Daily Archives: July 4, 2017

Nationals senator John Williams also says Tony Abbott needs to just fit into the team and be a team player. Photograph: Mike Bowers for the Guardian

National party senator John Williams has warned the Liberal party that a plebiscite on marriage equality is part of the Coalition agreement, signed by Malcolm Turnbull and Barnaby Joyce.

The agreement was signed when Turnbull took the leadership from Tony Abbott in September 2015 and Williams said it was part of the deal for National party support.

I know that it is in the Coalition agreement, a signed agreement between Nats and Liberals by Barnaby Joyce and Malcolm Turnbull, Williams said.

The Coalition agreement is signed by every incoming Liberal and National party leader. In the last agreement, Turnbull agreed for the water portfolio to go back to the agriculture portfolio with Joyce as minister, which happened immediately. The agreement also states there will be no policy move to a carbon price and no change to the definition of marriage without a plebiscite.

Williams chastised the defence industry minister and leader of the government, Christopher Pyne, for telling his moderate Liberal colleagues that marriage equality might be resolved sooner than you think, a boast soon scotched by Turnbull.

Williams said if the Nick Xenophon team or Labor had supported the plebiscite, the issue of same-sex marriage could have been resolved by now.

But instead these issues keep bubbling along and get so much media attention and Chris Pyne shouldnt say those things, Williams said.

He was worried the ongoing Liberal division would risk marginal seat holders such as fellow National MP Michelle Landry in Capricornia in Queensland. Landry holds the seat by a margin of just 0.8% and Williams said her seat creates the one-seat majority that keeps the Coalition in power.

Im annoyed with the Liberals because everyone knows division is death and they are so divided every time Tony Abbott makes a statement publicly, he said.

We need to concentrate on their job, which is to work for betterment of all Australia.

Williams reminded Abbott that Coalition MPs had been team players when he was prime minister but he would not give advice about whether Abbott should leave parliament after the Guardian Essential poll found 43% thought Abbott should resign.

I think what Tony needs to do is just simply be more of a team player, as we were with Tony when he was prime minister, Williams told ABC earlier.

I certainly was. We had a couple of disagreements on the odd occasion but I think Tony needs to just fit into the team and be a team player. What he does in the future is his decision.

He said the continual division made it impossible for the government to talk about its positive messages such as budget commitments on inland rail, roads and education.

These things cant get any light of day because of this division, Williams said.

Read more here:

Nationals senator reminds Liberals same-sex marriage plebiscite part of their deal - The Guardian

The Fourth of July used to be a happy occasion. It smelled like chlorine and tasted like rocket pops. For a time, it looked like Barack and Michelle, dancing together for the first time as president and first lady as Beyonc sang At Last by Etta James. When the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, it sounded like a roar of triumph that echoed from coast to coast. That year, the fireworks, and our future, never seemed so brilliant.

When Barack Obama was president, there was a growing sense among us young progressives that the arc of the moral universe was indeed starting to bend toward justice. It was slow and it was imperfect, but our fitful progress along it endowed many of us with a sense of pride. The flag looked a little different. It looked like something that could be ours.

This year, the holiday weekend finds many of us in a darker mood. It is our first Fourth of July with President Trump. The refugee ban is back on. And somewhere in America, Paul Ryan is cracking another cold one while 22 million Americans are at risk of losing their health insurance. The arc isnt bending as fast as we thought.

In light of so much injustice, how should we observe Independence Day? Should we dismiss the holiday all together roll up our flags and boycott the barbecues? Like Los Angeles considering scrapping Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples Day, we could scrub the Fourth of July and give it a makeover. Instead of red, white and blue, we could don black.

Such a response would be in line with recent trends. Over the last year, patriotism has been dropping sharply among Democrats. According to a Gallup poll from March, 67% of Democrats said they are very proud to be an American, compared with 92% of Republicans.

While denouncing the Fourth may be emotionally satisfying, cognitive science suggests it would be politically unwise. As UC Berkeleys George Lakoff preaches, people are drawn to positive messages far more than negative ones, even when the negative ones are backed up with facts. According to Lakoff, this is why Trump won the election.

It is also why we cant afford to be downers on the Fourth.

If Lakoff is right, we should salute the flag instead of burning it. Instead of railing against Trump, we should talk about why we care so much about the Constitution. If our uncle shows up wearing a This is what a REAL patriot looks like! shirt, we should put one on, too. The point is not mimicry, but reframing.

