#New Democrats

[reasonsforhope]

Also, content-lock-free link. [Technically it's not a paywall but it is annoying]

Keep pressuring Western governments. This is proof that it can work.

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"Canada will halt future arms sales to Israel following a non-binding vote in the house of commons. The foreign affairs minister, Mélanie Joly, told the Toronto Star her government would halt future arms shipments. “It is a real thing,” she said on Tuesday [March 19].

The decision follows a parliamentary motion, introduced by the New Democratic party (NDP), that called on the governing Liberals to halt future arms exports to Israel. The New Democrats, who are supporting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government, have expressed frustration with what they see as his failure to do enough to protect civilians in Gaza.

The motion – which passed 204-117 with the support of Liberals, Bloc Québécois and the Green party – also called on Canada to work “towards the establishment of the state of Palestine.""

-via The Guardian, March 19, 2024

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XII (Victoria 2022): New Democrats

Prior reviews: None, this is a new party.

No, this is not a revived version of the Australian Democrats. Do not be fooled. The remnants of the Australian Democrats tried to register for this election and failed because they could not demonstrate they had enough members. Nor, fortunately, does this party have anything to do with the Liberal Democrats. So, who are they?

The challenge is finding out anything about them, because even at this late stage in the election their homepage does not appear in the top results on Google. If you want to find it, you need to know that independent MLC Kaushaliya Vaghela is in fact the party’s lead candidate, and follow the link from her Facebook profile (or from the bottom of this post, either way).

This, in turn, raises the question: who is Kaushaliya Vaghela? She was elected in 2018 as a Labor member for Western Metropolitan. Labor expelled her after she crossed the floor to support a motion by Adem Somyurek. Now, whatever the merits of the motion might have been, you do not want to appear affiliated with Somyurek, who is this year a candidate for the bilious DLP and around whom corruption allegations swirl. It seems Vaghela was not so close to Somyurek as to follow him into the DLP, and she now leads the New Democrats.

As best as I can tell, Vaghela and her party sit on the centre-right. There’s a general “migrant family values” vibe about it all. Most of the New Democrats’ candidates are of South Asian origin, so it’s pretty clear what base the party has—and Vaghela likes to highlight that she was the first Indian-born Hindu member of an Australian parliament.

In general, the party rhetoric emphasises education, equality of opportunity, and financial independence. That said, some of its language is much more extreme than simply that of a disillusioned centre-right Labor faction. The New Democrats purport to be “anti-dictatorship and will fight to uphold the TRUE Australian democracy”, which is troublingly close to the “Dictator Dan” language of so many cookers. Also, I can’t help but look askance at the party name, which appears to be intentionally misleading. This isn’t the worst party I’ve seen so far but it’s also not ideal.

My recommendation: Give the New Democrats a weak to middling preference. Remember to vote below the line on the large ballot for the Legislative Council so that your preference goes where you want it to go; all ballots with 5 or more preferences marked below the line are valid votes.

Website: https://www.newdemocrats.com.au/

[politijohn]

Source

Phenomenal choice

As a former teacher, MN Governor Walz has:

Signed legislation protecting abortion rights

Signed an executive order protecting gender-affirming care

Banned conversion therapy

Restored voting rights to Minnesotans who are on parole, probation or community release due to a felony

Signed voting rights legislation

Signed legislation legalizing recreational cannabis

Signed legislation guaranteeing free school lunches to students

Expanded workers rights and is supported by unions

[mysharona1987]

[thelesbianthespianposts]

honestly props to Biden on his timing. Dropping out after the republican convention but before the democratic convention was a smart move. It means the republican arguments about him are now all meaningless

[sher-ee]

But remember what happened when we thought Hillary had it locked up? ⬇️

We cannot become complacent!

We will sleep after 100 days.

