#Your 3rd party candidate would effectively have to become a member of one of the two major parties to get anything done

[tishinada]

US politics and history time for a moment...

The people who want to claim that voting for Biden would mean they supported genocide remind me a great deal of the people in the 1830s - 1860s in the North who wanted immediate abolition because they believed slavery was a sin and God would hold them guilty of that sin if they didn't oppose slavery. This sometimes resulted in them supporting 3rd party candidates that, SURPRISE!, did nothing but push the election toward the most rabid pro-slavery candidates.

You know what most of those moral anti-slavery people didn't care about? What happened to Black Americans. They were concerned only about their own guilt, not Black Americans' welfare.

None of these people making this a moral issue now show any signs of caring what happens to Palestinians OR to all of the other groups that will suffer if the dumpster wins instead.

Biden can't wave his hand and make it go away because the US doesn't have unilateral power worldwide (though some Americans seem to believe that, sigh.) There are limits on his powers, especially since he has to negotiate with a hostile House of Representatives. He has chosen what is actually a pretty effective route and fought for at least some aid to get to Palestinians. And currently he has *some* leverage with the Israelis.

The question you should be asking yourself if you really care about genocide is which choice will do the most to help the Palestinians? Do you really think the dumpster would do even as much as Biden? Or would he be actively helping them and every other imperialist country (*cough*Russia*cough*)? And who else will suffer if he wins that would not under Biden?

If that isn't what matters most to you, then you're no different from the moral abolitionists and other Northerners who wanted slavery restricted (because it depressed wages for free white men) but also wanted to make it illegal for African Americans to move into new states like Ohio and Indiana and Illinois (racism and fears of wage competition.) Or to ship them to Africa, no matter how many generations had been in the US?

It's not idealism. You're self-centered and egotistical and actively choosing evil if you think "punishing" Biden is the result of not voting.

Vote pragmatically. Vote strategically. Vote with the welfare of the most people possible in mind.

[outlanderalien]

Sorry for getting Political again but i just want to summarise some frustrations i’m getting over the current Leadership Contest in the UK, which is likely to put Boris Johnson in the position of Prime Minister.

In any sane or kind world, Boris Johnson would never get the opportunity to become PM. But we are in strange times. 

The reason he’s getting so far and the reason he’s likely to become PM is because of Brexit and Brexit alone. That absolute political behemoth.

I will not be taking sides of Leave or Remain here, not because i want to be neutral or because i’m trying to appease, but because the massive gaping divide within the country due to Leave and Remain is the cause for this mess in the first place and i simply refuse to feed into that.

Leave and Remain was not a Left wing or Right wing policy, it’s very important to remember this. 

There are Remainer Tories and Leaver Tories, Remainer Labour MPs and Leaver Labour MPs. 

Since the Tories held the referendum, it became their policy to Leave, however there were many members who did not support or vote for Leave within the Tory party and actively fought against the Brexit process, the infighting made the conservatives weaker and the Brexit progress slowed, angering many Brexiteers. 

Meanwhile, Labour was having their own division as it’s leader Jeremy Corbyn was a public Euro-skeptic but was facing calls to turn his party into a remain party, since the Conservatives had now made ‘Leave’ their duty. But Corbyn was reluctant to make his parties policy Remain, and the party became very vague and confusing on its stance on Brexit, which angered a lot of Remainers. 

This leaves many MPs and voters politically homeless, and lead to Conservative/Labour Brexiteers defecting to the Brexit Party who promise a decisive and clean break from the EU through No-Deal. 

Meanwhile many Conservative/Labour Remainers defected to the Liberal Democrats who promise a 2nd referendum and peoples vote.

Both parties faced a mass exodus.

If the promises of No-Deal and 2nd Referendum were so powerful in attracting voters, why did the main 2 parties decide not to make those their policies? Well, unfortunately both those policies are flawed. 

As Brexit stands, we have a deal from the EU, that failed to be voted for in Parliament. This means the only effective and quick way to cut ties with the EU, is to force a No-Deal Brexit, this is what the Brexit Party want, and it is essentially a self-destruct button. Not to mention forcing a No-Deal would require shutting down parliament, which is utterly undemocratic.

As for a 2nd referendum, deciding to ignore the results of a referendum will never go down well with the public. No matter what your logic is, what your reasoning is, deciding that the result of a referendum wasn’t the right answer and re-doing it will make people furious and will cause rioting in the streets. What will happen if Remain win but by a very similar margin? or if the voter turn-out is considerably less than before. There will be calls for a 3rd referendum, riots, civil war essentially. It’s a non-option unless we want even more chaos.

This leaves only one reasonable option: Take the deal we’ve been given. The only reason it couldn’t get through parliament was because some MPs wanted a No-Deal and some MPs hoped for a 2nd Referendum, the deal itself wasn’t terrible. But no one, absolutely no one wants to hear that. 

After the recent European elections, the main two parties, Labour and Conservative, were absolutely knocked out of the water. The Brexit party and the Liberal Democrats popularity soared. And unfortunately, this meant that the two main parties got scared, and decided they needed to win back voters, by mimicking these third-parties.

Labour has now decided to take on a more obvious remain stance, while all the Tory leadership candidates- who are vying for the position of Prime Minister- decided to appeal to the Brexit party by promising a No-Deal. There was only one candidate who refused to entertain the concept of No-Deal (Rory Stewart), but because of that, he was forced out of the race and despite his promise to deliver Brexit, he was considered a Remainer for not wanting to destroy the UK.

The Tory party is now drifting further and further right to win support from the Brexit Party, while the Labour party is going further and further Left to win support from the Lib-Dems. This leaves us with a gaping hole in the center ground. There is no in-between, there is no moderate, there is only one extreme or the other and both threaten to damage the UK irreparably.

Now enter Boris Johnson.

A political candidate who refuses to give a straight answer on his Brexit plan but has insisted we will be leaving this year on the 31st of October, with or without a deal. He refuses to answer questions on ‘how’ and has snubbed several live debates in an attempt to hide the fact that he doesn’t know what to do. 

He has a cult of followers who think he’s funny and interesting, he’s been publicly endorsed be Donald Trump and he’s well known for being able to insult and anger his allies and enemies alike since he literally has no filter. 

He’s incompetent but people don’t care. He’s vacuous, but people don’t care. He’s a literal clown but people don’t care. 

People are divided and are running to the extremes. We need moderate politics now more than ever.

[jonjost]

A year and some has passed since my last Pastoral, and in some sense it seems as if nothing has changed, though in truth much has changed.  For the worse. The Trump administration, dogged with endless scandal and corruption, simply doubles down. Mired in a cesspool of moral and ethical offenses and plain old crimes, the nation seems stunned, our political parties paralyzed.  Offense on offense is dumped in the public lap, a myriad of impeachable acts are done and while the air is sour with alarm, almost nothing has happened to confront the new reality.  Yet there is a reason for this stasis, one which curiously is what provokes it.

Starved dead whale in OregonFrom Bette Gordon’s Variety

The ascendancy of Trump, seen by many as an aberration,  a slap in the face to our sense of civil decorum, was in reality simply an unveiling of ourselves.  For decades America has been corrupt and rotted to the core – not just the hard-right business oriented sorts, but our nice soft liberals as well.  On the right the military industrial complex and its endless wars, was encouraged to expand since there was much profit to be made from it, and few raised a complaint.  Now President Eisenhower’s Farewell speech warning has come to full flower, and both Republicans and Democrats genuflect to the military, while civilians pay their taxes and utter “Thank you for your service” while veterans, utterly abandoned after that “service”, commit suicide at such rate that far more have died that way than in combat.

On the liberal side the corruption can be seen in universities which have become secondary to their football and basketball teams, where grade inflation and cozy “legacy” admissions warp the fabric of education.  It can be seen in the empty gestures toward “green” behavior, with recycling and hybrid cars and endless feel-good symbolic acts which utterly fail to address the reality that America is a vicious militarist/capitalist system which seizes 25% of the globe’s resources to serve 4.4 % of the world’s population.   To effect any real change requires a drastic down-sizing of American consumption, something which even the most liberal of Americans will not consider. They will say instead that the 25% must simply be more equitably distributed, not that we need to cut back 80% to properly fit our population.  It is a moral corruption no less damning than the rude billionaire’s club of the Republican’s.

Neo-Nazi rally, NCNavy Seal acquitted of murdering Iraqi prisoner

While many “good” Americans abhor Trump, and many others celebrate him, the brutal truth is that he is a symptom, an ugly scab which reveals the broad, deep decadence which has been building in American society for decades, and which while transparently evident for all that time, was discreetly ignored or minimized, as being something which a minority of other people did, and never oneself. Corruption was a flaw of 3rd world places, or Italy or Turkey. It was the kind of lie familiar in totalitarian states in which the official truth is known by all be be false, but has to be accepted for survival.  Americans imagined themselves mystically different but they were not.  While the nation built a vast military empire, visible and obvious, everyone paid their taxes, and few protested. The unacknowledged benefits were simply too enticing, and besides, resisting would just be too much bother and risk.

Since the end of World War Two, Americans have lived in a fantasy bubble, perceiving themselves ever as the good guys, the white-hat cowboy come to save the damsel in distress.  After all we’d gone to Europe’s and Asia’s defense, beating the Krauts and the Japs, sacrificing our youth for others.  Our story.  Never mind it was the Soviet Union which sacrificed endlessly more and did the job in Europe, and never mind it was Japanese over-reach which cost them their war.  But for we Americans, nope, it was our glorious GI’s that turned the tide, and won the day.  Westerns.  We, in our own minds, come what may, were always the good guys.

John Wayne

As the world slowly pieced itself back together after the conclusion of the war, America was essentially a back-door socialist society, recovered from the Depression-era ravages of capitalism run amok thanks to the WPA, Social Security and myriad other government props deliberately devised to save capitalism from itself.  Coupled with the steroid boost of vast government spending (debt) to conduct the war – factories for building ships, tanks, planes, all constructed on the government dime – the USA emerged as an industrial power-house with virtually no competition. It had all been leveled by the war, save for what was left in the USSR.  And together, entering the ’50’s America propagated its myths to the globe, and to itself.

USA USA USA  #1 #1 #1.

And America, and much of the rest of the world, fell for it.  We were the shining beacon, the city on the hill, the biggest economy, the champion of democracy, the general all-around do-good guys of the 50’s.  Everybody loved us and we loved us.  Or at least so we told ourselves.

Charles Sheeler

The fifties cemented America’s self-image as the benign biggest bestest country ever, the melting pot, the energetic inventive nation that had thrown off the shackles of old-world corruptions, tossed the aristocracy on the dung heap of history, and was innocent and pure.  We gave generously to others, developed the Marshall Plan for Europe, and turned Japan into a nation of Peaceniks.

We were a Norman Rockwell painting.

We were, of course, utterly self-deluded, mired in the propaganda we had issued about ourselves to others.  We were the knights riding in on white horses saving the world from the scourge of Nazism and the Yellow Peril.  We wore the white hats, dammit.

I recall in high-school having a final “civics” test which had 100 questions, two of which were the same question phrased differently – it asked why is/was/will be American foreign policy always be formed for the good of the other countries.  I replied it isn’t/wasn’t and wouldn’t be, citing some of the warped history they had taught me – for example, the Spanish-American war, which among other things was the first Gulf of Tonkin trick, to be deployed but a few years later.  I “missed” this question twice, and one other about who wrote the Virginia Bill of Rights.  3 questions of 100.  I was flunked.  As I recall I took the matter to the administration but I don’t remember the result.  The old lady teacher was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

  Andy WarholRichard Avedon

Danny Lyons

In the 50’s, creeping through the back-door of French colonialism, we took over their role in Indo-China, largely in secret. At the same time we overthrew the elected government of Iran, installing an erstwhile Shah who did our bidding and was duly celebrated as modernizing ancient Persia.  Our fingers were in Africa and Central and South America, propping up useful dictators.  This however did not show up much to the American mind until the 60’s.  Pieces occasionally slipped by the censors, but most of America’s dirty work was kept well from view, and what was not was always justified by the Cold War, in which the USSR, our former ally, was demonized.  Anything was justified to stop “communism.”  And stopping communism was a good excuse to construct a global empire, all in the name of doing good.

Thomas Eakins

The 60’s brought an abrupt ending to America’s introverted dream of itself as the perfect Ozzie and Harriet land of white-bread harmony.  Instead the fixed verities of the 50’s were up-ended as kids grew their hair long, disdained Mad Ave proprieties, and the civil rights movement flared into open warfare against the deep long racist reality of the nation.  The “cultural” war was on, challenging the status-quo assumptions of the country regarding race, sex, money, and myriad other “givens” of our society.  The seeds for a decades long tectonic shift in what America really is, and how it perceives itself, were planted.

