#i dont go to church for nationalism or to worship my country | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

toldnews-blog · 6 years ago

Photo

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/travel/the-latest-fire-chaplain-hailed-as-hero-in-notre-dame-blaze/

The Latest: Fire chaplain hailed as hero in Notre Dame blaze

The latest on the fire that tore through the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (all times local):

11:50 p.m.

For the chaplain of the Paris fire brigade, the hardest thing about the blaze at Notre Dame Cathedral was cracking the security codes to rescue its most precious relic.

Fire chaplain Jean-Marc Fournier is being hailed as a hero for his role in salvaging the crown of thorns during Mondays fire.

Fournier told Catholic broadcaster KTO on Wednesday that the difficulty for us was to find the person holding the security codes to open the safe where the holy relic is kept.

The chaplain was also celebrated for tending to the injured and praying for the dead in Paris Bataclan concert hall after the 2015 Islamic extremist attack there. He also spent time in Afghanistan with the French military.

8:40 p.m.

The Paris prosecutors office says the investigation into the Notre Dame Cathedral fire has not produced any indication so far of a criminal act. The probe is still in its early stages.

The office on Wednesday said investigators had been able to access some parts of the building to begin their on-site work.

Meanwhile, about 10 more people have been questioned by police, bringing the total to about 40.

7:40 p.m.

The bells of France have tolled, ringing out from the nations cathedrals and basilicas in commemoration of the Notre Dame fire.

From Sacre Coeur in Paris Montmartre district to Strasbourg in the east and Rouen in the west, the architectural treasures of France solemnly marked the inferno Wednesday evening, two days after it ravaged Notre Dame of Paris.

The Gothic cathedral is widely regarded as the soul of France.

At Saint Sulpice church, the second largest house of worship in Paris, French first lady Brigitte Macron attended a special service, the yearly blessing of the oils during Holy Week ahead of Easter Sunday.

President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to have Notre Dame rebuilt in five years.

7:25 p.m.

The cultural heritage envoy for French President Emmanuel Macron says it is realistic to reopen Notre Dame Cathedral to the public in five years.

Following a meeting at the presidential palace about the cathedrals reconstruction, Stephane Bern said Macrons goal is to allow visitors coming for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris to visit Notre Dame.

No one around the table has protested saying this is unrealistic or utopian, Bern said.

Bern was joined at the meeting by ministers, local elected officials, church representatives and top cultural heritage experts.

Bern said Macron didnt express his views regarding the reconstruction of the roof and whether the frame should be in wood, metal or concrete.

These questions, Bern said, will be answered later.

Bern also said Macron told the meeting that the new spire will hinge on the results of an international architecture competition. Notre Dames spire collapsed soon after the cathedral caught fire Monday.

6:45 p.m.

The Walt Disney Co. has pledged to contribute 5 million to aid in the reconstruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral after Mondays fire.

In a statement on Wednesday, Disney chairman and chief executive Bob Iger says the company stands with our friends and neighbors in the community.

The cathedral was the setting for Disneys 1996 animated adaptation of Victor Hugos The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Disney is also developing a live-action adaption.

The theme park Disneyland Paris, originally named Euro Disney, is located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) outside of Paris.

6:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he had a wonderful conversation with Pope Francis on Wednesday, two days after a fire ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral.

Trump says in a tweet that he offered condolences from the People of the United States for the horrible and destructive fire.

And Trump says he offered the help of our great experts on renovation and construction and made the same offer to French President Emmanuel Macron in a call on Tuesday.

Trump and the pope had clashed over Trumps campaign pledge to build a wall along the southern U.S. border, but they appeared to get along well when they met in person during the presidents trip to the Vatican in 2017.

Trump says he also wished both the Pope and Macron a very Happy Easter!

5:45 p.m.

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra plans to donate the proceeds of an upcoming concert in Berlin to the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral.

The Paris landmark was badly damaged in a fire on Monday.

Berlin Cathedral, which is hosting the May 2 concert, said Wednesday that the event will take place under the theme Standing together! Solidarity for Notre Dame de Paris.

The concert is being organized by the Fondazione Pro Musica e Arte Sacra, which promotes liturgical music and the restoration of church art.

The Vienna Philharmonic had planned to stage a concert at Notre Dame in 2021.

4:10 p.m.

A Paris official says part of the support structure around Notre Dame Cathedrals rose windows is to be dismantled to prevent further damage following a massive fire.

The Culture Ministrys fire expert, Jose Vaz de Matos, told reporters that part of the triangular structure above the central rose window is to be taken down to limit the movement of the stone.

De Matos said the main risk to the cathedral is the gables above the rose windows, which provide crucial support to the stained glass masterpieces.

He said the structure is particularly exposed to the wind, and the overall structure remains fragile.

Police officials told The Associated Press that the triangular structure is leaning 20 centimeters forward toward the street since the fire.

3:25 p.m.

A Paris fire official says the towers of Notre Dame would have fallen if firefighters hadnt deployed massive equipment and acted swiftly.

Philippe Demay denied there was any delay and said firefighters acted as fast as they could.

Demay told reporters that the operation was extremely difficult and that the towers could have collapsed if we hadnt put heavy equipment in place.

3:15 p.m.

Paris firefighters say Notre Dame Cathedrals rose windows are in good shape after a devastating fire, but that their support structures are at risk.

Fire fighter spokesman Gabriel Plus told reporters that the rose windows are in good condition but that there is a risk for the gables that are no longer supported by the frame.

He said firefighters took down statues inside the gables above the rose windows to protect them, and took care not to spray water too hard on the delicate stained glass.

He said firefighters and experts are still closely monitoring the building to determine how much damage the structure suffered and what needs to be dismantled to avoid collapse.

2:55 p.m.

Hungarys deputy prime minister says the Notre Dame Cathedral fire is a tragic symbol of the apocalyptic loss of values we are witnessing in the western world.

In an excerpt of an interview to be broadcast on news channel Hir TV this coming Easter Monday, Zsolt Semjen, said the French secularist, anti-church policy is also deeply responsible for the fire. The French Republic owns churches that were constructed before 1905.

Semjen, who is head of the Christian Democratic Party, said Hungary would consider contributing to Notre Dames reconstruction, but added that the reality is that France is a rich country, so shouldnt Macron have announced that France will rebuild Notre Dame?

Semjen said: May God allow this tragedy to be a sign which shakes up the French nation, not just regarding the reconstruction of the church but also in terms of their own national self-esteem, their own history, their own Frenchness and their own Christianity.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says the countrys anti-immigrant policies and border fences, built in late 2015 to stop the migrant flow, have helped protect Europes Christian culture.

2:15 p.m.

Paris merchants whose livelihoods depend on Notre Dame tourism are worried about the cathedrals stability and their own futures.

The island that houses the cathedral has been closed to the public since Mondays fire, and its residents evacuated. Its literally the nucleus of Paris — all distances in France are measured from the esplanade in front of Notre Dame.

Its also one of the most-visited spots in France, whose economy depends heavily on tourism.

Patrick Lejeune, president of the Notre Dame neighborhood merchants association, told The Associated Press that the groups 150 employees fear for the future.

No one is talking about us, he said. Bustling streets are now totally closed. I dont have access to my office.

He also expressed concern for the stability of the cathedral and its central rose window. Its spire collapsed and roof was destroyed in the fire.

2:05 p.m.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe says the government will take a series of measures to secure the financing and accelerate the renovation work of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Speaking after a special Cabinet meeting dedicated to Notre Dame, Philippe said the government will present a bill next week to ensure transparency and good management during the reconstruction.

He said one measure will aim at ensuring that all donations actually end up going to Notre Dame.

The bill will also allow French ordinary citizens to get special tax cuts if they make a donation.

Another measure will enable the French state to adapt legal procedures in order to ease the reconstruction.

1:55 p.m.

The organist who was playing at evening mass inside Notre Dame when flames began heading towards the iconic cathedrals roof says people didnt immediately react when the fire alarm rang as a priest was reading from the Bible.

