Monthly Archives: February 2021

Liberals on and off Capitol Hill are up in arms after Democratic impeachment managers abandoned their effort to compel new witness testimony in the trial accusing former President TrumpDonald TrumpBiden on Trump acquittal: 'Substance of the charge is not in dispute' North Carolina GOP condemns Burr for impeachment vote against Trump Toomey on Trump vote: 'His betrayal of the Constitution' required conviction MORE of inciting last month's attack on the Capitol.

The progressive critics contend that Democratic prosecutors, by accepting a deal to exclude those witnesses and wrap up the trial, missed a unique opportunity to highlight Trump's involvement in the assault, particularly his refusal to defuse the violence after it had begun.

They aren't mincing words.

"This is retreat. White flag. Malpractice. Completely unstrategic. They just closed the door on others who may have stepped out, as @HerreraBeutler urged last night," Adam Green, who heads the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said on Twitter, referring to Rep. Jaime Herrera BeutlerJaime Lynn Herrera BeutlerHouse GOP lawmaker unexpectedly shakes up Senate trial Raskin defends no witnesses deal: 'I made the call' Liberals howl after Democrats cave on witnesses MORE (R-Wash.), who had called Friday for Republicans to come forward with information about Trump's actions on Jan. 6.

"Just when we thought Dems were being bold and strategic. This is grabbing lameness out of the jaws of boldness," he added.

Markos Moulitsas, the liberal activist founder of Daily Kos, was more blunt. "It really all boils down to this: Hey Democrats, you f---ed up," he said.

The criticisms came after a chaotic day of debate and partisan bickering in the Senate trial, which ultimately resulted in Trump's acquittal.

Democratic prosecutors had stunned Washington on Saturday morning when they scrapped an initial plan to rest their case and instead forced the Senate to adopt a measure allowing for new witnesses a strategy that even Senate Democrats said they had not been warned of.

"We have social conversations, but we don't talk strategy. So we did not know if they were going to request witnesses or not. We just didn't," said Sen. Ben CardinBenjamin (Ben) Louis CardinLiberals howl after Democrats cave on witnesses Senate strikes deal, bypassing calling impeachment witnesses Senators, impeachment teams scramble to cut deal on witnesses MORE (D-Md.), adding that he supported the additional testimony.

"If the managers believe it helps their presentation to have witnesses, we should let them have witnesses," he added.

The additional testimony was necessary, the managers argued, after the emergence of new details surrounding Trump's refusal to intervene when the violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, even despite the pleas from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthyKevin McCarthyHouse GOP lawmaker unexpectedly shakes up Senate trial Liberals howl after Democrats cave on witnesses Senate acquits Trump in 57-43 vote MORE (R-Calif.) and other GOP allies to do so.

McCarthy's urgent request for Trump's help had been reported last month, but Herrera Beutler provided new details this week, saying Trump had sided with the rioters over those under attack in the Capitol.

"Well Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are," Trump told McCarthy mid-attack, according to Herrera Beutler's account. That led the impeachment managers, led by Rep. Jamie RaskinJamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinPelosi rules out censure after Trump acquittal Raskin defends no witnesses deal: 'I made the call' Liberals howl after Democrats cave on witnesses MORE (D-Md.), to request that she testify as part of the trial.

"Needless to say, this is an additional, critical piece of corroborating evidence further confirming the charges before you, as well as the president's willful dereliction of duty," Raskin said.

House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiPelosi rules out censure after Trump acquittal Raskin defends no witnesses deal: 'I made the call' Liberals howl after Democrats cave on witnesses MORE (D-Calif.) had signed off on the decision, according to a senior Democratic aide.

Yet after a few hours of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the sides cut a deal: They would allow Herrera Beutler's statement to become a part of the official trial record, but no witnesses would be asked to provide new testimony in the case.

The impeachment managers quickly claimed victory, saying it was a concession that Trump's defense team would never have made without the threat of bringing new witnesses.

