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If I hear one more person compare Britain under a Labour Government to living in Venezuela I might to fly to Caracas and throw myself off Parque Central Torre Oeste.

Whichever way you voted during the EU referendum OR the General Election, youre probably tired of being labeled, and are sick to death of readingabsurd clichs.

Lazy baseless arguments posted over and over and over again on Facebook dont make thepoint more valid, but they do create division.

Both the right-wing tabloid press and the left-wing Twiterati, are both guilty of churning out labels faster than a Next Sale.

These labels, cliches and baseless arguments only serve to create and fuel divisions, generate some twitter, and sell more newspapers. Making everyone angry in the process.

Champaign socialist, racist, bigot, leftie luvvie, Remoaner, Brexitard, fascist, Tory, etc, etc. The list goes on.

The people like us mentality has truly taken hold in the UK. Such is the vitriol of reporting, Grandparents and Grandchildren can barely look each other in the eye. They should bediscussing their differing perspectives, or even what unites them, over a happy Sunday Roast with a glass of red wine and a smile.

But hey, stay angry. Social media sites serve up content you all ready agree with, so why would you bother engaging in any dialogue with the other side?

Applying labels to people is both dangerous and ignorant.

Take the recent Labour General Election vote for instance. According to YouGov, 44% of voters in their 40s opted for Corbyn, compared to 39 per cent who voted for the May.

45 per cent of people in full time work voted for Labour, compared to 39 per cent who backed the Tories. Similar results were recorded for part time workers too.

Its also worth observing the YouGov chart below that shows the more educated were more likely to vote Labour.

Whilst there is an age bias, this certainly doesnt suggest that Labour voters are work-shy 18-year-old under-grads with no understanding of the world.

Political norms have been turned on theirheads. What we actually witnessed was large proportions of educated and trained working people turning out to vote for more socialist policies, and back demand-side economics (i.e. investing in future workforce and infrastructure to kickstart our economy).

Its no secret that many of our daily newspapers are (and increasingly) right-wing. As expected, the right-wing press has began demonising socialism (even more) without mercy, but without really asking why so much of working Britain backed a move toward a more socialist Government.

Despite what some newspapers would have you believe (or even Hollywood during the past four decades), Democratic Socialism is not the same as Communism. Britain, like many European countries, is a very socialist country already. But the right-wing press have done an amazing job at making the word socialism dirty.

What many people dont appreciate is that many of the Great British foundationsthat we take for granted are democratic socialist principles:

When you blindly attack socialism or Comrade Corbyn and parrot the claim that Britain under him would be akin to living in Venezuela, perhaps remind yourself that Britain has embraced socialism throughout the last century.

You never know, you may realise that a little part of you is a socialist (eeek).

The socialist elements of our life are being slowly eroded away from under our noses. No wonder everybody complains about our population becoming increasingly self-serving or selfish.

I like to think its possible forpersonal political views to straddle a number of political landscapes,depending on the issue, but if you want to call me a socialist for valuing state schools, the NHS, and my Sunday stroll, then go ahead.

However, the truth is, you shouldnt have to choose socialism or capitalism. Socialism and capitalism can work side-by-side. Do you know why? Because thats exactly how the UK operates now, and has always operated. Life orpolitics shouldnt be polarized. The real trick is getting the balance right. Why do we need to be at one extreme or the other?

OK, its true that thelikelihood of voting Conservative increased with age in the last General Election, but is it all to do with wealth, as tradition dictates, or something much deeper?

Perhaps older people are more susceptible to traditional right-wing fear tactics, or maybe they are more controlled by the newspaper they read (considering five of the largest selling newspapers are staunchly right-wing, whilst young people dont buy newspapers anymore)?

In reality, due to technological advances, booming populations and higher social mobility, the older generation has seen the world change more rapidly than any generation on Earth before them. Its no surprise that the message of stability or taking back control is a popular one.

On the other side, the younger or working generation could be the first to have comparatively lower living standards than their parents, working longer, and with small/no pensions. Why would they want to back policies like Brexit or austerity when it will undoubtedly make them poorer in the short term (for another decade at least).

Whichever waythe divide manifests itself, surelyyoung and old are united by more than divides them. I have a hunch that most people care about the same things, but believe in different ways of protecting those things. The NHS is a great example of something many Brexit voters sought to protect, despite signing itspotential death warrant.

Both generations can see the NHS crumbling in front of their eyes.

Both generations witness modern-day monopolies in the form of globalised corporations paying little or no tax towards the infrastructure and services they use and exploit. Whilst strugglinglocal business diligently pay their contribution.