For too long, progressives have relinquished the word patriot to conservatives and freedom-fry hawkers. In doing so we concede defeat. If we say we arent proud of our country, then we are letting someone else define what our country is. America is far bigger than Donald Trump. In fact, it is 2.8 million voters bigger.

If the left can learn to make the stars and stripes its own, it will appeal to some Trump voters, too. As social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues in his book The Righteous Mind, conservatives vote based on certain moral values that liberals do not typically articulate. Among these are loyalty, sanctity and authority all of which Trump played to with his Make America Great Again message. The standard liberal response America was never great was correct from a civil rights perspective, but also continued to portray liberals as fundamentally irreverent. If Democrats want to win another election, this is an image they must change.

This Fourth, lets show weve learned our lessons, and are ready for 2018. Fly the flag. Take back the power.

We, too, are America.

Cassady Rosenblum is an intern in The Times Opinion section.

cassady.rosenblum@latimes.com

@cassadyariel

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook

Excerpt from:

How should an angry liberal celebrate the Fourth of July? Fly the flag even higher - Los Angeles Times

Thomas Gallatin Jul. 3, 2017

What is a liberal? Or maybe a better question is, what does the term liberal refer to today? Well, according to Jacques Berlinerblau, a professor from Georgetown University who recently wrote an article for the Washington Post, there are liberals and then there are radical leftists. Berlinerblau admits that American academia is mostly comprised of liberal professors and that those professors who identify as politically conservative are utterly under-represented in Americas halls of higher learning, with humanities departments in particular being the least politically diverse. In other words, it is not wrong to suggest that leftist ideology is controlling most of the nations colleges and universities.

But while Berlinerblau rightly concludes that conservatives are not to blame for the recent havoc wreaked in places like Middlebury, UC Berkeley and Evergreen College, he also attempts to shift the blame away from liberals. According to Berlinerblau, three groups exist in academia: a small conservative minority, a sizable liberal contingent and the dominate radical left who he blames for the current campus intolerance. The question remains, what is the difference between a liberal and a leftist?

Berlinerblaus answer to that question ends up sounding more like a difference in the manner of application of ideology rather than an actual distinction in form. He cites as examples liberals reactions to certain events, such as liberals didnt exult over Irans 1979 Islamic revolution, or that liberals didnt refer to the victims of 9/11 as little Eichmanns. He also notes that liberals are generally made highly uncomfortable by censorship, speaker boycotts, trigger warnings, safe spaces and the like. Berlinerblaus argument sounds eerily similar to the one made by Muslims who may reject the methods of Islamic terrorists, yet refuse to disavow Islamists.

The truth is that modern liberalism stands in stark contrast to those classical liberal values expressed by our nations Founding Fathers. It is todays conservatives who hold most closely to those classical liberal principles. Todays radical leftist social justice warrior is merely the logical manifestation of modern liberal ideology a distinction without a difference. It is modern liberalism that can be credited with teaching the ideology of socialism that glories in the utopian ideals of Karl Marx. It is modern liberalism that sees little value in Christianity and has a long mocked Christians as backward fools. It is modern liberalism that has questioned the very nature of truth itself, opening a Pandoras box of relativism. No, Professor Berlinerblau, liberals may not like it, but the radical left is their creation; they are to be blamed.

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Liberal vs Left - Patriot Post

I hate to admit it, but the talks of a so-called truce, or a toning down of the political rhetoric, by our members of Congress was crap. We all knew it. Cmonyouve had to see this lie coming a mile away. We have two separate parties that have deep, systemic divisions on how government should be run and its associated issues, free speech, gun rights, health care etc., so a truce on the rhetoric was never going to happen. Just like it didnt happen after Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) was shot. Even as House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) fought for his life, liberals were more or less saying he deserved it because he had the voting record of a conservative Republican. Scores more were hoping that he died. Now, as the health care battle is upon us, Democrats are saying the GOP wants to kill people, and that the GOP health care agenda will lead to thousands of people dying. This truce was never going to last long because a) were on the verge of an election year; b) Democrats want to try and retake Congress; and c) this is politicswin at all costs. And health scare tactics work very, very well.

