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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 4 years

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

January 14, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

“Come Wednesday, we begin a new chapter.”

So said President-Elect Joe Biden tonight as he laid out a plan for a $1.9 trillion emergency vaccination and relief package to get the country through and past the coronavirus. The Trump administration created no federal program for the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, leaving us woefully behind where we need to be to get our population vaccinated. And the virus is spreading fast. Over the past week, we have had an average of almost 250,000 new cases a day of coronavirus, with daily deaths on either side of 4000. We are approaching 390,000 recorded deaths from Covid-19.

Biden’s plan calls for $50 billion to ramp up Covid-19 testing, including rapid tests, and to help schools and local governments establish regular testing systems. It calls for an investment of $30 billion in the Disaster Relief Fund to make sure it can provide supplies for the pandemic.

It starts by addressing the pandemic, for both Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris believe that until people are comfortable circulating again, the economy will not rebound. But the plan also calls for federal support to rebuild the economy, a reflection of the ongoing crisis that in the last week led 965,000 Americans to turn to unemployment insurance for the first time, joining more than 5 million who have already filed claims.

The plan calls for $1400 stimulus checks for individuals, expanded unemployment benefits through September, an end to eviction and foreclosure until September 30, $30 billion to help people meet payments for rent or utilities, and a $15 minimum wage. Biden is calling for aid for child care, a $3 billion investment in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and $350 billion for state, local, and tribal governments to support front line workers.

Biden laid out his ambitious plan even as fallout continued from the January 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C., when Trump supporters tried to overturn his victory in the 2020 election. Today the FBI continued to track down and arrest rioters, while the pro-Trump faction of the Republican Party continued its attempt to wrest control from establishment Republicans.

But while Republican lawmakers are calling for “unity” to deflect attention from the riot and to avoid accountability, Biden used this speech, at this time, to calm tensions and call for unity to move all Americans forward.

He emphasized, as he always does, that he wants to be a president for all Americans, not just those who voted for him, and that if we work together we can accomplish anything. He tried to appeal to disaffected Republicans by highlighting his plan to bring manufacturing jobs back to America, as well as to create new, well-paying jobs in new fields and in long delayed infrastructure projects. To reach out to religious voters who were horrified last week by the vision of those who self-identify as Christians calling for the death of Vice President Mike Pence, Biden emphasized the morality in the plan: a good society should not let children go to bed hungry.

He made a sharp contrast with the current president, not only by sharing an actual plan to confront real problems, but also by empathizing with Americans who have lost loved ones to the pandemic and who are hurting in the stalled economy. “Every day matters, every person matters,” he said.

But Biden’s plan is far larger than a way to address our current crisis. It outlines a vision for America that reaches back to an older time, when both parties shared the idea that the government had a role to play in the economy, regulating business, providing a basic social safety net, and promoting infrastructure.

That vision was at the heart of the New Deal, ushered in by Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt after the Great Crash of 1929 and the Depression that followed it illustrated that the American economy needed a referee to keep the wealthy playing by the rules. Government intervention proved so successful and so popular that the Republican Party, which had initially recoiled from what its leaders incorrectly insisted was communism, by 1952 had adopted the idea of an activist government. Republican President Dwight Eisenhower added the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to the Cabinet on April 11, 1953, and in 1956 signed into law the Federal-Aid Highway Act, which began the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highways.

While this system was enormously popular, reactionary Republicans hated business regulation, the incursion of the federal government into lucrative infrastructure fields, and the taxes it took to pay for the new programs (the top marginal tax rate in the 1950s was 91%). They launched a movement to end what was popularly known as the “liberal consensus”: the idea that the government should take an active role in keeping the economic playing field level.

The liberal consensus was widely popular, these “Movement Conservatives” turned to the issue of race to break it. After the Supreme Court unanimously declared racial segregation in schools unconstitutional in the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision, Movement Conservatives warned that an active government was not defending equality but redistributing the tax dollars of hardworking white men to grasping minorities through social programs.

By 1980, Movement Conservatives were gaining power in the Republican Party by calling for tax cuts and smaller government, slashing regulations and domestic programs even as they poured money into the military and their tax cuts began moving money upward. By the 1990s, Movement Conservatives had gained the upper hand in the party and, determined to take the government back to the days before the New Deal, were systematically purging it of what they called “RINOs”—Republicans in Name Only. They would, they said, make the government small enough to drown it in a bathtub.

As they dragged the country toward the right, Republicans pulled the Democrats from the New Deal toward reforms Democratic lawmakers hoped could attract the voters they had lost to the Republicans. “The era of big government is over,” President Bill Clinton famously said, although he continued to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid from Republican cuts.

The Democratic defense of an active government was popular—people actually like government regulation, social welfare programs, and roads and bridges. But Republicans continued to be determined to get rid of the liberal consensus once and for all, insisting that true liberty would free individuals to organize a booming economy. Trump’s administration was the culmination of two generations of Republican attempts to dismantle the New Deal state.

But now, the dangers of gutting our government and empowering private business to extremes have become only too clear. For four years, we have watched as a few privileged business leaders got rid of career government employees and handed their jobs to lackeys. The result has been a raging pandemic and a devastating economic collapse, as money has moved dramatically upward. Even before the pandemic, the Trump administration had added 50% to the national debt despite cuts to domestic programs. In the 2020 election, Trump offered more of the same. Americans rejected him and chose Biden.

Biden’s speech tonight marked a resurrection of the idea of an activist government as a positive good. He is calling for the government to invest in ordinary Americans rather than in the people at the top of the economy, and is openly calling for higher taxes on the wealthy to fund such investment. “Asking everyone to pay their fair share at the top so we can make permanent investments to rescue and rebuild America is the right thing for our economy,” he said. Unlike the New Dealers and Eisenhower Republicans of the mid-20th century, though, Biden’s vision is not centered on ensuring that a white man can take care of his family. It is centered on guaranteeing a fair economy for all, focusing on an idea of community that highlights the needs of women and children.

The idea of a government that supports ordinary Americans rather than the wealthy was first articulated by Abraham Lincoln in 1859 and was the system the Republicans first put in place during the Civil War. They paid for the programs with our first national taxes, including an income tax. After industrialists cut back that original system, Republican Theodore Roosevelt brought it back, and after it lapsed again in the 1920s, his Democratic cousin Franklin rebuilt it in such a profound way that it shaped modern America. With that system now on the verge of destruction yet again, Biden is making a bid to bring it back to life in a new form.

It is a new chapter indeed, but in a very traditional American story.

—-

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #sedition #insurrection #January 6 2020 #political #civil war #history

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thepoliticalcure · 5 years

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Post 305: Five big decisions looming for the PM - Boris Johnson

Read: 28 January 2020

1. The question of Huwaei: Boris Johnson said he wanted to improve connectivity for all and seeing as the Chinese company Huwaei is the best in this field, they are vying for the contract. However, the US and many UK politicians have a problem with letting a company with such strong Chinese connections have access of majority, if not all UK nationals.

2. High speed rail 2: whether to expand high speed rail travel and connect, for the first time, London to Birmingham through train.

3. Northern rail ruling: address the ongoing problems with northern rail.

4. Reshuffle his cabinet: Brexit secretary position will certainly be gone.

5. EU trade negotiation: After Britain leaves the EU, there needs to be several agreements made between EU countries and the UK to ensure trade is not overly disrupted.

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cupidmarwani-archive · 5 years

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Afterward (3/13)

Chicago, Illinois: The Sexton Baby, Connor Rhodes

15 January 2019 | 00:30 Local Time

April’s home is filled with marks of a woman who is losing to the spirits. The dishes, though clean, sit on the counter. There’s broken glass on the kitchen floor. The couch looks like it’s been clawed to pieces. None of this, however, is as damning as the clear exhaustion in her eyes the moment she feels safe.

I wanted to ask her more questions, but I don’t think she’s up to it. She’s exhausted, and the moment I began to lay my tools out on the soft carpet floor, she nodded, and left. It was more to herself than me. The shower ran for five minutes, during which the crying spirit hit its crescendo, but now, I believe April is asleep.

My own observations are making me concerned. The baby has latched onto April, and it cries tirelessly, but I can tell the connection isn’t entirely correct. It has no love. Were this truly the child April lost, there would be some kind of bond, something maternal and warm, that drew the spirit to her. That is not the case here. The spirit, and this apartment, feel cold. The thermostat claims it is sixty five fahrenheit in here, but it feels like fifty. More importantly, I don’t believe the baby to be April’s, given the other apparition haunting her.

“If you need or want to sleep, you can take the couch,” April says, fluffing a throw pillow and either ignoring or failing to notice the stuffing leaking out of gouges in the once crisp navy fabric. It’s an expensive couch, or at least it had been at some point in the past. Not any more. “The cabinets in the hallway have spare sheets and blankets. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

Sarah should thank her, mention something about her being a good host, but she doesn’t get the chance before April’s eyes land on the open duffel bag between them and she turns to leave. She takes her hair from its bun as she goes, allowing bouncy, beautiful curls to expand around her shoulders. Sarah has curly hair too, but not as tightly wound, nor as beautiful and so fitting to the energy reaching out, making Sarah feel like she has no choice but to follow. They seem a halo almost.

Soon, the shower thunders an echo in the apartment, accompanied by more crying so loud it hurts Sarah’s ears as she unloads her bag for what she needs. Candles, not yet lit but soon to be, her pendulum, her selenite conduit, and a vial- mason jar, really- of volcanic ash she made the trip to Hawaii specifically to collect and properly bless. Ordering online, even if it was authentic, is inviting the possibility that someone did it wrong and the ash won’t do what it’s supposed to. She loves touching it, loves feeling it, but can’t afford to waste the valuable material when she doubts she’ll be able to afford to go back any time soon.

She pulls out a matchbook and lights it, channeling her mind to only thing about cleansing, positivity, hope… and the thing that comes to mind is April. Her energy, her smile, her eyes. It fits everything she needs and Sarah can’t help wondering why April lost her baby. It’s not the same. She would have been a good mother, it’s easy to tell, if only given the chance. This does make it clear why things cling to her, though. There’s so much good in her. Of course the broken and damned would be drawn to someone like her.

The match glows warm and safe, but quickly begins burning toward her fingers, so she quickly lights her candles. Pink, white, black, red, they all begin to drip, but onto the little silver dishes at their base as opposed to April’s carpet. Wax is hard to clean out of the fibers, Sarah knows better than anyone. Her carpet at home is stained rainbow, although mostly the four colors in front of her, from years of incantations and prayers and clumsy fingers that shake in moments when her memories begin to overcome her.

She shakes the wood out and lays it delicately to the side, caring not to disrespect something that marks a ritual as precious and precarious as this one. The crying is still there. It’s the same tireless voice with no need for air, no need to rest lungs or vocal cords. The candles arranged and lit, she begins to arrange crystals in front of them. Amethyst, rough and sharp, and quarts, polished to glass-like clarity, disrupted only by streaks of gold and white from imperfect creation. That’s what makes it perfect, is its flaws. Then she tentatively opens the jar of ash and dips a finger in, coating it in fine powder to draw sigils on her cheeks. She’s done it so many times she doesn’t even need a mirror anymore. Once that’s done, all she has to do is grab for her conduit and shut her eyes. In spite of her angry instincts, she forces herself to focus on the painful crying that bounces off the walls and seems to grow louder, assaulting her ears.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you,” she tells the empty air. Her eyes are shut. It’s better that way than to see things she likely doesn’t want to see. The memories of bloody bodies, mangled and grotesque, are still too fresh in her mind for that. Sarah’s learned some, if not much, over the years. “That you never got to grow up. Everyone deserves that chance. If you’d let me, I’d like to help you.”

She holds out her arms the way her mother taught her fifteen odd years ago under the insistence she’d eventually be cradling an infant of her own. Even before the accident, Sarah didn’t want children. Now she’s certain she could never, in good conscience, bring another human into a world so full of pain. No one deserves to live in this world, and certainly not die in it.

In a few moments, a weight settles into her hands, and she pulls it against her chest. She doesn’t want to look at it, but she knows what it is. A baby. It’s still crying, but begins to settle with its head resting against her breast bone, listening to her heartbeat. Babies are somewhat easy to send away when she tries, but there’s something painful about having to hold a dead child and know you’re trying to send it away from a family that would have loved it.

“Shh, you’re alright. I know.”

Sarah rocks it carefully, dutifully focusing only on its presence, lest she lose her concentration and it fades back into a spirit made of air instead of solidified. This is the only way she can comfort it, the only way to help the baby and help April. April. Thinking about her, Sarah can’t resist holding the baby even closer, her muscles flexing to tightly embrace it. A normal baby would be hurt, and she knows that, but the spirit is satisfied with the love. That’s all it’s wanted the whole time.