Johann Vexo says nobody knew exactly what it was because it was the first time that we heard it inside the cathedral.

People then started to leave the building but some, including Vexo, later came back. The organist says he spent another 20 minutes inside the cathedral, chatting to colleagues, before finally leaving at about 6.45 p.m. local time on Monday night.

Vexo says he didnt see fire or smoke and really thought that it was just something not working good or just a mistake, or whatever.

Notre Dames spectacular and unique great organ seemingly escaped largely intact from the blaze that destroyed the roof and spire.

Vincent Dubois, another Notre Dame organist who wasnt in the cathedral, says the organ must be completely dusted off, cleaned from the soot, the dust that is inside.

1:20 p.m.

Notre Dames rector says he will close the burned-out Paris cathedral for up to six years.

Bishop Patrick Chauvet acknowledged that the famed monument would close down for five to six years as he spoke with local business owners Wednesday, two days after a blaze torched the roof of the cathedral and brought down its spire.

Chauvet said a segment of the cathedral has been very weakened by the devastating fire. He did not elaborate which section he was talking about.

He added it was unclear what the churchs 67 employees would be doing in the future.

1 p.m.

The French prime minister has announced an international competition for architects to see if the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral should be rebuilt and how it should be rebuilt.

Edouard Philippe is speaking following a special Cabinet meeting Wednesday held by French President Emmanuel Macron, focusing on the reconstruction of the cathedral.

Philippe said the competition will also assess whether the spire should be adapted to technologies and challenges of our times.

He said authorities have no estimate yet of the total cost of the renovation work. Macron said Tuesday he wants the cathedral to be rebuilt in five years.

Philippe said: This is obviously a huge challenge, a historic responsibility.

12:45 p.m.

The Paris prosecutors office says investigators looking into the causes of the Notre Dame fire have still not been able to look inside the cathedral, as it remains unsafe.

Investigators will continue with interviews Wednesday, saying the inquiry will go on until prosecutors uncover the truth and identify the origin of the blaze. On Tuesday, investigators spoke with around 30 witnesses, including employees of companies involved in the churchs restoration and security personnel.

12:35 p.m.

The Czech Philharmonic and other major Czech orchestras will join forces to play a fundraising concert to help restore Notre Dame Cathedral, heavily damaged by a devastating fire.

The Czech Philharmonic says the orchestras will perform Antonin Dvoraks Stabat Mater in St. Vitus Cathedral, a Gothic masterpiece, in Prague on Tuesday.

The orchestras want to support France in renovating one of the most important religious buildings in Europe.

Stabat Mater is a key religious piece by Dvorak. The oratorio was said to be inspired by the death of his three children.

St Vitus is the biggest and most important Czech cathedral and the Concert for Notre Dame will be broadcast live by Czech public radio and television.

10:40 a.m.

Pope Francis has told his weekly audience at St. Peters Square of his sadness over the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, the seat of the Paris archdiocese.

The pope said Wednesday that I take this opportunity to express to the Paris diocesan community, all Parisians and the entire French population my great affection and my closeness after the fire in Notre Dame Cathedral.

Addressing those gathered, pope said, I was very sad and I feel very close to all of you.

He expressed the gratitude of the whole church to those who did their utmost to save the Basilica, also risking their lives.

The pope on Tuesday sent a telegram of condolences to Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetitand and phoned French President Emmanuel Macron to express his solidarity.

9:20 a.m.

Nearly 1 billion has already poured in from ordinary worshippers and high-powered magnates around the world to restore Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after a massive fire.

Construction teams brought in a huge crane and a delivery of planks of wood to the site Wednesday morning.

French President Emmanuel Macron ratcheted up the pressure by setting a five-year deadline to restore the 12th-century landmark. Macron is holding a special Cabinet meeting Wednesday dedicated to the Notre Dame disaster.

Presidential cultural heritage envoy Stephane Bern told broadcaster France-Info on Wednesday that 880 million euros (995 million) has been raised so far. Contributors include Apple and magnates who own LOreal, Chanel and Dior, as well as Catholics and others from around France and the world.

Authorities consider the fire an accident.

Full AP coverage at

0 notes

comebeforegod · 6 years ago

Text

What You Must Know to Welcome the Lord Jesus: How Will Jesus Return?

The Prophecies of the Lord Jesus’ Return Have All Been Fulfilled

The Lord Jesus said: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” (Matthew 24:32-34).

We Christians all know that these are some scriptures prophesying about the return of the Lord Jesus. Here, that the fig tree’s branch is tender and puts forth leaves refers to the return of Israel, which is to say, when it returns, we will know that the Lord Jesus will come back soon. Now, the Israel has been recovered for decades, so this prophecy has already been fulfilled.

The Lord Jesus also said: “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. … Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord does come” (Matthew 24:37-39, 42). “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:7-8). We all know that in the time of Noah, people all strayed from God, did not worship Him, battled with each other and became ever more evil and debauched. They had been filthy and corrupt to such a point that it was unbearable for God to witness and finally were destroyed in the flood because of provoking God’s disposition. Look at the society now: People don’t worship the true God but worship false gods or evil spirits, compete for wealth and fame, fight both openly and in secret, and outwit each other—their evil and corruption have reached the peak and all the societal trends are becoming more and more evil and degenerate. Look at us believers in the Lord Jesus. We believe in the Lord Jesus only in name, but in actuality, we don’t live with His word in our life at all; the churches have also become the marketplaces, trapped in desolation; many believers even pursue the evil trends, follow the worldly path, covet the glory and wealth of the world, revel in the pleasures of the flesh and feasting, living in midst of sin yet not believing it to be sin. … Such a society is far worse than that of the days of Noah. Nowadays, in the world, there are unending fights between countries and disasters happen more frequently everywhere. All these signs fulfill the prophecies of the Lord Jesus’ return. It is clear and easy to know that the time of the Lord Jesus’ return has already arrived.

The Method of the Lord Jesus’ Return Shouldn’t Be Defined

I had believed in the Lord Jesus for many years. Like most of the brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus, I was waiting for the Lord Jesus’ return at every moment; especially when I saw the fulfillment of prophecies of the Lord Jesus’ return, my heart would feel eager. The Bible says: “You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). At that time, the Lord Jesus just left upon a white cloud; now the signs of the Lord’s return have all appeared, but why have I still not seen the Lord coming with a cloud to take us? I felt very anxious and worried, deeply fearful that I would miss the Lord’s return. Thus, I often prayed to the Lord Jesus to ask Him to lead me so that I could understand how I could better welcome His return and not cast off.

I had an old friend whom I had known for a long time. He had preached and worked for many years. Recently, it was so nice to have an opportunity to meet him, so I told him my worries within. He shared with me: “The Bible verses indeed say that ‘this same Jesus … shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven,’ so we all think that when the Lord Jesus returns, He will surely descend upon the white clouds. However, are such thoughts and definitions in accordance with the Lord Jesus’ will? In reality, the brothers and sisters who are familiar with the Bible all know that there are still many verses in the Bible which prophesy the method of the Lord’s return, such as ‘But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only’ (Matthew 24:36). ‘If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come on you” (Revelation 3:3). ‘The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of’ (Matthew 24:50). ‘Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen’ (Revelation 1:7). Some of the verses above say that the Lord Jesus will come with clouds and every eye shall see Him; some others say that He will come as a thief, without everyone knowing. From these we can see that the methods of the Lord Jesus’ return are divided into two types: openly descending with the clouds and secretly coming as a thief. We believe that every word of the Lord Jesus will not be unfulfilled, so both these two methods will be fulfilled. God’s thoughts are higher than man’s thoughts. So we shouldn’t define the method of the Lord Jesus’ return within our own conceptions. If we only hold on to the verses of the Lord Jesus openly descending with the clouds but deny the Lord Jesus’ coming secretly, then we will easily miss God’s work of saving man in secret. The Lord Jesus will openly descend on a cloud, just as the prophecy foretold, ‘Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him’ (Revelation 1:7). At that time, if we become those who woe for failing to welcome the Lord Jesus when He has come secretly, then won’t we ruin ourselves?”

