Daily Archives: February 21, 2022

REGION Two Kirtland art students earned major honors by the Liberal Arts Network for Development (LAND), a statewide network of community colleges in Michigan. LAND sponsors annual student competitions to recognize outstanding work in the liberal arts. This is the first year that Kirtland art students have submitted entries.

Paige Galbraith (St. Helen, MI) and John Morrison (Lewiston, MI) won top honors in two competition categories. Paige placed first for photography and second for her 2D drawing submission. John earned third place for his 2D drawing.

Even though its my first year at Kirtland, I already feel at home here. Being a part of the art department has given me a chance to join a community of creative people. We push each other and encourage each other, Galbraith remarks. And winning these awards makes me feel even more confident about my art and my choice to be at Kirtland.

LANDs selection committee receives entries from students across the State, with top honors usually going to students from Michigans largest community colleges.

John Thiel, Kirtlands Dean of Liberal Arts, represents Kirtland on the LAND steering committee and shares his excitement about this recognition for Kirtland students: Past winners usually come from colleges with much larger art programs that have more faculty members. It says a lot about the caliber of Kirtlands art program that two of our students earned top honors in such a competitive contest.

Though Kirtlands art program is small by State standards, it has a long legacy of student success.

Kendall College of Art and Design actively recruits our students, and each year, we have art students who earn big scholarships and transfer to Kendall and other art schools, explains Scott Rice, Full Time Faculty for Kirtlands Art Program. I couldnt be more proud of the talented students that come to Kirtland and go on to do really amazing things.

Beyond earning recognition by LAND, Galbraith and Morrison will also receive monetary prizes for their entries and present their work during LANDs annual conference in February.

I cant believe that this is my last semester at Kirtland, Morrison, winner of third place in the 2D category, states. But, I dont think that my journey with Kirtland will be over when I graduate. Ive found the courage to be myself and make art that represents me. And, Im going to carry that with me.

Kirtlands art program explores creative arts in 2D, 3D, digital, and traditional mediums and methods. Graduates of the program enter a variety of fields, from corporate marketing to studio production and illustration; others successfully transfer to art schools and universities.

To learn more about Kirtlands art program, visit Kirtland.edu/art.

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Kirtland art students win state competition - upnorthvoice.com - upnorthvoice.com

Texass primary election is especially important this year. Thats because Republican lawmakers redrew the states political maps after the 2020 Census to fortify their majorities.

With most legislative and congressional districts now carefully configured to favor one party, many races effectively will be decided in the March primary.

Here is a roundup of hard-fought Democratic and Republican primary contests for federal, state and local offices in the San Antonio area.

Early voting ends Friday. Election Day is March 1.

VOTER GUIDE: What to know for the Texas primary election

In perhaps the most closely watched congressional primary in Texas, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar is again trying to fend off progressive immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros, after narrowly defeating her in 2020.

Cuellar, one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, was already under fire from the left before FBI agents searched his home and campaign headquarters in January, upending the race.

Authorities have not disclosed the nature of the investigation, but ABC News has reported that a federal grand jury sought records from organizations with ties to the oil-rich former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. Cuellar has visited the country and served as chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus. Cuellar has said the investigation will show that there is no wrongdoing on my part.

The presence of a third candidate, educator Tannya Benavides, raises the possibility of a runoff if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote.

The district, newly drawn to include a larger share of San Antonio, runs all the way to the border, including Laredo, the hometown of both Cisneros and Cuellar.

Though Cuellar won re-election in 2020 by a margin of 19 percentage points, national Republicans are targeting this seat, sensing opportunity in a potential GOP wave year and the possibility Cuellar could lose the Democratic primary.

Seven Republicans are seeking the nomination. The three who have raised the most funds are Ed Cabrera, a rancher and businessman; Cassy Garcia, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who is backing Garcia in the primary; and Willie Ng, a former San Antonio police officer and Republican nominee for Bexar County sheriff.

With longtime congressman Lloyd Doggett running for a newly drawn congressional seat in deep-blue Austin, four Democrats are running to replace him in the 35th Congressional District, which stretches from Austin to San Antonio.

Former San Antonio city councilwoman Rebecca Viagran is among the contenders. But two Austin-based candidates have attracted the bulk of the fundraising and endorsements: former Austin city councilman Greg Casar and state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez.

Both are touting their liberal bona fides. Casar, a democratic socialist and former labor organizer who championed some of Austins most progressive policies in recent years, has the support of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Rodriguez, who is backed by a number of his statehouse colleagues and at least three Texas members of Congress, argues that he would be a more effective legislator than Casar, pitching himself as the progressive who makes progress.

State Rep. Lyle Larson, by some measures the most moderate Republican lawmaker in Austin, is retiring from the Legislature, creating an opening in his red-leaning northern Bexar County district.

Four Republicans are competing to succeed him: attorney and trucking industry executive Adam Blanchard, former San Antonio city councilwoman Elisa Chan, financial executive and Air Force veteran Mark Cuthbert, and former Bexar County Republican Party chair Mark Dorazio.

Blanchard has easily led the field in fundraising, boosted by endorsements from Larson and Texans for Lawsuit Reform, an influential tort reform group. But Chan has loaned her campaign $750,000, allowing her to nearly double Blanchards spending through mid-January. Dorazio has trailed in fundraising, though he maintains close ties to GOP activists and has been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Three Democrats with varying rsums but few discernible policy differences are competing for the countys top elected post, which has been held by the retiring incumbent, Nelson Wolff, since 2001.

The wide-open primary features Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, former chief of staff for Mayor Ron Nirenberg; state Rep. Ina Minjarez, a former prosecutor in the Bexar County District Attorneys Office; and Peter Sakai, a former district court judge and municipal lawyer. A fourth candidate, Gerard Ponce, has raised only a few hundred dollars and has unsuccessfully sought a number of local offices in recent years.

Two Republicans are running in the GOP primary: Nathan Buchanan, a small business owner and former constable candidate, and Trish DeBerry, a former public relations executive who resigned as Precinct 3 commissioner to run for county judge. Buchanan has reported minimal fundraising, positioning DeBerry to represent the party in November.

Republicans last won an election for Bexar County judge in 1998.

The district remains anchored in Hidalgo County along the border and stretches all the way north to Wilson and Guadalupe counties just east of San Antonio. But it will have new representation next year, after Republicans tweaked the boundaries to favor a GOP candidate and incumbent Democrat Vicente Gonzalez decided to run for a neighboring seat instead.

Nine Republicans are running for the seat, led by the 2020 nominee, Monica De La Cruz, who was recently endorsed by former president Donald Trump and is backed by Republican House leadership. A super PAC aligned with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has supported De La Cruz and run radio attack ads against one of her main primary foes, Mauro Garza.