"Now that Trumps Team has conceded to bringing this uncontradicted statement into the trial record, it can be considered by Senators along with the already overwhelming evidence about President Trumps conduct on January 6, without the need for subpoena, deposition and other testimony," said a senior aide on the impeachment team.

The trial's quick end means that Democrats can shift their energies back to the task of adopting the ambitious legislative agenda of President BidenJoe BidenBiden on Trump acquittal: 'Substance of the charge is not in dispute' White House press aide resigns after threatening Politico reporter Trump conviction vote exposes GOP divide MORE, beginning with a massive COVID-19 stimulus bill.

But the decision to scrap new witnesses launched a firestorm of attacks from the left, as liberals blasted sour notes of disappointment that Democrats hadn't fought harder to win Trump's conviction.

"The fact that Mark MeadowsMark MeadowsLiberals howl after Democrats cave on witnesses Kinzinger calls for people with info on Trump to come forward Trump mum as Senate debates his role in inciting Capitol mob MORE, Donald Trump, Tommy Tuberville and Kevin McCarthy will likely *never* have to testify under oath about the insurrection is an insult to justice and to history," tweeted David Atkins, a liberal activist in California.

"Republicans would have conducted a month-long impeachment trial calling dozens of witnesses," he added.

Some Democrats on Capitol Hill were just as angry. One Democrat familiar with the witness negotiations said Senate Democrats, led by Majority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerSenate passes bill to award Capitol Police officer Congressional Gold Medal Trump lawyers center defense around attacks on Democrats Democratic norms aren't safe just because Biden won MORE (N.Y.), were ready to accept whatever decision the wavering impeachment managers made on the question of calling for new testimony a message the senators delivered to the House prosecutors.

Yet after the Senate voted to allow those new witnesses, the source said, the managers botched the next steps.

"After the vote, it was clear the managers had no plan," said the Democratic source. "Senate Democrats gave them the votes, but the managers didnt know what their next step was."

The tensions might not matter in the long run. The final vote on Trump's fate featured seven Republican senators who crossed the aisle to convict the former president, marking the most bipartisan conviction vote in the nation's history.

That's provided Democrats with a potent talking point heading into the 2022 cycle, when both chambers are up for grabs. And many Senate Democrats noted that the GOP opposition to Trump's conviction was so entrenched that new witnesses would never have changed the verdict.

"I don't think anything would have made a difference with the folks on the other side," Sen. Raphael WarnockRaphael WarnockLiberals howl after Democrats cave on witnesses Ossoff presses Biden's budget nominee on HBCU funding Georgia GOP seeks to tighten voting rules after spate of losses MORE (D-Ga.) said after Trump's acquittal.

In the immediate aftermath of the vote, however, the Democrats' liberal base is making sure to send party leaders an unmistakable message that they're expecting more fight in the debates to come.

"Only Democrats can indisputably win a vote and then concede," said Green.

Jordain Carney contributed.

Read this article:

Liberals howl after Democrats cave on witnesses | TheHill - The Hill

He still uses the sign to communicate his convictions, just with maybe a little less spit and vinegar. Last Sunday, one side of the board read keep Gosford nuclear free, a position unlikely to stir up much controversy here. The other side, however, showed that he still isnt averse to throwing a partisan punch: put far-right on terror list.

You get caught up in the vortex, he said of his time in the spotlight. People appreciate what youre saying and you become one of those voices.

Middle ground is hard, he added, leaning back in his chair, revealing red socks beneath his black and white garb. We only hear the extremes.

With his short, spiky hair and tightly trimmed beard, Father Bower, 58, has something of the wombat about him another bristly, if often lovable Australian of the wild. Hes not afraid to swear, joke about old hangovers or deliver a sermon barefoot. Hes a priest at home in the muck of existence.

He grew up in an agricultural area north of Sydney, adopted and raised by cattle farmers. His adoptive father died when Father Bower was 13, and his teenage years were mostly spent working on the land, and as a butcher. Its a history he has never fully left behind; The Ethical Omnivore sits beside religious texts on his office bookshelf.

The dislocation of being adopted, a fact he said he always knew but only began to fully process in his 20s, motivated him to seek God and the priesthood.

