Grist | Religious freedom isn't just for Hobby Lobby it's for indigenous rights, too Grist Last week, the Standing Rock Sioux celebrated what they believe is a ground-breaking legal victory in the protracted fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the ... |
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Religious freedom isn't just for Hobby Lobby it's for indigenous rights, too - Grist
The U.S. Supreme Court has wisely upheld the principle that the freedom of speech must extend to speech we dont like, or else its not really freedom at all. In a Monday ruling in the case Matal v. Tam, the court was unanimous.
A law that can be directed against speech found offensive to some portion of the public can be turned against minority and dissenting views to the detriment of all, pointed out Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in one of two concurring opinions issued. The First Amendment does not entrust that power to the governments benevolence. Instead, our reliance must be on the substantial safeguards of free and open discussion in a democratic society.
Added Justice Samuel Alito, The proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express the thought that we hate.
Thats an important point to make in these times, when free speech is under attack from many sides.
The case itself was over a trademark. The government wasnt attempting to simply silence offensive speech; it was, instead, using a lesser law to punish the speakers.
The justices made clear that speech that some view as racially offensive is protected not just against outright prohibition but also against lesser restrictions, the Washington Posts Eugene Volok explains. In Matal, the government refused to register The Slants as a bands trademark, on the ground that the name might be seen as demeaning to Asian Americans. The government wasnt trying to forbid the band from using the mark; it was just denying it certain protections that trademarks get against unauthorized use by third parties. But even in this sort of program, the court held, viewpoint discrimination - including against allegedly racially offensive viewpoints - is unconstitutional.
Why is this important? Freedom of speech must be defended in times such as these, because those who would curtail it sound so very reasonable.
CNN commentator Sally Kohn, for example, wants to limit hate speech and, in fact, any speech that would upset others. Shes not sorry that conservatives feel that they must remain silent on college campuses.
If they feel like they can no longer speak against positive social change, good, she said in a 2016 interview with Kirsten Powers.
The reason, she said, is that feelings are valid. Im never going to argue with peoples feelings.
Even the Washington Post cant seem to get around the idea that feelings trump freedom. It pledges, even in light of the ruling, to continue its crusade against the Washington Redskins the name, not the football team.
This is strong medicine, both in terms of the support it offers free speech and in terms of what it requires of those who do take offense at expressions likely to enjoy court protection as a result of this opinion - specifically the Washington football teams name The answer, in our view, is to redouble all lawful efforts to get that name changed, even if a federal lawsuit probably cant be one of them.
Thats fine. But the court is right - freedom of speech must be defended.
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Editorial: Supreme Court is right to uphold freedom of speech - Tyler Morning Telegraph
Rather than decreasing economic freedom, there was a positive correlation between more immigration and more economic freedom. (FEE)
ByBenjamin Powell
It is not easy to maintain a societys commitment to freedom and limited government. The social consensus on which these values are based requires constant work. And many conservative intellectuals fear that large-scale immigration, especially from poor and unfree countries, makes this job much harder because immigrants bring with them the attitudes and beliefs of their home country that have an impact on their destination countries.
However, new research shows that the fear that immigration undermines economic freedom may be overblown.
Fear of Alleged Spill Overs
Conservative pundit Victor Davis Hanson, expressing such anxieties, recently wrote that borders naturally arise to reflect common bonds of language, culture, habit, and tradition. And when borders disappear because there is no control over who comes in, these ties become attenuated.
Similarly, British scholar Paul Collier observes that migrants are essentially escaping from countries with dysfunctional social models that are the primary cause of their poverty. Letting these migrants bring their culture and norms risks compromising their new countries institutions.
Even the famed Austrian-school economist Ludwig von Mises, who viewed free migration as an essential component of the (classical) liberal program, feared that in any country where the state already intervenes in the economy, migrants might exploit opportunities to further erode the economic freedom of the native-born.
The main evidence for such fears has been offered by Harvard Universitys George Borjas. In a paper and a recent book he argues that estimates showing that opening up the borders would result in trillions of dollars in gains in global wealth assume that immigrants dont compromise the institutional environment of their destination that makes them prosperous.
What would happen to the institutions and social norms that govern economic exchanges in specific countries after the entry/exit of perhaps hundreds of millions of people?, he asks. He then proceeds to model the impact on national productivity given various levels of immigration and concludes that with enough immigration, productivity losses from negative spill overs become greater than economic gains. But he simply assumes the levels of negative spill overs that he models. He offers no evidence that such spill overs actually exist in the first place.
What the Evidence Indicates
A new strain of research, which I have contributed to, has examined the relationship between increased immigration and changes in the destination countries economic freedom. It finds the exact opposite of what these critics contend.
The first of these studies in 2015, which I co-authored, examined whether immigrants undermine economic institutions as measured by the Economic Freedom of the World Annual Report. This economic freedom index, which includes the size of government, the security of property rights, the integrity of the monetary system, the freedom to trade internationally, and the amount of government regulation, is a reasonable proxy for the type of institutions that conservatives worry immigration might destroy. Prior research has found a strong relationship between greater economic freedom and prosperity.
Our study compared 110 countries to examine how immigration impacted their economic freedom from 1990 to 2011. We examined how the economic freedom of countries with a greater initial percentage stock of immigrants in 1990 was impacted 20 years later. We also examined how economic freedom was impacted in countries that allowed a greater flow of immigrants between 1990 and 2011.
We found that rather than decreasing economic freedom, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between more immigration and more economic freedom.
In the 32 reported regressions, some of which parsimoniously controlled for only immigration measures and initial levels of freedom, while others controlled for multiple other factors which might influence changes in economic freedom, we did not find a single instance of a statistically significant negative relationship between immigration and economic freedom.
A similar study by Metropolitan State University of Denvers Alexandre Padilla and Nicolas Cachanosky examined how immigration affected economic freedom at the state level using the Economic Freedom of North America Annual Report. This index measures state level government spending, taxation, and labor market regulation.
The study looked at how the immigrant share of a states population and the naturalized-citizen share of the voting population impacted economic freedom in the state over 10-year periods between 1980 and 2010.