Six Democrats are seeking their partys nomination, including Eliza Alvarado, a former staffer for Gonzalezs predecessor, Rubn Hinojosa, and co-founder of a nonprofit that focuses on voter registration; Ruben Ramirez, an Edinburg attorney and Army veteran endorsed by Gonzalez; John Villarreal Rigney, an Edinburg attorney and small business owner; and Michelle Vallejo, a small business owner from the McAllen area.

Three Republicans are running for this newly crafted state Senate district, which sweeps around the west side of Bexar County, covering all of Medina County and parts of the Hill Country and Atascosa County. The latter is home to former state senator Pete Flores, a Republican who is making a comeback bid for the seat being vacated by state Sen. Dawn Buckingham, who is running for land commissioner.

Flores, who lost re-election in a different district in 2020, is backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has appeared on the stump with with Flores and cut his campaign a $150,000 check. Flores main rival, former congressional candidate Raul Reyes, has called Flores a lapdog, suggesting he would be beholden to Patrick and the Senate leadership.

Reyes himself has raised the vast majority of his campaign cash $300,000 out of nearly $323,000 from a single source: Billy Hopper, the retired sheriff of Loving County, a tiny community in far West Texas located well outside the district.

Three Democrats are running for the west Bexar County seat held by state Rep. Ina Minjarez, a Democrat who is running for county judge. The field consists of Josey Garcia, an Air Force veteran and co-founder of a nonprofit that provides humanitarian aid to migrants; Steven Gilmore, a San Antonio criminal defense attorney; and Gerald B. Lopez, a Northside Independent School District trustee.

After nearly two decades as one of the most moderate Democrats in the Legislature, longtime state Rep. Ryan Guillen switched to the Republican Party last year, shortly after his south Texas district was reconfigured to favor a GOP candidate.

In his first time on the GOP ballot, Guillen is backed by a laundry list of prominent Republicans, including Trump, Patrick, Abbott and Speaker Dade Phelan. He is being challenged from the right by primary opponents Alena Berlanga, a nurse who serves on the Floresville Independent School District board of trustees, and Mike Monreal, a construction executive and retired Navy captain.

With incumbent Republican George P. Bush running for attorney general, 12 candidates are vying to take over the Texas General Land Office, which administers disaster recovery after major storms, oversees the Alamo and contributes oil and gas royalties to the state's $44 billion public school endowment.

State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, an eye surgeon from Lakeway, has emerged as the favorite in the Republican primary, winning the endorsement of former President Donald Trump and top Texas Republicans. But with eight GOP candidates running, she may be pushed into a runoff.

The four-candidate Democratic primary includes conservationist Jay Kleberg and Austin attorney Jinny Suh.

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is battling for a third term against East Texas state Rep. James White and rancher and economics professor Carey Counsil. Both have accused Miller of being ethically challenged, pointing to corruption charges filed against a top aide who is accused of soliciting bribes from farmers in exchange for hemp licenses.

Miller, who calls the indictment baseless, is supported by Trump and has maintained a wide lead in public polls.

Though all public polls have him well ahead of his three primary challengers, Attorney General Ken Paxton could be forced into a runoff against either Land Commissioner George P. Bush, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert or former state Supreme Court justice Eva Guzman.

All three have argued that Paxtons legal entanglements would make him vulnerable against the Democratic nominee in November. The Democratic hopefuls include former ACLU attorney Rochelle Garza, former Galveston mayor Joe Jaworski and civil rights attorney Lee Merritt.

jasper.scherer@chron.com

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Here's a roundup of hot primary contests in the San Antonio area - San Antonio Express-News

When I was very young, I participated in a several-month training in community organizing taught by the great Fred Ross, Sr., whose previous students included Cesar Chavez. As it became apparent that the demand for introverted community organizers was not great, I settled for a career in law. But much of the wisdom Fred imparted continues to guide me.

One point he made over and over was the distinction between organizing and mobilizing. Almost anyone, he said, could stir people up and get them to show up at a march or demonstration. By itself, however, that kind of mobilization rarely changes anything: Those responsible for the problem simply keep their heads down until the mobilization concludes and then keep doing precisely what they were before. Real power, Fred said, comes from organizing. And organizing takes time, developing trust, and understanding one person at a time.

Fred also emphasized the importance of always being truthful with the people one is organizing. No matter how awkward, embarrassing, or discouraging the answer may be, community members deserve an honest response when they ask an organizer a question. Without candor, trust is impossible. When an organizer would gloss over the difficult parts or make up something she or he did not know Fred was incensed.

Although the Industrial Areas Foundation, for which both Cesar and Fred worked, is alive and well, I fear that too much of todays political work follows the alluring expedients of mobilizing rather than the transformational path of organizing.

I am particularly struck by progressive activists repeated insistence that the Democrats have to deliver on this or that demand or their base will become disillusioned and stop voting. If that is true, it can only be because the activists mobilizing them to vote in the last election failed to level with them about the political situation the nation is in.

Thinking of the Democrats as a unitary body susceptible to coercion, and capable of delivering if it really wants to, is simply false. Those who voted Democratic in 2020 included progressives, liberals, moderates, and some very conservative people who could not tolerate President TrumpDonald TrumpRepublicans scramble to halt Greitens in Missouri Mace: I'm going to win without Trump Walter Dellinger: a scholar and a mensch MORE and yet President BidenJoe BidenUS tells UN Russia has list of Ukrainians 'to be killed or sent to camps:' report Latest satellite images show shift in Russian military activity near Ukraine Biden agrees to meet with Putin 'in principle' if Russia does not invade Ukraine MORE still carried just 51 percent of the vote. Preventing a resurgence of Trumpism requires the Democrats to maintain a very big and welcoming tent. That cannot work if the welcome evaporates immediately after the election: Progressives do not have sufficiently strong voter support for the Democrats to be viable as a narrowly ideological party.

The feel-good arguments that this country is somehow more progressive than is commonly understood do not bear close examination. Yes, Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonMedia embrace of Stacey Abrams is a preview of 2022, 2024 election coverage 'What-aboutism' Ruling against Trump leaves more questions than answers on free speech Trump may not be Teflon after all: Judge orders him to comply with subpoenas MORE received almost 3 million more votes than Donald Trump, but far-right candidates won significantly more votes combined than liberal and leftist candidates did. Overall, polls consistently show self-identified conservatives substantially outnumber self-identified liberals. And although polls often show substantial majorities supporting this or that progressive policy, a segment of those liberal voters are nonetheless wedded to the Republicans because of their strong feelings about abortion particularly as opposition to abortion becomes less tolerated within the Democratic Party.

And anyone who mobilizes voters by suggesting that coming out to vote once will bring victory on this or that issue is not being honest. They are building not power but cynicism. Only organizing people for the long struggle ahead can remedy deep injustices.

Our greatest leaders frankly acknowledged the obstacles their movements faced. As massive as the March on Washington was, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr., was under no illusions that victory was at hand:

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.

Had the massive mobilization swept him into declaring that victory was at hand, the brave men and women of the Civil Rights movement would have become disillusioned, lost trust in him, and fallen away. King knew better.

