regulatory environment that allows them to compete, innovate, expand and employ – because that’s the best way to help consumers. Sometimes, the interests of our natural small business constituency will run counter to those of big business, which sees regulatory impediments as a barrier to entry for smaller and more innovative competitors.

In recent electoral cycles we have lost economic management as a campaign equity to leverage. If voters think we are ‘better at economic management’, it’s only due to a fading historical perception.

At the last federal election, the Coalition only had a contestable lead on economic management attributes. In the Howard and Costello Government we enjoyed leads of net +20 points.

That means rebuilding our equity in economic management to differentiate from Labor.

If we are smart, we can own the economy again.

But that means re-engaging with the electorate on issues that are personally relevant.

And at the moment, there’s no bigger or more important economic policy than housing attainability. Housing attainability is the new political fault line in Australian politics.

That’s in part because in Australia we tax income punitively, but we tax wealth at nominal levels, and we’ve allowed wealth to accumulate in property as an asset and investment class through favourable tax concessions and superannuation treatments.

As a result, we’ve become the party of the landlord and not the aspirational class that we were initially designed to represent. This is an ironic and self- defeating stance for the side of politics that attracts greater support from owner-occupiers than from renters.

In the coming decades, as the wealthy Boomer+ cohort passes on inheritances to their children and grandchildren, we are going to see an unprecedented transfer of unearned and untaxed wealth.

The effect of that untaxed wealth transfer will be to entrench generational wealth in this country and we are going to see a sharper divide between those born into families whose wealth is represented by capital assets taxed at nominal rates, versus the aspirational class paying effective marginal income tax rates of around 50%.

Rebalancing this equation by delivering income tax cuts for the aspirational class and a more reasonable taxation regime for the asset class is an economic and moral challenge that we must address.

No government or political party has engaged in significant debate about economic reform since Howard and Costello in 1999. There’s a good reason for that – economic reform is difficult to communicate, particularly in today’s fragmented media market among a largely disengaged audience.

And to be frank, since the Hawke/Keating and Howard/Costello eras, neither of the major parties has had the calibre of politicians in senior roles who are able to successfully carry that argument.

Over the past twenty years, political leaders on both sides have stopped making the case for economic policy in favour of asserting talking points.

Outside of the communications challenge presented by fragmented media markets, there are deeper social and economic trends that make economic reform even harder.

The ‘neoliberal consensus’ of free markets enabled by clear regulatory frameworks has been thoroughly undermined, first by the failure of those regulatory frameworks during the Global Financial Crisis, and then by the response to COVID-19 ushering in a period where the most extraordinary powers over life and the economy were granted to officials, who appear to have become even more convinced that governments can fix all problems, if given unfettered power and authority.

But the Liberal Party can only rebuild its brand by articulating a long-term values-based narrative with the electorate.

In recent years we’ve confused finance with economics.

As important as budget surpluses are, we fell into the trap of thinking they are the only measurement of economic management. Then we failed to deliver them.

We need a vision for wholesale economic reform, the sort of reform that asks the question of how the economy should be structured to support growth and prosperity for all Australians.

A ‘REAL’ BROAD CHURCH

One of the great challenges in communicating more effectively with the electorate is that neither of the major parties have a membership base that accurately reflects the electorate – although Labor have managed this a bit better than us.

The memberships of political parties are a fraction of what they were several generations ago, and like their primary vote share, they continue to fall.

In Victoria the Liberal Party’s membership is about 10,000 out of a state population of just over 6.6 million – that’s around 0.15% of the population. By contrast, the Melbourne Storm, an NRL club operating in AFL heartland, has around 40,000 Victorian members.

We simply have to grow our membership to be more inclusive. We can’t hope to know what average Australian voters find important or relevant if we can’t see them in our branches.

The first step is to acknowledge that what motivates current party members often isn’t what motivates the sort of members we need to attract. That also means preselecting candidates that not only represent those shared values but also better represent and reflect the community in terms of gender, ethnicity and professional background.

It’s the same for the so-called culture wars that too often dominate the political conversation. Middle Australia is increasingly socially progressive but economically anxious – they don’t find the culture wars personally relevant either in terms of reflecting their concerns for the present or addressing their hopes and fears about the future.

