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By Andrew Marshall
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9.30pm Last post of the night (and AfD still at 4.8 percent with ARD and 4.9 per cent with ZDF (and with reports that opening of postals is not producing any big change in that).
So what does it mean for Cameron?
Well probably not that much. Politics is local, and the majority Eurosceptic strand in the Conservative parliamentary party is simply not in a mood to take many lessons from the CDU.
Whether it's a CDU government or a grand coalition, Merkel's success probably gives her government more wiggle room in terms of any renegotiation with the UK. She's an inter-governmentalist, she doesn't want direct election of the Commission President and such things, wouldn't mind the Commission having its powers clipped, and will try and be somewhat helpful to Cameron. But there's a huge gap between CDU and Conservative positions on much of the EU issue. Even with generational change in the CDU, which makes it somewhat different from the Kohl era, this is still Germany's Europe party. Beyond the emotional aspect, most CDU politicians simply can't conceive, never mind approve, of the scale of renegotiation that some/many in the Conservative Party would want. Britain didn't come up much in the campaign, and while CDU people would like it to stay, they fear it's gone too far and it's going.
The CDU may feel some concern about Euroscepticism at home with the AfD performance, but only to some extent. The AfD did well, but it depends a bit on how the AfD performs over the coming months. If it makes progress in state elections, then maybe the pressure will mount. More likely it will have difficulty maintaining momentum, and will have problems with infiltration from the extreme right. This is the history of protest parties to the right of the CDU.
The result is certainly a setback for the ultra federalist grouping such as former Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt, who might have preferred a stronger SPD in order to push for Eurobonds, stronger banking union and so on.
Merkel does face the domestic challenge a possible third Greek bailout would pose, but she dominates the German and European scene. She will be Chancellor with a very stable majority, or maybe an absolute majority, until 2017, possibly beyond. Cameron might be out in 2015, he has a more troublesome coalition partner than Merkel might have, and crucially for his leverage, if he is defeated, the alternative is not necessarily worse for Merkel in terms of the UK renegotiation issue.
Big questions no doubt to be analysed over coming days. One thing to remember – Merkel does care about the European Parliament and the European People's Party, not least because many people throughout her party do. She was dismayed, to say the very least, when Cameron withdrew the Conservatives from the EPP in the European Parliament. It looked an opportunist piece of appeasement when Cameron made it one of his leadership pledges. I know some others in this member state of the EU think very differently, but to me it has never looked more foolish than tonight.
8.30pm It's coming down to the numbers. Assuming that the AfD is not represented (it's still at 4.9%), then the CDU is very, very close to an overall majority – but might still be a seat or so short.
Merkel has ruled out a minority government, even if she's only one seat short. There's such an antipathy to uncertain majorities in Germany, going back to Weimar experience.
If the CDU/CSU have exactly half the seats – I just don't know. More tomorrow. Probably it could argue that since it would elect the President of the Bundestag, it would have a casting vote, so a stable majority.
If she is a seat or two short, then I suspect she will push for a coalition partner. Neither the SPD nor the Greens will be keen (other than one or two people for whom it's the last chance to get a cabinet post). But she will put on the pressure, especially on the SPD – she will say Germany needs a stable government, and the SPD is not being responsible if it doesn't accept government responsibility. A CDU/Green coalition seems less likely, unless the leaders (note plural) of the Greens decide to take a huge leap in the dark to make themselves relevant and interesting. But probably the Green base wouldn't wear it.
Things to watch:
Merkel didn't really expect this result. She thought the FDP would make it back, and I suspect thought that the CDU would be at 38-39 per cent, not 42.3 per cent.
There are some "Euro critics" in the CDU parliamentary party (mild by UK standards, and not EU critics really), some of whom voted against the last Euro bailout. She won't want to be dependent on them, and a grand coalition would make that easier. As previously posted, a single party government would also give the CSU sister party in Bavaria a lot more leverage, and its leader Seehofer is somewhat inconsistent and opportunist, at least in his political style.
If there is a one party government, then it will be a challenge to find experienced CDU faces for the cabinet, and some new people will come through. It will feel more like a generational change from day one.
The CDU won't have any other coalition partner to blame if it governs alone. It will need to do some serious policy renewal in government, having fought the election without much obvious new policy.
If it is a grand coalition, the CDU will be a lot bigger than the SPD. Last time in 2005 the parties were the same size. That could make a grand coalition good for the CDU, but it will also be seen as principally a CDU government, for good or ill.
8pm Merkel completely rules out a government without a majority in the Bundestag.
One architect of Merkel's victory is the CDU General Secretary Hermann Groehe. For British Conservatives, his biography feels like a return to YC-grounded figures such as David Hunt. Groehe joined the Junge Union, the youth wing, at school in 1975 and was its national chairman 1989-94, then working his way up in the party. You can argue whether political leaders in the 21st century should all have such a pure party background (and Ursula von der Leyen, a potential Merkel successor doesn't) but it's interesting. Especially given that the CDU has about 470,000 members and the CSU sister party in Bavaria 150,000.
Also worth noting that the CSU is already (having got 50 per cent in Bavaria tonight) rattling sabres a little (a single party government would give it more leverage). Seehofer, the party leader and Bavarian state premier called for "better communication" on issues such as the Euro bailout. There is also stalemate on the CSU's call for a motorway lorry toll for foreign lorries only, which Merkel has ruled out and is illegal under EU rules (because discriminatory).
7.30pm Merkel on TV round - very disappointed that FDP not represented in Bundestag, but says she has no direct responsibilty for the FDP result. She doesn't think anyone can reasonably expect her to even indirectly suggest people vote FDP rather than her CDU. Not saying anything today about coalitions, but she says, interestingly, that she assumes she will not have an absolute majority.
Inevitably, quite a lot of politicians of Merkel's generation won't be around so much in future, that's elections for you. Four names we might start to hear more about:
Hannelore Kraft, the popular SPD state premier of the biggest state North-Rhein-Westphalia. In her mid 50s, she would, for many, make a more credible "Chancellor candidate" than party leader Sigmar Gabriel, who will be working hard to stabilise the party and his own role.
Christian Lindner, the 34 year wunderkind of the FDP. He declined to stand for the party leadership a couple of years back, and then managed to turn around the FDP in the last North-Rhein-Westphalia elections. If anyone can now rescue the FDP in its death throes, then perhaps Lindner.
The Greens will be deeply disappointed, and most probably they will need to jump to another generation. There are several highly able MPs in the parliamentary group, but big questions about how the Greens now develop. They've been used to success – but there seems to be a limit to the market size for their high-tax, highly eco-prescriptive policies. Boris Palmer, the moderate young Green mayor of Tubingen will be one name being talked about.
Ilse Aigner – the outgoing agriculture cabinet minister has gone back, at her choice, to the Bavarian state parliament. Popular in the party and beyond – despite being a single 47 year old woman in Bavaria – she is speculated about as a successor to re-elected state premier Horst Seehofer within the next four years.
7.15pm Hessen party leaders all talking on TV, with difficult coalition discussions in the state after the CDU/FDP government lost its majority. There is a theoretical SPD-Green-Linke majority in the Hessen vote, but the SPD has ruled out working with the Left. Lots of recent history here - in 2008 SPD promised not to rely on the Left, then tried to form a minority state government with "toleration" by the Left. It failed as some SPD right wingers didn't vote for it, and was then punished deeply in the next election.
In federal election, CDU/CSU is a seat or so in range of an absolute majority - but its spokespeople being very careful what we say.
Hermann Otto Solms, one of the FDP's most senior economic/financial thinkers and Vice President of the Bundestag, now talking about how the FDP lost its brand as the party of clear, rational economics in the coalition. Expect the FDP to get a bit more Eurosceptic outside Parliament - but there's already a party for that in the AfD. The FDP was always a top heavy party of MPs, regional MPs etc, without such a deep activist base, and it will be a huge challenge for it to get used to "extra parliamentary campaigning".
7.00pm Noting some of the comments this blog has attracted, it will be interesting to see how the AfD gets on, whether in the Bundestag or not. In particular it is clearly is having some challenges in preventing infiltration from the extreme right, however impressive and honourable Lucke and others in the party are.
