www.thenation.com/article/society/case-numbers-covid/

Want to run for office? Politics is a noble field, and Britons are looking to elect leaders that represent all demographics, such as those with disabilities. You may feel that your disability will hold you back, but you can be just as successful a politician as someone without. Thinkwing Radio shares four steps to help pave the way toward political success.

1. Decide the 5 W’s

If you’re interested in running for office, consider who, what, when, where, and why. Who are you, and what do you stand for? Your disability may be your stand-out quality, so building a campaign around that may bolster your chances. After all, there is space for the disabled in politics. However, though there has been growth over the years, individuals with disabilities are still politically underrepresented. Once you decide on your platform, you’ll need to decide which position is right for you. Do you want to work at the local or  national level, for example? Each level has different positions and varying responsibilities.

Even though there are general rules for running for office, having a clear vision of where you see yourself will allow you to get familiar with any specific regulations.

2. Decide How

After deciding the 5 W’s, it’s time to ask how you will run your campaign. Running a campaign can demand a substantial amount of work and money, so start by utilizing your connections and building a team. Find people to fulfill important roles such as campaign manager, financial manager, and volunteer coordinator. Never turn down volunteers, either. You’ll need a staff large enough to handle all the menial tasks, such as phone calls and door-to-door campaigning. Consider also investing in services that can help bolster your campaign. Email marketing and video editing services can help make a difference in how you reach your constituents. 

3. Hone Your Skills

If you want to put your best foot forward, consider diversifying your skill set by going back to school. Earning an advanced degree helps set you apart from other candidates while boosting your credentials. Doctorates are impressive, and the knowledge you procure will make you better suited for a political position. For example, an advanced degree in political science can make you better equipped to help your community after learning theory, relations, statistics, and more. If you’re worried about not having enough time, consider an online school to take classes at your own pace. With an online school, you can easily balance any other responsibilities, such as your career or family obligations.

4. Prepare for the Public Eye

Once you submit your candidacy, your past is subject to scrutiny. Few things can kill your campaign faster than a scandal, so scrub any social media profiles clean of controversial content and address any issues from your past. Then, you can start building a viable foundation for candidacy. Having a history of political involvement will boost your chances, so start voting in every single election, gain experience; make connections by volunteering on another campaign, and attend meetings related to the office you want to eventually serve. And don’t worry if you’re a little uncomfortable at first — these situations will help you grow, which, in turn, can build up your self-confidence. Getting experience is part of the battle.

Running for office can be a lot of work, but preparing yourself for the journey will help ease your way. Choose your path, learn the essential skills, and immerse yourself in your local politics to improve your chances of securing that coveted position.

Image via Pexels

[Portions of this piece were originally written on April 24, 2016 but never published.]

“Using artificial gravity on board the space station or [a] rocket to Mars will most likely solve the fluid shift issue. The rotating donut like in the film by Stanley Kubrick ‘Space Odyssey 2001’ is a great example of what would be ideal. However, it is complicated to realize. Yet, it may be the way to go. Future research will tell,” Wuyts said. ~ “Cosmonaut brains are ‘rewired’ by space missions, scientists find“, By Chelsea Gohd published February 18, 2022.

• Humans LIVING on the Moon by 2030: ESA to build LUNAR BASE to colonise for man: As NASA hopes to be the first to put a man on Mars, the European Space Agency (ESA) has altogether different ambitions, saying that it wants to colonise the Moon, By Sean Martin (www.express.co.uk), PUBLISHED: 16:10, Fri, Jan 8, 2016 | UPDATED: 17:53, Fri, Jan 8, 2016
• Could NASA Stop on the Moon on the Way to Mars? NASA’s chief of human exploration thinks we’ll need a pit stop en route to the fiery planet,By Samantha Larson (smithsonian.com) April 6, 2015 10:15AM
• NASA Is All About Sending Humans To Mars Before Anyone Else, by  Eric Mack (Forbes)4/16/2015 @ 11:32AM 6,099 views
• “Cosmonaut brains are ‘rewired’ by space missions, scientists find“, By Chelsea Gohd published February 18, 2022.

Some effects of micro-gravity (frequently and incorrectly called “zero-G”):

• Space sickness
• Bone mass loss
• Body fluid redistribution, mostly toward the upper body and head
• Reduced red blood cell count
• Eyeball deformation
• Chronic sinus congestion
• Losses of taste and smell
• Waste elimination complications (i.e., it’s hard to use a bathroom toilet)
• Digestion issues
• Etc.

