In a confined shophouse in one of Bangkok’s unremarkable outlying suburbs, a small group of volunteers packs leaflets frantically in preparation for the daily ritual of campaigning for votes.
Move Forward, the most radical party contesting this month’s general election in Thailand, has a campaign headquarters in Bang Bon that is decidedly low-rent.
Parliamentary candidate Rukchanok “Ice” Srinork, a 28-year-old woman overflowing with vitality, is pacing amongst them as she continuously scrolls through her social media pages. Ice’s team has been using inexpensive bicycles to reach out to the inhabitants of Bang Bon’s tiniest alleyways for weeks, despite the stifling heat.
Ice is one of a slate of youthful, idealistic candidates for Move Forward who have entered mainstream politics in the hope that this election will allow Thailand to break its decades-long cycle of military coups, street protests, and unfulfilled democratic promises.
Move Forward replaced Future Forward, a five-year-old Thai political party.
It contested the first election authorized since a 2014 rebellion deposed the previously elected government. Future Forward was novel, promising significant changes to Thailand’s political structures, such as limiting the authority of the armed forces, and, more subtly, suggesting changes to the monarchy, which was a taboo subject at the time.
According to Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University’s Institute of Security and International Studies, “their main objective was to reclaim Thailand’s future from the ruling class.” “In this century, young people have been forced to live in a country that has been lost to an infinite cycle of coups, new constitutions, and judicial dissolutions of political organizations. I believe the younger demographic grew weary of it. Future Forward capitalized on this sentiment.”
It won the third-largest proportion of seats in the 2019 election, shocking conservatives. As it has in the past, Thailand’s royalist establishment, a network of military officers, senior administrators, and judges, had Future Forward dissolved by the Constitutional Court and its leaders forbidden from politics. The party lost about a third of its parliamentary representatives, and its substitute, Move Forward, became the only opposition voice in the legislature.
In recent weeks, however, the party’s popularity in opinion polls has surged once more, alarming competitors. According to numerous surveys, the charismatic and articulate Pita Limjaroenrat is the most popular candidate for prime minister.
This notoriety is altering how Ice and her bicycling volunteers are received in Bang Bon, the fiefdom of a powerful family from an opposing political party. Genuine interest exists in what these young people have to offer. Even senior citizens express the need for substantial change in Thailand.
This political landscape is exemplified by Ice herself. She confesses she was once a staunch royalist who supported the military rebellion and admired its leader, the current prime minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha.
“At the time, I agreed and thought it was best for the nation.”
She says, “I’m doing this in part because I feel guilty for being part of a movement that encouraged the coup, a crime against 70 million people.” “At the time, I concurred with it and believed it was the best solution for the nation. But later I wondered how that could have occurred. How could this country possibly sustain a coup? And that is when I turned into a taa sawang.”
Younger Thais use the term “Taa Sawang” – literally “bright eyes” – to characterize their enlightenment regarding previously forbidden topics, particularly the monarchy. It was the rallying cry of the massive protest movement that erupted in 2020 after Future Forward was outlawed, disenfranchising millions of younger electors ravenous for change.
And while the movement was ultimately defeated by the extensive use of the draconian lese majeste law, it broke the taboo by publicly advocating for the first time for the monarchy’s powers and finances to be held accountable. After three years, Move Forward’s support for regal reform is no longer as startling. And more Thais appear prepared to support the party’s broader reform agenda.
The journey of Chonticha “Kate” Jangrew has been in the contrary direction. Her “taa sawang” moment occurred when she was still in school.
She was among a very small group of dissidents who were prepared to risk detention in order to protest the 2014 coup that Ice was still celebrating. She also participated in the much larger, monarchy-focused demonstrations of 2020. Now, however, she has resolved to give up her activist work and compete as a Move Forward candidate for parliament. “I believe that to achieve the desired changes, we must work in both the legislature and on the streets,” she says.
Her appeal to electors in Pathum Thani, an additional district outside of Bangkok, is unconventional. “I have 28 criminal charges pending against me,” she informs them, of which two are for lese majeste, which entails a 15-year prison sentence. “However, this demonstrates that I have the courage to speak out when I believe something must be done for our country.”
Even senior voters appear to be captivated by her juvenile candor. Nearly everyone at the market where she appeared stated that they liked Move Forward because they stood for change and kept their word.
