1. Freedom

Category Archives: Freedom

Advertisement from the Freedom From Religion Foundation

Posted on by

Editors note: On Thursday, July 4, there was a full-page advertisement in the news section, placed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Published in full color, the advertisements main message was Celebrate our godless Constitution, and it featured portraits and quotes from six of Americas Founding Fathers. The advertisement was paid for by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and does not reflect the views of The Seattle Times.

Religion is a protected right

Having just returned from vacation in Pennsylvania, named for William Penn, who worked to ensure freedom for religion and nonreligion, it is illuminating to see the full-page ad from the Freedom From Religion Foundation on July 4 promoting the removal of all things religious from the public domain.

Even Thomas Jefferson stated in our founding document that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, explicitly establishing a religious basis for the liberty we celebrate today.

Freedom of speech, too, is a fundamental First Amendment right for all, rather than being limited only to those with no religious basis. Sadly, we seem to be losing the First Amendment protections of freedom of religion.

Ron Carson, Renton

Advertisement was informative

Thanks to The Seattle Times for printing that very attractive, informative full-page ad from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Its about time that people learn the truth about our Founding Fathers thoughts on religion and the need for separation of church and state.

Phyllis Becker, Port Hadlock

Read more here:

Advertisement from the Freedom From Religion Foundation

A walk to freedom

Posted on by

The word ''freedom'' is used so often in our everyday lives from political speeches to advertisements that it's easy to think of it as having lost all meaning.

But for the country's PWDs (persons with disability), freedom is something they struggle for on a daily basis. Whether it's freedom from poverty, discrimination, or teasing and bullying, the country's PWDs have to fight the good fight every single day.

That's why it's only fitting that a celebration of the unity of PWDs and the people who support them be dubbed the ''Freedom Walk.'' Held last month at the Bonifacio Global City, the Freedom Walk involved government agencies, non-government organizations, and PWD support groups.

The government agencies include the National Council for Disability Affairs (NCDA), the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Philippine Information Agency, the Department of Transportation and Communication, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the House of Representatives Committee on Social Services, the Department of Health, the National Anti-Poverty Commission, the Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Metro Manila D

For the non-government organizations, those taking part were Alyansa ng may Kapansanang Pinoy (AKAP-Pinoy), the Philippine Academy on Rehab Medicine, the New Vois Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Federation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled, the Philippine Association of Citizens with Developmental and Learning Disabilities, the Autism Society of the Philippines, the Philippine Blind Union, as well as the SM Disability Affairs Program.

BIGGER AND BIGGER

The idea for the Freedom Walk was first conceptualized in 2011, when a group of PWD leaders met and planned for an Independence Day celebration with PWDs. It took a technical working committee, spearheaded by AKAP-Pinoy, three months to organize the event.

The decision to call it Freedom Walk came about mainly because the organizers wanted to hold the event in June.

''The event is dubbed the 'Freedom Walk' as a way for the PWD sector to celebrate Philippine Independence Day. This is also an expression of their desire to be free from shackles of discrimination, inequalities and poverty,'' explains Capt. Oscar Taleon, president of AKAP-Pinoy.

This year, the Freedom Walk went with the theme ''Each Right-full step We Take, All Barriers We Break,'' which the NCDA says focuses on the progressive realization of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD), as well as the adoption of the Incheon Framework to ''make the right real'' for persons with disabilities.

Read the rest here:

A walk to freedom

Freedom to fly, drive celebrated at event

Posted on by

Why have a Fourth of July weekend festival that celebrates both cars and airplanes?

Ask Kim Fisher that, and shell look at you like youre a slow child.

Its part of the Freedom Fair, right? she says. Theres freedom in both -- the freedom to fly, the freedom to drive.

Thats the essential premise of Wings & Wheels, Pierce Countys annual celebration of fast machines, held at and above the Tacoma Narrows Airport.

Wings & Wheels is a companion festival to the July 4 Freedom Fair along Ruston Way, and it features not only aerial acrobatics but also buffed up vintage cars and pickup trucks.

Fisher, who lives in Spanaway, is okay with the airplanes, but she thinks of them mostly as a sideshow at Wings & Wheels.

She barely notices the Ace Maker T-33 Shooting Star, the Cobra helicopter and the P-51D Mustang.

Her passion is big Dodge muscle cars, especially her husbands 1966 Polara. Its a smooth ride but still muscular, she said. It has power.

Theres nothing like the roar of the engine of a Mopar, she said. Theres really nothing else like it.

(For the uninitiated, Mopar translates roughly to Chrysler.)

Read the original post:

Freedom to fly, drive celebrated at event

Fired up over freedom

Posted on by

Food, fireworks and freedom. That pretty much sums up the Fourth of July for Americans, and Reedley residents are no exception in enjoying all three on Independence Day.

This July 4, it will be 237 years since the Second Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed that the 13 American colonies were independent from Great Britain.

To mark the holiday, The Exponent surveyed folks around town and asked two questions: What food do you most associate with the Fourth of July and what freedom is most important?

As for fireworks, the 62nd Reedley Spectacular will put on its traditional big show at the Reedley Sports Park. Gates open at 6 p.m. The pyrotechnics start at dark.

As for the top freedom, Andrew said: I believe that every freedom is the most important because youre not free unless you have all the freedoms. Right?

Gary and Brooke Carrasco said hamburgers, hot dogs and potato salad top their July 4 menu. Theyre easy and convenient, said Brooke Carrasco, 22. Gary Carrasco is 30.

Brooke Carrasco said freedom of speech is at the top of her list: Its the right to express your opinion and get your point of view across. You can disagree and you can make a change, she said.

