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Democracy

Making sure all votes are counted isn't 'a win for Democrats'—it's a win for all Americans

Making sure all votes are counted isn't 'a win for Democrats'—it's a win for all Americans

As I was doomscrolling through Twitter yesterday, the wording of an Associated Press post caught my eye. "The Supreme Court will allow absentee ballots in North Carolina to be received and counted up to 9 days after Election Day, in a win for Democrats," it read.

A win for Democrats? Surely they meant a win for Americans? For voters? For democracy?



I wasn't the only one who noticed that phrase, as comment after comment expressed the same reaction. What the heck, AP?

A follow-up tweet gave some context to the AP's share text on the original article, as the outlet explained, "The Supreme Court justices, by a 5-3 vote, refused a request from Republicans to disturb a decision by North Carolina's State Board of Elections to push back the deadline for ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be received by Nov. 12."

Since it was a request from Republicans that was denied, I suppose one could argue that it's a win for Democrats. But is that really where we are? Where one party's request being denied by the courts is automatically a "win" for the opposing party? Have we just completely internalized a binary, partisan world where anything that's a loss for one "side" is good for the other?

At the same time, it's hard to completely argue with the AP's statement when Republicans actually are beating the "let's figure out every way we can to make it harder for people's votes to count" drum.

It sure seems that way, anyway.

And what's really sad is that it's not even like not wanting the largest number of Americans possible voting is a secret. Influential conservative activist Paul Weyrich famously said in 1980, "I don't want everybody to vote. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down."

Paul Weyrich - "I don't want everybody to vote" (Goo Goo)www.youtube.com


President Trump himself said that Republicans would "never" win an election again if it were easier to vote, such as by implementing all mail-in voting. Though he was likely implying that Democrats would cheat—as if Democrats somehow have a corner on the statistically miniscule issue of voter fraud or magically know how to game a mail-in system—the reality is that neither thing is true.

Bernie Sanders also tried to say that Democrats win more elections when voter turnout is higher, but again, it's just not true. There actually is no clear correlation between voter turnout and partisan wins.

In reality, every American should want as many of their fellow citizens to vote, because that's how free elections are supposed to work—with the majority of Americans expressing with their vote who they want to rule for a while. We can't know what the majority prefers if only half the electorate shows up at the ballot box. Even in an easily won election—say 60% or 70% of actual voters voting for one candidate—if only half of eligible voters show up, the candidate that got the majority of the vote might still represent a minority of the electorate. We simply have no way of knowing the preferences of the majority unless the vast majority shows up.

Voting matters. And we know that it matters because partisans have worked hard to skew voting processes to benefit their own side. Both parties engage in gerrymandering, which I still can't believe is allowed. And various forms of voter suppression, especially of minorities, have long been a problem, from the racist Southern Democrats of the pre-Civil Rights era to the current GOP.

And a lot of voter suppression is blatant. I live in a town of less than 35,000 people and we have several ballot drop boxes—and this is in a state with universal mail-in voting. While our county has actually added more drop boxes due to the pandemic, the governor of Texas worked hard to remove drop boxes from Texas counties this election, leaving just one single drop box for all 4.5 million people in Harris county, home of Houston, when they previously had a dozen.

That's preposterous. There's no reason for that kind of voter suppression, except for fear of democracy working exactly the way it should.

Voting should be secure, but simple. It should be made as easy as possible for everyone. Enabling early voting has helped make voting easier in many states, as has implementing universal mail-in voting. There is simply zero reason that people should have to wait five, eight, 11 hours in line to vote. It's just ridiculous. Some have suggested making Election Day a national holiday so people don't have to get out of work to go to the polls. Let's open more polling places. Let's end partisan tricks to make voting harder.

Let's celebrate our representative government and treat voting like the sacred right that it is—by encouraging and enfranchising every eligible voter in America.

A pitbull stares at the window, looking for the mailman.


Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.

But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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"Fun" dad versus "lazy" mom.

Last November, Upworthy published a popular story about Chloe Sexton, a mother who went viral on TikTok for a video she made explaining “daddy privilege” or the idea that fathers are applauded for doing things that mothers are supposed to do.

"In my opinion, 'daddy privilege' is that subtle upper hand men sidestep into as parents that allows them to gain praise for simply…being a parent," she said. "You fed the baby? What a great dad! You held the baby while mommy bathed? So considerate of you! You picked up something for dinner? What would your family do without you?! It's all the little ways mothers do exactly what the world expects of them without a second thought and then watch fathers get praised for simply showing up."

Sadly, the post resonated with a lot of mothers, because it's true. Expectations for fathers are so low that men are commended for handling basic parenting tasks. But if a mother falls short of perfection, she faces harsh criticism.

Mary Catherine Starr, a mother living in Cape Cod who owns a design studio and teaches yoga, is getting a lot of love on Instagram for her cartoon series that perfectly explains daddy privilege.