While the CDU sits in a different group in the European Parliament, it is worth remembering that it is the Conservative Party's sister party in the International Democrat Union, the big family of broadly centre-right parties worldwide. So no doubt official congratulations will be going over, and hopefully we'll be learning something of how you get to 42.5 per cent as a governing party. Let's hope there is some serious CDU representation at the Conservative conference in Manchester in a week.
6.45pm Just a word on the FDP. Its departure, for now, from the Bundestag, is bad news for Germany and particularly for free market economics in German politics. Although it has different strands, for most of the last 60 years it has been a classic liberal party, with a strong free market emphasis, as well as civic and human rights liberalism. Yes, it was in coalition with Brandt and Schmidt in the 1970s - but in those years it was centre stage in combating far left terrorism, and in backing NATO's policy on cruise missiles, which was so critical in winning the cold war. It made as well as huge contributions to European union. Figures like Theodor Heuss, Germany's first post war President, foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, and free market cabinet minister Otto Graf Lambsdorff among others were critical to Germany's peace, security and economic success over the decades. British conservatives, who see the FDP as slippery liberals, ignore the fact that many British conservatives, especially the Cameroons, are a lot closer to the thinking of the average FDP MP or activist than they would be to CDU leaders and members.
6.30pm Some of the percentages in this election are rather closer to 1953 or 1957 than anything else - though clearly the parties then had distinctive class bassed "milieu" in a completely different society. But have a look at this chart of German election results over the last 60 years.
In the moment of Merkel's triumph, it is just worth remembering that a lot of talk in Germany, even within the CDU, is that it has become a fragile construction that might not last well. Too dependent on Merkel, no strong potential successors left, and a shift to the centre with "a social democratisation" that will make right wing voters uneasy. If there is a single party CDU government, a new generation of cabinet members and regional leaders (as important in Germany as most cabinet members) will need to start to come through, and the CDU will need to find ways to reinvigorate itself in government.
6.15pm Leaders across CDU and SPD not saying much at all about coalitions. If the CDU is only a seat or two short, the rationale for grand coalition is more difficult. Some Green and SPD leaders would love to be back in a cabinet, but neither party can imagine that being in a coalition with such a dominant CDU would be helpful with their core voters - especially with the Left party active on their left.
The latest estimate of seats in fact gives the CDU/CSU 304 seats out of 606 (assuming AfD not represented). CDU increase in vote was a stunning 8.5 per cent. The past CDU leader who secured an increase larger than that was one Konrad Adenauer in 1953.
In the Hessen state parliament, it looks like CDU is short of majority, and needs Greens or SPD. At a state level there have been CDU-Green coalitions, with some success, and core voters seem less likely to punish their parties for entering unusual coalitions than at a federal level.
6pm Noting some of the comments below - the 6pm German time exit poll was 50,000 people, and we are now getting estimates which are increasingly based on sampling of actual votes being counted, and increasingly local partial results. The percentages will not change massively.
6pm Merkel on stage at Konrad Adenauer Haus. Can't get the applause to stop. Possible long term successor Ursula von der Leyen standing with others nearby. Merkel now thanks all her colleagues, and mentions her husband standing in the back, who gets a huge cheer. Her speech, like the election campaign, doesn't add much or say anything about coalitions. But she's up there with Adenauer and Kohl.
Latest estimates could give CDU/CSU 303 out of 606 seats - when the AfD doesn't get 5 per cent (it's now 4.9 per cent). FDP is definitely out.
SPD leaders appear in Willy Brandt Haus, seeking to look united. Steinbruck moves off into retirement, party leader Sigmar Gabriel speaks first - he now needs to work out a strategy for the party, and fight off others in the party who question his style and suitablity to be the next chancellor candidate.
The CSU looks to have got 50 per cent in Bavaria. However a grand coalition is never good for influence of CSU in the cabinet - fewer cabinet members to give them.
5.45pm Left leader Gregor Gysi delighted that the Left party is now the third strongest political force in Germany. The fact the Left has become established as a major party in the former DDR is something that the SPD no doubt will feel it has to tackle in the coming period. (Interestingly, the CDU was much more practical in taking in local leaders and activists with history in the old DDR CDU, which was part of the SED power machine - whereas the SPD was in the early 1990s rather more purist in not accepting people with questionable backgrounds. And perhaps now paying the price in that the Left party is deeply established in eastern Germany.)
AfD leader Bernd Lucke speaks to his supporters, telling them they've made a difference and can do more. But fact remains that when a new party doesn't get into the Bundestag, it is difficult to build a base. In the past, parties like the NPD and Republikaner (though different from the AfD) have tried and failed to crack the 5 per cent to secure parliamentary seats. So far the CDU/CSU have fought off any challengers on their right - the next four years will be fascinating.
Exit polls show 22 per cent of AfD voters came from the CDU, with 26 per cent previous non voters, other parties smaller.
5.30pm CDU Saarland Minister President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer saying party will need to discuss coalition options, not ruling out CDU-Green but stressing differences with Greens. Green general secretary Steffi Lemke not quite ruling out coalition, but also emphasising difficulties.
Estimates looking like they are stabilising, not much hope for either FDP or AfD of getting to 5 per cent.
5.15pm Happy scenes at anti-Euro AfD election party, in a Berlin hotel (no HQ as yet), even though the first estimate keeps it at 4.8 per cent, so just out of the Bundestag.
5.10am SPD General Secretary Andrea Nahles puts a brave fact on a 3 per cent increase in the SPD's vote. Still the second worst result for the SPD in the history of the Federal Republic.
Christian Lindner, the 34 year old likely future leader of the FDP, outlining how the party can continue to work for free market economics and a liberal society, after being thrown out of the Bundestag for the first time ever.
5.07pm CDU leader in North Rhein Westphalia Armin Laschet: fantastic result for Merkel and the CDU, much bigger than SPD and Greens together, amazing we are just short of absolute majority. Still hopeful that the FDP might end up at 5 per cent.
5.05pm Hessen state exit poll: FDP also out of state parliament, CDU largest party but will need SPD or Greens in coalition.
5.00pm Exit poll: CDU/CSU 42.5 per cent; SPD 26.5 per cent; Greens 8 per cent; FDP 4.5 per cent; Left 8.6 per cent; AfD 4.8 per cent. Stunning result for Merkel, just short of absolute majority, but with FDP out of Bundestag could be a grand coalition with CDU and SPD. AfD not so far from the 5 per cent to get seats. Very disappointing for Greens, and SPD were hoping for a bit more.
4.40pm Live coverage under way on public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, have got both of those running on internet. ZDF filling in time with interviews of political leaders by school children. Merkel expected momentarily at CDU HQ at Konrad Adenauer Haus in Berlin.
4pm In terms of the constituency seats (the list seats forming the other half) at present the CDU/CSU has 218, the SPD 64, the Left 16 and the Greens 1. The liberal FDP has none, hasn't had any in fact since the early 1950s.
3.30pm The respected weekly Die Zeit reports that 27 per cent of German political journalists are Green supporters, 16 per cent SPD, 9 per cent CDU/CSU, 7 per cent FDP and The Left 4 per cent (36 per cent claim to be non-party). But the publication makes the point that this support didn't help the Greens one jot in the recent paedophilia controversy surrounding the party.
3p, High turnout reported in many Länder (states) – but that's a very common thing to hear at this point in an election day, not clear if there's any firm data on that. Meanwhile just to add - there's no tactical voting in Germany, but some "strategic" voting, given the known views of the different parties about coalitions. Die Zeit, which is a pretty respected and independent-minded weekly, suggests four iron rules for strategic voters:
Andrew Marshall is Managing Director of Cognito Media and a Camden Conservative Councillor
A few historical facts as we wait for results:
Andrew Marshall is Managing Director of Cognito Media and a Camden Conservative Councillor
Many readers of Conservative Home have been following the German election closely, but here are a some points before my live blog for this site this evening that may be of interest:
Coalitions and majorities: There's a very strong antipathy to minority governments in Germany, dating back to Weimar experience, and reflected in the German consitution (which for example states that a government can only be replaced by a "constructive vote of no confidence" with a named new Chancellor). So if Merkel and her liberal FDP partners are just two or three seats short, don't expect her to form a minority coalition, as a British leader might. Assume there will be negotiations to form a majority coalition government – there's never been a minority government in the history of the Federal Republic (in other words a government whose coalition doesn't have a majority of seats). There are rumours that the Linke might want to "tolerate" a minority SPD-Green coalition, but given the SPD's vehement denials, this seems virtually inconceivable this time around (though there are wild rumours some Linke moderate MPs from the former DDR might join the SPD post-election if SPD/Greens were just short).