It was part of my search for identity, he said. It came with a title and a uniform.

Many of his parishioners found Father Bower and the church where he has served as rector for more than two decades by seeing the messages on the sign outside not by passing by on the road, but by spotting them on Facebook.

Excerpt from:

Australias Rebel Reverend Goes Viral With Barbed Liberal Messages - The New York Times

Jada Stewart, a junior at Albion College, loads her belongings into her mother's car on Nov. 15 as she moves back to her home in Chicago.David Jesse

DETROIT The sedan swooped into Albion College, stopping alongside the curbnext to a dorm. The trunk popped open, and in the wind, rain and coldone day last fall, Jada Stewart loaded her belongings, bag after bag into her mom's car.

Stewart wasn't the onlyremaining studentat Albion on that mid-November afternoon, but most were already gone. The biggest things moving in the streets were the lastof the fallenleaves. Parking lots were deserted. Campus was shut down.

Three days earlier, students had been told they had to leave by noon Saturday because of rising COVID-19 cases. Stewart got permission to stay an extra day before her mom drove 3hours from Chicago.

Stewart had cometo Albion three years ago as part of apush by the collegeto increase enrollment and diversity.

Albion needed more students for a simple reason:More students equalmore money, at least in theory. Without state aid, private colleges depend on tuition, room and board to keep their doors open. At Albion, those three categories brought in 58% of the school's total revenue in the 2018-19 school year.

But schools often find the only way to bring more students on to campus is to give hefty price breaks, which is exactly what happened at Albion.

Armed with discounts, recruiters went into heavily minority areas where the college had not recruited before. They were forced into looking into new areas for students because of a shrinking pool of high school graduates in Michigan and intense competition for them.

Biden's education pick: Miguel Cardona says 'reopen schools.' Here's where he stands on other issues

The push worked in two ways. More students came, and a lot of those students were minorities, diversifying the campus.

But all wasn't hunky-dory. Because the college gave out steep discounts, its tuition revenue actually dropped. And in changing from an almost completely whiteinstitution to one on track to become a minority-majority college, Albion also unearthed a host of campus cultural conflicts.

A sign lets motorists on westbound I-94 know when to get off to go to Albion College.David Jesse, Detroit Free Press

Nearly two months afterCOVID-19 chasedStewart and her fellow students from campus, on a bright, sunny weekendin January, some movedback for thissemester.

Stewart wasn't one of them. She opted to stay virtual for the semester "due to mental health. COVID has everything pretty restricted on campus and everything was taking a tollon me."

If students aren't on campus, Albion's budget cantake a massive hit. The collegepulled in$16.3 million from residential halls in the 2018-19 school year, according to audited financial statements obtained by the Free Press. That was 22.9% of the school's total $71.1 million in revenue.

Shifting circumstances, such as not being ableto remain in residence halls, could "increase the urgency of the decisions Albion faces,"according toa confidential assessment offinances prepared for the Board of Trusteesin early 2020.An outside consulting firm, EY-Pathenon, put together the report, which was obtained by the Free Press.

The report pointed out what many at the school already knew: While the drive to increase enrollment was successful in bringing more studentsto campus, it hadn't solved Albion's problems.

"We had tried the wait and see, keep your powder dry ... approach and it just didn't work," board Chairman Michael Harringtontold the Free Press. "We had tried to compete on price. That's fine, for a while."

The report notes Albion has been beating the trend among its peers in enrollment growthbut has increased its tuition discount rate, leading to a decline in net revenue per student.

In the 2018-19 school year, for example, Albion should have brought in $68.2 million in tuition, financial records obtained by the Free Press show. But Albion gave $48.9 million in tuition discounts, leaving it with $19.3 million in tuition revenue.

By comparison, in the 2014-15school year, Albion should have brought in $46.7 million in tuition revenue, but it gave $25.3 million in tuition discounts, leaving $21.4 million in tuition revenue. That meant that despite having more students paying tuition in 2018-19, the school actually had more money in its coffers to spend in 2014-15.