Just then, a gut wrenching scream claws at Sarah’s head, and she drops the baby to clap her hands over her ears. Her skin is warm and sticky. Her nose is dripping. She’s crying. But all of it, it’s thick and dark and metallic, blood, she knows before she wrenches her eyes open to look at a young woman in a hospital gown, her bottom half soaked in blood, holding the baby as it cries all over again.

“He’s my baby!” the woman screams desperately. The baby’s skin is tinted blue, something that means it slowly suffocated, no oxygen reaching its heart the way it should. “Don’t touch him! He’s mine! Mine!”

Sarah’s used to this, doesn’t think twice about the loud noise, but the next thing she knows, April is in the hallway holding a backpack in front of her torso like a shield. It can’t and won’t protect her, but people do strange things in the interest of safety.

“Sarah-”

“April, stay calm, okay? Can you see her?’

April nods, her skin turning an ashy grey not unlike silt. Her eyes are so wide, her bottom lip quivering, her hands trembling. She’s a woman in complete fear for her life, having her worldview shaken up in a way she may never be able to come to grips with. It’s one thing for someone to think they hear a ghost, the voice or cries of a loved one. To see is a whole different level. Sarah’s spent years coming to grips with it, years April hasn’t yet had.

“Okay. Come here, take my hand,” she instructs gently, wiping her blood on her jeans. It’s not the first stain that will cling to the abused, soft washed fabric. “It’s going to be okay. I’ve got you.”

The second their fingers interlock, it’s like warmth, like love itself washes through Sarah’s chest. She’s never felt this before in her life. All she wants to do is enjoy the sensation, but she knows she can’t. Right now, she needs to do her job.

“Shut your eyes, April. Take a deep breath.”

“What are they? What’s happening?”

“Just breathe.”

April drags in a slow breath, although shaky, and Sarah makes eye contact with the two spirits, still standing there and the mother upset, the baby beginning to cry again. It’s a lot. But Sarah’s job is to fix these things, so she summons up all the warmth she feels through her connection to April and allows it to wash over her, draw her focus away from the blood beginning to dry on her skin.

“I can’t help you right now. You cannot use us anymore tonight.”

The baby screams out and April flinches, but Sarah drags her a little to the left and starts blowing out the candles.

“No more tonight. I can’t help you right now. We’re done tonight.”

As soon as she blows out the last candle, they disappear, but their voices linger, however faint. It’s better, though, and Sarah squeezes April’s hand. “Hey, hey, they’re gone.You’re okay. You can open your eyes.”

It takes a moment, but then April does, and immediately her free hand cups over her mouth. The blood. Right. Sarah goes to try and wipe some of it away, but April stops her and leads her away from everything, away from the makeshift altar and the faintest whisper of what just happened, taking her all the way to a neat but warmly decorated bathroom.

“Get up on the counter, I’ll clean you up.’

Sarah obeys, shifting to get comfortable on the marble while April wets a dark red washcloth and lifts it to her face. She isn’t hurt, but there’s something tender, careful, about the way April takes her chin in hand gently and begins to wipe away sticky bloody tears. Nothing aches, and there’s no pain, but her chest feels a little tight with how close together their faces are. Sarah wants to kiss her. Wrap a hand around the back of her neck and press their lips together, find out what it feels like to connect more than just holding hands.

She doesn’t, though. Instead, she allows April to clean her up, and then afterward, grabs her notebook to begin jotting down notes before she forgets. But as her pen begins to move, April clears her throat and Sarah looks up with a shower of sparks in her throat.

“I don’t really wanna sleep alone, so if you wanna share the bed with me…” April trails off, averts her eyes. Her lashes are thick and full, gorgeous, like something out of a magazine. “There’s room, is all I’m saying. And it’s probably more comfortable than the couch.”

“As soon as I finish my notes and get changed, that sounds good.”

April smiles and leans in, and for a moment, Sarah thinks they’re going to kiss, but then April’s lips skim her cheekbone like a dragonfly skipping across the surface of a pond, and she’s a step back again. She goes back to bed, and as Sarah writes her notes, she swears her cheek burns with the ghost of a kiss that was almost more.

#afterwardfic #mine #fic

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microshiner · 5 years

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Ska, craft spirits, and Colorado's real drinking town

The hangover bell rings loud and clear in my head as I lift a 70 pound guitar cabinet into the back of a white 2000 Ford Econoline XL. Rain falls lightly. I am running on only a few slovenly hours of sleep but despite the pounding head, my mood is jovial. My band mates and I recount the night before over and over. In the world of ska music, there are few bands more respected than Hepcat, and few bands more infamous than Mephiskapheles, and we just shared the stage with both in one night. It was also the kick off to the second leg of our spring and summer run- this morning we hit the road out of Denver and head for Durango, Colorado, where we’ll spend a week in the studio and follow it up with two shows in the area including a performance at the legendary Ska Brewing Company.

Alright.

Personally, I am excited for more than one reason. I went to school in Durango, but it’s been six years since I’ve lived there and from what I can tell, the drinking scene has only gotten better. A new craft distillery just opened up, and the number of breweries has jumped from 4 to 6 (All this in a town of 17,000. Fort Collins gets the glory, but at over 150,000 residents, are their 14 breweries and 3 distilleries that impressive? Which is the real drinking town?)

I contemplate this and other pressing issues to pass the time on a 7 hour haul over the Rocky Mountains. As we climb in elevation, my mood levels off. It always does when passing time in the van. Whether I am headed somewhere new or somewhere I’ve been many times, as long as it’s light outside touring has always had a bit of a weird vibe to me. The late nights, the shows, the people, the free drink tickets - that is what it’s all about and what makes it worth it. The rush of playing a good show is matched by no drug or other experience I’ve ever had. But during the day, driving through the middle of nowhere to the next town while getting further and further away from your personal life back home, the anxiety creeps in.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never been in a band at a level where touring was our income. I’ve always had to hurry back home after each run and get to work in order to keep the bills paid. Right now, it’s about 9:30 on Monday morning. Everyone I know (except the three guys sitting here with me) is at work, or walking the dog, or heading to the bank, something normal.

Don’t get me wrong, there is certainly a level of awesome to all this. I’m never going to be a ‘company man.’ I knew that by the time I hit high school. I take a lot of pride in what I do for a living and for a hobby. But the older I get, the harder I find it to relate the stories of the road and the stories of the pen and the stories of so many nights passed in rock clubs to people who are my age but haven’t had a night out in months. The word ‘baby’ means something entirely different to them.

As Vonnegut would say - So it goes. We pull into town just in time for happy hour but unfortunately the liquor store will have to suffice for tonight; we’ve got to get to the studio. Tomorrow I will have the opportunity to experience some of the actual culture of this town I’ve missed so much.

Tuesday morning I am walking down Main Avenue bright and early in a leisurely search for a cup of coffee and a paper. Part of me feels like a Texan, stopping to gaze into each store window as I pass by and then actually purchasing, after looking around to make sure no one I know is in sight then ducking quickly into the storefront, a “Durango” t-shirt. I’ll have to bury this down in my backpack so my bandmates never see it. I justify the window shopping and eventual purchase as a mere way to pass some time before my scheduled meeting with some real locals, the owners of Durango Craft Spirits, at 10 o’clock.

I walk into the tasting room to meet owners Michael and Amy McCardell. Immediately I can tell that the duo lives by their motto and are ‘Inspired by the true spirit of Durango’ - It is only 10 am but the room is full of bluegrass music and the McCardell’s beckoning call for a drink. Michael handles the distilling of what is currently their sole offering - Soiled Dove Vodka, made from a mash of 60% native grown, non-GMO white corn they get directly from the Ute Mountain Tribe of Ute in Towaoc, Colorado (just a little over an hour from Durango). His soft voice, with a bit of a country tinge, makes even a short sentence sound well-rehearsed and wise. Perfect for telling stories, and I’m guessing he has a lot of them.

Lucky for me, Michael is not at all shy about telling the story of Durango Craft Spirits, his pride and joy.

It is, I learn quickly, Durango’s first post-prohibition, grain-to-glass distillery. “We’ve got a couple friends over at Ska, Dave (Thibodeau) and Bill (Graham), that opened Peach Street Distillery, in Grand Junction) years ago and one day I met the old distiller and Bill brought in one of their first bottles of gin, along with a bottle of Bombay Sapphire,” Michael says. “It was just unbelievably so much better. That first opened my eyes to craft distilling.”

This was over ten years ago, and until that day Michael had no plans at all of going into the distilling business. “A couple years later, I’m hiking around a piece of property up north with the county assessor, and he said ‘I gotta tell you this story. There’s a buddy of mine who thought he found some ancient Anasazi ruins on his property and he wanted me to come check them out. They hiked up there on a cliff to an Anasazi looking wall and there was an old still sitting back there.’”

He decided to do some research and try to figure out what kind of distilling was done in the area. “I started reading a few books about distilling in the area, and there was quite a bit done,” Michael says. “Especially turn of the last century when the silver market took a crash. A lot of the miners took to cooking booze in the mines.”

With his interest piqued, Michael attended three distilling schools and landed himself an internship at Wood’s High Mountain Distillery in Salida, CO, with the intention of opening his own show in Durango once he learned about the operational side. Both Michael and Amy had spent years in the local hospitality industry managing hotels and a golf club.

As their current jobs came to end due to sell offs, the decision was made to go full-steam with the distillery concept. Step one, securing a location. Where They landed right on the corner of 11th and Main, in the heart of downtown, and opened in January of this year.

Their setup is pretty simple - tasting room in the front, still setup and work area in the back (visible to guests), and office off to the side. Nice and cozy. “We go grain to glass right in the building with all regional grains,” Michael says. “We’re real proud to mash, distill, and bottle right in house.” I had been sold on their concept already, but at this point I could not continue the interview without trying some of their product.

Amy, generally in charge of the tasting room and PR, hands me a pour from behind the bar. I stir, smell, and sip. Then I gasp.

I am not a vodka drinker. My taste for the stuff was ruined by too much Smirnoff as a teenager. But this morning I am happy to make an exception. This stuff is good. Smooth, one of those spirits that you know would be perfect in a cocktail but it almost seems like a sin to dilute it, like a fine scotch. Until you realize that a vodka of such high quality could finally allow you to drink those plastic-bottle vodka infused party concoctions you swore off in your mid-twenties because you can’t stand the headaches any more, minus the headache. “I use a pretty strange recipe for the vodka compared to other distilleries, and it gives it a pretty unique flavor.” That, I agree, is easy to notice.

“The product is tied to Durango’s history,” Michael informs me as empty my glass. “Soiled doves being a Victorian term for the prostitutes of the town. They operated into the 1960s in Durango and were fined heavily, with the fines helping to cover the cost of the schools, the police department, and the fire department.”

The McCardells pay homage to these lovely financiers on the back of their bottle. The cocktails served in the tasting room are also related to the town’s history, an effort that has most certainly allowed the curious tourist to feel more accomplished in his imbibing. The distillery looks to release an unaged whiskey this fall, with barreling scheduled to begin this month. The vodka is currently only sold within 150 miles of Durango. “We are being (probably) too cautious about our growth,” Michael says. They do, however, plan to expand further across Colorado. Not bad for a true mom-and-pop and operation.

I like to think that my band is a mom-and-pop operation. I guess it would be a quadruple-pop operation. Like Michael and Amy, we have grown our small company from nothing into nothing less than an amazing life experience, with no real guidance other learned experience. We have made plenty of mistakes over the last eight years but have slowly made progress come from each of them. We’ve dealt with marriages, jobs, mortgages, kids, operational disagreements, and an old van catching on fire on the road, and as life has happened, we have found a way to happen with it. Back in the early days, circa 2007-2010, I put all of my eggs in that basket. I was willing to work crappy kitchen jobs and live in dilapidated apartments so that I would in turn have the flexibility to leave town when I needed to and be able to keep my financial overhead at a bare minimum in order to play music multiple nights a week. I cared about nothing other than making the band succeed. I lost relationships and friends.

The other guys, at least the two I started the group with, did the same. And then, in the fall of 2010, we crashed and burned hard. So hard, in fact, that over the next two years we did next to nothing with the group. We had no money, our leases were up, and we had nowhere left to go. For a while, we went our separate ways. Our biggest lesson, and one of the most important things I have ever gotten out of life, is that you have to have options - you have to have more than one card to play. As we’ve grown up since then, we have found ways to have other priorities in life while still being able to come back and execute with the band when it’s time.

While the band was on ‘unofficial hiatus’, I filled the musical craving in another group, but I was also able to take the experiences I had with the band, mix them with my college degree, and create some kind of shit show career path based on music business and journalism. Five years later I feel I can see it blossoming. To me, the craft lifestyle embodies that same spirit - live life, take what you’ve got, mix in a heavy dose of passion, and throw it to wind. It takes awhile, but when it finally comes full circle, it tastes so damn good.

