On Monday, U.S. News & World Report released its annual ranking of the best colleges in the country, from large research universities to small liberal arts schools.

U.S. News calculates its ranking based on six categories which are each weighted differently: student outcomes (40%), faculty resources (20%), expert opinion (20%), financial resources (10%), student excellence (7%) and alumni giving (3%).

For the first time, U.S. News considered student debt in their ranking. The student outcomes category now takes into account the average amount of accumulated federal loan debt among full-time undergraduate borrowers at graduation and the percentage of full-time undergraduates in a graduating class who borrowed federal loans.

This year's top liberal arts colleges all boast small classroom sizes, including top-ranking Williams College, where 75% of classes have fewer than 20 students and just 3% of classes have 50 or more students.

Getting into one of these schools isn't easy. Admitted students boast strong high school records and high standardized test scores. However, many of these prestigious liberal arts schools have higher acceptance rates than similarly top-ranking universities.

For instance, while the top-ranked national university, Princeton, accepts just 6% of students, Williams accepts closer to 13% of applicants. Wellesley College, which tied for fourth place on U.S. News' ranking of liberal arts schools, has an acceptance rate of 22%.

The top-ranking liberal arts colleges also tended to score better than the top-ranked national universities on comparative measures of social mobility, that are designed to represent a school's likelihood of helping students improve their circumstances by considering the graduation rates and post-graduation performances of students who qualify for federal Pell Grants.

Here are the top 5 liberal arts colleges of 2021, according to U.S. News and what it takes to get in.

Williams College

Denis Tangney Jr | Getty Images

Average SAT score: 1410-1550

Share of first-year students in the top 10% of their high school class: 85%

Acceptance rate: 13%

Amherst College

Source: Amherst College

Average SAT score: 1410-1550

Share of first-year students in the top 10% of their high school class: 88%

Acceptance rate: 11%

Swarthmore College

aimintang | Getty Images

Average SAT score: 1380-1540

Share of first-year students in the top 10% of their high school class: 87%

Acceptance rate: 9%

Pomona College

Ted Soqui | Corbis | Getty Images

Average SAT score: 1390-1540

Share of first-year students in the top 10% of their high school class: 93%

Acceptance rate: 7%

Wellesley College

David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Average SAT score: 1360-1530

Share of first-year students in the top 10% of their high school class: 79%

Acceptance rate: 22%

Don't miss:

Continued here:

The top 5 liberal arts colleges of 2021, according to U.S. Newsand what it takes to get in - CNBC

news, federal-politics, national party, liberal party, lnp, coalition, john barilaro, michael mccormack, conservatism

The National Party tail has been wagging the Liberal Party dog for too long. Events of the past couple of weeks show how the Liberals should deal with them (NSW) and how they should not (the federal level). When NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro threatened to move all his members, including ministers, to the crossbench unless the NSW government backed down on koala protection, Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian immediately called his bluff: do that and all National ministers would be sacked and the Liberals would govern alone. There would be no change to koala protection. This is what the Liberals should be doing federally with energy policy, climate change policy, water, species protection, land-clearing and the Great Barrier Reef, and should have done with same-sex marriage. They should tell the Nationals to stop wagging the dog. Besides, on virtually every issue over which the Nationals get obstinate, the Liberals could safely call their bluff and get Labor or Green support. But no, this week's decisions on energy policy show that the federal Liberals' decades-long supine appeasement of the Nationals has in fact transmogrified Robert Menzies' Liberal Party. The party of free enterprise, small government and individual freedom has now turned into little more than a parody of the National Party itself: anti-intellectual, science-denying hicks, revelling in big government subsidies to support unsustainable, unprofitable and technologically backward industries. The Morrison government's demand this week that private enterprise commits to building a gas-fired power station by April or the government would build one itself flies in the face of traditional Liberal Party philosophy that abhors public ownership of industry, picking winners (or in this case picking losers) and heavy-handed intervention in industry generally. It was made worse by its decision this week to divert renewable energy funding away from wind and solar and to boost funding for carbon capture. The only thing captured here is the integrity of the Liberal Party by the combined forces of the National Party and big industry. The political doublespeak could have come straight from George Orwell or a plot from Yes Minister. So, who is the more politically astute here, Berejiklian or Morrison? Who is serving the long-term interests of Australians? My guess is that no one would miss another gas-fired power station, but the death of up to 10,000 koalas in last summer's bushfires saddened the nation, and sent a warning to us all that the climate has already changed, and global heating will only get worse without concerted international efforts. The Morrison government appears to be too stupid, too ignorant or too wilfully beholden to benefactors to notice that there will be grave penalties if Australia does not pull its weight on carbon emissions. A Democratic Biden administration in Washington and the EU will impose trade penalties on nations that cheat on carbon emissions. Labor's wimpish acceptance of most of the government's pro-fossil-fuel policies is almost as shameful. In all, the koalas and the government-ordered gas-fired power station might mark a turning point in Australian politics. For a long time, the Nationals have managed to get most of their way, most of the time. The Nationals are socially conservative, support government handouts to rural and regional areas and detest any regulation that stops people exploiting the land. But only some Liberals share some of those beliefs. For a long time, the Nationals have thrived by performing an astonishing political juggling act. They get less than 5 per cent of the national vote outside Queensland (and say 10 per cent overall if you divide the LNP Queensland vote). Yet with that, over the years they have (among other things) told the Liberal Party who not to select as leader (1968), told the Liberal Party not to have a conscience vote on same-sex marriage, vetoed or watered down countless environmental measures and kept vast subsidies and handouts flowing to farmers, loggers and miners - all against the public interest. With this small share of the vote, the Nationals' leaders have continuously enjoyed the perks of ministerial power at the federal and state level. READ MORE: That should come at the cost of accepting cabinet solidarity and government unity, but that rarely stops the party allowing a few rabbits out of the burrow to voice public dissent to try to prove to the people of the bush that the Nationals are really getting results for them. The unifying force behind this juggling act of power, of course, has been ruthless self-interest. As Berejiklian found to her great benefit, if you ask a National to choose between principle and a ministerial office, self-interest will steer them in the direction of the ministerial office every time. Meanwhile, the wider community has changed. Australians have become more socially liberal (witness the marriage plebiscite), want more spent on urban infrastructure and have become more environmentally concerned. An increasing portion of Australians are concerned about climate change, energy policy, biodiversity, land clearing and water - issues the Nationals reject as matters of concern. The NSW Liberals appear to align themselves with the national sentiment. Labor, in the meantime, is performing its own juggling act on two fronts: at once trying to be as green as the Greens, while also trying to be a supporter of dirty industries and the unions and workers within them. Once the COVID-19 crisis is over, will a great Australian political realignment be far away? One side would contain the rural, science- and expert-despising, climate-change denying proponents of big government subsidies for dying industries. They will come from the Nationals, the branch-stacked Christian right of the Liberal Party, the Joel Fitzgibbon-style industrial wing of the Labor Party, One Nation, the Shooters and the Katters. The other side will contain moderate and free-enterprise Liberals, the socially progressive elements of Labor and the Greens. It might only take a few more incidents of bluff-calling or unconscionable climate science-denying policies for voters to seek political alignments with less internal contradiction.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc7c2e22mgqcos7s524hr.jpg/r2_453_4740_3130_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

OPINION

September 19 2020 - 4:30AM

The National Party tail has been wagging the Liberal Party dog for too long. Events of the past couple of weeks show how the Liberals should deal with them (NSW) and how they should not (the federal level).

When NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro threatened to move all his members, including ministers, to the crossbench unless the NSW government backed down on koala protection, Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian immediately called his bluff: do that and all National ministers would be sacked and the Liberals would govern alone. There would be no change to koala protection.

This is what the Liberals should be doing federally with energy policy, climate change policy, water, species protection, land-clearing and the Great Barrier Reef, and should have done with same-sex marriage. They should tell the Nationals to stop wagging the dog.

Besides, on virtually every issue over which the Nationals get obstinate, the Liberals could safely call their bluff and get Labor or Green support.

But no, this week's decisions on energy policy show that the federal Liberals' decades-long supine appeasement of the Nationals has in fact transmogrified Robert Menzies' Liberal Party. The party of free enterprise, small government and individual freedom has now turned into little more than a parody of the National Party itself: anti-intellectual, science-denying hicks, revelling in big government subsidies to support unsustainable, unprofitable and technologically backward industries.

The Morrison government's demand this week that private enterprise commits to building a gas-fired power station by April or the government would build one itself flies in the face of traditional Liberal Party philosophy that abhors public ownership of industry, picking winners (or in this case picking losers) and heavy-handed intervention in industry generally.

It was made worse by its decision this week to divert renewable energy funding away from wind and solar and to boost funding for carbon capture. The only thing captured here is the integrity of the Liberal Party by the combined forces of the National Party and big industry. The political doublespeak could have come straight from George Orwell or a plot from Yes Minister.

