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Sunday, February 12, 2017, 5:00 AM

One of the things most obvious to me as I watched images of the peaceful protest by Yemeni Americans against the Trump administrations seven-nation travel ban wasnt the size of the crowd. The thousands who turned out at Brooklyns Borough Hall made it impressive for sure, as was the coordination they employed in mobilizing to shut their bodega shops en masse.

No, it was the sight of the star-spangled banner that the men waved that had me riveted. Many held only the American flag, while others raised it in one hand and waved Yemens flag in the other. Others wore the Stars and Stripes draped around their shoulders, like a protective shield.

Whatever flag they carried, the American flag outnumbered all other flags that late afternoon. Seeing that many U.S. flags hoisted as a symbol for the values this country represents for immigrants was a beautiful thing.

And it was refreshing. You dont see our flag that much at the other protests that have taken place since Trump was elected as President. I participated in the Womens March on D.C. the day after his inauguration and for the most part, the American flag was missing in action.

When I searched images of the simultaneous marches that took place across the country, our flag was hard to find. Viewing photos of the protest against the Iraq war in 2003, it didnt pop out there, either.

In 2007, when then.-Sen Barack Obama caught flak about why he didnt wear a flag pin, he responded that he was less concerned with what you were wearing on your lapel than whats in your heart.

Too many of those of us who believe that our country is failing to live up to its ideals and cultural values seem to have abandoned the flag. It seems we cant square the patriotic act of protesting with the pride of carrying our flag.

Theres history here. During the landmark civil rights marches of the 1960s, protesters waved the American flag. They owned it as a symbol of freedom in their struggle for equal rights. A few years later, protesters marching against the Vietnam War rebranded the flag with peace signs, while others burned it. For many the flag was no longer something that inspired pride; it had become tarnished by the countrys domestic and foreign policy.

And that belief, whether explicitly or subliminally, seems to have carried the day: When it comes to anti-government protests, the left seems to have distanced itself from the flag. Somehow we cant reconcile the lack of pride we may feel with our government with reverence for the country.

And so, pride of place for our flag has been seized by Republican Party, as they stand on their soapbox of patriotism.

After 9/11, the Stars and Stripes made a comeback. From sea to shining sea, Americans flew flags from their porches, windows and rooftops. In the liberal neighborhood of Park Slope, Brooklyn, flags waved in the autumn breeze. Hell, I even flew one from my fire escape. It was a beautiful thing

Then the Bush administrations vain attempts to connect the dots between the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon led to the invasion of Iraq. They used fear and the propaganda of weapons of mass destruction to justify this war.

U.S. troops wouldnt fully withdraw until 2011, and in the end it resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. The government called them casualties. Over those eight years, many of us put away our flags. We lowered them from their stoop perches and front yard poles. We werent so proud anymore.

Now we find ourselves under a Trump administration. Many Americans are alarmed and frightened. Presidential executive orders are signed with a dramatic flourish of a pen but without any forethought about the consequences.

Its time those of us who think we cant square our patriotic values with our countrys flag to rethink the meaning of patriotism.

Those of us who love our country but hate the direction in which it seems to be headed cannot let others who love our country to claim the flag as their own.

The flag is owned by liberal America just as much as it is by conservative America.

As ideological battle lines are drawn and those of us on the left march against ideas we consider to be un-American and antithetical to our Constitution, its time we waved our banner high.

Santino is a travel and non-fiction writer based in Brooklyn.

Link:
Fellow liberals: Reclaim the flag - New York Daily News

Updated February 13, 2017 10:40:30

South Australia's Liberal Opposition has promised to scrap the state's target to source half its energy from renewable sources.

Leader Steven Marshall joined Liberals in Victoria and Queensland with a pledge to replace local targets with one set by the Federal Government.

Mr Marshall said South Australia's 50 per cent renewable goal had not improved electricity security or kept power bills in check.

"We want to restore affordable, reliable power to our state and we want to do it as soon as possible," he said.

The Liberals would consider more coal or gas generation if it would prevent further blackouts.

"We're not removing any options because of obsessive ideologies, that hasn't worked for us. Labor has put South Australia in a perilous situation," Mr Marshall said.

South Australia's renewable energy target began in 2009 with a goal of 33 per cent by 2020, however that was upgraded to 50 per cent by 2050 when the target was achieved early, in 2014.

Port Augusta's Northern coal-fired power station has since closed, while Victoria's Hazelwood coal-fired station is due to shut in March.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is forecasting a shortfall in power supply in both South Australia and Victoria in early 2018.

"We're very concerned about AEMO's latest report, which shows more blackouts are on their way to South Australia," Mr Marshall said.

"There is a massive shortfall because Labor has done everything it can to drive out affordable, baseload power from South Australia."

Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said abolishing the target would not help South Australians.

"All it would do is help the coal cartel, and it kills solar thermal in Port Augusta or any part of this state, forever," Mr Koutsantonis said.

"The dream of renewable energy that is dispatchable, that has storage and can be baseload, has just been pierced through the heart by Mr Marshall."

"Do we really want to put this future in the hands of people like [Prime Minister Malcolm] Turnbull and [Energy Minister Josh] Frydenberg, people who carry lumps of coal around in the Federal Parliament?"