On the issue of Second Amendment rights, what better characters to fan the flames of nonsense than the Hollywood Left, like actor Michael Ian Black, who thinks the NRA might be a terrorist organization. He even looked up terrorism in a dictionary. The FBIs definition is probably the one you should cite in a debate: There is no single, universally accepted, definition of terrorism. Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

This is all because NRA spokeswoman Dana Loeschreleased an awesome videoshowing that conservatives will fight liberals on the battlefield of ideals with the clenched fist of truth, right? A video where she condemned violence used in the context of a political debate by anyone or any side. Right now, its the Left who are engaging in politically motivated violence, rioting, burning stuff, vandalizing college campuses, attacking pro-Trump demonstrators, and taking shots at GOP lawmakers as they practice for a charity baseball event. Yet, its the NRA, the oldest civil rights organization in the country, thats the real problem because they want to protect something thats enshrined and codified in our Constitution. Second, there was no call for violence in Loeschs video. If you think words that denounce violence is itself a call for violence, I dont know what to say other than see a doctor and ask if Xanax is right for you. Its that or youre just fragile. Too fragile and must need a safe space in case a triggering occurs. These people have the right to say what they want; it provides for hilarious entertainment. But we dont have to take them seriously.

When James Hodgkinson, an avowed leftist, tried to execute a mass assassination on Republican lawmakers, that probably could be construed as an act of terrorism. We may never know for sure because the FBI decided to screw up the endgame by saying this was a totally random act, or something. Right, and the list of names that were found on him was just a constituent call list, right?

Weve got to the point, where advocating for issues that liberals dont like makes you a possible terror suspect. Thats insane.

Yeah, this is just patently false. There are scores of stories where a good guy with a gun saved lives (here, here, here, and here). Second, the two cops who saved Rep. Scalise and other GOP members of Congress are another example of guns saving people. Keep in mind, the Capitol Police charged Hodgkinson, who was armed with an SKS rifle (7.62mx39), with their service handguns. They were outgunned. Side note: concealed carry holder are not only better trained than police; theyre also some of the most law-abiding in the country, but keep denigrating people who dont live in Los Angeles, or any big city, by suggesting they might be terrorists because theyre not liberals.

Correction: Itll be the next seven years if you guys keep this up.

Fake News: Website Says Dana Loesch NRA Ad Said 'Americans Need Guns To Shoot The Resistance'

South Korea Military: North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile

Read more from the original source:

Hollywood Liberal: NRA Might Be A Terrorist Organization - Townhall

Paul Chabot is a native Californian who stood for Congress last year as a Republican, in a district near Los Angeles. After his defeat, he decided the only option was to move to Texas.

Californias become a lost cause, he said. I was born and raised there when it was a Republican state. Ronald Reagan was from there, Nixon was from there, we had great schools back in the 70s and 80s, low crime, great paying jobs. Now its a 180, its a complete opposite of that.

I lost to a very liberal Democrat that the people elected and I came to the conclusion that you cant help people who dont want to help themselves. That really was the end of it for us in California. We realised then that the majority of the people around us no longer shared the same values that my wife and I believe in.

Chabot, his wife Brenda and their four young children relocated to Collin County, which covers some of the most affluent and manicured suburbs of Dallas and where a four-bed home can be yours for under $350,000. And all 38 elected officials, from the sheriff to the district attorney to the tax assessor-collector, are Republicans.

In California we always jokingly said, If this state goes to hell well end up moving to Texas. And a lot of people say it and some people actually do it, Chabot said.

He is now a player in a long-running and freshly escalated ideological and economic battle between Americas most populous liberal and conservative states.

A new adoption law that critics describe as anti-LGBTQ has prompted California to ban state-funded trips to Texas. Chabots strategy is quite the opposite. In May he launched Conservative Move slogan: Helping Families Move Right a company to help fellow sufferers flee their liberal hellscapes and find asylum in the warm, red glow of suburban north Texas.

Its not the same state it was 30, 40, 50 years ago. So you have a base who are frustrated with California and want out

The 43-year-old said the response has been fast and furious: about a thousand expressions of interest, three-quarters of them from Californians.

The people who are contacting us are very upset with state politics, he said. They might have been a lifelong Californian like I was, but theyre saying the state doesnt represent me any more, its not the same state it was 30, 40, 50 years ago. So you have a base of people who are just frustrated with California and want out.

A couple of years ago, he said, he saw a news article that declared the fast-growing county seat of McKinney to be the finest place to live in the US.

As a Californian what I love here is that theres no state income tax, the politics here supports the second amendment, they dont support sanctuary cities or any of that stuff that weve dealt with in California and Texas is very tough on crime. They also have excellent schools where we are, Chabot said.

He is surrounded by Californian ex-pats, he said: My neighbour across the street, my mail man, the guy at Home Depot in the plumbing department, the police officer I met in a coffee shop.