Five years later, on the day before he was killed, Dr. King again preached candidly about the need for perseverance:

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.

Cesar Chavez, too, was candid about the obstacles the farmworkers movement faced and the hard, sustained work that would be required for success:

Our struggle is not easy. Those who oppose us are rich and powerful and have many allies in high places. We are poor. Our allies are few. But we have something the rich do not own. We have our bodies and spirits and the justice of our cause as our weapons.

We are now half a century beyond when Dr. King and Cesar Chavez spoke, and yet true victory remains elusive. It is not fair or just that people who have endured so much already are still having to endure more. But promising quick fixes that cannot be delivered will only prolong that injustice by feeding cynicism and division within the progressive movement.

Since the ballots were counted in November 2020 and, indeed, in earlier elections when Democrats lost too many winnable seats it has been clear that progressives would have no congressional majority but, at best, could scrape together enough votes with much more conservative members to form an anti-Trumpist coalition.

Anyone who has led the base to believe that victory was at hand on crucial but hotly contested causes if only they pushed Democrats hard enough was deceiving that base and sowing the seeds of future cynicism.

To build the kind of power that can genuinely rescue this country, we need organizing that levels with people about the obstacles ahead, just as Dr. King and Cesar Chavez did. Anything else the sugar high of short-term mobilizing or seeking some parliamentary magic that can deliver what the voters did not will only postpone the day when justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

David A. Super is a professor of law at Georgetown Law. He also served for several years as the general counsel for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Follow him on Twitter@DavidASuper1

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Liberal activists need to level with their base | TheHill - The Hill

Liberalism is a way of life built on respect for the dignity of each individual. A liberal order, John Stuart Mill suggested, is one in which people are free to conduct experiments in living so you wind up with a large variety in types of character. Theres no one best way to live, so liberals celebrate freedom, personal growth and diversity.

Many of Americas founders were fervent believers in liberal democracy up to a point. They had a profound respect for individual virtue, but also individual frailty. Samuel Adams said, Ambitions and lust for power are predominant passions in the breasts of most men. Patrick Henry admitted to feelings of dread when he contemplated the depravity of human nature. One delegate to the constitutional convention said that the people lack information and are constantly liable to be misled.

Our founders were aware that majorities are easily led by ambitious demagogues.

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While the Constitution guarded against abuses of power, the founders recognized that a much more important set of civic practices would mold people to be capable of being self-governing citizens: Churches were meant to teach virtue; leaders were to receive classical education, so they might understand human virtue and vice and the fragility of democracy; everyday citizens were to lead their lives as yeoman farmers so they might learn to live simply and work hard; civic associations and local government were to instill the habits of public service; patriotic rituals were observed to instill shared love of country; newspapers and magazines were there (more in theory than in fact) to create a well-informed citizenry; etiquette rules and democratic manners were adopted to encourage social equality and mutual respect.

And:

Will the liberals of the world be able to hold off the wolves? Strengthen democracy and preserve the rules-based world order? The events of the past few weeks have been fortifying. Joe Biden and the other world leaders have done an impressive job of rallying their collective resolve and pushing to keep Putin within his borders. But the problems of democracy and the liberal order cant be solved from the top down. Today, across left and right, millions of Americans see U.S. efforts abroad as little more than imperialism, endless wars and domination. They dont believe in the postwar project and refuse to provide popular support for it.

The real problem is in the seedbeds of democracy, the institutions that are supposed to mold a citizenry and make us qualified to practice democracy. To restore those seedbeds, we first have to relearn the wisdom of the founders: We are not as virtuous as we think we are. Americans are no better than anyone else. Democracy is not natural; it is an artificial accomplishment that takes enormous work.

Then we need to fortify the institutions that are supposed to teach the democratic skills: how to weigh evidence and commit to truth; how to correct for your own partisan blinders and learn to doubt your own opinions; how to respect people you disagree with; how to avoid catastrophism, conspiracy and apocalyptic thinking; how to avoid supporting demagogues; how to craft complex compromises.

Read it all.

Look, David is a friend, and I sincerely respect and care for him, despite our political disagreements. Any criticism I ever make of his writing (or that of any other personal friend, ever) is done within the bounds of friendship. In a better world, I wouldnt have to say that, but I do.

That said, Brooks did not bring up Orban, but I think its safe to say that the criticism he makes of Putin who is a rather different figure from Orban he would apply to Orban. In the eyes of many Western liberals (right-liberals like Brooks, and left-liberals too), there are no essential differences between any of these figures. So, one thing that is missing from the Brooks column is any reflection at all on why so many people have abandoned liberalism (liberalism in the sense of our Western model, not strictly speaking the views and policies of the Democratic Party).

The basic answer is in Hammers line here: Hungary under Orbn rejects the illusion of liberal neutrality, recognizing, as this column haspreviously phrased it, that a values-neutral liberal order amounts to a one-way cultural ratchet toward leftism and progressivism.

I told an audience last night at MCC that I, personally, am torn about all this. In theory, I would prefer to live in a liberal democratic polity, but that I cant escape the conclusion that the choice for that is not on the table in the real world of 2022.The liberals of both the GOP and the Democratic Party have done little or nothing to protect those values, and that order, from the aggressively anti-liberal Left. For Americans, liberalism is a one-way ratchet to Critical Race Theory and gender ideology. Most conservatives including me have no real problem accepting gay people into the mainstream. But that is not enough for the Left today: we are compelled to affirm every new thing the sexual left comes up with, including teaching little children about gender fluidity, sending our kids to schools that do this, then set up formal structures of deceiving parents when their children come out as transgender in schools, and so forth. It is not enough that gays have the right to marry; the rare Christian baker or florist whose conscience will not let them participate in same-sex weddings must be professionally destroyed. Thats liberalism? Today, yes, it is.

Most conservatives have accepted that America used to be a racist society, and have absorbed the liberal Martin Luther King position that people should not be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character. But that was yesterdays liberalism. Today, if you do not affirm the malignant, illiberal ideology that entails Critical Race Theory, you are labeled a racist. If you do not want your children to be taught that (if they are white) they are an oppressor by virtue of their skin color, or, if they are a racial minority, that they are a perpetual victim, and that all their all-too-human failings are not reflexively the result of white bigotry, then you are either a white supremacist or a fellow traveler of white supremacy.

Liberalism used to stand for freedom of thought and expression. This week in Budapest, we heard the conservative essayist Heather Mac Donald talk about how on many college campuses, she has only been able to give speeches there if she is given heavy police protection against left-wing student mobs. This is what liberalism has led to. Left-wing atheist professors like Peter Boghossian, Bret Weinstein, and Heather Heying tell harrowing stories about how they were driven out of their universities by both mob action and by Kafkaesque harassment by their woke university administrations,, simply because they defended liberal principles in the face of the mobs. The men and women whose duty it is to defend old-fashioned liberalism have capitulated.