The study was unable to find a statistically significant relationship between either the immigrant or naturalized-citizen share of the population and state-level economic freedom, despite the fact that the foreign population in the United States more than doubled while the native-born population increased less than 18 percent during the final 20 years of analysis. In other words, more immigrants did not have any impact on the economic freedom in a state.
Israel Immigration Case Study
Critics could object that these studies were based on immigration samples taken in a world where migration flows have been tightly managed in terms of both the quantity and quality of migrants. Hence their findings cant be used to generalize to a world with little to no border controls. Perhaps these immigrants havent reached the critical mass necessary to erode freedom. And perhaps there is a selection bias in the admission of immigrants that would not be present in a world of more open borders.
But another new study I coauthored with University of Tennessees J.R. Clark and Cato Institutes Alex Nowrasteh, addresses these issues by examining a limited form of open borders in Israel.
Israel restricts the immigration of non-Jews, but the Law of Return allows all Jews to emigrate to Israel regardless of their country of origin and gives them instant full citizenship, with the right to vote, upon arrival.
When the Soviet Union reduced its emigration restrictions and subsequently collapsed, migrants flowed en masse into Israel. The new Russian immigrants, who had a 70-year history of living under socialism with a lack of economic and political freedom, amounted to 20 percent of Israels population by the end of the 1990s.
The Results
Yet the result was a dramatic increase in Israels economic freedom. Israel catapulted from 15 percent below the global average in economic freedom to 12 percent above it, improving its ranking among countries by 47 places.
With the exception of the size of government, all the major areas of economic freedom (such as the security of property rights, the freedom to trade internationally, freedom from regulation, and the soundness of their money), improved significantly. The size of government temporarily increased because, as citizens, the new immigrants were immediately eligible for government transfers. But even this measure eventually improved after the immigrants were economically integrated.
The gain in economic freedom occurred even though the new immigrants were politically active both in terms of influencing the two major parties and forming their own immigrant parties, which is unusual for immigrants. So if they were importing their attitudes to the new country, it would have showed.
Yet far from bringing socialisms lack of economic freedom with them, they seem to have rebelled against economic control. In fact, in recognition of this, the left leaning labor party even stopped using the color red in their campaign materials out of fear that it would cost them immigrant votes.
An obvious objection to this study is that Israel is a special case because migrants who come there feel a deep affinity with it, which is not necessarily the case for more opportunistic immigrants. But surveys indicated that most Russian Jews would have preferred another destination had one been practical. Also, they were different from Israels local population because nearly all spoke Russian and few spoke a Jewish language. And few of them were religious. (The Law of Return applies to descendants of Jews and their non-Jewish spouses.)
The sociologists who have studied these migrants have classified them as normal migrants who came because of push motives from their origin country, just like other migrants.
Are You Sure?
These empirical studies cant definitively say why immigrants dont negatively, and often positively, impact economic freedom. But I suspect that immigrants who leave a dysfunctional social system are not a random sample of a countrys population and are unlikely to desire to recreate what they sought to escape in their new countries.
Is there a more rabidly anti-socialist voting block in the United States than Cuban immigrants? They might be an extreme example, but there might be an element of them in other migrants from other unfree countries as well.
To be sure, these new studies are preliminary and dont decisively settle the issue. Much research remains to be done. However, they should make us more skeptical of those who fear that increased, or even unrestricted, migration would necessarily erode the economic freedom that makes destination countries prosperous.
Benjamin Powell is the Director of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University and a Senior Fellow with the Independent Institute. He is a member of the FEEFaculty Network. This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.
EspaolThe nine Bolivian officials who were allegedly tortured by Chilean border security are scheduled to appear ata hearing Tuesday, June 20. Officials agreed to appear at anabbreviated trial, "which is nothing more than the use of a quick and effective mechanism to once and for all conclude with this issue," Bolivian Attorney General Pablo Menacho said. The officials were allegedly stealing goods from a transport truck, which is why they were detained by Chilean law enforcement, the country's officials have claimed.Menacho said the abberviated trial should lead to the release of the nine patrol officers. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1459522593195-0'); }); The relatives of the two soldiers and seven Bolivian Customs officials said they hope the Chilean justice system will releasethe nine Bolivians by the timethe brief trial ends. "My dad saw my brother and he told him that they could possibly be released on Friday and they could go back to the country," said Jhanet, the sister of Brian Leandro Quenallata Mndez, one of the detained officials. Sara Rada, mother of Karl Guachalla, another detained official, said the only thing officials will admit to is trespassing on Chilean territory. ButBolivia refuses to believe Chile's version of the story, claiming the officials were simply patrolling the area against smuggling. Read More: Bolivian President Evo Morales Officially Reports Chile to OAS for Torture Read More: Guillermo Lasso Denounces Lilian Tintoris Expulsion from Ecuador Menacho saidthat going to an abbreviated trial "in no way implies the acceptance of a criminal responsibility." Additionally, Bolivia will maintain itsposition "of full and total innocence, because they were performing their duties." Sources: El Deber;Pgina Siete;Opinin;Terra.
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The Evidence Is In: Immigration Does Not Undermine Economic Freedom - PanAm Post
Kitsap Sun staff Published 5:06 p.m. PT June 19, 2017 | Updated 6 hours ago
Ken Jensen, 94, of Poulsbo points to his family that came to Bremerton National Airport as he stands in front of a B-17 Boeing Flying Fortress. He served as a ball turret gunner over Europe during World War II. The plane a three other vintage WW II aircraft are visiting from the Collings Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour . (Photo: Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun)Buy Photo
BREMERTON -- Four World War II-era warplanes are visiting Bremerton National Airport through Wednesday as part of the Collings Foundation's Wings of Freedom Tour. The planes -- a B-17 Flying Fortress, a B-25 Mitchell, a B-24 Liberator and a P-51 Mustang -- will be available for tours and up-close viewings.