People from both generations are concerned about our crumbling infrastructure and limited resources. They all know that the lack of investment in infrastructure, services and people will come back to bite us.

Even if you hold the view thatCorbyn bribed students with the promiseof eliminating their student debt, ask yourself the following; given the proven benefits of education (better prospects, better health, lower birth rates, higher productivity, etc) is it right that a student should be saddled with 50k debt before they even start work? Should education only be available to the wealthy? Even without the burden of tuition fees, students must still find enough money to pay for rent, bills, food, study equipment, etc.

Perhaps, just perhaps, if more people realised some of the things they hold dear aresocialist ideals, they might back the policies a little more without fear of becoming Venezuela.

Some of the daily newspapers have more than tainted the word socialism. Theyve convinced you that socialism means freeloading students rioting around London, demanding the Worlds wealth is shared out. Theyve tricked you into believing socialism meansspending money from the Magic Money Treeor taking money from your piggy bank that isnt there (ignoring demand side economics, the Paradox of Thrift, or the multiplier effect i.e. investing in your country will pay you back with interest). Theyve conned you into thinking socialism means Venezuela.

Lets take the word back and own it. You dont have to be a full blown socialist to support a little more socialism.

Even if you still think socialism is a dirty word, a few things arecertain: re-nationalising the awful private railway system, ensuring water companies invest in the infrastructure we originally paid for, or making corporations pay their share of tax, will turn Britain into Venezuela no more than the Tory winter-fuel payment cap will turn the UK into Bahrain.

Its a lazy argument.

More worrying is the staggering decline in independent, investigative journalism. It costs a lot to produce, so many publications facing an uncertain future can no longer fund it.

With nobody to hold the rich and powerful to account, or report on the issues that don't fit with the mainstream 'narrative', your help is needed.

You can help support free, independent journalism for as little as 50p. Every penny we collect from donations supports vital investigative journalism.

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You're a Dirty Socialist and you don't even realise it - The London Economic

Senator Konni Burton (R-Colleyville) watches nominees get approval despite her vote of no on the UT Board of Regents before the Senate for confirmation on March 11, 2015.

Senator Konni Burton (R-Colleyville) watches nominees get approval...

AUSTIN - Nine years ago, fresh off a term as a Smith County commissioner in northeast Texas, JoAnn Fleming drove to Dallas for a "boot camp" with other like-minded conservatives.

It wasn't on the radar of the public or most of the Texas political establishment. But many now consider it a key event in the birth of the tea party movement.

The goal was to examine how government works - and how they could force changes to make officials more accountable.

Also on the agenda: how to get their point across, voter to voter.

"Konni Burton was there, as were a lot of other people whose names would become familiar to a lot of Texans in the years to come," Fleming said, referring to the Republican who went on to become a state senator from Colleyville. "I had thought that once I was through with elected office, I'd take two years off to become a normal person again. Obviously, I didn't."

Within weeks, she said, the tea party movement in Texas was born.

It was a seed that quickly blossomed on the national stage with calls from grass-roots activists to cut federal spending, taxes and the size of government, and reduce the federal deficit. The movement burgeoned just as Democrat Barack Obama was moving into the White House.

Back in Texas, the tea party emerged as a decentralized movement that slowly expanded its focus to state government in Austin, even as a few Texas elected officials including then-Gov. Rick Perry joined their ranks to help bash federal overreach and the wasteful bureaucracy in D.C.

Now, with Republicans firmly in charge in both capitals, Texas' tea party activists are shifting their focus to the next phase in their evolution: as a political movement that is now an established insider power player at the Capitol, despite its historic outsider bravado.

Tea party caucuses have grown ranks in both the state House and Senate - the Freedom and Liberty caucuses, they are called - and Burton is now a senator in the chamber where staunch GOP conservatives are in charge, starting with the presiding officer, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

'Coalition approach'

The next step for the tea party will be played out front and center in the special legislative session that begins Tuesday. Gov. Greg Abbott, who formally announced his re-election bid Friday, has set a 20-issue agenda - much of it tailor-made for tea party regulars - that will pit the strongly conservative Senate against the more moderate House over controversial issues such as the bathroom bill, property-tax reforms, school-choice for special-needs children and how to better finance public schools.

"We are moving from solely a tea party effort to a coalition approach because we have common ground with a lot of other organizations on other issues," said Fleming, who is executive director of Grassroots America - We The People, a tea party group. "People in the tea party movement have been asking for some time how we can get help to effect change, and the answer is that it takes time to build trust and build coalitions. That's where we are now."

To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.