Few believe Move Forward will win enough seats to form a government, despite all the publicity they’ve received. The revised electoral system is less advantageous for them than it was previously. And because Thailand is an elderly society, voters under the age of 26 – the natural supporters of Move Forward – make up less than 15% of the electorate.
Nonetheless, if the party’s present surge in support continues until election day, they could do well enough to be part of a coalition government or a formidable voice of opposition. The question then arises as to whether the establishment will again employ its arsenal of extra-parliamentary schemes to disable the reformists.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak asserts, “The Move Forward party’s agenda poses an existential threat to Thailand’s established power centers, including the military, monarchy, judiciary, and the institutions and players who have governed Thailand for decades.”
More than a thousand individuals have congregated in the streets of Wollongong to protest the establishment of a local base for the nuclear-powered submarines that are central to the AUKUS agreement.
The former Morrison administration considered Port Kembla, Newcastle, and Brisbane as potential locations for a new east coast base.
Saturday at Port Kembla, members of the Australian Labor Party and union representatives joined members of Wollongong Against War and Nukes (WAWAN) to protest the proposed base.
Organizers of the event stated that they intend to “send a clear message that they do not want a nuclear submarine base here or anywhere else.”
Alexander Brown, a WAWAN member who has resided in the region for twenty years, stated that the establishment of such a base would impede the region’s transition into the renewable energy industry.
The grassroots activist estimated that approximately one thousand protesters will attend Saturday’s rally.
“This is pointless war mongering by Americans in the region,” he stated.
“We need a rapid transition to a renewable economy and peace in the region more than ever before.”
“We don’t want it here or anywhere else.”
Mr. Brown stated that the previous administration announced the site as a potential submarine base without “discussion, debate, or public consultation.”
“We were blindsided,” he stated.
The demonstration occurs on the same day that interim prime minister Richard Marles announced the formation of a new agency to oversee the nation’s nuclear program.
Mr. Marles stated that the new Australian Submarine Agency (ASA) would assure the “commitment” of the government to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
“The ASA will be accountable and responsible for delivering the ambitious program to acquire Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines,” he said.
“A specialized and dedicated regulator… will ensure the highest levels of nuclear safety and radiological protection throughout the entire life cycle of Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines.”
The rally was attended by both federal and state legislators, including Senator David Shoebridge of the NSW Greens, who told the audience that there is an excellent opportunity to construct a renewable energy hub in Port Kembla.
The march began at noon at the intersection of Wentworth Street and Darcy Road.
Following a strategic assessment last month, the Albanese government announced it would make a decision on an east coast base later this decade.
In addition to the three locations proposed by Scott Morrison for the submarine facility last year, the government has decided to consider additional locations for the base.
The Italian tourism ministry believed that converting a 15th-century art classic into a 21st-century “virtual influencer” would attract tourists.
Venus, goddess of love, can be seen eating pizza and taking Instagram selfies. Venus is dressed unlike the original. Influencer claims to be 30 or “maybe just a wee bit (older) than that.”
Critics are labeling the new ad campaign a “new Barbie” that degrades Italy’s culture.
“Trivializing our heritage in the most vulgar way, transforming Botticelli’s Venus into yet another stereotyped female beauty,” said Mi Riconosci art historian and activist Livia Garomersini last month.
According to ENIT CEO Ivana Jelinic, the yearlong campaign by national tourist agency ENIT and advertising company Armando Testa cost 9 million euros (approximately $9.9 million).
Jelinic claimed the promotion targeted younger travelers in foreign markets. The online Venus debuted in Dubai at the Arabian Travel Market this week after launching in Italy on April 20.
Jelinic told The Associated Press that Botticelli’s Venus “seemed to us like an immortal icon who could represent Italy well.”
The new Venus has been ruthlessly memed online, appearing in garbage bins, with Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, and elsewhere.
The campaign’s use of stock photos and other missteps, such as a promotional film presenting a Slovenian vineyard as Italy, are also criticized.
The campaign’s theme, “Open to Meraviglia” (Open to Wonder), combines English into an Italian tourism marketing while the government protects the Italian language as a cultural pillar.
Language mistakes abound.