By Harry Phibbs
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Congratulations to Erna Solberg who has been elected Norway's second female Prime Minister and the first Conservative Prime Minister since 1990.
She is nicknamed Iron Erna - a comparison, of course, with Margaret Thatcher.
The Norwegian Conservatives are a sister party of the British Conservatives as members of the International Democrat Union.
What can we learn from Norway?
Happily there is an English translation of the Norwegian Conservative Manifesto and it includes a number of themes which British Conservatives would recognise.
It says the new Government will "reduce state ownership of Norwegian industry."
By Paul Goodman
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Few attempts are made, either on the left or the right, to read across what's happening in the rest of Europe and apply it to Britain. That far more are made when it comes to America or Canada or Australia is a tribute to the spread of English and the power of the Anglosphere - as an idea, at any rate. During the past 25 years or so, the Left has gazed abroad to study the electoral success of Bill Clinton and the Right to ponder that of George W.Bush, at least until the Iraq War. In recent years, we have also had a long look at Stephen Harper's success in Canada: Downing Street aides have visited there to study his success in winning ethnic minority votes. And today, our eyes will turn to Australia. Tony Abbott is an old friend of the site (by which I mean that he's a friend of Tim Montgomerie's: I haven't met him, though I hope to), and ConservativeHome congratulates him warmly on his victory.
I can add nothing to the comprehensive study of Abbott which Tim published on the site last week, and am thus automatically in the position of many Tory MPs and party members. Perhaps the best answer to my question is: "not much" - but some of those members and MPs will be following the news from Australia, will have done a bit of reading up on Abbott, and will draw three conclusions. First, they will note that, like Harper, Abbott began on the right and moved to the centre (have a look at his parental leave plans), whereas David Cameron is, in important ways, doing the reverse (on immigration, on welfare, on an EU referendum - the so-called "Crosbyisation" of his leadership). Second, they will clock that Abbott is a Christian, specifically Catholic, conservative, with a strong commitment to social justice and, like Harper, a sense of outreach to minority groups. Tim wrote about Abbott's commitment to aboriginal Australians and his wife's to abused women. That looks and sounds a lot like the compassionate conservatism that Tim has done much to propagate here.
By Tim Montgomerie in Sydney
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I'm jumping the gun a bit. Australia doesn't even vote until tomorrow but it'll be one of the biggest shocks in the country's electoral history if the incumbent Labor prime minister, Kevin Rudd, survives.
Here are ten things you should know about Tony Abbott, leader of the Conservative Party's sister party in Australia.
1. He will defeat a government that has enjoyed good economic times: In the last year Australia has grown by 2.6% (easily enough to put a smile on George Osborne's face). That's the 22nd successive year of growth. Australia isn't even close to losing its triple A status from ratings agencies. All governments get ejected eventually but, six years ago, Kevin Rudd led Labor to power as one of Australia's most popular ever leaders. Rudd then boasted he was the prime minister who saved his country from the global recession and this resource-rich country did escape negative growth. But, according to every poll, Labor loses tomorrow's general election and it will lose badly.
2. He's a model Leader of the Opposition: Do you remember when David Cameron promised to end Punch and Judy politics? Even before he became leader of Australia's Liberal Party (the Tories' sister party, led by John Howard until '07), Abbott embraced Punch's pugilism. He ousted Malcolm Turnbull, his Liberal predecessor, who was preparing to back Rudd's climate change agenda. Since becoming Leader of the Opposition in 2009 he has opposed Labor's expensive carbon policies and its failure to control immigration. Labor became incredibly unpopular – first dumping Rudd for Gillard and then, hilariously, Gillard for Rudd.
3. His four-fold message has focused on immigration, tax, infrastructure and above all, the carbon tax: Most politicians get bored with repeating the same message. Pundits needing to fill their pages or broadcast slots with 'new news' certainly do. Abbott doesn't get bored. A man famous for his physical fitness he has the stamina to conquer arduous bike journeys and marathons. Knowing that voters only start to hear a message when politicians are sick to death of hearing themselves repeat it for the squillionth time he has stuck relentlessly to four big themes: Scrap the carbon tax; Stop the boats (via which illegal immigrants enter Australia); Cut taxes; and, more recently, Build new roads.
By Andrew Gimson
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Angela Merkel is taking emergency action to try to avert the rise of Germany's new eurosceptic party. Allies of the Chancellor last night indicated via Bloomberg News that if elected to a third term on 22 September, she will "curtail the reach of European Union rulemakers" and align herself "with British Prime David Cameron's fight to claw back powers".
Bloomberg cites "officials and lawmakers in Berlin and Brussels" who say Merkel is "likely to air proposals to return some commission powers to national capitals and streamline others" once the German general election on 22 September, in which she is expected to win a third term in office, is "out of the way".
According to Markus Ferber, an MEP from the Chancellor's Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union, "Merkel's playing a new tune. It's about keeping the UK in the EU by returning some commission powers and that overlaps with Germany's aim to forge a stronger euro area."
All this is good news for Cameron: it makes his European strategy more convincing if he can say that he will be doing it in alliance with Berlin. And it delights the Fresh Start group of British eurosceptic MPs.
By Tim Montgomerie in Melbourne
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Kevin Rudd first became Australia's prime minister in 2007 after a presidential campaign built almost entirely around his then stratospheric popularity. He enjoyed approval ratings of over seventy per cent but the public acclaim went to his head. He started running his country's government and his Labor party in a dictatorial style. His colleagues came to detest him and three years ago Julia Gillard toppled him and became Australia's first female leader.
In a play about this political assassination Ms Gillard is portrayed as a brutal killer. She stabs her victim repeatedly in a determination to ensure he can never live to fight another day. At the end of the drama Rudd is laying at the centre of the stage. As the curtain falls the audience sees the bloodied body twitch. Rudd was not so dead after all and earlier this year, on 27th June, he turned the tables on Ms Gillard and toppled her.
Yesterday, at a Brisbane campaign launch (Times £ report), a very lively Mr Rudd presented himself as the comeback kid. ''I have been in tougher spots before," he said, "and come back from behind.'' Gillard was not at the event. She has hardly said a word since Rudd got his revenge. Her allies won't stay silent if, as every opinion poll and pundit predicts, Rudd loses.
By Mark Wallace
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For a nation famous for bullish straight-talking, Australia's election campaign is proving to be a surprisingly tentative affair.
As Paul reported last week, Tony Abbott has the air of a man playing it safe. His coalition has maintained a poll lead for a long time, and neither Rudd's return nor Abbott's poor personal approval ratings have so far affected that headline voting intention.
It's a measure of what kind of campaign this is that one of the few sources of controversy is a proposal to buy up old fishing boats in Indonesia in order to prevent them being used by asylum seekers. This has not been a titanic clash of radical ideas (though it's worth noting that, unlike us, Australian politicians are able to seriously proposing a return to government surpluses during the next few years).
By Paul Goodman
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Polling day is two weeks away, but the Liberal Party's Tony Abbott would make it over the finishing line were the election held today, according to two separate polls. One was of the four most marginal sears held by the two main parties, published in the Australian Financial Review, which found that the partt would take at least five seats off Labour. The other, published in the Sydney Morning Herald, found that Labor would lose two other seats in New South Wales.
Those results would take Abbott over the 76 seat-threshold which he needs to win the election outright. The Liberals currently have 72 seats and Labor 71. The latter has been propped up by the Greens and by independents since the 2010 election, and Christian Kerr wrote an entertaining account on this site recently of how Kevin Rudd, Labour's Prime Minister, was first outed by Julia Gillard and then ousted her in turn. Kerr clocked his relative popularity: "Abbott has never been hugely liked. But Rudd – or as ordinary voters greet him, Kevin, is a different matter."