A tuition discount is the difference between the official tuition price and theactualamount paid by students and otherparties (outside ofcollege scholarships, Pell Grants and other financing).

Trump and Biden froze student loans: Should borrowers pay or pause before they thaw?

All private colleges give some sort of tuition discount, in essence writing off millions of dollars of potential income. That's good for students, who get a chance to attend schools they couldn't afford atthe published price. But if the discount rate gets too high, it can be disastrous for the institution because there isn't enough money to pay for professors, staff or facilities.

To make up the difference, Albion, like some of its peers, has been tapping its endowment, including for an additional $7 million over its normal yearly draw,which was $5.4 million in the 2018-19 school year. If it continues on its path, it would spend about $48 million from its endowment through fiscal year 2025, the outside firm's report says. Most of Albion's peers have also been drawing down endowments, the report notes. Albion's endowment was about $175 million in the 2018-19 school year, records show.

Albion can't simply cut its way to sustainability, the report notes. It offers several suggestions for a path forward. Some are extreme including merging with a university (no specific one is suggested) to become a liberal arts college inside the university.

"Albion's campus community is not characterized by a culture of innovation today," the report said. "Albion does not have a recent track record of shifting its program offering in material ways, and transformational options will require significant change."

When asked to react to the report, board Chairman Harrington told a Free Press reporter:

"I didn't find it as chilling as maybe you did, because we'd lived it for several years."

Coming off the 2008 recession, Albion, like its peers, was hurting. Students weren't coming, and finances were rocky. Competition in the areas where Albion usually recruited was fierce.

With a willingness to hand out deep discounts, the school went looking for new markets.

One of those was Chicago. ThenAlbion reached into Atlanta and other major metro areas and isstarting to work into Texas, recruiting Latinostudents.

Robert Joerg arrived as a student in fall 2015 and saw the changing student body firsthand.

"Itwas very real and brought a different feel to the campus culture," said Joerg, now 23 and director of advocacy for the Michigan Laborers District Council. Hewasactive in campus politics, including serving as the secretary, vicepresident and president of the Student Senate, giving him access to the administration and board's decision-making and discussions. He used that access to advocate for students.

Before the enrollment push,Albion largely looked like a white New England campus transported to rural Michigan.

There also was very little socioeconomic diversity. Adding in lower-income, first-in-the-family-to-attend-college students also meant highlighting income divisions on campus.

"The college could have done a better job in preparing for the change in the student body there were not sufficient resources to help students succeed," Joergsaid.

With the change came a greater emphasis on social issues. Tension built on campus, including around the 2016 election of Donald Trump. There were also racistincidents.

In 2016, someonepainted "#BuildAWall" and "Trump" on a large rock in the middle of campus. That was replaced by a painting of the Mexican and American flags. In 2019, a cardboard box with KKK written on it was found outside a Black students dorm room.Earlier in the semester, the same Black student reported finding racist words written on a whiteboard outside the room. This school year, a campus rock that had been painted with "Black Lives Matter" was painted over in the middle of the night with pro-Trump statements.

As the student body diversified, adjustments were made, right down towhat music was played at events and who got to help pick the music, said Stewart, the student from Chicago.

Albion "is slowly becoming diverse and attempting to make changes so that all students, including minorities, are comfortable and feel welcomed on campus," Stewart said. "(There are)still a few issues that need to be fixed, but the college is a work inprogress."

The change in student diversity hasn't been matched by diversity in faculty or staff. In 2018, the latest year data from the federal government is available, there were about a dozen minority faculty members and just over 100 white faculty members.

You could write the names of the 90 or so small colleges in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan down on individual slips of paper, throw them in a hat, pull just about any one of them out and substitute that college's name forAlbion when talkingabout financial struggles.

The struggles have done more than nibble at some institutions. They've chewed them up.

A partial list of those includes:

The Liberal Arts building on the Marygrove Conservancy campus in Detroit on Thursday, September 24, 2020.Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press

A huge chunk find themselvesteetering abovea death spiral.

