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During tonights broadcast of HBOs Real Time, host Bill Maher weighed in on the recent flap surrounding Berkeleys decision to cancel conservative author Ann Coulters scheduled April 27th speech.

Berkeley used to be the cradle of free speech, he stated. And now its just the cradle for f*cking babies!

The comedian lit into not just Berkeley, but other colleges across the nation, for shutting down speakers who dont say exactly what liberals want to hear.

Maher added, I feel like this is the liberals version of book burning, and its got to stop.

The Real Time host also took issue with Democrats like Howard Dean claiming that hate speech isnt protected by the First Amendment. Yes it is, Maher exclaimed.

S.E. Cupp agreed with Maher, saying that college students need to realize that in the real world there are no safe spaces.

Watch the clip above (which includes a brief exchange between Maher and Cupp on Fox News), via HBO.

[image via screengrab]

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'The Liberals' Version of Book Burning': Maher Goes Off on Berkeley Over Coulter Backlash - Mediaite

Eight days into Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer's maternity leave, vexed Victorian Liberals have moved to replace her.

Fairfax Media has confirmed Tony Abbott's former chief-of-staff turned political commentator Peta Credlin has been encouraged to run against Ms O'Dwyer in the blue ribbon seat of Higgins, as a rebuke to the minister for the government's soon-to-be enacted changes to superannuation.

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Robocalls attacking the government on superannuation changes have been rolled out against government frontbencher Kelly O'Dwyer in her seat of Higgins.

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The first 'real moment' of Malcolm Turnbull's election campaign came in the form of single mother Melinda. Fairfax's Heath Aston explains.

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The longest campaign in 50 years will lead to the shortest parliament in 50 years says Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Vision ABC News 24.

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With the election count going down to the wire who will be reach the magic number of 76 seats? Fairfax's Peter Martin explains.

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Even if the Prime Minister forms majority government he will have to deal with the right wing in the Senate & his own party says Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Vision ABC News 24.

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With the outcome of the election up in the air what is to become of same sex marriage? Fairfax's Michael Koziol explains the possibilities.

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'Australians want leaders to act like leaders not partisans' says Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Vision ABC News 24.

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NXT candidate Rebekha Sharkie has won the seat of Mayo from former government frontbencher Jamie Briggs. Vision ABC News 24.

Robocalls attacking the government on superannuation changes have been rolled out against government frontbencher Kelly O'Dwyer in her seat of Higgins.

It is understood that a number of branches within Ms O'Dwyer's electorate, which takes in Toorak, one of Australia's wealthiest suburbs, have chosen to meet when federal parliament is sitting, ensuring Ms O'Dwyer cannot attend.

"It's not factional at all," said one senior Victorian Liberal.

"I don't think anyone thinks it's fair that this report [on the challenge] has come just eight days after Kelly went on maternity leave. That's not a good look at all. The fact is there are some internal issues in Higgins that need addressing."

Those issues, Fairfax Media has been told, includeanger within some branches over the superannuation issue, and some unhappy long-time supporters of Peter Costello, the former member for Higgins, who feel they have been sidelined as Ms O'Dwyer looks to promote younger members of the party.

In the midst of the 2016 federal election campaign a group, called called Save Our Super, established by Melbourne QC Jack Hammond, held a rally at the Malvern Town Hall, in the midst of Ms O'Dwyer's seat.

That meeting attracted 200 people, mostly traditional Liberal voters. Institute of Public Affairs CEO John Roskam was among the notable attendees. A seat was, symbolically, left vacant at the meeting for Ms O'Dwyer, who did not attend.

That meeting called on the government to "grandfather" the impact of proposed changes on existing superannuation accounts.

According to reports at the time, the mood among attendees at that meeting was "white-hot rage". That rage among a wealthy and influential group of Higgins Liberal party members has not subsided.

The approach to Ms Credlin was seen as a shot across the bow to Ms O'Dwyer, amid reports the pair did not get along during Ms Credlin's tenure in Mr Abbott's office.