Dallas, 1963Detroit, 1967Los Angeles, 1968Chicago, 1968

Even more frightening for those who found the 50’s a nirvana of normalcy, the actual demographics of the nation were changing colors: the country was slowly becoming non-white.  Women were demanding equal status.  The old verities of a patriarchal, racist culture were collapsing and anger was in the air.   It still is.

The Vietnam war coupled with the civil rights movement, rapidly joined by feminists and gays and other deprived elements of our society quickly ripped the veneer of 1950’s propriety to shreds and laid bare the hypocrisies of the nation.  It continues to this day, now shrieked out in headlines quoting the erstwhile President with racist diatribes and misogynist vomit.  The 1970’s roiled the nation in the wake of the 60’s and in rode a familiar figure, the cowboy in the white had, to the rescue.  This particular cowboy was about as authentic as Wild Bill Cody, hailing from Illinois and Hollywood, a showbiz shill for General Electric and other corporate interests.  Sporting an aw-shucks demeanor and an All-American down-home fake accent, Ronald Reagan offered respite from nearly two decades of turmoil.  He promised a Shining City on the Hill and trickle-down economics, and except for his own kind – the rich – he actually took a piss on the rest.  All the promised showers were golden.

In America’s seeming zig-zag politics – Reagan begot a one-term Bush which led to led to “good old (iberal) boy” Clinton, a sorta two-term “left” wobble that boomeranged to a two-term “right” Bush,  Cheney’s inside-job 9/11,  briefly stunning the nation into a seeming unity until the real Bolton intent was made clear with a fraudulent WMD claim war, the catastrophic invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the deep fractures in our social comity stepped  up into the glare of the spotlight. Soured on Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” liberals united behind the unheard of a silver-tongued black candidate, and Obama, at best a center-Republican of yore inside, was readily voted in, the Establishment’s Harvard-trained Manchurian Candidate, who deftly pulled the wool over the fawning liberals so pleased with themselves for showing their I-am-not-a-racist credentials for having voted for him.  Of course he could move in next door, though a guy from the hood with a boom box doing rap at the BBQ might not be so welcome.

Obama policies, liberal on the identity politics side, pro Wall Street and hard-core military-industrial complex War War War on the foreign policy side, (but for Obama discreetly, with drones, off-the-books, black-ops, not spoken of lest the liberals notice) managed to flummox the nation.  We were, said he and others, now post-racial.  For eight years it became socially unPC to murmur anything that could be interpreted as racist or sexist or any violation of someone’s norms.  While ample signs pointed to the volcano just beneath the surface of our shared politics, the elite of the Beltway chose not to see it. In private they spoke of “deplorables” and simply missed what had been going on for 40 years behind their backs, off in the backwaters of “fly-over” land, that “globalization” had decimated and left behind. (Read William Kittredge’s 1998 book Who Owns the West for a prescient early view of this.)

Helen Frankenthaler

The flim-flam snake-oil salesman is embedded into our culture as deeply as anything: American as apple-pie.  Right down to our bedrock myths of ourselves, the scrappy pilgrims who built up New World from scratch.  Forget about the millions of indigenous people who were already here; forget about the millions of slaves.  And so on – it is a tired myth woven of lies and self-delusion.  Presently we are experiencing its death throes, the shudder of a centuries old society as it faces the mirror and cannot face the image which returns its stare.  We are brutal. We are ugly.  We are evil.

We are 4.4% of the world’s human population sitting on 7% of its landmass and gorging on 25% of the world’s resources.  We do this by having had the economic weight and military force to seize these resources by blackmail, extortion, military threats and when those fail, pure military force.  We have done it for some centuries now.  We are an empire, and as usual, an evil one.  Like all empires we pretend we’re the guys in white hats.

An honest history of ourselves tells us this was always so, and that the heroic stories we concocted for ourselves were false.  But before we bow out, we have a last show-biz conman to survive and his millions of followers, many or them allegedly devout Christians who wallow in resentment and hatred, while clutching the Cross.  Hypocrisy, if one reads our history well, is as American as apple pie too.

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong, The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work, The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck, The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands, The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown, The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing, Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly, Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

                                                                                                               Walt Whitman

Our poet laureate sang his songs, enticing, beautiful.  And they offered one of the many threads which make up the tapestry of our communal delusion.  These days his self-celebration has curdled, as it has now many times, into a narcissism of feel-good gestures – yoga and recycling and solar panels and panels of Norman Vincent Peale emulators speaking the newest hip phrases of the same old balm.  Atop the curdled pop culture of our time sits a vulgarian impressario, a narcissist of the first rank, ready to lead his base of last-gasp old white racists over the buffalo cliff, taking everyone with him.

America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing. America two dollars and twentyseven cents January 17, 1956. I can’t stand my own mind. America when will we end the human war? Go fuck yourself with your atom bomb. I don’t feel good don’t bother me. I won’t write my poem till I’m in my right mind. America when will you be angelic? When will you take off your clothes? When will you look at yourself through the grave? When will you be worthy of your million Trotskyites? America why are your libraries full of tears? America when will you send your eggs to India? I’m sick of your insane demands. When can I go into the supermarket and buy what I need with my good looks? America after all it is you and I who are perfect not the next world. Your machinery is too much for me. You made me want to be a saint. There must be some other way to settle this argument. Burroughs is in Tangiers I don’t think he’ll come back it’s sinister. Are you being sinister or is this some form of practical joke? I’m trying to come to the point. I refuse to give up my obsession. America stop pushing I know what I’m doing. America the plum blossoms are falling. I haven’t read the newspapers for months, everyday somebody goes on trial for murder. America I feel sentimental about the Wobblies. America I used to be a communist when I was a kid I’m not sorry. I smoke marijuana every chance I get. I sit in my house for days on end and stare at the roses in the closet. When I go to Chinatown I get drunk and never get laid. My mind is made up there’s going to be trouble. You should have seen me reading Marx. My psychoanalyst thinks I’m perfectly right. I won’t say the Lord’s Prayer. I have mystical visions and cosmic vibrations. America I still haven’t told you what you did to Uncle Max after he came over from Russia. I’m addressing you. Are you going to let your emotional life be run by Time Magazine? I’m obsessed by Time Magazine. I read it every week. Its cover stares at me every time I slink past the corner candy store. I read it in the basement of the Berkeley Public Library. It’s always telling me about responsibility. Businessmen are serious. Movie producers are serious. Everybody’s serious but me. It occurs to me that I am America. I am talking to myself again.

Asia is rising against me. I haven’t got a chinaman’s chance. I’d better consider my national resources. My national resources consist of two joints of marijuana millions of genitals an unpublishable private literature that jetplanes 1400 miles an hour and twentyfive-thousand mental institutions. I say nothing about my prisons nor the millions of underprivileged who live in my flowerpots under the light of five hundred suns. I have abolished the whorehouses of France, Tangiers is the next to go. My ambition is to be President despite the fact that I’m a Catholic.

America how can I write a holy litany in your silly mood? I will continue like Henry Ford my strophes are as individual as his automobiles more so they’re all different sexes. America I will sell you strophes $2500 apiece $500 down on your old strophe America free Tom Mooney America save the Spanish Loyalists America Sacco & Vanzetti must not die America I am the Scottsboro boys. America when I was seven momma took me to Communist Cell meetings they sold us garbanzos a handful per ticket a ticket costs a nickel and the speeches were free everybody was angelic and sentimental about the workers it was all so sincere you have no idea what a good thing the party was in 1835 Scott Nearing was a grand old man a real mensch Mother Bloor the Silk-strikers’ Ewig-Weibliche made me cry I once saw the Yiddish orator Israel Amter plain.

Everybody must have been a spy. America you don’t really want to go to war. America its them bad Russians. Them Russians them Russians and them Chinamen. And them Russians. The Russia wants to eat us alive. The Russia’s power mad. She wants to take our cars from out our garages. Her wants to grab Chicago. Her needs a Red Reader’s Digest. Her wants our auto plants in Siberia. Him big bureaucracy running our filling stations. That no good. Ugh. Him make Indians learn read. Him need big black niggers. Hah. Her make us all work sixteen hours a day. Help. America this is quite serious. America this is the impression I get from looking in the television set. America is this correct? I’d better get right down to the job. It’s true I don’t want to join the Army or turn lathes in precision parts factories, I’m nearsighted and psychopathic anyway. America I’m putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.

                                                                        Allen Ginsburg, Berkeley, January 17, 1956

  American Pastoral #29 A year and some has passed since my last Pastoral, and in some sense it seems as if nothing has changed, though in truth much has changed. 

[gpm-maam]

RVC9 Column

From Mike Wong, RVC9

Dear Region 9, as of the writing of this month’s RVC column, I would have finally finished the requirements of becoming a Proctor.  GLAAM had just finished training 2 proctors in our area when both members decided to move to other areas for personal reasons.  That left us in a bit of a hole because we also just had 2 other long time proctors retire from “active service”, which left us with only 1 active proctor for a very large area (currently 3rd largest local group).  As with many other volunteer positions within local groups, usually one person who has been serving the position of testing coordinator and proctor tends to stay in the role for a long stint with no attempt to seek replacements, so when he/she inevitably has to leave the role the group has to scramble to find someone else to do the important job.

I promptly turned in my proctor application and began the rather long process of getting certified as a proctor.  One of the requirements of becoming a proctor is that candidates have to observe 2 Mensa tests being administered by an actual proctor (we can substitute one of these with online training), while we also have to be observed giving 2 real tests by a proctor.  Since GLAAM offers only 1 test per month, this usually takes a minimum of 3 months.  It actually took me 6 months because I missed 2 test sessions due to trips to Hong Kong, and there was a month when we did not schedule a test.  This lengthy process makes building a thriving testing program for a local group difficult because when the only proctor leaves, a proctor from out of the area needs to come to help train the new crop.

The Mensa admission testing is one of the most effective ways to recruit new members and the National Mensa awards groups for conducting testing.  A local group gets $25 each month if they have at least one testing session, and an additional $15 is paid for each individual who takes the test (except for candidates using free testing vouchers).  So in addition to getting new members, local groups can use this as a extra source of income.  For smaller local groups, this extra money can be quite significant.

So if you have a four year degree and any interest in volunteering for this important program, contact your Local Secretary or Testing Coordinator for more information.

Finally, it is almost time for the Annual Gathering.  This year it will be held at Indianapolis from July 4th to 8th.  To those who have never been to an Annual Gathering, it is one of the most fun and enjoyable experience you can have as a Mensa member.  Every year, around 2000 Mensans gather on July 4th weekend for a giant 5 day party for non-stop revelry.  I hope I will see you at Indy and some of you will consider coming to my Region 9 meet and greet.

[todaynewsstories]

Georgian presidential front-runner aims at multilateralism to thaw frozen conflicts | Europe| News and current affairs from around the continent | DW

Salome Zurabishvili is an independent candidate for the Georgian presidency endorsed by the Georgian Dream party. Born in Paris to a family of Georgian emigres, she was educated in France and served as a career diplomat, and was appointed ambassador of France to Georgia in 2003. She left that post to become a foreign minister in then-President Mikheil Saakashvili‘s government (2004-2006). Expected to emerge victorious in last Sunday’s elections, she is now facing a runoff election after narrowly placing first.

DW’s Zhanna Nemtsova spoke with Zurabishvili about how the country has changed since Saakashvili’s era and what she thinks about recent criticism of her French accent in Georgian.

Deutsche Welle: You position yourself as an independent candidate, but you are supported by the ruling party “Georgian Dream,” which is chaired by Georgia’s richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who controls the country politically. So you’re an independent candidate only rhetorically, aren’t you?

Salome Zurabishvili: I am independent. I presented my candidature before the ruling party made a decision whether to present one of their own or to support someone. That doesn’t change me and my principles.

Read more: Georgia set for runoff vote between ex-French envoy and government critic

So you are not controlled by Bidzina Ivanishvili?

I’ve not been controlled by anyone in my life. I’m not going to be controlled by Mr. Ivanishvili because I didn’t have any agreement with him before being supported. I didn’t have any preconditions.

You quit politics in 2010 and you were quoted as saying there is no effective democracy in the country. Has Georgia become more democratic in a decade after Saakashvili stepped away?

Of course.

So the fact that Ivanishvili controls everything does not prevent Georgia from stepping away from democratic principles?