Author and higher-education journalist Jeffrey Selingo divides private colleges into two categories:sellers and buyers.

Sellers, he argues in his book, "Who Gets in and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions," are the most elite and prestigious places that have no problem attracting students, most of whompay top prices to attend.

The buyers, including the vast majority of colleges in the Midwest, have to use tuition discounts to get students to campus.

That's not sustainable, said Brian Zucker, president and founder ofHuman Capital Research Corporation, an Illinois-based firm that consults on enrollment strategy. He argues that colleges should changetheir focus,especially during the upheaval of COVID-19.

"This is a profound opportunity for innovation," he told the Free Press. "This has a great deal to do withleadership and the willingness of the organization to pivot."

Growing up inthe town ofAlbion, Keena Williams never really spent any time on campus.

Keena Williams, Albion College's chief belonging officer and Title IX coordinatorAlbion College

"That wasn't a place where people that looked like me went," Williams, who is African American,told the Free Press. "People viewed it as a different world."

After graduating from high school in 1997, Williams went to the University of Michiganbut ended up dropping out. About five years later, she decided to go back to collegeand chose Albion. After graduating and working in other jobs, she found herself back on campus just as the student demographics were changing.

Minority students began pushing for more change. There were lengthy meetings with administrators and students.

"That ruffled some feathers," Williams said, "from people holding on to what Albion had been or had been for them."

Trumps diversity training order: Colleges are still reeling from its effects

Albion now is working on making that change. Williams, who was named the school's chief belonging officer in 2020, is helping driveit.

"We talk about retention as being everyone's job. We talk about how belonging is everyone's job. We've reached a tipping point where we have folks in all our stakeholder groups who are committed to this."

As COVID-19 raged across Michigan in early spring, MathewJohnson was sitting in the living room of the president's house in Albion. There were chairs drawn up in a sociallydistanced circle. Groups of faculty, academic staff, student life staff, students and the search committee itself troopedin for their 45 minutes withJohnson,the potential new leader of their college.

Everyoneknew the college needed ideas. Some worried about what change would bring.

Johnson, then theassociate dean of the college for engaged scholarship and senior fellow and executive director of the Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University, was ready.

"I put a stake in the ground there is no way to cut our way out of this," herecalleda few months later, sitting in his office.A large whiteboard filledone wall, scribbledwithplans and ideas.

Albion College president Mathew B. Johnson in his office at Albion College in Albion, Friday, Nov. 20, 2020.Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press

Albion wants to stay affordable, but build the quality to show families why it's worth the price to send a student to a small school in the middle of Michigan.

That means investments will be needed:in faculty pay, in new programs and in infrastructure. Johnson's sticking with diversification as a priority, something Harrington said was a key consideration whenthe boardwas looking for a new president last year.

"We wanted to find a president who is courageousto make the investments that are needed," he said. "We agree we need to do some different things."

The conversation now is about how Albion can become known as a place students come to "because you want to find a purpose in life," Johnsonsaid.

That change costs money, and digging into the endowment is unsustainable.

"We're scrubbing every corner" of the budget, Johnson said, to see where money is being spent and if it's being spent the "right way."

He's aware of the stakes.

"If nothing changes two years," he says of how long Albion has to fix things."That gets extended by every change."

This story was supported by the Spencer Education Fellowship at Columbia Journalism School, where David Jesse is a 2020-21 fellow. Jesse was selected as the2018 Education Writers Association's best education reporter. Follow David Jesse on Twitter: @reporterdavidj.

Read the rest here:

Liberal arts colleges fighting to survive are discounting tuition and raising enrollment, but it's not working - USA TODAY

One major party is making the case that renewables are the way of the future, the other is warning they will cripple jobs and send power prices skyrocketing.

By that sentiment alone, it is politics as usual in Australia for the past decade.

Except in this case, it is the WA Liberal Party calling for coal to be tossed aside and wind and solar to take its place, with Labor blasting the idea as "reckless".

It comes hot on the heels of Labor lambasting a Fremantle homeless camp as organised by "anarchists", while the Liberals pleaded for more to be done to help the people there.