News Ltd, which first reported the story, quoted Ms Credlin as saying she had not been "formally approached" to run for Higgins.

A spokesman for Ms O'Dwyer said the minister was "on maternity leave with an eight-day-old son and is not commenting on this story".

The government has faced fierce opposition for its changes to superannuation, which include increased taxes on contributions for those earning over $250,000 and an annual $100,000 non-concessional cap on contributions.

The changes come into effect on July 1.

Speaking from her office on Friday ahead of the reported challenge Ms O'Dwyer wanted to send a message that it was possible to balance having a family with a career in politics.

"You can have a family and you can pursue a life of public service and you can do so at the highest levels," she told Fairfax Media.

"It is absolutely possible."

She also praised the support Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had given her, as she became the first woman to give birth while in Cabinet, describing him as "incredibly enlightened and understanding" when it came to working parents.

"I couldn't ask for a better boss," she said.

Ms O'Dwyer worked right up until the birth of her second child, Edward, on April 13, phoning in to Expenditure Review Committee meetings when she could no longer fly.

She is officially planning six weeks of leave with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann acting in her portfolio.

Ms O'Dwyer faced a strong challenge to hold her seat during the 2016 election, particularly from Greens candidate Jason Ball, but held on to win with a 9.9 per cent margin.

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Vexed Liberals move to dump Kelly O'Dwyer while on maternity leave - The Sydney Morning Herald

Emily Ekins and Matthew Feeney 4:34 p.m. ET April 20, 2017

At the Potter House Church on July 13, 2016, in Dallas.(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

We have to give power back to the police, Donald Trump proclaimed during his campaign, and earlier this year he delivered ... or so he thinks. The early weeks of Trumps presidency indeed match his campaign rhetoric, replete with an executive order seeking to make assault against police officers a federal crime.

Americans are understandably divided by Trumps law and order approach to policing reform. Research suggests Americans reactions to Trumps policies will be shaped both by their own experiences with police and by their moral predispositions.

It starts with race. Anyone discussing policing in the U.S. needs to grapple with the fact that there is a wide racial divide in perception of police performance.

A Cato Institute survey found a strikingly high number 73% of African Americans and 54% of Hispanics believe thatpolice are too quick to resort to deadly force with citizens. Only 35% of whites agree. Similarly, African Americans and Hispanics are also 20 to 30 points less likely than whites to believe that their local police treat all racial groups equally or are held accountable for misconduct.

Different personal and vicarious experiences with the police undergird this divide.

The survey found that African Americans are nearlytwice as likely as white Americans to report police swearing at them or to knowsomeone physically mistreated by police.

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Interestingly enough, the study also found that African Americans report being stopped by police disproportionately more than whites as their incomes rise. This suggeststhat police are disproportionately scrutinizing black drivers in nice cars or in nice neighborhoods. Overall, higher-income African Americans report being stopped about 1.5 times more frequently than higher-income white Americans (and lower-income black and white Americans as well).

But what explains how the majority of Americans evaluate the police, given that most Americans havent had negative interactions with them? For instance, despite Republicans and Democrats having access to the same video footage of police shootings in previous years, survey data show that theyve reached dramatically different conclusions.

Strong majorities of Republicans believe that police only use deadly force when necessary (80%), are impartial (78%) and courteous (74%), and are held accountable for their actions(76%). This stands in contrast to Democrats, among whom a majority believe police are too quick to use lethal force (63%), fail to be impartial (60%), and arent held accountable (59%). Race cant explain this pattern: It persists among white Republicans and white Democrats as well.

So why do Democrats tend to believe that policing suffers from systemic problems, while Republicans think problems are isolated or confined to bad apples? Social psychology may offer some answers.

Social psychologists havefoundthat moral judgments strongly affect evaluations of controversial facts. Before weve even had a chance to sort through the empirical evidence, our minds tend tomake rapid effortless moral judgments. We then engage inpost-hoc reasoningto defend our conclusions.

In sum, people often engage in what scientists call motivated reasoning, where moral judgments come first and the justifications come later.