As a layperson, these are only some of the physiological issues encountered by humans in space, and the longer they are there, the more pronounced these symptoms become. Some of these symptoms appear to persist long after a long-term space mission ends. Eyeballs may never resume their preflight shape. Bones never resume their original preflight strength.

Attempted solutions have been hard to come by, and tend to fall into three categories: Medication, exercise, and various devices.

Even back in the 1950s, the notion of artificial gravity has been contemplated for space missions. In the absence of true artificial gravity, the closest we can come is the use of centrifugal force –i.e., putting space travelers in some kind of spinning object, whether a disk, or oblong (perhaps dumbbell-shaped) object — so that the spinning force pushes them to the “floor”, simulating weight. Earth-bound experiments have been performed with centrifuges, but there’s at least one problem: Coriolis Force.

When a human experiences “gravity” from centrifugal force, there are still side-effects from spinning: Dizziness, motion sickness, spacial disorientation, a counter-intuitive sideways motion for objects dropped which one might expect to fall straight down, etc.

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1. This was intended for discussion on an earlier show, but the story has gotten a bit dated. That being said, it’s still interesting to compare the non-partisan maps generated by the Michigan commission to the gerrymandered maps created by the Texas Legislature. You can link to the Michigan maps below.
2. Michigan redistricting panel wraps adoption of state House, Senate, congressional maps; By Beth LeBlanc | THE DETROIT NEWS | Dec. 28, 2021
   1. Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission adopted three plans Tuesday for the voting districts that will govern Michigan’s 13 congressional districts, 38 state Senate seats and 110 state House seats for the next decade. …
   2. Tuesday’s vote marks the commission’s first adoption of maps since it was created via a ballot initiative in 2018. Prior to that, the maps were drawn by the political party in power.
   3. “We did the best job we could with the time and everything else we were given,” said Commissioner Cynthia Orton, a Republican on the panel. “What could be improved is what will be improved next time. We started with a lot of unknowns. It had never been done before in Michigan, and the next commission will have the benefit of us having done this before.” …
   4. But commissioners are expecting to encounter legal challenges to the maps in the coming weeks. Both the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party and the Michigan Republican Party said Tuesday they were exploring their legal options. …
   5. The panel spent much of Tuesday morning ironing out the process they’d follow for the final vote and listening to continued objections to the proposed maps during a more than hour-long public comment period. …
   6. The commission is expecting legal challenges to the maps to be filed in the coming weeks. That litigation could uphold the adopted maps, could send them back to the commission for changes or could prompt the courts to make changes. If there are no successful legal challenges to the maps, they will stand until they are reviewed by a new commission in 10 years.
   7. Groups have been vocal about their exploration of litigation in relation to the maps. 
   8. Tuesday’s vote was preceded by a Detroit press conference with Detroit pastors and politicians urging the commission to make changes to avoid dilution of the Black vote. …
   9. In some of the maps, the commission decreased the number of majority-Black districts in the proposed maps by stretching Detroit districts into the suburbs in an effort to increase partisan fairness and “unpack” past efforts to isolate the Democratic vote to certain districts. But Detroit leaders have argued the commission did too much to unpack the Detroit area and have damaged minority voters’ chances of getting their preferred candidate through primary elections. …
   10. The commission’s consultants have repeatedly said there are other ways to comply with Voting Rights Act requirements than setting an arbitrary percentage of Black voting age population with which the districts must comply. …
   11. The Michigan Republican Party on Tuesday said it was “evaluating all options to take steps necessary to defend the voices silenced by this commission.”
   12. Democratic groups weren’t quick to criticize the maps. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, now chairman for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, praised the commission’s work as a “success” that shows independent commissions can “produce a fair result.”
   13. MIKE: Compare and contrast the Michigan maps and process with Texas.
       1. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1nZddCM2e2nClYQX7EEkyv9deY503kPrf&ll=44.83394909506222%2C-86.26807657719272&z=6
       2. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=12ed9L5F9_vT4-9ol2Z73Bs7Yr8vboGbQ&ll=44.85303034429836%2C-85.04399222339394&z=6
       3. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1IdnOhQm64qvmYHWvNVV3NZkYGAGpDZLr&ll=44.60902525235453%2C-86.80124582763187&z=6