According to University of Pavia professor Matteo Flora, an automated translator translated Brindisi, a southern Italian port town, into “Toast” on the campaign’s website. That website section is currently hidden.
“Let’s not talk about the creativity point of view,” Flora remarked, “You may like (the campaign) or not, but on a technical point of view, it has been… a sort of avalanche of problems.”
Insecure domains allow anyone to steal the material and spoof the project.
Flora claimed the campaign wasted money. The ad’s creative team built the virtual Venus using the “intelligence of human creativity,” but Flora showed how he could rapidly create a comparable campaign using AI for 20 euros. Thousands have shared his social media posts.
Art historians claim that a likeness of Botticelli’s masterwork degrades the 15th century original’s beauty and mystery.
“Perhaps Botticelli would not be happy about this,” remarked Sapienza art history professor Massimo Moretti.
According to marketing experts, using classic images like the “Birth of Venus” risks offending culture.
“The more you try to alter something that’s historic, probably the greater the outcry,” said Pace University Lubin School of Business marketing professor Larry Chiagouris.
“People will say, ‘You’re changing culture. Because it’s our past, you’re altering us.” Chiagouris added.
“I didn’t like that they used the Botticelli Venus like that, since it is a piece of art,” Rome high school student Riccardo Rodrigo remarked. “They made it social friendly to amuse Gen Z, I think it was unnecessary since it can be used just as it is and not modified like they did.”
Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” is at Florence’s Uffizi Galleries.
Any press is excellent for the campaign developers.
Jelinic of ENIT stated, “It has become so viral,” adding that “web users have made her come alive” even while installing the new Venus in unglamorous locales.
Jelinic stated it was interesting for social communication. Critics are wrong—our campaign is attractive.
Tourism officials will employ billboards and airport and train video screens to extend the promotion.
According to Trend, which cites the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, the ongoing international flight-tactical exercises known as “Anatolian Eagle – 2023” are still taking place in Konya, which is located in the Republic of Turkey.
The next day of the training consisted of the aircraft carrying out group flights from the base airport and carrying out a variety of combat operations during the daylight. This was all according to the plan.
As part of the combined operation, the aviation groups were successful in completing the duties necessary to overcome the air defenses of the imagined opponent.
The missions that were given to the flight crews were accomplished with flying colors.
During the training, the pilots also carried out aerial reconnaissance and located the locations of other ground targets that the fictitious enemy had set up.
Following the completion of the drills, the engineering and technical crew got to work on the chores related to the maintenance of the combat aircraft and getting the aircraft ready for the subsequent flight as quickly as possible.
Numerous mega rallies and road shows are scheduled for today and tomorrow in Karnataka prior to the conclusion of the election campaign on Monday. Today morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a 26-kilometer-long road show in Bengaluru and speak at two public rallies in Badami and Haveri.
This evening, Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi will campaign in Hubballi for the first time in the Karnataka election. On this occasion, her son Rahul Gandhi and Congress National President Mallikarjuna Kharge will be present. Today, Rahul Gandhi will also speak at two public events in Belagavi.
Today, the state president of the Congress, D K Shivakumar, will campaign in Hassan, Mandya, and Ramanagara. Today, JD(S) supremo H D Devegowda will release his party’s Bengaluru municipal manifesto. On this occasion, party state President C M Ibrahim will be present.
Bengaluru roadshow by PM Modi
Yesterday, Aam Aadmi Party State President Prithvi Reddy released the party’s manifesto in Bengaluru. It promises to allocate more funds to the education and health sectors and to initiate state-wide development initiatives.
According to an AIR correspondent, Bengaluru is all set for the prime minister’s mega road show today. It will begin at Someshwara Sabha Bhavan in J P Nagar, proceed through Jayanagar, Bull Temple road in Basavanagudi, Sirsi circle near Mysore Road, touch Magadi junction near Prasanna theatre, pass by Havanuru junction in Basaveshwara nagar, and end in the afternoon at Gokak movement park in Malleshwaram.
Sonia Gandhi campaigning at Hubballi
The police department has instructed the public to avoid these roads between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. due to the Prime Minister’s road display.
However, the authorities have been instructed to prioritize the passage of ambulances.
Bengaluru has 28 constituencies, and the Prime Minister will visit 17 of them today and tomorrow. In Bengaluru, the BJP currently holds 15 MLA seats, Congress 12 seats, and JD(S) one seat.