Are that Nationals really comfortable being aligned with the more cosmopolitan, socially liberal elements of the NSW Liberal Party? Picture: Shutterstock

So, who is the more politically astute here, Berejiklian or Morrison? Who is serving the long-term interests of Australians?

My guess is that no one would miss another gas-fired power station, but the death of up to 10,000 koalas in last summer's bushfires saddened the nation, and sent a warning to us all that the climate has already changed, and global heating will only get worse without concerted international efforts.

The Morrison government appears to be too stupid, too ignorant or too wilfully beholden to benefactors to notice that there will be grave penalties if Australia does not pull its weight on carbon emissions. A Democratic Biden administration in Washington and the EU will impose trade penalties on nations that cheat on carbon emissions.

Labor's wimpish acceptance of most of the government's pro-fossil-fuel policies is almost as shameful.

In all, the koalas and the government-ordered gas-fired power station might mark a turning point in Australian politics.

For a long time, the Nationals have managed to get most of their way, most of the time. The Nationals are socially conservative, support government handouts to rural and regional areas and detest any regulation that stops people exploiting the land. But only some Liberals share some of those beliefs.

For a long time, the Nationals have thrived by performing an astonishing political juggling act. They get less than 5 per cent of the national vote outside Queensland (and say 10 per cent overall if you divide the LNP Queensland vote). Yet with that, over the years they have (among other things) told the Liberal Party who not to select as leader (1968), told the Liberal Party not to have a conscience vote on same-sex marriage, vetoed or watered down countless environmental measures and kept vast subsidies and handouts flowing to farmers, loggers and miners - all against the public interest.

With this small share of the vote, the Nationals' leaders have continuously enjoyed the perks of ministerial power at the federal and state level.

That should come at the cost of accepting cabinet solidarity and government unity, but that rarely stops the party allowing a few rabbits out of the burrow to voice public dissent to try to prove to the people of the bush that the Nationals are really getting results for them.

The unifying force behind this juggling act of power, of course, has been ruthless self-interest. As Berejiklian found to her great benefit, if you ask a National to choose between principle and a ministerial office, self-interest will steer them in the direction of the ministerial office every time.

Meanwhile, the wider community has changed. Australians have become more socially liberal (witness the marriage plebiscite), want more spent on urban infrastructure and have become more environmentally concerned.

An increasing portion of Australians are concerned about climate change, energy policy, biodiversity, land clearing and water - issues the Nationals reject as matters of concern. The NSW Liberals appear to align themselves with the national sentiment.

Labor, in the meantime, is performing its own juggling act on two fronts: at once trying to be as green as the Greens, while also trying to be a supporter of dirty industries and the unions and workers within them.

Once the COVID-19 crisis is over, will a great Australian political realignment be far away? One side would contain the rural, science- and expert-despising, climate-change denying proponents of big government subsidies for dying industries. They will come from the Nationals, the branch-stacked Christian right of the Liberal Party, the Joel Fitzgibbon-style industrial wing of the Labor Party, One Nation, the Shooters and the Katters.

The other side will contain moderate and free-enterprise Liberals, the socially progressive elements of Labor and the Greens. It might only take a few more incidents of bluff-calling or unconscionable climate science-denying policies for voters to seek political alignments with less internal contradiction.

See the rest here:

Should the Liberals call the Nationals' bluff and bring about a great Australian realignment? - The Canberra Times

Students from Galloway Residence pose with Niedfeldt Residences old homecoming banner before trading it for their flag. Courtesy | Seth Ramm

It is my intention to prove once and for all that Hillsdales male dormitory raid culture is necessary for a liberal arts education. I would like to begin by saying (keep your shirts on Simpsonites), that inter-dormitory rivalries are at the heart of student culture and campus will be worse off if raids and the events leading up to them are done away with for good.

Hillsdale College boasts one of the most unique academic experiences in America, and it is fitting that the student culture is just as unique. Though to some, the time-honored traditions of flag stealing, petty pranks, and meeting on the quad to beat each other senseless with foam-insulated PVC may seem childish and unnecessary, I would argue that behind this apparent childishness is hiding a complex and positive culture that fosters community and improves the spirit of campus.

There are many things more harrowing than your first few nights on campus (asking someone on a dining hall date, for instance), but being alone in a strange place filled with strangers is a difficult adjustment. This was the beginning of my freshman year, 2019. Like most others in my dormitory, I went to Welcome Party. I spent about an hour making small talk and participating in something that vaguely resembled dancing. It was not until I returned to the dormitory that the night got interesting.

I was informed that some nefarious actors had crept their way into Galloway Residence, my dormitory, and absconded with all our pillows. Every. Single. One. Left in their place was a cryptic notean apparent riddle that would reveal the location of our wayward pillows. Within five minutes, there were 20 to 30 people crammed wall to wall in the first-floor lobby of Galloway, all desperate to decipher the note and retrieve our pillows. I dont remember how long we spent racking our brains, consulting with upperclassmen, and trying to apply what little knowledge of Hillsdale we had to solving the problem.

We eventually did find our pillowssoaked in perfume and stuffed in contractor bags on the carpeted floor of the Olds Residence lobbybut most importantly, we found friends. That night, a simple prank brought the freshman residents together for a unique and unforgettable night.

It wasnt long after the pillow theft that I was introduced to raid culture. Simpson had of course engaged in their customary saber rattling the first week back on campus. Everyone knew that something was going to happen, but exactly when and what was a mystery.

That all changed on a dreary Friday night.

When word broke that a legion of Simpsonites was expected to march on Galloway, the night was transformed. Galloway men went to general quarters. Guys armed themselves with raid weapons stashed in various storage closets and rooms. The situation room was filled to the brim with Resident Assistants and upperclassmen analyzing intelligence and creating a defensive strategy. Someone was blaring John Williams Duel of the Fates from a speaker. The mood was electric.

Having no weapons of my own, I volunteered to join then-junior Philip Andrews on a reconnaissance mission to Simpson. Feeling like two spies sent on a death-defying, top secret mission, we stealthily approached Simpson, concealing ourselves in the bushes by the Searle Center. Though the headlights of passing cars illuminated our pasty faces, we somehow observed Simpson unseen. Even as the rain began to fall, we remained at our post, looking for anything that could confirm that Simpson was in fact preparing an attack. Though I believe that night did not end in a climactic battle (my memory could be wrong), just the threat of a Simpson raid created an unforgettable night.

It is fitting to conclude this defense of raid culture with a discussion of what happens when foam swords clash, when flags are stolen, when glory is earned, and when legends are made. The world of raiding is a curious one, filled with traditions, pageantry, and unwritten rules (which may not always be followed, but thats a subject for a whole other article). At least one opinion article has been written deriding such momentous displays of gallantry and courage as The Battle of Kappa Lawn and Land Battle. I was among those who valiantly took part in Land Battle last year. I was one of those whose behavior was considered by some to be childish, outrageous, uncouth, and (most heart wrenchingly) unbecoming of a potential future life partner. Allow me to condemn these slanders as untrue, unfounded, uninformed, unsubstantiated, unaccommodating, unadulterated, and above all false.

Yes, in the simplest, most elementary terms, Land Battle is simply a bunch of college men meeting to pummel one another with baby-proofed plumbing. But it is simultaneously so much more. There is a nearly universal thread that ties men together. It is a desire for competition, for glory earned. Its a desire to overcome overwhelming odds and achieve greatness.

To steal a term from the class Great Books I, men want kleosthe ancient Greek word meaning your renown or glory. Even in a simulated, controlled, low-stakes scenario like Land Battle, there exists kleos. There is a reason why movies such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones resonate almost universally with boys. Boys innately crave adventure. Boys want to be Indiana Jones; they want to be Luke Skywalker.

In a political climate where boys are told from kindergarten that they should behave more like the girls, to be quiet and studious, and to sit down and dont fidget, Hillsdale is a refreshing alternative. It is a place where boys are ablefor at least one nightto participate in an exercise of the masculinity that society is trying desperately to extinguish.

I can guarantee that I have never felt more alive than I did when I returned to my dormitory after Land Battle. It was already well past midnight and I had a calculus quiz in the morning, but I didnt care. I stayed up for hours after the event, reveling in what had happened.

The memory of that night will forever be in my consciousness. It is an experience unlike any other, and I believe it would be a disservice to the current and future freshmen of Hillsdale if they are never able to experience it.

Nick Treglia is a sophomore studying applied mathematics.

Originally posted here:

Liberal arts in action: Release the raids - Hillsdale Collegian

Paul Wells: Liberals are coming to terms with the realization that COVID-19 didn't cancel gravity, and that 'building back better' will, in fact, be hard work

Im grateful to the excellent Toronto Star columnist Heather Scoffield for noticing some fascinating comments Gerald Butts made on Monday.

Butts, of course, resigned in 2019 as Justin Trudeaus principal secretary and has been working since then as a consultant, climate-policy opinion leader and Twitter scold. He was a member of the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery, which spent the summer pushing hard on the build back better rhetoric that imagined the coronavirus pandemic as the dawn of a bold new green-energy future.