Bloomberg quotes Penny Wong, the Finance Minister, as saying: "There's no doubt we're still the underdog, and there's no doubt that Tony Abbott, if the election was held on the day it was announced would be the prime minister." Voice of Australia reports that Abbott "is on track to comfortably win", and that Labor's support has fallen "to its lowest level since Kevin Rudd's return as Prime Minister". "In two-party terms, the Coalition enjoys a 54-46 per cent lead and, if repeated across the board on election day, Labor would lose 14 seats," it reports.
Abbott is what my Canadian friends and others closer to home would call a "movement Conservative", but I see that according to ABC he has just announced a planned tax rise which wasn't cleared by his party - namely, new paid parental leave provisions to be funded by "big business", as he puts it: that's to say, a 1.5 per cent levy on the 3000 largest firms in Australia. (The Liberal Leader also proposes a 1.5 per cent company tax cut and budget savings, including $2 billion from abolishing existing leave provisions.)
Parallels between one Anglosphere country and another can mislead, but part-funding a tax cut for smaller businesses through a tax rise on larger ones has echoes on the debate here about where any Tory tax cuts would fall - and to what degree the Party should put itself "on the side" of "strivers". Two weeks out, the election looks like Abbott's to lose. I enclose a clip of his opening remarks at the recent election debate with Rudd, reportedly an indecisive affair, in which the opposition leader is clearly playing it safe.


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CC Q&A and the joy of being reused
Open CultureWe mentioned late last year that Jeremy Keith's CC BY licensed photo was used in the film Iron Man. While that was particularly notable, Jeremy is a prolific user of CC licenses for his photos and other materials, garnering many reuses. A graphic design student asked him a series of 15 questions about CC. He blogged the answers, which are well worth reading. Here's the lead in:
I've found that releasing my Flickr pictures under a Creative Commons licence has been very rewarding. My pictures have been used in all sorts of places and most people are kind enough to drop me a line and let me know when they use one of my photos. Say, for example, that the site More Than Living wanted to illustrate the article entitled What is a manbag? with a very fetching picture of Richard.
Go read the rest.
Uwe Hermann (who we've mentioned in the past as a curator of CC licensed music) also just posted about reuse of his photos:
Even with my humble, and not really widely-known little photoblog, you can already see the Creative Commons license's effects on media sharing and remixing/reusing kick in. Quite a number of my photos have already been used by other people for various different purposes (blogs posts, articles, even album covers), including some of the "bigger" sites such as the Wall Street Journal Blog or Cult of Mac…
Read Uwe's whole post.
Even some of my mediocre photos have been reused, and I admit to getting a small kick out of it.
Posted 08 February 2009

subset: commoncrawl


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Morgan Wade's powerful debut album, 'Reckless' walks the line between vulnerable and visceral lows and easy-listening highs with a talent for storytelling that appeals to everyone.
Her single, "Wilder Days," serves as a sweet reflection for youth and questionable choices.
In an interview with Cody Alan, Morgan reveals that she sometimes wonders about her parents and their "Wilder Days." Fortunately for her, her mom is happy to overshare.
"My mom, she is a good time!" laughs Morgan during the interview.
"I just remember, she was always going to concerts and stuff when I was younger," says the star. "She's been on a lot of tour busses and made a lot of friends."
"She was a single mom and a very beautiful woman," Morgan admits with a smile. "She got a lot of free tickets to shows."
"She likes to remind me of that sometimes, too," teases Morgan. "She's like, "You know, I've been on tour busses before!" and, "I'm like, "Alright, mom! That's cool." She is going to kill me when she hears me say that, but it's fine mom nothing is sacred anymore."
Morgan's sense of humor knows no bounds. Here's our favorite mother / daughter tweet from the past year!
Do you enjoy country stories like these? Bookmark www.CMTCody.com and check back daily for exclusive interviews, trending topics, and the latest from country's hottest stars. Connect with Cody Alan on socials by following along on Twitter and Instagram @CodyAlan.
Watch the official music video for "Wilder Days" by clicking the link below.
Photo Credit: David McClister / Sony.


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Bread baking is definitely not my cup of tea, at least not yet. Most of the time I end up with a hard, not edible bread. Twice I have tried sourdough, but the result was even worse. Today, craving for Hungarian flavours, I decided to cook a mushroom soup. While peeling the vegetables, I thought a nice slice of fresh bread would be perfect with it. I looked for a quick and easy recipe. Fougasse just seemed to be the right choice!
375 g half white flour
8 g dried yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
25 ml olive oil
270-300 ml water, lukewarm
Sieve flour, add dried yeast, salt, thyme leaves, olive oil and water and knead a dough. Let it stand for 30 minutes. Turn the dough onto a lightly-floured counter and flatten it out in a shape of a leaf and make cuts in the middle and on the sides (see baked bread photo). Brush with water, sprinkle coarse salt and thyme leaves on top and let it stand for 20 more minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 220°C and bake for 15-20 minutes.
October 19, 2010
5 comments:
- Rosa's Yummy Yums said...
A beautiful fougasse! Mmmhh, I'd love to eat some of that delicious bread now...
Rosa - October 19, 2010 at 5:37 PM
- kitchen roach/galley roach said...
....und ich haette auch nicht's gegen einen Teller dieser Suppe!
- October 19, 2010 at 6:27 PM
Das steht auch schon lange auf meiner to do liste. Sollte auch für Brotbackbanausen wie mich nachvollziehbar sein.
- October 19, 2010 at 8:24 PM
- chriesi said...
@Rosa: Thanks, I glad you like it!
@Kitchen roach: danke :)
@lamiacucina: Ich werde auch noch andere Rezepte für Fougasse ausprobieren. Gestern habe ich eins bei Erich gesehen, dass kommt als naechstes dran! Ich bin auch eine absolute Brotbackbanause. :) - October 20, 2010 at 10:00 AM
- Simona Carini said...
Mushroom soup sounds really good and a piece of freshly baked bread certainly adds to it.
- October 20, 2010 at 8:57 PM
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This section of the report also reminds of us copyright news from 2013, such as:
And in November 2013, after eight years of litigation, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld the fair use doctrine when it dismissed Authors Guild v. Google, a case that questioned the legality of Google's searchable book database. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin's decision protects the Google database that allows the public to search more than 20 million books.When this case began in 2005, it garnered a lot of attention including news articles, podcasts, blog posts, and more. I don't think as many people noticed its conclusion. Forbes noted that this decision is a big deal because:
- It adds to the small body of search engine law.
- The case rejects concerns about analog-to-digital conversion.
- Google Books is great.
- The ruling extends Google's market leadership.
However, a number of reasons also point to it not be a big deal, including that this decision is likely not going to help anyone except Google. And...of course, it might be appealed.
This section of the report also notes two victories for those with visual impairments. First, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) finalized the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. Second, the ability of those who are blind, visually impaired, or have a physical disability to be able to download audio and braille books to their mobile devices, if they are registered with the LoC's National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). Ensuring that people with visual impairments have the same access to books and other materials, as the rest of us, is a big deal. They should be able to access the same information as the rest of us.
Finally, I'm sure that others are looking at this report and writing about it. My colleague, Paul Signorelli, wrote these two posts, which you may find of interest:
If you find other blog posts, that are delving into the sections of this report, please let me know.


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Digital Photography: The New Standard
Even casual observers know that digital photography has taken the world by storm and is now the standard by which almost all professional photographers capture images. The advantages of digital photography over film are staggering.
Gone are the days of paying for expensive film cameras, various types of film for different situations and professional film processing. One of the biggest drawbacks of film? No instant gratification of knowing what your images look like.
Digital photography has made photography affordable and accessible to everyone. Most cell phones have quality cameras and editing software built in. As a result, anyone can now take quality pictures, touch them up and share them online.
Digital photography school may be right for you if you can keep up with industry changes.
The greater accessibility that digital photography offers also makes professional photography even more competitive. It requires serious photographers to become better educated and learn ways to set themselves apart.