Wings of Freedom tour in Bremerton
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A B-24 Liberator bomber was among the World War II-era aircraft currently visiting Bremerton. Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun
This B-24 Liberator and three other World War II-era airplanes are visiting Bremerton this week as part of the Collings Foundation's Wings of Freedom tour. Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun
A visitor takes a photograph of the B-24 Liberator at Bremerton National Airport on Monday. The plane and three other World War II-era aircraft are visiting as part of the Collings Foundation's Wings of Freedom tour. Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun
Spectators watch as a B-24 Liberator lands and taxis at Bremerton National Airport on Monday. Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun
Kierah Mardo, 5, of Bremerton, peeks out from the machine gun port of the B-24 Liberator at Bremerton National Airport on Monday. Manning the .50-caliber machine gun is her brother, Malachi, 11. Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun
Sam Comstock, left, of Grapeview, and John Holmberg, of Tracyton, watch as a B-17 taxis at Bremerton National Airport on Monday. Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun
A B-24 Liberator flies over Bremerton National Airport on Monday. Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun
Ken Jensen, 94, of Poulsbo, and his wife, Marylou, squeeze through the tight interior of a B-17 Boeing Flying Fortress to get to the ball turret area. Jensen served as a ball turret gunner over Europe during World War II. Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun
Ken Jensen, 94, of Poulsbo, waves to family who came to Bremerton National Airport to help him welcome a B-17 Boeing Flying Fortress. Jensen served as a ball turret gunner over Europe during World War II. The Flying Fortress and three other WWII-era aircraft are visiting Bremerton as part of the Collings Foundation's Wings of Freedom tour. Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun
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Aviation enthusiasts can explore the aircraftinside and out for $12 for adults and $5 for children. For information, visitwww.collingsfoundation.org.
WWII Freedom Tour paid a visit to the Bremerton National Airpot on Monday, June 19, 2017. Video by Kerry Snider
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The president of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA), Jeff Mason, accepted the award during DW's Global Media Forum in Bonn on Monday evening on behalf of the journalists who are reporting on the front lines of US President Donald Trump's administration.
Mason, who has been president of the WHCA since July 2016, said he was "humbled" by the prize, adding that his organization "would have never sought or expected" to receive the Freedom of Speech Award.
"If receiving it helps shed light on the importance of press freedom around the world, if Deutsche Welle's choice highlights the fact that even in strong, established democracies reporters rights must be fought for... then it is in that spirit that I humbly and gratefully accept this award," Mason said during the award ceremony.
He admitted that since Trump's election in November last year, the challenges facing WHCA reporters "increased dramatically." Trump has repeatedly railed the press as being "fake news" and even labeled the media as "the enemy of the American people."
DW Director General Peter Limbourg said the award is meant to be a "sign of solidarity and encouragement for those colleagues who have the exciting task of reporting about the US president and his policies."
'Stand together, never give up'
The president of the German Press Association, Gregor Mayntz, expressed surprise while delivering his laudation during the awards ceremony.
"There are some important people in the world who should be ashamed that the WHCA has deserved this award," Mayntz added.
Monika Grtters (center right), Gregor Mayntz (far right) and DW's Peter Limbourg praised the work done by WHCA reporters and president Jeff Mason (center left)
He praised his US-American colleagues for their professionalism, transparency and commitment to fact checking. "Stand together, never give up, as the challenges to democracy and freedom of speech are not limited to one country," Mayntz urged.
Monika Grtters, the German government Commissioner for Culture and Media, said during a speech that democracies can only defend against "authoritarian and totalitarian attacks" when freedom of speech is functioning.
She noted that countries who limit the freedom of the press by arresting journalists and critical voices, "they are sounding the death knell for democracy."
"Only diversity of opinion and perspective helps to legitimize the truth," Grtters said.
DW began the Freedom of Speech Award two years ago to honor initiatives or individuals who stand out in their fight to promote freedom of expression and human rights.
Last year, the prize was awarded to Sedat Ergin, then editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily Hurriyet newspaper, which is one of the few papers in Turkey that is critical of the government. Jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi received the award in 2015.
'If you lose democracy, you lose the free press'
Concerns over the state of freedom of the press and freedom of speech permeated panel discussions on the first day of the Global Media Forum - which runs from Monday through Wednesday in Bonn. Many moderators and panelists noted that they are working in "troubled times."
In a panel entitled "Satire as a weapon," satirists and artists from Africa and Latin America spoke about the restrictions and backlash they face for their work, both from those in power and the general public.
Samm Farai Monro, a satirist with Magamba TV in Zimbabwe, noted: "We've got freedom of expressing, but you don't have freedom after expression."
zgr Mumcu, a Turkish lawyer and journalist with the Cumhuriyet, noted during a panel on press freedom in Turkey, that the country doesn't just have a problem with fake news, it has a "fake democracy problem" as well.
"If you're losing democracy, you lose the free press," he added.
Despite the challenges facing journalists and others who work in the media worldwide, WHCA President Mason said young journalists shouldn't shy away.
"It couldn't be a better time to be a journalist and it couldn't be a more important time," he said.
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Reporters in Trump White House scoop DW Freedom of Speech Award - Deutsche Welle
Thisidea was first pushed by the House Freedom Caucus, and one apparently gaining support from within the White House.
The two headline items of this Congress were supposed to be tax reform and repeal-and-replace of ObamaCare. But tax reform has not yet got out of the starting blocks, while healthcare reform is looking doubtful in the Senate. The Hill reported Monday that Republicans think that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells (R-KY) suggestion of a July 4 vote on the healthcare bill is unrealistic.
The Hillalso notes that the stalemate on health care also means that a budget resolution the vehicle needed to pass the healthcare bill with a simple majority vote is also being held up. Without that budget resolution, tax reform and annual appropriations bills cannot move forward either.
This raises the distinct possibility that Republican lawmakers go back to their districts for the summer recess empty-handed and with no significant achievements, with the exception of the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
The idea of canceling the recess was first floated by members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Chair Mark Meadows (R-NC) said earlier this month that House and Senate leaders should scrap the recess if no tax reform was introduced by July. The group also released a statement on June 8 saying it supported Congress staying in session to continue working to accomplish the priorities of the American people.
However, fellow member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) cast a dim view of the state of talks on tax reform, telling a Heritage Foundation tax event: Right now a budget cannot pass in the House.
Now, amid what The Hill described as growing panic among Republicans, more lawmakers are getting on board with the idea of canceling the recess. Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) told the outlet that theres a majority that supports being here. while Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said, Congress has no business taking a recess when the peoples business remains unfinished.
The plan appears to have White House backing. On Monday President Trump expressed his irritation with Democrats, accusing them in a tweet of wanting to stop tax cuts, good healthcare and Border Security.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has supported the idea, while White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News Monday that it was important that Congress picked up the pace.