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Innovation

A student accidentally created a rechargeable battery that could last 400 years

"This thing has been cycling 10,000 cycles and it’s still going." ⚡️⚡️

There's an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

There's no better example of that than a 2016 discovery at the University of California, Irvine, by doctoral student Mya Le Thai. After playing around in the lab, she made a discovery that could lead to a rechargeable battery that could last up to 400 years. That means longer-lasting laptops and smartphones and fewer lithium ion batteries piling up in landfills.

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Education

What's up with Wyoming? Video explains why it's 'empty' compared to twin neighbor Colorado

The states are almost identical in size, shape and geographical features, but Wyoming has 580,000 residents to Colorado's 5.8 million.

Wyoming and Colorado have vastly different populations despite being geographically similar.

Most states in the U.S. have oddly shaped boundaries, largely formed by meandering waterways and coastal irregularities. But two states stand out for their seemingly defiant rectangularness—Wyoming and Colorado.

These almost-twin states share a border, are almost exactly the same size (Colorado is just 1.06 times larger than Wyoming), boast basically the same shape and have the Rocky Mountains eating into a sizeable chunk of them. (Wyoming's share of mountains is a bit larger than Colorado's, but its topography isn't nearly different enough than Colorado's to account for how many fewer people it has.)

Wyoming's population as of 2022 was estimated to be just over 580,000, while Colorado's was estimated to be just over 5.8 million. Almost exactly a 10-fold difference between the two very similar states.

So…why?

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Joy

Mark Wahlberg on why, as a Hollywood A-lister, he won't deny his faith

"I don’t want to jam it down anybody’s throat, but I do not deny my faith."

Actor Mark Wahlberg at the 'Contraband' Movie Premiere In Sydney, Australia

Hollywood isn’t a place where people typically talk about their faith. In a world run by free-thinking creatives and people with secular, progressive values, those who hew to more traditional, conservative Christian beliefs tend to be less visible.

But Mark Wahlberg has no problem being vocal about his Catholic faith, which must be refreshing to the approximately 61 million Catholics in America.

Wahlberg spoke about the balance he has to strike between his private and professional life on the Today show on February 22, also known as Ash Wednesday to Christians. The “Boogie Nights” actor wore an ash cross on his forehead to commemorate the holy day.

“It’s a balance,” the 51-year-old actor said. “I don’t want to jam it down anybody’s throat, but I do not deny my faith. That’s an even bigger sin. You know, it’s not popular in my industry, but I cannot deny my faith. It’s important for me to share that with people. But, I have friends from all walks of life and all different types of faiths and religions, so it’s important to respect and honor them as well.”

He also believes in leading through his example instead of pressuring his four children to follow his faith.

“I don’t force it on them,” he said. “But they know that Dad can’t start the day without being in prayer, can’t start the day without reading my Scripture or going to Mass. And hopefully, instead of forcing that on them, they’ll say, ‘Well, if it works for Dad, maybe it’ll work for us,’ and they’ll kind of gravitate towards it on their own.”

Wahlberg can keep his faith strong while dealing with the pressures of Hollywood thanks to his relationship with Father Flavin, a parish priest who helped him make drastic changes in his life. As a young man, Wahlberg was a high school dropout who had multiple run-ins with the law. But Flavin has helped him turn his life around.

“He’s been in my life since I was 13,” Wahlberg said of Flavin. “He married me and my wife and baptized all my children.” It's also believed that Flavin helps Whalberg choose his movie roles that “honor his religious roots.”

The “Father Stu” star says that his faith has helped him develop the discipline to be a successful actor.

"Discipline has always been important for me in life," he told Today. "Once I started getting into movies and transitioned from music, I realized I needed a lot of discipline in my life, and that discipline has afforded me so many other things. I’ve been rewarded for it so much, and I want to share that with people, whether that’s with fasting, working out more, detaching from other things and just spending more time with God, in prayer or in thoughtful reflection. Those things are important."

Wahlberg’s ability to live a life in alignment with his faith is noble in an industry that can easily challenge one’s moral compass. It’s also noteworthy that has chosen to live by example instead of being preachy and is accepting of those who may believe differently.


This article originally appeared on 2.24.23

Education

Former teacher gets blunt about the 'denial' some parents have about their kids education

"They're more concerned about the optics…than about taking care of the child's needs."

@bodacious.bobo/TikTok

A former teacher breaks downt he "denial" some parents have about their kid's academic performance

Many kids are seriously struggling in school. According to US News, an estimated 49% of public students started off the 2022-2023 school year behind in at least one subject as last year. That’s only a small fraction better than the 50% of students behind in the previous year.

And while there are several factors contributing to this issue—recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a lack of resources for many public schools, a teacher shortage, etc.—several educators feel that a majorly overlooked aspect is the parents' involvement, or lack thereof, in their child’s education.

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