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Time will tell, but I reject the somewhat cynical view that the House Republicans' vote to repeal Obamacare is purely symbolic. I think it's quite significant.
We are engaged in a war to save our nation from crippling debt and systematic assaults on our Constitution and our liberties and to preserve our prosperity. No setback has to become a permanent defeat. But neither will any victory remain secure, for the forces working against us are tireless and relentless.
No matter how many times history has proved socialism disastrous, there will always be those promoting it, as if the past never occurred or its lessons are unlearnable.
All of which is to say that the struggle in which we are engaged has long existed and will continue as long as we are a nation. As such, we must have the long view in mind and not expect that we can always make dramatic changes instantaneously.
Our opponents certainly understand the virtue of patience. They have been pressing the welfare state for too many years to count, forever pushing their unwelcome statist envelope on a freedom-loving society, but one vulnerable to seductive appeals for government-provided economic security.
When statist programs are incrementally adopted, the detrimental impact on liberty can barely be felt. But eventually, their cumulative effects will create an imbalance that will be immensely difficult to correct.
Welfare state enthusiasts have grown more emboldened in recent years, and with the election of Barack Obama and his substantial majorities in both houses of Congress, they showed their true colors — the extent of their statism — by abandoning any pretense to incrementalism and pushing socialist prescriptions with reckless abandon.
With the national deficit and debt already at nearly precarious levels, the Obama administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress ratcheted up the spending as if they were trying to bankrupt the nation — all in the name of stimulating the economy and the job market, only to succeed in damaging each. Instead of learning from these lessons, they continued, unrepentantly, on the same disastrous course.
The administration took over private industries, governed through unconstitutional executive orders and unaccountable czars, and proceeded to expand the public sector as if bound by no constitutional restraints. Its mischief culminated in the passage of Obamacare, whose substantive provisions are as noxious as the lawless manner by which it was crammed through against the people's will.
The American majority watched incredulously with each new infringement on our liberties, too shellshocked to fully grasp the rapidity with which this was occurring and many still ambivalent about whether these radical changes were being made only because we were in an economic "crisis."
But Obamacare left no doubt. Those who doubted before finally realized there truly was an assault under way against the American ideal, the Constitution, our liberties, our prosperity and our national solvency. They signaled their outrage and their resolve to take their country back with the delivery of a Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat to Republican hands. Then they handed Barack Obama, who defiantly refused to hear their unified message of resistance, a shellacking in the November elections.
Even after the historic Republican victory, feckless voices continued to tickle the ears of the new Republican majority, warning it against "radical" measures to roll back Obama's radical agenda. Tea partyers and other patriots, however, were not to be denied — or silenced — despite recent abominable leftist efforts to exploit murders to that end, and they continued to pressure the new Republican majority to be accountable and responsive to their mandate.
Then Wednesday, by a vote of 245-189, the House voted to repeal Obamacare. This may not lead to an immediate repeal victory in the Senate, much less a bill the president will sign, but it's light-years away from those discouraging rumblings we heard from Republican senators after the passage of Obamacare that they'd never repeal it. Forcing the other side to vote down or veto repeal establishes an inescapable track record that will serve as a foundation to defeat statists in upcoming elections.
The House's bold fulfillment of its promise to repeal is invigorating, signaling that our elected officials finally do get it, that at least for now, we won't be witnessing business as usual in Washington. It is an emphatic statement that we have allies in the government who are in this fight with us, who may even be leading this fight to save America from the insidious encroachments of socialism. This may be a first step, but it is a necessary and giant step encouraging us to fight on until we turn the tide — and then fight some more.
You can be sure that the statists will not be deterred by this vote; they will fight on with renewed intensity and greater demagoguery and class warfare. We must be prepared for the onslaught and to redouble our commitment to press forward.


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A patient asks the nurse practitioner about food sources such as soybeans and soy products. The nurse practitioner understands that these foods are considered A) phytoestrogens. B) monotherapy. C) taboo. D) inappropriate
Question 1 A patient asks the nurse practitioner about food sources such as soybeans and soy products. The nurse practitioner understands that these foods are considered
A) phytoestrogens.
B) monotherapy.
C) taboo.
D) inappropriate
Question 2 A 12-year-old boy is being discharged from the hospital after major surgery. The boy will be taking two medications at home for an extended period. The nurse who is discharging the patient should provide medication teaching specifically to
A) the mother regarding why the boy needs to take the medications.
B) both the boy and his mother regarding all medication issued.
C) the boy by telling him not to worry about the medications and to take them as directed
D) The mother and be sure to reinforce the need to force the medications, if her sondoes not want to take them
Question 3 A 15-year-old boy who has been taking dextroamphetamine for the treatment of ADHD has been experiencing a depressed mood and a sense of hopelessness. He confides in the school nurse that he has begun taking his stepfather's antidepressant to improve his mood. After immediately phoning the boy's stepfather, the nurse learns that the drug in question is phenelzine (Nardil), a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). The nurse should recognize that this combination of drugs creates a serious risk of what health problem?
A) Cardiac dysrhythmia
B) Hypertensive crisis
C) Nephrotoxicity
D) Hypokalemia
Question 4 A child is admitted to the burn unit with second and third degree burns on both arms and part of his or her face. When administering topical medications to the burned areas, the nurse should
A) cool the medication prior to administration.
B) use sterile technique when applying the medication.
C) allow the child to apply the medication if possible.
D) use clean technique only when applying the medication.
Question 5 A patient is being seen in the emergency department for a sprained ankle and is given a drug to relieve pain. When a second dose of the pain medication is given, the patient develops redness of the skin, itching, and swelling at the site of injection of the drug. The most likely cause of this response is
A) a hepatotoxic response.
B) an idiosyncratic response.
C) a paradoxical response.
D) an allergic response.
Question 6 A 5-year-old boy needs an IM injection. The least painful and most effective injection site would be the
A) deltoid muscle.
B) rectus femoris muscle.
C) ventrogluteal muscle.
D) dorsogluteal muscle.
Question 7 A patient reports to a clinic with complaints of breast tenderness, a right lumpy breast, and no breast discharge. The breast tenderness occurs primarily during her menstrual cycle. The nurse practitioner probably suspects
A) breast cancer
C) pain in the heart
D) cancerous breast tenderness
Question 8 A 29-year-old woman who is morbidly obese has recently begun a comprehensive, medically-supervised program of weight reduction. Prior to adding dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) to her regimen, the patient should be questioned about her intake of
A) alcohol.
B) trans fat.
C) caffeine.
D) grapefruit juice.
Question 9 A nurse is caring for a 10-year-old boy who complains of chronic headaches. His mother reports that she gives him Tylenol at least three times a day. Which of the following will the nurse work with the physician to evaluate?
A) Renal function
B) Hepatic function
C) Respiratory function
D) Cardiac function
Question 10 A 21-year-old female has a history of irregular menses. She recently became sexually active, and would like to begin taking oral contraceptives (OCs). The nurse practitioner recognizes that most likely this patient would benefit from taking which category of OCs.
A) Monophasic
B) Triphasic OC
C) Ortho Tri-Cyclen
D) Biphasic OC
Question 11 A nurse who provides care on a pediatric medicine unit has conducted a medication reconciliation of a recently-admitted patient. In light of the fact that the child takes methylphenidate (Ritalin), the nurse is justified in considering a history of what health problem?
A) Anxiety
B) Respiratory depression
C) Obesity
Question 12 A nurse working in a cancer center is preparing to administer medication to a 5-year-old child. The nurse will calculate the drug dosage by using
A) body surface area.
B) weight.
C) age in months.
D) age in years.
Question 13 A 13-year-old female took a weight loss drug that activated the sympathetic nervous system. Which of the following assessment findings would the nurse expect?
A) Decreased myocardial contraction
B) Decreased heart rate
C) Increased cardiac conduction
D) Increased intranodal conduction time
Question 14 A 6-month-old child has developed skin irritation due to an allergic reaction. He has been prescribed a topical skin ointment. The nurse will consider which of the following before administering the drug?