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whittlebaggett8 · 5 years

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Pakistan’s Undeclared Censorship | The Diplomat

Pakistan People’s Celebration Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, when addressing a ceremony on Planet Press Freedom Working day in Karachi, claimed that Pakistani media is facing undeclared censorship. Sadly, the journalist community agrees with him.

Pakistan’s media houses are doing work less than a local weather of worry, which is influencing their protection and operations. Journalists are ever more practising self-censorship to help you save the two their jobs and lives they are bullied on social media, kidnapped in broad daylight, and threatened for reporting details.

The federal government is managing commercials for information channels in an attempt to silence them. It is a really sorry condition for media homes that intensely rely on government adverts. The most current example is the country’s most-browse English language newspaper, Dawn, and its Television set channel, whose commercials were being banned on Press Liberty Working day. Mubashir Zaidi, a senior journalist affiliated with explained channel, broke the information in a person of his tweets.

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So @pid_gov has banned commercials for @Dawn_Information on #PressFreedomDay Naya Pakistan? PM @ImranKhanPTI ? @PTIofficial

— Mubashir Zaidi (@Xadeejournalist) May possibly 3, 2019

Pakistan ranked 142nd out of 180 nations around the world – falling three sites from 2018 – in Reporters With out Borders’ 2019 Entire world Press Flexibility Index.

“The red line has expanded. The institution is interfering at just about every doable amount. There are no totally free converse shows. Information and articles or blog posts are censored. It is extensive censorship,” columnist and analyst Imtiaz Alam said.

The “red line” now includes criticism of the highly effective armed forces of Pakistan and the new Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) governing administration, protection of rights-based mostly alliance Pashtun Tahaffuz motion (PTM), and reporting on previous Primary Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is at the moment in jail.

Journalists who cross these crimson lines confront a selection of threats, from reduction of livelihood to reduction of life. A distinctive report of the Pakistan Press Foundation unveiled that at least 48 journalists ended up killed in specific attacks in the final 17 yrs. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are deemed the most dangerous provinces for journalists in Pakistan.

Lawful motion is also utilized to preserve the press silent. According to a report on the condition of Pakistani media in 2018 posted by the Pakistan Push Basis, 7 journalists and a single media business proprietor confronted legal steps in 2018.

This calendar year, senior journalist Shahzeb Jillani was accused of cyberterrorism based mostly on his reviews on the lacking individuals difficulty on a speak exhibit. Jillani is dealing with rates underneath Sections 10(a) (cyberterrorism), 11 (dislike speech), and 20 (destructive code) of the Pakistan Digital Crimes Act (PECA), 2016.

Cyril Almeida is going through treason charges and vacation limitations right after he released an interview with Nawaz Sharif, in which the a few-time prime minister of Pakistan accused the Pakistani military of aiding the armed group that carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The report also mentions that there have been at least 31 occasions of journalists, anchorpersons, and tv channels remaining issued demonstrate-result in notices, anchorpersons remaining suspended, web-sites currently being blocked, and disruptions to the distribution of newspapers.

And the authorities is transferring to tighten its handle over media retailers even further. The federal cabinet accredited the formation of Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PMRA) – a single system to regulate all varieties of media — on January 25, 2019.

Journalists condemned the choice and named it an endeavor to suppress independence of the press. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists launched a assertion afterward calling the transfer in violation of the constitution.

“This is in violation of Article 19 of the Structure of Pakistan, which guarantees freedom of expression as a elementary human ideal. Establishment of a federal institution to regulate printing and publication — which is a provincial subject following the 18th Constitutional Modification — interferes in the domain of provinces and is, hence, also in violation of the Constitution,” the statement reads.

At this time, the Pakistan Digital Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and the Push Council of Pakistan (PCP) regulate electronic and print media respectively. There is no separate system to regulate or observe electronic media platforms. It is considered that the PTI govt created this body primarily to management electronic media platforms.

In the meantime, the Pakistani miltary’s Inter-Services Community Relations (ISPR) issued a notification on April 16, which contained names of 26 retired officers of the armed forces who can appear on media as defense analysts.

“Their views/remarks/views on media shall remain own/independent expression and not attributable to the institution,” the notification reads.

In another notification dated April 4 and released by PEMRA, Television set channels have been directed to search for prior clearance from ISPR right before inviting retired military officers to share their sights on protection and stability-associated issues.

Internet websites have also been shut down for their vital reporting and extensive protection of challenges the authorities would somewhat not be protected. The Urdu web-site of the United States’ Voice of The united states was shut down in Pakistan in December 2018 allegedly for masking PTM rallies. VOA reporters claim that the Pashto web page was blocked months prior to that.

Then-Minister for Info Fawad Chaudhry experienced commented that the websites have been blocked for wrong and prejudiced reporting. Nonetheless, VOA English wrote in a information tale that Pakistani authorities were scrutinizing media protection of the PTM, blocking VOA internet websites, and submitting law enforcement situations from journalists masking its general public gatherings.

Even now, internet websites are the most common platform between journalists in Pakistan as they give them room, which is shrinking in mainstream media.

“Earlier we experienced one particular PTV, now we have a lot of,” Ammar Masood, a senior columnist and analyst said, referring to the point out-owned Pakistan Tv community, which is the mouthpiece of the authorities.

Masood writes a column for a leading Urdu newspaper. Usually his columns are rejected for publication he sends these to an on-line website operate by his colleague, Wajahat Masood.

“It’s not about my column only it is the overall circumstance of media in Pakistan. Whoever talks professional-democracy, his voice is shut down. All those who feel in different ways are out of a work this time. Talat Hussain, Matiullah Jan, Murtaza Solangi, and I are illustrations,” Ammar Masood explained.

Journalists are transferring to social media platforms soon after acquiring sacked from their employment. Some have made their personal YouTube channels, where they publish their evaluation on diverse political happenings.

“Social media penetration in Pakistan is very outstanding. You can receive a enormous response on your content material there, which displays that there exists an data hole. Folks want to get data but they are not acquiring it,” Masood mentioned.

At the end of final 12 months, lots of journalists like Mubashir Zaidi, Taha Siddiqui, and Gul Bukhari complained of getting email messages from Twitter about an “official correspondence” concerning some of their tweets.

When Fawad Chaudhry was questioned about individuals Twitter notices, he mentioned that the authorities was not sending any requests to Twitter.

On the other hand, Twitter unveiled a transparency report on Friday which stated that involving July and December in 2018, the PTI government sent requests for the removing of 193 accounts and noted 2,349 profiles to the micro-blogging web-site.

A amount of senior journalists have begun their personal information and impression-based websites. Imtiaz Alam has also announced the launch of two news internet sites – 1 for South Asia in English and the other in Urdu especially for Pakistani viewers – aside from a YouTube channel. He introduced the news in a tweet on his personal twitter account.

Before, Alam wrote in a tweet that a discuss display producer who had invited him as a guest analyst canceled his invite just a number of hrs ahead of the display.

In truth, I resigned from GEO and really do not really feel to appear in any Television set exhibit. Most are scared to invite me to their reveals and other people invite and terminate it. So, please don’t invite me, I don’t like your Tv set reveals. They are not truly worth it.

— Imtiaz Alam (@ImtiazAlamSAFMA) April 25, 2019

“No television channel can air systems which are in violation of directions from Rawalpindi [the Pakistan army]. If another person does this they are blacklisted and not invited in the exhibits. If they get invited, their invitation can be dropped [at any moment],” he claimed.

What if his new websites get blocked? Alam mentioned that he would not cease.

“We will hold attempting. We will hold exploring platforms but we will in no way do anything which is ethically completely wrong. They could have differences with our editorial policy but that is all proper,” he claimed.

Tehreem Azeem is a digital media journalist based mostly in Lahore, Pakistan. She experiences on human legal rights violations, conflicts, and censorship. She tweets @tehreemazeem.

The post Pakistan’s Undeclared Censorship | The Diplomat appeared first on Defence Online.

from WordPress https://defenceonline.com/2019/05/17/pakistans-undeclared-censorship-the-diplomat/

#Pakistan censorship #Pakistan journalists #Pakistan media #Pakistan media freedom #Pakistan social m

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the-funtime-autocrat · 6 years

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Mswati III (born as Prince Makhosetive on 19 April 1968)[2] is the King (Swazi: Ngwenyama, Ingwenyama) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi Royal Family. He was born in Manzini, Swaziland, to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger wives, Ntfombi Tfwala.[3] He was Tfwala’s only child. He attended primary school at Masundvwini Primary School and secondary school at Lozitha Palace School. From 1983 to 1986, he attended Sherborne School in north-west Dorset, England. He was crowned as Mswati III, Ingwenyama and King of Swaziland, on 25 April 1986 at the age of 18, thus becoming the youngest ruling monarch in the world at that time. Together with his mother, Ntombi Tfwala, now Queen Mother (Ndlovukati), he rules the country as an absolute monarch. Mswati III is known for his practice of polygamy (although at least two wives are appointed by the state) and currently has 15 wives.[4] Although he is respected and fairly popular in Eswatini, his policies and lavish lifestyle have led to local protests and international criticism.[5]

Eswatini (Swazi: eSwatini [ɛswa̯ˈtiːni]), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini (Swazi: Umbuso weSwatini), also known as Swaziland(/ˈswɑːzɪlænd, -lənd/), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west and south. The country and the Swazi people take their names from Mswati II, the 19th-century king under whose rule Swazi territory was expanded and unified.[6]

After the Second Boer War, the kingdom, under the name of Swaziland, was a British protectorate from 1903 until it regained its independence on 6 September 1968.[8] On 19 April 2018, by a proclamation issued by king Mswati III, the official name was changed from Kingdom of Swaziland to Kingdom of Eswatini, mirroring the name commonly used in siSwati.[9][10]

The government is an absolute diarchy, ruled jointly by Ngwenyama ("King") Mswati III and Ndlovukati ("Queen Mother") Ntfombi Tfwala since 1986.[11][12] The former is the administrative head of state and appoints the country's prime ministers and a number of representatives of both chambers (the Senate and House of Assembly) in the country's parliament, while the latter is the national head of state, serving as keeper of the ritual fetishes of the nation and presiding during the annual Umhlanga rite. Elections are held every five years to determine the House of Assembly and the Senate majority. The current constitution was adopted in 2005. Umhlanga, held in August/September,[13] and incwala, the kingship dance held in December/January, are the nation's most important events.[14]

A diarchy (from Greek δι-, di-, "double",[1] and -αρχία, -arkhía, "ruled")[2][a] or duumvirate (from Latin duumvirātus, "the office of the two men")[4][b] is a form of government characterized by corule, with two people ruling a polity together either lawfully or de facto, by collusion and force. The leaders of such a system are usually known as corulers.

Mswati was introduced as Crown Prince in September 1983 and was crowned king on 25 April 1986, aged 18 years and 6 days, and thus making him the youngest reigning monarch until the ascension of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan on 14 December 2006; he was also the youngest head of state until Joseph Kabila took office on 26 January 2001 as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The king and his mother, whose title is Indlovukati ("Great She-Elephant"), rule jointly.

Today King Mswati III is Africa's last absolute monarch in the sense that he has the power to choose the prime minister, other top government posts and top traditional posts. Even though he makes the appointments, he still has to get special advice from the queen mother and council, for example when he chooses the prime minister. In matters of cabinet appointments, he gets advice from the prime minister. He ruled by decree, but did restore the nation's Parliament, which had been dissolved by his father in order to ensure concentration of power remained with the king.

In 2004, Mswati promulgated a new constitution that allows freedom of speech and assembly for the media and public, while retaining the traditional Tinkhundla system. Amnesty International has criticized the new constitution as inadequate in some respects.

Eswatini is a developing country with a small economy. With a GDP per capita of $9,714, it is classified as a country with a lower-middle income.[3] As a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA), its main local trading partner is South Africa; in order to ensure economic stability, Eswatini's currency, the lilangeni, is pegged to the South African rand. Eswatini's major overseas trading partners are the United States[15] and the European Union.[16] The majority of the country's employment is provided by its agricultural and manufacturing sectors. Eswatini is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations.

Eswatini's economy is diverse, with agriculture, forestry and mining accounting for about 13% of GDP, manufacturing (textiles and sugar-related processing) representing 37% of GDP and services – with government services in the lead – constituting 50% of GDP. Title DeedLands (TDLs), where the bulk of high value crops are grown (sugar, forestry, and citrus) are characterized by high levels of investment and irrigation, and high productivity.

Economic growth in Eswatini has lagged behind that of its neighbours. Real GDP growth since 2001 has averaged 2.8%, nearly 2 percentage points lower than growth in other Southern African Customs Union (SACU) member countries. Low agricultural productivity in the SNLs, repeated droughts, the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS and an overly large and inefficient government sector are likely contributing factors. Eswatini's public finances deteriorated in the late 1990s following sizeable surpluses a decade earlier. A combination of declining revenues and increased spending led to significant budget deficits.