He doesn’t control more than Saakashvili did – in his time he controlled also the parliament. Today there are two strong opposition parties in the parliament that have their say. There are some local authorities that are not controlled and the media are not controlled at all, although they used to be one hundred percent in the hands of Saakashvili. Today you have five television stations that are in the hands of the opposition. So we are now in a free-expression democratic country, where maybe the balance of power is not yet good enough, where there should be more multipartyism. That’s what Georgia has always wanted to be heading for.

Your program touches upon many different issues, including the problem of occupied territories (Editor’s note: Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared their independence from Georgia in 2008, which was recognized by Russia) and the NATO accession. Do you really think that you can bring some change in this respect?

The president has, if anywhere, a big power of representation in the foreign policy. And I know this field quite well from my past posts in France and Georgia. I know that it depends a lot on personal initiatives, ideas and contacts – three things plus the experience which I have. But now in this case it will depend on our relationship with our European and American partners. It doesn’t depend on a direct new type of relationship with Russia that would be “go alone without those partners.” And we have to try to figure out with our partners what would be the new ways for Georgia to move from this rather stagnant situation where we couldn’t do anything with these occupied territories.

It’s almost every other day that we have people abducted from there. We have to discuss with the European mission (Editor’s note: EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia) what additional measures could be taken without demarcating a border because that’s our red line.

Read more: Georgia slams Russian ‘occupation’ ahead of NATO war games

You were born in France and were a French career diplomat who became a Georgian politician. Your relatives moved to France in the beginning of the 20th century; they were political emigrants. Why were they forced to flee the country back then?

My grandparents moved to France because of the Russian aggression after the first independence of Georgia in 1918. Three years of independence were crushed by the invasion of the Russian army. At that time people who were in the government or around the government left to Turkey. They thought they would keep the government in exile alive in order to be able to return as soon as the Russian army would be defeated. This exile took longer than they thought. Turkey remained with Russia at that time.

And then the Georgian official immigration had to move to France, which was a country that continued to recognize the government in exile the longest, until 1974. But the treaty that France signed with Russia in 1974 included a clause that said that France had to stop officially recognizing the government in exile. Still, the immigration stayed in France, which remained a main host country for the Georgian political emigration.

What could you respond to those who criticize you or just make a remark that your Georgian is not perfect, that you have some French accent?

The first time I came to Georgia I was 36 years old. I had learned Georgian in my family and then by myself by reading and translating. And during my youth we had practically no contact with Georgians except for those living in the immigration. There was no social network, there were no TVs. So the language was really “home based.” So I’m quite proud of it. I’ve been living in the country for 16 years, I’ve been a foreign minister, I’ve been elected as a member of the parliament and it’s very interesting that the criticism has started just two months ago. I have an example of the Latvian President [Vaira] Vike-Freiberga who returned to her country, Latvia, from Canada. She was also criticized for her language. And she was elected president and brought Latvia to the EU and NATO. So I’m ready to be criticized if I can manage the same result.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

Georgia, melting pot of cultures

Multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious: This is Georgia. The breathtakingly beautiful country between the Caucasus and the Black Sea is one of the oldest settlement areas of mankind. Today about 3.7 million people live in this small country with its magnificent nature and culture.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

The capital Tiblisi

The metropolis of Tbilisi is Georgia’s cultural centre. And it has been since the 5th century. The city has known Roman, Arab, Turkish, Persian and other conquerors. Russia invaded Georgia in 1799 and remained there until the end of the Soviet era. They all left their traces. Tbilisi celebrates the present day with new constructions such as the Peace Bridge and the Concert Hall (right).

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

Old town and fortress

Since the 3rd century, the Narikala fortress has kept watch over the old town with the typical balconies and carvings on the houses. The panorama path up to the fortress leads through a labyrinth of alleys. The massive castle has seen conquerors come and go, was destroyed and rebuilt again and again. Only a lightning strike in the powder warehouse (1827) turned it into a ruin.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

Where the royals resided

The Metekhi Virgin Mary Church can be seen on the steep bank of the Kura, which flows through Tbilisi. From the 12th century, the residence of the Georgian kings was located on this site, as is indicated by the equestrian monument next to the church. It depicts King Vakhtang Gorgasali, the founder of Tbilisi. In 1937, under Soviet rule, the residence was demolished. The church survived.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

700 years of bathing culture

The Abanotubani district with its hot thermal springs is considered the oldest part of Tbilisi. The springs have been used for 700 years. The Persian-style bathhouses were built later, in the 17th century. The bathing rooms are located under the domed brick vaults. A number of them are still in use today and are a popular meeting place to bathe and chat.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

7,000 years of wine cultivation

They are called Chinuri, Chichwi or Orbeluri. Grape varieties from Georgia enjoy an excellent reputation. The largest wine-growing areas are in the east of the country, in Kakheti. Archaeological finds prove that wine was cultivated in Georgia over 7,000 years ago. And even this very day wine is cultivated in amphorae. UNESCO declared this method an intangible cultural heritage.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

70 years of Soviet rule

When you travel through the country, you will encounter relics from Soviet era: Houses, factories, monuments or, as here, this viewing platform on a former military road near Kazbegi mountain. All of them stone testimonies. Georgia was part of the Soviet Union for 70 years – until 9 April 1991, when the people voted for independence in a referendum.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

Hiking in the Caucasus

The most diverse landscapes and climate zones are concentrated in the most compact area; from the mountain villages of the Caucasus to the beaches of the Black Sea. Almost half of Georgia is covered with forest. Two thirds of the country is mountainous, with several 5,000 meter (16,404 ft) peaks. Numerous nature reserves and national parks make Georgia a worthwhile destination for hikers.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

A remote UNESCO World Heritage Site

2,200 meters above sea level, in the Great Caucasus, lies Ushguli – “Courageous Heart”; a community of four villages with roots dating back to the 16th century BC. Ushguli is considered to be the highest situated permanently inhabited place in Europe. Since 1996, the villages with their characteristic fortified towers have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

Vardzia – city in the rock

Up to 50,000 people lived in the cave town of Vardzia. It lies in the south of Georgia. It was built in the 12th century as a fortress to defend against Turks and Persians. It was carved by hand with simple tools into a 500 meter high rock face, seven storeys above each other. There were bakeries, stables, a treasury and a church.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

The old capital of Kutaisi

160 kilometers from the Black Sea coast lies the old capital of Georgia, Kutaisi. It was the residence of the Georgian kings from the 10th century until 1122. Many are buried here. Churches, monasteries, palace ruins and the well-preserved medieval townscape make this city worth a visit. Today it is the economic and cultural center of West Georgia.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

Coastal town of Batumi

The Black Sea coast. The climate is mild Mediterranean. The port city of Batumi, the third largest city in Georgia, beckons you to take a stroll along the beach. The promenade is flanked by art objects. It is not the only contrast. Between the derelict residential buildings, huge malls and luxury residential buildings are being built. A well-known real estate mogul has invested here: Donald Trump.

Georgia – a holiday destination between the Caucasus and the Black Sea

Hospitality & traditions

More than twenty different ethnic groups live in Georgia, including Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Arameans, Jews and Greeks. They brought their traditions and customs with them. And the Georgians? They love their own traditions and do not miss a single festival to wear their traditional costumes. They celebrate passionately – with traditional music and dances. Folk festivals are always a spectacle.

Author: Anne Termèche (sbc)

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[democratsunited-blog]

Obama urges people to vote Democratic in ‘pivotal’ midterm election

https://uniteddemocrats.net/?p=9638

Obama urges people to vote Democratic in ‘pivotal’ midterm election

OBAMA DIVES IN — Former President Barack Obama took a big public step back into electoral politics on Friday, saying in a speech in Illinois that the midterms will be “one of those pivotal moments when every one of us as citizens of the United States need to determine just who we are, what it is that we stand.” He also publicly critiqued President Donald Trump by name for the first time since leaving office, calling him a “symptom, not the cause” of the ugliness of American politics. Obama reserved his sharpest criticisms for the Republican party at large. My colleague Edward-Isaac Dovere: “It’s about Republicans ‘who know better in Congress … bending over backwards to shield’ Trump. They’re hypocrites, he said, and they’re just as dangerous to America. At times mocking them and at times laying into them, Obama said they’ve abandoned all that they’re supposed to stand for as Republicans, and as citizens of this country.”

He then headed west to California, hosting a rally Saturday for seven Democrats seeking to win seats currently held by the GOP. “I gave a long speech yesterday,” Obama said Saturday. “Today is a different role. Today, really what I want to do is highlight the extraordinary collection of candidates who have decided to step up.” But as POLITICO’s David Siders noted, Republicans saw some upsides in 44’s Golden State swing: “Although Hillary Clinton carried the districts of all seven candidates featured at the rally during her 2016 presidential bid, Obama lost five of them in 2012, carrying only the two competitive districts in California’s Central Valley. Obama lost California’s Orange County twice. Of his return appearance, said Rob Pyers of the California Target Book, which handicaps races in California, ‘I’m not sure it’s helpful.’ ‘It seems like a gift’ to the National Republican Congressional Committee, he said.”

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The reaction from Trumpworld has been muted, at least by the standards of this White House. Vice President Mike Pence pooh-poohed Obama’s appearances: “It was very disappointing to see President Obama break with the tradition of former presidents and become so political and roll out the same tired arguments that he and liberals have made over the last eight years,” he said on “Fox News Sunday,” despite working in an administration that sometimes revels in breaking tradition. Trump himself has largely held his fire. During a campaign stop in North Dakota on Friday, the president said that he “fell asleep” during his predecessor’s speech. Trump himself best summed up what Republicans are feeling about Obama’s return to the national stage: “If that doesn’t get you out to vote for the midterms, nothing will.”

Good Monday morning. A big congrats to everyone’s favorite Senate reporter James Arkin, who got married over this weekend. In lieu of wedding gifts, send him your best scoops once he returns later this week. As always email me at zmontellaro@politico.com or DM me at @ZachMontellaro.

Email the great Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, dstrauss@politico.com and jarkin@politico.com and mseverns@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @PoliticoScott, @ec_schneider, @DanielStrauss4, @JamesArkin and @MaggieSeverns.

Join POLITICO for a special Playbook Elections event in Ohio on 9/20 to discuss how the 2018 midterm elections are shaping up. RSVP here.

Days until the 2018 election: 57.

Upcoming election dates — Sept. 11: New Hampshire primaries. — Sept. 12: Rhode Island primaries. — Sept. 13: New York (state-level) primaries.

BIG MONEY — The Koch network is adding another arm to its constellation of conservative groups. Campaign Pro’s Maggie Severns: “The new super PAC, AFP Action, will give the Koch network’s largest arm — Americans for Prosperity — significantly more leeway to push lawmakers directly on political issues, adding another tool to AFP’s arsenal at a moment when the Koch network is trying to assert its power in Washington. … The new super PAC has been under discussion for some time and does not affect the Koch network’s already-set plans to spend $400 million on politics and policy this election cycle, spokesman Bill Riggs said.”

NO DETENTE — The DCCC has pledged to not used hacked materials in campaigning. But the NRCC? Not so much. The Atlantic’s Natasha Bertrand: “Their Republican counterparts declined to match that commitment, pulling out of the pledge negotiations just days before the oath was finalized and shifting the blame to the Democrats—and to the press. ‘I will say we were close’ to reaching an agreement, said a [NRCC] official familiar with the talks, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters about internal discussions. But ‘one of the major sticking points’ was how to address the press coverage of hacked materials, the official added.”

PRIMARY PREVIEW — With just a couple of primary days left, New Hampshire’s 1st District remains one of the last undecided battleground districts. Campaign Pro’s Elena Schneider previews Tuesday’s Democratic primary: “Democrat Maura Sullivan entered the race for New Hampshire’s battleground House seat as the archetypal candidate of 2018 — but with one nagging problem: She moved to the district in June 2017. … [Democrat Chris] Pappas is, unsurprisingly, emphasizing his local roots and endorsements, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and former Gov. John Lynch. In June, Pappas pledged to raise the majority of his money from inside the state, a move contrasting with Sullivan’s mostly non-New Hampshire fundraising.”

TRUMP ON THE TRAIL — Trump is heading to Mississippi for a rally promoting GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith on Friday, the Mississippi Clarion Ledger’s Geoff Pender reported. Hyde-Smith is facing former Democratic Rep. Mike Espy and Republican Chris McDaniel in the November special election.