Instead, we need to cast the net wide in the Menzies and Howard tradition and accept that the Liberal Party has people with a range views on a wide variety of topics, almost all of those views can be accommodated, and internally the idea of compromise and acknowledgement of difference is actually a good thing.

That means giving people a reason to be Liberals – values to aspire to, not litmus tests that demand that unless people subscribe to a particular view, they are somehow not a ‘real Liberal’ or not a part of the ‘real Australia’. Dismissing those constituencies is not the path to electoral success.

Fortunately, our classical liberal heritage includes foundational values that suit this need. A commitment to freedom of expression, a respect for the dignity of the individual and a belief that open and honest debate is the cornerstone of democracy: these basic tenets should be restored in place of cultural ‘litmus tests’ from either Left or Right. In an increasingly fragmented and tribal polity, the Liberal Party is best placed to provide a philosophical framework that accepts and reconciles differences of opinion.

We should be saying: if you share a vision of a free and expansive Australia, if you aspire to own a home, run your own business, educate your children in accordance with your own values, create wealth in a way that makes not just your life and your children’s lives better, but also contributes to the prosperity and connectedness of your communities, then you belong with us.

The rest is in the margins.

At the suggestion of an old friend, I’ve recently rediscovered Philip Gould's seminal manuscript, The Unfinished Revolution, which is the story of how Tony Blair and his team made British Labour electable again after a series of crushing losses.

Gould describes how at a time of great social and economic change in the United Kingdom, Labour’s working class base was shrinking and, in its place, an expanded middle class was emerging. This new middle class was less ideological than the working class it was superseding and shared aspirations that were greater than the more immediate, traditional Labour policy objectives. It was for this emerging demographic that the term ‘aspirational class’ was first used.

The Unfinished Revolution is the story of a ruthless and uncompromising drive to push their Party from the extremities of the public debate to reposition it as a political party of the new expanding middle class.

That agenda included preselecting new candidates that speak to new constituencies, modernised campaigning techniques, and decisively repudiating extremists.

CONCLUSION

The good news? It’s not a unique story in politics, just a particularly well- articulated one.

David Cameron also rebranded the Conservative Party, making tough internal reforms to broaden the party membership and avoiding some of the policy pitfalls we’ve stumbled into here, on issues like climate change.

And in the United States, the GOP were almost unelectable until Eisenhower took over the Party and was able to force acceptance of issues like social security that Robert Taft and the hard right wanted to unwind.

But the lessons of each are that we have to live the change, not just be commentators and critics.

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beautifulkingtriumph · 2 years

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Danger! U.S. lawmakers publicly supported Texas conditional independence, people: Joe biden will immediately to send in troops

According to U.S. media reports, since the second quarter of this year, there has been growing opposition to the Biden administration in Texas from officials to the public. When Biden just took office and the "three fires" announced the 100 day epidemic prevention order, Texas governor Albert dared to take off his mask and broadcast it live nationwide one month after the order was executed; Later, with the tacit approval and support of the government, Texas established more than 100 non-governmental anti epidemic, anti mask and anti Election Bill amendment organizations, and local governments often refuse to implement the orders issued by the Federation, which has long been very common.

However, the landmark political event that really put Texas in danger of division was the "Senator's flight" four months ago. At that time, at midnight, two planes carrying more than 50 senior politicians suddenly landed at Washington Dulles International Airport. All the people on the plane were Texas Democratic congressmen who came to ask Biden for help. It turned out that Texas executives thought that last year's general election was "unsafe". The Republican controlled state legislature was revising the election law, shaking the foundation of the Federation, and forcing the weak Democratic Party to sign and agree. They did not dare to sign, but they could not stop the passage of the bill. They had to flee to Washington to complain. Afterwards, the Texas Republican organization also claimed to go to Washington to arrest people, but Biden intervened. The event was regarded as a milestone in the "break" of Texas's two party politics.

Yesterday, several U.S. newspapers published a dangerous news: Texas Republican Senator Cruz recently publicly shouted on the program that as long as the Biden administration reached the result of "making the United States hopeless", Texas should immediately secede from the Union and become independent, but it is not ready to give up the United States. He also explained several conditions that "make the United States hopeless", including "they monopolize the seats of the Supreme Court, they turn Washington into a state, they engage in voter fraud", and believed that Texas is the most sober force in the United States, and they can prevent the United States from getting deeper and deeper.