Eswatini's economy is very closely linked to the economy of South Africa, from which it receives over 90% of its imports and to which it sends about 70% of its exports. Eswatini's other key trading partners are the United States and the EU, from whom the country has received trade preferences for apparel exports (under the African Growth and Opportunity Act – AGOA – to the US) and for sugar (to the EU). Under these agreements, both apparel and sugar exports did well, with rapid growth and a strong inflow of foreign direct investment. Textile exports grew by over 200% between 2000 and 2005 and sugar exports increasing by more than 50% over the same period

The recent rapid growth in SACU revenues has, however, reversed the fiscal situation, and a sizeable surplus was recorded since 2006. SACU revenues today account for over 60% of total government revenues. On the positive side, the external debt burden has declined markedly over the last 20 years, and domestic debt is almost negligible; external debt as a percent of GDP was less than 20% in 2006.

The recently concluded Investment Climate Assessment provides some positive findings in this regard, namely that Eswatini firms are among the most productive in Sub-Saharan Africa, although they are less productive than firms in the most productive middle-income countries in other regions.

On 19 April 2018, King Mswati III changed the name of the country to Eswatini. The change was to mark the country's 50th anniversary of independence.[32] Mswati III wanted the name Eswatini which is the ancient original name for the country and this change was to give up the previous colonial name Swaziland.[33]

Eswatini established diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC) commonly known as "Taiwan", on 16 September 1968. Eswatini has an embassy in Taipei and ROC has an embassy in Mbabane. As of 2018, it is last African country to recognize the ROC instead of the PRC as the sole representative of "China". Mswati has visited Taiwan seventeen times as of June 2018, and has promised to continue recognizing the Republic of China instead of the People's Republic of China.[10]

The Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the Kingdom of Eswatini (Chinese: 中華民國駐史瓦帝尼王國大使館; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Zhù Shǐwǎdìní Wángguó Dàshǐguǎn) is the embassy of the Republic of China in Mbabane, Eswatini. The two countries have had diplomatic relations since Swaziland's independence in 1968.[2]

Eswatini is one of the 17 countries that recognise the Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China.[3] As of 2019, it is the only country in Africa which does not have diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.[4]

@artist-tyrant

#Mswati III #King of Swaziland #Swaziland #Kingdom of Eswatini #African Monarch #African Monarchy #African Royal Family #House of Dlamini #Monarchy #Monarch #Absolute Monarchy #Africa #African History #Taiwan

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renorebuild · 3 years

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Reno Rebuild Project awards Sierra Mobile Storage with $28,000 small business loan.

RENO, NEV.— Nickel by nickel Reno Rebuild fund is growing to make one-of-a-kind loans to local small Downtown businesses. This January, the Project will be providing a $28,000 loan to Sierra Mobile Storage offering storage solutions for Reno, Carson City, Lake Tahoe, and the Northern Nevada area.

The Reno Rebuild foundation is an alternative for funding support and rewards unique businesses with loans from $5k to $50k. These loans are span throughout 3-5yrs at a low-interest rate. All interest and repayments of the loans go back directly to the Reno Rebuild Fund for future projects and investments in our community.

The Global pandemic Covid-19 has brought a new need to the local community for financial support and small businesses. This September, the Reno Rebuild project owners graciously awarded the owners of Bar Down Hockey with business loan for $50,000 and continue to show support by selecting Sierra Mobile Storage as the 2022 recipient.

Owners Luke & Staci Stevenson saw a need established their new company in January 2020 after studying self-storage for several years and seeing the expanding demand in our area. They ultimately created the opportunity to offer safe, secure storage coupled with personal and professional service and communication.

Every time a guest enjoys a drink or meal at the Sierra Tap House, Ole Bridge Pub, and the Brewer's Cabinet, a nickel per item sold goes into the Reno Rebuild Fund. When the fund can, the fund holders, Michael Connolly, Chris Kahl, and Zachary Cage, owners of the establishments listed above, help select one compelling idea from a Reno-based individual to receive a small business loan to make their dream a reality.

In the shadow of the pandemic, the owners' most significant challenge is finding the money to buy containers fast enough to meet demand. Traditional funding has been difficult since banks have specific and strict guidelines for lending to new businesses. "Reno Rebuild is such a rare and valuable program." Says Owner Luke Stevenson, "They've been where we are, struggling to get funding to grow and thrive."

Being a locally owned and operated shop allows the owners to devote attention to every customer, providing a safe and secure storage experience. "What we are looking for is a great idea that will bring something new to our city and improve our lives," said Kahl, co-founder. "Sierra Mobile Storage is exactly the type of business we strive to support," said Kahl.

The Reno Rebuild loan is a low-interest loan with all principal and interest returning to the fund to help it grow, so more ideas get funded each year. All the money raised remains in northern Nevada, supporting the local economy and helping to rebuild our community - one small business at a time!

This year Sierra Mobile Storage recognized the rapid influx of new residents in the Reno-Tahoe basin; the company will use the financial support to increase storage inventory and support services. With the companies already growing community support, it made sense to support the continued growth of this company through the Reno Rebuild Project," said Cage, co-founder.

If you would like to support the Reno Rebuild project, you can easily purchase a beer or a meal from the restaurants listed above; your nickels will add up. To be a more significant part of the bright Reno Rebuild Project, donate directly (and more than a nickel!) to the fund. Help to lift our community and make a dream come true.

For more information, visit http://renorebuild.com/.

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civilcoconstruction · 3 years

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A Crown Heights Duo Remodels Their Smallest Spaces

A dream shower and walk-in closet complete this Crown Heights closet and bathroom renovation

“After” photos by Miao Jiaxin for Sweeten

Homeowners: Kate + Max posted their bathroom and closet renovation on Sweeten

Where: Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York

Primary renovation: A new bathroom layout and combining closets in a 610-square-foot apartment

Sweeten general contractor

Sweeten’s role: Sweeten matches home renovation projects with vetted general contractors, offering advice, support, and financial protection—at no cost to the homeowner.

Written in partnership with Sweeten homeowners Kate + Max

Before: Finding the right time to renovate

We’ve all walked into homes where two different sets of ideas are in play. This renovation was part of a quest for cohesion. We’d established an aesthetic when we’d updated the kitchen two years before, and we were now putting in a bathroom and closet we could love. The old set of ideas included a showerhead on the long side of the bathtub and pitch-dark storage spaces. We were not sad to see them go.

65929-Max-Bathroom-Before-02

65929-Max-Bathroom-Before-03

We are Kate, a creative director for a women’s wellness startup, Max, a data analyst at a tech firm, and Lenny, a female Pitbull/Rat Terrier mix. We live in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in a 1926 co-op building. We’re first-time homeowners of a 610-square-foot one-bedroom apartment. We purchased in January 2016 as first-time buyers. We didn’t change the place until 2019 when we renovated the kitchen.

We planned to wait to continue renovating, but the combination of being home due to Covid-19 and having few opportunities to spend money meant that we wanted a nicer place and we accelerated our savings plan. We decided to go for it this year and renovate the bathroom and our closet as a single project.

Swapping out the tub for a shower

Remodeling the 35-square-foot bathroom was a style choice, but also one of function. In the existing room, neither the floor nor the walls were level. We hated that the shower head was in the middle of the wall on the tub’s long side. We wanted a modern stand-up shower with a glass door instead of the step-in tub and wraparound shower curtain. The closet redo made sense to tack on because of its proximity to the bathroom. We wanted to combine two small adjacent closets—one accessible from the bedroom, the other from the hallway—into a single large one. Neither closet had electrical wiring, so finding our things was a challenge. We knew we could net more storage if we merged them into one large closet.

This was easily the most challenging phase of the project, since we’d left Brooklyn on a road trip and were far away when the contractor discovered the problem. We didn’t need to worry.

After: Creating a whole new bathroom layout

We started in the bathroom. We rearranged the whole bathroom, so this was not a simple “rip and replace.” Moving the shower to the back wall meant relocating the toilet and reconfiguring the plumbing proved necessary. Our biggest questions were about the unknowns. In a nutshell, here’s what we learned: You can’t prepare for what’s behind a wall or under the floor. You carry out the demolition and hope to get lucky.

We’d decided we wanted white subway tile with a dark gray grout on the walls. The floor tiles had a distressed texture in dark gray. The vanity’s light wood finish matches our kitchen cabinets, and it offers tons of storage even though it’s only a 24-inch unit. The toilet search was more challenging than expected since we had specific size requirements, but eventually, we found one we liked.

The contractor handles the discovery under the subfloor

We’d heard plenty of nightmares about people moving plumbing in New York City bathrooms and hoped our fate might be different, but it wasn’t. Having completed most of the demolition, the contractors lifted the floor tile. Beneath the visible layer, they discovered two additional layers of tile. Once the subfloor was exposed, it was clear it had been compromised, both by years of trapped moisture and the weight of those three tile layers.

The co-op’s engineer brought onsite recommended pouring a new concrete slab, which added expense and impacted our schedule. This was easily the most challenging phase of the project since we’d left Brooklyn on a road trip and were far away when the contractor discovered the problem. We didn’t need to worry. Our contractor worked with the building’s engineer to pour the new slab to the required specifications.

Smooth communication with their contractor

Our Sweeten contractors provided us with updates via an online project-management tool that helped with communication throughout the job. The team used the tool to share photo and video updates. It helped to keep everyone in sync and organized. That platform really streamlined the conversation regarding every aspect of the job. The bathroom came together exactly as we’d hoped. We’re thrilled with the new storage, including an inset bottle nook in the shower. And the rain showerhead combined with our building’s incredible water pressure makes for an immersive experience every morning.

Combining closets for a larger one

The expanded bedroom closet came next. The contractors removed the wall separating the two smaller closets in order to merge them; we kept the door on the bedroom side. I love being able to see things in the closet, thanks to the increased space, and the addition of wiring let us install good lighting. For the shelving, we took a hybrid approach, buying all of the parts separately. The white shelves are typical closet shelves, but the racks are meant for garage storage. We can finally find our clothes!

This closet hack would also mean addressing the hallway with trim and paint. On that side, the contractors closed the door opening and painted the wall, where we later created a gallery wall for art and photos. The previous door trim was missing chunks of wood (likely from people moving big objects in/out of rooms and banging into the door frame.) It had also been painted a million times and was generally an eyesore. We knew replacing the door and window trim would go a long way towards refreshing the space. The red light fixture provides a nice pop of color.

Their Sweeten contractors: the right renovation partners

This was a much larger project than we thought we’d be taking on this year, but it worked out beautifully. Our Sweeten contractors were transparent about billing, supplying us with perfectly itemized invoices. They were terrific problem solvers, with elegant design sense and ideas that enhanced our final results. We love our new apartment!

Thank you, Max and Kate, for sharing your bathroom and closet renovation with us!

Materials Guide

BATHROOM RESOURCES: Bond Tile “Palermo” gray ceramic floor tile; Elite Tile “Crown Heights” ceramic subway wall tile; DreamLine “Encore” shower door with ClearMax

Technology; Latitude Run “Ranjeet” 3-tier display wall shelves; Wrought Studio Strobel surface-mount medicine cabinet: Walmart. Modern brass wall-mount shower set in matte black finish, #J020862-US-12IN-THSV-SB: Homary. Marina 24” Natural Oak Vanity: Eviva. Vega vanity light: Lightology. Toilet: Woodbridge.

CLOSET RESOURCES: Shelving: The Container Store. Rebrilliant “Kintzel” heavy-duty racks: Wayfair.

HALLWAY RESOURCES: Paint in White Opulence OC-69 in matte finish: Benjamin Moore. Light fixture: Light Stock Store.

—

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, scope, and style. Follow the blog, Sweeten Stories, for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation with Sweeten.

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from CIVICLO Construction & Interior https://civilco.construction/a-crown-heights-duo-remodels-their-smallest-spaces/

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statetalks · 3 years

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What Name Did The Democrats Give Southerners Who Became Republicans

Adams And The Revolution Of 1800

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Shortly after Adams took office, he dispatched a group of envoys to seek peaceful relations with France, which had begun attacking American shipping after the ratification of the Jay Treaty. The failure of talks, and the French demand for bribes in what became known as the XYZ Affair, outraged the American public and led to the Quasi-War, an undeclared naval war between France and the United States. The Federalist-controlled Congress passed measures to expand the army and navy and also pushed through the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien and Sedition Acts restricted speech that was critical of the government, while also implementing stricter naturalization requirements. Numerous journalists and other individuals aligned with the Democratic-Republicans were prosecuted under the Sedition Act, sparking a backlash against the Federalists. Meanwhile, Jefferson and Madison drafted the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which held that state legislatures could determine the constitutionality of federal laws.