Freedom of religion also is important. Everyone should be comfortable with what they live by, Brooke Carrasco said.

Heres how other people answered the food-freedom questions:

Allison Mackie, 18. Food: Anything barbecue. Its the easiest way to stay outdoors and cook at the same time. She most values the freedom of association. I can have my own friends and boyfriend. Its not like that all over the world. I worked once with a girl and her grandmother said, Youre not meeting someone quickly enough, and I want you to have children before I die so Im going to fly someone over for an arranged marriage.

Read more:

Fired up over freedom

Yoder: Freedom can be great if not taken to extremes

Posted on by

What does freedom mean? To me, freedom means that if I don't agree with someone, I can say so. They may not like it or they may not like me for saying it, but I have the freedom to express my thoughts. They have the freedom to disagree and to express their own thoughts. They have the freedom to think I'm an idiot. I have the freedom to think likewise.

Even if I say something negative against the government, I have the freedom to say it. I won't be thrown in prison. My family won't be hunted down and harassed. My possessions won't be seized. My life won't be ruined. I can stage a protest. Others may join me. We can paint signs and walk around holding them, bringing attention to our beliefs. Freedom means we won't face retribution for our actions. Tar and feathers can only happen in the form of words.

Unfortunately, sometimes we as human beings take this freedom to an extreme. Sometimes people protest in places they do not belong, saying things that decent people do not say. They are hurtful and unkind, and yet, they have the freedom to do so. The French writer Voltaire said it so eloquently. "I disagree strongly with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

If I don't like something my church is doing, I have the freedom to say so. I also have the freedom to choose another church. Or, I have the freedom not to go to church at all. Most importantly, I have the freedom to go to church openly and without the fear of retribution. My friend Pastor Tom LoVan has been to underground churches in other countries. He knows what it's like to travel in secret to a place of worship that, if discovered, leads to prison, or worse. After Tom visited one such church the pastor was thrown in jail. Tom worked hard to get him set free.

Tom also knows what it's like to have a price on his head. One country did not want him talking about God. They not only banned him from the country, they had dire consequences in store for him if he showed up. God's truth is powerful. It changes hearts. It changes lives. It can even change countries. The price was been lifted from Tom's head. He was allowed back in. And God is flourishing in that country.

Being Tom's friend has changed how I look at freedom. He's the only person I know who was a child soldier. We laugh about the fact that the gun he carried back then was taller than he was. We laugh because he has a great sense of humor. We also laugh because it's so absurd.

Tom came to this country as a refugee and found freedom. The freedom to study, to learn, to grow and to become an incredible person, which he did. He has the freedom to help others, which he does every day. He also has the freedom to wear a suit that looks like the American flag. Of course, his wife had the freedom to ban that suit from his wardrobe. But I miss it. It was very colorful. The memory of it stills makes me laugh. Tom is colorful not only in dress but in personality. Sometimes his name will come up and someone will laugh just at the sound of his name. But it's always with a smile and with deep affection. To choose our friends is a freedom.

I have the freedom to stand up with my hand on my heart during the singing of The Star Spangled Banner. I have the freedom to carry the Pledge of Allegiance in my heart. I have the freedom to thank our veterans for defending our freedoms throughout the 237 years this country has been a country. I have the freedom to be forever grateful to them and their families. This country is not a perfect country, but I love it and I'm truly thankful that this is where I live.

I have the freedom to believe that real freedom came more than 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. For my sins. For that, I am eternally thankful. And I realize that freedom isn't free. It's priceless.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..." (Galatians 5:1). Live a life of freedom.

Continued here:

Yoder: Freedom can be great if not taken to extremes

Bangladesh freedom fighters to look for fellow-soldiers’ graves in Tripura

Posted on by

Agartala, Jul 5 (IANS): Freedom fighters from Bangladesh will visit the Indian state of Tripura to locate graveyards in the northeastern state where soldiers of the 1971 Liberation War were buried, officials of the two countries announced here Friday.

"Bangladesh sought India's help to identify the graveyards in Indian territory where slain soldiers of Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War were buried. We have so far identified two such locations on the outskirts of Agartala city," West Tripura District Magistrate Kiran Gitte told reporters.

Accompanied by Bangladesh's Brahmanbaria district's Deputy Commissioner Nur Mohammad Majumder, Gitte said: "Through the union home and external affairs ministries, we have received several hundred names of Bangladeshi soldiers buried during the Liberation War in villages along the border."

A two-day meeting of officials of Bangladesh and India, held here Wednesday and Thursday, discussed, among other issues, the identification of the burial spots of the 1971 Liberation War, after which Bangladesh was created from the former East Pakistan.

Gitte led the Indian side at the meeting, while the Bangladesh team was headed by Nur Mohammad Majumder.

Both the officials, while briefing the media about the outcome of the meeting, said a team of freedom fighters from Bangladesh would soon visit Tripura to identify locations where the soldiers were buried.

The Bangladesh government is likely to either take the remains of the slain soldiers back, or protect the graveyards with the help of India.

In December 2007, Bangladesh had taken back the remains of Liberation War hero Hamidur Rahman from northern Tripura's Kamalpur area and reburied them in Dhaka with full state honours.

Hamidur Rahman, one of the seven top war heroes, died aged 18 during the Liberation War against Pakistan.

Gitte said that so far two burial spots have been identified at Ramnagar and Golchakkar on the outskirts of the state capital.

More:

Bangladesh freedom fighters to look for fellow-soldiers' graves in Tripura


  1. Freedom