PANIC BUTTON — Republicans are issuing an all-hands-on-deck call in a bid to shore up Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) reelection fight against Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke. POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt: “With a string of polls showing GOP Sen. Ted Cruz’s lead slipping, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick showed up in Washington on July 25 to deliver an urgent plea to White House officials: Send President Donald Trump. … The lieutenant governor soon got his wish: Trump announced on Twitter late last month that he was planning a blowout October rally for Cruz, his former GOP rival. …

“Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who’s planning an October fundraiser for Cruz at Washington’s Capital Grille restaurant, said he had a simple directive to GOP givers. … The anti-tax Club for Growth, which spent millions on Cruz during his 2012 Senate bid, has started a seven-figure advertising blitz aimed at tearing down the Democratic congressman. … A handful of other well-funded groups are considering joining the effort, including the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, the Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, the newly formed Senate Reform Fund, and Ending Spending, which in the past has been bankrolled by major GOP financiers including New York City investor Paul Singer.”

THE RARE RED PICKUP? — Republicans are turning to Minnesota for the rare opportunity to play offense in the battle for the House. USA Today’s Nora Hertel and Eliza Collins: “Republicans are working hard to grab Minnesota’s Congressional Districts 1 and 8. President Donald Trump captured both of the mostly white, rural districts in 2016 – District 1 by 15 percentage points and District 8 by 16. Then Republicans got lucky when both Democratic incumbents decided not to run. … National Republicans have deployed their best surrogate – the president – to fire up the base in District 8, while outside groups are pouring money into the state.”

LOOKS FAMILIAR — In a Congressional Leadership Fund ad in Kansas’ 3rd District, a mother said she is fearful of policies promoted by Democrat Sharice Davids. But left out of the ad is the fact that she is a state GOP official. McClatchy’s Bryan Lowry: “What [Alana] Roethle does not say in the ad is that she is secretary of the Kansas Republican Party and a member of the Kansas Lottery Commission, who was appointed to her seat by then-Gov. Sam Brownback in 2015.”

ANTI-VAX GONE MAINSTREAM — Kevin Stitt, the Republican gubernatorial nominee in Oklahoma, expressed skepticism of vaccines. The Daily Beast’s Sam Stein: “Stitt said he personally did not vaccinate some his own kids and opposed legislation that would require vaccinations for children if they wanted to attend public schools. ‘I believe in choice,’ Stitt said … [A spokeswoman] said that Stitt did not believe that vaccinations cause harmful medical side effects — an oft-argued and scientifically baseless claim from vaccine skeptics. The ‘root of his decision,’ she said was the desire for parental choice.”

** Presented by AARP: There’s only one true deciding factor in this year’s elections: 50-plus voters. They won’t be ignored and their votes are up for grabs. Medicare, Social Security, support for family caregivers, and prescription drug costs are all on the line—so you can be sure they’ll be voting in record numbers. aarp.org/vote **

POORLY TIMED PROBLEMS — Ahead of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s contested Democratic primary against Cynthia Nixon, he’s dealing with two problems that his opponents say are emblematic of his tenure. The New York Times’ Jesse McKinley, Shane Goldmacher and Tyler Pager: “[A span of a new bridge] never opened as planned on Saturday as engineers invoked a ‘potentially dangerous situation’. … What had seemed a perfectly orchestrated ribbon-cutting, just days before Thursday’s primary, quickly morphed into a cudgel for the governor’s opponents, who accused him of putting politics above public safety and called for a federal investigation. Then, a second problem erupted for Mr. Cuomo on Saturday, when a flier landed in mailboxes of Jewish New Yorkers: a political mailer, paid for by the State Democratic Party that Mr. Cuomo funds, tying together a photograph of his opponent, Cynthia Nixon, and the loaded words ‘anti-Semitism.’ The flier drew swift rebukes from fellow Democrats as Mr. Cuomo distanced himself from its content.”

UNDER WRAPS — The RNC asked a judge to keep a plan for a potential 2020 recount secret. POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein: “The document was turned over to the Democratic National Committee as part of long-running litigation over the GOP’s alleged use of so-called “ballot security” measures to discourage minority voting. A transcript of a phone conference held in the case last year indicates the memo involves designation of particular counties as ‘high risk’ or ‘medium risk’ during a potential recount. Democratic Party lawyers said the selection of those counties raised the specter of the race-focused efforts the RNC agreed to abandon more than three decades ago.”

WALKER ON THE ROPES? — After several attempts, Democrats are convinced that this is the year they finally knock off GOP Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin. POLITICO’s Natasha Korecki: “The signs that Walker is ripe to be taken down are everywhere. His opponent, Schools Superintendent Tony Evers, has a slight lead in recent polls and there’s evidence that critical suburban voters are shifting leftward. … Just as important, Democrats are running a populist candidate they believe is made for the moment — Evers, who built momentum from decisively winning a crowded primary and went on to raise $1 million in his first week as the nominee. … The governor’s real soft spot in his bid for a third term, however, might be his 2016 run for president. …

“Walker’s durability and resilience — he’s been running and winning tough elections since his early 20s — inspires confidence among Republicans. He’s the last man standing among a Wisconsin GOP triumvirate who ascended to national prominence in the Obama era only to see their fortunes sputter during the Trump presidency.”

2020 WATCH — Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has taken two moves that signal he’s eying a presidential bid: He’ll headline the Iowa state party’s fall gala and has dispatched staffers to help Democratic candidates in the state, via The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs.

CODA — FACT OF THE DAY: 100 women could be elected to the House for the first time ever this cycle, with projected GOP losses being more than offset by projected Democratic gains, via Dave Wasserman.

** Presented by AARP: Americans 50 and over are the nation’s most powerful voting bloc. In fact, more than 60 million of them voted in 2016—and this year, they’re more motivated than ever to making sure that their voices are heard in Washington. They’re frustrated with broken government. And they’re fed up with politicians who’d rather get into fights than get results. The issues they care about most including Medicare, Social Security, support for family caregivers and prescription drug costs, are all on the line. America’s 50-plus voters have put the candidates on notice. Anyone who ignores them will feel it on Election Day. aarp.org/vote **

Read full story here

[orvalesmond2573-blog]

Are Residence Inspections Mandatory?

. Exclusive groundworks are actually legally needed to earn particular minimal distributions yearly. That is actually obligatory due to the fact that this are going to give a glimpse from the brochure to your target audience. Although the heaps of bugs are actually not risky for your health, they are the definition of an undesirable domestic duty to scrub and also care for. While each from the states' rules designates which firms should supply pestering instruction, Maine requires the training at companies of simply 15 staff members or more. Your appeal has to usually meet the HMCTS within one schedule month of the time that the mandatory reconsideration notice was sent to you. Due to the fact that the Internal Revenue Service gives possibilities that are beneficial to the citizen, they have created an extremely strict set of criteria and requirements that direct the available applications from income tax alleviation for a taxpayer. It also showcases quick and easy integration along with 3rd party requests, that's online search engine pleasant, it has ultimate security functionality, it offers commercial assistance through training as well as learning, and also this enables monitoring from content by final user (i.e. you). Registered medical practitioners, nurse practitioners, midwives, a person signed up as a teacher or even a very early childhood instructor under the Education and learning and also Training and also Reform Action 2006 or instructors approved approval to instruct under that Act; leaders from government or non-government institutions within the significance of the Education and learning as well as Instruction Reform Action 2006; as well as polices. Yet future insolvency problems along with Social Security has made it required to gradually improve the old age to acquire your total Social Protection benefits (i.e. revenue). 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A lot of the companies routinely carry out training for their workers on the different operations and tasks on health and safety yet having health & security signage in workplaces as well as organisation parks helps staff members in times of demand. Required training maintains protection recognition at a maximum for nurse practitioners as well as look after workers. . The judge will usually give a mandatory ruling in the adhering to conditions; candidate will definitely endure serious damage if the very same is actually not given, 2. The candidate will probably succeed at hearing; participant will definitely certainly not accumulate cost which will be actually out of proportion to the applicant's damage. This is actually why The Health and Safety Team has brought in Necessary Instruction obtainable and budget-friendly. Prohibitory injunction needs the various other party to refrain from performing something e.g. ordering the other individual certainly not to release a post etc Book keeping is among the absolute most strong devices when it concerns taking full advantage of tax savings. Certainly not only does the strategy changes to the training however some level procedure as well as technique improvements at the same time.

[melindarowens]

Election Day

With Zach Montellaro, Elena Schneider, Daniel Strauss and Maggie Severns

The following newsletter is an abridged version of Campaign Pro’s Morning Score. For an earlier morning read on exponentially more races — and for a more comprehensive aggregation of the day’s most important campaign news — sign up for Campaign Pro today. (http://www.politicopro.com/proinfo)

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WHAT TO WATCH — “5 things to watch in the Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races,” by Campaign Pro’s Kevin Robillard and POLITICO New Jersey’s Ryan Hutchins: “The premiere election of 2017 could steel Democrats’ spines Tuesday night — or break their hearts. A win in the tight, closely watched Virginia governor’s race between Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie would reassure the party that it can win big campaigns again and has momentum heading into the 2018 midterms. But a defeat — especially after Northam led public polling throughout the campaign in a state President Donald Trump lost last year — would be a huge psychological blow to a Democratic Party still reeling from the 2016 presidential election. As an extra gut punch, a Gillespie win would likely put a whopping 27th state government under full Republican control. Democrats are also overwhelmingly favored to take back the governorship in New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie is wildly unpopular and has dragged down Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in her race against Democrat Phil Murphy. … Northam’s home turf …. Gillespie’s southwestern strength … Not going national in Northern Virginia … Does Trump-style campaigning work in blue states like New Jersey? … The Christie effect.” Full story.

— The polls close at 7 p.m. Eastern Time in Virginia and 8 p.m. in New Jersey.

— Republicans looking to keep turnout low in Virginia: Gillespie’s chances at the governorship, several Republicans said, depend more on low Democratic turnout than anything else. And it’s clear the GOP is working to make that happen. Last night, Americans United for Values, a GOP group that has played most in Republican primaries in the past, paid for a push poll highlighting Northam’s breaks with liberal orthodoxy, including his decision to back pipelines, his votes for George W. Bush before the start of his political career and his recent decision to come out against sanctuary cities. That follows the Gillespie campaign paying to push Democracy for America’s recent public break with Northam, and an effort by black Republican leaders to discourage black voters from supporting Northam.

— Big spike in Latino, Asian early voting, per Voter Participation Center: The Voter Participation Center, which works to turn out members of the so-called “Rising American Electorate,” is out with an analysis showing some segments of the Democratic base are voting early at a higher rate than in 2013. The “Rising American Electorate” is making up 42 percent of the early vote in 2017, compared to 40 percent in 2013. The share of the early vote from people of color is up from 13 percent to 16 percent. And the raw totals for Latino and Asian early vote are up 114 percent and 195 percent, respectively. Full analysis here.

— WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE FOR NOT VOTING? — “Judge grants Gates temporary release from house arrest to vote,” by Cristiano Lima: “A federal judge granted former Trump campaign official Rick Gates, who is under house arrest after being charged with money laundering and other counts in the federal Russia probe, permission to leave his Virginia home to vote in the state’s Tuesday elections.” Full story.

— VIRGINIA POLLS IN AT THE WIRE — The last wave of Virginia gubernatorial polls were all released yesterday, all showing Democrat Ralph Northam with a razor-thin to comfortable lead over Republican Ed Gillespie. A Quinnipiac poll has Northam up 51 percent to Gillespie’s 42. Northam leads 51-45 in a Christopher Newport University poll. A Fox News poll conducted by Anderson Robbins Research and Shaw & Company Research has Northam leading by five, 48 percent to 43 percent. Monmouth University’s poll has just a 2 percent gap, with Northam leading 47 percent to 45 percent.

— And in New Jersey: Quinnipiac also released a poll in New Jersey giving Democrat Phil Murphy a commanding 53 percent to 41 percent lead of Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in today’s gubernatorial battle. The poll survied 662 likely voters between Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 and has a margin of error of 5.2 percent.

DOWNBALLOT DEBRIEF — “For Democrats, Virginia’s Elections Are a Petri Dish,” by Maggie Severns and Kevin Robillard in POLITICO Magazine: “In Virginia, at least, it’s going to be an uphill climb. For years, Democrats haven’t even managed to field candidates to contest every seat. In 2017, Democratic candidates have stepped up to run for 54 of the Republicans’ 66 seats in the state legislature — more than double the number of challengers for those seats in 2015 — in an attempt to break the GOP’s 20-year grip on the House of Delegates, the lower chamber of Virginia’s General Assembly. The surge of interest, driven by antipathy to the president, has drawn support from national groups — both traditional Democratic organizations like EMILY’s List and new-wave ‘resistance’ operations like Flippable — which are pouring resources into helping even long-shot challengers like [Tia] Walbridge. … The math seems simple enough: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won 17 seats held by Republican delegates in 2016, and Democrats need to claim 17 seats to win back control of the chamber. But this is not a presidential election year, when Democrats usually enjoy a higher turnout all over the country. And no party has picked up more than seven seats in a single House of Delegates election since 2001. Republicans now predict they’ll limit losses to four seats or fewer, while Democrats think they have a chance to pick up as a many as 10. In either scenario, Republicans will retain their majority — but even a small a Democratic surge would be read nationally as a harbinger of a blue wave to come.” Full story.