An Istanbul business district apartment is the hub of a campaign to get more women into politics.
As 61 million Turkish citizens prepare to vote in presidential and legislative elections, Ben Secerim, or I Choose, is disappointed.
The NGO was founded two years ago to encourage women to run for office.
In the May 14 parliamentary election, Ben Secerim revealed 20 women from four parties. Only four candidates have a chance of entering the Turkish Grand National Assembly owing to the election method, which allocates party votes to candidates based on their ranking on party lists.
“It’s very disappointing for us,” said Ben Secerim president Nilden Bayazit. Women candidates face a roadblock even in liberal parties. It demonstrates there are still numerous obstacles on women and they don’t want to alter that.”
Two grafs below, anything about their 20 compared. greater numbers?
In a country that legalized women’s suffrage in 1934, the overall picture is gloomy.
The major opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has nominated 156 women to 600 parliamentary seats, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) has nominated 113. At 40.5%, the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP) has the most female candidates.
Women’s position in mainstream politics is much more gloomy when party lists are examined. In 11 of Turkey’s 87 electoral districts, the CHP ranks women first, while the AKP has four.
Turkey’s gender gap is not exceptional. The Inter-Parliamentary Union reports that just five nations have 50% or more female legislators. Turkey ranks 132nd with 17.4% of 2018 deputies being women.
In Turkey, patriarchal societies are less of a barrier to women entering politics.
62% of respondents in last year’s Ben Secerim and KONDA poll felt female lawmakers would improve Turkey. Women’s political party quotas were supported by a comparable percentage. Nearly three-quarters would support a family lady in politics.
“A female politician is needed for a democratic society, for justice, to solve the climate problem, to end corruption, to transform education policies and to regulate family policies,” Bayazit stated.
Social problems have traditionally been championed by Turkish women. International Women’s Day on March 8 draws thousands to protest for equality and rights, frequently against police riot shields and tear gas.
Women’s participation has grown since Turkey’s 2021 withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on women’s rights and subsequent attempts to pull down anti-discrimination laws.
Civil activity has not translated into female party politics.
Turkey’s women are increasingly visible and influential. “We see this especially in civil society,” said Istanbul CHP parliamentary candidate Elmas Arus.
“There are not many directly [sitting] in the parliament but since it is in the field of civil society, [women] have started to direct policies in some way.”
Lawyer Sibel Piskin is running for the opposition Iyi Party in Kirklareli, one of 20 Turkish provinces without a female parliamentarian. She is second on the party’s list, despite studies suggesting she is well-respected in the region, therefore she is unlikely to win.
She remarked, “I was not elected because I was in the second place in the [2018] election and I am in the second place again.”Yes, motivation is lost. Female politicians will improve the country, according to society.
Most political parties are controlled by men, which many think hinders women.
Arus added, “It is the party organs that are decisive in the nomination of women and unfortunately women are not sufficiently included in the party organs.” “We see women and young people actively working in women’s branches or youth branches—it is as if they have been given such a space.” Since women don’t make decisions, male-dominated politics continues.”
Arus, who is Roma and heads the Zero Discrimination Association, named former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, Iyi Party leader Meral Aksener, Istanbul CHP leader Canan Kaftancioglulu, and deputy CHP leader Selin Sayek Boke as influential women in politics.
She stated, “They know the pulse of politics and they lead the people.” Parties require an attitude shift. The party organs’ attitude toward delegates must alter for women to enter politics.
Arus cited Rwanda’s 61% female parliamentary representation, the world’s highest, as evidence for election law reform.
She said, “A fight against gender discrimination, which prevents women from political leadership, is also essential.” To boost women’s political participation, legal and political procedures that fight discrimination must be established.
Wednesday, the chairman of the Texas Public Utility Commission, Peter Lake, issued a warning that the state’s primary power grid could experience outages this summer if wind turbines fail to generate enough electricity when required. To make the grid more reliable, he argued once more that more on-demand power sources, such as natural gas-fueled power facilities or batteries, must be constructed.
Performance credits, a new economic instrument approved by Lake’s agency, are being evaluated by legislators. The credits would increase electricity customer bills by an estimated 2% and direct the funds to companies that operate on-demand power sources in an effort to incentivize them to construct more power plants or keep existing plants in service for longer.