When he says drain the swamp, its not just about getting rid of all the crocodiles in the water that we dont need. Its about moving at a different pace, she said. I feel very confident that well get health care and taxes passed this year.
However, sources on Capitol Hill told Fox News Monday that convincing Republican leadership to cancel the recess was unlikely. A GOP Senate aide made similar noises to the Hill.
Are they going to get all 52 Senate Republicans to do this? the aide asked.
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
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Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., has given President Trump a grand opportunity to do something he has yet to do in his first months in office: make significant progress on religious freedom for persecuted Christians and other religious minorities around the world. With the recent passage of the Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act (HR 390) by the House of Representatives, the President is well-positioned to make a bold move to stabilize the region.
If passed by the Senate, the Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act will provide relief to those victimized by the ongoing genocide, human rights violations and war crimes by terrorist groups. But it is perhaps the secondary effects of this bill that will lead to the most powerful and lasting impact.
HR 390 allows the U.S. to assist in the reestablishment of Christian, Yazidi and other minority communities in the Middle East, which are central to the survival of a pluralistic and open societya giant slap in the face to the stated goal of ISIS to drive out all those who do not embrace their savage ideology. It also gives hundreds of thousands of refugees the opportunity to return to their homes instead of seeking refugee status in the West or risking dangerous journeys to enter Europe in desperation. And to be sure, as we often witness firsthand at Open Doors through our work on the ground in Iraq and Syria, many Christians wish to remain in their homeland and would do so if they had not lost hope after years without resources, as the world turns a blind eye to their plight.
Open Doors USA ranks Syria and Iraq at number 6 and 7 respectively on our World Watch List of the most difficult places for Christians. The need to protect and establish Christian and Yazidi communities in this region is urgent.
The question that ought to occur to the President and members of the Senate is why this kind of bill was not passed years ago. The answer lies in the Obama administrations sluggish admission of the genocide against these populations. Faulty crisis mapping at the State Department, or perhaps political maneuvering in the White House, held the administration back from acknowledging the religious nature of these attacks on persecuted Christians and other religious minorities. This happened despite ISIS plainly stating its goal to drive out Christians, Yazidis and many other sects. Fearful of inciting religious tensions, they played directly to the hands of the terrorists. Now the Christian population of Iraq is a fraction of what it was just a few years ago. At one point it was around 1.5 millionnow somewhere fewer than 200,000, with census details obviously hard to come by. But with the acknowledgement last year by the U.S., EU and others of the genocide against these groups, action must now be taken to assist and help establish Christians and Yazidis remaining in their homelands.
The mass exodus of Christians from the region is one of the reasons Open Doors has launched a campaign in consultation with Christians from Iraq and Syria, titled One Million Voices of Hope for the Middle East. We have developed core policy recommendations designed to help restore hope and stability in the region, enabling and empowering the Christian community and other at-risk religious minorities to return and contribute to the rebuilding of their homelands. Without the return of the Christian community, both Syria and Iraq risk losing a key influence for the future of the regionnot only in overall stability, but also in economic development, education, health care, and peace building and reconciliation efforts.
Evangelical Christian voters seem to have been patient with the President thus far on international religious liberty issues, as they were with President Obama. But with the lack of key appointments in the State Department on religious libertythere has been no whisper of a new ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, and rumor has it that it could be empty until at least the fall of this yearthat patience will not last forever. The Presidents enthusiastic words on religious freedom around the world, and the importance of helping persecuted Christians, must to be met with action. Expediting this bill in the Senate and signing it swiftly would be a great victory for the Presidents stated agenda.
As CEO of Open Doors USA, which ranks Syria and Iraq at number 6 and 7 respectively on our World Watch List of the most difficult places for Christians, I know the urgent need to protect and establish Christian and Yazidi communities in this region. For many years we have noted the sharp rise in persecution and sought to attend to the needs of these embattled communities.
Without these strong minority faith communities, the terrorists will have won their stated goal.We cannot allow this to happennot only for the potential consequences of future movements along similar lines, but for the human toll that will play out for years to come on those communities that have existed since the time of Christ, and which are now lying fallow and empty.
In the north of Iraq and around the margins of Syria are hundreds of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities who are wondering if the world has forgotten their pain. We shall soon know the answer to that question. Lets prioritize this crucial bill to assist victims of the genocide and begin the resettling of these brave, integral and historic communities. The Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act offers a powerful opportunity for this administration to back their words with action.
David Curry is the President of Open Doors USA. Each year, Open Doors releases its World Watch List, a ranking of the 50 countries where Christian persecution is worst.
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ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Last month at a policy summit for the American Federation for Children, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos heralded the advent of the most ambitious expansion of education choice in our nations history. President Trump, she said, was committed to empowering parents to make the best choices for their kids education.
One major step Congress could take to make this pledge a reality is to let Impact Aid federal funds now sent to public schools near military bases flow directly to the children of military families. If these funds were distributed to education savings accounts (ESAs), military families should then be able to spend it on the services, products and providers they determine are best suited to meet their childrens educational needs.
There is constitutional warrant to justify this type of program. After all, the life and support of military families is a crucial part of our national defense an enumerated power of the federal government.
Providing school choice to military families strengthens us all. When military families are given high-quality education options, it benefits their children and the life and security of the nation as a whole.
The quality of education available to children of those in uniform affects military readiness. Lack of access to good quality schools can be a determining factor in the decision of service members on whether they will accept a new assignment or even leave military service altogether.
A recent survey conducted by Military Times found that 35 percent of respondents said dissatisfaction with their childs education was a significant factor in their decision to remain in or leave military service.
The Pentagons changes to policy in 2016 enabling families to remain at duty stations for longer time periods was a direct response to complaints by military parents who are loathe to move if the next duty station has poorly performing schools.
Those complaints may stem from the fact that military-connected children are too often assigned to the public schools closest to military bases, regardless of whether those district schools are right for them. As a result, 80 percent of the 1.2 million military-connected school-aged children attend traditional public schools, and 4 percent attend Department of Defense schools located on base. More than half of children of active-duty military families live in states with no school choice options at all.