Still over a month from the election, the West Australian political landscape appears to have been turned on its head.

But even with it coming somewhat out of left field, given some prominent federal Liberals have spent years campaigning against action on climate change or green energy, few would dispute that Zak Kirkup's biggest policy announcement yet isn't lacking in political bravery.

The politics of carbon have played significant roles in the downfall of three prime ministers and caused almighty headaches for governments of both political persuasions across the country for the best part of two decades.

If the WA Liberal leader had steered clear of the debate between now and the March 13 state election, it is likely that few eyebrows would have been raised.

Instead, he has taken a stand that would dramatically upend the WA energy space.

Coal-fired power stations would close within four years and the state would lean heavily on renewables for its energy needs within a decade.

Energy production in WA would reach zero emissions by 2030 under the plan, which banks heavily on a $3 billion Mid West renewable energy project the Liberals say would be developed by the private sector.

But, in politics, there can be a big difference between being brave and making the right call.

And it is a decision some of his Liberal colleagues are deeply fearful will prove to be a damaging one.

"I wouldn't know where to begin defending it," one MP admitted.

"The intent is laudable but there is a lot of detail. And with detail comes risk."

One of the party's most senior MPs is also understood to have made it widely known to colleagues that they were bewildered by the policy.

And, of course, that is before you even get to the attack from Labor which was sharpening its knives within minutes.

"All it would mean is many many billions of extra debt, huge increases in family power bills, rolling blackouts across the state and huge job losses," Premier Mark McGowan said of the Liberal policy.

"Everyone should be very fearful about what they have just put forward."

Labor argues the policy has an unrealistic timeframe and would cost billions, instead of the more modest $400 million estimated by the Liberals.

Plus, Mr Kirkup finds himself at odds with a Federal Liberal Government that still sees coal playing a key role in energy for decades to come.

And there is the impact on Collie as well a town hugely reliant on coal, with the Liberals hoping to soften the blow with a $100 million transition fund.

But Mr Kirkup isn't shying away from the boldness of the plan, repeatedly comparing his vision to that of Charles Court and the North West Shelf.

"We have always been a state to forge a path when others think it is an impossibility," Mr Kirkup said.

"We have always been a state that takes the giant leaps."

Given where the Liberals are in the election race, strategists on both sides of the race thought the Opposition needed to take a "giant leap" or two to have any chance of getting back in the fight.

Did you know we offer a local version of the ABC News homepage? Watch below to see how you can set yours, and get more WA stories.

(Hint: You'll have to go back to the home page to do this)

Public polling has been next to non-existent, but at least one private poll has put Labor's two-party preferred lead at 61 per cent to 39 per cent.

That would be a swing against the Liberals of 5.5 per cent and wipe out Mr Kirkup's own seat of Dawesville plus Hillarys, Darling Range and Riverton if there was a uniform swing.

If that eventuated, the Liberals would hold just nine out of 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Making a noticeable dent in such a large deficit was never likely to happen without doing something bold.

But Mr Kirkup will face a battle to convince voters his green energy plan will not drive up power prices or lead to blackouts.

After all, that is an argument multiple Prime Ministers before Scott Morrison have tried to prosecute without living to tell the tale.

See the original post here:

WA political landscape turned on its head as Liberals outline renewable energy policy - ABC News

[1]. It's been more than a century since a chain of tensions and shocks hit the Iranian society as a result of imposed presence of "western modernity" in Iran. This trend started from mid Qajar era on, and as time went by, modernity became more and more serious and fundamental within the structure of the society. The modernity flow experienced its climax during the events of the Constitutional Revolution in Iran and marked a huge historical conflict in the country.

In the meantime, the only person who raised the flag of enlightenment and, due to his precise and deep knowledge about the nature of western modernity, recognized its incompatibility and conflict with religious traditions, was martyr Sheikh Fazlullah Nuri who was hanged a while after the movement started and removed from the equations. After this bitter fate, the authoritative, accelerating, and wild modernity was created by Reza Pahlavi. He tried to destroy the entire structure and foundation of native and religious culture to replace it with western modernity. Therefore, contrary to its roots and origins, the Iranian society tumbled down to a different path and turned into a 'tail of western modernity'.