While each of usshares the same moral instinctsto one degree or another, some moral commitments aremore salientthan others to liberals or conservatives.

Data show conservatives placegreater emphasis on societal orderand thus tend to be moredeferential toward authority figureslike the police. Likewise, respect for authority figures may significantly drive positive attitudes toward the police, irrespective of the circumstances, particularly among conservatives.

In contrast, liberals are inclined to bemore skeptical of authority figures and to empathize moreparticularly with vulnerable groupswho report disparate treatment from the police, such as African Americans. This general propensity to empathizeis a significant predictor of white Democrats belief that the justice system is racially biased.

Naturally, there are exceptions. Not every Democrat is skeptical of the police, and not every Republican is deferential to authority. Nevertheless, data clearly showus a clear divide when it comes to how partisans think about authority.

With that in mind, policing reform is possible, but its hard. The U.S. is a vast and diverse country with about 18,000 law enforcement agencies. Widespread and comprehensive reform in such an environment is difficult. Yet there are areas of emerging consensus, with clear majorities across partisan and racial groups supporting body cameras and independent agencies investigating police misconduct.

When tackling policing reform, Trumpshould put himself in other peoples shoes. There are many law-abiding Americans who shudder when they hear about giving power back to the police, and Trump would be well served to understand why.

Emily Ekinsis a political scientist and director of polling at the Cato Institute. Matthew Feeney is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute.

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Why liberals and conservatives disagree on police: Column - USA TODAY

There is a something going on within the Ontario Liberal party right now that carries a distinct aroma. Its hard to put a finger on, but it bears more than a hint of Hillary Clinton.

The Toronto Star, which lives to promote eternal Liberal rule, has been dropping heavy hints that Premier Kathleen Wynne ought to give some thought to retirement, clearing the way for a more popular person to lead the party into next years election, presuming one could be found. On Tuesday it ran a front-page story in which unnamed (i.e. very nervous) Liberals shared their frustration at Wynnes extreme unpopularity, and the dark portents it carries. One clearly perplexed loyalist shared what must be a common complaint: not only is Wynne tracking way behind the opposition Tories, but shes way behind a Tory party led by Patrick Brown.

According to the Star report: Theres no way we should lose to Patrick Brown hes an empty suit with no plan.

Another Liberal complained: If our vote collapses, theres a very real possibility (NDP leader) Andrea Horwath could be the next premier of Ontario Andrea is more dangerous to us than Patrick.

If this sounds vaguely familiar it may be because its exactly the problem that vexed members of the Clinton campaign team as they struggled to understand how their dear leader could possibly be doing so badly against two such obvious (to them) lightweights as Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

To Clintonites, it was inconceivable that so many Democrats could prefer Sanders, the wild-eyed socialist senator from Vermont, to Clinton, the former FLOTUS, senator and secretary of state. Once Clinton managed, barely, to wrestle the party nomination from Sanders, they were even more baffled that she had such trouble putting any distance between herself and Donald Trump, the crude, cartoonish, ill-informed reality TV star who owned a bunch of real estate in New York. Right down to election night they refused to consider the possibility that Americans might actually prefer Trump. Clinton herself had to be nudged, twice, by Barack Obama to pick up the phone and concede defeat, long after it was clear all hope was lost.

You get that same sense of disbelief and perhaps a touch of denial from Ontario Liberals, and not a few Tory sympathizers as well. Much as voters express dislike of Wynne and the deeply indebted, overburdened and overregulated province her Liberals have created, they find it difficult to accept that voters will opt for Brown instead. In the 19 months since he unexpectedly won the Progressive Conservative leadership hes barely scratched the surface of public awareness. Image-wise hes had all the impact of weak tea.