Like their civilian-family counterparts, children of military families deserve a choice in where they attend school. One of the best ways to advance choice is through innovative Education Savings Accounts.
ESAs are parent-controlled accounts funded with a portion (usually 90 percent) of what a given state would have spent on a child in the district school system. Across the U.S., five states have established ESA options: Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi and Nevada.
In Arizona, funds are deposited quarterly into the ESA (going onto a debit card). Parents can then direct those funds to any education-related service, product or provider. They may be used to pay for private school tuition, online learning, special education services and therapies, private tutors, textbooks, curricula and any other education-related services of their choice. Parents are using the flexibility of ESAs to customize educational experiences for their children. Nearly one-third of parents in Arizona use their ESAs to craft a fully la carte educational program.
To ensure that those who serve in the military are able to access education options that serve them in the best way possible, federal policymakers should work to empower them with education choice. Transitioning Impact Aid funding into parent-controlled education savings accounts would ensure that the federal program serves military families as well as they serve us.
Anne Ryland is a research assistant in the Heritage Foundations Center for Education Policy. The Centers director, Lindsey Burke, is the think tanks Will Skillman Fellow in Education Studies.
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School choice for military families: Educational freedom for those who - Washington Times
ISTANBUL
In a packed Istanbul courthouse the trial of 17 journalists, accused of being involved in Julys failed coup, got underway Monday. All are facing long sentences, including life if convicted.
Prosecutors allege the journalists belong to a network of followers of the U.S.-based Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey's government blames for the coup attempt.
Nazli Ilicak is a leading newspaper columnist who rejected the accusations, telling the court she was a supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before he came to power and spent her life opposing coups, pointing out her father was a senior minister who had been jailed following a 1960 military takeover.
The 74-year-old Ilicak, along with Mehmet and Ahmet Altan, are among the most high-profile writers and journalists facing prosecution. All have been held for months in pre-trial detention.
The first three hours of Mondays hearing was taken up reading the more than 200-page indictment. Much of the cited evidence made no reference to the journalists activities, but focused on the cleric Gulen. Prosecutors claimed holding accounts in an alleged Gulen bank and possession of $1 bills was evidence of being part of the clerics secret network and involvement in the coup.
International criticism
Even before the case started the quality of the evidence drew withering international condemnation.
This trial marks a new level in the growing absurdity of the charges being brought against journalists, wrote the Paris-based Reporters without Borders, an organization that defends media freedom.
Many international and national human rights groups attended Mondays hearings.
"It's very concerning people are really facing serious charges, with potentially three life sentences on the basis of very, very little evidence of criminal acts, and that's really worrying, warned Amnesty Internationals Milena Buyum, speaking after attending the first day of hearings,
You have pages of pages of references of articles written by Ahmet Altan, comments he, and his brother [Mehmet] and Nazli ilicak made on a TV program on the day before the military coup. They were making political commentary entirely protected under the right of freedom of expression, added Buyum.
Human rights groups accuse Turkey of being the world's worst jailer of journalists, with more than 170 incarcerated since the post-coup crackdown. Mondays hearing is likely to only add to questions over the legitimacy of that crackdown.
A very legitimate task of trying to bring coup plotters to justice has been completely lost in a mass purge of those the government does not like claims Emma Sinclair Webb, Turkey researcher of the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.
It has become a lawless indiscriminate prosecution, just going after anyone who in this frenzied crackdown the government thinks is good to get off the scene, to get rid of, Webb said.
Truth is the victim
But before the trial Erdogan dismissed such criticism.
"Whenever we go abroad, Western media outlets come up with the same argument, claiming there are many detained journalists in Turkey. However, according to figures from our Ministry, only two people out of 177 who identify themselves as journalists are holders of a press card. In addition, one of these persons is currently in jail for murder and the others for their involvement in terrorist organizations," Erdogan said in a speech Saturday to national media heads.
The president went on to warn there would be no let up in the crackdown.
I see no difference between those who sell their news headlines with the instructions of a terrorist organization and those who take to the mountains with a gun in their hands, said Erdogan.
Last month, Erdogan warned there would be no ending of the current state of emergency introduced after the coup, citing ongoing terrorist threats and the need to restore economic prosperity.
The Turkish presidents comments on the media drew a swift rebuke.
We got used to such statements [by Erdogan]. Let everyone say whatever they want. The jailed journalists are inside because of their journalistic activities, because they chase the news, because they chase the truth, Pinar Turenc, the head of Turkish Press Council, said.
But with some of the countrys prominent writers and journalists facing decades in jail, human rights groups warn many reporters may well now think twice about chasing the truth.
This trial [Monday] along with others has a chilling effect warns Amnesty Internationals Buyum, It sends a message to the rest of society, to other journalists expressing your opinion, being critical of power can end you up in this situation.
Link:
Journalists' Trial Puts Spotlight on Media Freedom in Turkey - Voice of America
For more than four decades, Bob and Maureen Hunt have known exactly where theyll be for the Fourth of July weekend: here in Morgan Hill.
Thats because the Freedom Fests Independence Day Celebrations put on one the most prolific displays of patriotism throughout the entire week, and the two long-standing volunteers have been a major force in its continued success.
Since 1996, the Hunts have taken the lead on the holiday paradewidely considered the centerpiece of the Fourth of July festivities which enters its 142nd running in 2017. However, Bob Hunt began his volunteerism with IDC and Freedom Fest in 1975 while his wife Maureen Hunt became an active member in 1985.
Our duties began multiplying each year until one day we woke up and discovered we were the producers of the parade, shared Maureen, who takes pride in making each parade year better than the last. It was gonna be a three-year assignment, and that was in 1996.
This year will be the Hunts last as the parade committee chairs, but the two are not going anywhere and plan to remain on for many more years to help keep the tradition going.
Weve already started on next years parade, said Maureen, who shared that Ray Pulver, a professional parade producer and president of the California Festivals and Events Organization, will be taking over the reins in 2018. Were going to be right there working alongside him.
Parade to celebrate national parks, firefighters
The Hunts also talked about this year's theme for the Fourth of July parade: Americas National Parks: 100 years and counting.
We have found in our years that if you have a theme, people can visualize the floats and entries become more exciting, Maureen explained. People are thinking about what they can do to follow the theme.
