The newspaper asserts that Ranked Choice Voting "cratered" voter engagement. That's bullshit. by Wm. Steven Humphrey

Starting in January 2025, Portland will have the most diverse, and politically balanced City Council in the history of our city. Full stop.

The reason why we’re able to celebrate this indisputable fact is thanks to charter reform and ranked choice voting, which allowed citizens from every demographic and Portland neighborhood the opportunity to serve their city (and the rest of us to vote for them). 

But despite those two objectively correct statements, local media continues to platform the dishonest cynics who have been fighting charter reform and ranked choice voting from the beginning. The Oregonian, who loves writing intellectually dishonest headlines like this, really outdid themselves with this recent post-election article: Portland’s ranked-choice debut causes voter engagement to crater; 1 in 5 who cast ballots chose no one for City Council. 

Let’s break it down, shall we? Using the word “crater” to describe Portland’s voter engagement, and attempting to lay the blame on the doorstep of ranked choice voting, is not only an unethical choice, it’s factually incorrect. While overall voter turnout wasn’t what it was in 2020 (79%), Portland engagement still reached 74.5%—that’s still three-quarters of our total population. Does that sound like overall engagement “cratered” to you?

 And perhaps it’s true that one-out-of-five voters chose not to rank any candidates for City Council and mayor—though, as a reasonable person, I might wait until that number got a little bit higher before labeling it as “cratering.” And yes, it is absolutely correct that a historically large group of candidates ran for City Council this year, which probably stunned some voters who aren’t used to doing a lot of research. BUT! And let me say this loud and proud so everyone in the back can hear it: Having a lot of candidates who love their community and want to serve it is A VERY GOOD THING. (And it’s even better for democracy.) And while we can definitely do more as a city to make sure minority and low-income communities have the information they need in future races, according to the Oregonian’s own numbers, four out of five Portlanders successfully filled out their ballots without their brains exploding. So actually, I’d call that a big win. 

And that’s my problem with this poorly headlined article: The main thesis seems to be that just because one-in-five Portland voters chose not to cast votes in two races, this is somehow the fault of ranked choice voting. That’s bullshit. And here’s why: Let’s imagine ranked choice voting never existed, and Portlanders were still choosing just a single candidate for every office. Thanks to the general ineptitude of the current City Council—which inspired so many people to run against them—a huge number of candidates would’ve still been on that ballot. And if that had occurred, voters would have been confronted with the exact same conundrum.

Oh, and if you do happen to dip into the O’s article, here’s a little media studies trick: While most news outlets claim objectivity as their guiding star, if you want to spot potential bias, head to the final paragraph of just about any article, and see who gets the last word. In the case of this Oregonian story, the last word was given to a failed conservative Council candidate, Bob Weinstein, who freely admits he was never in favor of charter reform in the first place, and issued this damning indictment of ranked choice voting: “It’s very anti-democratic, to me, to have a result like this.”

I’m curious: Which of the following results is the most “anti-democratic”? Was it three-quarters of the population voting? Was it the large number of candidates who, after 100 years of being shut out of elections, were finally given a chance to fairly compete? Was it the actual result, which was getting (as mentioned before) the most diverse and politically balanced City Council we’ve had in the history of our city? Or was it “anti-democratic” simply because he lost?

Unfortunately, we’ll probably be reading a lot more thoughtless headlines and hearing a lot more anti-Charter Reform language from Portland’s conservative business class. Frankly, the old system worked GREAT for them, giving the wealthy an outsized voice and control over policy in City Hall. And even though the new council will have conservative voices who will fight valiantly to ensure the rich continue getting richer, that’s not good enough for those who want absolute power. In short, if you like what conservatives did to Measure 110, keep an eye out on what they’re planning to do to Charter Reform.

For the rest of us, there’s an old saying: “Progress, not perfection.” We’re sorry to break the hearts of the Oregonian headline writers and the bad actors who have dominated Portland politics for over a century, but new, vital forms of government—like any new plan or system that regular folks like you put into action every single day—will NEVER be perfect from the start, and need time and grace in order to operate at top proficiency. That said, if one-in-five voters refusing to choose a candidate in two races is the worst thing to happen in an election where we make sweeping changes for the very first time? I’d say democracy continues to be in pretty good shape. 

But that’s just my opinion—from deep in the “crater.”

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SARAJEVO, 30 June 2016 - The Special Representative of the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office on Gender Issues Ambassador Melanne Verveer is to visit the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) from 1 to 4 July 2016, where she will meet with officials and activists and discuss the status of women in the country.

In Sarajevo and Zenica, Verveer will meet with the BiH Ministers of Human Rights and Refugees, Security and Defence, as well as representatives of the Gender Equality Committee of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, State Gender Equality Agency, Entity Gender Centers, international organizations and civil society.

“Gender equality remains high on the agenda of Germany's 2016 OSCE Chairmanship and I am pleased that the OSCE Mission to BiH already has extensive co-operation with the governmental and non-governmental sector in BiH on promoting gender equality,” said Verveer. “I am very hopeful that during my visit we will get concrete proposals on how the OSCE can further assist BiH officials in achieving full respect for human rights and by that, women’s rights in BiH.”

Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH Ambassador Jonathan Moore said: “This is not the first visit of Ambassador Verveer to BiH, but the first in her capacity as the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Gender Issues. We are looking forward to faciliting her visit and continuing our efforts to support women’s political, social and economic empowerment in BiH.”

Ambassador Verveer spent four years working with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to co-ordinate foreign policy issues and activities relating to the political, economic and social advancement of women. In 2009, the President of the United States Barack Obama nominated Verveer to be the first ever U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues at the Department of State, and appointed her to serve as U.S. Representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

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VIENNA, 29 July 2016 – Continuing intimidation and violence against journalists and independent voices is unacceptable and could further weaken media freedom and freedom of expression in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said today.