To say the least, excitement about a pandemic is counterintuitive. I started writing about the contradictions in June, when nameless Liberals were telling reporters, Itll be a good time to be a progressive government There are a lot of us who are dreaming big. I came back to the theme in August, when the PMO was setting Bill Morneau up as some kind of obstacle to their plans to build back better. And I wrote last week about the unsettling spectacle of Trudeau greeting Morneaus departure as, essentially, the end of history: We can choose to embrace bold new solutions to the challenges we face and refuse to be held back by old ways of thinking. As much as this pandemic is an unexpected challenge, it is also an unprecedented opportunity.

It was already clear last week that some of these considerations were starting to weigh, perhaps belatedly, on the Prime Minister and his advisors. Theres a sensitivity to being perceived to hijack the moment for a green recovery, a senior Liberal source told the CBCs David Cochrane. Boy, I sure hope there is.

Along comes Butts, who on Monday was addressing something called the Recovery Summit, an ambitious online virtual conference organized by some of the usual suspects, including the (Trudeauist) Canada2020 think tank in Ottawa and the (Clintonist) Center for American Progress in Washington.

Butts kicked off the proceedings by pouring industrial quantities of cold water on everyone.

Its important tounderstand and appreciate the level of anxiety that people are going through right now, he said. Conferences like this one were made by and for members of the progressive movement, he said. But in a clear warning to people who consider themselves members of that movement, he added, We depend on the support of the broad middle class and regular people. When we keep that support we form governments. And when we dont, we lose governments.

In an even clearer warning against the weird self-celebratory tone of some of the rhetoric from the government over the summer, he added:Its really important to emphasize what were doing and whom were doing it forrather than celebrate the fact that we are doing it.

I havent spoken to Butts since a few months before the SNC-Lavalin controversy wrecked his career in government, and I doubt he minds at all. So it was odd to hear him sounding warnings that resembled things Ive been writing for months. Its pure coincidence. It simply reflects the fact that to anyone with any distance from the government echo chamber, the Trudeau circles weirdly giddy triumphalism of recent months has got to sound jarring.

To put it diplomatically, I think that in any crisis situation, people will repurpose their pet projects as urgent and necessary responses to the crisis at hand, Butts said. And its vitally important that, when people are feeling as anxious as theyre feeling right now, we start the solutions from where they are and build up from there. And not arrive in the middle of their anxiety with a pre-existing solution that was developed and determined before the crisis thats arisen.

I know theres a widespread assumption that Butts never really left the Trudeau circle, that he remains the PMs puppeteer. I think thats farcical. Butts probably has an easier time getting Ben Chin to return a call than some of my colleagues do, but for the most part hes basically a sympathetic outsider whos watching the work of friends from a distance. His remarks amplify and consolidate things Dave Cochrane was already hearing from senior Liberals last week. Liberals are coming to terms with the realization that COVID-19 didnt cancel gravity or smite the foes of progress, as they define progress, from the earth. When Parliament returns next week, it will still be a venue of measurable personal risk for its occupants, like any large room for the foreseeable future. It will still contain more MPs who arent Liberals than MPs who are. It will be watched by a population that is worried, defensive, and incapable of ignoring risk for the sake of a resounding slogan. It speaks well of the Liberals that they have spent the summer working some goofy rhetoric out of their systems before returning to the real world.

This doesnt mean the government shouldnt pursue reductions in carbon emissions. They ran on promises to do so. They set ambitious targets, having spectacularly missed easier targets in the past. They faced concerted opposition and won. Working to reduce carbon emissions is necessary work with broad public support.

But it will be work. The clear implication of the dreaming big and unprecedented opportunity talk was that Liberals, including the Prime Minister, were talking themselves into believing school was out. That a global calamity would somehow transform hard work into a party, disarm the political opposition and, once againthis is a particularly sturdy fantasy of life in Trudeau-land, as Jane Philpott and Bill Morneau could tell youdelegitimize internal dissent.

It isnt so. Meeting the Liberals own climate goals will be hard work that will feel like hard work, if they care to take it up. The necessary changes will impose costs that will feel like costs before they provide benefits that feel like benefits. The very nature of this crisis will make building back better anything but a cakewalk.

First, because 2020 hasnt wiped out the former world. Building back better became a slogan a decade ago after earthquakes in New Zealand erased a lot of existing infrastructure. COVID-19 has been more like a neutron bomb, interrupting livelihoods but leaving neighbourhoods intact. If I had to build a new rail link from scratch between Toronto and Montreal, I might build something fancy. But the old one is still there. That makes a difference.

Second, because theres little likelihood of a sustained, long-term recovery like the one that characterized Canadas economy for 30 years after World War II, a comparison that was briefly fashionablea few months ago with the build-back-better set. The recoverys likely to be pretty quick, to pick up steam only after a vaccine or effective treatment becomes widespread, and to last only about as long as it takes to return to the status quo ante. Its fantasy to imagine miracle growth lasting the rest of everyones lifetime will take away costs and tradeoffs.

So the Trudeau governments duty to meet its climate targets remains, and so does just about all the difficulty of meeting them. Which means a central question about this Prime Ministerdoes he rise to challenges, ever? also remains.

Follow this link:

Farewell to the Liberals easy green revolution - Maclean's

The Southern Chiefs' Organization is calling the Manitoba government dishonourable in the way it treats vulnerable children in the province.

Southern Chiefs' OrganizationGrand Chief Jerry Danielssays Brian Pallister's Progressive Conservative government isattempting to present legislation that would prevent the government from being liable for taking hundreds of millions of dollarsintended for children in care.

Through the Children's Special Allowance, the federal government gives roughly $455 to $530 for each child in careto government child and family services agencies each month.

Beginning in 2010, Manitoba'sNDPgovernment began forcing the agencies to remit the money given, saying the province was paying for the maintenance of children in care and the money was therefore owed to them.

Thatmoney was put into general revenue. If agencies refused to remit it, the government withheld 20 per cent of the operating funds it gave the agency.

Daniels, who spoke at a press conference Wednesday alongsideManitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamontin the city's West End,says that between1999 and 2016, the NDP government diverted approximately $250 million. Since 2016, the PCs have diverted more than$100 million, Daniels and Lamont claimed.

The clawback prompted sixIndigenous child and family services agencies to suethe Manitoba government in 2018, but the SCO and Manitoba Liberals say the government has includedtwo provisions in its budget bill that would effectively end the lawsuit.

One clauseseeks to shield the province from being held responsible for clawing back the money earmarked for kids in care.

"Our children's resources are being stolen and Pallister is wanting to legislate himself out of being accountable for it,"Daniels said, calling the provisions in the budget bill"get-out-of-jail-free" clauses designed to shield the Tories.

"If the Pallister government believes they're right in taking the children's money, why does he not want the courts to decide?"

Unlike other bills, budget bills don't go before committees for public hearings, Lamont said, adding he is raising the issue now because the legislature is going back into session on Oct. 7.

"The Pallister PCs are using a budget bill to do an end-run around the courts," he added.

"The law is there to hold people to their word, and these measures set a terrible precedent."

Daniels and Lamont spoke on Wednesdayinfront of an Adele Avenue building, which was operated by the SouthernFirst Nations Network of Careas afacility for children in care until2019, when residents were evicted three months before the province introduceda bill in an effort to break its lease on the building.

The 20-year deal was signed in 2007under the NDP government to providean alternative to hotel placements of kids in care.

The province on Wednesday said it stepped in to help theSouthernFirst Nations Network of Care with the lease "at their request."

"They had signed an untendered, 20-year deal at a cost of $9.4 million and then determined the property would not meet their needs,"said a statement from Families Minister Heather Stefanson.

"The lease did not allow for an early termination, which meant a large portion of SFNNC's budget intended to support children and families was consumed by lease payments," the statement said, adding the government tried, unsuccessfully, to renegotiate the least.

"If the lease is not terminated, it will cost the province another $6.5 million over the next 10 years, plus maintenance costs," she said.

"We believe that is a complete waste of taxpayer money, which is why we are taking steps to end the lease."

The SCO and Liberals said the provincial government ordered the eviction of the home in February of 2019, and that children at the home were forced out in the middle of the night.

Stefanson's statement called that "a shameful falsehood." Plans werein place for the transition of every child at the Adele home, and notice was provided ahead of time, Stefanson said.

As for requiring agencies remit the Children's Special Allowance back to the province, that is ahistorical practice of the previous NDP government, Stefanson said, noting the proposed legislation will change that.

Since April 2019, agencies have beenretaining the allowance, as well as receivingsingle-envelope funding from the province, which will provide more than$400 million to the authorities and their agencies in 2020-21 a $15-million increase compared to what they received before, Stefansonsaid.

Read more:

Southern chiefs, Liberals accuse Manitoba government of withholding millions intended for kids in care - CBC.ca

The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs ranks third among the nation's public liberal art colleges, according to U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings released Monday.

The academy is outranked by two other colleges, which also happen to be service academies: the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The Naval Academy rose 11 spots to make the top 10 liberal arts colleges for the first time, according to a news release from the publication.