Radio Coverage Of Presidents Johnsons Remarks Upon Signing The Civil Rights Act Of 1964: The Complete Speech

President Johnsonâs speech was delivered just two days before the 188th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. In it the president cited the phrase âall men are created equalâ and pointed out that historically many Americans were denied equal treatment. The Civil Rights Act, he said, provides that âthose who are equal before God shall now all be equalâ in all aspects of American life. As President Johnson said, this was a long journey to freedom.

Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration

Listen to the audio

Busiest Time Weve Had In Years

Imaging a florist busily responding with gratitude towards Congress, President Johnson, and Civil Rights leaders, Herblock captures sudden good will as the Senate voted for cloture to end fifty-four days of filibuster on the Civil Rights Act on June 10, 1954. The Senate finally passed the legislation on June 19, 1964. The Civil Rights Act was not the only item on President Johnsonâs legislative agendawhich led one reporter to call him âa âTexas Santa Clausâ in a ten-gallon hat.â

Herblock. âBusiest time weâve had in years,â 1964. Graphite and India ink drawing. Published in the Washington Post, June 12, 1964. Herbert L. Block Collection, , Library of Congress

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Senator Everett Dirksens Amendments To Title Vii

Senator Everett Dirksen , Republican from Illinois and Senate minority leader, comments on his amendments to Title VII, the employment section of the civil rights bill. The interview for The Great Divide: Civil Rights and the Bill, broadcast on ABC, May 22, 1964, was recorded earlier that week. After a compromise with Democratic Party leaders in the Senate, Dirksen was instrumental in persuading fellow Republicans to support the bill, and the filibuster that had held up passage ended.

Watch the video

Dixie’s Long Journey From Democratic Stronghold To Republican Redoubt

toggle caption

Ronald Reagan speaks to a reporter at the Republican National Convention in Florida in 1968. In 1984, Reagan carried in the biggest group of Southern Republicans in Congress since Reconstruction.

The tragic events in Charleston this month have released years of racial and political tension in the South, and the pressure is being felt by Republican officeholders across the region.

Why the Republicans? Because it is increasingly difficult to find officeholders in the region who are not Republicans.

The South was once home to the “yellow dog Democrat” who would vote for a mutt over someone from the party of Abraham Lincoln. Now, the party of the Great Emancipator has made Dixie its bedrock, the base of its Electoral College vote and its majorities in Congress. Many a great-granddaddy buried in rebel gray has been rolling over in his grave for some years now.

The South’s rejection of its Democratic DNA began more than 60 years ago with a Supreme Court decision, and significant historic milestones have followed like clockwork in almost every decade since.

The late Nelson Polsby, an influential and at times contrarian political scientist, wrote a book arguing that it was air conditioning that made the South competitive. It brought Republicans from other parts of the country into the South as retirees and as employers in growing numbers after World War II.

Here are a few of the major milestones in the migration of these Southern voters.

Clarence Mitchell Jr Calls For A Real Showdown On Civil Rights

As the 88th Congress began its second session early in January 1964, hearings on proposed civil rights legislation were about to commence in the House Rules Committee. Clarence Mitchell, Jr., , Washington Bureau director for the NAACP, explains the reason that the legislation has taken so long to reach this stage and calls for âa real showdown on civil rightsâ in this interview for At Issue: Countdown on Civil Rights, broadcast January 15, 1964, on National Educational Television.

Watch the video

Formal Debate Begins On The Civil Rights Bill

On March 30, the Senate began formal debate on H.R. 7152. Senator Richard Russell divided the senators opposing the bill, known as the Southern bloc, into three six-member platoons to prolong the filibuster. When one platoon had the floor, the other two rested and prepared to speak. Each member was responsible for talking four hours per day. Russell hoped the filibuster would erode public support for civil rights and compel the pro-civil rights senators to dilute H.R. 7152 in order to secure passage. He did not expect to defeat the bill.

Clarence Mitchell to Roy Wilkins, April 3, 1964 . Typed letter. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Courtesy of the NAACP

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What Name Did The Democrats Give Southerners Who Became Republicans

Scalawags

Explanation: The term scalawag was given by Southern Democrats to fellow white Southerners who had become Republican and supported Reconstruction after the Civil War. They were considered traitors by many Southerners who remained loyal to the Confederate cause.

C. Scalawags

Explanation:

White southern Republicans, referred to their adversaries as “scalawags,” made up the greatest gathering of agents to the Radical Reconstruction-era legislatures. A few scalawags were established planters who felt that whites ought to perceive blacks’ considerate and political rights while as yet holding control of political and economic life.

Many were previous Whigs who saw the Republicans as the successors to their old party. Most of the scalawags were non-slaveholding small farmers as well as merchants, artisans and other experts who had stayed faithful to the Union amid the Civil War.

according to the report, the government has imposed restrictions on freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of association. the official media remained tightly controlled by government censorship and obstruction. restrictions on the freedom to assemble remain a problem in vietnam.

explanation:

Treatment Of Contempt Cases

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On April 21, Senator Herman Talmadge called up his amendment requiring jury trials for all criminal contempt cases in the federal courts. It was withdrawn in favor of one by Senator Thruston Morton requiring a jury trial for any criminal contempt case arising from H.R. 7152. Civil rights advocates opposed the amendments because they doubted that Southern juries would convict white violators. Senator Everett Dirksen worked with Senator Mike Mansfield to offer a substitute amendment. It granted a judge the right to authorize a jury trial in all criminal contempt cases arising from the bill. If the accused was tried without a jury, the judge would be limited in the penalties he could impose to fines of up to $300 or sentences of up to thirty days.

Clarence Mitchell to Roy Wilkins, April 24, 1964 . Typed letter. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Courtesy of the NAACP

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President Johnson Seeks Support Of Civil Rights Leaders

Immediately after signing the act, President Johnson held a meeting with civil rights leaders in the cabinet room at the White House. He wanted to ensure their collaboration, when the act would inevitably be tested, to not call for demonstrations and to carefully select test cases in the courts. In turn the president promised the full support of the Justice Department in protecting the act. He received assurances from those present that they understood and would cooperate.

Lee C. White. White House Memorandum, July 6, 1964. Courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum, Austin, Texas

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It Took Much Longer And Went Much Further Than We Think

Most Americans have heard the story of the Southern strategy: The Republican Party, in the wake of the civil rights movement, decided to court Southern white voters by capitalizing on their racial fears. Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater first wielded this strategy in 1964 and Richard Nixon perfected it in 1968 and 1972, turning the solidly Democratic South into a bastion of Republicanism.

But this oversimplified version of the Southern strategy has a number of problems. It overstates how quickly party change occurred, limits the strategy solely to racial appeals, ignores how it evolved and distorts our understanding of politics today.

In reality, the South swung back and forth in presidential elections for four decades following 1964. Moreover, Republicans didnt win the South solely by capitalizing on white racial angst. That decision was but one in a series of decisions the party made not just on race but on feminism and religion as well. The GOP successfully fused ideas about the role of government in the economy, womens place in society, white evangelical Christianity and white racial grievance, in what became a long Southern strategy that extended well past the days of Goldwater and Nixon.

Over the course of 40 years, Republicans fine-tuned their pitch and won the allegiance of Southern whites by remaking their party in the Southern white image.

The End Of Radical Reconstruction

The end of Reconstruction was a staggered process, and the period of Republican control ended at different times in different states. With the Compromise of 1877, army intervention in the South ceased and Republican control collapsed in the last three state governments in the South. This was followed by a period that white Southerners labeled Redemption, during which white-dominated state legislatures enacted Jim Crow laws and, beginning in 1890, disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites through a combination of constitutional amendments and electoral laws. The white Democrat Southerners memory of Reconstruction played a major role in imposing the system of white supremacy and second-class citizenship for blacks, known as The Age of Jim Crow.

Many of the ambitions of the Radical Republicans were, in the end, undermined and unfulfilled. Early Supreme Court rulings around the turn of the century upheld many of these new Southern constitutions and laws, and most blacks were prevented from voting in the South until the 1960s. Full federal enforcement of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments did not occur until passage of legislation in the mid-1960s as a result of the African-American Civil Rights Movement .

Republican Rule In The South

In the two years following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the end of the Civil War in April 1865, Lincolns successor Andrew Johnson angered many northerners and Republican members of Congress with his conciliatory policies towards the defeated South. Freed African Americans had no role in politics, and the new southern legislatures even passed black codes restricting their freedom and forcing them into repressive labor situations, a development they strongly resisted. In the congressional elections of 1866, northern voters rejected Johnsons view of Reconstruction and handed a major victory to the so-called Radical Republicans, who now took control of Reconstruction.

Did you know? African Americans made up the overwhelming majority of southern Republican voters during Reconstruction. Beginning in 1867, they formed a coalition with carpetbaggers and scalawags to gain control of southern state legislatures for the Republican Party.

John Lindsay And Emanuel Celler On The Compromise Bill

On October 29, 1963, the House Judiciary Committee voted to report out a compromise civil rights bill to the full House. Representatives John Lindsay , Republican of New York, who helped craft the compromise bill after a stronger bill had been attacked by the Kennedy Administration and others as having no chance of passing, and Emanuel Celler , Democrat of New York and chairman of the committee, discuss the two bills in this excerpt from At Issue: Countdown on Civil Rights, broadcast January 15, 1964, on National Educational Television.

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Georgia Democrats Typically Did Not Like Fellow Southerners Who Became Republicans After The Civil War And Supported Reconstruction Of The South

What name did the Democrats give Southerners who became Republicans?Abolitionists Carpetbaggers Scalawags Freedmen

Answer

answer is carpetbaggers remember it like a carpet goes up and the south came up in reconstruct with the north some of them

Virtual Teaching Assistant: Colleen R.

Question Level: Basic

Letter From Jane Horn

In 1964, Jane Horn worked for the Protestant Council of the City of New York. She organized 1,000 church and labor union members on a trip to Washington, D.C., to march in support of the Civil Rights Act. Horn also participated in the silent vigil in support of the act. Beginning in April of 1964, Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant seminary students served in shifts at the Lincoln Memorial, silently praying night and day until the act was passed by the Senate on June 19.

Jane Horn to the Voices of Civil Rights Project, June 5, 2004. Letter. Voices of Civil Rights Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress Courtesy of Jane Horn

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How Did This Switch Happen

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Eric Rauchway, professor of American history at the University of California, Davis, pins the transition to the turn of the 20th century, when a highly influential Democrat named William Jennings Bryan blurred party lines by emphasizing the government’s role in ensuring social justice through expansions of federal power traditionally, a Republican stance.

But Republicans didn’t immediately adopt the opposite position of favoring limited government.

Related: 7 great congressional dramas

“Instead, for a couple of decades, both parties are promising an augmented federal government devoted in various ways to the cause of social justice,” Rauchway wrote in an archived 2010 blog post for the Chronicles of Higher Education. Only gradually did Republican rhetoric drift to the counterarguments. The party’s small-government platform cemented in the 1930s with its heated opposition to the New Deal.

But why did Bryan and other turn-of-the-century Democrats start advocating for big government?

According to Rauchway, they, like Republicans, were trying to win the West. The admission of new western states to the union in the post-Civil War era created a new voting bloc, and both parties were vying for its attention.

Related: Busted: 6 Civil War myths

Additional resources:

Passage Of Civil Rights Bill Final Vote

Artist Howard Brodie captures the hustle and bustle of the Senate floor, the sense of people in the packed gallery pressing to see everything below, and the pages rushing to the edge of the dais on June 19, 1964, when the Senate voted to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the bill into law. Brodie, a courtroom artist, covered the debates for CBS News.

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Howard Brodie. Senate before final Civil Rights vote, final day. Crayon drawing, 1964.Howard Brodie Collection, , Library of Congress © Estate of Howard Brodie

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âIn a jammed chamber of the U.S. Senate there came the solemn moment on Friday, June 19, when the eleven title Civil Rights Bill was approved by a vote of 73 to 27.â

Clarence Mitchell to Roy Wilkins, June 20, 1964

Barry Bonds Hits 715th Home Run To Pass Babe Ruth On Mlb List

Congress passage of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 marked the beginning of the Radical Reconstruction period, which would last for the next decade. That legislation divided the South into five military districts and outlined how new state governments based on universal suffragefor both whites and blackswere to be organized. The new state legislatures formed in 1867-69 reflected the revolutionary changes brought about by the Civil War and emancipation: For the first time, blacks and whites stood together in political life. In general, the southern state governments formed during this period of Reconstruction represented a coalition of African Americans, recently arrived northern whites and southern white Republicans .

Civil Rights Legislation On The Fast Track

Senator Wayne Morse sails into the air after his motion to send the proposed Civil Rights legislation to the Judiciary Committee was defeated on March 26, 1964. Conservative cartoonist Gib Crockett, chief cartoonist at the Washington Star, appropriately uses a high-speed train as the metaphor for the Civil Rights legislation. After Morseâs motion was defeated, the Senate moved forward to debate it, driven by Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey, because President Lyndon Baines Johnson had put it on the fast track.