Hes so little-known that Liberals struggle to smear him. Theyd like to trash him as a hard-right social conservative ex-Harperite who hates immigrants and would impose extremist values on an unsuspecting province, but cant make it stick. Perhaps thats because Brown won the nomination by relentlessly courting ethnic Ontarians in towns and cities across the province. In February he easily evaded a Liberal trap, speaking firmly in favour of a motion condemning Islamophobia. Whether its hate against any faith, its wrong. I will always stand in opposition to any form of hate. Islamophobia is a problem and we must stand up against it, he asserted.

Hes even spoiled Liberal hopes of tarring as a knuckle-dragging climate-change denier, pledging party support for a carbon tax, albeit one he says will return the money to Ontarians rather than spending it on new projects as the Liberals plan to do.

The Liberals won the past three elections with a great deal of help from stumbles by their opponents. They are counting heavily on Brown to help them do that again given their track record, and the deep well of dissatisfaction percolating through the province, its almost all they have to cling to. Their success in escaping defeat so often in the past means few prognosticators are willing to write off their ability to do so again, just as the U.S. press overwhelmingly resisted accepting that Clinton could indeed lose an election to Donald Trump. No one liked Dalton McGuinty much either, and he won three times, right? Maybe Ontarians are just that addle-brained that theyll continually vote for a government they cant stand, who knows?

A new book on the Clinton defeat puts her loss down to a monumental sense of hubris within the campaign and a mountain of mistakes and misjudgements that finally caught up to her. Americans, it turned out, had had enough of Hillary Clinton, and wanted someone else. Ontario Liberals dont want to believe that can happen here. But people are funny, and when theyve had enough, theyve had enough.

National Post

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Kelly McParland: Ontario's delusional Liberals set course for Clinton-style oblivion - National Post

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan refused again Friday to say how his party would pay for its promised $1.7 billion elimination of MSP premiums, amid renewed attacks that hes simply delaying announcing the inevitable tax hike needed to cover the costs until after the election.

Horgan sidestepped questions about why two of his candidates have publicly indicated the Medical Services Plan premiums would be rolled into income tax should the NDP win the May 9 election, potentially resulting in higher income taxes for some B.C. residents.

Instead, he insisted hed hire an independent panel to look at ways to eliminate the MSP premiums which are set to bring in $1.7 billion in revenue next year by the end of his first term in office.

Im not prepared to speculate on what the panel will come up with because that prejudges the work, Horgan told reporters while campaigning in Vancouver.

You dont put people in place, and ask them for their advice, and prejudge it. So Im going to hear what they have to say. The bottom line I have, is they protect public services and we ensure low- and middle-income people are protected.

The B.C. Liberals pounced on the apparent disconnect, highlighting how NDP candidates Carole James and Gary Holman have both said in recent days that MSP would be moved into the progressive tax system, otherwise known as income tax.

What Mr. Horgan is trying to do is evade the issue by punting it onto a panel to be dealt with later, so people dont notice they have to pay more taxes in the future, said Andrew Wilkinson, the Liberal candidate for Vancouver-Quilchena. People need to know if they are facing that bill or not.

James has said that her party plans to roll premiums into income tax on a progressive basis, with the highest earners paying the highest premiums.

The key principle is that it looks at a progressive approach, she said. Right now with MSP, whether you make $1 million or $35,000, your families pay the same amount of MSP. Thats the principle that will be gone.

She also pointed out that her party expects at least $77 million in savings from eliminating the MSP fee collection system.

James said part of the NDPs consultation will look at how other provinces collect their health care premiums. In Ontarios income tax-based system, for example, people who earn less than $20,000 annually pay nothing additional. That scales up to $300 for incomes over $25,000 and tops out at $900 for anyone with taxable earnings over $200,600.

The Liberals, too, have been criticized for not explaining their MSP promises. The party said in February it would cut rates by 50 per cent for many users in 2018, and eliminate MSP entirely in the future when the economy allows.

In an interview Thursday, the Liberals Mike de Jong said any further MSP cuts would be unlikely under a Liberal government before the end of the next term.

If the economy grows at precisely the rate we forecast it to grow, we wouldnt be able to do anything else, de Jong said.

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Liberals pounce on NDP's mixed MSP messages - The Province