Lake repeated his legislative session remarks after a summer grid inspection.
“The Texas electric grid faces a new reality,” said Lake on Wednesday. “For the first time, data indicates that the peak demand for electricity this summer will exceed the amount we can generate from dispatchable, on-demand power, so we will rely on renewables to keep the lights on.”
Lake’s statements were based on the grid operator’s seasonal report, which examines how much electricity the system is anticipated to be able to produce in various low-probability scenarios relative to demand.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas determined that the grid may not be able to meet a very high demand for electricity at the conclusion of a typical workday if it coincides with extremely low wind and an unusually high number of unplanned outages at other facilities. ERCOT discovered that moderate winds and extremely high demand after sunset may also contribute to power outages.
Pablo Vegas, president and CEO of ERCOT, stated at a news conference that the state’s growing population and economy have increased the demand for energy, and wind and solar energy production has increased much more than coal- and gas-powered production to satisfy the demand.
“We anticipate having to rely more on renewables than ever before during peak conditions,”
Renewable energy advocates refuted the assertion that renewables are the sole source of grid reliability.
Environment Texas Executive Director Luke Metzger stated in a statement that the expansion of renewable energy in Texas “should be heralded and welcomed – not blamed, contrary to the evidence, for grid problems.”
Metzger stated that renewable energy is essential to improve air quality, delay climate change, and reduce electricity costs. Rather than increasing reliance on fossil fuels for power — which is the direction that a number of pending legislation in the Legislature are advancing — environmental advocates want to see efforts to reduce electricity demand, such as by improving home insulation.
Judd Messer, vice president of the Texas chapter of the Advanced Power Alliance, a proponent of renewable energy, described Lake’s warning as another instance of anti-renewables politics entering a discussion that should be limited to facts.
“The reality is that the grid will require all of its resources to keep the lights on this summer,” said Messer.
After the grid nearly collapsed during a winter storm in February 2021, leaving millions without power or heat and causing more than 200 deaths, Governor Greg Abbott and other Texas leaders swiftly blamed renewable energy for the power failures; however, subsequent analysis revealed that all types of power generation failed during the storm.
Katie Coleman, who has advocated for companies that consume a great deal of electricity and is opposed to the performance credits, stated that this is not the first year that the system has relied on renewables to meet high demand.
She stated, “We do not believe this new release significantly alters the situation or justifies [the performance credits] without strong cost protections for customers.”
Young voters helped elect Joe Biden in 2020. As his reelection campaign begins, key activists are apprehensive about endorsing the president and worried the administration may waste years of progress.
Biden’s 2020 campaign actively courted younger, progressive voters to rally the grassroots and heal party divisions from the 2016 election.
The White House and youth activists are at a crossroads more than three years later. Biden’s support ratings with 18-to-29-year-olds have plummeted as the president and legislative Democrats have kept some pledges but not others.
Young climate activists who helped build trust and excitement for a Biden presidency were horrified by the administration’s approval of a contentious Alaskan drilling project. The White House said that its legal options were limited since the Trump administration had approved the project. The incident has revived preexisting misgivings among allied youth voting groups.
Their leaders worried that Biden and senior aides seem increasingly determined to own the political center, even if it alienates this increasingly powerful voting bloc. Young voters have participated in record numbers in recent elections and organized a huge network of groups focused on climate, immigration, gun violence, student debt, health care, LGBTQ rights, and more.
We find it hard to sell. If your activists, who are expected to persuade others, are asking, “Are we convinced at all whether he’s doing a great job?”How can we persuade others?March for Our Lives member Noah Lumbantobing stated. Biden did well. He hasn’t used his bully pulpit enough.”
In more than a dozen interviews with organizers from leading youth groups, front-line activists, and young Democratic strategists and legislative aides, a portrait emerges of a hyper-engaged and idealistic generation that, unlike previous generations, has become remarkably savvy about how to use its power. Forged during Trump’s presidency and the COVID-19 pandemic, they are ardent opponents of the right’s political and cultural agenda—a reality that may ultimately prevail over Biden’s disappointment—but also determined to make leading Democrats, many of them five or six decades older, earn their support.
They said the Biden team is accessible and proactive in seeking their input. They stated conversations are often superficial and their recommendations are ignored.