[2]. Western modernity set foot in Iran with both its Marxist and Liberalist branches. Both those branches were fully active in the country. The Liberalistic narrative of modernity was more compatible with the taste of the Pahlavi dynasty, but in response to choosing this narrative by Pahlavi and the consequences of this decision, the Marxist ideology was also formed in the country as an anti-thesis and found a strong social fan base inside the society. For example, the communist party of Tudeh turned into one of the most important and effective groups in Iran. During the following decades, the propagation of the Marxist ideology led to the birth of other narratives which had eclectic ragged nature, including MEK and Forqan cult. It was at this time where the master-mind of Iran's Revolution, martyr Ayatollah Morteza Motahari, stepped in a difficult bloody battle and formed a front against the social wave of communist ideology. Those who had beliefs similar to Motahari and considered the situation as a huge fatal danger were quite a few in number. He took out his sword from the pod, all alone, and rushed into the theoretical battlefield. During this period of time, Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi was one of the few people who recognized the specific historical situation and undertook an active enlightening fight against deviation. Mr. Mesbah, during this period, learned the theory of "Materialism Dialectic" which constructs the essence of Marxist ideology. He then taught his findings to his students and tried tirelessly to provide a fundamental criticism of the theory. Ayatollah Mesbah was physically attacked and beaten by the Marxist forces. Motahari, also, was assassinated and removed from the scene by Marxists because he was considered by them as the main/major threat to the Marxist ideology.

[3]. During the last years of the 60s (in the Persian calendar) when the Marxist ideology was out of breath in Iran and had no power anymore, the Liberalistic ideology arrived at the country and soon turned into an affective bold force amongst west-oriented elites and intellectuals. In the early years after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Freedom Movement in the country, led by Mahdi Bazargan, took in "the state liberalism" as its core manifestation and agenda. After a while, due to his ideological conflicts and contradictions with the Revolution, Bazargan resigned. But this time, those who were categorized as the oppositions and critics of Liberal ideology and had comprehended Islam through a leftist narrative, inaugurated an epistemological trend which was the sign of a 'substantial epistemological transformation'. The man who facilitated and stimulated this transformation the most was Abdul Karim Soroush. He brought up the theory of "the theoretical contraction and expansion of Sharia" in Kayhan Circle and tended towards "philosophical and epistemological revisions" in realm of theology. There were others who followed him down this path and gradually shaped the liberal west-oriented intellectual movement, inspired by thoughts and reflections of Soroush.

[4]. During this period of time, another considerable evolution was beginning in terms of official and state atmosphere of the country: the birth of the Economic Liberalism Policy on the outset of the 5th administration of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Those technocrat forces surrounding administrations' officials, jump-started a different economic policy called 'economic adjustment' which was derived from policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. This policy, from different aspects, embarked an evolution in atmosphere of revolutionary approaches and values of the country: the rule of technocratic forces, the oblivion of knowledge and culture, pragmatism and development of moment-based logics, the precedence of economic growth, and the production of wealth over justice, creation of a gap between the state and the nation, the emergence of social discontent and urban riots and etc. During this historical period, Mesbah, who was a critic of the situation and worried about it, did not have the opportunity for a transparent debate due to the narrow political space of the country.