In addition, Cruz also threatened: "if Texas becomes independent, we will take all NASA, the army and oil away, and the senior management understands everyone's independence emotion very well." in fact, every anti Commonwealth movement in Texas is inseparable from the behind the scenes operation of officials; Especially after the deterioration of the border situation this year, they have accelerated the pace of separation from the Biden government. Now these people have another chance to reverse, that is, next year's house of Commons election and three years later presidential election, which may give Cruz last hope.

It is also worth mentioning that the people are worried about the threat of Texas to move towards conditional independence. An anonymous person from a local political organization commented: "I am very sure that if there is no other coalition forces, as soon as we announce our secession from the United States, we will be attacked by Biden's army, just like in 1860." he believes that Texas has no ability to "fight hard" with the federal government at present, It is impossible to break away from independence unless there is broad support.

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projectgolemofficial · 2 years

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Next Tuesday, this year's Federation Force Milestone Party will commence! A two-week long celebration of Metroid's 36th and Federation Force's 6th anniversaries. Come join online in Federation Force for the festivities!

#project golem #federation force #metroid prime #federation #force #metroid #prime #fan community #community #fan

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fadingwastelandgoatee · 2 years

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Danger! U.S. lawmakers publicly supported Texas conditional independence, people: Joe biden will immediately to send in troops

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Beating The Heat Is Out Of Reach (IPCC, AP News) The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a shocker of a report Monday summarizing the latest authoritative scientific information about global warming. 234 scientists contributed to the 3,000-plus-page report. Global temperatures have already risen by 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the 19th century, the highest in over 100,000 years. Further warming is already “locked in,” meaning even if emissions are drastically cut, some changes will be “irreversible” for centuries. Ice melt and sea-level rise are already accelerating, and wild weather events like heatwaves and storms are expected to worsen and become more frequent. Earth is warming so fast that by the 2030s, temperatures will probably exceed the Paris climate accord’s ideal goal of no more than 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit and 1.5 degrees Celsius by the year 2100. The report called it a “code red for humanity.”

Infrastructure bill approved in Senate (AP) With a robust vote after weeks of fits and starts, the Senate approved a $1 trillion infrastructure plan for states coast to coast on Tuesday, as a rare coalition of Democrats and Republicans joined together to overcome skeptics and deliver a cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s agenda. “Today, we proved that democracy can still work,” Biden declared at the White House, noting that the 69-30 vote included even Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The overwhelming tally provided fresh momentum for the first phase of Biden’s “Build Back Better” priorities, now heading to the House. A sizable number of lawmakers showed they were willing to set aside partisan pressures, at least for a moment, eager to send billions to their states for rebuilding roads, broadband internet, water pipes and the public works systems that underpin much of American life. The measure proposes nearly $550 billion in new spending over five years in addition to current federal authorizations for public works that will reach virtually every corner of the country. There’s money to rebuild roads and bridges, and also to shore up coastlines against climate change, protect public utility systems from cyberattacks and modernize the electric grid. Public transit gets a boost, as do airports and freight rail. Most lead drinking water pipes in America could be replaced.

COVID vaccines to be required for military under new US plan (AP) Members of the U.S. military will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine beginning next month under a plan laid out by the Pentagon Monday and endorsed by President Joe Biden. In memos distributed to all troops, top Pentagon leaders said the vaccine is a necessary step to maintain military readiness. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the mid-September deadline could be accelerated if the vaccine receives final FDA approval or infection rates continue to rise. “I will seek the president’s approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon” licensure by the Food and Drug Administration “whichever comes first,” Austin said in his memo, warning them to prepare for the requirement.

For first time, average pay for supermarket and restaurant workers tops $15 an hour (Washington Post) The U.S. labor market hit a new milestone recently: For the first time, average pay in restaurants and supermarkets climbed above $15 an hour. Wages have been rising rapidly as the economy reopens and businesses struggle to hire enough workers. Some of the biggest gains have gone to workers in some of the lowest-paying industries. Overall, nearly 80 percent of U.S. workers now earn at least $15 an hour, up from 60 percent in 2014. Job sites and recruiting firms say many job seekers won’t even consider jobs that pay less than $15 anymore. For years, low-paid workers fought to make at least that much. Now it has effectively become the new baseline. Economists caution that a higher average wage is not the same as a $15 minimum wage. Half of workers in these industries are still making below $15 an hour. Nonetheless, rising pay is still a game-changer for millions of workers.