In recent months, even during the regular legislative session that ended in May, tea party groups from around Texas partnered with local pro-business groups, toll-road opponents, medical organizations, mainstream Republican groups and immigration-reform organizations, to push for the passage or defeat of legislation, both in Austin and in Washington. With the special session just days away from its start, the coalition supporting passage of many - if not all - of Abbott's agenda has grown to more than 60 groups.

'Natural progression'

At a June 26 summit meeting in Dallas, 121 leaders representing 59 organizations met to discuss the special session - including members of the State Republican Executive Committee, GOP county chairs and conservative organizations - and plan their lobbying strategy.

That promises to put additional pressure on the Texas House, where Speaker Joe Straus has publicly compared some of the items to horse manure and suggested that a number may not get approval in the House. Ten of the 20 bills were approved by the Senate during the regular legislative session, and Patrick predicted on Thursday that the rest will easily pass his chamber - likely very soon after the 30-day special session begins.

"This is no longer solely a tea party effort," said Del Carothers, a Georgetown rancher who has been active with several Texas tea party groups since 2011.

"We have grown way past where we started out. Once you get a civics lesson on how our government actually operates, you know it has to change to be responsive to the people. And you know that if you really care about citizen-driven government and freedom, which is what the Founding Fathers intended, you have to be involved and make that happen," he said.

"If you sit around on your ass, government will run your life and they'll waste your money."

Mark Jones, a Rice University political scientist who has studied the rise of the tea party as a political force, said the increasing clout of the activists should come as no surprise in Red State Texas.

"The tea party movement had been building for some time, and it took off in Texas when Gov. Perry gave his Tax Day speech in 2009 and went from being a pragmatic centrist to straddling the tea party line," he said. "The next natural progression is for these groups to start exerting their influence in who is elected and to expand their clout by building coalitions with other groups. That's what's happening now."

In Texas, where many legislative seats are filled by the candidate who wins the Republican primary, tea party candidates often win. Perhaps their biggest surprise was the 2013 election of Ted Cruz over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for a U.S. Senate seat.

"In the special session, where all the items are of a conservative nature, the hiding places will be gone for Republicans who want to say they're conservative but not vote that way," said Dale Huls, with the Clear Lake Tea Party near Houston. "The best vote some of them can make may be the one not taken, especially in the House, because if they vote against our issues we're going to be watching everything they're doing.

"This is put up or shut up time."

For Republicans who refuse to support the tea party agenda, Huls and other activists said the coalition of groups wants them censured by the Republican Party of Texas. Even before the special session begins, a deeply divided Republican Party of Bexar County passed a resolution on Monday calling for "a change in leadership in the Texas House" - a surprising move considering that Speaker Straus, a target of tea party anger on many issues, is from San Antonio.

'Everybody can win'

Despite the predictions that the tea party influence could push much of Abbott's more controversial agenda items, including the bathroom and property-tax reform bills, to pass during the special session, when they failed during the regular session, House leaders privately say they think that is unlikely. That's because most of the controversial bills will simply not have enough support from Republicans and Democrats to pass in as strident a form as the Senate wants, said one House committee chairman.

"The agenda for the special session is part of an election campaign," said longtime Austin political consultant Bill Miller. "It's set up perfectly so that if not everything the tea party wants is passed, the governor can say well I tried. Re-elect me, and we'll get it done next year. Dan Patrick can say the Senate passed everything, and Joe Straus can say it was the will of the House, and the Senate and the House are much different chambers.

"Everybody can win."

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Texas tea party: the birth and evolution of a movement - Houston Chronicle

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What I understand is the IRS was targeting any organization that had the name Tea Party in it or the word conservative. We werent the only ones, said Graham Bartlett, the president of the local Tea Party.

He said hed been informed about a month ago by the groups legal counsel, the Washington D.C.-based American Center for Law and Justice, that the requested 501c (4) status was coming through.

I didnt want to say anything and make it public until I had the actual documentation in my hands, Bartlett said Monday.

The Albuquerque Tea Party requested tax-exempt status because it relies on donations, and people tend to donate more when they know they can write it off on their taxes, he said.

Further, tax-exempt status allows one party to transfer money to and receive money from other tax-exempt entities without paying taxes on those funds.

Were basically an education organization. We dont have dues and we rely on donations, Bartlett said Some of our activities cost money, such as costs for renting space for candidate forums and printing literature.

Daniel Moore, the Tea Party chairman of communications and a board member, said that the process of applying for tax exempt status is normally concluded within six months, at which point you know if you have it or not, and if you dont you can appeal.

The local organization filed its request in December 2009. Several months later the IRS demanded more documentation concerning the organizations activities. The group complied, Bartlett said.

The IRS then requested even more documentation, including board minutes, brochures, newsletters and correspondences. In all, the Tea Party provided more than 1,000 pages, but as the months and years passed there was still no decision on the application for tax exempt status.

