Hmmm....

Magic happens everywhere and goodness, wonder and delight can be found alive and well throughout the world. 

All we need do is look to our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, for the joy in the simplicity of delight to be found in such timeless heroes.

Fairies are part of my Manx heritage so it is not be be treated lightly that you have my assurance that the Tooth Fairies are still flying around the world doing a great job. 

They tell me that the Easter Bunny is also ready for a bumper Easter Egg day. But they asked me to remind the children to brush their teeth and not get carried away with too many goodies from the Bunny basket.

Enjoy!

How many people around the world have been warning about the danger we are in?  All around the world, we have been called conspiracy theorists and accused of peddling misinformation and disinformation. Yet we are being proven correct mere months after.

One can't help but think back to the man who warned of danger. Thank goodness, back then, people listened.

Paul Revere, a silversmith from Boston, is one of the most celebrated figures of the American Revolutionary War. Born on January 1, 1735, Revere's life and actions have become an emblem of the spirit of American independence. His legendary midnight ride on April 18, 1775, to warn the colonial militia of the approaching British forces has etched his name into American history.

However, Revere's contributions to the American Revolution extend far beyond this single act of heroism.

• Senate Majority Challenge: Controlling the House is key in federal elections, but no laws pass without a Senate majority (39 out of 76 senators). The Coalition (30) and Labor (25) fall short, leaving 21 crossbench senators as pivotal players.
• Historical Shift: From 1901-1949, the "first-past-the-post" system favored major parties, limiting minor party representation. The 1949 switch to proportional representation (14.29% of votes guarantees a senator) enabled crossbench growth.
• Crossbench Evolution: The Democratic Labor Party (DLP) held influence in the 1950s-60s (around 6 senators). The Australian Democrats peaked in 1998 with 9 senators but later faded. Today, the Greens dominate the crossbench with 12 of 21 seats.
• Labor-Greens Alliance: Labor has strategically supported the Greens, creating a stable left-leaning crossbench, unlike the fragmented minor right.
• Minor Right Struggles: In 2022, minor right parties won 11.12% of votes (enough for 6 senators across states) but only secured 2 due to vote splintering. Current right-wing crossbenchers: Babet, Hanson, Rennick, Roberts (4 total).
• Shared Minor Right Values: Despite differences, minor right parties agree on skepticism of climate narratives, rejecting "woke" ideology, pride in Australia, smaller government, and support for free enterprise and speech.
• Four Strategies to Maximize Minor Right Power:
  • Merger: Unfeasible due to AEC rules and risks diluting distinct identities like the Liberals.
  • Preference Deals: Tried in 2022 but failed as 1/3 of votes leaked to the Coalition via preferences.
  • Summit: Leaders pick the strongest candidate per state, but consensus is hard to achieve.
  • Grand Primary: Each state holds a public event where minor right members vote for the best Senate candidate. A joint ticket (e.g., One Nation/Trumpet of Patriots/Libertarian) is formed, maximizing votes and legitimacy.
• Grand Primary Benefits: Offers transparency, energizes supporters, and could attract broader public attention via live-streaming. Losing candidates’ supporters are likely to respect the democratic outcome.
• Call to Action: Supporters of minor right parties are urged to share the Grand Primary idea with party leaders to boost Senate representation.

Legacy.com is a website where you can search what it says is “the world’s largest obituary database,” with nearly 50,000,000 entries accumulated since the site started publishing death notices in 1998.

According to Wikipedia:

The Web site hosts obituaries and memorials for more than 70 percent of all U.S. deaths. Legacy.com hosts obituaries for more than three-quarters of the 100 largest newspapers in the U.S., by circulation. The site attracts more than 30 million unique visitors per month and is among the top 40 trafficked websites in the world.

Although it does not appear to have an “About Us” page right now, I was able to locate one from 2019 [and one at a different URL with no apparent date. Both say it is “a top-50 website in the US with more unique monthly visitors than Wikipedia, Netflix, or LinkedIn.”

The site also claims to “offer users a permanent, shareable space to commemorate the lives of their loved ones” with “5000+ funeral home, newspaper, and advertising partners.”

Given the claim that Legacy.com offers a “permanent” space for commemoration, the recent discoveries by an alert researcher raise some interesting questions.

Victorians could go to prison for up to five years for hate speech under new anti-vilification laws proposed by the Victorian Government.

Under the proposed laws, it would be an offence to “incite hatred against, serious contempt for, revulsion towards or severe ridicule” of a person or group based on their sex, gender identity, or race.

It would also be illegal to “threaten physical harm or property damage on the ground of a protected attribute.”

The new laws would lower the legal threshold for prosecuting people for vilification and would add gender identity, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, and disability to the list of protected attributes alongside race and religion, which are already protected.

Online, these laws will apply to anyone, anywhere who vilifies a person in Victoria, although the government acknowledges that this may be difficult to enforce.

Offline, these laws will apply to both public and private interactions.