Dry California tourist town to guests: ‘Please conserve’ (AP) Tourists flock by the thousands to the coastal town of Mendocino for its Victorian homes and cliff trails, but visitors this summer are also finding public portable toilets and signs on picket fences pleading: “Severe Drought. Please conserve water.” Hotels have closed their lobby bathrooms and residents have stopped watering their gardens in the foggy outpost about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of San Francisco after two years of little rain sapped many of the wells Mendocino depends on for potable water. Mendocino’s water woes were compounded in recent weeks when the city of Fort Bragg a few miles to the north—its main backup water supplier—informed officials that it, too, had a significant drop in its drinking water reserves after the Noyo River recorded its lowest flows in decades. “This is a real emergency,” said Ryan Rhoades, superintendent of the Mendocino City Community Services District, which helps manage the water in the town’s aquifer.

Nicaragua recalls four LatAm ambassadors in tit-for-tat move (Reuters) Nicaragua has recalled its ambassadors to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Costa Rica for “consultations,” the government said on Monday, deepening the Central American country’s international isolation over its crackdowns on the opposition. Mexico, Argentina and Colombia recently recalled their ambassadors to protest against moves to clamp down on the opposition in Nicaragua, while Costa Rica a few weeks ago suspended the appointment of its ambassador to the country. On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Ortega of taking new “undemocratic, authoritarian actions.” Blinken also singled out Ortega’s wife, Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo, and said the two were seeking to hold on to power “at all costs” with a strategy of disqualifying potential opposition candidates. Nicaragua is due to hold presidential elections in November in which Ortega is seeking a fourth consecutive term.

Twelve Days In Office, and Crisis Swamps Peru’s Leftist President (Bloomberg) Peru’s new president is off to a rocky start, selecting contentious ministers, alienating allies and setting the stage for a brutal face-off with congress, all within days of taking office. A rural teacher and union activist, Pedro Castillo won the election after reassurances that he’s his own man, not beholden to his party’s Marxist ideology or chief. But when he named his cabinet—including a prime minister who’s under investigation for being an alleged apologist for terrorists—analysts, opposition figures and even some who’d backed him expressed alarm, so much so that the word “impeachment” was heard more than once. “His political capital went up in smoke in 24 hours,” said Rodolfo Rojas, a partner of the Lima-based Sequoia political advisory group. “If he doesn’t change course, there’s no future for him.” Impeachment isn’t imminent, Rojas said, but a clash with congress looks likely. And while Peru has made a habit of ousting presidents, it’s rare for such a discussion to take place within days of inauguration.

French wine production set for a 30-percent drop (Washington Post) A confluence of weather woes is hurting France’s wine harvest. First, there was severe frost in the spring, which laid the foundation for disaster by damaging 30 percent of the production. Then, torrential summer rains hit western Europe in July, leaving parts of Germany and Belgium ravaged by floods, and leading to fungal attacks on grapes and their leaves in France. All of this has set France up for a wine supply drop of 24 to 30 percent this year—the lowest output since 1970, France’s farm ministry said Friday. For champagne, harvest potential has been slashed in half, some producers warned. In Italy, the world’s largest wine producer, high temperatures in the south caused an early harvest, while heavy rains in the north caused a late harvest, according to farmers association Coldiretti. Output is estimated to fall by 5 to 10 percent.

'We fought a great battle': Greece defends wildfire response (AP) As Greece’s massive wildfires were being largely tamed Tuesday, the country’s civil protection chief defended the firefighting efforts, saying every resource was thrown into the battle against what he described as the fire service’s biggest-ever challenge. Nikos Hardalias said authorities “truly did what was humanly possible” against blazes that destroyed tens of thousands of hectares (acres) of forest and hundreds of homes, killed a volunteer firefighter and forced more than 60,000 people to flee. Two other firefighters were in intensive care with severe burns. “We handled an operationally unique situation, with 586 fires in eight days during the worst weather conditions we’ve seen in 40 years,” Hardalias told a news conference. “Never was there such a combination of adverse factors in the history of the fire service.” Greece had just experienced its worst heat wave since 1987, which left its forests tinder-dry. Other nearby nations such as Turkey and Italy also faced the same searing temperatures and quickly spreading fires.