Mr Koutsantonis acknowledged that the state's renewable target had no mechanism, but led to projects that were funded through federal subsidies.

"[This plan] stops people from investing in South Australia," he said.

The Government also said there would be enough power in the state in early 2018, through increased use of the Pelican Point power station and its own measures still to be announced.

Topics: alternative-energy, states-and-territories, coal, government-and-politics, sa

First posted February 13, 2017 09:27:34

Original post:
South Australian Liberals pledge to scrap renewables target - ABC Online

A number of comments in Sound Off have complained about liberal columnists or news stories about the activities of liberals in our community. They correctly note that the majority of residents are conservative.

So, why do we, a conservative newspaper, report on liberals activities in the news or publish their columns?

Because it is the mission of a newspaper to keep its readers informed. Conservatives are the main beneficiaries of news about the activities of liberals. After all, the liberal activists already know.

If we pretended that everyone in the community is a conservative and that there are no liberals at all, that would not only be inaccurate, but it would be punish conservatives who would find themselves surprised and outmaneuvered by their political opponents. As conservatives ourselves, that is not the outcome we want.

Instead, by striving to provide balanced and objective news coverage, we aim to equip readers of all philosophical orientations with the information they need and with a true picture of how diverse our community has become.

Naturally, it can be frustrating to read the statements of people we disagree with. It is much more satisfying to only read articles that affirm our own personal opinions. Thats human nature. But, is it wise to be deluded about the existence of contrary viewpoints?

So a story about John Lewis speaking nearby, local artists joining a protest in Atlanta or Coweta residents traveling to D.C. for a march is valuable intelligence for conservatives. It equips conservatives to counter the arguments and tactics of liberals, just as any smart football coach or military commander would study every available scrap of information about an adversary.

After all, it's not like liberals would disappear if the newspaper did not cover them. The liberals themselves don't need the newspaper to tell them what they are doing. And its not like conservatives could be brainwashed by reading something they disagree with. The only consequence of not reporting on liberals activities is that conservatives would be uninformed.

If you look at the unsigned editorials and the majority of columnists on the opinion page, you'll see how conservative the paper is. Only one liberal has been a regular columnist, selected by the previous publisher mainly because he provided some insights on state politics. The rest are very conservative, as are the majority of Sound Off comments published.

The paper hasn't shed its conservative orientation, just tried to give a truer picture of what is happening in this complex, growing community. It's the community that has changed, and it would be a disservice to our subscribers not to let them know.

See the rest here:
Here's why we report on liberals - Newnan Times-Herald

Posted February 12, 2017 19:51:12

The success of the Liberal Party's preference deal with One Nation in WA could be determined by how many support staff are available to hand out how-to-vote cards on the day, according to a political analyst.

"In order to know what you're supposed to do with your preferences, what you need to do is go to someone handing out a how-to-vote card and find the order for this," said Emeritus Professor David Black.

"In the Legislative Council it's completely different. As soon as you vote any party ticket, the preferences will flow in the pre-arranged order, which that party has lodged."

Professor Black said it was likely the Liberal Party, with its larger base of volunteers, would need to help hand out One Nation how-to-vote cards on election day.

"In a difficult election for the Liberal Party, if they can get some kind of deal which works and an adequate number of people available to hand out how-to-vote cards, then it could be a crucial fact in an election which could be very, very tight," he said.

"The impact of preference distribution in the Lower House will be crucially affected by the extent by which the parties can provide the staff at the polling booths to make this happen."

Professor Black said it appeared One Nation could receive a significant primary vote in WA's March election.

"We know that in the previous election when this happened their preferences went against sitting members in the Liberal Party, which suffered," he said.

"In a very difficult election for the Liberal Party this is one obvious way [the Liberals] can see of trying to boost their chances by having a party that's likely to get a pretty strong primary vote more likely to give preferences towards the Liberal Party than against."

"The Labor Party, to win the election, has to probably win 11 to 12 seats or more. If they [the Liberals] can save two, three or four seats, that can make all the difference."

Professor Black described the National party as an election wildcard.

"In the end, what their votes do, how well they do, what happens in places like the Pilbara because of the mining tax and so on, which party benefits is very much up in the air and that just makes it an even more complicated election than we'd otherwise have," he said.

"In order for the Liberals to lose, the Labor Party has to have absolutely everything going right."

Professor Black said the Labor Party appeared to be a in a slightly stronger position, but at the same time they needed to win a lot of seats.

"It's an election that the Liberals, according to the polls, are facing a very, very real prospect of losing," he said.

"But they are confronted by this situation, where for a variety of reasons, One Nation has re-emerged from the clouds and all the opinion polls suggest they're going to get a very substantial portion of the vote."

Professor Black said there could also be some retaliation from the WA Nationals, who could direct their preferences elsewhere.

Topics: elections, liberals, one-nation, polls, wa

More here:
What the Liberal-One Nation preference deal could mean at the ballot box - ABC Online

Toronto Sun

Voters in TO split between PCs and Liberals: Poll Toronto Sun Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said the Conservatives in Toronto should really hope for better results against the Liberals than a statistical tie, given Kathleen Wynne's historically low approval, and how many provincial seats are at stake ... and more »

See original here:
Voters in TO split between PCs and Liberals: Poll - Toronto Sun