We are honored to continue being recognized as one of the top universities in the nation," Lt. Col. Mike Andrews, an academy spokesman, said in a statement to The Gazette. "Were very proud of our world-class faculty, and we continually strive to improve all facets at the academy not only in providing a first-class education to our cadets, but also in developing leaders of character worthy of serving our nation in the Air Force and Space Force.

The Air Force Academy ranks 28th overall among all national liberal arts colleges this year, up from 39th place last year. It also ranked third among public liberal arts colleges last year. Colorado College, also located in Colorado Springs, ranks 25th, up from 27th last year.

The liberal arts category has more than five hundred colleges nationally and it is an honor to be considered among the top 25," Mark Hatch, Colorado College Vice President for enrollment said in an emailed statement. "Furthermore, to be recognized for both innovation and excellence in teaching speaks loudly to our commitment to our students.

The rankings have been released annually for more than 30 years in an effort to drive transparency in higher education. They take into account factors such as graduation rates, graduate indebtedness and social mobility indicators, according to the publication.

View post:

Air Force Academy ranks among top 5 public liberal arts colleges in the nation: U.S. News & World Report - Colorado Springs Gazette

In the real world, where successful businesses are operated somewhere in the broad range between break-even and absolute-maximum profitability, there was and is always leeway for being a bit unnecessarily fair and responsible to accept slightly smaller profit margins to fulfill implicit obligations to employees, customers, communities, society at large, decency itself. But while economists still argue over Friedmans theories, his hot take 50 years ago for nonspecialists the Friedman doctrine turned a capitalist truism (profits are essential) into a simple-minded, unhinged, socially destructive monomania (only profits matter). In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is redeemed when he abandons his nasty profit-mad view of life and his name became a synonym for miserliness. Likewise, a century later, in Its a Wonderful Life, the banker Mr. Potter is the evil, unredeemable, un-American villain. Here was Milton Friedman telling businesspeople that theyd been tricked by the liberal elite, that Scrooge and Potter were heroes they ought to emulate.

As for government regulation, Friedmans doctrine included a heads-I-win-tails-you-lose Catch-22. Any virtuous act by businesses beyond what the law requires is simpering folly, he insists, yet according to him too almost any government attempt to regulate business is the beginning of the end of freedom and democracy. Friedmans was a reductio ad absurdum purification of what had become a well-tempered, successful, increasingly fair free-market system. His vision was to revert to a fundamentalist capitalism from which a century of systemic interventions and buffers by democratic government and norms would be removed.

Friedman was horrified by the present climate of opinion, with its widespread aversion to capitalism, profits, the soulless corporation and so on. Indeed, a survey-research firm that had been asking people every year if they thought business tries to strike a fair balance between profits and the interests of the public found the number who agreed had dropped to 33 percent in 1970 from 70 percent in 1968. (By the late 70s it had bottomed out at 15 percent.) The very same month that The New Yorker filled a whole issue with excerpts from a liberal professors hurrah-for-revolution best seller, The Greening of America, Friedman delivered his counterrevolutionary economic manifesto to 1.5 million Times subscribers. Yet its self-righteous, hyperbolic, screw-the-Establishment confrontationalism is also a product of that 1970 moment: While Friedman was reacting against the surging support for social justice, he did so in the spirit of the late 1960s. Two ascendant countercultures, the hippies and the economic libertarians, in 1970 one large and one still tiny, shared a new ultraindividualism as a prime directive: If it feels good, do it; follow your bliss; find your own truth; and do your own thing were just nice utopian flip sides of every man for himself. For businessmen who felt demonized by public opinion and besieged by tougher government regulation for the last few years, the militancy of the Friedman doctrine in The New York freaking Times a year after Woodstock was thrilling. And then, as now, to get what they were mainly after politically superlow taxes, minimized regulation they exploited the voter backlash against street protests by aggrieved, angry younger Americans.

Just as America reached Peak Left, the Friedman doctrine and, a year later, a battle plan commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, drafted by the corporate lawyer Lewis Powell, quoting Friedman, just before he joined the Supreme Court became founding scripture for an economic crusade to discredit the New Deal consensus and rewrite the social contract. Democratic and liberal leaders, alas, didnt put up much of a fight. At the end of the 1970s, for instance, PBS commissioned a 10-episode series, Free to Choose, starring Friedman and funded by General Motors, General Mills and PepsiCo. A spokesperson for the show promised it would explain to viewers like you how weve become puppets of big government. And indeed, in that four-TV-channel era, Friedman used his noncommercial government-subsidized PBS platform to argue that the Food and Drug Administration, public schools, labor unions and federal taxes, among other btes noires, were bad for America. The series premiered in January 1980, just before the first Republican primaries, in which Ronald Reagan was a candidate. Of course, Reagan won the nomination and the presidency, after which Friedman patted himself on the back for his work with Goldwater and the epochal move away from New Deal ideas. As Friedman put it in 1982, you need ideas that are lying around his ideas as ready alternatives to existing policies, and then at a ripe moment the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable.

Throughout big business and finance and much of conventional wisdom, the Friedman doctrine came to mean that the pursuit of absolutely maximum profit for your company and yourself trumped every other value or motive, greed-is-good definitively replacing concern for the common good. A result was an American economy and culture driven by selfishness, callousness and recklessness. Before long, a big Hollywood movies most memorable scene was a kind of dramatization of the Friedman doctrine, Libertarian Economics for Dummies. The point is, ladies and gentlemen, sexy Gordon Gekko told his ecstatic fellow stockholders, that greed for lack of a better word is good. Greed is right. Greed works. And greed, he promised, would make America great again.

In 1976, Friedman became the first Chicago school economist to win a Nobel Prize. That same year, two members of the University of Rochester business-school faculty published a 55-page paper conceived as an operational elaboration of the Friedman doctrine. Theory of the Firm made righteous greed seem scientific, with equations and language of the managers indifference curve is tangent to a line with slope equal to u kind. Its big point was that if corporate executives are mere salarymen rather than owners of company stock, theyll overspend on charitable contributions, get lax on employee discipline, concern themselves too much about personal relations (love, respect, etc.) with employees and the attractiveness of the secretarial staff. It is one of the most-cited economics papers ever. The professors also wrote a shorter, more accessible follow-up that ditched the math and the pretense of scholarly neutrality: big business has been cast in the role of villain by consumer advocates, environmentalists and the like, who want to spread the clich that corporations have too much power.

The modern understanding of how corporate managers should run companies, an article in The Harvard Business Review declared in 2012, has been defined to a large extent by that original Friedman-doctrine-inspired paper from 1976. It went beyond doctrinal Friedmania that companies must absolutely maximize profit, now positing as a kind of mathematical fact that stock price, a much less objective measure, was the only meaningful corporate metric. Soon a Reagan-administration S.E.C. rule change effectively gave free rein to public companies, for the first time since the New Deal, to buy up shares of their own stock on the open market in order to jack up the price. U.S. executive pay, meanwhile, shifted from consisting mainly of salary and bonus to mainly stock and stock options. Astonishingly, stock buybacks eventually consumed most of the earnings of S&P 500 companies, as they still do. So here we are with a re-engineered system in which just the richest 10th of us have 84 percent of all stock shares owned by Americans, and a ravaged economy in which the stock market is close to an all-time high.

Original post:

How Liberals Opened the Door to Libertarian Economics - The New York Times

I recently saw a bumper sticker that read Vote for Trump! Make Liberals Cry Again. Over the years the terms liberal and conservative seem to have lost their meanings. The dictionary defines a liberal as one who is open to new ideas and a conservative as one who wishes to preserve the gains of the past. I do not understand how these two terms have become associated with support or opposition to Donald Trump.

I think that most Americans, including myself, have personalities that encompass both of these values. The collapse of the coal industry and the devastating impact it has had on our local economy, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis suggests to me that our region and our country desperately needs some new ideas.

I have a conservative side too. Growing up, Scouting was an important part of my life and helped to shape me into the man I am today. I earned both the Eagle Scout and God and Country awards. While the national Boy Scout organization has had its problems, the programs basic tenets of decency, honor, love of God and Country, continue to express what I believe represent the core of American values and the characteristics of effective leadership.

I will be voting for Joe Biden this year because I believe that our country needs new ideas; and yes, I am open to them. I will be voting for Joe Biden because I believe that he personifies the basic conservative American values of decency, honor, respect for God and country.

See the original post:

Your View: If Donald Trump is reelected, not only liberals, but we all will weep for our country - Bristol Herald Courier

The West Side Community Organization describes its mission as twofold: to advocate for a restored quality of life for residents, visitors, and the small business community and advance safer and more compassionate policies regarding New Yorkers who are struggling with homelessness, mental illness, and drug addiction. As its first official order of business, the hastily assembled 501(c)4 launched a slick campaign to vilify 300 unhoused men in its Upper West Side neighborhood as dangerous criminals, then succeeded in evicting them from the hotel the city had converted to temporary housing in response to the pandemic. Apparently it was the $123,000-median-income families of the liberal Manhattan neighborhood who were the real New Yorkers struggling with (the sight of) homelessness.