The long wait was absolutely unusual and unconscionable and speaks directly to the issue of free speech, said Moore.

In 2012, the American Center for Law and Justice filed a lawsuit against the IRS on behalf of the Albuquerque Tea Party as well as other conservative groups whose requests for tax-exempt status seemed to be put on hold during the Obama administration.

The ACLJ is a conservative, Christian-based organization associated with Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Va. The organizations chief counsel is Jay Sekulow, a member of President Donald Trumps private legal team.

The FBI in 2014 announced its investigation into IRS tactics found examples of mismanagement and poor judgment, but no evidence to support criminal prosecution.

Likewise the Department of Justice announced in 2015 that its review had found no evidence that any IRS official acted on political, discriminatory, corrupt or inappropriate motives in the handling of tax-exempt applications.

However, both Bartlett and Moore noted that since President Trump and the Republicans assumed power in Washington, D.C., in January, there seems to have been a change in policy and tone at the IRS.

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Albuquerque Tea Party finally granted tax-exempt status by IRS - Albuquerque Journal

By Robert Newby

Make America Great Again! What a con? Instead, what the nation has witnessed over the first six months of the Trump presidency has been close to a total disaster! Americas place in the world will never be the same again. Instead of world leader, the United States President Trump is an embarrassment.

At the recent G-20, Americas president was the odd man out. In terms he would certainly understand, President Trump was a loser. Remember, former Gov. Mitt Romney said that Donald Trump is a fraud. For about a century, until now, the American presidency has been the most highly regarded position on the planet.

Based on a survey of 37 nations, the Pew Research Center has found that the Donald Trump presidency has caused alarm among the nations closest allies. He has humiliated our NATO allies. He has spit in the face of the world by turning the Nations back on the Paris Accord. Essentially, every nation in the world voted for the accord except Donald Trump on behalf of the United States!

The decline in Americas prestige since President Barack Obama left office has been precipitous. According to the Pew Survey, America had a 64% favorable rating among the people in those 37 countries with Obama as President. By this spring, under a Trump presidency that favorability rating had dropped to 49%. In that same survey, a median of 22% were confident that Trump would do the right thing in a global crisis, down from 64% in the Obama presidency. For what he symbolized, Barack Obama was held in such high regard, globally, he received the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Donald Trump on the other hand has become the target of considerable derision, internationally. He cannot travel to England for a State dinner because the Brit populace has made it clear he is not welcome. How did we get to this place where the President of America is no longer respected?

We got here because of Tea Party Republican White Nationalism. While people might quibble with President Barack Obamas policies, the fact is he brought intelligence, integrity, class, and dignity to the White House. Both progressives and conservatives found reasons to be dissatisfied with the Obama. Nevertheless, most would agree he was presidential.

Having a black president of the United States of America does mean that America has changed. That is not to say that America is post-racial, hardly, not even close, as the Black Lives Matter movement reminds us. That said, having a black president of the United States of America has provided a certain legitimacy to what it means to be black in America. Barack Obama changed the face of America.

Unfortunately, while America and the world saw the Obama presidency as a positive step in the course of American history, world history, Americas white supremacist past rose up in opposition to this progress. President Donald Trump and the Tea Party Republican white nationalism are the driving forces of white resentment to progress by Blacks, other people of color, and groups suffering from some invidious discrimination.

So when Donald Trump says he wants to Make America Great Again!, understand, for him, America was great when he and his father practiced housing discrimination. For him, America was great before there were environmental regulations. For him, America was great when whites could stereotype people of color and call them names. For him, America was great before women had rights and demanded respect. For him, America was great when Blacks were denied the right to vote. For the most part, Trump got his votes not inspite of his racism but because of it.

Trumps victory is not todays America. A majority of the electorate voted for Hillary Clinton, the liberal, the progressive, the feminist, the statesperson, the advocate for poor children. Trump, with the support of his Tea Party white nationalist Republicans, was elected by an institution to protect the power of the slave holding states, the electoral college. This is the politics of white space, not the American majority. Look at the electoral map, where is the red?

Unfortunately, that white space harbors a politics of resentment. As Professor Theda Skopol of Harvard and her colleague, Vanessa Williamson, show in their book, The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism, (Oxford University Press, 2012) the Tea Party has taken over the Republican Party. Donald Trump is the leader of the new Tea Party white nationalist Republicans. These are the politics that have alienated the world from our leader.

Robert Newby is a professor emeritus in the department of sociology, anthropology and social work at Central Michigan University. He writes a bi-weekly column for the Morning Sun. The column has been missing for some weeks because of a family illness that is now much improved.