Liberalism in practice has meant that our collective cultural and artistic heritage is being viciously dismantled. Mac Donald writes about how the progressive administration of the Art Institute of Chicago is destroying the museum to make it ideologically correct, according to the ideology of wokeness. Who is standing up to defend museums from this assault? Where are the Brooks columns denouncing this kind of thing? Or any of the stuff Im talking about here?

Nowadays, to work for a major corporation, or to get into law or medicine, you are at a serious disadvantage if you are not a racial or sexual minority, no matter how competent you are at the actual job you would do. You will be forced to accept and affirm leftist cultural dogmas that you do not believe, and if you fail to do so, you put yourself at risk of unemployment. And what has liberalism done to oppose this, or roll it back? Nothing. The Democratic Party affirms this stuff, and the GOP remains too sleepy to fight it (or, as in Trumps case, satisfies itself with lazy lib-owning, while the woke consolidate power within the institutions).

Back when Donald Trump was first running, establishment conservatives couldnt get over how a figure like that became popular with the conservative base. I was one of those establishment conservatives not a Never Trumper, but one who was baffled by Trump, and troubled. It took reading J.D. Vances Hillbilly Elegy to give me a better sense of the dispossession many working class Trump supporters felt in this country in particular, how the free-market fundamentalism the GOP had been pushing for a generation had not worked out well for many of those people. I dont believe Trump was the answer, but virtually nobody else on the classical liberal side even saw that this was a serious problem. Today, the very liberal, even woke, prime minister of Canada is invoking emergency legislation to fight protesting working-class Canadians, including threatening to take away their bank accounts, and calling them all filthy racist rabble.

This is liberalism? Yes, it is: actually existing liberalism, in the year 2022. And if its not actually liberal, then we can say that proper classical liberalism does nothing at all to defend itself. But oh, the old-school liberals sure do complain about leaders of the postliberal Right who are willing to pick up the fight that they have abandoned.

Here in Hungary, Orban remains popular in part because he believes that the globalist progressive bureaucracy in Brussels, and the NGO archipelago throughout the West, should not have the last word in how Hungarians are governed. That belongs to the Hungarian people. His economic policies would cause American free marketers heads to explode but he believes there is nothing wrong with the state involving itself in the economy to protect the common good of the people.

I saw last night that the controversial Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore (also a friend I respect) attacked Hungary in his newsletter, saying:

Pay attention, though, to those who look behind the former Iron Curtain to find the future. Many religious conservativesmost notably Roman Catholics but some evangelical Protestants toohave allied themselves with Hungarys authoritarian strongman,Viktor Orbn. As libertarian commentator Matt Welchnotes, the Hungarian prime minister makes for an odd champion of American-style Christendom.

Abortion is uncontroversially legal in Hungary, the people arent particularly religious, and Orbn has exercised kleptocratic control over churches that dare to dissent from his policies, Welch argues. The key reason for the attraction to Eastern European strongmen, Welch concludes, is that they fight the right enemies and win.

If this were just a skirmish between those of us who believe in liberal democracy and those who find it expendable, that would be one thing. But the other, larger problem with this authoritarian temptation is the gospel.

If the church is a cultural vehicle for national stability and pride, then one can hardly expect dictators to do anything other than manipulate it. But if the church is made up, as the Bible tells us, of living stones brought in by regenerated hearts through personal faith in Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 2:45), then external conformity to values and civilization falls woefully short of Christianity.

Authoritarian strongman. Good grief. Thats ridiculous. What kind of authoritarian strongman puts himself before the people in free and fair elections every four years, and wins? Last year when I left Hungary, the Orban supporters in my circles were very worried that Fidesz, Orbans party, would lose the April 2022 election. Orban has been in power since 2010, which is a long time. Now, though, weeks away from the election, they are more confident. The opposition candidate chosen as the anti-Orban standard-bearer by opposition primary voters has been terrible on the campaign trail, I have been told by both pro- and anti-Orban people. You watch: if Orban wins re-election, the Western media will be filled with accusations that he somehow must have cheated.

Anyway, Moores readers who dont know any better may assume, from the way he has worded his column (which is mostly an attack on Vladimir Putin; on that, Moore is on stronger ground), that Orban is a Putin mini-me. Its absurd. Here in Hungary, I know some Evangelical Christians, all of whom are Orban supporters. Why? Heres Josh Hammer again:

The Hungarian government under Fidesz is not neutral, furthermore, on basic questions of sexual morality and the Judeo-Christian tradition: Gender ideology is kept out of schools, marriage is vigorously defended as the exclusive union of one man and one woman and Christianity is woven into the very fabric of society and polity alike.

Fidesz has no appetite for policing bedroomsand Budapest has its annual Pride paradebut the state decisively puts its thumb on the scale in favor of traditional Christian ethics. There are nodrag queen story hoursscandalizing innocent children here. On the contrary, the governments public defense of European Christendom and the illiberal nature in which its policies prefer traditional religious ethics over alternative lifestyles represents a sort ofecumenical integralismencapsulated by the fact Orbn himself is Calvinist, while his wife is Catholic. Hungarys popular, elaborate and much-discussedfamily policy measureshave also been successful in boosting the national birthrate.

I recall a conversation I had with a young Evangelical woman last summer, asking her about how she is likely to vote in the April elections. She said she will vote for Fidesz. I asked her about the most common complaint I heard from Fidesz supporters: that Orban is far too tolerant of public corruption. She said that she feels the same way, but that to vote in the opposition is to open the doors to a much more destructive kind of corruption: the surrender to gender ideology. Once that takes hold, she said, theres no getting rid of it. Similarly, I talked to a 24-year-old female colleague who was not religious, and who lived with her boyfriend. She was planning to vote Orban, because she wants to have kids one day, and does not want to live in a society in which Brussels bureaucrats and their local allies have created a world in which schools and media teach her sons that they can be girls, and vice versa.

You can roll your eyes at that if you like, but these are real and important issues for ordinary people here. They are real and important issues for ordinary people in America too. Are the left-liberals and the right-liberals fighting for the integrity of natural families against the gender ideologues? No, they are not. Viktor Orban does.

Moreover, when it comes to protecting persecuted Christians in the Middle East, Orban opened a ministry within his office to offer aid, material and otherwise, to those communities. I wrote about that office here. In 2019, I sat in a meeting in which a senior Iraqi Christian leader thanked Orban. From my account of the meeting:

When the migration crisis hit Europe in 2015, Orban famously shut Hungarys borders to Middle Easterners. Orban said that Hungarys was the only government in Europe to respond to the crisis in its own interests, and in the interests of Christianity in Europe. With a population of only 10 million, and as a country where Christianity, as elsewhere on the continent, is fragile, the Hungarians concluded that allowing large numbers of Muslims to take up residence here would mean the death knell of Christianity in time.

This scandalized the European political class. Orban doesnt care. He told our group that he understands that he is dealing with elites who believe that being a post-Christian, post-national civilization is a great and glorious thing. Orban rejects this. He said the main political question in the West today is how fractious pluralities can live together peaceably. He said, Here the most important question is how not to have the same questions as them.