Now the men will be going somewhere else. According to The New York Daily News, the city is in the process of relocating other unhoused people, many with disabilities, from a Midtown shelter in order to make room for the newly placeless former residents of the Upper West Side. In a statement on the citys relocation decision, the organizations attorney Randy Mastro called it a testament to community organizing. The group that came together under the banner of WSCO had started out as strangers, he continued, but came together as a stronger whole dedicated to saving their neighborhood.

The inviolable power of private property defines the actions and attitudes that can create and destroy communities; in liberal enclaves like New York, this is done with language. Slippery terms like neighborhood and community are quietly and expertly carved out to exclude the peoplenonwhite or ill or poorwho reduce property values. Evictions driven by wealthy residents and property owners become actions taken for the community, and for neighbors, rather than against them. The community came together rather than was torn apart. By cloaking the language of profit in the language of safety, these efforts are able to write out the poor and unhousedthose for whom the city is the most hostile and unsafefrom these most basic human identities.

One member of the neighborhood Facebook group that became WSCO told The New York Post that our community is terrified, angry and frightened. Their fear was palpable. Another resident who opposed sharing her neighborhood with unhoused others asserted that were a progressive-minded community and we tend to be sympathetic to the homeless, but with sex offenders, draw the line.

Elsewhere in New York, a woman whose neighborhood also saw an influx of unhoused people during the pandemic claimed that she never left her house without pepper spray. The founder of a civilian patrol group complained of all kinds of chaos assaults, vandalism, breaking and entering and lewd behavior. More than 160 business executives wrote to the mayor that there is widespread anxiety over public safety, cleanliness, and quality-of-life issues that are contributing to deteriorating conditions in commercial districts, demanding a restoration of the security and the livability of our communities. An Upper West Side petition declared, This situation is making life uncomfortable for residents and putting families, children, and the elderly in harms way.

Follow this link:

The Rhetorical Weapons of Liberal Nimbyism - The New Republic

Karl Marx in his book Das Capital (1864) wrote how capitalism carries the seeds of its own destruction and how communist societies will prevail. Following the powerful Russian Revolution in 1917 which sent shockwaves to democratic nations in Europe and the Pacific liberal democracy faced a major peer competitor. In 1939 again, when fascism spread like wildfire in Europe, it only added more fuel to the fire for the already struggling liberal democracy. At that moment in history, there were three powerful ideologies fighting for supremacy. After the intense World War II in which nuclear weapons were used on civilian populations for the first time in history, liberal democracy triumphed in 1945. This was the official start of the Liberal Western Order; with the United States in the forefront as its leader in the West.

In 1989 again, the US defeated the disintegrated Soviet Union and its communist ideology. It was this when the start of the International Liberal Order officially kicked off. The World Order had transformed from Liberal Western Order to Liberal International Order in a matter of a few decades. It became an International Order not in 1945 but after the end of the Cold War when we witnessed the start of the unipolar world. Liberal democracy then became the linchpin of political institutions. Former UK prime minister Tony Blair had famously quoted, We are all liberal internationalists now.

Today, the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed new fault-lines in the international political arena where shades of the Liberal International Order are nowhere to be seen. But even before the pandemic had unleashed its destructive potential, the existing world order was already in danger. There are four main reasons which suggest why the Liberal International Order was already under retreat.

First, the Liberal International Order had two main goals: to globalise economy, and to liberalise politics. The US had made its long-term foreign policy mission to transform dictatorships and socialist countries into democracies. Professor at the University of Chicago, John Mearsheimer said that the US even wanted to spread liberal democracy in China which was too ambitious even by their standards. Moreover, if we look at the Liberal International Orders track record since the 1990s, it has been failing in quite some aspects with numerous interventions in the Middle East, failure in Afghanistan and also with illiberal values being rampant at home (in the US). The US, being the home of democracy, has been struggling to steer the wheel of the international liberal order at home and abroad.

Second, the elections of Trump and Brexit in 2016 had already put a big question mark on the existing liberal order. With a referendum in Europe and a presidential election in the US, liberal democracy as weve known it seems to have finally and dramatically, collapsed at its birthplace. Trumps policies at home and abroad have been exactly opposite of what the international liberal order had been preaching in the previous decades. The UKs decision to depart from the EU was too against the spirit of the existing World Order which focused on globalising the economy.

Third, the dawn of the industrial revolution came with exciting new opportunities for the world but at the same time gave life to a massive increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs) into our atmosphere, which today is causing ecological disruption. Accelerated climate change is a borderless challenge which must be countered in coordinated forums. However, the US being the prime architect of the Liberal International Order pulled out from the historic Paris Agreement of 2015 which vowed to bring all countries together in a bid to fight ecological disruption.

Fourth, sustaining a social contract between the government and its citizens is at the heart of what liberal democracy preaches. What liberalism has been preaching for many centuries is to empower the common man and reduce the social inequality gap. But today, social inequality breaks all numbers and the picture remains quite bleak. According to a recent Oxfam report on social inequality, 82% of the wealth generated in the world is owned by the 1%. It is quite clear that capitalism and liberal democracy has exacerbated social inequality around the globe rather than empowering the vulnerable and poor.

Today, there is no running away from the fact that the Covid-19 crisis has exposed many vulnerabilities of our political institutions. Globally, we are experiencing choking health systems, crippling economies, and little cooperation among states. During this pandemic, which has taken the lives and livelihoods of millions, the US had opted to cut the World Health Organizations (WHO) funding. Again, this action was truly against the spirit of liberal democracy.

In this era of political and economic uncertainty, there are no overnight or quick fixes, and that is why there is a dire need of a new social contract now more than ever. The current system has widened the social inequality gap, ignored the climate crisis, and placed nations at loggerheads. At a national level, political disunity has hampered progress of many nations. The WHO director general had clearly stated that national unity is key in combatting the Covid-19 pandemic. The same concept applies for all the other hurdles we are facing.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2020.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.

Visit link:

End of the liberal international order? - The Express Tribune

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is whats onthe radar of our editorsfor themorning ofSept.15

What we are watching in Canada

OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers will hole up for a second day to plot the countrys path through,and eventually beyond, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Talk of setting a bold new post-pandemic course for Canada at the cabinet retreat gave way Monday to grim warnings that the pandemic is far from over and that the country could be in for a second deadly wave this fall.

The retreat is being held in Ottawa as positive cases of COVID-19 are on the rise across the country after a bit of a lull over the summer.

Ministers are supposed to focus in part on the throne speech scheduled for Sept. 23.

When Trudeau announced last month that he was proroguing Parliament, he said it would return with a throne speech that would set out a bold new agenda to rebuild a healthier, safer, fairer, greener, more inclusive, more competitive economy.

But as he went into the opening day of the retreat Monday, a less ebullient Trudeau warned that the country first needs to get through the pandemic in order to talk about next steps.

Also this

FREDERICTON The murder trial for aFredericton man charged in the 2018 fatal shootings of four people in the New Brunswick capital begins today.

Matthew Raymond faces four counts of first-degree murderin the deaths of Fredericton Police constables Robb Costello and Sara Burns as well as civilians Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie Lee Wright, on Aug. 10, 2018.

Raymond was deemed unfit to stand trial, but a jury last month reversed that decision.

A jury needed just one hour to determine Raymond is fit to instruct his defence counsel and that he understands the charges hes facing.

The same jury is being used for his murder trial.

The province has said Raymonds trial will be the first full jury trial in Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and it is being held in a large convention room to allow for physical distancing.

What we are watching in the U.S.

WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump is set to preside over the signing of historic diplomatic deals between Israel and two Gulf Arab nations that could herald a dramatic shift in Middle East power dynamics.

The ceremony today at the White House is aimed at showcasing presidential statesmanship ahead of Novembers election.

Trump will host more than 700 guests on the South Lawn to witness the sealing of the agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain.

The agreements will formalize the normalization of the Jewish states already warming relations with the two countries and may pave the way for a broader Arab-Israeli rapprochement after decades of enmity.

What we are watching in the rest of the world

ATHENS A major search-and-rescue operation launched overnight after a migrant smuggling boat sank off the southern Greek island of Crete continued today, with survivors unable to say how many people had originally been on board and whether there were people still missing.

Greeces coast guard said one more person had been rescued in the early hours, bringing the total number of people saved to 57.

Three bodies those of two children and a woman were recovered from the sea Monday night.

Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for asylum-seekers and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

On this dayin1773

The ship Hector arrived at Browns Point, near Pictou, N.S. Hector carried 178 Scottish immigrantsthe first large wave of immigration that made Scots the predominant ethnic group in Nova Scotia. A replica ship waslater built to commemorate the voyage and is on display in Pictou harbour.

COVID-19 survey says

OTTAWA A new survey suggests there are Canadians who believe that warnings from public officials about the threat of COVID-19 are vastly overblown.