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH — “15 elections you should be watching,” by Steven Shepard: “St. Petersburg Mayor … Atlanta Mayor … Maine: Question 2 (Medicaid expansion) … Boston City Council District 1 … Minneapolis Mayor/St. Paul Mayor … New Hampshire: Manchester Mayor … New Jersey: State Senate 3rd District … New York: Proposal 1 (Constitutional Convention) … New York: Nassau and Westchester County Executives … Ohio: Issue 2 (Drug prices) … Utah: 3rd Congressional District … Virginia: State House of Delegates 13th District … Washington: State Senate 45th District.” Full story here.

Today is election day 2017.

Days until the 2018 election: 364.

Thanks for joining us! You can email tips to the Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, krobillard@politico.com, dstrauss@politico.com and mseverns@politico.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @danielstrauss4 and @maggieseverns.

[GUIDE TO TAX REFORM] Easily understand and explain tax reform. Tax reform is complicated, to say the least. Download POLITICO Pro’s Guide to Tax Reform and become an expert. Includes six tax-related infographics. GET YOUR GUIDE TO TAX REFORM.

GETTING IN — “McSally tells colleagues she’s in for Flake’s seat,” by the Arizona Capitol Times: “McSally told her fellow Republicans from Arizona’s US House delegation today that she’s going to run for US Senate, two sources close to the delegation told our reporter this afternoon. The sources said McSally did not provide a timeline for when she will announce her candidacy. ‘It must be very soon if she’s telling people,’ one source said. As of the end of the third quarter of 2017, McSally had raised more than $2.8 million for the 2018 election cycle, and had nearly $1.5 million on hand. Kelli Ward is already in the race, while Gosar, Regent Jay Heiler, former AZGOP Chairman Robert Graham, former Congressman Matt Salmon and former Congressman John Shadegg are considering running for Flake’s seat as well.”

THAT POLL-TIME RELIGION — “After a Tough 2016, Many Pollsters Haven’t Changed Anything,” by The New York Times’ Nate Cohn: “A year after polls broadly overestimated Hillary Clinton’s strength in the decisive Rust Belt battleground states, top pollsters and analysts across the survey industry have reached a broad near-consensus on many of the causes of error in the 2016 presidential election. But so far, public pollsters — typically run by news outlets and colleges — have not changed much about their approach. Few if any of the public pollsters that conducted surveys ahead of Tuesday’s elections for governor in Virginia and New Jersey appear to have adopted significant methodological changes intended to better represent the rural, less educated white voters who pollsters believe were underrepresented in pre-election surveys.” Full story.

— “No Winner In Debate Over Data Analytics and Traditional Polling,” by WPA Intelligence’s Chris Willson in Campaigns and Elections: “Polling can tell you what some of those issues are, but it can’t tell you with the same precision whom to target. That’s where data analytics comes in. Survey research and predictive analytics are complementary tools, not competitors. Traditional polls allow any campaign to make a few big decisions well. Predictive analytics tools allow them to make many small decisions well. When both tools are used to their fullest, a campaign maximizes its chances at victory.” Full story.

NUMBERS THE DCCC WILL LIKE — A Washington Post/ABC News poll gives a generic Democratic candidate 51 percent over a generic Republican’s 40 percent in a House ballot question.

DEPT. OF BIO VIDEOS — Kit Seryak, veteran, launches in OH-16: Republican Kit Seryak, who served in Afghanistan, rolled out his bio video this week, featuring news coverage of NFL football players kneeling during the national anthem. “I’ll fight each and every day, both for our Constitutional rights and for what this country stands for, but for me, this is the appropriate place to take a knee,” Seryak says, as he kneels before the grave of his grandfather, who served in World War II. The ad also includes news footage that says there are “fewer veterans serving in Congress now than at any time in at least the last 50 years.” Watch the video here.

— Kaniela Ing, state legislator, kicks off HI-01 bid: Democrat Kaniela Ing, a state representative who endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, is launching his own bid to replace Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who’s running for governor. “When I was around 12 years old, my father passed away unexpectedly, so my mom was left to caring for four children and our grandmother on her own. We relied on our community and government programs,” Ing says in a two-minute bio video, produced by Bill Hyers and Matt McLaughlin. “People are waking up to the fact that their voice is being silenced by a handful of wealthy elites,” Ing says. Watch the video here.

NEWS FEED — Weintraub urges tech companies to submit comments to FEC: Democratic FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub urges Facebook, Google and Twitter to weigh in during a comment period the FEC recently opened about online ad disclosure. The comment period is approaching a November 9 deadline. The volume and quality of comments received by the commission could determine whether or not the FEC makes new regulations pertaining to online ads in response to Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections. “I want to personally renew my request that Facebook participate,” Weintraub says in the letter. “It would be particularly helpful to receive information regarding the current state of Facebook’s advertising technology, its ability to provide disclaimer information on paid political advertising, and how these may have changed since the Commission’s 2006 internet rulemaking and since Facebook’s 2011 advisory opinion request to the FEC.”

MENENDEZ WATCH — “Menendez corruption trial goes to jury,” by John Bresnahan in Newark: “With the New Jersey Democrat’s career and freedom hanging in the balance, his defense lawyer said Monday that Menendez’s relationship with Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida ophthalmologist, was a longstanding friendship — not a corrupt connection, as claimed by the Justice Department. … A federal prosecutor countered that Menendez did Melgen’s bidding in return for bribes, saying Melgen ‘paid Bob Menendez to be his personal U.S. senator.’ … Menendez later expressed optimism to reporters as he left the courthouse. ‘I think my defense attorney did an amazing, extraordinary job. I was watching the jury’s faces, and they were very receptive,’ Menendez said. ‘I think the government floundered in their closing statement. I’m looking forward to the jury’s decision.’” Full story.

2018 WATCH — “Dallas County sheriff Lupe Valdez emerges as potential challenger to Gov. Greg Abbott,” by the Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek: “In an interview Monday, Valdez described herself as ‘in the exploratory process,’ looking at the data for a potential run against the Republican incumbent. ‘I’ve been approached and I’m listening,’ she said. There are 35 days until the candidate filing deadline for the 2018 primaries, and Texas Democrats are looking for a serious contender to take on Abbott. Valdez said she believes it’s ‘time for a change’ in GOP-dominated state government. … First elected in 2004, Valdez is serving her fourth term as sheriff of Dallas County, the second most populous county in the state and a Democratic stronghold. She is one of only a few female sheriffs in Texas and the only Hispanic female sheriff in the country.” Full story.

AIR WAR — DGA-affiliated group goes up in Pennsylvania: America Works USA, a 501(c)(4) group affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association, is reserving broadcast time between Wednesday and Dec. 12, according to Advertising Analytics. So far, the group is spending $1.06 million in Pittsburgh and Scranton. The group is an issue-oriented organization affiliated with the DGA. It’s previously run ads in Pennsylvania.

— Downing goes up in Montana: Troy Downing, a veteran who’s running for the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, has gone up with 60-second biographical ads highlighting his military service after 9/11 and his business career. Downing also met with Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump this weekend, per his Twitter. Watch the ad here.

—NEW THIS MORNING — AAN adds $3 million on TV for tax reform: American Action Network is out with another $3 million in TV ads backing tax reform, bringing its total spending on boosting the GOP’s plan to $18 million. The ads will air in 35 House districts, a mix of battleground and leadership seats. “Shortly after my husband got cancer – I lost my job. We were lucky to make it through, but we spent our life savings just to get by,” says a woman featured in the ad. “So, we’re glad Congress has released a plan that helps families like ours by cutting middle class taxes. Check out the full list of targeted districts here. Watch the ad here.

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The state of Virginia economy, under Democrat rule, has been terrible. If you vote Ed Gillespie tomorrow, it will come roaring back!” — President Donald Trump, on Twitter.

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source https://capitalisthq.com/election-day/ from CapitalistHQ http://capitalisthq.blogspot.com/2017/11/election-day.html

[everettwilkinson]

Election Day

With Zach Montellaro, Elena Schneider, Daniel Strauss and Maggie Severns

The following newsletter is an abridged version of Campaign Pro’s Morning Score. For an earlier morning read on exponentially more races — and for a more comprehensive aggregation of the day’s most important campaign news — sign up for Campaign Pro today. (http://www.politicopro.com/proinfo)

Story Continued Below

WHAT TO WATCH — “5 things to watch in the Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races,” by Campaign Pro’s Kevin Robillard and POLITICO New Jersey’s Ryan Hutchins: “The premiere election of 2017 could steel Democrats’ spines Tuesday night — or break their hearts. A win in the tight, closely watched Virginia governor’s race between Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie would reassure the party that it can win big campaigns again and has momentum heading into the 2018 midterms. But a defeat — especially after Northam led public polling throughout the campaign in a state President Donald Trump lost last year — would be a huge psychological blow to a Democratic Party still reeling from the 2016 presidential election. As an extra gut punch, a Gillespie win would likely put a whopping 27th state government under full Republican control. Democrats are also overwhelmingly favored to take back the governorship in New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie is wildly unpopular and has dragged down Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in her race against Democrat Phil Murphy. … Northam’s home turf …. Gillespie’s southwestern strength … Not going national in Northern Virginia … Does Trump-style campaigning work in blue states like New Jersey? … The Christie effect.” Full story.

— The polls close at 7 p.m. Eastern Time in Virginia and 8 p.m. in New Jersey.

— Republicans looking to keep turnout low in Virginia: Gillespie’s chances at the governorship, several Republicans said, depend more on low Democratic turnout than anything else. And it’s clear the GOP is working to make that happen. Last night, Americans United for Values, a GOP group that has played most in Republican primaries in the past, paid for a push poll highlighting Northam’s breaks with liberal orthodoxy, including his decision to back pipelines, his votes for George W. Bush before the start of his political career and his recent decision to come out against sanctuary cities. That follows the Gillespie campaign paying to push Democracy for America’s recent public break with Northam, and an effort by black Republican leaders to discourage black voters from supporting Northam.

— Big spike in Latino, Asian early voting, per Voter Participation Center: The Voter Participation Center, which works to turn out members of the so-called “Rising American Electorate,” is out with an analysis showing some segments of the Democratic base are voting early at a higher rate than in 2013. The “Rising American Electorate” is making up 42 percent of the early vote in 2017, compared to 40 percent in 2013. The share of the early vote from people of color is up from 13 percent to 16 percent. And the raw totals for Latino and Asian early vote are up 114 percent and 195 percent, respectively. Full analysis here.

— WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE FOR NOT VOTING? — “Judge grants Gates temporary release from house arrest to vote,” by Cristiano Lima: “A federal judge granted former Trump campaign official Rick Gates, who is under house arrest after being charged with money laundering and other counts in the federal Russia probe, permission to leave his Virginia home to vote in the state’s Tuesday elections.” Full story.

— VIRGINIA POLLS IN AT THE WIRE — The last wave of Virginia gubernatorial polls were all released yesterday, all showing Democrat Ralph Northam with a razor-thin to comfortable lead over Republican Ed Gillespie. A Quinnipiac poll has Northam up 51 percent to Gillespie’s 42. Northam leads 51-45 in a Christopher Newport University poll. A Fox News poll conducted by Anderson Robbins Research and Shaw & Company Research has Northam leading by five, 48 percent to 43 percent. Monmouth University’s poll has just a 2 percent gap, with Northam leading 47 percent to 45 percent.

— And in New Jersey: Quinnipiac also released a poll in New Jersey giving Democrat Phil Murphy a commanding 53 percent to 41 percent lead of Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in today’s gubernatorial battle. The poll survied 662 likely voters between Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 and has a margin of error of 5.2 percent.