According to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) analysis of American Community Survey data, 502,978 people older than 25 moved from California to Texas between 2005 and 2015. Some 290,214 people went the other way. Texas was the top destination for Californians, and vice-versa.

With 27 million Texas residents and 39 million in California, the figures suggest that roughly 1.1% of Texans over 25 moved to California and 1.3% of Californians moved to Texas over that decade. That hardly depicts a flood, or a clear winner in a rivalry that has come to symbolise the growing divide between right and left in the country as a whole. But it is a philosophical gulf that will become even more entrenched geographically if Chabots business flourishes.

There is scant evidence that politics is a main migration factor. Hans Johnson, of the PPIC, said the data indicates economic and family reasons are key drivers.

Housing prices in California have escalated quite rapidly over the last five years and that of course will push more people out of the state, he said.

As a Sacramento Bee headline put it in March: California exports its poor to Texas, other states, while wealthier people move in.

When he was governor of Texas, as the oil and gas boom helped the state prosper despite the recession of the late 2000s, Rick Perry voiced radio advertisements seeking to woo Californian businesses an effort that the Democratic governor, Jerry Brown, termed barely a fart.

They can laugh at Californias travel ban to Texas but itll be more than a travel ban from one state

With a Republican in the White House, California now makes an appealing scapegoat for Texas politicians who fired up their base by disparaging Barack Obama.

Its funny how the very state that is so adamantly against keeping terrorists out of our country they oppose the presidents travel ban now wants to keep Californians out of Texas, a spokesman for Texas attorney general Ken Paxton told the Houston Chronicle. I guess thats California logic.

But an energy industry downturn has hurt Texas economy, and though Arizona and North Carolina endured boycotts in recent years for legislation perceived as discriminatory, Texas is likely to pass a bathroom bill this summer to limit restroom access for transgender people. In protest at a new immigration law, the American Immigration Lawyers Association has switched its 2018 conference from the Dallas area to San Francisco.

They can laugh at Californias travel ban to Texas but itll be more than a travel ban from one state, said Sylvia Garcia, a Democratic state senator from Houston. Itll be more states and it will be more companies who do not want to relocate here and it will be more conferences and more visitors who wont want to come here.

While Texas lawmakers fulminate against liberal values with the rallying cry, Dont California our Texas!, the states biggest cities have turned bluer, most obviously Austin, where Silicon Valley giants such as Google and Facebook have a significant presence. Last November, Hillary Clinton secured more than 54% of the vote in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, even though Donald Trump won Texas easily.

Tanya Santillan, a 30-year-old attorney originally from northern California, moved to Houston last year from Washington DC. Especially as a Mexican American in the current environment, she said, she is cautious about discussing politics in her adopted state, but Houston has been a pleasant surprise.

You always come in with a preconceived notion that its going to be super-conservative, maybe more racism, a lot more backward-thinking, more religious. You dont necessarily expect for there to be as much diversity as there is, and I think Houston, its a bubble inside of Texas, people are a lot more progressive. I think maybe if I lived in a smaller town than Houston my experience would be completely different.

When I first mentioned to some of my friends that I was moving to Houston, they just kind of asked, like, Why?'

Santillan has a pragmatic attitude. This is where you get the most for your money, she said, and the political climate is not enough to disincentivise you to move there.

Kyle Loftis has a similar view. The 34-year-old grew up in southern California and lived in San Francisco before moving to Houston four years ago. He works for a parking company and said the transition was smooth.

When I first mentioned to some of my friends that I was moving to Houston, they just kind of asked, like, Why? Why would you move to Texas? he said.

There were a few jokes about Texas being gun country and all that kind of stuff, but nothing too bad, really. I would say it was just more of a little bit of confusion, like, Why are you moving out there? You can get a job here.

But the Bay Area is notoriously expensive. My biggest thing was just the affordability. The cost of living is just far lower in Texas, Loftis said.

Another transplant from the Bay Area to Houston, Chris Pedersen, a 34-year-old who works in the oil and gas industry said the cost of living in California was getting ridiculous. Its become very problematic.

My grandma lives in a two-bedroom, two-bath townhouse [20 miles south of San Francisco] which just got appraised for a million dollars. Its crazy. We just closed on a house actually a week ago, were moving in as we speak, and its half of that, and its a great neighborhood, great house. Theres no way we would have been able to afford it in California.

Do I agree with all the Texas politics, no. But do I agree with all the Californian politics, not at all. Youll have your challenges wherever.

Read this article:

Your place or mine? Texas liberals and California conservatives swap states - The Guardian