“I am following with great concern the extremely worrying situation in the country which could lead to self-censorship,” Mijatović said. “People engaged in investigative reporting and expressing different opinions, even provocative ones, should play a legitimate part in a healthy debate and their voices should not be restricted.”

Mijatović noted that the latest events open a very worrying chapter on the safety of journalists.

They include:

• Verbal attacks on writer and journalist Nenad Veličković;

• Verbal attacks on Borka Rudić, General Secretary of the Association of BiH Journalists; • Verbal threats on journalist Mirjana Radanović;

• Threats and insults against journalists of FTV Mreža magazine;

• Threats against Dragiša Sikimić, editor-in-chief and the owner of the web portal MojaHercegovina.info;

• Verbal and physical assaults on BN TV, ATV and HIT TV crews;

• A physical attack on a BN TV camera operator; • An assault on Nermin Bisa, editor-in-chief of 24sata.info;

• Verbal threats against freelance journalist Vuk Bačanović; and

• Offensive and discriminatory verbal attacks on Selma Učanbarlić, a journalist from the Centre for Investigative Reporting.

“This trend needs to be immediately reversed. Public condemnation at the highest level is needed in order to send a clear message that such threats, including hate speech, against journalists, academics and writers are not tolerated in a democratic society,” Mijatović said. “Investigations into these incidents, which include death threats transmitted by social media, need to be commenced immediately.”

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom. For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit http: www.osce.org/fom/257086

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Argentina’s negotiating team were ordered home. The country’s president Javier Milei has previously said that the climate crisis is a “socialist lie”. “We have instructions from the ministry of foreign affairs to no longer participate,” the country’s top environmental official said,

France’s ecology minister, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, announced she was cancelling her trip to Baku to take part in the Cop29 talks. 

On Wednesday, representatives from Milei’s government were ordered to leave the Azerbaijani capital. Speaking to the Guardian, Argentina’s undersecretary for the environment, Ana Lamas – the country’s most senior representative on the climate and nature after Milei dissolved the environment ministry – confirmed the decision, which was first reported by Climatica.

“It’s true. We have instructions from the ministry of foreign affairs to no longer participate. That’s all I can tell you,” she said. Lamas said the decision applied only to Cop29, when asked if Argentina was planning to leave the Paris agreement.

There is widespread concern about the future of the climate accord after the election in the US of Donald Trump, who has pledged to exit the agreement for the second time.

If you're a fan of LEGOs and the Horizon Franchise, your worlds are about to collide. The popular series has been remade in the LEGO world, with a very interesting design approach. As you would expect from LEGO, the entire game is entirely built by blocks, but it is not only superficial.  With the same blocks, you can recreate the LEGO

Save up to 49% on Lego sets at Walmart's early Black Friday sale.

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Desde su llegada a la Casa Blanca, Obama ha intentado a la vez aplacar a los grupos de derecha que son anti-inmigrante, y mantener vivas las esperanzas de los hispanos en los cambios en la política inmigratoria. Sin embargo, esta estrategia es insostenible. En los próximos meses, Obama se tendrá que mojar. 

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1. Delhi Air Pollution: AQI at 426; continues to be in the ‘severe’ category on Thursday  The Hindu
2. Delhi AQI 'severe': Capital turns ‘gas chamber’, residents breathing toxic air plead for help  Hindustan Times
3. "We Just Have To Do Something": Priyanka Gandhi's Delhi 'Gas Chamber' Post  NDTV
4. Delhi Airport issues advisory for passengers as smog reduces visibility  The Times of India
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Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou on Wednesday night praised both workers and employers in the concrete sector for agreeing to the negotiation framework he has devised with the aim of bringing to an end the strikes which have been taking place in the industry over the last week. Employers, led by concrete manufacturers’ association head Costas […]

The FBI announced its offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect responsible for West Coast ballot box fires.

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4. "Countries Once Divided...": Shahid Afridi's Big Appeal To BCCI Amid Champions Trophy Row  NDTV Sports
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Acclaimed San Diego hospitality group CH Projects today announces its second hotel, Baby Grand, opening in early 2025. Situated across from the iconic Hotel Del Coronado in the town center on Orange Avenue, the hotel will be the first design hotel of its kind in two decades in the popular Southern California destination. The $17 million project by award-winning Brooklyn design firm Post Company will feature 31 keys and three new restaurant concepts. The design will thematically reference the area’s coastal setting paired with CH Projects’ signature maximalism, striving to progress the social landscape of San Diego’s distinctive neighborhoods and cultures. CH Projects is behind some of the city’s most acclaimed restaurant and bar destinations, including Morning Glory, Youngblood, Born & Raised and more, as well as the trailblazing Lafayette Hotel and Club, the team’s first hotel project in North Park. "Coronado is such a unique element of San Diego’s layered persona. We wanted to creat...

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"Land I Used To Love", новое видео группы CATEGORY 7, в состав которой входят бывший участник MACHINE HEAD и нынешний гитарист KERRY KING Phil Demmel, бывший гитарист ADRENALINE MOB Mike Orlando, вокалист ARMORED SAINT/ex-ANTHRAX John Bush, барабанщик OVERKILL/SHADOWS FALL Jason Bittner и басист EXODUS Jack Gibson, доступно для просмотра ниже:

01. In Stitches
02. Land I Used To Love
03. Apple Of Discord
04. Exhausted
05. Runaway Truck
06. White Flags & Bayonets
07. Mousetrap
08. Waver At The Breaking Point
09. Through Pink Eyes
10. Etter Stormen
#Category_7 #Category7 #ThrashMetal #Thrash_Metal