Gib Crockett. The switchman knew when he felt the bump, that the man at the throttle was Hubert Hump! 1964. Ink brush, crayon, and opaque white drawing. Published in the Washington Star, March 30, 1964. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature, , Library of Congress

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Democrats V Republicans On Jim Crow

Segregation and Jim Crow lasted for 100 years after the end of the Civil War.

During this time, African Americans were largely disenfranchised. There was no African-American voting bloc. Neither party pursued civil rights policies it wasnt worth their while.

Democrats dominated Southern politics throughout the Jim Crow Era. Its fair to say that Democratic governors and legislatures are responsible for creating and upholding white supremacist policies.

Southern Democrats were truly awful.

Iv Reconstruction And Women

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton maintained a strong and productive relationship for nearly half a century as they sought to secure political rights for women. While the fight for womens rights stalled during the war, it sprung back to life as Anthony, Stanton, and others formed the American Equal Rights Association. , between 1880 and 1902. Library of Congress.

for all

The AERA was split over whether Black male suffrage should take precedence over universal suffrage, given the political climate of the South. Some worried that political support for freedmen would be undermined by the pursuit of womens suffrage. For example, AERA member Frederick Douglass insisted that the ballot was literally a question of life and death for southern Black men, but not for women. Some African American women challenged white suffragists in other ways. Frances Harper, for example, a freeborn Black woman living in Ohio, urged them to consider their own privilege as white and middle class. Universal suffrage, she argued, would not so clearly address the complex difficulties posed by racial, economic, and gender inequality.

Senate Civil Rights Debate

Working for CBS as a courtroom illustrator, Howard Brodie captured not only the action on the Senate floor, but the sensibility of the crowd in the gallery above. Blacks, whites, the elderly, the young, men and women gathered together, united in their desire to see the creation of the historic legislation.

Howard Brodie. Senate Civil Rights debate, Gallery. Crayon drawing, 1964. Howard Brodie Collection, , Library of Congress © Estate of Howard Brodie

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âIt is expected that the Mansfield-Dirksen amendment will be approved by a substantial vote.â

Clarence Mitchell to Roy Wilkins, May 8, 1964

Lawyer Clifford Alexander Interviewed By Camille O Cosby In 2006

Lawyer Clifford Alexander, Jr., , chairman of the U.S. Equal Emplyment Opportunity Commission , explains the meaning of the Civil Rights Act and how both blacks and whites in government pushed for change in an interview conducted by Camille O. Cosby for the National Visionary Leadership Project in 2006.

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Civil Rights Activist Gwendolyn Simmons Interviewed By Joseph Mosnier In 2011

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Civil rights activist Gwendolyn Simmons discusses Freedom Summer and her shock that Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner were murdered in an interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier for the Civil Rights History Project in 2011.

Civil Rights History Project Collection , American Folklife Center

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Republicans And Democrats After The Civil War

Its true that many of the first Ku Klux Klan members were Democrats. Its also true that the early Democratic Party opposed civil rights. But theres more to it.

The Civil War-era GOP wasnt that into civil rights. They were more interested in punishing the South for seceding, and monopolizing the new black vote.

In any event, by the 1890s, Republicans had begun to distance themselves from civil rights.

The Myth Of The Republican

When faced with the sobering reality that Democrats supported slavery, started the Civil War when the abolitionist Republican Party won the Presidency, established the Ku Klux Klan to brutalize newly freed slaves and keep them from voting, opposed the Civil Rights Movement, modern-day liberals reflexively perpetuate rather pernicious myth–that the racist southern Democrats of the 1950s and 1960s became Republicans, leading to the so-called “switch” of the parties.

This is as ridiculous as it is easily debunked.

The Republican Party, of course, was founded in 1848 with the abolition of slavery as its core mission. Almost immediately after its second presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln, won the 1860 election, Democrat-controlled southern states seceded on the assumption that Lincoln would destroy their slave-based economies.

Once the Civil War ended, the newly freed slaves as expected flocked to the Republican Party, but Democrat control of the South from Reconstruction until the Civil Rights Era was near total. In 1960, Democrats held every Senate seat south of the Mason-Dixon line. In the 13 states that made up the Confederacy a century earlier, Democrats held a staggering 117-8 advantage in the House of Representatives. The Democratic Party was so strong in the south that those 117 House members made up a full 41% of Democrats’ 283-153 advantage in the Chamber.

So how did this myth of a sudden “switch” get started?

It would not be the last time they used it.

The Importance Of Quorums

In this memorandum Arnold Aronson explains the importance of quorums. Under Senate rules each senator could deliver only two speeches on the same subject in a legislative day. Two senators could sustain a filibuster for eight hours by demanding frequent quorum calls that required fifty-one opposing senators to answer a roll call. If the opponents failed to produce a quorum, the Senate had to adjourn. The next day the filibustering senators could begin a new round of speeches. Senator Humphrey and Senator Thomas Kuchel addressed the quorum problem by dividing their troops into platoons and setting up a duty roster. Humphrey was committed to producing a daily quota of thirty-six Democratic senators for quorums; Kuchel pledged fifteen Republicans.

Arnold Aronson, secretary, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights to Cooperating Organizations regarding senators who support the civil rights bill, , March 16, 1964. Memorandum. Page 2 – Page 3 – Page 4 – Page 5 Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

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âWe have a great team of senators led by Senators Hubert Humphrey . . . and Thomas Kuchel . . . .â

Clarence Mitchell to Roy Wilkins, March 27, 1964

âThe Civil Rights Bill is now the pending business in the Senate. The fight is on. We will need every vote that we can get.â

Clarence Mitchell to Roy Wilkins, March 27, 1964

Charles Sumner And Thaddeus Stevens

Charles Sumner: Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. During Reconstruction, he fought to minimize the power of the ex-Confederates and to guarantee equal rights to the freedmen.

Concerned that President Johnson was attempting to subvert congressional authority, Republicans in Congress took control of Reconstruction policies after the election of 1866. Radical Republicans, led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens, opened the way to suffrage for male freedmen. As the chief Radical leader in the Senate during Reconstruction, Sumner fought hard to provide equal civil and voting rights for the freedmen on the grounds that consent of the governed was a basic principle of American republicanism, and to block ex-Confederates from power so they would not reverse the gains made from the Unions victory in the Civil War.

Sumner, teaming with House leader Thaddeus Stevens, battled Andrew Johnson s Reconstruction plans and sought to impose a Radical program on the South. The Radical Republicans were generally in control of policy, although they had to compromise with the moderate Republicans. The Democrats in Congress had almost no power. Historians generally refer to this period as Radical Reconstruction.

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-name-did-the-democrats-give-southerners-who-became-republicans/

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the-funtime-autocrat · 6 years

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Random Thought

If Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau hadn’t mismanaged the state-run Crown Corporation under the wasteful National Energy Program (1980-84) and the successor government had not privatized the company in 1990, this could have become the Canadian equilivant of Russia’s Gazprom and Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramaco.

“In 1973, world oil prices quadrupled due to the Arab oil embargo following the Yom Kippur War. The province of Alberta had substantial oil reserves, whose extraction had long been controlled by American corporations. The government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the opposition New Democratic Party felt that these corporations geared most of their production to the American market, and as a result little of the benefit of rising oil prices went to Canadians.[citation needed]

Trudeau's Liberals were then in a minority government and dependent upon the support of the NDP to stay in power. The idea also fit with the growing movement toward economic nationalism within the Liberals. The Liberals and NDP passed the bill over the opposition of the Progressive Conservative Party led by Robert Stanfield.

Petro-Canada was founded as a Crown Corporation in 1975 by an act of Parliament. It started its operations on 1 January 1976. The company was given C$1.5 billion in start-up money and easy access to new sources of capital. It was set up in Calgary, despite the hostility of existing oil firms.[citation needed] Its first president was Maurice Strong. The Progressive Conservatives (PCs), then led by Albertan Joe Clark, were opponents of the company, and advocated breaking it up and selling it. However, they were unable to proceed with these plans during their brief time in power.

With the establishment of Petro-Canada, the federal government transferred its 45% stake in Panarctic Oils Ltd. and its 12% stake in Syncrude to the newly established company. In 1976, Petro-Canada purchased Atlantic Richfield Canada, in 1978 Pacific Petroleums, and in 1981 the Canadian operations of Petrofina. Most of the original Petro-Canada refineries and service stations were acquired from BP Canada in 1983.

The company became popular outside of Alberta as a symbol of Canadian nationalism[citation needed]. It quickly grew to become one of the largest players in the traditional oil fields of the west as well as in the oil sands and the East coast offshore oil fields.

When the Liberals returned to power in 1980, energy policy was an important focus, and the sweeping National Energy Program was created. This expanded Petro-Canada, but was seen as detrimental to Alberta's economy. The PC government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (1984–1993) stopped using Petro-Canada as a policy tool, and it began to compete fully and successfully with the private sector companies while abandoning its founding principles of economic nationalism.

In 1990, the government announced its intention to privatize Petro-Canada, and the first shares were sold on the open market in July 1991 at $13 each.[citation needed] The government began to slowly sell its majority control, but kept a 19% stake in the company. No other shareholder was allowed to own more than 10%, however. Also, foreigners cannot control more than 25% of the company.

During the first year, the value of the shares gradually dropped to $8 as Petro-Canada suffered a loss of $603 million, primarily because of the devaluation of some assets.[citation needed] The newly private company significantly reduced the number of properties in which it had a direct interest. It reduced its annual operating costs by $300 million and it went from a staff of close to 11,000 to only about 5,000 employees. Many of these laid-off employees went on to work and start up other oil companies in Alberta, creating a new group of Canadian producers. But many did not work in other oil companies and some left Alberta to find work elsewhere.[citation needed]

Canadian Crown corporations (French: Sociétés d'État du Canada) are state-owned enterprises owned by the Sovereign of Canada (i.e. the Crown).[1][2][3] They are established by an Act of Parliament or Act of a provincial legislature and report to that body via a minister of the Crown in the relevant cabinet,[4] though they are "shielded from constant government intervention and legislative oversight" and thus "generally enjoy greater freedom from direct political control than government departments."[4]

Crown corporations have a very long standing presence in the country and have been instrumental in the formation of the state. They can provide services required by the public that otherwise would not be economically viable as a private enterprise, or don't fit exactly within the scope of any ministry.[3] They are involved in everything from the distribution, use, and price of certain goods and services to energy development, resource extraction, public transportation, cultural promotion, and property management.

@artist-tyrant

#Petro-Canada #oil industry #Canada #Canadian Economy #State-Run Enterprise #State Enterprise #Oil companies #economic nationalism

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cigarloungecom · 3 years

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IS THE NEWAIR 840 THE BEST NEW ELECTRIC HUMIDOR OF 2021?

NewAir 840 Count Electric Cigar Humidor, Built-in Humidification System with Opti-Temp

The NewAir 840 cigar humidor is the latest game changing innovative release from NewAir humidors. Recently launched at the end of January 2021, its sales far surpassed initial expectations. The first production release was quickly sold out by the end of February. Representatives at Newair state, “The response from the cigar community has been overwhelming around our humidors. We are dedicated to providing cigar collectors with the best way to store their cigars and will continue to come out with best-in-class solutions for your cigar collection””.

The NewAir 840 humidors have been launched to meet the rapidly expanding market demand for larger thermoelectric humidors. This fast growing humidor market has developed in recent years and represents a challenge to the traditional Cabinet Humidor powered by independent humidification systems. We would agree that Newair has fulfilled its promise of being a market leader by introducing this brand new Electric cigar humidor with its patented electronically powered humidification system. With already glowing reviews, we think this is one of the best new humidors of 2021. The Newair 840 holds the latest electric cigar humidor technology to meet all requirements of the cigar connoisseur. Mari Uytiepo, Head of Product Marketing, “was excited about the new sleek design for this humidor and simple humidification feature making this one of the best cigar store options on the market”. The unit works to maintain the original aroma and flavor of cigars alive. Although bigger than a desktop humidor, The NewAir 840 Count is a wineador cigar cooler. A wineador is a type of wine cooler that is modified into a cigar box to store cigars. It functions because, like wine, the cigars need an environment with a stable and ideal temperature and humidity. Otherwise, the cigar can lose its freshness, aroma flavor, and blend.

The features you would enjoy in the NewAir 840 Cigar Humidors

The NewAir cigar humidors can satisfy the needs of the modern serious cigar afficiado. These latest versions of NewAir cigar humidors are the best humidors to place in any part of your home. Because of the opti temp technology which includes a heating functionality, these humidors can be placed in the basement and can easily handle four seasons of extreme weather and swift changes of external temperature. This is one of the key features of the Newair 840 humidor.