Orban pointed out that the UK and France were once colonial powers in the Middle East. He added, But Central Europe was colonizedbythe Middle East. Thats a fact. Hes talking aboutthe Ottoman occupation of Hungary, from 1541 to 1699. Orban told our group that the room we were sitting was part of a Church building that had been turned into a mosque during the occupation.

Explaining his decision to shut the borders to Muslim refugees, Orban said what tipped the scales was consulting the Christian bishops of the Middle East. Orban: What did they say? Dont let them in. Stop them.

Middle Eastern Christians, said Orban, can tell you what is the [ultimate] end of a society you have to share with Muslims.

Sitting at the table listening to the prime minister was Nicodemus, the Syriac Orthodox archbishop of Mosul, whose Christian community, which predates Islam by several centuries, was savagely persecuted by ISIS. Archbishop Nicodemus spoke up, thanking Orban for what Hungary has done for persecuted Christians. Nicodemus said that living with Muslims has taught Iraqi Christians that they can expect no mercy. Those people, if you give them your small finger, they will want your body, he said.

The problem is that Western countries dont accept our experience, the prelate continued. Those people [Muslims] pushed us to be a minority in our own land and then refugees in our own land.

Under the Orban government, Hungary frequently extends a helping hand to persecuted Christians.The archbishop exhorted Orban to stay the course in defense of Christians. For 16 years, he said, Iraqi Christians begged Western leaders to help them. Addressing Orban directly, Nicodemus said, Nobody understands our pain like you.

What is the typical American conservative political response to the suffering of Middle Eastern Christians? In 2014, Sen. Ted Cruz went to a Washington summit where leaders of besieged and persecuted Middle Eastern Christians had gathered, and read them the riot act from the stage, saying that he will not support them unless they openly support Israel. As I wrote back then in response, it was a disgusting act of self-aggrandizement and I say that as a supporter of Israel. Whatever the personal views of those bishops and priests about Israel, had any one of them gone to America and publicly supported Israel, they would have been murdered when they got back home. This was a case of an arrogant American politician trying to make political hay among his Evangelical and fundamentalist supporters by exploiting the life-or-death suffering of the most persecuted Christians in the world.

Who is a better friend to Christians, then: Ted Cruz, or Viktor Orban? What should American Christians think?

Until I saw that 2019 piece I wrote just now, I had forgotten about this exchange I had with Orban back then. It came after Orban admitted frankly that Hungarian society, which is not particularly religious, was stiff suffering from the hangover of Communist totalitarianism:

Orban spoke frankly about the post-communist religious state of his country. Its still not a healed society, he said. Its still not in good shape.

I asked the prime minister if he saw evidence of a soft totalitarianism emerging in the West today, and if so, what are the main lessons that those who resisted communism have to tell us about identifying and resisting it.

He said that the Soviets and their servants in Central Europe tried to create a new kind of man:homo Sovieticus.To do this, they had to destroy the two sources of identity here: a sense of nationhood, and the Christian religion. In order to survive, said Orban,we have to strengthen our national identity and our Christian identity. Thats the story.

Western peoples have decided to create a post-Christian, post-national, multicultural society. Peoples in Central Europe do not. For Orban, re-establishing a sense of national identity and the Christian faith are the same project. Its an attempt to reverse the damage done by Communism. The danger, obviously, is that Christianity becomes emptied of its spiritual and moral content, and is filled with nationalism. On the other hand, if a pro-Christian politician like Orban can at least keep the public square open and favorable to the ancestral religious beliefs of the nation, religious leaders can step into the space politics creates, and do their work of recovery.

There you go. If Christians think that voting for Orban (or Trump, or any other populist conservative politician) is sufficient to restoring Christianity, theyre deluded. What Orban understands, though, is that politicians have to use power to keep liberalism from destroying the sense of the nation and religious belief and practice. I do not believe that liberalism per se necessarily destroys either. Again, though, I believe that actually existing liberalism offers no protection, because it doesnt even believe in its own classical principles enough to defend them from attack by progressives who have marched through the institutions including capitalist institutions.

One may not like the way the Viktor Orbans of the world fight to protect national sovereignty, cultural conservatism, and religion in the face of the Lefts assaults, but I prefer the flawed work of defense that they do to the work of defense left-liberals and right-liberals are not doing.

One more thing: Viktor Orban manages to be both a friend to Christians and a friend to Jews. Hammer who, once again, is Jewish writes:

The combination here of nationalism, public Christianity and Soros-bashing leads many in the Western press to decry Orbn and Fidesz as antisemitic. Nothing could be further from the truth. Former Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving leader in the Jewish states history, considered Orbn hisgreatest European ally. Hungary routinely supports Israel at theUnited Nationsand in its invariable border conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah. Moreover, Jewish life itself in Budapest is thriving (at least based on the bleak post-World War II baseline for European Jewry). I spent half a day touring numerous gorgeous synagogues, walking through the historic Jewish ghetto and dining at a very fine kosher meat restaurant. (The goulash was delicious.) And unlike in Western and Northern European countries, which have taken a diametrically opposite stance on the issue of Islamic migration, Jews in Hungary are safe and secure. Armed guards outside synagogues are far from ubiquitous hereunlike, say, in Paris or Brussels.

You know why? Because Orbans government has kept Muslim migrants out. Thats the reason. I explained this in depth last summer, in the face of widespread anti-Semitic violence in Western capitals, when I was shocked that the traditional Jewish Quarter in Budapest was totally at peace, without armed guards or police guarding synagogues and Jewish businesses. I cited survey data of Jews in a number of European countries, revealing that the one country in Europe that Jews feel most safe in is Hungary, governed by George Soross arch-nemesis. In Viktor Orban Was Right, I wrote:

If you could wind back the clock fifty years, and show the French, the Belgian, and the German people what mass immigration from the Muslim world would do to their countries by 2021, they never, ever would have accepted it. The Hungarians are learning from their example. It is impossible to look westward from Hungary, and to see a desirable future in the models elsewhere in the European Union. Hungarians are European, but they see among the European left, and among the European establishment figures (of left and right), a death wish. They seem to believe that the only way to live in harmony with these imported peoples and cultures is to train new generations of European children to despise their own culture and traditions. In this sense, secular liberalism has become a suicide pact for Western nations.

The Left cannot bear to face this fact. Right-liberals cant seem to do so either. But people who live in the real world cant afford such illusions. Like my friend David Brooks, I would like to see the roots of classical liberalism strengthened, so we could defend a liberal conception of society. But those roots have badly eroded, for reasons that he and I would likely agree on, to a meaningful extent. I dont know whether the Hungarians are going to make it through, in the long term. I am told that the younger generations here are fairly woke, or at least they are far more liberal than their parents and grandparents. They get a lot of their information from Western media, and Western social media. The trends do not look good. But at least Viktor Orban and his people are making a stand, and not apologizing for it. Good.