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NEWBY: Trump, Tea Party white nationalism and the Republican Party - The Morning Sun

Ukraine is the central battleground between the rapidly fraying West and the brutally ascendant East. As NATO bickers over defense contributions by member states, Article 5 commitments and its renegade member Turkey, Russia is taking concerted action to secure its borders, expand its influence and weaken the bedrock alliance that has kept the peace in Europe for the past 60 years.

Ukraine lies at ground zero in this clash of civilizations between the rule of law and the power of the sword. Its moves to join the EU prompted Russian troops to seize the eastern third of the country. Despite U.S. and European sanctions, Ukraine remains a divided and war-torn state on NATOs eastern flank.

Curing the cancer of corruption will require radical surgery and The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act might be one of the options to punish corrupted foreign officials.

Secretary of State Rex Tillersons July 7th appointment of Ambassador Kurt Volker as Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations is a necessary but insufficient step in the right direction.Implementing the Minsk Agreements, which provide a blueprint for a political settlement, may reduce the violence but it will not cure the cancer that is steadily destroying Ukraine and doing more harm to the integrity of the state than Russian-backed aggression.

Ukraine is 130th out of 168 countries ranked by Transparency Internationals Corruption Perception Index 2015. It is worse than Russia (119) in terms of corruption. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), Ukrainians cite corruption as a more urgent problem than the war against pro-Russian rebels by a margine of two-to-one. Another survey by the European Business Association and Dragon Capital, Ukraines leading private equity firm, found that Foreign investors believe that the biggest obstacles for investment in Ukraine are widespread corruption (average score 8.5 points out of 10 possible) and lack of trust in the judiciary (7.5 points).

Most of the pre-war investment in Ukraine was actually re-invested Ukrainian and Russian capital, which means that key factors that keep genuine FDI away from Ukraine existed before the onset of the conflict. These obstacles still need to be addressed. As the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development underlines, While the political and security situation has deteriorated in recent years, the problems are long-term and have to do with poor business environment, weak institutions, and widespread corruption.

Institutional rot is at the core of Ukraines problem. The officials charged with enforcing Ukraines anti-corruption efforts are themselves compromised. Ukraines Prime Minister recognized this issue when he admitted last year that, The weakest link in our fight against corruption are the Ukrainian courts. Despite an initiative that requires judges and other public sector workers to detail their wealth in an online database, judges continue to drive Porsches and receive large sums of cash to influence judicial decisions. One-third (24 of 68) of the criminal cases sent by the National Anti-corruption Agency of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutors Office (SAPO) to courts remain stalled for over one year.

The senior leadership of Ukraines Anti-Corruption Action Center, which has received significant funding support from the U.S. government, has profited from sweetheart deals and kickbacks. Its Director, Vitaly Shabunin, earns $34,000 according to his tax filing. In 2010, he bought an apartment for $60,000. In 2014, he acquired land near Kiev for $20,000. In 2016, he sold his apartment for $34,000 and built a house for $83,000. All properties are registered in his wifes name and there are no mortgages on the properties.

Politically motivated state-sponsored gangsterism has also had a chilling effect on Ukraines investment climate. In April 2017, Ukraines state security service raided the Kiev offices of Dragon Capital, one of the country's largest investment banks, over the alleged use of illegal software. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman interrupted a cabinet meeting to express his surprise at the news of the raid on Dragon Capital, which he warned could affect investor sentiment. Dragon Capital CEO Tomas Fiala said the searches were part of a government-backed effort to pressure the bank, whose assets had been seized by allies of President Petro Poroshenko such as Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Granovsky.

In another long-running legal battle, American citizens Ilya and Vadim Segal allege that Ukrainian oligarch billionaire Dmitry Firtash (being extradited to the US to face bribery charges ) and his DF Group allegedly supported by MP Ivan Fursin and by Sergei Levochkin (former head of the Administration of President Yanukovich and Firtash partner at Inter News Channel) seized a $50 million soybean plant they owned through a campaign of fraud, physical threats, coercion and corruption. After a series of legal victories, the Segal brothers still struggle to get access to their factory.

In his meeting with Ukrainian President Poroshenko last June, Vice President Pence stressed the importance of continued reforms to fight corruption, improve the business climate, and keep Ukraine's International Monetary Fund program on track. This anodyne-sounding advice goes to the heart of Ukraines national epidemic. Curing the cancer of corruption will require radical surgery and The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act might be one of the options to punish corrupted foreign officials.

Adam Ereli is former U.S. Ambassador and State Department deputy spokesman.

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Corrupt Ukraine is ground zero in clash between East and West ...