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I was just 8 years old the first time my family came under attack. Even at that young age, I could sense the tension in my parents as they tried to shield me from the vitriol. But secrets were never their strong suit. It was 2015 and my dad had decided to leave his corporate job to run for the state legislature. On weekends, we’d hit the pavement, knocking on doors and attending fundraisers. Some people would greet us warmly with offers of coffee and cookies. But there were others, like the older man who thought it was OK to yell at a kid and his father to get off his property before he “made us.” It wasn’t your typical family bonding experience, but I loved it. Being immersed in politics at such a young age gave me a unique perspective and appreciation for civic engagement. Little did I know the personal toll it would take on all of us. As my dad’s political career progressed, the demands on his time became increasingly brutal. During legislative sessions, I would often go days without seeing him, as he burned the midnight oil at the Capitol. He missed family dinners, vacations, and school events. The line between our personal and his professional life vanished. Personal attacks bled into my life as social media posts circulated among my friends. The need for police surveillance of our home due to death threats had become a reality. Yet, I admired his dedication and believed the positive impact he could have made the hard parts worthwhile. That changed in 2022 when my dad decided to run for mayor of Denver. I remember sitting in the audience with my mom and brother, when one of his opponents flat-out called him a racist live on air in front of thousands of people. I watched as almost everyone on stage piled on knowing nothing about him. This was my father, a man raising two boys of color in Denver who talked to us all of the time about the things he knew he couldn’t understand. The following weeks, he was subjected to a relentless barrage of personal attacks from his opponents, attacks that had nothing to do with ideas or policy — they were just about him as a white man. Standing on the sidelines unable to come to my father’s defense, I had never felt more powerless in my life, or more disillusioned by politics. His opponents were not interested in debating the issues or understanding his positions. They wanted to create clickbait to help further their own campaigns. In that moment, something inside me snapped. The pure, unshakable love for politics that I had once felt gave way to a deep cynicism about the state of public discourse. I had grown up dreaming of one day following in my father’s footsteps, but now those ambitions felt tainted by the harsh realities I had witnessed. Only days ago, even after my dad decided to resign from the state Senate, the attacks continued. Rather than celebrating his years of service and often unrecognized achievements, he was met with a scathing, unprofessional news segment that was more character assassination than responsible journalism. From someone who publicly advocates for professionalism and impactful journalism, it’s deeply disappointing to witness such inappropriate and unprofessional attacks. As Denver’s most-watched local newscaster, Kyle Clark’s vulgar remarks highlight the very issues plaguing our political system. Reducing a man who has spent a decade in public service to a caricature of a power-hungry politician is simply wrong. The media and critics know Senator Chris Hansen. They don’t know “Dad” – that he loves good coffee, worries about paying for college, felt guilty having to say no to us a lot as we were growing up. They don’t understand the hard conversations and decisions that have been made within our home. And I know my family isn’t alone. We live in a world in which public servants are supposed to just ignore personal attacks, yet these attacks too often cross boundaries in inappropriate ways. They impact families, friends and neighbors. I’ve come to realize that the personal toll of political life makes long careers in public office a near impossibility in today’s climate unless you are someone who shuts everyone out and doesn’t care. But that’s not what good leaders do. Good-intentioned people simply cannot succeed in a political landscape that rewards division, demonization, and a single-minded pursuit of scoring points and tearing each other down. But what can we do to change it? Get involved in a campaign to elect someone you believe in. Show up at local city council, school board, state House or Senate meetings to actually listen to your representatives and ask questions. This will let you get to know them as people — imperfect but hopefully well-intentioned. It will let you become a more critical consumer of the news; it will give you insight into the agendas people might have when they misrepresent an elected official’s position. And it lets you be a partner to your elected officials instead of just bystanders. Before criticizing an elected official, try asking yourself, “What things might they be thinking about that I am not because they see a bigger picture?” I’ve seen the good side of politics. I’ve been infatuated with the change that it can bring into people’s lives. Yet we get so caught up in the hatred of political opponents that we forget politics can be a pure and true tool for the American people. If we can restore a sense of shared purpose and mutual respect in our politics, then perhaps the personal sacrifices required of our public servants will not be in vain.