[5]. By the occurrence of the third event, the triangle of western modernity according to the liberal narrative was completed in Iran. The third event was the rise of the secular intellectual force to power in the mid-70s (in the Persian calendar) and their placement within the official structure of the state. It was at this point in history that all possibilities and opportunities came together and the forces of modernity, united and apparent, challenged the 'revolutionary ideology'. This wave was very much similar to the wave that was formed by west-oriented intellectuals during the events of the Constitutional Revolution in that period of Iran's history. It was here when Mesbah made his 'decisive decision' and set foot in the middle of strife explicitly and fearlessly; just as Motahari was not afraid of anything in the 50th and had recognized the main jeopardy. This critical and apparent confrontation greatly displeased the official and unofficial liberal ideology forces of the country. As time went on, they felt more and more endangered because Mesbah was squandering their conquests and diverging their social fan base. Mesbah's determination and seriousness in this regard, also made the Iranian liberalism forces more determined in fighting back. Hence, since then, Mesbah became the key epistemological figure and was selected as the main target of media and propaganda attacks on a daily and weekly basis. During that time, no other figure was targeted by the liberal forces as much as he was. Nevertheless, he never retreated and continued his enlightenment and criticism. Thus, a multitude of suspicions, problems, ambiguities, and media objections were formed against Mesbah, and the man who was not much famous until then, suddenly became the subject of the headlines of news broadcast and analysis. The confrontation of state liberalism and west-oriented intellectuals against Mesbah had a deviated nature: it was not originated from "reasoning", but rather "corrupt motifs", "politically wrong intentions", and "greed for power". This confrontation made the thoughts of Mesbah the subject of fragmentation, distortion, propaganda manipulations, and political speculations.

[6]. The destructive attacks against Mesbah were so intense and severe and there were so many small and big lies repeatedly feigned about him that, gradually, the truth was marginalized and a different face from Mesbah was forged which had nothing to do with the truth. We've learned from our real-life experiences that how "repetition of a lie" can turn that lie into a truth. Decades passed and not only many attitudes toward Mesbah have not changed, but there are also newcomers to the club of those who criticize Mesbah. These newcomers are repeating the same null fallacious arguments of state liberalism and west-oriented intellectuals. The same thing happened to Motahari. His personality was assassinated by those whom he used to categorize as "hypocrite materialists" and the price he had to pay for reviving his personality was nothing less than his life. Mesbah, likewise, grappled with "hypocrite liberalists" and paid the price for this grapple as long as he lived. When psychological warfare replaces intellectual debates, and when the world of ignorance casts its shadow over the world of knowledge, and when media sources replace hundreds of volumes of Mesbah's books, and when power violates the rights of wisdom, and when intentionality devours truth-seeking, there is no doubt such a satiation will arise. Even today, "referring to Mesbah" is not a virtue and there is an expense for "being by his side". Mesbah was and will be an ever-accused thinker.

* Mahdi Jamshidi is a faculty member in Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought

Original post:

The costs of grappling with state liberalism - Tehran Times

Photo: BC Liberals

Ben Stewart

The BC Liberals are calling on the provincial government to increase spending on housing and transportation in the province.

The opposition party made the call following a recent virtual roundtable hosted by the Liberal caucus.

The roundtable was attended by about 170 people from across the province.

Kelowna West MLA Ben Stewart, who also serves as the Liberal housing critic says in order to make housing more affordable, the housing stock needs to increase.

Many participants remarked on the lack of supply, and the need for more purpose-built rental housing and more homes for sale across B.C.," said Stewart.

"This becomes even more urgent in light of the BC Real Estate Associations recent finding that the supply of homes for sale in B.C. has hit a 21-year low.

"Under these circumstances, it would take an estimated 34 years to save for a typical Vancouver home its time for the government to take action on affordability and get serious about increasing supply.

The latest CMHA report indicates the rental vacancy rate in the province is 2.4 per cent in communities with a population greater than 10,000.

The Liberals also say they heard from people who are feeling the strain of a lack of sustainable transportation networks to and from their communities.

Whether it is a lack of transit options in Surrey, the need for inter-city bus services including in northern B.C., the Kootenays, and on Vancouver Island, or the demand for the completion of the four-laning of Highway 1 beyond Kamloops to the Alberta border without further delays, it is critical that the NDP invests more in transportation throughout our province," said Michael Lee, MLA for Vancouver-Langara and Liberal transportation critic.

"We need to ensure that during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, communities have access to the transportation options they rely on and need.

Continued here:

A BC Liberal sponsored roundtable suggests more spending is needed for housing and transportation - Kelowna News - Castanet.net