Meanwhile, I would love it if either my friends David Brooks or Russell Moore would come to Hungary, and see for themselves what its like. Meet Christians. Meet Jews. Meet anti-Orban liberals, and pro-Orban conservatives. Draw your own conclusions. I dont expect either man will leave her as an Orban supporter, but at least they will have a better idea of what Orban supporters believe, and why they believe it, than they have now.

And, as Josh Hammer says about Hungarys national conservative approach to governance, Lessons for American conservatives are clear and legion. In a few weeks, CPAC Hungary will kick off. If you are an American conservative, why not come over and see for yourself?

UPDATE: Sorry, but Ive since learned that CPAC Hungary is not receiving international visitors, and only a limited number of domestic ones. Covid regulations, apparently. Still, you should come over sometime.

See more here:

What Josh Hammer Saw In Hungary - The American Conservative

Slippery when wet: Bedwetting is an unpleasant but common phenomenon normally associated with stressed toddlers or the elderly and infirm, but increasingly the term bedwetting has come to apply to those slithering members of the Liberal Party who wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat worrying about Simon Holmes a Courts war chest. If you believe yourself to be a bedwetter, when you reach that critical fork in the road of your career, avoid turning down the Menzian path and instead take the low road with a copy of The Guardian to guide you on your way.

Pumping up your own tyres: Its important in politics to always have someone pumping up your tyres, preferably a tame journalist at the ABC, one of the wishy-washy talkback hosts on 2GB, or any of the daytime ones at Sky. (First-time drivers should avoid After Dark at all costs!)

Successfully performing a three-point turn: These days it is best to avoid doing obvious U-turns in case the media catch you at it (surely the traffic police? -ed.) However, in Glasgow this year, shortly before my own unfortunate car accident, I witnessed a breath-taking three-point turn executed with astonishing dexterity by the Prime Minister himself. First, he got Josh to announce that international hedge funds would no longer invest in Australia unless we took tougher action against climate change, then he had Dave Sharma and a bunch of L-platers threaten to cross the floor unless we took tougher action against climate change, and then he had Twiggy Forrest invent green hydrogen so we could get to net zero by 2050! The perfect 360 degree U-turn!

Right-of-way: As Ive always said, bigots have right-of-way, too.

Brad Hazzards ahead: Health ministers and chief health officers at both state and federal levels present a dangerous road block to freedom, individual choice and democratic values, so it is best to skirt round them altogether.

Blind spots: Most young Liberals these days have a blind spot when it comes to the weather, believing that all adverse driving conditions are a direct result of catastrophic climate change. Indeed, as I personally discovered during the icy road conditions at the global warming conference in Glasgow late last year, global warming, and indeed trying to keep up with the PM during global warming conferences, can do enormous damage to your career, er, I mean to your car (Dont you mean both? ed).

Complex intersections: As a complex individual myself, I have often noted the importance that intersectionality plays in the modern academic and indeed political sphere. Obviously, being a modern Liberal, you are expected to also be a diverse and inclusive ally to the LGBTQ+ community, the gender-queer BIPOC kink community, the sustainable stolen land feminist community, the trans indigenous friends of the planet comm- (thats enough intersectional communities for one modern Liberal ed).

Continue reading here:

Learn how to be the very model of a modern Liberal member - The Australian Financial Review

Fueled primarily with small donations, UFs giving day is among the most successful in academia

Contact: Luke Anderson, 352-392-8950, landerson@uff.ufl.edu

GAINESVILLE, Fla. A school record 26,052 gifts from Gators across the globe were received by the University of Florida during its 24-hour Stand Up and Holler: Gator Nation Giving Day on Feb. 17. Contributions from thousands of alumni, students and others on that day will boost scholarships, enhance academic programs and support outreach projects that benefit families and communities.

Now in its fourth year, Stand Up and Holler is credited as a significant contributor to UFs climb last fall into the Top 5 of public universities. Alumni giving is one of the benchmarks U.S. News and World Report uses to calculate its annual rankings. UFs annual giving day is among the most successful in academia, and has created the opportunity for all Gators to invest in the university.

Funds raised during the annual giving day have also contributed to the success of the universitys $3 billion Go Greater campaign. The eight-year campaign the most ambitious in UFs history and one of the largest ever in higher education has raised more the $3.6 billion, with roughly six months remaining.

Im so grateful to the members of the UF community, and to our alumni and friends, for their love and devotion to UF, UF President Kent Fuchs said. Whether giving generously so that our professors and students have every opportunity to succeed, cheering for UF student athletes or proudly showing their pride by wearing the orange and blue, they are making amazing things happen for this university and its positive influence on people and their lives.

Gators from 12 countries and every state participated in this years Stand Up and Holler, giving a combined $20.2 million. Among this years highlights are:

Theres an unquestionable correlation between UFs rise to the Top 5 and Stand Up and Holler. When alumni, students and friends show that kind of passion for their university, UF is unstoppable, said Brian Danforth, the UF Alumni Associations executive director. One of the reasons UF is a great university is because of the heartfelt support of the Gator Nation.

UFs annual giving day is named Stand Up and Holler as a tribute to the beloved Gator football game cheer made famous by George Edmondson Jr., better known to fans as Mr. Two Bits. Edmondsons iconic orange-and-blue striped necktie is used as a symbol to promote the campaign, with replicas as long as 30 feet strategically placed throughout the UF campus.

The next Stand Up and Holler: Gator Nation Giving Day is tentatively scheduled for February 2023.

The 169-year-old University of Florida has a long history of established programs in international education, research and service, and is one of only 17 public, land-grant universities in the prestigious Association of American Universities. It is ranked No. 5 in the most recent U.S. News and World Reports list of public universities.

Luke Anderson February 21, 2022

Continued here:

Giving tops 26000 contributions during UF's annual 24-hour 'Stand Up and Holler' - University of Florida

Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell says the residential and industrial land crisis in City of Greater Shepparton required more planning and development support from government.

Ms Lovell said the Victorian Liberals identified this issue over 12 months ago and in May 2021 released a policy to provide a solution for regional communities by fast-tracking planning approvals.

Regional Victoria has had a surge in population growth during the pandemic and the influx of home buyers has sent house prices soaring while rental vacancy rates plummeted.

To support this demand for population shift into regional communities, urgent action is needed to ensure an adequate supply of land well into the future, Ms Lovell said.

An elected Matthew Guy-led Liberal government will implement a program that fast-tracks 50,000 new lots of land across rural and regional Victorian councils, excluding areas in the Melbourne urban-growth boundary and the City of Greater Geelong, in the first two years of government.

An assessment of currently available residential land tabled at the February Greater Shepparton City Council meeting said the amount of zoned land is eight to 14 years, but it overestimates supply, which is as little as five years.

More developable land needs to be identified and brought to market to satisfy demand in the three to five-year outlook.

Ms Lovell said the housing shortage was making it difficult for businesses and essential services such as Goulburn Valley Health to attract skilled workers and professionals to fill vacancies.

