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Created
Thu, 01/02/2024 - 10:00
They’ve already seceded… Scott Rosenberg’s Hopium Chronicles today provides a vivid description of what’s happened to the right wing in this country, beginning with the descent of Fox News into a full-blown propaganda machine that actually communicates in a discrete language spoken by the MAGA cult: My friend Greg Sargent once referred to this fictional world as Foxlandia. It’s a place they go where Trump is a strong leader, the economy is in recession, eggs cost $27 a piece, inflation is still raging, Putin is an ally and the West is sinister, antifa is ISIS, dozens of American cities burned to the ground in 2020, vaccines give you COVID, insurrectionists are hostages, children carrying their rapist’s babies is a blessing, assault weapons bring freedom, etc. It is, to borrow from one of my favorite TV shows, Stranger Things, the upside down. […] In thinking about it today what I am describing perhaps should be understood as a form of succession from the United States and our democratic heritage.
Created
Thu, 01/02/2024 - 09:43

THE St John Paul College Theatre is the venue for the launch of the Coffs Harbour Music Society’s exciting concert programme for 2024. The new venue has wonderful acoustics, raked seating, an intimate ambience, plenty of easy parking and flat access. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message...

The post Coffs Harbour Music Society to host concert programme launch appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Thu, 01/02/2024 - 09:33

IN RECOGNITION of his significant service to the community through bushfire governance, research and mentoring roles, Korora resident Dr Grahame Douglas has been named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the General Division. “The recognition is both a shock and surprise as well as a culmination of years of effort,” Mr Douglas...

The post Dr Grahame Douglas recognised with AM for bushfire mitigation and research work appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Thu, 01/02/2024 - 09:23

ANTIQUES Roadshow fans are in for a treat when long term presenter Hilary Kay speaks in Coffs Harbour next week. An expert panellist, Ms Kay has been a regular face on the iconic British TV show for 45 years. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone...

The post Antiques Roadshow personality to talk art in Coffs Harbour appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Thu, 01/02/2024 - 08:30
It continues to let us down These numbers appear to be promising: The Bloomberg News/Morning Consult survey found that among voters in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, 53 percent of respondents said they were unwilling to vote for the former president if he is convicted in one of his multiple criminal cases. Forty-six percent of respondents said they are “very unwilling” to cast their ballot for Trump if he is found guilty, while 7 percent said they are “somewhat unwilling.” Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they were “very willing” to vote for Trump if he is convicted of a crime, and 11 percent said they are “somewhat wiling.” The survey found that female voters, voters over 65 and voters with a bachelor’s or post-graduate degree were more likely to say they were unwilling to vote for the former president if he is convicted. Black and Asian voters were also more likely to say they would not vote for Trump if he is convicted.
Created
Thu, 01/02/2024 - 07:00
Michigan are you listening? Supposedly Fox viewers are working class Joe’s who just can’t stand the coastal elites who are ruining their livelihoods. Yet these people have never been particularly union friendly. But it’s a good thing for a union leader to go on Fox and make the case that Trump was bad for the working man, just in case some retired auto workers in Michigan might be watching. You never know …
Created
Thu, 01/02/2024 - 06:00

Neoliberalism changed many things in Australia. Unions are weaker. Inequality is higher. But exactly what changed is often surprising. The state did not shrink. Social spending did not decrease, nor did it become less redistributive. Household wealth has increased rapidly, but largely due to changes in social policy rather than rising productivity.

The relationship between liberalisation and the welfare state is both more central and more complicated than we often imagine. In Politics, Inequality and the Australian Welfare State After Liberalisation I sought to move beyond a lament for declining egalitarianism, and to instead learn from the political strategies that have mitigated and even reduced inequality in hard times.

The book examines case studies from three forms of liberalisation – targeting benefits, marketizing services and financialising the life course. Through each I highlight different models of reform that are broadly consistent with liberalisation (means-testing benefits, facilitating private service providers or using asset-debt relations), yet have different political and distributional consequences.

Created
Thu, 01/02/2024 - 05:30
Heartbreaking. Now recall: Trump had the nerve to criticize Biden over the deaths of the three US soldiers from the done attack over the weekend. And his brainwashed cultists are all saying that he never lost a life while he was president. Oh, and he’s also claiming that only he can bring world peace.