When I heard this, I said to him, “What you say is quite enlightening. It seems that my thinking on the Lord Jesus’ return is too simple. There are so many prophecies in the Bible regarding the Lord’s return, but I’ve defined the method of the Lord Jesus’ return without reading or pondering them carefully. Luckily, today I talk this thing with you and I come to know that, actually the Bible not only prophesied that the Lord Jesus will openly come with clouds but also prophesied that He will return secretly. Without such communication it would be easy for me to miss the Lord Jesus returning in a concealed fashion.”

He smiled and said, “Thank the Lord Jesus for His preparation. Let’s take a look at a passage of God’s word: ‘God and man cannot be spoken of as equals. His substance and His work are most unfathomable and incomprehensible to man. … For the thoughts of God shall always be higher than the thoughts of man, and the wisdom of God is unfathomable to man. And so I say that those who have “seen through” God and His work are ineffectual, they are all arrogant and ignorant. Man should not define the work of God; moreover, man cannot define the work of God. In the eyes of God, man is smaller than an ant, so how can man fathom God’s work?’

These words give us a great revelation: We who believe in God must have reason. We can’t define how God works. God’s thoughts are higher than man’s thoughts. The prophecies all contain God’s wisdom and wondrousness, so they are not something we can define based on our conceptions and imaginations. There is a prophecy in the Old Testament, ‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from now on even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this’ (Isaiah 9:6-7). When the Pharisees studied the prophecies in the Old Testament, relying on their own imaginations, they thought when the Messiah came, He should be a king, born in the imperial palace, and of great stature, with a commanding presence and dignified and extraordinary appearance, but the result exceeded the expectations of them. When the Lord Jesus came, He was born in a manger and in the eyes of men, He was the son of a poor carpenter without great identity or high status. Because the Lord Jesus was not in accordance with their conceptions, no matter how many miracles and wonders He performed, how much truth He expressed, how profound His words were, they just didn’t accept the truth spoken by Him, much less did they acknowledge that He was the Messiah prophesied to come; they even nailed Him to the cross, becoming people who opposed God and were condemned throughout the ages.

Today, if we define the Lord Jesus’ return relying on our own conceptions and imaginations, and also say that whoever does not ride upon a cloud is not the Lord Jesus, then how are we any different from the Pharisees who condemned the Lord Jesus two thousand years ago. Aren’t we taking the old paths as the Pharisees? It can be seen that, it is too dangerous that we rely on our arrogant and self-righteous corrupt disposition to define the method of the Lord Jesus’ return and the literal meaning of the Bible verses to appreciate the Lord’s will. Today we must learn a lesson from the failure. We humans can’t fully understand how the Lord Jesus will come and how He will do the work to come and moreover are not qualified to define how God should do His work. Otherwise, even if we’ve heard the God’s word and seen His work, we won’t welcome the Lord Jesus’ return and can only nail Him to the cross once again, like the Pharisees. No wonder that the Lord Jesus said at that time, ‘And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which said, By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive’ (Matthew 13:14). Are we not just foolish virgins? What a pity that we are unable to wait for the Lord Jesus’ return and ruin the opportunity to be saved!”

Not until I heard this passage of God’s word my friend read and his fellowship did I realize that I was really too arrogant and ignorant: How can we humans fathom God’s deeds? I am defining the return of the Lord Jesus based on my own conceptions and imaginations. This will easily cause me to make the same mistake as the Pharisees, and thus become the one who opposes the Lord Jesus and be punished by Him. The Bible says: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord Jesus? or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:33-34). Hence, I asked him hurriedly, “How can I welcome the Lord’s return?”

How Could I Better Welcome the Lord Jesus’ Return?

He shared with me a passage of God’s word: “Since we are searching for the footprints of God, we must search for God’s will, for the words of God, for the utterances of God—for where there are the new words of God, there is the voice of God, and where there are the footsteps of God, there are the deeds of God. Where there is the expression of God, there is the appearance of God, and where there is the appearance of God, there exists the truth, the way, and the life. … If you desire to witness the appearance of God, if you wish to follow the footprints of God, then you must first transcend your own conceptions. You must not demand that God do this or that, much less should you place Him within your own confines and limit Him to your own conceptions. Instead, you should ask how you should seek the footprints of God, how you should accept the appearance of God, and how you should submit to the new work of God; that is what should be done by man. Since man is not the truth, and is not possessed of the truth, man should seek, accept, and obey.”

Thank God! After hearing God’s word and through his fellowship, I understood that if I desired to welcome God’s appearance and follow His footsteps, I needed to transcend my own conceptions and actively seek, accept and obey God’s work. Only by doing these would I have the hope to welcome the Lord Jesus and do what the prophecy in the Book of the Revelation said, “These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Revelation 14:4). The Lord Jesus once prophesied, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:12-13). “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7). The Lord Jesus clearly told us that when He returns, He will certainly bring us the truth and also remind us to carefully listen to the words the Holy Spirit speaks to the churches. If we want to verify whether it is the Lord Jesus’ return, we should seek and study actively and listen to God’s voice, which is the attitude that every person who is waiting for the Lord’s appearance sincerely must take. The Lord Jesus said: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). This is the Lord’s promise. God’s sheep will hear the voice of God. God is also seeking for His sheep. Facing the Lord Jesus’ return, what kind of attitude we should take on earth? It is worthy of our serious consideration …

#believe in God #The Bible #the Son of man #be saved #Lord Jesus

0 notes

samanthasroberts · 6 years ago

Text

Looking back, and angry: what drives Pauline Hanson’s voters | David Marr

In an extract from his new Quarterly Essay, David Marr finds that One Nation voters are richer, more urban and more liberal than you might expect. But they are profoundly nostalgic, display an unusual gloom and share a vehemently anti-government streak

Australia came late to the game. Since 1948, Americans have been polled after each election to find out why they voted as they did. The Swedes started to take these national snapshots in the 1950s and the British in the 1960s. Belfast-born Ian McAllister began the Australian Election Study after Bob Hawkes third victory in 1987. From his post at the Australian National University where these days he is Distinguished Professor of political science McAllister has conducted a dozen of these big, after-the-event surveys over 30 years. We ask how people made their choices: the effect of the election campaign, the effect of the longer-term predispositions, the background characteristics, the political socialisation. Its about trying to unravel all of these various things that come together to make simply a choice on a ballot paper.

McAllisters questions are controversial. The political science industry feeds off the Australian Election Studies. Dinner parties break up in confusion as pollsters and academics bicker over questions asked and not asked. McAllister told me: If I put in every question that everybody emailed me or wrote to me about, youd have a thousand-page questionnaire and nobody would fill it in. He says the point of the surveys sent to thousands of voters after each poll is continuity. When youve got exactly the same question being asked consistently over a period of time using essentially the same methodology, youve got an unusually reliable measure of something.

The Australian voter is a species he has come to admire deeply. First of all they have to go to the polls more than any other voter in the world that I can possibly imagine. And secondly they have to deal with a range of complexity in electoral systems, in terms of casting a vote, which again defies anything in any other society. So the Australian voter, I think, is pretty overburdened by politics. Yet they remain thoughtful. People dont make whimsical choices by and large. They do look at policies. They are not volatile. We found in our surveys early in the piece about 70% of people never ever change their vote from the very first election they voted in to the last election before they died. These days its around about 50%. So basically most people dont change. And when people do change its a relatively small proportion that change from election to election.