At last count, there are 155 entrants in this years parade, including about 23 floats, 10 marching bands, 12 groups of horses and 16 community organizations from not only Morgan Hill but throughout Santa Clara County and beyond.
The grand marshal (or grand marshal organization) for the 2017 parade is a tribute to all firefighters who serve the Morgan Hill area, including Morgan Hill Fire Department and Cal Fire Santa Clara.
This year, we are celebrating and honoring firefighters, Maureen said. They keep our national parks safe from burning down as well as our homes. And dont just protect our homes from fires, but also from flooding.
In years past, IDC organizers have paid tribute to other groups rather than one individual, such as honoring World War II veterans as grand marshal one year.
The parade, which begins at 10 a.m. July 4 in downtown Morgan Hill, is only part of the annual Freedom Fest. Local organizers offer a wide array of events and activities surrounding the Independence Day weekend with a youth chorus performing patriotic tunes, a family-centered music fest in downtown, a 5K run (and 1-mile walk) on local streets, a classic car show, a 2,500-participant parade and a massive fireworks display for a night cap.
The nonprofit Independence Day Celebration, which is committed to reinforcing and sustaining the principles of American freedom in our community through Independence Day events of the Morgan Hill Freedom Fest, fundraises more than $150,000 and encompasses more than 500 volunteers each year to organize and produce the weeklong activities.
Organizers estimate more than 50,000 parade watchers showed up for the spectacle last year to watch the marching bands, colorful floats, a variety of performance groups and numerous specialty entities.
Hunts have deep-rooted pride in country
Maureens devotion to honoring America began at very young age as a daughter in a military family.
Were very patriotic individuals anyway. I grew up in the Air Force. I was an Air Force brat, Maureen shared. America has always been near and dear to my heart. Ive always been a flag-waver and so has Bob. Its something that we carry in our heartsnot just this time of year, but all times of year.
Bobs patriotic roots stem from experiences in the 1940s-50s.
I grew up in the 40s and 50s and we had an international war going on and allies pulled together and defeated fascism, and we have continued on strengthening our American way of life, Bob said. It has been a great part of our lives forever.
It wasnt an accident that the Hunts were given the keys to the holiday parade. Bob directed his first parade at 17 years old while a freshman in college and Maureen was a majorette in high school. Interestingly, Maureen went to high school in Germany with other children of military and diplomatic families.
Some of my classmates come to Morgan Hill every year for the Fourth of July and work with us here, Maureen said. Theyve adopted (Morgan Hill) as their hometown for the Fourth of July.
The Hunts moved to Morgan Hill in 1970.
When we moved to Morgan Hill, there was under 6,000 people in this town, she recalled.
Now, the Hunts hope to instill patriotic values into a younger generation and recruit them to carrying on the IDCs Morgan Hill Freedom Fest tradition.
The Freedom Fest IDC organization is one of the best organizations that we have ever been involved in...If youre in it, you have a job and you do it Maureen said. If you want to volunteer for the very best, then give us a buzz because we always need new volunteers. It would be great to have some younger people join the organization. We all want and need more volunteers.
See the rest here:
Hunts remain driving force in Freedom Fest parade - Morgan Hill Times
MyPalmBeachPost (blog) | Did firm that designed WPB office tower steal design on Freedom Tower? MyPalmBeachPost (blog) During these presentations, the tower's architect, David Childs, is extolled, his work as the architect for the Freedom Tower figuring prominently into the discussions. In fact, Childs himself appeared before the Economic Forum business group in ... |
Continued here:
Did firm that designed WPB office tower steal design on Freedom Tower? - MyPalmBeachPost (blog)
Descendants of New Havens 29th Colored Regiment gathered Saturday in Criscuolo Park, the land where the soldiers once trained for the Civil War.
The descendants gathered to host a fair for Juneteenth, a commemoration of the day in 1876 when soldiers told the remaining 250,000 slaves in Texas that they were free, two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
At the event, New Haven businesses and not-for-profits including Hands on Moving, the Kiyama Movement, and the Work Force Alliance ran booths to promote their missions, as did the New Haven Police Department, which is recruiting new officers from the community. Visitors Rperused as a DJ played tunes and Waterburys Berkeley Knights Drill Team and Drum Corps performed.
According to Kelly Mero, president of the Descendants of Connecticuts 29th Colored Regiment, the event sought to celebrate the idea of modern day freedom. To Mero, this means financial literacy, responsibility, education, employment, diversity, opportunity, and (health) maintenance an acrostic of the word freedom itself.
The fair marked the revival of the Descendants of the Connecticut 29th Colored Regiment, which had remained dormant since the group unveiled a monument to their ancestors nine years ago. The black granite stelae, arranged in a circle with an image of two soldiers and a history of the regiment in the center, bear the names of Connecticuts Civil War Veterans.
Mero, inspired by her late father, who was a founding member and president of the Descendants group, reestablished the regiment to maintain his legacy. The group has seven members. Mero shared plans to expand and celebrate all facets of modern freedom in the 2017-2018 year including a black untied event focused on educational advancement. In a year, she hopes fundraising efforts can provide a scholarship for New Haven students.
Cherisa Lloyd was at the event to spread awareness about autism, a condition she said is prevalent in urban communities. After her son was diagnosed at 18 months, she started her not-for-profit Leandres World to provide support for other families with autistic chidlren. She noted that blacks and Latinos especially tend to fear stigma about autism and remain silent on the issue. One parent at her support group expressed hesitance to tell her family in fear of relatives treating her child differently, for instance, she said.
At a nearby booth, Warren Barnett, whose great-great-great-grandfather fought in the Civil War, shared the history of the 29th Regiment. Frederick Douglas actually spoke to the soldiers on that very plot of land centuries ago, he said.
Solomon Maye from the Elephant in the Room Boxing Club and Xavier Richardson from Hands on Moving agreed that few people know about Juneteenth in the first place.
You had slaves who really werent free, Maye noted.
The rest is here:
Juneteenth Fair Celebrates Modern-Day Freedom - New Haven Independent
The Hindu | Muzzling freedom of expression The Hindu What I eat is part of my freedom of expression. It is part of my identity. Also my desire to eat what I want, unless prohibited by law, is a matter of my choice. Exercise of choice is part of a person's individuality. No one can pre-empt my right to ... |
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CHRISTIANSBURG In the foreground, six young people of African-American heritage read the history of Juneteenth.
