Explain the similarities and differences between a democracy and a republic

Similarities

• Democracies and republics are both forms of government in which the people hold power.
• Both systems typically involve elections, in which the people choose representatives to make decisions on their behalf.
• Both systems are intended to protect the rights and liberties of all citizens.

Differences

• A democracy is a system of government in which the people directly participate in decision-making. This can be done through direct voting on laws and policies, or through elected representatives.
• A republic is a system of government in which the people hold power, but they elect representatives to exercise that power on their behalf.

Key differences

• Direct vs. representative democracy: Democracies can be either direct or representative. In a direct democracy, the people directly vote on laws and policies. In a representative democracy, the people elect representatives to vote on laws and policies on their behalf.
• Majority rule vs. minority rights: In a pure democracy, the majority can outvote the minority and impose its will. In a republic, the rights of the minority are protected by a constitution or other laws.
• Rule of law vs. rule of the majority: In a democracy, the majority rules, but it is still subject to the rule of law. This means that the majority cannot simply pass laws that violate the rights of the minority. In a republic, the rule of law is even more important, because it protects the rights of the minority from the tyranny of the majority.

Examples

• Switzerland is an example of a direct democracy. The Swiss people vote on a variety of issues, including laws, amendments to the constitution, and international treaties.
• The United States is an example of a representative democracy. The American people elect representatives to Congress, who make laws on their behalf.
• France is an example of a republic. The French people elect a president and a parliament, who make laws on their behalf.

Conclusion

Democracies and republics are both forms of government in which the people hold power. Democracies can be either direct or representative, while republics are typically representative. Democracies are based on the principle of majority rule, while republics are based on the rule of law.

Now And Then – The Last Beatles Song (Short Film Trailer)

One last 'new' tune from The Beatles

The other big news coming next week: the "last new Beatles song." The track, called Now and Then, will be released Nov. 2 and is made possible with help from AI, The Beatles said in an Instagram post.   

It's "from the same batch of unreleased demos written and sung by the late John Lennon, "which were taken by his former bandmates to construct the songs 'Free As a Bird' and 'Real Love,' released in the mid-1990s," according to the Associated Press. While George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr worked on Now and Then in the mid-'90s, they weren't able to finish the song for technical reasons.  

Four decades after it was initially recorded, Now and Then got an AI boost came from director Peter Jackson, who put together the 2021 documentary Beatles: Get Back using original footage from the recording session in which the Fab Four produced the album Let It Be. 

Jackson was able to separate Lennon's original vocals from the late 1970s recording. "The much clearer vocals allowed McCartney and Starr to complete the track last year," the AP said, noting that. "There it was, John's voice, crystal clear," McCartney said in the announcement, according to the AP. "It's quite emotional. And we all play on it, it's a genuine Beatles recording. In 2023, to still be working on Beatles music, and about to release a new song the public haven't heard, I think it's quite an exciting thing." 

There's actually a lot going on in Now and Then. 

"The new single contains guitar that Harrison had recorded nearly three decades ago, a new drum part by Starr, with McCartney's bass, piano and a slide guitar solo he added as a tribute to Harrison, who died in 2001. McCartney and Starr sang backup. McCartney also added a string arrangement written with the help of Giles Martin, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin," the AP reported. They weaved in backing vocals from the original Beatles recordings of Here, There and Everywhere, Eleanor Rigby and Because. 

The day before the new song is released, a 12-minute film that tells the story behind Now and Then will be shared. The trailer is here.  

Fwd: The big day - Ecusta Trail

Pete and Tess

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Kieran Roe, Conserving Carolina" <holler@conservingcarolina.org>
Date: October 28, 2023 at 6:30:13 PM EDT
To: peteandtess@gmail.com
Subject: The big day
Reply-To: rose@conservingcarolina.org



Breaking ground on the Ecusta Trail!

A Day to Celebrate: Breaking Ground on the Ecusta Trail! Dear Peter, Today is a day to celebrate. This morning we broke ground on the Ecusta Trail! The long-awaited 19-mile rail trail from Hendersonville to Brevard is now officially underway. I want to thank everyone who supported the trail and got us to this incredible milestone. A project of this scale takes a huge amount of effort and investment and could seem beyond reach. But volunteers with the grassroots Friends of the Ecusta Trail had a vision that they championed for over 14 years. When an opportunity came up to buy the rail corridor, they asked us to partner with them. A subsidiary of Conserving Carolina bought the land in 2021. Then, Conserving Carolina and Friends of the Ecusta Trail set about raising tens of millions of dollars for trail construction. That's an astonishing goal for two local nonprofits. You made it possible. There was a tremendous outpouring of support. Local businesses and individuals donated millions of dollars that we needed to match state and federal grants. We met our fundraising target... but escalating costs made our goal of building the trail still seem very far away. Then, this summer we received two game-changing federal grants for construction. And we are ready to build the trail! This morning, we got started. The groundbreaking at the Veterans Healing Farm kicked off the first section of trail—a 5.7 mile stretch from Hendersonville to Horse Shoe. This section is expected to be complete in about a year. The entire 19-mile trail is expected to be complete in 3-5 years. There is one more phase of fundraising, to provide amenities so you can access and enjoy the trail. That includes things like trailheads, restrooms, benches, and signage. Friends of the Ecusta Trail, which first launched this visionary project, is taking the lead and you can donate here. I want to thank everyone who gave to the trail and I especially want to recognize our major donors, who are listed here. Major funding also came from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the State of North Carolina, Henderson County Tourism and Development Authority, and the Transylvania County Tourism and Development Authority. I am also very grateful for the leadership of Henderson County and the City of Brevard. Today, with shovels in the ground, we started to make the dream real. I can't wait to get out on the Ecusta Trail, walking, running, or biking with you! Sincerely, GET INVOLVED BECOME A MEMBER VOLUNTEER WITH US STAY CONNECTED CONSERVINGCAROLINA.ORG

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Nissan Ariya Google Review

 

Wow! That last reviewer read my mind… Excellent, informative, no nonsense review and I appreciate your knowledge and experience. We have been driving two Hondas for decades; Accords, Civics, and recently the CRV and Fit. I traded the Fit for the Chevy Bolt EUV and we Love it But I want to trade the CRV Hybrid for something more to its size and the Ariya might be it. My test drive yesterday and your video might be the deciding factors. The Ariya is perfect. Solid, stable, quick, quiet and smooth as silk. Everything about an EV in a sleek, stylish frame. You answered so many questions; the battery warranty of 8 years and no history of fires. That fire thing scared us at first but I think GM solved it but it lingers a bit. We love modern but don’t want it to be too space shippy. I got used to one pedal driving quickly but I’ll have to remember to use the brakes in the Ariya and I’m not sure I understand the physics of the e-pedal. You used the pro pilot system. I have not tried Supercruise. I like all the safety bells and whistles but I’m not ready for self driving. Your demo of self parking however was pretty amazing. All of this come down to Does my wife like it??? Again, think your video might help as well as a test drive. Thanks for doing such a great video with no music and no nonsense headlines. I’m turning to YouTube to make big decisions and truth is the best sales pitch. Thanks Again!!!

Her Reply:

Miss GoElectric Thank you, Pete.😊 I am glad the review was helpful for you. The Ariya is a great balance of having a lot of modern tech without being intrusive. The goal here is always to provide an honest view of what a vehicle does well and doesn't, that realistically impacts the buyer, so I appreciate you sharing your experience. Please keep me posted if you end up purchasing & how you wife likes the vehicle if/when she drives it! 🤓 Feel free to comment again if you have any other questions 😊 Thanks for watching and commenting! 😊

You’re welcome and thank you for responding. This is truly a new age of communication. Yes, my goal was to drive as many EV’s as possible because that’s really the fun and freedom of shopping a car, we’ve been so programmed to just trading in the Hondas that the Thrill of buying was pretty much lost BUT we loved the Hondas. But now the EV is a whole new ballgame and I’m in! To me everything about the EV driving experience is Better than ICE and I’ll never go back But there is that range factor on road trips. The only downside of this transition is the EV charging infrastructure and it keeps getting better. 99.9% or our driving is within 50 miles, we charge on 240 at home so I don’t miss gas stations at all. But when we go to Charlotte about 100 miles, I would want to charge up while there. Our Hyatt has a charge station and I think this will be part of the wave of the future. I could tell in yesterday’s drive that the Ariya would be a great replacement for our 21 CRV Hybrid so I hope my wife will take a test drive to prove it to herself. She doesn’t want to be in a space ship even if she’s not driving and she is preconceived about Nissan but, like you point out, Nissan has a great track record with EV’s starting with the leaf and talked to a local owner who loves hers. I have a few months to fool around but ironically I just got an email from Honda finance telling me that my lease is almost over and I have three options; turn in, trade in or buy. Carvana has changed the car landscape. They sent me an offer for the CRV that’s about 5k more than my purchase price. Theoretically I could buy mine and sell it to Carvana and use that money to buy the car I want. Or just buy it and hold it for awhile and use it for our longer trips where plugging in could be a challenge. I’m just thinking out loud to you so forgive me. I’ll figure it out but I will ask you, have you had any dealings or opinions about Carvana? What we Don’t’ want is to have strangers coming to the house to “look” at the car. So Carvana might be our ticket. Thanks for listening and thanks for responding. I will figure it out and I’ll let you know. First thing I’m going to do is look up if Nissan dealerships provide charging stations… Thanks Again!

A wonderful night with Tess - YouTube Kelly, Pink, Kieth

 I know a good thing when I find it 

And you better know it!

Those were the last word from the maomma tonight after we had an incredible spontaneous tour of music together tonight. Tess began by asking me to listen to a musical artist she saw on this mornings CBS Saturday Morning:

We started there and then just continued to explore, both of us trying to think of songs and people we love and it was wonderful. After finding the Bahamas we searched for Kieth Urban, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Annie Lenox and then circles back to the Bahamas Workin on my guitar. Such a beautiful evening together. This is love. This is what love is. Doing nothing and suddenly making something, I am so lucky So lucky and we are so real together I mean even tonight fighting or at least barking at each other but knowing that we live within this bond of trust and knowing that it’s unbreakable. I might have to back to capture the videos from tonight since it’s after 12 and I’m actually tired enough to go to sleep but I do want to capture tonight and keep it forever or as close to forever as I can..

Our latest / Our Last Visit to The Low Country - Dataw Island in Beaufort

Sunday October 8th 2023 we started out from Hendersonville early in the morning… we’ll make that before 12 pm. 277 miles to 2017 Bluffs Villa Road or  4 hours and 36 minutes as calculated by Google Maps so we had time a plenty for a reasonable trip with a check in time no sooner than 4. Well let’s say at 7 pm after 10 or 12 stops, long lines of traffic and a speeding ticket issued within the last 10 miles of our destination…. We arrived safe, sound and sober at the pearly gates of Dataw. We gave up the idea of eating at a restaurant so I set my sights and taste buds on getting fried chicken at Publix. All I wanted was that and a jug of spring water to make our coffee. I had packed all of our essentials including butter, cream, booze and pillows apparently thinking that if we didn’t make it to our VRBO home we could somehow survive in a roadside camp. Even though it was dark when we arrived we could tell it was a very nice place and when we entered our home away, the address had been changed 3 times, now 2006 Bluff Villas, it was Beautiful! Tess thinks I over use that word so… it was comfortable? Yes, it was nice. Over the next few days we ate at these restaurants:  Luther’s Rare and Well, The Morgan River Grill, The Foolish Frog 3 times and I boiled Shrimp that I bought at Mrs Bradley’s

And drove to these sites: Hunting Island, Marsh Boardwalk Trail, Fort Fremont, The Sands where I walked a boardwalk and climbed a wooden tower and  the  Cypress Wetlands where I saw an alligator and met a family from Lyman on Port Royal.