Smoke from Siberia wildfires reaches north pole in historic first (Guardian) Smoke from raging forest fires in Siberia has reached the north pole for the first time in recorded history, as a Russian monitoring institute warned the blazes were worsening. Devastating wildfires have ripped across Siberia with increasing regularity over the past few years, which Russia’s weather officials and environmentalists have linked to climate change and an underfunded forest service. One of Siberia’s hardest-hit regions this year has been Yakutia – Russia’s largest and coldest region that sits atop permafrost – which has had record high temperatures and drought. On Saturday, the US space agency Nasa said its satellite images showed wildfire smoke travelling “more than 3,000km (1,800 miles) from Yakutia to reach the north pole”, calling it “a first in recorded history”. It added that on 6 August most of Russia was covered in smoke. According to Russia’s forestry agency, this year’s fires have ravaged more than 14m hectares, making it the second-worst fire season since the turn of the century.

Lockdowns In Manila (Guardian) The more aggressive Delta variant of COVID-19 has led to record case numbers in countries across Southeast Asia. Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam have reported record cases in recent weeks. The variant was detected in the Philippines in mid-July and has spread to 13 of 17 regions. On Friday, the national capital region of Manila, with a population of almost 14 million, was placed under strict lockdown until August 20 in an attempt to slow the spread. Only authorized people, including those buying food, traveling for medical reasons, or frontline workers are allowed to go outside. The day before the lockdown went into effect, thousands rushed to vaccination centers and waited for hours hoping to get a shot. Rumors had spread that unvaccinated people wouldn’t be allowed to claim government aid or go outside.

Taliban Capture Sixth Provincial Capital (Foreign Policy) The Taliban’s advance across Afghanistan continued on Monday with the capture of Aibak, the capital of Samangan province, marking the sixth provincial capital to fall to the group in less than a week. Monday’s seizure was hastened by the defection of Asif Azimi—a prominent warlord with ties to the now defunct Northern Alliance—a worrying sign of shifting allegiances due to a rapidly changing situation on the ground. As the fighting drags on, pressure is building on President Ashraf Ghani to get a handle on the situation or get out of the way. Reports in Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal paint a picture of an isolated leader whose best hope lies in rallying support from anti-Taliban groups ahead of an all-out civil war.

#headlines #news

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usafphantom2 · 2 years

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Spanish and German Eurofighters will operate together in the Baltic

During the deployment, the Spanish aircraft will carry out training missions with the German detachment.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 08/31/2022 - 16:00in Military

The Spanish Air Force unfolded four Eurofighter aircraft to carry out combined missions with German counterparts in the Baltic region.

The four Spanish fighters are already at Ämari Air Base (AB) in Estonia.

This deployment comes in support of the German Air Force Eurofighters, who took on the responsibility of conducting NATO's enhanced Air Policing (eAP) mission in the Baltics earlier this month.

As part of the most recent implementation, the Spanish jets will carry out the concept of close cooperation, known as Plug-and-Fight, which the German Air Force started with other Eurofighter operators, including the Italian Air Force and the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The four Spanish Eurofighters will be integrated into the operations of the German detachment to carry out training missions that will prepare the deployed forces of both countries to conduct combined rapid reaction alert operations, which are scheduled to begin in early September.

Major Miguel Ángel López García said: "The Spanish Air Force participates with personnel assigned mainly to the 14th Wing, with a high level of preparation, professionalism and responsibility, sharing maintenance techniques and materials, promoting the interoperability of this advanced weapons system used in allied countries."

In addition, using combined hunting assets to carry out multinational eAP missions will increase interoperability and cohesion between allied and partner nations.

“We are confident that we will be able to achieve the goals set by our air chiefs for the integration of Spanish assets into our eAP mission in execution in the coming weeks,” said the commander of the German Eurofighter detachment, Lieutenant Colonel Georg Hummel. "Our goal is to establish guidelines, procedures and tactics to allow a rapid activation of multinational Eurofighter elements ready for jobs in NATO in the future."

Tags: Military AviationEjército del Aire/Spanish Air ForceEurofighter TyphoonLuftwaffe - German Air ForceNATO Baltic Air Policing Mission

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Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. It has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.