In the background, two boys one white and one a child of color grinned as they occupied opposite ends of a playground seesaw. For a few seconds, one was ascendant. And then the other rose. The cycle repeated, accompanied by the sounds of delight.
In the foreground, Melvin Palmer, 9, read a poem titled We Rose, verse that he penned with assistance from his mother and brother. The poem began, From Africas heart, we rose, and included the line Survive we must, we did.
Juneteenth, a merging of June and nineteenth, celebrates the belated announcement in Texas on June 19, 1865, that all slaves are free. Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Grangers related order, announced in Galveston, came more than two years after Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation took effect for rebellious states and two months after the major Confederate armies surrendered.
According to one account, when Granger announced in Texas that slaves were free there were about 250,000 people in bondage in the Lone Star State. History suggests that many slaveholders resisted Grangers order. An essay by Henry Louis Gates Jr. reported that it was not uncommon for [the slaveholders] to delay until after the harvest the sharing of news about freedom.
Regardless, the date on which Granger communicated the order freeing slaves in Texas became embraced by many newly freed slaves as a day to commemorate.
Gates wrote, In one of the most inspiring grassroots efforts of the post-Civil War period, they transformed June 19 from a day of unheeded military orders into their own annual rite.
Over time, Juneteenth became a national celebration of emancipation from slavery.
Saturdays event, held at the Rosa Peters Childrens Playground in Christiansburg, was organized by the Montgomery County-Radford City-Floyd County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Few of the adults attending Saturdays celebration knew anything about Juneteenth in their youth.
That was true of Corey Miles, 26, a native of Weldon, North Carolina, who volunteered to help emcee the event. Miles is pursuing a doctoral degree at Virginia Tech in Africana Studies, and his dissertation will focus in part on this nations disproportionate imprisonment of black men.
Miles was among several people attending the Juneteenth celebration who suggested emancipation for African-Americans remains a work in progress.
He said his family history lacks specific details about ancestors who were slaves. But he said his forebears did not flee the South during the so-called Great Migration, when millions of blacks moved to the North, Midwest and West to escape Jim Crow laws and to seek improved living and economic conditions.
Miles noted that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about the promise embedded in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution that all Americans should have full access to the benefits of freedom.
I dont think were there yet, he said.
Several community organizations staffed information booths Saturday.
Rita Irvin, president of the NAACP chapter hosting the event, said a key theme for the day was collaboration to identify and support action-oriented solutions to issues ranging from health to social justice.
Andrae Hash staffed a booth for Virginia Organizing. He said he is kin to Nan Hairston, a celebrated civil rights activist in the New River Valley, and attributed his passion for working for social justice to the example she and others set.
Hash said the annual Juneteenth commemoration provides an opportunity both to mark a milestone in freedom and to identify the work that must continue to more fully establish a just society.
Saturdays event featured speakers, presentations, music, dance, food and more, including appearances by politicians courting votes at a park once created to provide a playground in Christiansburg for black children.
Read more here:
'Juneteenth' event celebrates freedom and embraces community - Roanoke Times
CBS Boston / WBZ | USS Whidbey Island's Sailors, Marines Take 'Freedom Run' Through Boston CBS Boston / WBZ SOUTH BOSTON (CBS) The 200 sailors and U.S. Marines of the USS Whidbey Island were hard to miss Sunday morning. The group of service members, escorted by Boston Police, belted out hardcore marching tunes as they ran the nearly three miles ... |
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USS Whidbey Island's Sailors, Marines Take 'Freedom Run' Through Boston - CBS Boston / WBZ
Zuma: Political freedom without economic freedom is not complete freedom
The president says poverty, inequality and unemployment began when black people were dispossessed of their land.
President Jacob Zuma in Hammarsdale at a Youth Day celebration. Picture: Ziyanda Ncgobo/EWN.
HAMMARSDALE - President Jacob Zuma says political freedom without addressing the economy is an incomplete democracy.
Zuma was speaking in Hammarsdale at a Youth Day celebration organised by the eThekwini region today.
He says poverty, inequality and unemployment began when black people were dispossessed of their land.
Zuma has been warmly welcomed by the eThekwini regions youth who have come to listen to programmes for their development by the municipality.
This is in contrast to the reception the president got in the North West earlier this week.
He says the youth must lead the charge for economic freedom.
Political freedom without economic freedom is not a complete freedom.
Zuma has urged young people to be champions of radical economic transformation.
(Edited by Refilwe Pitjeng)
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Zuma: Political freedom without economic freedom is not complete freedom - Eyewitness News
All throughout history and in all cultures around the world, humans have fanaticized about transcending these meat sacks that we were born into. Today we can make deaf people hear again and we can make blind people see again. Enter the bio-backers.
For those not familiar with the term, bio-hacking means applying a hacker ethic to the modification of biology. Where traditional hackers modify computer hardware and software, bio-hackers explore various technologies to modify biological systems. With biological systems we mean anything from bacteria and plants to animals and humans.
The essence of hacking is to take something that is designed for a certain purpose and see if it can be used for another purpose. It does not mean inventing from scratch but making do with what is available. Examples of a bio-hackwould include the modification of bacteria to make them smell like strawberries or growing a yogurt culture using a person's own microbiome.
It can also mean applying electronics to control a cockroach remotely through a smartphone app. Or it can mean taking an ID-chip implant originally designed for pets and inject it in your own hand in order to open the door at your office.
My body, my choice
A core aspect of bio-hacking is the idea of morphological freedom: the freedom to do whatever I want with one's own body. The same freedom also applies to the right to refuse to have anything done to one's body by an external party such as an employer or a government against one's will.
Hannes Sjoblad is a business advisor and bio-hacker from Sweden
I also believe in the power of community and the power of collective thought. If you work together with others, surrounded by positive role models, it will inspire people to do good and meaningful work. The hacker that sits isolated in a basement is a bigger risk than a hacker working with others in a public "maker-space."
Free knowledge
Knowledge is always the best defense. What if a viral agent is released in a subway train and on that same train there are dozens of people with DNA-sequencing devices and the skills to use them. Within seconds, the new agent is identified, sequenced and shared online so that warnings can be shared and counter-vectors applied. Our capacity to identify and act upon a threat is enormously greater with an informed public.