Almost one-quarter of respondents in an online poll made public today by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies say they believe public health and government officials exaggerate in their warnings, including about the need for measures like physical distancing to slow the spread of the pandemic.

Regionally, respondents in Alberta were more likely to believe the threat was embellished, followed by Atlantic Canada and Quebec, with Ontario at the bottom.

Broken down by age, younger respondents were more likely than those over 55 to believe statements were being exaggerated.

The online poll was conducted Sept. 11 to 13 and surveyed 1,539 adult Canadians. It cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered random samples.

Leger executive vice-president Christian Bourque says the results may explain something else that came up in the survey that a majority of respondents said they have relaxed how strictly they adhere to public health recommendations.

Among those recommendations are things such as wearing a mask in public, avoiding large gatherings and trying to maintain a two-metre distance between people.

Entertainment news

TORONTO The Toronto International Film Festival ishoping to turnup the virtual glamour with a star-studded awards fundraiser tonight.

Anthony Hopkins and Kate Winslet are among the actinghonourees at the second annualTIFF TributeAwards.

The gala, which will be held online this year because of the COVID-19pandemic, aims to celebrate standout creators in the film industry while raising money for TIFFs year-round programming.

Hopkins tells The Canadian Pressthatthe recognition comes as a pleasant surprise, given that he lives in a state of non-expectation as far as accolades are concerned.

The Oscar-winning star of The Fathersays he received his trophy in recent days, but it feels strange to be accepting it from his Los Angeles home rather than in person.

Still, Hopkins says hes grateful to be able to participate in an event that is near normal as the COVID-19 crisis has forced the film community to find new ways to come together.

Winslet says shes soimpressed with how organizers have managed to move much of the TIFF online, and hopessome of these technological innovations will become a permanent feature of the festival.

Canadians can tune into the TIFF Tribute Awards at 8p.m. ETon CTV.

COVID-19 and Halloween

TORONTO The infection risks of COVID-19 may threaten trick-or-treating this year, but that doesnt mean Halloween has to be cancelled.

The spooky holiday is still more than a month away, but experts suggest parentsenlisttheir kids now in preparing a back-up plan.

Child development expert Nikki Martyn urges families to embrace the chance to create new family traditions without discounting what their kids love most about Oct. 31.

Martyn says if they love dressing up, go ahead and buy a costume and let them wear it over several days; if they revel in the rare chance to be outside at night, maybe the whole family can camp in the backyard.

The program head of early childhood studies at the University of Guelph-Humber says Halloween offers kids more than just a sugar rush and there are reasons to keep many of its traditions alive, if possible.

Martyn says the fake scares encourage creativity, can help foster greater independence and also build coping skills for kids to handle fear in manageable amounts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first publishedSept. 15,2020

The Canadian Press

Read the original post:

Day 2 of Liberal retreat and whether to trick-or-treat: In The News for Sept. 15 - 570 News

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) on Friday responded to a tweet about a segment on gender reveal parties from Trevor NoahTrevor NoahTed Cruz: 'Many liberal males never grow balls' Overnight Defense: House chair announces contempt proceeding against Pompeo | Top general says military has no role in election disputes | Appeal court rejects due process rights for Gitmo detainees Top general: Military will play no role in resolving any electoral dispute MOREs The Daily Show, saying many liberal males never grow balls.

Cruz wrote his comment in a retweet of an article from conservative news website The Daily Wire, which critiqued Noah for railing against gender reveal parties.

A fair point. Many liberal males never grow balls.... https://t.co/FhHmIPFUpJ

In Tuesdays episode of the Comedy Central show, Noah referenced the fact that one of the three major wildfires currently burning in California was sparked by a gender reveal party.Noah said he believed the practice of celebrating a babys gender was outdated.

"Celebrating a babys genitalia is starting to feel very outdated," Noah said. "Like, given everything were learning about gender, gender reveal parties should only happen when the child is old enough to know their actual gender."

The Daily Wire article criticizes Noah for separating biological sex from gender, arguing instead that the two are inextricably connected. Gender identity has become increasingly accepted by many in recent years to include the gender characteristics one uses to identify themselves, which may differ from their biological sex at birth.

Cruz has previously used gender identity as a means to criticize Democrats, with a March tweet from the senatorjoking that Bernie identifies as every gender, simultaneously.

Mark, thats not fair. Bernie identifies as every gender, simultaneously. https://t.co/EQsCCld7Mu

In the past, Cruz has been particularly vocal about his conservative views on gender, including through his support for laws that do not allow gender-neutral bathrooms. The senator also tweeted in 2019 that parents allowing young children to undergo a gender transition is child abuse.

The rest is here:

Ted Cruz: 'Many liberal males never grow balls' | TheHill - The Hill

Philippe J. Fournier: The Liberals still hold the seat count advantage, but their numbers keep slipping while the Conservatives see an uptick in Ontario

Federal polls published since Durham MP Erin OToole was elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada on Aug. 23 (well, the 24th just past 1 am eastern time) have not indicated any kind of significant leadership bump for the Conservatives. However, it does appear the Liberals downward trend that began in late July has kept going to the point where, even if most Canadians remain generally satisfied by the federal governments handling of the pandemic, the Liberals have lost their advantage in voting intentions.

We therefore find ourselves merely a week away from a Throne Speech that, if rejected by opposition parties, would send the country back to the voting booths only one year removed from the 43rd general election that took place in October 2019.

At the time of this writing, six polls have been in the fieldand have been published since the CPC virtual convention:

(Federal polls from Nanos Research are published behind a paywall, therefore they are not shown here, but they are taken into consideration in the 338Canada model.)

We add these numbers into the 338Canada model and present today this updated federal projection. For details on the models methodology, visit this blog post.

While the Liberals still hold the upper hand on the popular vote projection, the model has the LPC (34 per cent on average) and CPC (32 per cent) in a virtual tie, which is a stark contrast to the double-digit lead the Liberals enjoyed from May to early July. Allegations of nepotism and conflicts of interest surrounding the WE Charity may not have brought down the governments vote share in the way opposition parties would have hoped, but it did take a toll on the Liberals numbers:

Although the NDPs net movement since the spring remains within the confidence intervals, it has fared somewhat better in recent weeks and currently sits at 18 per cent. The Bloc (31 per cent in Quebec) and the Greens stand at 7 per cent nationally.

Naturally, given the Liberal slide of the past month, the seat projections have tightened up to the point that all parties stand roughly at their respective 2019 election results. The LPC wins on average 155 seats (it won 157 seats in 2019) and the Conservatives 117 (121 seats in 2019):

[On the graph above, the numbers indicate the parties current seat projection averages and the coloured bar, the 95 per cent confidence intervals.]

Here is a brief regional breakdown of the projection:

With these numbers, the Liberals remain the favourite to win the most seats at the House of Commons. Over the course of 250,000 general election simulations, the Conservatives win the most seats in close to 16 per cent of simulationsodds close to those of a dice roll.

Erin OToole takes the reins of the CPC in a much better situation for the party than Andrew Scheer did in 2017, when the Liberals were still in their prolonged honeymoon with many Canadian voters. Hence, when Parliament resumes next week in Ottawa, all eyes will be on the new CPC leader in his first test as prime minister-in-waiting. While he may not control the fate of Parliament (the NDP and Bloc hold the balance of power), his performance over the next few months could play a big part in predicting how long this 43rd legislature will last. If a fall election appears unlikely for now, a spring 2021 election before the budget would certainly seem plausible.

For complete numbers of this projection, visit the 338Canada website. The interactive map is available here.

Read the rest here:

Liberals and Tories are virtually tied: 338Canada election projection - Maclean's

OTTAWA -- The RCMP has charged former Liberal MP Raj Grewal with four counts of breach of trust and one count of fraud over $5,000.

The RCMP said the charges are the conclusion of an "extensive criminal investigation" that began in September 2017 after the RCMP was alerted to suspicious transactions involving Grewal, during the time he served as a member of Parliament.

"It is alleged that Mr. Grewal failed to report his receipt of millions in personal loans to the Ethics Commissioner, in circumstances that constitute a criminal breach of trust," the RCMP said in a news release.

"It is further alleged that Mr. Grewal solicited loans for his own personal benefit in connection with the use of his public office, and that he administered his government-funded constituency office budget for his own personal benefit, under circumstances which constituted a criminal fraud or breach of trust."

The firm representing Grewal, Stockwoods LLP, sent a statement to CTV News denying the allegations.

"Mr. Grewal adamantly denies these allegations as he has done steadfastly since 2018. He looks forward to having his day in court and clearing his name," said Nader Hasan, a lawyer with Stockwoods, in the statement.

Grewal announced his resignation in November 2018, attributing the decision to "personal and medical reasons." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time that Grewal was facing "serious personal challenges," and that while it may have been a tough decision, it was the right one.

"I hope he receives the support he needs," Trudeau said in a statement at the time.

The prime ministers office later said the MP was resigning to seek treatment for a gambling addiction, which it said led him to rack up "significant personal debts."

Grewal did not run for re-election in 2019. The charges against him have not been tested in court.