That weve been so stable makes McAllister particularly alert to the unexpected long-term decline of trust in the political class, in career politicians, in democracy itself. Australia has stood apart from a lot of other countries because its had very high levels of satisfaction with democracy historically, some of the highest in the world, second only to one or two Scandinavian countries. He dates the slide from 2010. Elections since then havent provided the usual upswings of faith and hope. The numbers have kept falling. One of the things I observe in our surveys is the proportion of people that believe the government would have a positive effect on the economy in the future year was at its lowest level weve ever recorded in 2016. So people dont have confidence in the government They see this quick turnover in leaders. They see scandals to do with expenses, and so on. And they become very jaded. And then I think weve had a lack of decisive leadership as well. I mean Rudd Mark I was the last popular leader that existed in Australia. We havent had one since.

Pauline Hanson in Perth with supporters on the night of the Western Australia election. Photograph: Rebecca Le May/AAP. At top: Hanson campaigns in Mandurah, south of the WA capital. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Ever since McAllister gathered the first set of One Nation numbers in 1998, political scientists have been disputing what they mean. Do they show people flocking to Pauline Hanson because of the flags she flies particularly on race or are they falling in with her simply because theyre disenchanted with the political system? McAllister sees a shift from one to the other: My sense this time is that ONP#2 doesnt really stand for much, other than being anti-establishment, whereas ONP#1 had a more definable policy basis. So Pauline Hanson is tapping into the prevailing political distrust in career politicians from both sides. But others citing the same material come to the opposite conclusion. More of this dispute later. Its fundamental to understanding the challenge Hanson poses to public life in this country. Is she a party of policy or protest? Hanson is a puzzle with consequences.

McAllister ran the One Nation numbers from the latest AES for this Quarterly Essay. They are the best available evidence of who Hansons voters were and what they wanted at the 2016 elections. The numbers come with a caveat from McAllister: Treat the survey data because of the small numbers of ONP supporters as a blurry image rather than a precise profile. Even so, as we picked our way through the material together, McAllister identified issues where One Nations views emerge in full focus. Andrew Markus also commented on the figures for me, as did Murray Goot of Macquarie University, an expert on polling with a particular interest in the One Nation vote who has often taken a contrary view to McAllister. Finally, Ive drawn into the discussion several professional pollsters who have conducted focus groups among resurgent One Nation voters since the elections in the bush, in towns and, these days more than ever, in capital cities.

National background

One Nation voters in 2016 were almost entirely native-born Australians. Not even newcomers from the UK or New Zealand were drawn to Hansons party. Her people are absolutely ours and One Nation is the most Aussie party of them all.

Liberal 78% native-born Labor 79% Greens 82% National 91% One Nation 98%

Age and sex

One Nation is a party of old people but theres no sign they are dying out. According to the AES figures, roughly a third of Hansons voters in 2016 were under the age of 44. And women are voting One Nation. Back in the 1990s, voters were mostly men. Thats shifted. Heres the split:

1998 male 65%, female 35% 2016 male 56%, female 44%

One Nation supporters at a bowling club in Perth. Support among women for Hansons party has grown since the 1990s, when its voters were overwhelmingly men. Photograph: Rebecca Le May/AAP

Reports from focus groups suggest these are working women, better educated than the men. They looked like nice Labor voters working in nice jobs, said one researcher. We had a childcare worker, two government workers, and I think there was a teacher. Yet they like Pauline. Other reports from focus groups suggest contradictions here: Women like her because shes a woman who speaks her mind. Men like her because shes a woman who stands up against feminism. That shes a woman from the life doesnt owe us anything school is a key aspect of her political makeup. Raising four children from two husbands hasnt softened her heart towards single mothers. Twice divorced, she backs men burnt by the divorce courts. She opposes extending paid parental leave by two weeks: They get themselves pregnant and have the same problems did with the baby bonus, with people just doing it for the money.

Class

Most One Nation voters see themselves as working class. McAllister calls that pretty clear. This hasnt changed in 20 years. Hansons people may have aspirations but they dont see themselves coming up in the world.

Greens 24% identify as working class

Liberal 32% Labor 45% National 46% One Nation 66%

Religion

Hanson is not pulling the religious vote. Rebecca Huntley, social researcher and former director of Ipsos Australia, says: Were a little shielded from the worst implications of the rise of the Trump vote by the fact that this is not a highly religious group. Hansons staunch defence of Christianity in the face of Muslim hordes isnt about faith but preserving our way of life. Hansons moral agenda is to punish welfare bludgers not perverts. One Nation voters rarely worship. While 48% of Australians never attend church not even for weddings and funerals the figure for One Nation voters is 60%. Breakaway Cory Bernardi is pursuing a tiny constituency who believe in small government and high Catholic morality. Hanson backs neither: shes a secular, big government woman. Thats a big constituency.

Where do they live ?

Both the city and the bush. One Nation has always had a strong city presence despite its image as a bush party. Labor party research and focus groups report strong growth of support for One Nation in seats on the fringe of big towns and capital cities, seats on the edge of but not actually among migrant suburbs. This appears to be a pattern across Australia. On the edge of Sydney in 2016, One Nation picked up more than 6% of the Senate vote in Lindsay (75% Australian-born) but only 3% a few kilometres away in Greenway (58% Australian-born). In Lindsay they have fears rather than experience. As one researcher told me: When you probe for personal experiences on anything they say about welfare or immigration, its always second- and third-hand.

Where do One Nation voters live?

Reports from focus groups suggest city folk most respect Hanson. The bush is more sceptical of One Nation than the cities, says one researcher. In the bush they tend to say she doesnt have the answers. Those in the cities are more in agreement with her. They rate her intelligence in the city. They say shes doing better, shes learnt a lot. In the country they think shes a bit stupid.

How educated are they? Then and now, the figures show the typical One Nation voter didnt finish school. Yet they are not unqualified. They make an effort. Tradespeople are strongly represented in party ranks. But eight out of 10 have never set foot on a university campus. Thats the big political effect, says McAllister.

Hanson in 1998. She positioned herself then as the leader for those who hated government. Two decades on, that message is resonating more with voters. Photograph: Reuters

Level of education

Education is the clearest link between Hanson, Trump and Brexit. Surveys here, in the United States and in the United Kingdom all point to education as a key component of political dissatisfaction. In the UK, Matthew Goodwin and Oliver Heath found educational inequality was the strongest driver of Brexit. In the US, Nate Silver concluded, The education gap is carving up the American electorate and toppling political coalitions that had been in place for many years.

That about eight out of 10 One Nation voters dropped out of school doesnt mark them as dumb. Queensland, the partys heartland, made it extraordinarily hard for a long time for poor kids to get to university. But for whatever reason, few of Hansons people have been exposed to life and learning on a campus. Huntley wonders if the persistent attachment to clearly illogical connections between, say, asylum seekers and crimewaves, and also the interest in non-official online content, is because they never had never had at least some exposure to what happens at higher education. What strikes her in focus groups is the One Nation attitude: I can work this all out by myself.

Have they been ruined by globalisation?

No. They are in work and middling prosperous. They arent on welfare. McAllisters figures suggest theres nothing particularly special about the pattern of employment for Hansons people. One Nation voters are no more likely to be at the bottom of the management heap than anyone else. Theres a tiny and perhaps unreliable skew away from government employment. McAllister says, Thats a reflection of the fact that they tend not to have higher education.

But Hansons people are oddly gloomy about their prospects. One of the questions always asked in the AES is: How does the financial situation of your own household compare with what it was 12 months ago? This is the breakdown by party of those who thought things were now a little or a lot worse for them than a year ago:

National 25% Greens 27% Liberal 29% Labor 38% One Nation 68%

The same gloom is apparent when Hansons people are asked about the state of the economy. This is the breakdown of those who thought the national economy was a little or a lot worse than it was a year ago:

National 35% Greens 44% Labor 46% Liberal 47% One Nation 73%

So while there is a lot of gloom about, Hansons people see the national economy going to hell in a handcart. Why?