DOWNBALLOT DEBRIEF — “For Democrats, Virginia’s Elections Are a Petri Dish,” by Maggie Severns and Kevin Robillard in POLITICO Magazine: “In Virginia, at least, it’s going to be an uphill climb. For years, Democrats haven’t even managed to field candidates to contest every seat. In 2017, Democratic candidates have stepped up to run for 54 of the Republicans’ 66 seats in the state legislature — more than double the number of challengers for those seats in 2015 — in an attempt to break the GOP’s 20-year grip on the House of Delegates, the lower chamber of Virginia’s General Assembly. The surge of interest, driven by antipathy to the president, has drawn support from national groups — both traditional Democratic organizations like EMILY’s List and new-wave ‘resistance’ operations like Flippable — which are pouring resources into helping even long-shot challengers like [Tia] Walbridge. … The math seems simple enough: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won 17 seats held by Republican delegates in 2016, and Democrats need to claim 17 seats to win back control of the chamber. But this is not a presidential election year, when Democrats usually enjoy a higher turnout all over the country. And no party has picked up more than seven seats in a single House of Delegates election since 2001. Republicans now predict they’ll limit losses to four seats or fewer, while Democrats think they have a chance to pick up as a many as 10. In either scenario, Republicans will retain their majority — but even a small a Democratic surge would be read nationally as a harbinger of a blue wave to come.” Full story.

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH — “15 elections you should be watching,” by Steven Shepard: “St. Petersburg Mayor … Atlanta Mayor … Maine: Question 2 (Medicaid expansion) … Boston City Council District 1 … Minneapolis Mayor/St. Paul Mayor … New Hampshire: Manchester Mayor … New Jersey: State Senate 3rd District … New York: Proposal 1 (Constitutional Convention) … New York: Nassau and Westchester County Executives … Ohio: Issue 2 (Drug prices) … Utah: 3rd Congressional District … Virginia: State House of Delegates 13th District … Washington: State Senate 45th District.” Full story here.

Today is election day 2017.

Days until the 2018 election: 364.

Thanks for joining us! You can email tips to the Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, krobillard@politico.com, dstrauss@politico.com and mseverns@politico.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @danielstrauss4 and @maggieseverns.

[GUIDE TO TAX REFORM] Easily understand and explain tax reform. Tax reform is complicated, to say the least. Download POLITICO Pro’s Guide to Tax Reform and become an expert. Includes six tax-related infographics. GET YOUR GUIDE TO TAX REFORM.

GETTING IN — “McSally tells colleagues she’s in for Flake’s seat,” by the Arizona Capitol Times: “McSally told her fellow Republicans from Arizona’s US House delegation today that she’s going to run for US Senate, two sources close to the delegation told our reporter this afternoon. The sources said McSally did not provide a timeline for when she will announce her candidacy. ‘It must be very soon if she’s telling people,’ one source said. As of the end of the third quarter of 2017, McSally had raised more than $2.8 million for the 2018 election cycle, and had nearly $1.5 million on hand. Kelli Ward is already in the race, while Gosar, Regent Jay Heiler, former AZGOP Chairman Robert Graham, former Congressman Matt Salmon and former Congressman John Shadegg are considering running for Flake’s seat as well.”

THAT POLL-TIME RELIGION — “After a Tough 2016, Many Pollsters Haven’t Changed Anything,” by The New York Times’ Nate Cohn: “A year after polls broadly overestimated Hillary Clinton’s strength in the decisive Rust Belt battleground states, top pollsters and analysts across the survey industry have reached a broad near-consensus on many of the causes of error in the 2016 presidential election. But so far, public pollsters — typically run by news outlets and colleges — have not changed much about their approach. Few if any of the public pollsters that conducted surveys ahead of Tuesday’s elections for governor in Virginia and New Jersey appear to have adopted significant methodological changes intended to better represent the rural, less educated white voters who pollsters believe were underrepresented in pre-election surveys.” Full story.

— “No Winner In Debate Over Data Analytics and Traditional Polling,” by WPA Intelligence’s Chris Willson in Campaigns and Elections: “Polling can tell you what some of those issues are, but it can’t tell you with the same precision whom to target. That’s where data analytics comes in. Survey research and predictive analytics are complementary tools, not competitors. Traditional polls allow any campaign to make a few big decisions well. Predictive analytics tools allow them to make many small decisions well. When both tools are used to their fullest, a campaign maximizes its chances at victory.” Full story.

NUMBERS THE DCCC WILL LIKE — A Washington Post/ABC News poll gives a generic Democratic candidate 51 percent over a generic Republican’s 40 percent in a House ballot question.

DEPT. OF BIO VIDEOS — Kit Seryak, veteran, launches in OH-16: Republican Kit Seryak, who served in Afghanistan, rolled out his bio video this week, featuring news coverage of NFL football players kneeling during the national anthem. “I’ll fight each and every day, both for our Constitutional rights and for what this country stands for, but for me, this is the appropriate place to take a knee,” Seryak says, as he kneels before the grave of his grandfather, who served in World War II. The ad also includes news footage that says there are “fewer veterans serving in Congress now than at any time in at least the last 50 years.” Watch the video here.

— Kaniela Ing, state legislator, kicks off HI-01 bid: Democrat Kaniela Ing, a state representative who endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, is launching his own bid to replace Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who’s running for governor. “When I was around 12 years old, my father passed away unexpectedly, so my mom was left to caring for four children and our grandmother on her own. We relied on our community and government programs,” Ing says in a two-minute bio video, produced by Bill Hyers and Matt McLaughlin. “People are waking up to the fact that their voice is being silenced by a handful of wealthy elites,” Ing says. Watch the video here.

NEWS FEED — Weintraub urges tech companies to submit comments to FEC: Democratic FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub urges Facebook, Google and Twitter to weigh in during a comment period the FEC recently opened about online ad disclosure. The comment period is approaching a November 9 deadline. The volume and quality of comments received by the commission could determine whether or not the FEC makes new regulations pertaining to online ads in response to Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections. “I want to personally renew my request that Facebook participate,” Weintraub says in the letter. “It would be particularly helpful to receive information regarding the current state of Facebook’s advertising technology, its ability to provide disclaimer information on paid political advertising, and how these may have changed since the Commission’s 2006 internet rulemaking and since Facebook’s 2011 advisory opinion request to the FEC.”

MENENDEZ WATCH — “Menendez corruption trial goes to jury,” by John Bresnahan in Newark: “With the New Jersey Democrat’s career and freedom hanging in the balance, his defense lawyer said Monday that Menendez’s relationship with Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida ophthalmologist, was a longstanding friendship — not a corrupt connection, as claimed by the Justice Department. … A federal prosecutor countered that Menendez did Melgen’s bidding in return for bribes, saying Melgen ‘paid Bob Menendez to be his personal U.S. senator.’ … Menendez later expressed optimism to reporters as he left the courthouse. ‘I think my defense attorney did an amazing, extraordinary job. I was watching the jury’s faces, and they were very receptive,’ Menendez said. ‘I think the government floundered in their closing statement. I’m looking forward to the jury’s decision.’” Full story.

2018 WATCH — “Dallas County sheriff Lupe Valdez emerges as potential challenger to Gov. Greg Abbott,” by the Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek: “In an interview Monday, Valdez described herself as ‘in the exploratory process,’ looking at the data for a potential run against the Republican incumbent. ‘I’ve been approached and I’m listening,’ she said. There are 35 days until the candidate filing deadline for the 2018 primaries, and Texas Democrats are looking for a serious contender to take on Abbott. Valdez said she believes it’s ‘time for a change’ in GOP-dominated state government. … First elected in 2004, Valdez is serving her fourth term as sheriff of Dallas County, the second most populous county in the state and a Democratic stronghold. She is one of only a few female sheriffs in Texas and the only Hispanic female sheriff in the country.” Full story.

AIR WAR — DGA-affiliated group goes up in Pennsylvania: America Works USA, a 501(c)(4) group affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association, is reserving broadcast time between Wednesday and Dec. 12, according to Advertising Analytics. So far, the group is spending $1.06 million in Pittsburgh and Scranton. The group is an issue-oriented organization affiliated with the DGA. It’s previously run ads in Pennsylvania.

— Downing goes up in Montana: Troy Downing, a veteran who’s running for the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, has gone up with 60-second biographical ads highlighting his military service after 9/11 and his business career. Downing also met with Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump this weekend, per his Twitter. Watch the ad here.

—NEW THIS MORNING — AAN adds $3 million on TV for tax reform: American Action Network is out with another $3 million in TV ads backing tax reform, bringing its total spending on boosting the GOP’s plan to $18 million. The ads will air in 35 House districts, a mix of battleground and leadership seats. “Shortly after my husband got cancer – I lost my job. We were lucky to make it through, but we spent our life savings just to get by,” says a woman featured in the ad. “So, we’re glad Congress has released a plan that helps families like ours by cutting middle class taxes. Check out the full list of targeted districts here. Watch the ad here.

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The state of Virginia economy, under Democrat rule, has been terrible. If you vote Ed Gillespie tomorrow, it will come roaring back!” — President Donald Trump, on Twitter.

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from CapitalistHQ.com https://capitalisthq.com/election-day/

[albertowymer-blog]

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[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/michael-moore-wants-discombobulate-donald-trump/

Michael Moore wants to "discombobulate" Donald Trump

It sounds like a scene that's right out of a horror movie: Michael Moore wants to "discombobulate" Donald Trump. With that phrase I was thinking of a scene like the end of 1995's "Braveheart" movie. However thoughts of gore and torture ceased when I stopped using a private definition of "discombobulate" and looked up the universal one: turns out that all "discombobulate" means is "to confuse" someone. Michael Moore outlined a step-by-step sequence at his Facebook page on Wednesday titled "HOW TO STOP TRUMP." In the post, Moore lists several calls to action. He recommends phoning congress every day, going to town hall meetings, joining forces with friends for "RAPID RESPONSE," and several other strategies for effecting political change on the American landscape. Lastly, Moore advises people to "JOIN THE ARMY OF COMEDY" because Trump has "massively thin skin." According to Moore: "I truly believe the final tipping point for Trump will be when he implodes from all the laughter -- the mocking, the unbearable ridicule of tens of millions of Americans that will discombobulate him and force him out of the White House" (February 22nd). On the comedy front, Trump certainly doesn't seem to be a fan of Saturday Night Live. I don't know if he was before he became president, but he has to be less of a fan now that Alec Baldwin is doing his part to "discombobulate" Trump. The actor has portrayed Trump in numerous skits over the last few months, all of which have lampooned Trump either as president or president-elect. Trump sidekicks Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway haven't exactly been portrayed too favorably either. There has been a lot of discussion in the media about Trump's reaction to being made of fun, discussion that would suggest that Moore is right when it comes to trying to discombobulate the president. Deadline's Greg Evans wrote an article in early December titled "Donald Trump Still Hates Alec Baldwin’s ‘SNL’ Impression" (December 3rd). More recently, Motherjones.com talked about the SNL skit where Steve Bannon was portrayed as Death: "Donald Trump Is Going To Hate This Saturday Night Live Skit So Much" their headline read (February 4th). Both headlines give some insight into the president and he is definitely a weird politician in the sense that he seems completely ill-prepared to handle the lampooning that comes with holding public office. https://twitter.com/MMFlint/status/833479265689669635 It could be that his life as a corporate monster, someone who is used to being feared, hasn't prepared Trump to be ridiculed. Maybe Moore is right that comedy will "discombobulate" President Touchy. On that note, Trump jokes have become a thing with Trump's hair central to some punchlines: (1) The USA shall over-comb! (2) Mess with the states and there will be hell toupee! (3) Hair Force One (jokes4us.com) (4) Hair to the Throne One joke I made up that doesn't have to do with hair probably requires some explanation for most. Me: "Why didn't Trump get far into 'Moby Dick'?" You: "Why?" Me: "He doesn't like anyone named Ishmael." (Explanation: the very first line in "Moby Dick" is "Call me Ishmael." It's an acclaimed opening to a novel, because it really pulls you in. It's like - okay is your name actually Ishmael? If not, then why should I call you it? Once you ask yourself those questions, you're hooked for a bit. If you find the joke discombobulating, it has to do with the travel ban to the USA and Ishmael being a name that I think would be common enough in the countries that were targeted.)