A) That the infant's skin has greater permeability than that of an adult
B) That there is less body surface area to be concerned about
C) That there is decreased absorption rates of topical drugs in infants
D) That there is a lower concentration of water in an infant's body compared with an adult
Question 15 A nurse is providing patient education to a 13-year-old girl who was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Which of the following statements by the patient will alert the nurse that special instructions regarding insulin are necessary?
A) "I walk two blocks to school every day."
B) "I am on the middle school track team."
C) "We live in a two-story house."
D) "My mother is going to give me my insulin."
Question 16 A nurse who provides care on a pediatric unit of a hospital is aware that the potential for harm as a result of drug errors is higher among infants and children than adults. This fact is primarily due to
A) the inability of infants and children and describe symptoms of adverse drug reactions.
B) increased body surface area relative to body volume in infants and children.
C) increased heart rate and subsequently rapid drug distribution among infants and children.
D) immature liver and kidney function in infants and children.
Question 17 A nurse practitioner orders 150 mg of oral fluconazole for a patient with vulvovaginal candidiasis. The patient should expect to take medication
A) for 20 days.
B) once a day.
C) every day until the infection is gone.
D) for 30 days.
Question 18 To which of the following patients would a medication nurse most likely administer caffeine as part of the treatment plan?
A) A preterm neonate who has apnea
B) A 34-year-old woman with a diagnosis of gastric ulcerations
C) A school-age child with severe ADHD
D) A 52-year-old man with narcolepsy
Question 19 A nurse works at a weight management clinic. To which of the following overweight patients could the nurse safely administer dextroamphetamine?
A) A 38-year-old Caucasian woman with glaucoma
B) A 60-year-old African-American man who experiences angina
C) A 48-year-old Caucasian man who has adult-onset diabetes
D) A 28-year-old African-American woman with hyperthyroidism
Question 20 A 3-year-old boy has developed otitis media and requires antibiotics. In order to increase the chance that the boy will take his prescribed medication, the nurse should
A) teach the boy about the fact that he will feel much better after he takes his medications.
B) have the mother hold the child firmly and sooth him while the drugs are administered.
C) offer a choice between liquid and chewable medications, if possible.
D) insert a central intravenous line.
Question 21 The recommended treatment for trichomoniasis is
A) Flagyl.
B) Diflucan.
C) Meclizine.
D) Amoxicillan
Question 22 A school nurse has been teaching high school students about the risks associated with marijuana use. However, the nurse has been met with considerable skepticism on the part of students, most of whom believe that marijuana is a benign drug. Which of the following teaching points should the nurse provide?
A) "Most people don't know that marijuana can be just as addictive as heroin or cocaine over time."
B) "Marijuana can easily interact with other drugs and cause potentially fatal reactions."
C) "Every year, thousands of Americans end up in emergency departments with marijuana overdoses."
D) "Smoking marijuana is just as bad, or worse, for your lungs as smoking cigarettes."
Question 23 A nurse is going to administer medication to an infant using a medicine dropper. The best method is to open the child's mouth by gently squeezing the cheeks and placing the drops
A) at the back of the mouth.
B) in the buccal pouch.
C) under the tongue.
D) on top of the tongue.
Question 24 A nurse is obtaining baseline physical data from a 7-year-old patient who is to be started on dextroamphetamine for ADHD. After obtaining vital signs, height, and weight, the nurse will prepare the patient for an
A) electrocardiogram (ECG).
B) electromyelogram (EMG).
C) electroencephalogram (EEG).
D) electrophysiologic study (EPS).
Question 25 A 10-year-old boy is taking dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) daily for ADHD. At each clinic visit, the nurse's priority assessment would be
A) height and weight.
B) Vision.
C) body temperature.
D) blood pressure.
Question 26 A 7-year-old child has been taking tetracycline for a bacterial infection. The nurse will be sure to inform the parents that this drug could cause
A) orange-tinged urine.
B) staining of permanent teeth.
C) sleep deprivation.
D) deep muscle pain.
Question 27 A nurse is administering drugs to a 10-year-old child who has multiple health problems.The child is underweight and is on a special diet. Which of the following will the nurse consider when planning for the best absorption of the prescribed drugs? (Select all that apply.)
A) Age
B) Weight
C) Disease process
D) Diet
E) Route of administration
Question 28 The clinical nurse educator who oversees the emergency department in a children's hospital has launched an awareness program aimed at reducing drug errors. What measure addresses the most common cause of incorrect doses in the care of infants and children?
A) Having nurses check their math calculations with a colleague before administering a drug.
B) Ensuring that a full assessment takes place no more than 30 minutes before giving a drug.
C) Recording drug administration in both the nurse's notes and the medication administration record (MAR)
D) Avoiding intravenous administration of drugs whenever possible.
Question 29 A 15-year-old boy has been diagnosed with bone cancer after several months of fatigue and pain. What question should the nurse include in an assessment when trying to minimize the potential for adverse drug reactions?
A) "Do you ever use alcohol or drugs?"
B) "How much do you weigh?"
C) "On a scale of zero to ten, what level of pain is acceptable to you?"
D) "Did Tylenol or other over-the-counter pain remedies ever relieve your pain?"
Question 30 A 35-year-old woman is on a weight-loss program and is to begin taking sibutramine (Meridia). After baseline physical data are obtained, the nurse will assess the patient's childbearing potential. The nurse will inform the patient that during sibutramine therapy she should
A) abstain from sex.
B) obtain a pap smear .
C) use adequate contraception.
D) take a pregnancy test every month.
Question 31 A 16-year-old boy is prescribed cromolyn sodium nasal spray to treat a nasal allergy. To maximize the therapeutic effects of the drug, which of the following will the nurse include in instructions to the patient?
A) Take the drug on a full stomach
B) Avoid high noise levels
C) Take the drug for one full week before coming in contact with allergens
D) Drink plenty of fluids.
Question 32 A 19-year-old patient reports to a clinic with vaginal discharge with a foul odor. A microscopic exam reveals trichomonas vaginalis.The nurse practitioner is aware that
A) trichomoniasis is an incurable disease.
B) trichomoniasis discharge is typically thin and clear.
C) asymptomatic women are diagnosed with trichomoniasis by a routine pap smear.
D) it is unusual to have an odor with trichomoniasis
Question 33 A 2-year-old child is diagnosed with a minor ailment and is to be administered medications at home for 2 weeks. The child lives with his mother, grandmother, and four other children between the ages of 14 months and 7 years. The home health nurse is asked to assess the home environment to determine if it is appropriate for the child to take his medication at home. Which of the following will have the greatest impact on the nurse's assessment?
A) The mother and grandmother's understanding about the drugs
B) How clean the house is
C) The health status of the other children
D) Where the medications will be stored
Question 34 A nurse is having difficulty administering a bitter drug to a 5-year-old child. The nurse should
A) have the parent gently force the child's mouth open.
B) give the drug in a pill form.
C) involve the child in a play therapy session, and then tell the child that the medicine is candy.
D) offer the child a flavored ice chip or ice pop prior to administering the drug.
Question 35 A 22-year-old woman has given birth to an infant who exhibits the signs and symptoms of maternal cocaine use during pregnancy.These signs and symptoms are a result of what pathophysiological effect of opioid use during pregnancy?
A) Changes in blood chemistry as a result of nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity
B) Impaired maternal nutrition as a result of drug use
C) Vasoconstriction leading to reduced placental blood flow
D) Hypoxia as a result of a prolonged second stage of labor
Question 36 A preterm neonate received caffeine for the treatment of apnea. The nurse should monitor the neonate for which of the following?
A) Bloody stools
B) Bradycardia
C) Constipation
D) Hypoglycemia
Question 37 A 30-year-old man with a BMI of 59 has recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. In light of the man's lack of success with weight loss programs in the past, his care provider has prescribed sibutramine (Meridia). What instructions should the nurse consequently provide to this patient?
A) "Take this drug once each day on an empty stomach."
B) "It's best to take a dose of sibutramine after each meal."
C) "This drug will help you to lose weight without having to exercise or change your normal diet."
D) "Take a dose when you feel like you are tempted to binge on food."
Question 38 A nurse practitioner orders a single dose of 2 g Metronidazole orally. How many milligrams will the patient receive in one dose?