The standard explanation that these are people left behind by globalisation works for Trumps voters and is strong in the mix with Brexit. But it seems not a decisive component of the Hanson vote. This country weathered the global financial crisis in good shape. There is not a ruined class who lost their houses and savings in the crash. Employment held up. Economic growth since has been better in the cities where half Hansons voters live than the country, but her people are in work. Focus groups say many One Nation voters are working part time when they would like to be full time. Many worry about losing their jobs because they fear a new job will be hard to find. But sheeting those fears home to the ravages of free trade is difficult. Queensland is a free-trade state. Key to every trade deal this nation has signed in the last few decades is attempting to open world markets to coal, cattle and sugar. Nor does general nervousness about employment distinguish these voters from very many Australians. If Hanson were the natural choice of those wishing they had a better job and fearful of losing the one they have, she should be commanding divisions, not battalions.

The exaggerated gloom of One Nation voters in the 2016 election goes to something deeper than the economy. One Nation is the nostalgia party. Simply addressing economic inequality which is what the left has tried to do is just not sufficient, says Huntley. Prosperity is important, but what worries this group is the cultural, social slippage they feel in their life. They imagine their fathers and grandfathers lives were better, more certain, easier to navigate. Maybe they were and maybe they werent, but its the loss of that that is worrying for them. The economic argument alone isnt persuasive for them.

But of course it has to be addressed. If they think that a political party is representing their economic interest, they will vote for that party, says Kosmos Samaras, assistant state secretary of the Labor party in Victoria. But if the party doesnt, theyll vote on other interests. By that he means alienation and hostility to immigration. They feel, Im getting screwed anyway, so Im just going to turn up to vote and fuck them.

Immigration

The numbers are powerful. Twenty years ago Hansons people were hostile to immigration. Now they are extraordinarily so. One Nation is the party of those not bought off in the end by Howards great Faustian pact: close the borders to boat people and the nation will relax about mass immigration. More than 80% of One Nation voters considered immigration extremely important when deciding how to vote. Its a number that puts Hansons party way outside the pack:

Greens 40% Labor 43% Liberal 49% National 54% One Nation 82%

More than 80% of One Nation voters also want immigration numbers cut. The wishes of the party are now even more extreme than they were 20 years ago. In 2016 the AES turned up only a single One Nation voter happy to see immigration increased. The numbers all went the other way. This puts Hansons people dramatically at odds with the sentiment of a welcoming country. Here are those in each party calling for immigration numbers to be cut a lot:

Greens 7% Labor 21% Liberal 24% National 32% One Nation 83%

Their grim attitudes to migrants also set Hansons people apart. For One Nation voters, there is little disagreement that migrants increase crime, are not good for the economy and take the jobs of native-born Australians.

Those in each party who agree or strongly agree that migrants:

Position on migrants

Anti-racism protesters demonstrate outside a Pauline Hanson event in Perth. Those who see Hanson tapping into something murkier than mere disenchantment with politics fear One Nation will never be dealt with until the major parties find the courage to address the issue that haunts this country: race. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

For most Australian voters the boats are a problem solved. Not for the Greens. They are appalled by Manus and Nauru and alone continue to oppose the policy of naval blockade and turning back the boats. What sets One Nation apart here is the near-unanimous support in party ranks for that strategy. It stands to reason: this unique policy began as a Hanson special. Those in each party who agree or strongly agree with turnbacks:

Greens 10% Labor 55% Liberal 63% National 63% One Nation 90%

One Nation is an anti-immigration party. There are, as we will see, a handful of other causes that unite Hansons people. But behind all the complex calculations about what drives people into Hansons arms, these figures speak with unmistakable clarity: One Nation voters loathe immigrants. Its an embarrassing challenge for a decent country to find such forces at work, but it is much too late to pretend that a party which displays such extreme hostility to immigration is not driven by race. Thats simply not facing facts.

Anger with government

One Nation is the Pissed Off with Government Party. It was so the last time, when Australians still trusted their governments. In those days, being ignored by politicians was the base complaint of the party. Hanson was the gutsy politician who listened. Twenty years later, with trust in government sagging across the country, One Nation is coming into its own as the party that accuses politicians of not listening. Its the brand.

Nothing beats the hostility of Hansons voters here. This is the party breakdown of those who believe politicians usually look after themselves:

National 39% Liberal 40% Labor 51% Greens 51% One Nation 85%

McAllister rates this number real and something worth focusing on. He sees it as a measure of general dissatisfaction, not with government so much as the political class. This taps into Brexit, Trump, Italy this disaffection with the political class, that career politicians seem to be looking after their own vested interests and not looking after the interests of ordinary voters.

This is a bigger issue than One Nation. Huntley reports: The general conversation from the community is that politicians seem like a kind of a club: they all know each other, they all went to university. They see them as highly educated, highly connected, an elite they have never been part of. Theres anger across the board at the failure of government to solve problems. They think, There are these problems, these problems didnt exist before, governments are responsible, I blame the government. So part of it is the easiest outlet for anger but also that kind of sense that politicians seem completely remote to them.

Markus ran some figures for me from the Scanlon survey to show what those most angry with government are angry about. Gloom about the economy is clearly linked to dissatisfaction with government. But by far the most dramatic call for a shakeup of the system comes from those angriest about levels of immigration:

Immigration position linked with dissatisfaction with government

Immigration isnt everything in the current stew of discontent. Theres so much in there: scandal, logjam, a tepid economy, and the slaughter of prime ministers. But clearly on these numbers the nations discontent cannot be understood without facing the role played by minority rage over immigration. And the AES figures show no issue so unites One Nation as immigration. McAllister calls it the touchstone.

Other issues that fire up One Nation voters

Hansons people are not implacable conservatives. They arent hostile to unions and they believe this figure in the AES is quite clear that big business has too much power. Nor is One Nation preaching family values. They are not lining up against equal marriage. (In focus groups they say, Why not let them get on with it?) Hansons people are second only to the Greens in wanting marijuana decriminalised: 68% of Greens to 49% of One Nation. Not that theyve given up on the War on Drugs. They loathe ice and fear it as a source of crime and violence. And Hansons people are absolutely of one mind on allowing the terminally ill to end their own lives with medical assistance: support in the party runs at 98%.

On the other hand, Hansons people are particularly tough on crime. One of her causes back in the late 1990s was the right of parents to spank their children. She believes in the rod. But thats only a start. Heres the breakdown by party of those in 2016 calling for stiffer sentences for law breakers:

Greens 9% Labor 24% Liberal 30% National 31% One Nation 50%

And their faith in the gallows is complete. Twenty years ago, when the member for Oxley stormed into Canberra, there was a strong majority across the community for bringing back the noose for murder. That support has fallen, according to the AES, to 40%. But among One Nation voters, the passion for the death penalty is undiminished:

Greens 15% Labor 40% Liberal 42% National 54% One Nation 88%

Thelma Letch, who lives in WA, has been a One Nation supporter ever since [Hanson] went to jail. Photograph: Calla Wahlquist for the Guardian

Huntley is struck by the links between One Nations two agendas: law and order, and immigration. Where Ive worked with people who I know are One Nation voters or highly One Nationempathetic, they will give absurd examples of their fears. I once met in South Australia this man who was very, very adamant on banning the burqa because he was concerned that large groups of women in their burqas would line up behind him at the ATM and steal his pin number. But the general way this plays out in groups is for someone to say, Once upon a time you could leave your door open, or, You could go to the pub and put your wallet next to your beer and go to the loo and youd be surrounded by people just like you, people who would never even think to touch your wallet. But now you cant do that. A discussion about asylum seekers and immigration will slip very quickly into that sort of talk. Theres a really intense nexus between law and order and immigration in that group.

Yearning for the past

Huntley says: Hanson plugs into a range of complaints, most of them complaints that governments can do nothing about. Theyre the unsolvable complaints, complaints of the modern world. If you live in the modern world, it comes with divorce, it comes with open borders, it comes with refugees. People are nostalgic. If you push most people and say, All right, lets go back to the 1950s, they retreat. They say, As much as we like this, as much as we talk about that, do we really want to go back to the world of the six oclock swill and a world where a woman had to give up her job the moment she got married? They think beyond the platitudes about how nice it was to live in neighbourhoods where you knew your neighbours and all the rest of it and realise they dont want to go back there. But the One Nation group is genuinely nostalgic. They will genuinely say, Yes, I want to go back to that time. How far back? To the young adulthood of their fathers, which they imagine wasnt so long ago. And they wonder if so much thats happened since couldnt be unravelled. The picture of One Nation is much more complex than the traditional view of them as disaffected, working class, unemployed, the left-behinds from globalisation.