This is what Michael Moore wrote on how How To Stop Trump:

1. THE DAILY CALL: You must call Congress every day. Yes - YOU! 202-225-3121. It will take just TWO MINUTES! Make it part of your daily routine. It's even better to try their direct line. For Senators, find their numbers here: http://bit.ly/2kko0Ao. For the direct line to your Congressman/woman in the House of Representatives: http://house.gov/representatives. But here’s the best way to call them: Go to the App Store and get "5 Calls". The app will dial the friggin' phone for you and give you talking points for when you speak to your reps. Remember -- a call a day keeps the Trump away. 2. THE MONTHLY VISIT: To add even more pressure, SHOW UP! Your member of Congress has a local office in your town or somewhere nearby. So do both of your U.S. Senators (often in the nearest federal building). Go there and ask to speak to them or their aides about the issues you care about. And when they have a town hall meeting, be there! 3. YOUR RAPID RESPONSE TEAM: You and 5 to 20 friends must form a Rapid Response Team so that when we need to leap into action (like we did at the airports the hour after Trump signed his Muslim Ban), we can email and text those closest to us to make an instant plan. 4. JOIN! JOIN! JOIN!: If you haven’t already, it’s time to join some of our great national groups: Planned Parenthood, ACLU, Black Lives Matter, Democratic Socialists of America, ERA Action, MoveOn.org – the list goes on and on. And all the new groups that have sprung up to fight Trump: IndivisibleGuide.com, TownHallProject.com, Organizing for Action (ofa.us), ActionGroups.net, etc. Go and so many more. Sign up! 5. WOMEN'S MARCH NEVER ENDS: The historic, record-breaking January 21st Women’s March on Washington -- and the hundreds of other Marches that day across the US and the world, with over 4 million in attendance! -- inspired millions and ignited hundreds of local movements. Every day now dozens of actions continue to take place as if the Women's March never ended. It hasn't. Join it! Go to my RESISTANCE CALENDAR (www.resistancecalendar.com) where you can find out what actions are taking place near you. 6. TAKE OVER THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: The old guard of the Party has twice in 16 years presided over the majority of Americans electing the Democrat to the White House -- only for us all to see the losing Republican inaugurated as President. How is it that we have won the popular vote in SIX OF THE LAST SEVEN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS -- the Republicans have only won ONCE since 1988 -- and yet, we hold NO power in any branch of government?! We must elect reform and progressive candidate, Congressman Keith Ellison, as the new DNC chair. Keith is a former community organizer, the first Muslim elected to Congress, and a key backer of Bernie Sanders. Sign his petition of support at www.keithfordnc.org/howyoucanhelp. And locally, you need to start attending your county Democratic meetings. If possible, organize your friends and others and take over your local Democratic organization. 7. LET’S FORM BLUE REGIONS OF RESISTANCE: People keep saying, “I live in a Blue State - what can I do?" Show the rest of America what it could look like in a state where Trump isn't in charge! New York should go ahead and offer Free College for All. California can create its own Universal Health Care. Oregon can stop mass incarceration of African Americans. Hawaii can enact its own climate change laws. Important historical note: Before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal, California and New York passed their own state laws to make it legal. This greatly helped pave the way for CHOICE being the new normal – and, three years later, for the enactment of Row v. Wade. 8. YOU MUST RUN FOR OFFICE: I know, that's the LAST thing you want to do. But if we keep leaving the job up to the dismal, lame, pathetic political hacks who have sold us all down the river, then what right do we have to complain? This is only going to get fixed when you and I decide we are willing to put in our time -- even if it is a brief time -- and run for office. Run for school board, town council, state senate in 2018. I ran when I was 18 and got elected. You can, too. At the very least, run for precinct delegate. The time commitment is just 3 hours a year! Call your city or county clerk and find out how to get on the ballot. If you'll do it, I'll do it. 9. JOIN THE ARMY OF COMEDY: Trump's Achilles heel is his massively thin skin. He can't take mockery. So we all need to MOCK HIM UP! I truly believe the final tipping point for Trump will be when he implodes from all the laughter -- the mocking, the unbearable ridicule of tens of millions of Americans that will discombobulate him and force him out of the White House. I don't know what happened to Trump in boarding school at 13 and I don't care. Whatever it was, let's use it. He's used all the other things he picked up over the years - misogyny, bigotry, greed - against the powerless and the unfortunate. It's time to laugh him outta town. And if there's one thing we all could use right now is a good laugh -- AND the possibility of a much-shortened presidential term. Please share this and spread the word. Follow me on Twitter (@MMFlint) and Facebook (facebook.com/mmflint) and I’ll keep posting ideas on what we all can do. We can stop him. We can nonviolently block and obstruct halt the damage he's doing. But it's going to need -- and take -- ALL HANDS ON DECK! Let's make Trump toast again. -- MICHAEL MOORE Ladbrokes sportsbooks seems to both think and not think that the President Twitter will become discombobulated. Currently, Donald Trump is actually the favorite to win the 2020 election with Ladbrokes. The same betting firm makes Trump a favorite "to leave office via impeachment or resignation before end of 1st term." The two sets of odds seem to be at ends with one another to a certain extent. How can someone be favored to get impeached or to resign and be favored to win the next election? Like Trump is going to get impeached and then win in 2020? Not likely. Could be that it's not just Trump that's discombobulated with everything that's going on. If Trump does resign or get impeached then perhaps political death via lampooning could be a part of that. Chances are that whoever replaces him will be a little thicker skinned with handling the jokes. After all, seasoned politicians know that it comes with the territory.

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[graesays]

We need to talk about Jez

I’m starting to feel like the time has come where we all need to take our head out of the sand and admit what many people have known for a while. Despite every want for him and his politics to succeed, despite everything that local Labour Party members have put to one side to try and allow him a chance at success, despite the beacon of hope that his politics represent for the younger and not previously politically motivated members of momentum. We need to accept that Jeremy Corbyn is not good enough in his current job and for the sake of everyone involved he needs to stand down.

I didn’t vote for him in 2015 (he was my 2nd choice behind Yvette Cooper). I did vote for him in 2016 because I feel he deserved more of a chance to demonstrate what he can do with the party behind him (and Owen Smith was a much worse candidate on balance). But in exchange for that support I gave him last year (to the point of attending his Leeds rally and buying a T-Shirt and badge while telling the people hawking the Socialist Worker to shove their placards up their arses fat end first) I expected him to show that he deserved it, that he would make an effort to make the party about more than his supposed personality cult. I gave him that chance, and he dropped the ball.

The first red flag (now isn’t that ironic) for me was the demotion of Clive Lewis from Shadow Defense to Shadow Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. This was done after Corbyn altered Lewis’ conference speech moments before he was due to deliver it. Clive originally wanted to state that he would not personally seek to change the current policy on Trident renewal (meaning he would leave it for the membership to decide whether to retain the policy, or scrap it in favor of a policy for nuclear disarmament). On Corbyn’s orders, Seumas Milne (Jeremy’s Comms advisor) handed Clive a post-it note moments before he was due on stage to deliver the speech saying that the Trident part of his speech had been changed to pro-disarmament. This in spite of the fact that the original speech was signed off by Jeremy himself prior to conference. Thus proving that in order to cement his views on an issue, he’s willing to throw his supporters under the bus (Lewis being considered as one of the key figures that got Corbyn the required number of nominations from the PLP to enter the leadership race in 2015) (1)

The second issue was his appearance at the Stand Up To Racism rally in October. For those unfamiliar with SUTR, it is a well known front for the Socialist Workers Party (The SWP). Not only do the SWP regularly compete against Labour in elections (as part of the Trade Union & Socialist Coalition, TUSC) but the more relevant issue in regards to Jeremy’s relationship with Labour activists who are also committed Equality & Diversity activists, is that the SWP deliberately attempted to cover-up, then downplay the fact that one of it’s senior members raped two women, and effectively held a donkey trial clearing the man (commonly referred to as Comrade Delta) rather than reporting the matter to the police. Deservedly, the SWP has been shunned by E&D groups and by the majority of Labour MP’s. While links between the SWP and Corbyn/McDonnell/Abbott are nothing new, this was the first time a formally SWP affiliated group had invited Corbyn to speak.

He did initially decline the invitation (he was due to speak in Scotland at the time) but as those plans changed, rather than giving the event the wide berth it deserved, he showed up and gave a speech, this legitimizing a group of institutionalized rape apologists. This for me was the straw that broke the camels back, the moment where he officially lost my support. I am an Equality activist first and a Labour activist second and that will never change. I just felt unable to vocalize my thoughts at the time in the face of how much support he still seemed to have at local level. (2)

From there though, things have only gotten worse. Whether it’s the complete and utter betrayal of his principles by standing aside and allowing the Snoopers Charter to pass into law without anything resembling a fight (John McDonnell voted FOR the bill at 3rd reading!) or obliterating our negotiating abilities on Brexit plans by announcing before amendments had been announced that he would use a 3 line whip to force his MP’s to vote FOR article 50 to be triggered irrespective of the success or failure of the amendments. He’s now suffering the humiliation of seeing Shadow Cabinet members resign and maybe even worse, public declarations of defying the whip coming from the very people responsible for enforcing said whip!

His stance on Article 50 more than any other issue shows that ultimately, he’s in it only for him, his mates and their own views rather than those of the wider party. Many of whom come from constituencies that voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU and will now have to sit and watch their MP’s be forced by the leadership to hand control of the EU negotiations over to the Tories without anything in the way of a serious fight. Killing any chance we might have had to regain ground in Scotland and dealing a major blow to the Northern Ireland Labour Group to contest assembly elections in future. Admittedly he’s caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to this because UKIP are breathing down our necks in previously safe Labour areas, but the bowing down to hard brexit without even the impression of a nuanced consideration of ideas taking place shows complete disregard for the 48% of the nation that voted to remain.

For the party to still be polling considerably lower in popularity than the Tories at this point, after Theresa May defied democracy to become Prime Minister in a way that Gordon Brown never even had a prayer of getting away with from the opposition of the day, after the Trident failure, the Pound falling to one of it’s lowest ever positions against the US Dollar, the ripping apart at the seams of the NHS and a seemingly giddy enthusiasm to sell off our most hard fought for workers and human rights to the lowest bidder is nothing short of an utter embarrasment and it is all down to the lack of ability to lead shown by those at the top.

Rather than just call out Corbyn for his failings, call on him to resign and clock off for the day though, I’m gonna suggest an alternative. It’s a tad radical but it’s an alternative that makes a lot of sense in the current climate the more you think about it, and that suggestion for Corbyn’s successor is the man who was in fact the first victim of his incompetence post leadership election mk2. Clive Lewis is the man who I think should be the next leader of the Labour Party. At face value this sounds like a stupid idea because lets face it, he’s only been an MP for 20 months. That said, have a think about these factors.

Politicians arent exactly the most popular people amongst the general public at the moment. Part of UKIP’s appeal to traditionally working class areas is that they present themselves as an alternative to career politicians (even if those who know their politics can see how much bullshit that claim is coming from a long line of ex-tory backers). Clive would be able to turn his relative inexperience in the house of commons as an advantage in this regard which could mend the party’s public perception.

He would appeal to a large number of those who were motivated to join Labour and Momentum because he self-identifies as a socialist and shares a lot of Corbyn’s values. Helping to ensure that the genuinely impressive rise in engagement by younger party members is not lost when Corbyn steps down.

He will be able to work with those within the party who dont drift as far left as he does. Having demonstrated his ability to do so with his original conference speech where he sought to uphold current Labour policy on trident renewal for as long as it remained the will of party members.

The usual Tory tactic of decrying those who identify as socialists as hating the country will never work when it comes to Clive Lewis as he has served in the Army, and even been on active service in Afghanistan, meaning he has literally laid his life on the line for queen and country, something that would definitely appeal to the type of voter that UKIP is currently working towards attracting.

All these combined mean that he would be able to assemble a Shadow Cabinet that contains the best qualified MP’s in each area. Meaning that we can have the best of both worlds in regards to having a party fronted by a man who personifies the party’s founding values while taking advantage of the broad church in a way that Corbyn and his friends were never able to.

We would be the first major UK party to have a BME leader. However bad their politics are, the fact that the Tories have had two leaders from a minority background and Labour have had none is an embarrasment considering that we are supposed to be the party of Equality & Diversity.

So that’s where I stand. I expect to be disagreed with quite a bit with other Labour members/supporters but whatever your thoughts, ultimately we all want the same thing, and that’s for Labour to succeed and be a party of Government. Hopefully whatever happens, that’s what we will be sooner rather than later because we seriously need them to be right now.

[bikethevote]

Paul Koretz’ Response to Bike The Vote L.A.

Below is 2017 City Council District 5 Candidate Paul Koretz’ full questionnaire response to Bike The Vote L.A.:

1. What role do you see for walking, biking, and transit in improving the lives of Angelenos?

I took a trip with an LA transportation planner friend to China in 1998. We visited a number of cities, most notably Beijing. Their system was one that I would to see us emulate. Millions of people were using bicycles, transit, and walking to get around. People were using bicycles everywhere. It was incredible. Hardly any private ownership of cars.

We met with government leaders and spoke with them about how difficult it was to get the public to move toward bicycles and to create bicycle lanes and paths in a built-out city where streets were designed for cars, like Los Angeles. We explained that we were trying to figure out how to move in their direction transportation-wise, and strongly encouraged them not to copy Los Angeles as they become more affluent and people want private ownership of cars. As the world knows now, they didn’t listen to us. Beijing traffic is a parking lot, and air quality is worse than LA on its worst day ever. Gas masks abound, and one can always see the air.