Voters in Ireland were more than usually busy in 2024, casting their ballot in five different polls – for two referenda in March, local and European ballots in June and a general election in November. The country’s political comings and goings were further punctuated by an emotional announcement in March from former premier Leo Varadkar that he was resigning as taoiseach and Fine Gael leader. He was succeeded the following month in both roles by Simon Harris. But the year had so much more to offer than just politics, and PA news agency photographers were on hand to capture some of the highlights. Hundreds of people took part in the annual New Year’s Day charity swim on Bray seafront in Co Wicklow (Brian Lawless/PA) Former taoiseach John Bruton died aged 76 following a long illness in February (Damien Storan/PA) Leo Varadkar made a visit to the US for St Patrick’s Day in the same month he announced he was stepping down as taoiseach and resigning as leader of Fine Gael (Niall Carson/PA) Thousands of people gathered for the Bealtaine Fire Festival at the Hill of Uisneach in Co Westmeath in May (Niall Carson/PA) Natasha O’Brien, who was assaulted by a serving Irish soldier, told a rally in Dublin in June that she would keep up pressure on politicians to tackle violence against women (Gareth Chaney/PA) A mural of athlete Rhasidat Adeleke was created in Waterford after she made history becoming the first Irish woman to run in an Olympic sprint final during the Paris Olympics (Brian Lawless/PA) Actor Colin Farrell ran the Irish Life Dublin Marathon in October to raise money for people living with Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare genetic skin condition (Damien Storan/PA) A woman cast her vote at Deaf Village Ireland in Dublin as voters went to the polls in the General Election on November 29 (Niall Carson/PA)Singapore leads Southeast Asia in AI-related incidents amidst concerns over security and skills gaps
Can Family Members Talk Politics During the Holidays?By JILL COLVIN and STEPHEN GROVES WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the last two years. Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz and spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed. Thursday morning Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” host whom Trump has tapped to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth also has faced allegations of sexual assault that he denies. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings in coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., center, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, walk out of a meeting with Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, March 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, center speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, right, speaks with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, before testifying at a hearing, March 9, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a classified briefing on China, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a vote on Capitol Hill, Sept. 12, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance R-Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The role of introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is an unusual one for a vice president-elect. Usually the job goes to a former senator who has close relationships on the Hill, or a more junior aide. But this time the role fits Vance, said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s first director of legislative affairs as well as chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent more than a decade in Congress and led the former president’s transition ahead of his first term. ”JD probably has a lot of current allies in the Senate and so it makes sense to have him utilized in that capacity,” Short said. Unlike the first Trump transition, which played out before cameras at Trump Tower in New York and at the president-elect’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this one has largely happened behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida. There, a small group of officials and aides meet daily at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to run through possible contenders and interview job candidates. The group includes Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club that Trump has joked he can’t get rid of him. Vance has been a constant presence, even as he’s kept a lower profile. The Ohio senator has spent much of the last two weeks in Palm Beach, according to people familiar with his plans, playing an active role in the transition, on which he serves as honorary chair. Vance has been staying at a cottage on the property of the gilded club, where rooms are adorned with cherubs, oriental rugs and intricate golden inlays. It’s a world away from the famously hardscrabble upbringing that Vance documented in the memoir that made him famous, “Hillbilly Elegy.” His young children have also joined him at Mar-a-Lago, at times. Vance was photographed in shorts and a polo shirt playing with his kids on the seawall of the property with a large palm frond, a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the distance. On the rare days when he is not in Palm Beach, Vance has been joining the sessions remotely via Zoom. Though he has taken a break from TV interviews after months of constant appearances, Vance has been active in the meetings, which began immediately after the election and include interviews and as well as presentations on candidates’ pluses and minuses. Among those interviewed: Contenders to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray , as Vance wrote in a since-deleted social media post. Defending himself from criticism that he’d missed a Senate vote in which one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees was confirmed, Vance wrote that he was meeting at the time “with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.” “I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance added on X. “But that’s just me.” While Vance did not come in to the transition with a list of people he wanted to see in specific roles, he and his friend, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is also a member of the transition team, were eager to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. find roles in the administration. Trump ended up selecting Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence , a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. And he chose Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services , a massive agency that oversees everything from drug and food safety to Medicare and Medicaid. Vance was also a big booster of Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who will serve as Trump’s “border czar.” In another sign of Vance’s influence, James Braid, a top aide to the senator, is expected to serve as Trump’s legislative affairs director. Allies say it’s too early to discuss what portfolio Vance might take on in the White House. While he gravitates to issues like trade, immigration and tech policy, Vance sees his role as doing whatever Trump needs. Vance was spotted days after the election giving his son’s Boy Scout troop a tour of the Capitol and was there the day of leadership elections. He returned in earnest this week, first with Gaetz — arguably Trump’s most divisive pick — and then Hegseth, who has was been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, according to an investigative report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office as GOP senators, including those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filtered in to meet with the nominee for defense secretary. While a president’s nominees usually visit individual senators’ offices, meeting them on their own turf, the freshman senator — who is accompanied everywhere by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more unwieldy — instead brought Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday and Hegseth to his office on Thursday. Senators came to them. Vance made it to votes Wednesday and Thursday, but missed others on Thursday afternoon. Vance is expected to continue to leverage his relationships in the Senate after Trump takes office. But many Republicans there have longer relationships with Trump himself. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said that Trump was often the first person to call him back when he was trying to reach high-level White House officials during Trump’s first term. “He has the most active Rolodex of just about anybody I’ve ever known,” Cramer said, adding that Vance would make a good addition. “They’ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here,” Cramer said, but added, “Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.” Cramer was complimentary of the Ohio senator, saying he was “pleasant” and ” interesting” to be around. ′′He doesn’t have the long relationships,” he said. “But we all like people that have done what we’ve done. I mean, that’s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.” Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he’s not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, who broke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president, since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year. Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.None
Trump names billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain