Happy Fourth of July

 

 

 Happy Independence Day from the Second Life Newser.

The 2024 Election US Presidency Exhibit

 

 

I recently came across an exhibit for next year's election in America, the 2024 Election US Presidency Exhibit. It's a place where one can learn a little more about the country's Presidential Election.

Visit this evolving exhibit about the 2024 Presidential Election. Review information about voting and voter registration, key dates for the 2024 election, Democratic and Republican Parties and candidates, and more! Collect party supplies! Enjoy refreshments from the Campaign Cafe! Start your own fireworks show!

The U.S. Presidency has been an exhibit topic at Learning Virtualē from September 2012 through March 2014 (for the 2012 presidential election and more) and April 2015 to present (for the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections and more). 

 

Looking around, there was a place to pick up bottled water and a hamburger or hot dog, or other goodies. There was also a sign "Exercise your Constitutional right to vote!" 

 

Among the displays was one of voter trends in recent years. There was also a billboard giving out notecards of recent Presidential and Presidential election scandals and controversies "and every Presidency seems to have an alleged scandal or a few." There was one place where one could read charts on voting statistics, such as what percentage of what age group went out and voted. The chart displayed was stating older people are more likely to vote, though in recent elections more younger people were coming to the polls. 

There were also a couple places where one could get a little information on the candidates, one for the Democrats and another for the Republicans. With this upcoming election having a Democrat as the incumbent, there were only a couple other candidates listed besides President Biden running for the nomination by the party. In contrast, there was a long list of candidates running for the Republican nomination for the Presidential race, such as former President Donald Trump who has been having a consistent lead in the polls. While fortunes in politics can, and have, change wildly in a short time, there is the likelyhood of the next US Presidential election having the same two candidates by the two major parties as in the previous one. This would be only one other time in more than a century this has happened, in 1956  when the Republican Dwight Eisenhower faced the Democrat Adlai Stevenson. Neither of the major parties have ever before nominated a former President to run in a Presidential Election in American history since Grover Cleveland in1892.  .

Learning Virtualē was founded by Addison Loxely and describes itself as "a group and site for educators, students, and others interested in the advancement of e-learning in (higher) education, particularly the integration of SL into learning experiences."

 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serena%20Balmoral/218/58/1651

Bixyl Shuftan

Happy Fourth of July

 

Happy American Independence Day, from the Second Life Newser 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Happy Fourth of July

 

Happy Independence Day from the Second Life Newser

 

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July from the Second Life Newser

Happy Independence Day

Taken at Cape Heron. Happy Fourth of July from the Second Life Newser

USO Show at Sacred Ground

 On July 4, I went to a USO show at Sacred Ground in the Urban Style sim. Performed by "The Outsiders," this performance packed the sim, with over fifty avatars on the stage and in the audience.

From a little after 6PM to 7PM SL time, there were various performances on stage, celebrating America and taking pride in the freedoms the country has to offer. There were songs such as "Living in America," "American Saturday Night," "God Bless the U.S.A.," "Born Free" by Kid Rock, "The Star Spangled Banner," and others. One was "Dance With My Father," one performer saying, "This song is dedicated to the one man who shaped who I am today....my Dad. A ...proud WWII veteran, my dad was my biggest supporter."

Near the end, the audience was invited to hop on stage, "Please join us on stage," and many did. "Happy 4th of July! We are so glad you came out to see us! Please come back to visit Sacred Ground!" "Big thanks to all those to put this together." "Thanks for sponsoring this show, Biker and Sarrah."

Biker Sharkfin, one of the owners, called out, "Thank you everyone.  You all are awesome.   We love you all.  Thanks for coming to Sacred Ground tonight." Sarrah Spark, another owner, told the performers, "Thanks again Outsiders, you rock!"

Bixyl Shuftan

Happy Fourth Of July

Happy Independence Day from the staff of the Second Life Newser

Happy Independence Day

Have a Happy Independence Day / Fourth of July from the Second Life Newser

News and Commentary: Linden Lab Among Tech Companies Filing Brief Against Trump's Executive Order On Skilled Worker Visas

By Bixyl Shuftan

In early February, Linden Lab issued a statement concerning President Trump's executive order at the time concerning several Middle Eastern countries. Branded a "Muslim Ban," eventually a judge blocked part of the order and eventually Trump dropped in in favor of a slightly different executive order later on. Recently the White House has found a new target: the H-1B visa program that allows skilled foreign workers to come to America. Linden Lab was among over 150 tech companies to sign a brief sent to the US District Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, calling for the executive order to be blocked.