BICYCLING We need to have a system of bike lanes that is connected enough that less skillful cyclists can get to their destinations without fear of being hit. Right now, most of our system is still bits and pieces. We need to move towards a connected system that would allow a much higher percentage of cyclists to get to their destinations by bicycle. (Personally, I did the 500 mile+ California AIDS Ride, but I don’t possess the skill to ride my bicycle safely to work at City Hall on a major commercial street like Beverly Boulevard without a bike lane). I have helped us to move in that direction. Working with the late Bill Rosendahl, we had the City commit to spending a percentage of our Measure R funds on bicycle and pedestrian improvements, which I believe was a first. I also helped get a substantial grant in the Mid-City West area for bike lane funding. Years ago, I cast the deciding vote to create the bike lanes on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood when I was on the City Council there. I have also been a supporter of bikesharing, and unsuccessfully objected to Los Angeles selecting a different vendor than other Westside Cities. We must make those systems work together for bikesharing to be as effective as possible.

PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS The logical thing to do to help people walk more (remember the song “Nobody Walks in LA”?) is to make crossings safer. As bureaucratic and costly as our process is, I have gotten new traffic signals added, with more in the process of being installed, like those on Pico Boulevard. There are more in the queue, including an important one on La Brea. I have also pushed our transportation bureaucracy to add a few seconds to crossings where senior citizens don’t have enough time. In addition, the City of Los Angeles, at my request, is about to put in a mid-block crossing on Westwood Blvd. between Kinross and Weyburn in the Village, to make one of the most dangerous, frequently jaywalked spots safer. Also, we have abandoned some underground street crossings near schools because of dangers of adults loitering in the crossing and causing trouble. I believe those issues can be overcome and those crossings re-opened.

TRANSIT Like bicycling, but even more so, connectivity is crucial. I believe many more people will use LYFT, Uber, taxis shuttles, bicycles and walking for the last mile, but 5, 10, even 20 mile gaps in our transit system make it almost impossible to rely on these transit options as an alternative to the automobile. Also, some flaws such as the atgrade crossing of EXPO at Overland and Westwood slow north-south traffic while reducing east-west traffic. I fought against that element of the EXPO line once I was elected to Council, but it was already a done deal, and the EXPO Board voted unanimously for the at-grade crossing. I was appointed to the Board after that.

I have helped to get the EXPO Line built while a member of the EXPO Board, and have supported the Purple Line connecting much of my district to transit.

I am pushing for adoption of a different mode of transportation, Personalized Rapid Transit, or PRT, to fill the gaps in our system. It is inexpensive (roughly 20 million dollars a mile!), quick to build, partly because it is largely prefabricated, cheap to maintain, bypasses stops until the destination is reached, and at top speed (with the newest technology being modeled in Tel Aviv) can travel 155 miles an hour. It is a system of above-ground automated vehicles that provide a personally safe environment because, the way in which its designed, you are only physically travelling with your those in your own party. Also, PRT exists in various places in the world, including an older system in Morgantown, West Virginia, which has a history of no fatalities.

A complete PRT system could be built that connects all the gaps in our system in as quickly as five years. This would be critical, not only to quickly address our worsening traffic, but because automobiles create much of our climate-changing air pollution. Climate scientists agree that without reducing our greenhouse gases dramatically within ten years, we may reach the point of no return for human survival. If we can build such a system and get other cities across the country and the world to do the same, we can contribute mightily toward reducing climate change. Also, Measure M does not fully fund the transit lines identified in the Measure, and some will not be built for 20 years or more even if we do get the funding. Using PRT, the entire plan could be funded with only the Measure M money, and the projects could be completed decades ahead of schedule.

A positive development to transit in LA is that millennials seem very willing to abandon automobile usage. If this trend continues, combined with the development of these modes, we may be able to dramatically reduce traffic and air pollution in the coming years.

2. In 2015, Los Angeles approved Mobility Plan 2035, the first update to the Transportation Element of its General Plan since 1999. Mobility Plan 2035 puts “safety first” in transportation decisions, and provides a vision for a transportation system composed of safe and quality transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and automotive options. Do you support the goals of this plan, and how would you like to see the plan implemented in CD5?

Yes, I support the goals of this plan, and have received some blowback from constituents for doing so. Many are angry because of the places where we have reduced a lane of traffic and replaced it with a bike lane, such as on a portion of Palms Blvd. Drivers are inconvenienced and they don’t see many bicycles on the bike lanes. I recognize that it may take some time for both a cultural mindset shift toward thinking more of bicycles as a viable mode of transportation, and greater connectivity of bike lanes to make them a more widely used alternative. It takes some vision.

My answer to question one also describes my vision for implementation of the Mobility Plan in CD5, as well as across the city.

3. Mobility Plan 2035 enacted a ‘Vision Zero’ for Los Angeles, with the goal of eliminating traffic-related deaths within 20 years. In order to meet this goal, LADOT identified a “High Injury Network” to prioritize safety improvements on L.A.’s most dangerous streets. However, after a year and a half, we still haven’t seen much action to reduce transportation-related deaths on City streets. What do you see as the hold-ups for improving safety on Los Angeles streets, and how would you work to address these impediments in reducing speeding to save lives?

The City of LA is using a data driven approach to prioritizing intersections and neighborhoods where a high percentage of traffic fatalities and severe injuries occur. Other government entities, especially LAUSD, employ a more haphazard approach. In many instances, LAUSD is listening to the loudest voices, especially those of LAUSD parents, to drive their priorities. A successful program will not work that way. These solutions must be data driven. We all need to get on the same page so we can coordinate and prioritize the right intersections. This is clearly one of the hold-ups. I will work with the County, School District and City to prioritize the areas of greatest need. Funding is limited (although we recently obtained additional grant funding) and must be spent in a very targeted way.

One of the impediments is simply that everything involving government takes time. Things are moving forward, but on a methodical timetable. Also, everything involving engineering and construction takes a lot of time, so the first and most expeditious area of focus is the public education and outreach component.

Some progress has already been made. LADOT has identified a network of streets as a High Injury Network (HIN), where strategic investments will have the most impact in reducing severe injuries and deaths. Despite making up only 6% of our city streets, almost 2/3rds of pedestrian deaths and serious injuries occur in the HIN. People walking and biking combined statistically make up for 15% of collisions, but account for 50% of all deaths. It has been decided that this is where the earliest focus will be. We are developing a citywide media campaign, implementing the vision zero education and outreach strategy. An RFQ process is concluding and contracts are soon to be awarded, after which a planning phase will occur, and then the outreach and education will commence.

We are also increasing enforcement in the HIN, but traffic enforcement has limited success. After heavy enforcement in an area, people return to their old habits in a month or two. We don’t have resources to constantly patrol every area that needs it. However, in many areas we can’t even use radar and ticket speeders because our speed surveys have expired. We must follow through on our Vision Zero goal of updating 100% of the expired speed surveys by 2017.

San Francisco’s Vision Zero effort utilizes an online tracking tool so people can see what is being done in real time and hold the city and their elected leaders accountable. This would also provide more awareness to the public of the areas in which progress is being made and the things that are being done. I am going to explore introducing a motion when Council returns to session, to suggest that we implement such a tool.

4. Angelenos recently approved Metro’s transportation funding plan, Measure M, with an impressive mandate of support from over 71% of voters. What opportunities do you see for Measure M to improve the options for how Angelenos get around? Given that Measure M will return millions of dollars directly to the City of Los Angeles each year, do you support increasing the funding the City allocates to making it easier and safer for Angelenos to walk and bike?

I proudly supported and campaigned for the passage of Measure M. It will make a tremendous difference in how Angelenos get around. I will continue to advocate for State and Federal funding to expedite the construction of Measure M projects.

I support prioritizing the projects that move around the most number of people, not just the most number of automobiles. This includes projects that improve pedestrian and bike infrastructure, improve sidewalks, and multi-modal projects that increase the vibrancy of local streets and neighborhoods. Working with Mayor Garcetti, I will continue to hold the Metro Board accountable and ensure that they follow through with their commitment to improving bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Of course, I support increasing funding to make it easier and safer for Angelenos to walk and bike. As previously mentioned, I pushed to spend money on biking and pedestrian infrastructure with Measure R local return funds as a member of the City Council’s Transportation Committee and budget committee, and supported the LA City Bicycle Plan in 2010. I will continue to lead the effort to prioritize such spending.

5. There is universal agreement that Westwood Boulevard is a dangerous street for people walking and bicycling. Westwood Boulevard is identified as a corridor on LADOT’s High Injury Network, bike lanes were considered a priority in the 2010 Bike Plan, and the project has wide community support, including from UCLA and the Westwood Village Improvement Association. However, implementation of continuous bicycle infrastructure on Westwood has stalled for years. Prioritization of safety improvements for the street was removed from the Mobility Plan 2035 by an amendment co-authored by Councilmember Koretz. Will you commit to implementing quality bicycle infrastructure on Westwood Boulevard during the next Council term? (If not, what specific alternative do you support to improve the safety of people walking and bicycling in the area, and to address the high rate of crashes related to speeding on Westwood Boulevard?)

I agree that Westwood Boulevard is a dangerous street for people walking and bicycling in Westwood Village. It is a corridor on LADOT’s High Injury Network. That is why I want to discourage cyclists from using this street. As the Councilmember representing Westwood Village, I consider any other approach to be totally irresponsible. I did not support the location that was proposed for the Mobility Plan 2035. This proposal would have squeezed bike lanes onto Westwood Boulevard, while not taking into consideration the dangers this presents to bike riders. There would have been too many spots for interaction between cyclists and buses, as well as cars making turns. Because I agree that there needs to be a North-South route into Westwood and UCLA, I support moving the bike lane ONE BLOCK over to much safer Gayley Avenue, which does not have 900 buses and tens of thousands of cars daily. Having to travel one extra block for safety purposes seems like a tiny sacrifice worth making. I would note that the Westwood Blvd. route has widespread community opposition, including every Westwood homeowners association, neighborhood council, and community council. It also has the opposition of the business organization that officially covers Westwood Village, the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

I just want to highlight that while on the L.A. City Council, I have provided leadership on a number of bicycle related issues:

I helped secure very substantial funding for bike lanes in the Mid-City West area;

I helped implement a set of bike lanes that cross West Hollywood and Los Angeles boundaries on Fairfax Avenue;

As a member of the Council’s Transportation Committee, I worked with the late Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, then Chair of the Transportation Committee, to fund the installation of many bike lanes and pavement marking projects throughout the City;

I authored the motion adopted by the City Council to permit a person to secure their bicycle on a parking meter stand without violating city law; and

I authored a motion adopted by the City Council directing several city departments to report back quarterly on their progress of implementing the 2010 bike plan, which is part of the City’s commitment to transform L.A. to a multi-modal transportation system.

As for pedestrian safety, I am pushing for mid-block crosswalks where possible, to prevent mid-block jaywalking accidents. A key midblock crosswalk location is about to be installed in Westwood Village on Westwood Blvd. soon.

6. Bike share systems have started to be installed across Los Angeles, but as systems expand to different areas of Los Angeles and neighboring cities, experts foresee two major obstacles: stations that are discontinuous/too far apart and stations with unsafe walking conditions that limit access. How would you envision the growth of bike share in the City of Los Angeles and regionally?

One of the most valuable elements of bike share is to provide the first mile/last mile to transit. We need to expand to have bikeshare at every transit stop. Also, I believe bikeshare will initially draw in a high percentage of more casual riders—one would hope bikeshare would be placed near bike lanes and paths to provide greater safety for such riders. Studies have shown that bike share replaces some car trips and leads to greater levels of bike ownership, as more occasional riders become regular ones. As we expand bikeshare, we can keep stations more contiguous, which will help the program become more successful. We also should focus and spend some of our now-committed $25 million a year in sidewalk repair on the sidewalks near transit stations and bikeshare stations or in some cases both. I had to battle to get a sidewalk built leading to the Sepulveda EXPO station, and am still fighting to get passible sidewalks leading to a couple of the other EXPO stations in my district. These would be needed for bike share placements as well.

We also need to be sure that bikeshare vendors across city lines can work in cooperation with each other. I argued against LA selecting a different vendor from the vendor selected in other Westside cities because of the difficulties in coordination. Inability to coordinate will make bikeshare much less practical where LA shares boundaries with other cities such as Culver City, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica. A mutual acceptance policy must be implemented by all these cities, including LA.