[izzylimon]

PLEASE SHARE

[destiel-news-channel]

[Image ID: The Destiel confession meme edited so that Dean answers 'Tim Walz is Kamala Harris' running mate.' to Cas' 'I love you'. /End ID]

This is according to a source that told CNN, he has not been formally called by Harris yet. CNN link

EDIT: It is now official!

Tim Walz is the one who started the tactic of calling Republicans 'weird', by the way.

Tim Walz is in his second term as the Minnesota governor. He is 60 years old and a former high school teacher.

Memorable information (click the text for its source)

Walz is "a champion of Democratic causes, including union organizing, workers’ rights and a $15-an-hour minimum wage."

eliminated nearly all of Minnesota's abortion restrictions

protected gender-affirming care for transgender youth

legalized the recreational use of marijuana

"free school meals to children, free tuition at public colleges for students whose families earn less than $80,000 a year, a paid family and medical leave program, health insurance regardless of immigration status, gun violence prevention, abortion rights protections, voting rights expansion and more"

Feel free to add more.

[thenewdemocratus]

Joe Walsh: 'Only Biden Can Do This. Only Biden'

Source:White Flag With Joe Walsh talking about what Joe Biden needs to do to defeat Donald Trump. Source:The New Democrat “For the next five months, Republicans and the right will do all they can to convince the American people that Joe Biden is senile and completely out of it. It’s up to Joe Biden to refute that. In fact, only Biden himself can refute that. What a great opportunity.” From White…

[michaelpaul7]

If this doesn't encourage people to vote I don't know what will..... ✌️

[reasonsforhope]

Literally begging anyone who can vote in US elections to vote, and to vote against Trump. Which means voting for Harris, not abstaining or voting third party.

My family actually did move here from an authoritarian country, where voting literally didn't matter, they literally did throw out your vote, and they literally did assassinate citizens who spoke out against them.

We would all very much like to keep living in a country where those things are not the case!

You know, the same things that Trump and his stooges have openly said they want to do. And two of the main propaganda lines for why people in the US shouldn't vote, which is a lie.

Voting matters. The parties are not the same.

And make sure to vote in down-ballot races!!!

And like. The fact that voting matters in the US is a very real reason for hope. It is something you should genuinely appreciate. We can make a difference.

And a lot of people risked their lives or even died to earn that right, and it's a right not everyone has.

[ngdrb]

[politijohn]

Source

Source

The disregard politicians are showing especially to those who they hired to help them succeed and to their constituents…corrupt and rotten.

[mysharona1987]

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put forward a new regulation to limit bank overdraft fees. The CFPB pointed out that the average overdraft fee is $35 even though majority of overdrafts are under $26 and paid back with-in 3 days. The new regulation will push overdraft fees down to as little as $3 and not more than $14, saving the American public collectively 3.5 billion dollars a year.

The Environmental Protection Agency put forward a regulation to fine oil and gas companies for emitting methane. Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas, after CO2 and is responsible for 30% of the rise of global temperatures. This represents the first time the federal government has taxed a greenhouse gas. The EPA believes this rule will help reduce methane emissions by 80%

The Energy Department has awarded $104 million in grants to support clean energy projects at federal buildings, including solar panels at the Pentagon. The federal government is the biggest consumer of energy in the nation. The project is part Biden's goal of reducing the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030. The Energy Department estimates it'll save taxpayers $29 million in the first year alone and will have the same impact on emissions as taking over 23,000 gas powered cars off the road.

The Education Department has cancelled 5 billion more dollars of student loan debt. This will effect 74,000 more borrowers, this brings the total number of people who've had their student loan debt forgiven under Biden through different programs to 3.7 Million

U.S. Agency for International Development has launched a program to combat lead exposure in developing countries like South Africa and India. Lead kills 1.6 million people every year, more than malaria and AIDS put together.

Congressional Democrats have reached a deal with their Republican counter parts to revive the expanded the Child Tax Credit. The bill will benefit 16 million children in its first year and is expected to lift 400,000 children out of poverty in its first year. The proposed deal also has a housing provision that could see 200,000 new affordable rental units