NewAir 840 Count Electric Cigar Humidor

The Newair 840 features many functions the best humidors should have:

Stainless steel exterior with Spanish cedar wood interior

Gorgeous jet black side panels and tint glass door which allows you to see your cigars

Sureseal technology to avoid leakages

Electronic Humidification system with climate control heater and cooler

Internal Humidifier

Touch control panel

Digital interior hygrometer

Soft interior LED lights with three modes

Adjustable shelves

Movable Spanish cedar storage compartments

Temperature Range between 52° and 74°F

Ambient Temperature Range: 68° – 77° F

Fahrenheit to Celsius Temp calibration feature

Refillable water reservoirs

Newair 840’s Cigar Humidors sleekly designed Exterior

First and foremost, there is no question the NewAir 840 is a gorgeous, stylish and masculine looking modern electric cigar humidor. The humidors stainless steel matt finish exterior with a premium quality wood interior is class. The humidor has been manufactured using premium quality stainless steel material in a black finish. The duo of transparent glass door with black tint looks sleek. The long steel handle looks smart and masculine on the glass door. The glass door is locked with sureseal technology. Sureseal technology ensures proper lid closure to maintain internal humidity and moisture level. The product works well for small spaces like bedrooms, office corners, or small cigar stores. It does not look big and clunky. The exterior matte finish gives a formal and voguish appearance. Our only complaint about this humidor’s look is that it does look modern. Even though you have the customary visible spanish cedar shelving arrangement we contend that you could overlay the exterior with wood and create variations of the design aesthetic.

Spanish Cedar Interior & a beautiful organization

The NewAir 840 humidors come with a Spanish cedar-lined interior. The Spanish cedar interior works best among all weather conditions and moisture changes in the environment. It keeps the original aroma and flavor of cigars as perfect as the brand new cigars. The removable Spanish cedar shelves help the user to organize the cigars according to their preferences. The storage space for cigars has provided with Spanish wood drawers. These NewAir 840 count cigar cabinet drawers are more useful as compared to the Old Newair humidors. The cigar collection is easier to access and view. These Spanish cedar wood drawers have manufactured with steel rollings to make them convenient for customer’s utilization. The drawer helps the customer to store their personal or expensive cigar collections. The flat shelves are used to place the cigar boxes. It has equipped with a humidity tray and a hygrometer. The humidity tray has humidifiers that help to circulate the required amount of air through the cigars and to maintain the ideal humidity and moisture level in the cabinet.

Soft Interior LED lights

The soft interior LED lights add a touch of gracious ambiance to the humidor. The Newair 840 has three operational modes. These modes include always-on lights, lights on with open glass doors, and always off lights. The user can push control buttons on top of the unit to switch between the modes. The cigar collection looks stylish with these soft LED lights and the lights also help you to find your cigars in darkness.

Electric Humidification System:

The NewAir 840 Count Cigar Humidors features include a built-in humidification system that helps you adjust the moisture level, even as conditions change outside. Building your own wineador has never been so easy — it’s a true convenience that’s a game-changer for cigar lovers everywhere. The electric humidification system of the cigar humidors works with the help of sensors. The sensor detects the amount of moisture outside. It turns on the ventilator of the cigar humidors and circulates air through it. The ventilators automatically turn off when the temperature reaches the preset ideal humidity levels. Electric cigar humidors don’t require any person to operate them. The user needs only once to start the system and monitor it occasionally. The temperature of the NewAir 840 count electric humidors toggle can switch between the Fahrenheit and Celcius temperatures. The user can change the temperature monitor according to their requirement or external temperature. The built-in humidifier for the NewAir 840 count cigar humidors controls the temperature automatically. However, the NewAir allows the user to adjust the temperature and humidity level if it is a necessity. The temperature of the humidor can adjust between 41F-71F, whereas, the humidity level can adjust from 56% to78%.

The Advanced multi-functional control unit displays:

Current relative humidity levels (in percentage)

Pre-set relative humidity levels(in percentage)

The average relative humidity level of the last 3 days

Current temperature (in Celsius or Fahrenheit)

This humidor’s power capacity operates on 110/120 volts. It means that the constant running of the humidor will not cost too must electricity charges on the user. The humidor’s refillable and adjustable water reservoir is functional and practical. The water reservoir has an indicator to display the water level. The user can refill the water reservoir with distilled water only. Ordinary water can affect the functionality of the humidifier. If the electricity breaks for some time, it does not mean that your collection will ruin immediately. The humidor’s ability to work under pressure and critical circumstances are outstanding. Some people think that cigar humidors constantly use electricity to store the cigars. It is nothing than a myth. The system turns on when it detects any changes in the ideal humidity levels. (both the drop or rise). The Internal fan-forced circulation helps for the even humidity and temperature distribution throughout the humidor. The Newair humidor works with a thermoelectric cooling system to store the cigar collection under the best humidity and temperature level.

Thermoelectric Heating and Cooling System; THE POWER OF OPTI-TEMP…….

The NewAir electric cigar humidifier works the same in all climates. This means your cigars will be just fine if the outside temperature is cools down dramatically…. No need to worry about your cigars in cool winters and no fuss with your humidor being in the freezing basement. The automated temperature control system is adjustable according to the external environment or temperature. The change in the external temperature does not affect the performance of the NewAir 840 count cigar humidors.

The Newair 840 cigar count humidor is embedded with thermoelectric cooling. The system works on the Thomson effect. According to this system, the electric current flows in two junctions to emit and absorb the heat. In this system, a change in temperature by transferring heat in two junctions. When the current flows in two junctions, the heat emits and cooling occurs. In this way, a cooling and heating sequel creates. The thermoelectric cooling system prefers as compare to the conventional vapor cooling systems. The reason is, it requires fewer maintenance costs. The thermo-electric system does not contain any moving parts. It reduces the maintenance charges. This is how the cigar humidor’s entire cigar collection can be kept at ideal humidity. The noise-free thermoelectric cooling system of the NewAir 840 cigar count humidor works best without producing any annoying sound. The hygrometer allows the user to monitor the change in the internal temperature of the Newair 840 count humidors. The humidors is adjustable with a temperature range from 540F to 740F. The touch panel allows the user to change the temp level according to external weather conditions. The enhanced touch panel display unit helps to monitor the change in condensation. The digital temperature display panels are easier to monitor as compared to the analog panels. It has manufactured with all premium quality solid components for long time durability and reliability. The power consumption of the product is minor and affordable. Although the purchasing price looks a bit high, it is worth buying in terms of electricity consumption. The billing and electricity consumption cost of the humidor accomplishes the purchase cost of the cabinet. Moreover, it works best to keep the original aroma and flavor of cigars alive.

Storage Capacity of Cigar items

This NewAir cigar humidor can hold up to 840 cigars at a time. The cigar storage capacity of NewAir 840 is significantly higher as compared to the previous NewAir humidors. The larger storage capacity of cigars makes this latest version of the NewAir Electric humidor amongs the limited sphere of larger Electric Humidors. The storage capacity is identically divided between the Spanish cedar wood drawers. The Spanish cedar drawers store the cigar items and cigar accessories with proper organization. The drawers have Spanish cedar partitions to place the small cigar accessories like cigar cutters, lighters, etc in a uniform pattern. The Spanish cedar drawers also allow you to organize the cigar collection of different flavors and brands. The access of the cigar items is far easier and convenient as compared to the previous models of NewAir humidors. The NewAir 840 Cigar count humidors do not include a digital hygrometer or analog hygrometer. The previous versions do have the digital hygrometer. The digital hygrometer helps to measure the humidity. The absence of a hygrometer is the only flaw of this latest NewAir version we can fine, otherwise it’s one of the best humidors for personal use.

Detailed Specifications of the NewAir 840 Cigars Count Electric Cigar Humidor:

Model: NCH840BK00

Product Type: Electronic Humidor, Climate

Controlled With Heater

Product Dimensions: 23.62″D x

19.01″W x 32.30″H

Product Internal Volume: 4.13 ft3

Product Weight: 81.4 lbs.

Product Color: Black

Application: Stores Cigars

Voltage: 110-120 volts

Watts: 70 watts

Amps: 1.0 amps

Frequency: 60 Hz

Noise Level: 43 dB

Certifications: ETL/cETL, DOE, CEC

Capacity: 840 cigars

Sliding Shelves: 3

Drawers: 1

Reversible Door: No

Key and Lock on Door: Yes

Interior Lighting: Yes, soft LED

Material Lined With: Spanish Cedar

Adjustable Shelves: Yes

Adjustable Legs: Yes

Includes Hygrometer: Yes

Water Tank Capacity 50.7 fl oz

Est days of operation/tank: 1 week

Temperature Range: 52° – 74° F

Ambient Temperature Range: 68° – 77° F

Interior Light: Top and side LEDs, white, auto on/off

Adjustable Legs: Yes

Refrigerant: R600a

NewAir 840 Electric cabinet as a gift for cigar smoker:

Gift giving is an act of self-gratification. The gift is a good way of strengthening relationships. If you are in a friendship or a relationship, you should always show the other person how much you care for him or her. A gift plays a vital role to express your feelings towards your loved ones. Your act of giving a gift tells them how much they are important for you. The NewAir 840 Electric cabinet can one of the best gifts for a tobacco lover. This gift would be a treat for your cigar smoker loved one.

FAQs

Is this new version of Newair cigar cabinets convenient as Travel Humidors?

No, the NewAir cigar humidors are not traveling humidors. However, you can shift them once in a while if necessary.

How many boveda packs do I need in an electric humidor to make the best cigar humidors?

One boveda packet can serve twenty-five cigars. It means the number of boveda packs will depend on the storage capacity of the humidors and there is no ideal or fix the value of boveda packs to make them as best cigar humidors.

How do I increase humidity in the hydroelectric humidor?

The customer or user can get it with the help of boveda humidification packets.

What is the best temperature setting on an electronic humidor to get the best humidity?

The ideal temperature set according to the 70/70 rule. This rule states that the temperature should be 70-degree Fahrenheit and the relative humidity should be 70 %. In this state, you can achieve the best humidity to store the collection in an ideal environment.

Are electric humidors for anyone?

Yes, anyone can use electric humidors because they are reliable and efficient. Meanwhile, they are expensive as compared to traditional humidors.

What happens when the cigar gets in direct contact with the air for more than 4 to 5 days?

The cigars absorb and release moisture. If you keep a cigar without a humidor, it will dry out. The humidor is the best way to keep a cigar for storage.

Do I take cigars out of plastic to put in the cigar humidor?

No, it is not compulsory. But it is a good approach to keep cigars out of the packet because the humidity can properly pass through the cigars. And the humidor can work efficiently.

Do I need to buy new cartridges for a humidifier or I can refill the same one?

No, you do not have to buy a new cartridge every time. you can refill the same cartridges three times but only with the distilled water. After refilling it, wait for a few minutes to settle the water level and then reattach it with the unit. But make sure the refill should be of distilling water. Otherwise, it can cause trouble for the storage of cigars.

How long can a cigar within a humidor last?

A humidor can last for years. It depends on the proper use and care.

How do I control the humidity in my electronic humidor?

You can speed up the humidity process by placing the cabinet in direct sunlight with an open lid. If your humidity increase from the ideal level, lower down the level of the distilled water in the water tank. For regular use, keep the container away from sunlight and heating cooling refrigerators. So the humidifier will be able to work properly by own for maintaining the ideal temperature level and controlled environment.

VIEW THE NEWAIR 840 HUMIDOR AT CROWN HUMIDORS

The post IS THE NEWAIR 840 THE BEST NEW ELECTRIC HUMIDOR OF 2021? appeared first on Crown Humidors Cigar Lounge.

from Crown Humidors Cigar Lounge https://cigarlounge.crownhumidors.com/humidor-guide/newair-840-best-electric-humidor/

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How Many Senate Seats Republicans Picked Up

How Many Senate Seats Are Up For Grabs In 2022

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In the Senate, there will be 34 out of 100 seats available. Special elections may be held to fill the vacant seats in the senate. Those senators elected in 2022 will begin their six-year term on January 3, 2023.

In the Senate, the Democrats have 14 seats up for election in 2022. The Republicans will have 20 seats up for grabs in the election. The Republican party will be defending 2 Senate seats in the states that President Joe Biden won.

Those seats are in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The Democrats are not defending any senate seats that former President Donald Trump won in 2020.

Thirty-two of the thirty-four seats up in 2022 were voted on in 2016. The Democrats gained three seats in the 2020 election. The Democrats have total control of the House and the Senate.

Focus On Competitive Races

Democrats targeted Republican-held Senate seats in and . Seats in , and were also competitive for the Democrats. Republicans targeted Democratic-held seats in , , , North Dakota and West Virginia, all of which had voted Republican in both the 2012 presidential election and the 2016 presidential election. Seats in , , , and , all of which voted for Trump in 2016, were also targeted by Republicans. The Democratic-held seat in New Jersey was also considered unexpectedly competitive due to corruption allegations surrounding the Democratic incumbent.