Without new lots being opened up for new housing, greater Shepparton will miss out on the benefits of an increasing population, additional small business opportunities and better services to meet the growing demand, she said.

Continue reading here:

Urgent help needed to develop - Shepparton News

Robert Azzi| Columnist

Everybody in the Middle East wants to explain why they're right, I remember P. J. ORourke, who died this week at his home in Sharon, NH, writing after he traveled to the Levant and beyond.

Today, I get to explain why Im right.

Today, I'm inspired by a Seacoast reader who recently sent me two op-ed pieces from the Wall Street Journal, the first of which was accompanied by the following note:

Mr.Azzi, / If you could bring yourself to denounce Amnesty International, renounce BDS and recognize this new version of anti-Semitism under the guise of anti-Zionism, I would take you more seriously as a liberal voice!

What provoked my reader was the publication, last month, of anAmnesty Internationalreport, that joinedHuman Rights Watch(HRW),BTselem, andYesh Din- all highly regarded human rights organizations - in reporting the conditions under which Palestinians were living in Israel and the occupied territories, concluding "The Israeli government is committing the crime against humanity of apartheid against Palestinians and must be held accountable.

This isnt the world ganging up on Israel; this is the world calling upon Israel to live up to its own declared aspirational values.

Im often asked why I criticize Israel when other regimes are so much more cruel and unjust. I criticize Israel, I answer, because those other regimes - Syria, China, Iran, for example - do not (a) even pretend theyre democracies, and (b) they are not occupying and oppressing indigenous populations using American weapons and with American support.

Todays reality is that Israel is a democracy only for its Jews; for its Christian, Druze, and Muslim citizensdemocracy is promised but never fully realized, limited by unequal housing, education and employment opportunities.

In the illegally-occupied Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank, Israel acts as a violent and internationally illegitimate occupying power that controls nearly all aspects of Palestinian life and opportunity.

Some pro-Israel critics argue Israel cant be an apartheid state because some Israeli Arabs have achieved some modicum of success.

Thats absurd: to assert that Israel is a democracy for all because it has an Arab supreme court justice and Arabs in the Knesset - or an Arab beauty queen - is akin to asserting that Americas free of systemic racism because it once elected a Black president.

The reality is, as then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered in 2019 following the passage of Israels new Nation State law that Israel is not a state of all its citizens. According to the basic nationality law we passed, Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people and only it.

Thats reality for many Israelis - and its not new.

"The 'A-word' used to be taboo, but this has changed as the situation has changed," Alon Liel, a former Israeli ambassador to South Africa said in 2013. "The situation that has developed in the West Bank over four and a half decades is a kind of apartheid. If you compare the suffering of black people in South Africa under 40 years of apartheid, and the suffering of the Palestinians under 46 years of occupation, I don't know who suffered more.

I know first-hand that Israel has created an apartheid reality within its borders and through its occupation. The parallels to my own beloved South Africa are painfully stark indeed, Bishop Tutu wrote in 2014, recognizing that house demolitions, segregation, land confiscation for illegal settlements, the limiting of Palestinians to Bantustan-like communities, discriminatory admissions policies, roads built for settlers not accessible to Palestinians, travel and family unification restrictions, and the ability of Israeli Jews being able to reclaim pre-1948 property abandoned during the war of independence while Palestinians are denied that right, are all manifestations of apartheid.

HWR, writing that …in most aspects of life, Israeli authorities methodically privilege Jewish Israelis and discriminate against Palestinians. Laws, policies, and statements by leading Israeli officials make plain that the objective of maintaining Jewish Israeli control over demographics, political power, and land has long guided government policy. In pursuit of this goal, authorities have dispossessed, confined, forcibly separated, and subjugated Palestinians by virtue of their identity to varying degrees of intensity.

Since Israels war for independence - referred to as the Nakba by Palestinians - when over 750,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes, over 500 Arab villages erased from maps, when atrocities including rapes, massacres, and torture were committed by both sides, the State of Israel has failed to confront the reality of what life has become for Palestinians living under their control: that although the population of the two peoples between the Jordan and the Mediterranean is nearly identical - 6.8 million residents each - one people is privileged over the other.

That, I believe, is apartheid.

Further, I am a supporter of the global nonviolent BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction) movement against the State of Israel, just as I favored BDS against South Africa. Initially, I supported limited BDS - targeting just Israeli activity in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 but, as that had little effect, I have fully embraced total BDS.

It worked in South Africa and will, in time, work in Israel.

These are difficult, but necessary, conversations to have. I consider myself a progressive voice advocating for justice, human rights, and equality for all, whether in America or in the Middle East; whether in Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories, in Ferguson or Hebron, in Minneapolis-Saint Paul or Jerusalem.

I believe that the Zionism that emerged in the late 19th century as a political nationalist movement that became a settler-colonialist instrument of domination is today anachronistic, oppressive, and counterproductive, i.e., Israel cannot be both Democratic and Jewish.

Instead, I believe that Zionism as religion, identity, language, and history should not only endure but be nourished not by conquest or domination of other peoples but by recognizing the humanity of all peoples.

Until the humanity of both peoples is recognized neither will find peace.

Robert Azzi, a photographer and writer who lives in Exeter, can be reached attheother.azzi@gmail.com. His columns are archived at theotherazzi.wordpress.com.

Originally posted here:

Azzi: In Israel, until the humanity of both peoples is recognized, neither will find peace - Seacoastonline.com

After two years of COVID-19 lockdowns, Australians across the country are rearing to jump right back into interstate travel. Many have already pre-booked their 2022 holidays well in advance to ensure that they beat the crowds that industry experts anticipate will flock to the country's most popular getaway destinations virtually year-round.

As many aren't entirely certain of what interstate or even international travel trends are going to look like in 2022, you may be feeling a little lost yourself regarding just how you should go about planning your first Aussie getaway in this post pandemic landscape.

The seven travel tips outlined below may hopefully provide you and the rest of your travel party with some much-needed guidance!

1. Secure yourself a holiday package

Although travel trends are a little hard to define at the moment, there is still an abundance of holiday packages that savvy consumers can take full advantage of when planning their next domestic travel experience. And if you're looking to travel to a high-traffic destination like Brisbane, you'll absolutely want to have a look at some exciting Gold Coast holiday deals well before your intended departure.

You can gain some serious savings when booking your flights and accommodation together, meaning that you'll have even more funds to put towards the rest of your holiday budget.

What's more is you'll find that sorting the semantics of your flight and accommodation out nice and early will also greatly help you finetune your trip itinerary at a record speed. Knowing your flight times and organising transport to your accommodation nice and early will naturally allow you to get a better gauge of just how much time you'll have at your disposal for all the other fun activities you'd like to fill your itinerary with.

2. Pack plenty of beachwear and sun-safe attire

Wherever you go in Australia, chances are high that there'll be somewhere to go swimming. After all, we are an island continent with some of the world's most pristine beaches. With all this mind, you definitely won't want to wait for your bathers to dry between swims or beach days.