“We don’t need help being convinced that the Republicans are the bad guys, and we need to fight against them,” said Sunrise Movement electoral director Michele Weindling. “We need to know why we’re voting against the right and for what.”
Kevin Munoz, Biden campaign spokesman, underlined the increase in youth voter turnout in 2020 and said the campaign will “work hard to earn every Americans’ vote by using innovative ways to reach them, and highlighting the stakes of this election.”
Munoz said, “There’s only one candidate in this race fighting – and delivering – on (the most important issues to young voters). “President Biden.”
NextGen, a young voter turnout group, endorsed Biden this week. “It is clear that Biden is not only listening to us, but is taking robust action to signal to young people across the country that unprecedented change is possible,” said NextGen PAC President Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez.
Rising youth vote
Democrats have touted youth voting potential for decades. Liberals predicted the 1972 electorate would lean left when the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. Statistics showed otherwise. Youth attendance was average, and young Americans were not more liberal than their parents in the voting booth, as many feared.
Recent elections have changed that. Young voters are more liberal than their parents. Experts expect Gen-Z and Millennials—roughly 18–45-year-olds—to make up 40% of the vote by 2024. Democrats must focus more on topics that matter to younger Americans as older voters, from Generation X to Baby Boomers, increasingly vote conservative.
The Biden team and DNC are investing early in reaching such people. A campaign insider told CNN they called social media influencer managers last week following the news. A spokesman said the DNC is working with gun violence prevention groups “on a training series to engage young voters in schools and on campuses.”
John Della Volpe, polling director at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics and author of “Fight: How Gen Z Is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America,” said Biden is better with young voters now than four years ago, but he is not as strong as he was by Election Day.
“We started that summer of 2020 kind of where we are now, which is with a lot of young people questioning,” said Della Volpe, who took leave that year to assist the Biden campaign. I was certain that young people would react to his message, morals, and vision.
He said that Biden’s problem this time would be convincing young voters of Democrats’ successes, including the Inflation Reduction Act’s large green investments and executive initiatives to cancel up to $400 billion in student debt.
Della Volpe said a generation that has only experienced conflict and disagreement in Washington and the federal government has a mental challenge.
“You can’t assume younger people have the trust in the system that it’s ever worked,” he added. “You need two or three steps with this demographic group, where in other groups who’ve got a stronger connection with government and elections, maybe you can do it in one or two.”
Della Volpe and five Harvard Youth Poll students visited Washington this week to brief top advisers to Biden and staff on youth concerns, a practice that began under the Obama administration.
Advocates said abortion offered Biden the best chance to win over young and first-time voters. Tufts University’s CIRCLE reported 27% 18-to-29 turnout in 2022, the second highest midterm election percentage after 2018. Months after the US Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, numerous states voted on abortion. Young people helped elect a liberal state Supreme Court justice last month, who is anticipated to overturn Wisconsin’s abortion restriction with the court’s new left-leaning majority.
Before the April election, Project 72 WI director Teddy Landis, 25, led on-campus organizing. According to the group’s figures, Judge Janet Protasiewicz surpassed freshly reelected Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on campus, garnering national attention. He stated abortion, especially in a banned state, was the biggest worry.
“Abortion dominated the fall election. Spring brings an abortion election. “I was worried that if this is all we talk about, people will get sick of it,” Landis remarked. “People are not sick of talking about abortion and it really matters to them.”
He regretted that more young voters will face the impact of anti-abortion laws in the coming months, which will exacerbate that dynamic.
Republicans’ concurrent efforts to pass transgender kid legislation is producing a similar dynamic—sorrow and indignation at the real-life implications, but also a knowledge that the GOP may be overstepping and providing new electoral chances for Democrats.
This year, more than 400 anti-trans measures have been submitted in state legislatures, including many that would outlaw gender-affirming treatment for kids, specific materials, and school discussion of certain topics. Most 2024 Republican primary contenders advocate new federal laws and use anti-trans language.
Trump has called gender-affirming surgery for minors “child sexual mutilation,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed a series of measures to make it harder for trans people to get health care, and last week, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender woman and social media influencer, “a guy dressing up like a girl making fun of women.”