Which parties are Hanson voters deserting?

Rod Culleton and Pauline Hanson in the Senate chamber in Canberra in November. The controversy over her former colleagues bankruptcy hasnt touched her. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

That answer was straightforward the first time round: some Labor but mostly Coalition. Before the politicians drove Hanson out of parliament, the Coalition was in a world of pain. For every vote Kim Beazley lost, John Howard lost two. But the vote in 2016 was more complicated. Heres the AES breakdown based on the previous choice of :

Previous choice of those who voted One Nation in 1998 v 2016

First the Palmer United party collapsed. This was a classic protest party, its supporters not drawn by any policies Clive Palmer was advocating but driven by distaste for Labor and the Coalition. With the PUP perch gone, these voters have largely flown to One Nation. Most of Hansons vote at the election last year came roughly equally from Labor and the Coalition. That was then. Since her reappearance in Canberra, support for One Nation has blossomed. The most recent polls show her drawing greater backing than ever before. A Newspoll in late February put her support at 10%, more than double her showing at the 2016 election. The Rod Culleton circus hasnt touched her. Nor have defections, sackings and recriminations inside the party. Shes into double figures on a national poll and, for her, thats ridin

Source: http://allofbeer.com/looking-back-and-angry-what-drives-pauline-hansons-voters-david-marr/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/01/25/looking-back-and-angry-what-drives-pauline-hansons-voters-david-marr/

0 notes

adambstingus · 6 years ago

Text

Looking back, and angry: what drives Pauline Hanson’s voters | David Marr

National background

Liberal 78% native-born Labor 79% Greens 82% National 91% One Nation 98%

Age and sex

1998 male 65%, female 35% 2016 male 56%, female 44%

One Nation supporters at a bowling club in Perth. Support among women for Hansons party has grown since the 1990s, when its voters were overwhelmingly men. Photograph: Rebecca Le May/AAP

Class

Greens 24% identify as working class

Liberal 32% Labor 45% National 46% One Nation 66%

Religion

Where do they live ?

Where do One Nation voters live?

Hanson in 1998. She positioned herself then as the leader for those who hated government. Two decades on, that message is resonating more with voters. Photograph: Reuters

Level of education

Have they been ruined by globalisation?

National 25% Greens 27% Liberal 29% Labor 38% One Nation 68%

National 35% Greens 44% Labor 46% Liberal 47% One Nation 73%

So while there is a lot of gloom about, Hansons people see the national economy going to hell in a handcart. Why?

Immigration

Greens 40% Labor 43% Liberal 49% National 54% One Nation 82%

Greens 7% Labor 21% Liberal 24% National 32% One Nation 83%

Those in each party who agree or strongly agree that migrants:

Position on migrants

Greens 10% Labor 55% Liberal 63% National 63% One Nation 90%

Anger with government

Nothing beats the hostility of Hansons voters here. This is the party breakdown of those who believe politicians usually look after themselves:

National 39% Liberal 40% Labor 51% Greens 51% One Nation 85%

Immigration position linked with dissatisfaction with government

Other issues that fire up One Nation voters

Greens 9% Labor 24% Liberal 30% National 31% One Nation 50%

Greens 15% Labor 40% Liberal 42% National 54% One Nation 88%

Thelma Letch, who lives in WA, has been a One Nation supporter ever since [Hanson] went to jail. Photograph: Calla Wahlquist for the Guardian

Yearning for the past

Which parties are Hanson voters deserting?

Rod Culleton and Pauline Hanson in the Senate chamber in Canberra in November. The controversy over her former colleagues bankruptcy hasnt touched her. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Previous choice of those who voted One Nation in 1998 v 2016

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/looking-back-and-angry-what-drives-pauline-hansons-voters-david-marr/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/182305406562

0 notes

allofbeercom · 6 years ago

Text

Looking back, and angry: what drives Pauline Hanson’s voters | David Marr

National background

Liberal 78% native-born Labor 79% Greens 82% National 91% One Nation 98%

Age and sex

1998 male 65%, female 35% 2016 male 56%, female 44%

One Nation supporters at a bowling club in Perth. Support among women for Hansons party has grown since the 1990s, when its voters were overwhelmingly men. Photograph: Rebecca Le May/AAP

Class

Greens 24% identify as working class

Liberal 32% Labor 45% National 46% One Nation 66%

Religion

Where do they live ?

Where do One Nation voters live?

Hanson in 1998. She positioned herself then as the leader for those who hated government. Two decades on, that message is resonating more with voters. Photograph: Reuters

Level of education

Have they been ruined by globalisation?

National 25% Greens 27% Liberal 29% Labor 38% One Nation 68%

National 35% Greens 44% Labor 46% Liberal 47% One Nation 73%

So while there is a lot of gloom about, Hansons people see the national economy going to hell in a handcart. Why?

Immigration

Greens 40% Labor 43% Liberal 49% National 54% One Nation 82%

Greens 7% Labor 21% Liberal 24% National 32% One Nation 83%

Those in each party who agree or strongly agree that migrants:

Position on migrants

Greens 10% Labor 55% Liberal 63% National 63% One Nation 90%

Anger with government

Nothing beats the hostility of Hansons voters here. This is the party breakdown of those who believe politicians usually look after themselves:

National 39% Liberal 40% Labor 51% Greens 51% One Nation 85%

Immigration position linked with dissatisfaction with government

Other issues that fire up One Nation voters

Greens 9% Labor 24% Liberal 30% National 31% One Nation 50%

Greens 15% Labor 40% Liberal 42% National 54% One Nation 88%

Thelma Letch, who lives in WA, has been a One Nation supporter ever since [Hanson] went to jail. Photograph: Calla Wahlquist for the Guardian

Yearning for the past

Which parties are Hanson voters deserting?

Rod Culleton and Pauline Hanson in the Senate chamber in Canberra in November. The controversy over her former colleagues bankruptcy hasnt touched her. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Previous choice of those who voted One Nation in 1998 v 2016

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/looking-back-and-angry-what-drives-pauline-hansons-voters-david-marr/

0 notes

viralhottopics · 8 years ago

Text

Looking back, and angry: what drives Pauline Hanson’s voters | David Marr

National background

Liberal 78% native-born Labor 79% Greens 82% National 91% One Nation 98%

Age and sex

1998 male 65%, female 35% 2016 male 56%, female 44%

One Nation supporters at a bowling club in Perth. Support among women for Hansons party has grown since the 1990s, when its voters were overwhelmingly men. Photograph: Rebecca Le May/AAP

Class

Greens 24% identify as working class

Liberal 32% Labor 45% National 46% One Nation 66%

Religion

Where do they live ?

Where do One Nation voters live?

Hanson in 1998. She positioned herself then as the leader for those who hated government. Two decades on, that message is resonating more with voters. Photograph: Reuters

Level of education

Have they been ruined by globalisation?

National 25% Greens 27% Liberal 29% Labor 38% One Nation 68%

National 35% Greens 44% Labor 46% Liberal 47% One Nation 73%

So while there is a lot of gloom about, Hansons people see the national economy going to hell in a handcart. Why?

