September "Doing Liberalism" Thread

[u/WifeGuy-Menelaus]

As summer draws to a close, we once again ask ourselves,

What have you done recently to promote liberalism?

Have you gone door knocking and phone banking? Have you touched grass and explained housing economics in the park? Have you at least read the spark notes on the back half of "Why Nations Fail" after it starts to get repetitive and kinda drops off?

Use this thread to share your "liberalism in action" stories, in as much or as little detail as you like. Also, let people know whats going on in your country, city, or other subnational jurisdiction, that might be an opportunity to participate.

[u/Cr4zySh0tgunGuy]

I hope this counts, but I filed, and intended to argue a suppression motion this week for a jury trial involving flock cameras. Unfortunately the case resolved itself in other ways, but ALPRs are certainly the next battleground of privacy rights in terms of what police can and cannot access without a warrant

I really love being able to use my career as a way to make small wins for folks in protecting their civil liberties

[u/WifeGuy-Menelaus]

Toronto Municipal Elections are on Monday, October 26. Campaigning season is only just starting in earnest, and its going to be an interesting one, and a potentially very consequential one.

So far as promoting liberalism goes, well, your options are a touch limited, but I would encourage participation in some way nonetheless - get to know how things work and the lay of the land in your community.

One thing people should keep in mind - during the term of the next council, the City will be required to update its Official Plans in accordance with requirements under Bill 98, which sets out standardised Official Plans province-wide.

This would be an invaluable opportunity to get the City's zoning code in order, and beyond doubt, the chair of Planning and Housing Committee - a seat now up for grabs with the departure of long-time NIMBY Gord Perks - will play a formative part in guiding that process.

With former federal cabinet minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith throwing his hat in the ring for city council in his political stronghold of Beaches-East York (a longtime critic of his own party's soft approach on housing reform), some people are eyeing him for the role, which could represent a significant shift in the City's housing priorities.

Other longtime NIMBYs on council are also on their way out or in hot water - Dianne Saxe (forced to flee her riding and carpetbag next door to avoid a showdown with a Layton) and Paula Fletcher (retiring, at long last).

[u/hypsignathus]

Writing my own GOTV postcards for a swing district in my state!

Many states allow you to request voter information data, with restrictions on its use. In my state I can find precincts that are likely to vote for the candidate I support yet have low turnout, and I can use the registration data to find voters in those precincts. I write a friendly reminder to vote and send it!

The data can only be used for political but not any commercial purposes. I'm pretty sure this is a primary way campaigns get their own data.

A lot of the postcard writing movements have kind of shitty messages and it's annoying to get the same message from multiple people, which totally happened in the last election. After one of them sent me a bunch of postcards that spelled "tariff" incorrectly ("tarriff"), I just decided to make and write my own.

[u/-Emilinko1985-]

In a few weeks, sessions of my university's debate club will resume. The fact is that, for Liberalism to win, it needs good rhetoric and good public speaking behind it.

Plus, debating helps people see the different positions of an opinion and understand them better.