Biden strongly opposes Republican state-level transgender youth rights restrictions. His administration wants a federal regulation change to ban “categorically” excluding trans pupils from gender-specific sports teams. Advocacy organizations opposed the attempt to let schools ban certain athletes.
“There’s one side that is trying to take away our rights, and there’s another side that has completely squandered any opportunity to enshrine our rights,” said non-binary activist Esmée Silverman, co-founder of Queer Youth Assemble. Silverman also chastised the White House and Democrats for failing to turn their two-year ruling trifecta on Capitol Hill into “a single piece of long-term solution” for transgender people after Republicans reclaimed the House in the midterms.
Biden has also supported the Equality Act, a federal measure that bans sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity discrimination in most areas of American life. Congress is split on the legislation. He signed an executive order in June 2022 ordering the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to increase gender-affirming services and fight state anti-trans legislation.
At the signing, Biden told the youth, “Just be you.” You’re adored. Hear you. We understand. You belong.”
The college organizer, Landis, said the GOP assaults will backfire politically and that Biden had a significant chance to win over hesitant young people by not avoiding criticism.
He claimed young voters are likely to know a trans or non-binary person. “When they see these extremist Republicans talk about people they know in these crazy ways, that does a lot to repel them from the idea that they could even be someone they would vote for one day.”
A pivot?
Biden’s environment and immigration policies have drawn increasing criticism.
Climate Defiance, another youth-led group, disrupted White House senior advisor John Podesta’s address. They obstructed admission to the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner days later, demanding the president keep his promise to end fossil fuel exploitation on public property.
Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones, a 27-year-old Democrat who was thrown out of the body over a gun violence protest on its floor until the Nashville Metropolitan Council restored him, spoke at the weekend rally.
“I wanted to come out here and stand with you all,” Jones stated via a bullhorn. “We will keep fighting and stay with the people because we know our generation is dealing with the long-term implications of these decisions.”
Another young activist with a strong social media following told CNN that “the administration is listening” but that the Willow Project, a massive oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope, and other fossil fuel economy expansions undermine other, significant gains.
“I appreciate all those efforts,” the activist said, “but if you approve the Driftwood Pipeline in Louisiana, exports for the Alaska LNG projects, two LNG projects in Texas, how are young people expected to see that you’re listening to us when you continue to approve projects similar to Willow?”
Young immigrants’ rights advocates dislike Biden’s presidency. The 2020 primary highlighted that difficult relationship, which continues. Asylum restrictions and border treatment by the government have increased mistrust.
United We Dream’s political director, Michelle Ming, praised Biden for extending access to the Affordable Care Act to DACA recipients, the Obama-era program that protects undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US before 16.
She said that move has been a lonely highlight for activists who believe Biden could more aggressively use his executive power to expand DACA and increase eligibility for Temporary Protected Status, which applies to immigrants who would face extreme hardship if forced to return home.
“I don’t think immigration has been his strong suit,” Ming remarked. “He hasn’t been bold enough on immigration. That’s a Democratic problem, not just his.”
Ming, like many organizers, said any Republican nominee would be reason enough to vote for the president. She said that persuasion is becoming harder.
“We first have to be honest, because young people detect bullsh*t really easily and hate that,” Ming remarked. “He hasn’t progressed as we wanted. However, he is not a fascist, White supremacist, or racist.
Biden’s reelection campaign may benefit from Republican animosity, especially in the MAGA camp.
“Gen Z recognizes that, although the Biden-Harris administration and our federal government at large has a lot of work to do, and there’s still a lot of work that our generation and the generations after us have, it’s better than Trump,” said 20-year-old Democrat Haley Taylor Schlitz, a Fort Worth suburb school board candidate. “Start there.”
According to CNN, New Georgia Project Action Fund organizing director Billy Honor is more thrilled about local contests in battleground states than the presidential election. His knocking-on-doors argument is more comprehensive for disillusioned voters.
Honor says, “The process is more important than the candidates.”
Math follows. Biden said the equation is straightforward.
No major mobilization needed. “You just need a really good number,” Honor remarked. “I think that’s possible, even in a climate where college students won’t be excited for Joe Biden like they were for Barack Obama.”
Ethnic and religious minority groups are more engaged in politics than White British people, according to new research undertaken by specialists from The University of Manchester, St Andrews, Essex, and Nottingham.
The Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) is conducting the Evidence for Equality National assessment (EVENS), a large new assessment on racism and ethnic inequality. Between February and October 2021, 14,200 participants rated their political interest.
How the large political parties are presenting themselves on matters relevant to these groups
Compared to 60% of White British, White Eastern European, and Gypsy/Traveller groups, ethnic and religious minority groups were substantially more politically engaged. Black African (78%), Mixed White and Black African (78%), Any other mixed origin (77%), Indian (77%), Jewish (81%), and White Irish (83%) groups have political interest closer to 80%. Politics intrigued 31% of Roma.
“The relatively high political interest amongst most ethnic minority groups clearly shows that political parties need to seriously engage with the ethnic minority electorate, and their particular needs and concerns,” stated Dr. Magda Borkowska, University of Essex and EVENS researcher. “As demographic change increases ethnic minority population, ethnic minority vote will increasingly matter for election results.”
“Despite many people from ethnic and religious minorities reporting high levels of interest in politics, we also know that society is not addressing the basic equality needs for many minority groups,” said Professor James Nazroo, University of Manchester and EVENS research team member. Our research uncovered persistent prejudice and unacceptable health, housing, and employment disparities for numerous minority groups. With this data, we push legislators to reduce inequality.”
Ethnic and religious minority voters: electoral winners?
The survey questioned about political party preferences. White British people (73%), Bangladeshi and Pakistani people (79%), and Jewish people (80%) favored a political party. 62% of Mixed White and Asian persons and 63% of White Eastern European people said they would vote for a party. Roma people favored one party (33%).
Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black African, and Black Caribbean voters supported Labour over 60%. Jewish respondents were 50% Conservative, whereas Black Caribbean respondents were 14%. The Liberal Democrats had the most support among White Eastern European, Chinese, and White Other groups (20-30% each). White British respondents backed 35% Labour, 35% Conservative, 10% Liberal Democrat, and 20% other parties.
“EVENS is the first nationally representative study since 2010 that allows for detailed analysis of political interest and preference in ethnic and religious minority groups,” said Professor Nissa Finney, University of St Andrews and EVENS researcher. “The innovative, robust survey techniques used mean we have a larger, more detailed dataset on British ethnic and religious minority groups than ever before.”
The Economic and Social Research Council financed EVENS, the most extensive ethnic and religious inequality survey in Britain in 25 years. It’s made with 13 nonprofits and social enterprises.
Nowadays, news headlines are bizarre. Florida’s governor is fighting one of the world’s most famous companies, which is so closely identified with the state that it’s impossible to conceive of one without the other.
After an unprecedented leak of a draft of its most eagerly awaited opinion by someone who most likely had broken critical promises made to the institution upon accepting employment, several U.S. Supreme Court justices, who have faced serious assassination threats in the last year and at least one actual attempt, are now required to live and travel with round-the-clock security in our nation’s capital.
Medical facilities have signs warning patients that threatening medical staff is a criminal, a serious concern prompted by passionate reactions to pandemic masking measures.
Parents and school board members are fighting in public, even in the school library, in several states, including Oklahoma. Librarians as troops in your cultural war are cruel.
These clashes are regular and intense due to our severe political division. Our society has always had ferocious party fighting, but poisonous political divide has never so severely impacted our core institutions.
Universities are a root cause of political toxicity.
Poisonous ideology infiltrating non-political sectors has generated this new societal illness. Business, the main professions, and public education leaders have always understood that to maintain peace in a contentious society and preserve their vital institutions, they must operate on neutral principles without divisive ideology.
These neutral principles meant that commerce produced critical products and services, physicians cured the sick, and attorneys upheld the rule of law without political influence, regardless of which party was in power. This autonomy required a political aversion. Leaders, like citizens, could select sides, but institutions kept out of it.
Today’s leaders and subordinates demand that their institutions actively engage in politics, rejecting this social compact. Their inspiration? Modern universities. Many don’t remember that many business and journalistic leaders didn’t go to prestigious institutions or college at all. They taught the country that their skill was independent of politics.
In those idyllic pre-war days, most leaders of our best colleges felt university education should be devoid of dogma. Professors cared mostly about teaching arithmetic, literature, and history. We must reinvigorate the university first to end this societal conflict.