A) 1000 mg
B) 2000 mg
C) 3000 mg
D) 4000 mg
Question 39 A nurse is explaining to the parents of a 6-year-old child suffering from angina why nitroglycerin patches for chest pain would not be appropriate. Which of the following will the nurse include in an explanation?
A) A child has an erratic blood flow from an immature peripheral circulation, which increases drug absorption, causing an increase in adverse effects.
B) A child's gastric pH is decreased, causing less of the drug to be absorbed from the subcutaneous skin, therefore producing more adverse effects.
C) A child has a greater body surface area, creating greater permeability resulting in an increase in absorption of topical agents, which may result in more adverse effects.
D) A child has a smaller body surface area, resulting in an increase in topical absorption, which can cause more adverse effects.
Question 40 An immunocompromised 7-year-old child was recently discharged home with a peripherally-inserted central line (PIC line) for home antibiotic therapy. He has now been brought to the emergency department by his mother and father with signs and symptoms of line sepsis.Upon questioning, the mother states that she has been removing the PIC dressing daily and washing the site with warm water and a cloth. What nursing diagnosis is most appropriate in this situation?
A) Caregiver Role Strain
B) Ineffective Family Therapeutic Regimen Management
C) Delayed Growth and Development
D) Knowledge Deficit


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Who We Are
About Us
FairVote seeks to make representative democracy fair, functional, and representative by developing the analysis and educational tools necessary for our reform partners to secure and sustain improvements to American elections. Operating since 1992, we are a non-profit, non-partisan organization with a history of working with scholars, civic leaders, policymakers, and journalists from across the spectrum. To help promote FairVote's key reforms, download and distribute FairVote's Reform 2020 Vision two-page flyer.
Who Funds FairVote? See our financial information and our year-end reports.
Our Work
In America, elections are the link between everyday citizens and our representatives at all levels of government, from local school boards and state assemblies to Congress and the presidency. As just government relies on the consent of the governed, we have the right to elections in which our voices are heard, our views are respected, and our votes truly count.
But today, American democracy is not working. Congress is mired in gridlock, leading to historic levels of dissatisfaction and, in 2014, our lowest level of voter participation since 1942. The diversity of our political views is shoehorned into one of two fiercely partisan camps, too often impeding constructive debate and making it hard for elected officials to work across party lines. With new voices shunned as spoilers, and uncompetitive districts locking down most elections for one party, too many of us lack meaningful choice between two candidates, let alone three. Because of these and other flaws, government fails to fully reflect many in the American electorate – from women and racial minorities to urban conservatives and rural liberals.
It's easy to see that something is broken in American politics. It's harder to figure out why—or how to move forward.
At FairVote, we think structurally. We look beyond the short-term actions of parties and power-seekers and into the systems that shape their behavior—the rules that govern our government. When it comes to how our elected leaders behave, the way we elect them is the most important system of all. To fix American politics, we need to fix how we choose our politicians.
We believe there are simple, common sense ways to strengthen our democracy and ensure all voices are heard, all views are respected, and every vote really counts. That's why we work to study these problems, develop practical solutions, and work with national, state and local partners to advance reforms that result in fairer elections.
Please watch this short video on big picture reforms we believe are in reach in the coming decade.
These reform ideas have come out of our focusing our research, outreach, advocacy and reform work on structural solutions to three core principles of a fair vote:
- Fair Representation - Respecting the principle of representation for all;
- Fair Elections - Elections with real choices in which every vote counts;
- Fair Access - The right to go to the polls and have a voice that will be heard.
We believe that a healthy and long-lasting democracy relies on every citizen having a right to a vote that can really contribute to meaningful representation. Working together to address barriers to truly democratic elections, we can bring power back to our vote and make our democracy work better for everyone.
Our continued success relies on your support - consider making a donation today.
Our Successes
Fair Representation
Fair Representation Voting: American, candidate-based forms of proportional representation.
- In the United States, more than three and a half million people use fair representation voting to elect their local officials in nearly one hundred local governments. Through legal and voter education work, FairVote has played an important role in its progress in dozens of jurisdictions, including new wins in 2014.
- For nearly two decades, we have published Monopoly Politics and Dubious Democracy reports biennially, changing the national conversation about noncompetitive elections to focus on structural reform. On November 6, 2014, we called the winners in nearly nine out of ten House elections to take place more than two years later in 2016 -- as we simultaneously build support for an Act of Congress to allow every voter to participate in meaningful elections.
- Our Representation 2020 project distributed more than 2,000 State of Women's Representation 2014 reports that feature the positive impact that fair representation voting can have on women's representation.
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Ranked Choice Voting: More choices and stronger winners in a single election.
- Over two million people use ranked choice voting (RCV, or "instant runoff voting") to elect their local officials, up from less than 100,000 in 2003. With FairVote's help, RCV as passed as a ballot measure in at least one city in eight of the past 12 years, including Memphis (TN), Oakland (CA) and Minneapolis (MN). RCV is heading to statewide consideration in 2016.
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A Constitutional Right to Vote: Universal voter registration and a local movement to inspire participation and secure access to the polls for all qualified voters.
- FairVote helped draft two amendments for an explicit right to vote in the United States Constitution, including one introduced in Congress in 2001-2013 and one in 2013-2014; such legislation has earned the sponsorship of more than 70 Members of Congress.
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- Our mail and email newsletters regularly reach more than 30,000 readers. FairVote.org is among leading sites in search engine requests for terms like "primaries," "redistricting" and "voter turnout."


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When artificial intelligence (AI) hits the headlines, it's usually bad news pertaining to the perils of face recognition. It was only recently that Twitter had to remove an AI-based cropping tool due to its bias against images of black people; more often than not, only lighter skin tones would be picked up by the computer vision employed.
Google's own visual service used to label images of dark-skinned individuals holding a thermometer as in fact containing a gun, doing no such thing for light-skinned subjects. In 2018 meanwhile it was revealed that facial recognition systems developed by Microsoft, IBM, and Megvii had an error range of 35% when determining the gender of dark-skinned women, compared with less than 1% for light-skinned men.
These flaws in AI training give the technology a bad name, and so do regular media reports suggesting that intelligent machines are poised to decimate the human workforce. These themes, for many people, have obscured AI's genuine usefulness in data analysis and conversational platforms. And while computer vision does indeed have its flaws, it is more than just a reflection of societal biases: it is potentially an essential tool for both society and business.
Beyond face recognition: What exactly is computer vision?
Computer vision, or CV, gives machines the power of visual recognition in a way that emulates human sight. Whether a machine is detecting dangers on the road or, more controversially, recognising faces in a crowd, the ultimate aim is to make decisions based on image interpretation.
The tech is an advanced form of pattern recognition, made through statistical comparison of data sets. This means that while machines can "see", they have no real understanding of what they are looking at. They can distinguish one object from another, true, but can't explain what this difference means.
"As the system doesn't know what a cat is, it would almost certainly fail to recognise a real cat outside of the confines of a still image," as a GlobalData thematic report on computer vision explains.
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By GlobalDataTo classify digital images, computer vision tech uses image recognition algorithms that are trained to identify differences in digital images of different classes. To this end, an AI system is shown thousands of images, some of which contain the object or class of objects the algorithm is being trained to identify (for instance, a cat) and some of which don't. In order for the AI to learn, the images need to be labelled (in this example, the pictures need to be labelled as "cat" or "no cat"), so that the system can tell when it is getting the task right. The more images it processes, the better the algorithm becomes at classifying them. But if the quality of the training data is flawed (for instance if only ginger cats are pictured) this compromises the machine's output (it will probably fail to identify non-ginger cats as being cats) – and such flawed training data has led to the various Big Tech blunders of bias that keep appearing in the news.
The Four Eyes of AI
Image recognition is one of four technology categories which make up CV, alongside object recognition, video recognition and machine vision (MV). Object recognition follows the same process of image recognition in that it also assigns a class label to which the viewed image belongs. However it is also able to locate the object in the image, drawing a bounding box around it.
Video recognition software meanwhile analyses video clips, compares them to a database of content and determines if there is a match.