Congress in 1965 prohibited discrimination in immigration decisions on the basis of national origin precisely so that the Nation could not shut its doors to immigrants based on where they come from — but the Order does just that. Moreover, the President’s authority under the immigration laws must be exercised reasonably, and is limited by the detailed standards enacted by Congress to address a variety of issues, including preventing entry of terrorists into our country. The Order overrides those standards without sufficient justification. Finally, the President lacks authority to impose sweeping, long-term changes on the entire system governing eligibility for entry into the United States by immigrants and non-immigrants; such changes require notice-and-comment procedures conducted by one or all of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security.

The brief would also refer to calls on restrictions on immigration in the past, such as a quote by Woodrow Wilson whom criticized immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe saying the people had "neither skill nor energy nor any initiative of quick intelligence." And on laws based to restrict it which were mainly based on prejudice on these people in addition to Asians, Jews, and other groups, such as the Immigration Acts of 1917 and 1924. It branded Trump's new executive order as an abandonment of "the principles that have undergirded U.S. immigration policy for more than half a century," "unlawful," and "substantively unreasonable."

Although some such as Hamlet Au call the order part of the "Muslim ban," the country that benefits most from the program is India, which has a mainly Hindu population. Plus the H-1B visa program has been criticized for quite some time on the grounds of allowing companies to allow businesses to lay off native-born workers in favor of cheaper foreign workers. The most notable recent example of this was when Disney told 250 of it's workers they would soon be laid off and their last assignment would be to train their replacements.

Linden Lab's stake in the H-1B visa program is obvious, being able to attract foreign talent to work with them in the United States. But considering how Islam is so often linked to terrorism, such as the attacks France has suffered in the past few years, and an attack in Fresno California by a convert, those against Trump's executive order may want to pursue a different strategy in persuasion than link it to his effort to limit immigration from certain countries in the Middle East.


Sources: Yahoo News, New York Times, New World Notes, Business Insider, Redcode   

Bixyl Shuftan

Happy July 4th

Happy Independence Day from the Second Life Newser

Happy Fourth of July

Have a Happy Independence Day from the staff of Second Life Newser

Taken at Carnforth (21, 170, 22)

Happy Fourth of July

Have a happy Independence Day, from the staff of Second Life Newser.

Places to Go on July 4rth

There's a lot to see and do on this July 4rth. Tribute City, built on the WW2 Tribute sim at (128, 51, 2518), has been holding Independence Day-themed events. They're the most publicized place, but by all means not the only one. Areo Pines Park also has it's own event today and for the rest of the week at Equus (16, 231, 22). Later tonight, the newly reopened Raised Tail Resort will be having it's own 4rth of July Beach party tonight at 6PM at Purrfection Estates (249, 61, 22).

If you want to celebrate by taking part in a WW2 themed combat game, head to the New Bastogne sim, join the group, read the rules, choose a side, get the gear, and after taking a moment to get the hang of the controls head out into the combat zone and run your flag up the poles to claim territory.

For places in Second Life with a patriotic look, one is SummerTown USA. But another was made not by an American but a Frenchman.  At Le Dome (36, 111, 21) is the Black Hills Forest, where you can see replicas of Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty. 

Happy Fourth of July.

SummerTown USA

There's quite a bit to do on the Fourth of July, from the events all day at Tribute City and Areo Pines, and the beach party tonight at the newly reopened Raised Tail Resort. If you're looking for free decorations, you can get a bunch at the Corner of Revolving Time. For still more decorations, there's a location that really looks Fourth of July: SummerTown USA. While most of the decorations and clothes are for sale, there are some freebies plus there are things to do there.

Read more in Design.

Happy 4rth of July

The Statue of Liberty, replicated at the Magic Folsom sim (20, 11, 21)

Happy Independence Day from the staff of Second Life Newser