What Advantages Do Senate Democrats Have In This Bare Majority

Perhaps the most significant advantage for Democrats is the ability to confirm Bidens Cabinet and Supreme Court nominations with a simple majority, or 51 votes. Each of these processes once required a 60 percent majority vote until senators moved in 2013 to lower the threshold to 51 votes to advance confirmations for most executive-level and federal judicial nominations. In 2017 senators established the same lower threshold to approve Supreme Court nominations.

Four Cabinet or Cabinet-level members have been confirmed by large margins for Bidens administration so far, including Lloyd Austin as the first Black secretary of defense and Janet Yellen as the first woman to serve as treasury secretary. Austin and Yellen were confirmed by 93-2 and 84-15 votes, respectively. Nineteen of Bidens nominees are still awaiting confirmation votes.

As the majority party, Democrats are expected to control the agenda for Senate operations, including policy and oversight committees.

READ MORE: How does the filibuster work?

Such committees include the Senate Judiciary, charged with confirmation hearings for federal judges and Supreme Court justices, as well as oversight of the Justice Department. The incoming Senate Judiciary chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has already expressed plans to probe former President Donald Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Opinion:the House Looks Like A Gop Lock In 2022 But The Senate Will Be Much Harder

Redistricting will take place in almost every congressional district in the next 18 months. The party of first-term presidents usually loses seats in midterms following their inauguration President Barack Obamas Democrats lost 63 seats in 2010 and President Donald Trumps Republicans lost 40 in 2018 but the redistricting process throws a wrench into the gears of prediction models.

President George W. Bush saw his party add nine seats in the House in 2002. Many think this was a consequence of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America nearly 14 months earlier, but the GOP, through Republican-led state legislatures, controlled most of the redistricting in the two years before the vote, and thus gerrymandering provided a political benefit. Republicans will also have a firm grip on redistricting ahead of the 2022 midterms.

The Brennan Center has that the GOP will enjoy complete control of drawing new boundaries for 181 congressional districts, compared with a maximum of 74 for Democrats, though the final numbers could fluctuate once the pandemic-delayed census is completed. Gerrymandering for political advantage has its critics, but both parties engage in it whenever they get the opportunity. In 2022, Republicans just have much better prospects. Democrats will draw districts in Illinois and Massachusetts to protect Democrats, while in Republican-controlled states such as Florida, Ohio and Texas, the GOP will bring the redistricting hammer down on Democrats.

Grist Is The Only Nonprofit Newsroom Focused On Exploring Solutions At The Intersection Of Climate And Justice

Our team of journalists remains dedicated to telling stories of climate, justice, and solutions. We aim to inspire more people to talk about climate change and to believe that meaningful change is not only possible but happening right now.Our in-depth approach to solutions-based journalism takes time and proactive planning, which is why Grist depends on reader support.

Right now, we set a goal to raise $20,000 by this Sunday, August 15 to help support our wildfire coverage. As of today, were currently at 95% of our goal.Consider becoming a Grist member today by making a monthly contribution to ensure this important work continues and thrives.

Numerous Freshman Democrats Lost Reelection

The vulnerable first-term Democrats who Decision Desk HQ projects to lose reelection are Reps. TJ Cox, Gil Cisneros, and Harley Rouda of California, Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala of Florida, Rep. Abby Finkenauer of Iowa, Rep. Xochitl Torres Small of New Mexico, Rep. Max Rose of New York, Rep. Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, Rep. Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, and Rep. Ben McAdams of Utah.

Rep. Collin Peterson, a long-serving Democratic representative in a Minnesota district that Trump won by 30 points, also lost reelection.

Some House Democrats who flipped Republican suburban and exurban seats in 2018 did win reelection, however, including Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia, Rep. Katie Porter of California, Reps. Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger, and Jennifer Wexton of Virginia, and Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey.

Senate Seats Most Likely To Flip In 2022

Max Greenwood

Democratic control of Congress will be on the line next year as Republicans look to claw their way back into power after a disappointing 2020 election that cost them the White House and their Senate majority.

But despite the conventional wisdom that the party of a new president tends to lose ground in the midterms, Senate Democrats are staring down several offensive opportunities in 2022 as they look to expand their ultra-narrow majority in the upper chamber.

Still, the GOP has pickup opportunities of its own, especially in states that Democrats only managed to win recently.

Here are the nine Senate seats most likely to flip in 2022:

Pennsylvania

Joe BidenTom Cotton calls on Biden to ‘destroy every Taliban fighter’ near Kabul Pelosi ‘deeply concerned’ for women amid Taliban gains in Afghanistans narrow win here in 2020 have given Democrats what they see as one of their best opportunities to flip a Senate seat that has been held by Republicans for 50 of the past 52 years.

The Democratic primary field is also crowded, attracting candidates like Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a surrogate for Biden during the 2020 campaign. Others in the race include Val Arkoosh, the chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.

More candidates could soon follow, including Rep. Conor Lamb , who is said to be considering a Senate bid.

Ohio

Georgia

Arizona

Wisconsin

New Hampshire

Nevada

Missouri

Cook Political Report: Senate Gop Spending Almost Entirely Defensive

The stakes are enormous for the legislative agenda of the next president a re-elected Donald Trump or apparent Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who leads in national polls and most swing states as well as the future of the courts. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the leader of the liberal wing, turns 88 next year, and the next Senate might get to confirm her successor.

Trumps struggles in historically Republican states, like and , are creating collateral damage for his partys Senate candidates. Public skepticism of Trumps handling of the pandemic, and a Bidens expanding lead since the nationwide to George Floyds death, has put many GOP Senate candidates in a difficult position. Theyre forced to navigate a polarizing president whose ardent supporters they cannot afford to alienate and whose skeptics theyll likely need to attract to win.

Democrats currently have 47 seats four short of an outright majority and three shy of a controlling number should Biden win as his vice president could cast any tie-breaking votes. Theyre more likely than not to lose one seat in Alabama, held by Sen. Doug Jones, but have lots of pickup opportunities. GOP-held seats in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and North Carolina are rated toss up by the Cook Political Report.

Dems Keep House Gop Holds Key Senate Seats Nbc News Projects

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Sahil Kapur

WASHINGTON Democrats will maintain of the House of Representatives, NBC News projects, but their path to taking control of the Senate has narrowed significantly as numerous Republican incumbents fended off strong opposition.

Democrats failed to pick up some of the Senate seats they were banking on to capture a majority. Their hopes for a big night were dashed up and down the ballot, as President Donald Trump outperformed his polls against Joe Biden in a race still to be decided.

In Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins was by NBC News as the apparent winner.

Other GOP senators who were Democratic targets hung on: Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, Montana Sen. Steve Daines and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham were all re-elected, NBC News projected.

Adding some uncertainty, the Georgia special election is headed to a runoff on Jan. 5 between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, NBC News projects.

Democrats will pick up a Senate seat in Colorado as John Hickenlooper is projected by NBC News to unseat Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, marking the party’s first gain.

Offsetting that, Republicans will pick up a seat in Alabama, where Republican Tommy Tuberville is projected to defeat Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, NBC News projects.

In Arizona, the Democratic challenger Mark Kelly leads but NBC News rates it “too early to call.”

In North Carolina, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis leads Democrat Cal Cunningham narrowly but the race is rated “too close to call.”

Important Dates And Deadlines

The table below lists filing deadlines and primary dates in each state for Democratic Party and Republican Party candidates for congressional and state-level office.

Primary dates and filing deadlines, 2020 State Filing deadline for primary candidates Primary date 04/21/2020 & 05/08/2020 08/04/2020 04/24/2020 & 6/12/2020 05/05/2020 & 06/02/2020 09/01/2020 06/24/2020 07/10/2020 N/A

Potentially Competitive Us Senate Races In 2022

Held by Republicans

Maggie Hassan Biden +7.4

The Democrats could also have opportunities in Ohio, where Sen. Rob Portman is retiring, and in Florida, home of Sen. Marco Rubio , but both of these once-preeminent swing states have drifted toward the GOP in recent elections and could be tough to pick off in 2022.

The GOPs top two pickup opportunities are also readily apparent: Arizona and Georgia. Both were among the most narrowly decided states that Biden won, and both have a history of favoring Republicans. Both are home to Democratic incumbents who won their seats in 2020 special elections: Sens. Mark Kelly and Raphael G. Warnock . The GOPs path back to a majority begins with reclaiming these two states.

Beyond that, though, obvious GOP opportunities are harder to come by. New Hampshire could be competitive if popular Gov. Chris Sununu challenges Sen. Maggie Hassan , but it has trended in the Democrats favor in recent years, going for Biden by seven points last year. Ditto Nevada, where first-term Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is up for reelection, but the GOP bench is somewhat limited as the state has also drifted blue in recent years.

Democrats control of the House is arguably more imperiled than their hold on the Senate. Thats a function of the Senate seats that are up for reelection as well as the lay of the land in the House.

About this story

Effect Of Republican Retirements

Indeed, 2020 was actually a Democratic-leaning year, with Biden winning the national popular vote by 4.5 percentage points. So theres a good chance that states will be at least a bit redder in 2022 than they were in 2020.

That could make these retirements less of a blow to Republicans than they first appear. Whats more, by announcing their retirements so early, Burr, Toomey and Portman are giving the GOP as much time as possible to recruit potential candidates, shape the field of candidates in a strategic way in the invisible primary and raise more money for the open-seat campaign. And in Ohio specifically, Republicans still look like heavy favorites. Even in the Democratic-leaning environment of 2020, Trump won Ohio by 8 percentage points, implying that its true partisan lean is probably even more Republican-leaning. Ohio is simply not the quintessential swing state it once was; dating back to the 2014 election cycle, Democrats have won just one out of 14 statewide contests in Ohio and that was a popular incumbent running in a blue-wave election year .

Nathaniel Rakich and Geoffrey Skelley, FiveThirtyEight

Trump Makes History By Adding Seats To Gop Senate Majority In His First Midterm Election

Trump campaigned in Florida this past weekend.Republican Ron DeSantis won the governorship and Rick Scott won his senate race!

Thanks to President TrumpRepublicans picked up 4 new Senate seats on Tuesday with wins in Florida, Missouri, Indiana and North Dakata.Arizona, Montana and Nevada were still being decided.By the end of the night President Trump will gain at least one senate seat and as many as five new GOP senators.

This is historic.And President Trump was eager to tell the nation of his success tonight.

The President quoted Ben Stein tonight: Theres only been 5 times in the last 105 years that an incumbent President has won seats in the Senate in the off year election. Mr. Trump has magic about him. This guy has magic coming out of his ears. He is an astonishing vote getter & campaigner. The Republicans are unbelievably lucky to have him and Im just awed at how well theyve done. Its all the Trump magic Trump is the magic man. Incredible, hes got the entire media against him, attacking him every day, and he pulls out these enormous wins.Ben Stein, The Capitalist Code

Theres only been 5 times in the last 105 years that an incumbent President has won seats in the Senate in the off year election. Mr. Trump has magic about him. This guy has magic coming out of his ears. He is an astonishing vote getter & campaigner. The Republicans are

TRENDING:Fauci Says if Majority of Americans Get Vaccinated, Covid Will be Under Control by Spring of 2022

Trump’s Former Physician Wins House Seat

Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician who served under both Presidents Trump and Obama, has won his race in Texas’ 13th Congressional District. Jackson rose to prominence in 2018 when he gave a glowing press conference about Mr. Trump’s health.

Mr. Trump nominated Jackson to be Veterans Affairs secretary last year, but Jackson withdrew amid allegations that he drank on the job and over-prescribed medications. In his House race, Jackson has closely aligned himself with Mr. Trump. He has downplayed the coronavirus pandemic and criticized mask-wearing requirements. He has also promoted baseless claims about Biden’s mental health.

Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw also won reelection. Crenshaw is a conservative firebrand and a rising GOP star in the House.

The House’s Balance Of Power Is Tipped Toward Democrats

The Democratshave a narrow six-member margin in the current House of Representatives, meaning if just a handful of seats flip, Republicans can regain control of the House.

Democrats’advantagewill grow to seven when Troy Carter is sworn into fill a seat in Louisiana’s delegation left vacantby Cedric Richmond, who left the House to join the Biden administration as the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Cori Bush Becomes Missouri’s First Black Congresswoman Cbs News Projects

Cori Bush, a progressive Democrat and , has become Missouri’s first Black congresswoman, according to CBS News projections. With 88% of votes reported, Bush is leading Republican Anthony Rogers 78.9% to 19% to represent the state’s first congressional district, which includes St. Louis and Ferguson.

Bush, 44, claimed victory on Tuesday, promising to bring change to the district. “As the first Black woman and also the first nurse and single mother to have the honor to represent Missouri in the United States Congress, let me say this: To the Black women, the Black girls, the nurses, the essential workers, the single mothers, this is our moment,” she told supporters in St. Louis.