You can avoid this simply by packing a few extra sets of swimmers, as well as some extra beach towels, cover-ups, and, of course, a healthy supply of SPF50+ sunscreen.

Whilst SPF30+ may do the job for most swimming days, SPF50+ is more likely to keep you well-protected from harsh sunlight on days with extreme UV ratings. These extreme UV days can be highly common across the length of Australia.

3. Take in some Indigenous cultural experiences

A trip to any destination in Australia would be incomplete without engaging with the traditional custodians of the land that you're visiting. If you are heading to the Gold Coast, you'll be happy to hear that there are a myriad of Indigenous cultural attractions and experiences to be had, from taking a First Nations tour of Mossman Gorge in the ancient Daintree Rainforest, to learning all about the Indigenous methodologies being implemented in Great Barrier Reef conservation efforts.

There are also many Indigenous cultural centres, historic sites, and even Indigenous-owned and operated art galleries across the length of Australia, if you're after a more contemporary experience.

Wherever you may find yourself on your Aussie getaway, be sure to read up on all that locale's BIPOC-owned businesses and cultural sites, to ensure that you can adequately engage with and pay respects to those who cared for the land that you've travelled to today.

4. Follow hiking trails to secluded lookouts

Some of Australia's most breathtaking views can only be discovered if you go off the beaten track. The next time you're travelling down stretches of coastal highway, try and count the number of signs that mark the beginnings of hiking trails.

You may be surprised by just how many hiking trails you'll be able to find between the place you're departing from and your next scheduled destination.

If you do find yourself approaching a signpost that looks intriguing, why not stop and head off on a spontaneous hike? In doing so, you'll likely get to witness some sights you otherwise may not have seen, and make your long journeys between destinations all the more memorable.

5. Take a helicopter tour

Australia has garnered itself a bit of a global reputation for our epic landscapes. Traversing the Australian Alps or even trekking through the trees of tropical north Queensland will have you feeling as though you've been transported back to the dawn of time, back when this continent was known as Gondwanaland.

For this reason, not all of Australia's most compelling sceneries are even accessible from the land.

Sometimes, an aerial shot is the only way you'll be able to take in all that this breathtaking landscape has to offer. You can organise helicopter tours at most of the country's signature getaway destinations, from Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay to the striking Whitsundays that dot Queensland's Coral Sea.

6. Invest in souvenirs, mementos, and memories

Wherever you go, you'll be likely to find some quaint, country gift shops and souvenir stores with items like commemorative spoons and pins, picture-perfect postcards, and native animal plushies. Even consumable gifts like kangaroo jerky, organic honey, and artisanal sweets or treats are likely to make for some highly thoughtful and enjoyable gifts.

On top of buying gifts, you may even decide to take small mementos of your experiences back home with you. Collecting vials of sand or tiny shells from all of your favourite Aussie beaches can help you feel connected to all the places you were able to explore during your getaway.

And if you're not comfortable taking from the natural world, then why not take some photos instead? You'll likely have a more than brilliant backdrop wherever you are in the country!

7. Go exploring on public transport

Finally, the best way to travel is to immerse yourself in your surroundings and see every destination through the eyes of a local. By doing so, you'll find that the feeling of separation or removal that exists between you as a tourist and the locale you may find yourself in, will naturally begin to lift.

Hands down, the best method for seeing your destination through the eyes of its local population is simply by purchasing a public transport ticket or payment card and seeing where the tram, bus, or train takes you!

You may decide to select a destination at random and ride to the very end of the line, or you may opt for a specific destination that's already on your itinerary. However you choose to organise your trip on public transport, there's no denying that this little travel experience will likely add a little extra enrichment to any day of your overall trip.

Be sure to look up public transport timetables and identify your arrival and return times in advance to minimise risks of experiencing delay!

Travelling to Australia may naturally have you experiencing a wide range of different types of terrain and townships alike. You'll find yourself hiking up mountains one day, swimming through crystal clear waters the next, and exploring charming, urban areas the day after that.

So long as you keep your holiday experience nice and varied, chances are your next Aussie getaway will be sure to be a trip that you will never forget.

Go here to read the rest:

Domestic destinations: 7 ways to get the most out of your Australian holiday - Daily Liberal

A major housing scheme in Gaywood would push the community "to the brink of collapse" if it is given the go-ahead, objectors claimed today.

The stark warning was delivered as dozens gathered to protest against plans to build more than 200 new homes on land off Parkway.

Hundreds of people have also signed a new petition against the scheme.

A decision on the application by West Norfolk Council is expected next month, after officials were forced to scrap plans to bring it to a special planning committee meeting this week.

But demonstrators who gathered at the site this morning are determined to fight the proposal and protect what they say is a vital open space for their community.

Resident Christine Merry said she had seen 40 people using the area on Friday alone, even as Storm Eunice brought high winds and widespread disruption to the region.

She says local people are angry at what is being proposed and claimed to have spoken to 350 people who are opposed to the scheme.

She said: "My main aim is to get across the views of the residents of Gaywood. They do not want this build

"They believe it will push the community to the brink of collapse and they seen no future if this build goes ahead.

"Now that is a very sorry state of affairs when you have a community that is so close-knit and so tight. This could ruin this community. It is that serious."

A total of 226 properties are envisaged on the site within a new proposal drawn up after a much larger development was scrapped by the authority last year.

Documents submitted as part of the new application say the Parkway project is "of strategic importance" to the borough council and insist areas of open space would still be available to residents if the scheme is given the go-ahead.

But critics say the development would make existing congestion along nearby Queen Mary Road far worse and have slammed a new flood risk assessment submitted on the council's behalf.

Liberal Democrat county councillor Rob Colwell highlighted an extract in the document which suggested residents would be advised "to seek refuge at the upper floors on site" if flood waters on evacuation routes are more than 30 centimetres deep.

The paper, which has been published on the council's planning website, insists the development would be safe from "breach flood risk" because of the height of access roads and ground floor accommodation in properties with no upper level space.

But, although it has dropped its previous objection to the scheme, the Environment Agency has demanded assurances that there is no alternative to what is now being proposed.

Mr Colwell said the area was a "prime risk site" for potential flooding.

He later added: "People don't feel they are being listened to. It is smaller [than the previous application], but the problems still remain."

Opponents have also highlighted the objections of Sport England, who have called for a 300,000 financial contribution to improve sports pitches in the area to make up for the loss of the open space, which is a former playing field.

A new petition, headed #SaveOurGaywood, has already attracted more than 350 signatures via the 38 Degrees campaign platform and further supporters signed up at the protest.

More than 2,500 people backed a similar campaign against the previous development proposals in the area.

A decision on the new application is expected to be taken at a borough council planning committee meeting on March 7.

Read more:

'Our community is being pushed to the brink', say Gaywood protestors against new housing bid - Lynn News