Immigration

Greens 40% Labor 43% Liberal 49% National 54% One Nation 82%

Greens 7% Labor 21% Liberal 24% National 32% One Nation 83%

Those in each party who agree or strongly agree that migrants:

Position on migrants

Greens 10% Labor 55% Liberal 63% National 63% One Nation 90%

Anger with government

Nothing beats the hostility of Hansons voters here. This is the party breakdown of those who believe politicians usually look after themselves:

National 39% Liberal 40% Labor 51% Greens 51% One Nation 85%

Immigration position linked with dissatisfaction with government

Other issues that fire up One Nation voters

Greens 9% Labor 24% Liberal 30% National 31% One Nation 50%

Greens 15% Labor 40% Liberal 42% National 54% One Nation 88%

Thelma Letch, who lives in WA, has been a One Nation supporter ever since [Hanson] went to jail. Photograph: Calla Wahlquist for the Guardian

Yearning for the past

Which parties are Hanson voters deserting?

Rod Culleton and Pauline Hanson in the Senate chamber in Canberra in November. The controversy over her former colleagues bankruptcy hasnt touched her. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Previous choice of those who voted One Nation in 1998 v 2016

Read more: http://ift.tt/2ok0e5x

from Looking back, and angry: what drives Pauline Hanson’s voters | David Marr

#Looking back #and angry: what drives Pauline Hanson’s voters | David Marr

0 notes

mcjulf · 8 years ago

Text

no body seems to get it!GOD is done with d church & left this explains why everybody troops into d church with desperation while d enemy has taken over to take undue advantage of men & women,when GOD was in d church,nobody came.let me pieces it a bit,JESUS is Revelations,secretes & mysteries.d church was in existence dominated by religion d mother of culture.when JESUS entered d church,dis revelations,secretes & mysteries,was bigger than d church & d church could not swallow it Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 4:21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 4:22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?no,they knew Joseph's son but they dont know d revelations,secretes,mysteries.dis is what a true believer is today,is no more I that liveth but revelations,secretes,mysteries dis makes me a wonder. 4:23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. 4:24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 4:26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 4:27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. 4:28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 4:29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 4:30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way,take note d church was & is poor,brokenhearted,captive,blind & bruised.ur choice of people are not GOD'S target for ur emancipation just look at that JESUS left John 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.what ur worshipping in d church is not what u think,ur church is not a spirit but carnality & flesh a symbol of work of d flesh by d fruits of d church u know it,can u get it now dis is why I don't know who d sinful people,church,nation pretend calling.if u love me keep my commandment says GOD&HE GOD hears HIS own,defend&keep them.HE pointed 2 us d barriers dat sin posses 2 our prayers yet so careless as we seem,we want it our way.unfortunately,wea not d giver but GOD.GOD is love,righteous,Holy,pure&dis are what HE wants man to know.instead man chose to know d devil.Mary d mother of CHRIST knew GOD in righteousness,Holiness,purity,sanctification&dedication &became honoured by GOD.GOD expects d Roman Catholic race&man to follow dis steps of Mary if they want 2 honour her but rather,d devil helped them to create a routine ritual which they now adopt&follow against d will of GOD.I visualise d devil when he said,he was striped of his authority but not his brain hence he decided to fake his brain to look like authority&weapons to which many has fallen.d harvest is plentiful but d labourers are few.suggest 2 many pastors,preachers,evangelist,bishops,general overseers etc but no labourers.d pulpit is full of d class,acclaimed mentors,life choppers etc who cannot preach except they are lodged in a five star hotel,except they ride on limousine,swallowing riches they will vomit.dis is d reason 4 d malnutrition 4rm d pulpit that gives rise to quashioko christains,leprosy of faith.dis is d calculus,geometry,indices that confirms few 4 Heaven.few labourers can deliever few input.u should be listening to a labourer,not d class that parade d pulpit 2day.only a labourer can give u d message with passion.labourers work tirelessly&d joy of d LORD is dea strength(ups).only labourers are sent&chosen.d pastor,bishop,evangelist,televangelist,general overseers,popes,preachers may be called but they probably hv lost dea calling on d lap of Delilah,mammon vineyard&pot of portege hence many are called but few are chosen.labourers are few&chosen.d apostles of old are vivid example of labourers.take dea character,attitude,believes&put in a scale with dat of 2day televangelist,pastors,bishops,preachers&see d difference.labourers work with dea heart to deliever quality job,d others work 4 dea belly.GOD hv mercy.IJN.Amen!be careful who ur listening 2.confirm he is a labourer then ur heaven bound.d labourer does not care about ur tithe&offering but ur life 4 GOD like Pauls burning desire but d other wants ur bank account in full.empty ur pocket&work back home whatever happens is not his business.d rate of donation&giving in d church is beyound ur income,exhaust it go&borrow 2 meet up 4 mirracle yet ur life is nothing 2 write home about.dis is how they destroy so many homes bcos of greed.d income of d man is not enough as tithe&offering so they decided 2 agree to support wives to work so dat d tithe&offering 4rm each familly shall add so much,however ur home suffer 4 that,it is not dea business.thats why they hv accommodated u so much with that ur hot mini skirt in d church.they know ur a lesbian,homosexual,ur ungodly&unholy life,they dont care as long as ur income grace dea account.I beg u in d name of GOD look 4 a labourer,forget how d church looks as long as d Holyghost is dea.d Holyghost was not in any of d inns but in d menga.if it is a menga u see dea, enter dea&meet with d Holyghost&labourer.many glorified edifice are hammer house of horror in disguise.one evening,I took my familly to a nearby lovely decorated church 4 night vigil,as soon as I close my eyes&lift up my hands to pray,GOD did not waste time trance began to fly&I saw lizards,rats moving allover d church in d spirit.if u dont hv 4sight u cant understand this things.pls.look 4 a labourer IJN.stay Holistically JESUS-tic.

0 notes

viralhottopics · 8 years ago

Text

Gays Against Guns: can LGBTQ community curb the gun lobby?

After the Orlando nightclub shootings, Americas queer community has the gun lobby firmly in its sights. Can they succeed where so many have failed, asks Rupert Neate

Patty Sheehans biggest worries on 11 June 2016 were parking tickets, potholes and whether her latest artwork was a good enough likeness of her cat, Loui. The Orlando city commissioner had stayed up late painting Loui that muggy Saturday night.

Seven months later the portrait remains unfinished. Sheehan was woken by a phone call early the next morning telling her that a gunman armed with a military-style assault rifle had opened fire on clubbers at Pulse, an LGBT nightclub three miles from her door.

Within minutes, she was on the scene. Sheehan stood watch outside Pulse until 11pm, getting home to realise the blood-splattered pavement shed been standing on had been so hot that the soles of her feet had burned through her shoes. She had helped the 53 wounded and the families of the 49 people who lost their lives in less time than it took to read their names at the memorial service. She went back the next day at 4am, and the next, for two weeks. Emails about parking permits, recycling and other day-to-day concerns of a city commissioner were left to pile up in her inbox.

Gay protest group stages die-in against gun stock investments

Sheehan, who became the first out official in central Florida when she was elected in 2000, had a new mission: gun control. Potholes, regrettably, would have to wait. As a city official, gun control measures dont normally apply to me, she said. I frankly thought: Let the big guys in Washington deal with it, but when the Pulse attack happened it came to our streets. If DC cant do this, someone has got to do it. If it takes a little city commissioner in Orlando to say it, so be it.

Sheehan is part of a growing movement among gay people across America vowing to take on the gun death epidemic, following successful campaigns for marriage equality and the repeal of the governments Dont Ask Dont Tell policy, which prevented gay soldiers from serving their country openly.

Gays Against Guns (Gag) is a collective, based in New York City, that includes several veterans of Act Up, the activist group that forced President Reagan to respond to the Aids epidemic. It has begun a campaign of civil disobedience and direct action against gun companies and their supporters.

It devastated me: Patty Sheehan with clergyman Kelvin Cobaris (centre) and a local gay rights campaigner after the Pulse shooting. Photograph: Joe Burbank/AP

John Grauwiler, one of Gags three founders, makes for an unlikely activist. He is a muscled, 6ft, 46-year-old teacher and fitness fanatic who commutes on his beaten-up bike from his East Village apartment to his school in Brooklyn. Over Sunday brunch at NoHo B Bar, Grauwiler recalled the moment he heard the news about the Pulse attack in a text from his mother in New Jersey.