View post:

Former Liberal MP charged by RCMP with breach of trust and fraud - CTV News

By Brandon Shillingford

Students returning to campus this fall will find vending machines stocked full of snacks, sodas, and now personal protective equipment too.

The machines located throughout Richmond-based Virginia Commonwealth University are filled with masks and hand sanitizer and soon, wipes. The supplies are available to students and employees for free, with a once a month limit. Individuals choose what they need and swipe their VCUCard to dispense a product.

VCU officials said they started planning preventative measures months ago to help keep students safe.

In March, we started out at ground zero, said Richard Sliwoski, associate vice president of facilities management at VCU. We had to get things here to make sure we could get folks on campus safely.

The first solution was to hand out starter supply kits with masks, hand sanitizer and wipes. The universitys next question was what to do when the kits became empty.

VCU then contacted W.W. Grainger Inc., an industrial supply company with vending machines already on campus, about acquiring more machines for masks and hand sanitizer. The process was easy since the university already has a contract with the Lake Forest, Illinois-based company, Sliwoski said.

There is no cost to us for the machines, Sliwoski said. They provide all our parts for all of the fixes, faucets, whatever, we source it through them.

Out of a handful of Virginia colleges CNS contacted, only George Mason University confirmed by publication that it also dispenses masks and sanitizer through vending machines. But across the nation, other universities are adding such vending to campuses, as are airports and cities.

Students at VCU said they were pleased with the new machines but questioned how effective they can be if no one knows about them.

Im glad they have these as an extra option for those who are running out of hand sanitizer and stuff because its clear they have plenty, said VCU junior Travis Krickovic. Its a really good measure to just make sure everyone has the PPE they need, Im just wondering and really hope everyone knows about it.

VCU freshman Mary Dorra appreciates the efforts the university is taking but wonders if more safety practices are needed to keep students safe.

It makes me feel safer. Im not sure if its enough but at this point I dont really know what else you can do, she said about the new machines. You could do more temperature checks outside of classes and things like that but even then you could be asymptomatic, so that might not do much.

There are 10 machines at VCU. Five are located on the Medical College of Virginia Campus in the Tompkins-McCaw Library and the Mcguire Hall and Annex, and the Hunton, Larrick and McGlothlin Medical Education centers. The other five reside on the Monroe Park Campus in Snead Hall, the T. Edward Temple Building, James Branch Cabell Library, VCU Student Commons, and the Bowe Street Parking Deck.

Grainger said it provides the machines as part of a wider agreement with VCU but did not disclose the contract amount when asked.

VCU also has put tape or signs on seats to diminish capacity in dining areas to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Common spaces also indicate where to stand in line or sit at a table.

As of Thursday, there are 97 active cases of COVID-19 at VCU, according to the universitys dashboard. The university is reporting 49 new cases this week and 191 total.

Link:

University of Richmond listed as #22 top national liberal art college, highest ranking ever - rvahub.com

Loading

"You come into communities, you razz people up, you train them in arts like bird-dogging and then you step back and say oh they're not members of ours," he said during a committee hearing on Monday.

"It was in fact GetUp's irresponsible incitement and promotion of bird-dogging that led directly to the stalking activity and the vicious nature of the campaigns targeted towards Nicolle Flint in Boothby and Georgina Downer in Mayo You irresponsibly incited people to stalk female Liberal candidates."

GetUp's chief legal counsel, Zaahir Edries, described what the organisation did as empowering people to engage with democratic processes.

"To suggest we somehow deliver some nefarious training to people that they are going to go out and do some horrible things is really disingenuous," he told the committee.

The practice of bird-dogging named for the animals used to hunt game involves intercepting candidates and asking them questions while filming their response. Mr Pasin described it as hounding or pursuing someone with malicious intent.

Loading

A GetUp information sheet for volunteers available online offers advice on how to find out where the "target" will be, including noting routines a "John Howard-esque exercise schedule" or a favourite cafe. It recommends asking questions while shaking the candidate's hand and says "It's always important to be polite and respectful". The GetUp sheet states it is adapted from an American organisation's guide to "Bird Dogging Candidates".

Ms Flint told the committee hearing GetUp's volunteers on polling booths in particular were very aggressive and doing things like "putting the phone in your face to record you when they put questions to you".

She also described a community candidates' debate that was a long tradition in the South Australian seat of Boothby and was usually a calm and polite affair.

"This time, I was being shouted down, I couldn't finish my sentences," she said. "It was no longer a community debate, it was a debate that had been hijacked by activists who just wanted to intimidate me."

An anonymous submission to the committee from a person describing themselves as "a disenchanted and former GetUp volunteer" talks of being asked to be part of a bird-dogging team for the organisation to "disrupt, both physically and verbally, Liberal Party public meetings and events".

"The bird-dogging team also had access to enormous, paper mache-like caricature heads of major Liberal Party members designed to be used in conjunction with defamatory signage [and] handheld, portable loud speakers as well as yelling and chanting," the submission states.

Mr Edries and GetUp's political director, Andrew Blake, denied the organisation asked its members to engage in any hounding or malicious pursuits of people. They spoke instead of people dressing up in Bananas in Pyjamas suits or children's entertainer Peter Combe singing songs at campaign events.

Our weekly newsletter will deliver expert analysis of the race to the White House from our US correspondent Matthew Knott. Coming soon. Sign up now for the Herald's newsletter here, The Age's here, Brisbane Times' here and WAtoday's here.

Katina Curtis is a political reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based at Parliament House in Canberra.

View post:

Liberal MP says GetUp 'bird-dogging' led to harassment of female candidates - Sydney Morning Herald

The value of a liberal education is no longer self-evident.

Despite a torrent of books and essays extolling a liberal arts educations value and utility, broad segments of the public have grown convinced that a liberal education is a synonym for a radical education that ill prepares graduates for the job market.

Instead of cultivating an appreciation for great cultural achievements or honing mental skills through the rigorous study of grammar, logic, rhetoric, foreign languages and mathematics -- which is how liberal educations value was framed and defended in the more distant past -- liberal educations more recent champions have emphasized the 21st-century skills that a liberal education offers.

These include critical and creative thinking, cognitive flexibility, integrative and reflective thinking, social skills, ethical reasoning, and inter- and cross-cultural competence.

A liberal education, as its defenders put it, prepares graduates not for their first job but their fourth. Its not job preparation, but preparation for life.

However true, this argument has gained only limited traction.

Much reform in higher education is driven by exigencies -- by urgent needs and outside demands. That is certainly the situation that many liberal arts colleges face as they strive to sustain enrollment and make the lower-division experience more satisfying and meaningful to undergraduates who regard many courses as a diversion from their real interests.

The result has been proliferating experiments, a large number of which are surveyed in a recently published collection of essays entitled Redesigning Liberal Education.

Case studies describe innovative approaches at an Ivy, Brown, large publics, like Florida International and George Mason, urban privates, like Georgetown and Northeastern, and smaller liberal arts institutions like Connecticut, Rollins and Smith.

Several themes run through these curricular experiments:

But the most important theme is a heightened emphasis on applied or experiential learning. The goal is not simply to apply ideas, theories and methods to authentic, real-world situations, but to help students identify a path in life and develop a sense of purpose by having opportunities, whether in class, in a research lab or maker space, in practicums and studio and clinical experiences, in the field, in co-curricular activities, in an internship, or through study abroad.

Applied learning (which closely resembles George Kuhs high-impact practices), then, ought to reside at the core of a liberal education. As Bass puts it: Applied learning becomes the crucible that integrates the personal development of individual learners professional development and the more purely cognitive knowledge creation

Is radical disruption the best way to save liberal education from extinction? Or does a focus on 21st-century skills undercut liberal educations true value by subordinating its historic centerpieces -- an appreciation of the arts and literature, a firm grounding in history, and an understanding of logic, ethical reasoning and rhetoric -- to more utilitarian concerns?

Is the heightened emphasis on 21st-century literacies and competencies pandering? Is it the academic equivalent of destroying the village to save it? Or is it both necessary -- to produce graduates who will thrive in todays volatile, uncertain, ambiguous environment -- and essential if liberal education will survive in a society that prioritizes the practical, the useful and the applicable?

At the risk of resembling a mugwump -- those late-19th-century liberal reformers with their mugs on one side of the fence and their wumps on the other (as the saying went) -- I think humanists in particular need to advance along two seemingly contradictory fronts.

They need to defend the value of a humanistic education in purely intellectual terms -- as a way to cultivate the aesthetic and moral sensibilities, promote the growth of a rich interior life, and the strengthen the capacity to think, contextualize, reason and reflect at a very high level.

At the same time, they must promote a humanistic education that eschews a narrow disciplinarity, that engages in dialogue with the social and natural sciences and applied and pre-professional fields, and that encourages creativity and the application of humanistic skills, and gives students opportunities to demonstrate their learning in novel ways.

We mustnt kill liberal education in order to save it, but we must also recognize that it is under genuine threat and that if it fails to adapt, it will only become even more marginal and peripheral.

Steven Mintz is professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin.