The outlier is machine vision, a hybrid solution of software and hardware. This tech can both inspect for, say, missing and defective parts, and guide robots through visual feedback as they move around the factory floor. As an example, a smart camera can be programmed to detect component flaws and, if networked to something like a robotic arm or retractor, signal for the removal of a defective product on the assembly line.
Business vision
It may not be surprising to learn that Amazon has introduced MV technology in its warehouses, where AI cameras and scanners watch the products stocked and automatically track which products go into which sorting streams.
Amazon's software business Amazon Web Services (AWS) is identified by GlobalData as one of the main drivers behind machine vision and facial/video recognition. As CV requires a lot of computing power, particularly memory and processing capacity, running CV in the cloud has brought the technology to new customers.
AWS, Microsoft's Azure and Google Cloud all offer platforms for training AIs both in the cloud and in local devices. GlobalData forecasts that as enterprises "increasingly embed AI-based software into technology and process development, CV as a Service (CVaaS) will become a crucial part of a business's automation process."
This all comes as part of the wave of AI disruption that is revolutionising business in the 2020s. GlobalData's thematic research on artificial intelligence suggests that the market for AI platforms will reach $52bn in 2024, up from $29bn in 2019. Looking at present-day uses, it's clear that a lot of that growth will be driven by computer vision.
Seen across sectors
Apple's Face ID is probably the best-known application of computer vision through its face recognition properties. Identity management is also a major field of activity for banks, with face recognition adding an extra layer of security to their smartphone apps.
Other business applications of CV can be seen in the automotive sector. Honda, for example, has partnered with AI startup UVeye, which applies MV to vehicle inspections on production lines.
Seeing Machines meanwhile delivers driver-facing camera technology that detects signs of driver fatigue and distraction using computer vision. The company claims to have detected over 8.5 million distraction events, and works with major automotive clients like GM and Robert Bosch. More recently Tesla has confirmed it will rely solely on its vision-based cameras for self-driving functions, transitioning away from radar sensors.
CV has also infiltrated the supply chain leading to retail shelves. In the packaging sector, CV technology helps companies to reduce errors and waste during production. This is important as not only do faulty packaging and wasteful processes affect bottom line, but they also have significant consequences for the environment.
To get around this, Finnish fiber paperboard producer Metsä Board partnered with technology supplier Valmet to equip one of its mills with CV to improve the quality of paper it produces. The system uses MV to scan the paper produced and optimise paperboard surface quality in real-time with no human input. This system helps the company decrease its production waste, quickly grade changes, and provide consistent quality to the folding boxboard machine.
CV's help in the fight against waste is also evident in the foodservice business. Hotel group Accor and retailer IKEA are among the earliest adopters of CV in their kitchens, cutting their food waste in half and saving over $880,000 annually. Online retailer Ocado meanwhile has invested £7m in automated chef Karakuri which can, among other things, optimise portioning in the kitchen with robotic precision.
Face recognition and fears
Having robots helping in the kitchen may require some time for human employees to get used to. But an even more startling development is the use of "seeing" robots monitor humans in the workplace, be it restaurant, warehouse or factory.
When it was announced pizza maker Domino's was using computer vision to monitor quality control in antipodean stores, some outlets saw it as a harbinger of workplace surveillance deployed to keep employees in check. Another such deployment was revealed in a recent report from the Chinese Academy of Sciences on CV used on construction sites to monitor labourers. CCTV employing face recognition could determine whether employees were "loitering," smoking or on their phones instead of working.
Facial recognition is arguably the Big Bad Wolf of AI. As GlobalData reports, the CV tech has been the subject of fierce debate in the last couple of years, with use in policing and surveillance under intense scrutiny.
"In the face of a regulatory vacuum," its analysts add, "the lack of open public debate around facial recognition is compromising its legitimacy among the public and raising fears of mass surveillance."
Privacy advocates like Ella Jakubowska have spoken to Verdict of their concerns. A policy and campaigns officer at the privacy advocacy group European Digital Rights, she stated that these technologies are "really infringing on every person's right to privacy and data protection.
"But because they are being used in a way that amounts to mass surveillance they also have an impact across potentially the full range of people's human rights."
Such fears have seen Big Tech names like Amazon to publicly suspend sales of facial recognition tools to law enforcement. In theory, human rights concerns could halt the development of CV tech, or at least stall business investment. But in fact Amazon's one-year moratorium from 2020 neither confirms or denies that it will stop selling tools to the federal government. The machine will resume operations soon, if it ever really stopped in the first place.
This doesn't necessarily have to be bad news as long as everything is handled with good public engagement, according to Zak Doffman, CEO of internet of things-enabled security company Digital Barriers.
"Let's be very clear: a computer system is significantly better at recognising an individual than any human being in the world is, and it can do it across many more people, but it's not flawless," Doffman told Verdict Magazine. "Therefore it needs to sit as part of a process to quickly work through and then eradicate mistakes.
"We feel that the industry has not helped itself by trying to run too fast and losing public support," Doffman continues. "It needs to scale back. It needs to do this sensibly. We need to build on the success we've seen with identity assurance and educate the public that there is nothing to fear."
By Verdict's Giacomo Lee. Read the full feature on facial recognition in the latest issue of Verdict Magazine. Find the GlobalData Thematic Research: Computer Vision report here.


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Photo: Dan Kitwood, Getty Images
Just flipping through the new issue of National Geographic. With a photo like this, it's hard to resist the temptation to turn one's blog into a Pinterest clone. This photo was taken during vodun celebrations in Benin--the sequined celebrants have close ties to the Yoruba culture in Nigeria.
You can find a whole gallery of images of these costumes in action at the Baltimore Sun.


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SALT LAKE CITY — Former NFL great Steve Young will be one of the keynote speakers at a three-day conference in Salt Lake City exploring how the Mormon faith is dealing with gays and lesbians.
The 32nd annual Affirmation International Conference begins Friday and runs through Sunday. Affirmation president Randall Hacker says he's expecting about 300 people at the gathering.
Steve Young and his wife are scheduled to speak Saturday night. Young is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and played football at Brigham Young University.
The Youngs said in a statement they are happy to be a part of the conference and "lend their voices to the healing work of making our families, our society and our church more welcoming places for our LGBT brothers and sisters."
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Having Young, a role model for both Mormons and young athletes, speak at the conference is yet another sign of a growing movement among straight Mormons to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brethren, Hacker said.
"That's what changed things: the straight people coming out in support," Hacker said. "For years, LGBT members were alone in fighting for their own. We will have more allies at this conference than ever before."
He said the Youngs already support a project dedicated to helping LGBT youth in crisis and also spoke out against California's Proposition 8, a ballot measure passed by voter in 2008 that banned gay marriage. The Mormon church was one of the main backers of the law.
"He lends another strong voice, especially with Mormons in the inter-mountain west," Hacker said.
Article continues below
The LDS church still teaches its members that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that same-sex relationships are sinful. But the church launched a campaign earlier this year encouraging members to be more compassionate toward gay and lesbian members of the church. The church welcomes members who experience "same-sex attraction" as long as they don't act on those feelings.
The church also threw its support behind a new policy passed this year by the Boy Scouts of America that opens the door for gay youth to join the ranks, while continuing to ban gay adult Scout leaders.
Several groups have formed around the country to support gay Mormons, and hundreds have marched in gay pride parades to show their backing.
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Would-be burglars foiled by tough glass
PORT ST. LUCIE (FOX 13) - Surveillance video from a recent Florida burglary attempt could double as a commercial for impact-resistant glass.
Footage released by Port St. Lucie police shows an attempted break-in at a Mobil gas station from early Tuesday morning. The video shows two heavily disguised suspects walk up to the locked doors and start pounding on the glass with a hammer.
The glass cracks on the second strike, but does not break -- even after some body slams from the would-be burglars. After about a minute, they apparently decide to give up.
"The suspects then fled the scene in shame," the police department Facebook post observed.
Detectives are still looking for the pair. Suspect 1 was wearing dark-colored pants, a black long-sleeve T-shirt, and a black shirt tied around his face. Suspect 2 was also wearing dark-colored pants, a black long-sleeve T-shirt, and a blue shirt tied around his face.
Police are asking anyone with information to call the Port St. Lucie Police Department at (772) 871-5001 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273 TIPS.


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