OMG, John, Im so sorry, her text read. He initially had no idea what she was referring to, but it became painfully clear when he scrolled through other texts and checked Facebook.

It devastated me, quite frankly, Grauwiler said. When Sandy Hook [the 2012 massacre of 20 children at a school in Connecticut] happened, it hit me as a teacher. With the Charleston church shooting [in which nine African-American parishioners were killed in 2015] it hit me as a black man. And now with Orlando, it hit me as a gay man, he said. I thought: Fuck it, lets do something!

Grauwiler, who teaches English in Brooklyns leafy Carroll Gardens neighbourhood, said he believes so strongly in the need for tougher gun control under a Donald Trump presidency that he is prepared to break the law to draw attention to it. He thinks direct action is the only way to achieve change. It has always worked, and it always will, he said. Lobbying has a value, but it tends to happen at a slower pace and behind closed doors.

Grauwiler didnt intend to become an activist, not now nor during the Aids crisis, when he was one of the youngest members of Act Up. I had come to the city in 1989 from Jersey City as an 18-year-old to live my life, he said. But, of course I heard about Aids, and people were dying. I thought I was going to die as well, and I had to do something. He went to his first Monday night Act Up organising meeting at the arts and architecture university Cooper Union. I belonged. I felt like I finally, somehow, had some control of my destiny, Grauwiler said. He helped by handing out clean needles to drug addicts in the then no-go Lower East Side.

Man with a message: John Grauwiler, one of the founders of Gays Against Guns. Photograph: Christopher Lane for the Observer

Now Grauwiler, with Gag co-founders Kevin Hertzog and Texas-born Brian Worth, runs his own organising meetings on Thursday nights at the Center, New Yorks LGBTQ community space in the West Village. At the slightly chaotic meetings, Gag members debate the best ways to end the corporate machine profiting from gun death.

Campaigns have included die-in protests that saw Gag members storm the Manhattan offices of money manager BlackRock, which is one of the biggest investors in gun companies, including Smith & Wesson. Dressed in white T-shirts cropped to display as much gym-honed bicep as possible and spray painted with the Gays Against Guns slogan, the protesters held placards stating: Gun$ sell. People die. $tock soars.

The protesters ranging in age from teenagers to people in their 80s gathered in Paley Park and marched towards BlackRocks headquarters. They were led by dozens of silent, white-veiled figures carrying placards with the names and faces of victims from Pulse and other massacres, including some of the 20 six- and seven-year-olds who had been at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.

After BlackRock refused to send anyone out to listen to their concerns, they performed a die-in in the foyer 12 people lying on the floor to represent the dozen people killed with weapons including a Smith & Wesson MP assault rifle at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, in 2012. Outside the office on 52nd Street protesters dropped blood red-dyed popcorn around white chalk-outlines of victims.

Our actions are in your face. Theyre very visceral with people screaming about death and demanding change, Grauwiler said. Theyre something the world will see.

Some of them are funny, too. Grauwiler and his Gaggers sing tongue-in-cheek Christmas carols adapted by Broadway performer and Gag member Mark Leydorf to draw attention to horrors of gun violence and the National Rifle Associations (NRA) influence. Gags version of Silent Night sung to Christmas shoppers at Rockefeller Center goes like this: Silent night. Holy night. Terrified until we died. This is life in the USA, where we worship the NRA.

Rock and a hard place: Gays Against Guns stage a protest at the Manhattan offices of BlackRock, massive investors in gun companies. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters

Gag also targets high-street brands that partner with the NRA, including car rental companies, Visa, and Wyndham Hotels. Grauwilers message to those firms: Its us or them. End your relationship with the death business or the LGBTQ community ends its relationship with you. According to a recent study, the combined annual disposable income of the LGBTQ community in the US is estimated at $917bn.

The numbers turning up at Gags weekly meetings have increased in the wake of Trumps victory, as, Grauwiler says, people are increasingly looking for a focus to direct their anger at after the reality TV stars election. The most recent Gag meeting lasted eight hours as members debated whether or not Gag should become Gat Gays Against Trump. It was decided that Gag would retain its focus on gun control, but the group has joined the wider protest movement picketing Trump Tower.

Gag the acronym was chosen knowingly secured a last-minute prime spot at the front of New York Citys Pride parade leading Grauwiler and the others to pull an all-nighter spray-painting banners demanding stricter gun control measures.

Like Grauwiler, Iraq war veteran and DC political consultant Jason Lindsay immediately started forming his own anti-gun campaign group on 12 June. While Gag is visceral and direct, Lindsays Pride Fund to End Gun Violence is taking a considered and targeted lobbying approach to help gay people and their allies elect candidates who will act on sensible gun policy reforms while championing LGBTQ safety and equality.

I was shocked to my stomach when I saw it on the news, Lindsay said from Dupont Circle, DCs historically gay but now yuppified neighbourhood. At the same time, it was just another example of the senseless epidemic of gun violence. But this was different in scale and it was incredibly personal for me, as it was an attack on my community.

Lindsay came out in rural North Carolina when he was 15, but he only felt comfortable telling his mother, and kept his life and feelings very private. The intense privacy would continue for years. At 18, he signed up as an army reservist serving for 14 years including a tour of Iraq in 2003 when the Dont Ask Dont Tell policy was still in force. I didnt tell anyone all of that time and no one found out, he said.

Hes less private now. Today he is leading a campaign on one of the most contentious issues in America, as a gay man with hundreds of LGBTQ supporters. Why do I think gays can change this? he asked. The gay community, and its allies, are an incredible force. These are people in high-powered positions across all walks of life. And we have won battles before. People thought marriage equality would never happen, thought that Dont Ask Dont Tell would never be repealed, he said. This is a new fight for the gay community, adding our incredible strength and political experience to the existing campaigns, and that will make a difference.

Lindsay is uniquely placed to take on this fight as a gay man working in politics who has fired military assault rifles similar to those used by the Pulse killer. These are weapons of war and have no place on American streets, he said. People in the military have to undergo enhanced safety training before using a gun like that. But in the civilian world, you can go into a store and take away a gun with no training.

Lindsay said the public are already onboard, but lawmakers are lagging behind public opinion because of their reliance on donations and support from the gun lobby and the NRA. Political polling since the Pulse shooting has consistently shown 90% of Americans support stricter background checks and 85% want to block suspected terrorists on the no-fly list from buying weapons.

The NRA, said Lindsay, is trying to distort the aim of the campaign. They are playing the fear factor, saying we want to take away peoples guns and repeal the second amendment [the right to bear arms]. We dont want to take away anyones guns.

In fact, many of Pride Funds board own guns and enjoy hunting or days at the shooting range. All we are advocating for is a review of assault weapon sales and access to high-capacity magazines. No one needs them, he said. They are designed to kill as many people as quickly as possible.

Barbara Poma the owner of Pulse, who created the club as a place welcoming anyone and everyone in memory of her gay brother John who died of Aids-related complications in 1991 carries, and her husband and son own, several firearms. She said the attack, which claimed the lives of several of her friends, hasnt changed her support of the second amendment. My life changed forever that night, all of our lives changed. But it hasnt changed my point of view on guns. The right to bear arms is a fundamental part of being American.

Patty Sheehan, who also serves on the Pride Fund board, has a handgun she bought after being threatened because of her sexuality and for campaigning for equality. Shes not going to give up her gun either, but vowed to continue to demand a ban on assault weapons even if it costs her job. She fears that when she comes up for re-election later this year the NRA which pumped millions of dollars into Trumps campaign will deploy its vast war chest against her. I am scared, I know it might cost me my job, but if I dont stand up and protect my community I cant do my job.

Sheehan, who is single and has devoted her life to public service, Loui and her urban chickens, said: Everything I do as an elected public official doesnt matter if its all shattered by gun violence. These kids at Pulse didnt sign up for the military, they went out to dance and got shot.