View original post here:

Designing the Future of Liberal Education | Higher Ed Gamma - Inside Higher Ed

OTTAWA The federal Liberal government has handed over thousands of pages of documents related to the WE controversy to a House of Commons committee, which lawyers are now vetting for personal information and cabinet secrets.

OTTAWA The federal Liberal government has handed over thousands of pages of documents related to the WE controversy to a House of Commons committee, which lawyers are now vetting for personal information and cabinet secrets.

The finance committee demanded the documents last month as it probes whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's relationship with WE Charity influenced the government's ill-fated decision to have the organization run a federal student-volunteer program.

Committee members are hoping the documents will shed light on the discussions that led to the decision to have WE run the Canada Student Services Grant, before the deal was cancelled amid controversy in early July.

"People are asking a lot of questions," NDP finance critic Peter Julian said in an interview. "There's been a lot of contradictions in testimony. So the documents should be revealing a lot more of what the real answers are."

Yet while the Liberals turned more than 5,000 pages over to the committee ahead of Saturday's deadline, it wasn't clear when they would be released to members as committee lawyers go through them to prevent the release ofprotected information.

"We don't know," Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre said during a news conference on Sunday when asked when committee members would get the documents."We have asked. They have not given us the timeline."

Committee chairman Wayne Easter, a Liberal MP,predicted the documents would be released in the coming days to members as additional lawyers from the public service have been brought in to help review them for cabinet secrets and other information.

Even after the documents are released, however, there will could be disagreements about why certain information was withheld.

While Poilievre and Julian suggested they were keeping the door open to challenging any redactions, Easter said the vetting was being conducted by the professional public service and noted the tradition of Parliament respecting cabinet confidence.

Usually prepared for ministers to aid government deliberations and decision-making, documents marked as cabinet confidences hold closely guarded political secrets and are legally protected from unauthorized release.

Trudeau has previously faced pressure to waive cabinet confidence when it came to allegations he tried to pressure then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on a deferred prosecution agreement with Quebec engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.

"We respect the integrity of the public service," Easter said when asked about the lawyers redacting cabinet confidences in the WE documents. "That's why there is no political involvement in the redacting of these documents. That's why the law clerk is involved."

The Liberals have been embroiled in controversy since it was revealed on June 25 that WE had been selected to run the Canada Student Services Grant, which promised up to $5,000 toward the education costs of students who volunteered during COVID-19.

The sole-sourced agreement with WE was to pay one of its foundations up to $43.5 million to administer a grant program designed to encourage students to sign up for volunteer work related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau have since apologized for not recusing themselves from cabinet's discussions about the agreement before it was awarded to WE given their respective families' ties to the Toronto-based charity.

Trudeau has spoken at six WE Day events since becoming prime minister, while his mother and brother have been paid almost $300,000 and reimbursed about $200,000 in expenses for appearing at WE events.Trudeau's wife has also had expenses covered.

Morneau, meanwhile,acknowledged last month that he repaid WE about $41,000 in sponsored travel for him and his family to view the charity's humanitarian projects in Ecuador and Kenya in 2017.

Yet the government has insisted that the decision was based on a recommendation from the non-partisan public service following its conclusion that WE was the only organization capable of running the grant program.

Opposition critics, meanwhile,are also training their sights on an agreementbetween a Crown corporation and a company employing the husband of Trudeau's chief of staff, Katie Telford.

The agreement between the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. and MCAP, where Telford's husband Rob Silver is an executive vice-president, involves the administering of a rent-assistance program for small businesses affected by COVID-19.

The Prime Minister's Office has said Telford established clear ethical walls between herself and MCAP in January, even before COVID-19 shook the country's economyand led to the creation of the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program.

But Poilievre questioned why the government didn't simply ask the Canada Revenue Agency to run the rent-assistance program given it is already managing the federal wage subsidy for businesses struggling during the pandemic.

"CMHC, which is strangely running this program, exists for the sole purpose of providing affordable housing. Not commercial real estate," Poilievre said.

"Now, of course, the easy way to deliver this program would have been through CRA. CRA already had a program stood up to deliver a wage subsidy."

Audrey-Anne Coulombe, a spokeswoman for CMHC, said in a statement Sunday thatthe federal housing agency had decided to go with an outside sub-administrator because it "does not have the internal capacity to stand up the program in short order."

Coulombe said CMHC sought bids from two financial institutions and chose MCAP because its proposal was stronger and cost less. She saidSilver was not involved in contract negotiations or thedelivery of services.

Easter expressed concern about the committee getting distracted by opposition "fishing" efforts and not focusing on its main task of preparing for next year's federal budget and overseeing COVID-19 spending.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2020.

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

Read more from the original source:

Liberals turn over thousands of pages on WE decision, lawyers now vetting docs - moosejawtoday.com

At least two Nova Scotia cabinet ministers and a member of Parliament say they're now considering what the future holds for them following Premier Stephen McNeil's announcement Thursday that he intends to resign.

Central Nova MP Sean Fraser, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance,said in a statement that he's giving "real consideration" to whether a provincial Liberal leadership run makes sense for him.

Nova Scotia Education Minister Zach Churchill and Business Minister Geoff MacLellan both said in interviews with CBC News that they hadn't given it much thought before but, with a leadership contest now looming, they aren't ruling out seeking their party's top job.

"Nothing is off the table," said MacLellan. "I don't want to be vague or clichd, but it's a lot to think about.

"Everyone dreams about being the premier and the prime minister and the centrefielder for the Yankees, but when it actually comes into a legitimate conversation, it's a much different story. What happened yesterday changes a lot for many people, including myself."

McNeil's decision could also change things for Churchill, who, like MacLellan, was first elected in a byelection in 2010. Both were named to cabinet in McNeil's first term as premier after forming government in 2013.

Like MacLellan, Churchill said he's mainly been focused on the premier's decision and the role McNeil has played in his life.

"I was surprised by that [announcement]," he said. "Part of me is sad that he's doing thatbecause he was a mentor and a friend."

Churchill said he now needs to reflect on what the future holds for the party, the caucus and himself.

Fraser's statement said he deeply values his current role as a member of Parliament and what he's been able to do for his riding through that work, but after receiving many calls from supporters he's now looking at whether the opportunity to serveas the premier of Nova Scotia "makes sense for me and for our province."

"These are big decisions that have an impact not only on those who seek public office, but also their loved ones. I will take the time necessary to make an informed choice about the next step in my career in politics here at home in Nova Scotia."

It's something other members of the party are likely also now weighing, although Fraser, Churchill and MacLellan were the only people out of about a dozen CBC contacted Friday who returned calls to say they're considering it. In a text message,Community Services Minister Kelly Regansaid she is interested in the continued growth of the partyand province, but hasn't yet given any real consideration to seeking the leadership.

A spokesperson for Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, long rumoured as being interested in the job, said he has no plans to seek the leadership. Savage is fully committed tohis bid for re-election in October's municipal election, according to Shaune MacKinlay.

Halifax MP Andy Fillmore said he isn't interested in the job, either.

"I'm entirely focused on the job I have right now," Fillmore said in an interview a day after announcing a long-time goal of his: regular visitor access to Georges Island.

"There's more work to be done for Halifax here in Halifax, and there's more work for me to do for Halifax in Ottawa."

Nova Scotia Liberal Party officials say they will meet soon to establish the parameters for a leadership race and just what form it will take in light of thecoronavirus pandemic.

McNeil has said he will continue to govern until the party selects a new leader.

Katherine Fierlbeck, a political scientist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said the race to replace McNeil seems wide open because there is no obvious successor. That can at least be partly attributed to no one anticipating McNeil's departure.

And while winning the leadership comes with the added bonus of becoming premier, whoever gets the job will be inheriting a government that's facing major financial challenges. COVID-19 has created an $853 million deficit in Nova Scotia.

MORE TOP STORIES

See more here:

Nova Scotia politicians begin kicking the tires on Liberal leadership - CBC.ca

I see the same old liberal contributors saying the same old things over and over again. They claim to be experts, but we all know they are self-centered liberals who may claim to be Christians and who may claim to be just real good neighbors to us all.

However, its the same old liberal stuff about how bad our president is and how bad the Republicans are because they dont personally agree with their politics and tactics. Yes, we all have our preferences, but let me ask them about killing babies and selling baby parts for exploitation. How about asking them if they will admit some of the illegal immigrants in to their homes and give them part of their paycheck and part of their homes? How about asking them about Joe Biden, who cant remember where he was yesterday? How about asking them about how they would have handled the coronavirus for the entire country?

To me it is a good thing that we had a president who has done a great job despite the constant flak from the liberals that has been going on for over four years.

They claim to be experts. They have done so many things and held so many jobs.They claim that President Trump spreads hate, but look back at some of your contributions and check out the vicious things that you have said about many people.

I personally think that you all are hypocrites, and I think that the people deserve contributors who are actually out to help the people of West Virginia.

Read the original post:

Letter to the editor: Liberals have not contributed to society - Huntington Herald Dispatch