Because of these insights, I do think that the ongoing conversations about emerging technologies are critical. There are two reasons why one has to stay on top of new technologies: one, in order to use them and two, and perhaps more importantly, to understand if they are being used against you.
This commentary is a part of DW'sFreedom of Speech Project which aims to highlightvoices from around the worldon thetopics of freedom of expression and press freedom.
See the rest here:
Embracing the freedom to 'hack one's own body' - Deutsche Welle
When I think of freedom, I think of it in positive, aspirational terms:our First Amendment freedoms, for example, or FDRs Four freedoms or the uplifting songs of freedom sung by oppressed people around the globe.
But right-wing, corporate-funded ideologues have fabricated a new negative notion of freedoms derived from individual choice. Youre free to be poor, free to be politically powerless or free to be ill and uncared for; its all a matter of decisions you freely make in life, and our larger society has no business interfering with your free will.
This is what passes for a philosophical framework behind many of the policies of todays Republican congressional leaders. For example, they say their plan to eliminate health coverage for millions of Americans and do away with such essential health benefits as maternity care for millions more is just a matter of good oldfree-market consumerism. As explained by Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Tea Party Republican, Americans have choices. And so maybe, rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and they want to go spend hundreds of dollars on that, maybe they should invest in their own health care.
Lest you think that Chaffetzmust simply be an oddball jerk, heres a similar deep insight from the top House Republican, Speaker Paul Ryan: Freedom is the ability to buy what you want to fit what you need. Yes, apparently, you are as free as you can afford to be. As Vice President Mike Pence recently barked at us, Trumpcares youre-on-your-own philosophy is all about bringing freedom and individual responsibility back to American health care.
The GOPs austere view is that getting treatment for your spouses cancer should be like buying a new pair of shoes,, a free-market decision by customers who can choose their own price point from high-dollar Neiman Marcus to barging-basement Dollar General. And some go barefoot. But then thats their choice.
So thats what Republicans Trumpcare is offering us, this freedom from health care. Well, good news, people: At last, congressional Democrats have gotten a clue, grown some spine and are beginning to act like, well, like Democrats!
In particular, a majority of Dems in the U.S. House are responding to the rising public demand that decent health care be treated as a right for everyone, rather than being rationed by profiteering insurance conglomerates. Nearly 6 of 10 Democrats in the House have now signed on to Rep. John Conyers Medicare for All bill, which is being carried in the Senate by Bernie Sanders.
So, Hallelujah, progress!
Yes, but many speed bumps remain on the Democratic Partys entry ramps onto the moral high road of politics. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, for one. When the leader of House Democrats was asked if the party should make health care for all a major issue in Congress andfor the 2018 elections, she replied with a flat no. Basically, Pelosi is saying the American people arent ready for it, by which she really means that the narrow slice of the public that inhabits her world health industry executives, lobbyists and big campaign donors arent ready. Meanwhile, a good 60 percent of regular Americans are damned sure ready, telling pollsters flat out that our government has a responsibility to ensure that everyone gets the care they need.
Lets be blunt: When it comes to the fiery leadership that Americas grassroots people want and need, the Democratic Party establishment is weaker than Canadian hot sauce. When youve got 60 percent of your partys rank-and-file congressional members ready to go on such a basic issue, and 60 percent of the public is also ready to go, its time to go! The national partys leadership must get going on health care for all, or the leadership itself must go.
Continued here:
The GOP's new brand of freedom: The privilege of being without health insurance - Salon
A four-run second inning in which the visiting Joliet Slammers batted through the order set the tone early Saturday night, as the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, suffered their worst defeat of the season by a final score of 12-2 at UC Health Stadium.
Following a perfect first inning, Freedom (21-11) starter Zach Wendorf (0-2) faced five batters in the second before recording his first out. Despite not collecting a single hit in the inning, the Slammers (14-18) took advantage of three walks and two Florence errors to build a 4-0 lead. Wendorf would recover to toss scoreless third and fourth innings, but gave up a home run to Juan Silva in the fifth before a walk and a hit-by-pitch ended his evening after just four-plus innings of work.
Edwin Gomez, Melvin Rodriguez and Alex Rodriguez would also homer for Joliet in the game, as the onslaught continued against relievers Evan Bickett, Sam Brunner and Laetten Galbraith, each of whom allowed at least one run before Matt Pobereyko struck out the side in a perfect ninth.
Slammers starting pitcher Shane Bryant (0-2) stymied the Freedom through seven innings, limiting the home team to just two runs on sacrifice flies by Ryan Rinsky and Daniel Fraga in the second and fifth innings, respectively. Reliever Gibson Russ held Florence scoreless through the final two innings.
The loss set a new season-high in runs allowed by the Freedom, and the ten-run deficit was the largest for the team all year. Jose Brizuela, Collins Cuthrell and Austin Wobrock each registered two hits, but Andre Mercurio went 0-for-4 in the game, ending his hitting streak at 10 games.
The Freedom will look to avoid the series sweep on Sunday at UC Health Stadium, with first pitch of the series finale scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Right-hander Tony Vocca (4-2) will take the mound for the Freedom against left-hander Tasker Strobel (1-1) for Joliet.
The Florence Freedom are members of the independent Frontier League and play all home games at UC Health Stadium located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, KY.The Freedom can be found online at FlorenceFreedom.com, or by phone at 859-594-4487.
Florence Freedom
Original post:
INDIANAPOLIS The U.S. bishops voted on Thursday to make their Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty a permanent committee of the national bishops conference.
The very idea of religious freedom and its root in human nature is challenged today, said Archbishop Lori, chair of the ad hoc committee, at a meeting of the U.S. bishops Thursday.
He added, how important it is that we remain in the public square through advocacy for the freedom of religious institutions to fight poverty, provide health care and education, serve immigrants, and protect human life.
In 2011, the ad hoc committee was formed for a period of three years, as the bishops were deeply concerned about a broad trend of threats to religious freedom on the local and national level, Lori noted, speaking at the annual spring general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Indianapolis.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his address to U.S. bishops in January of 2012 during their ad limina visit, warned of grave threats to the Churchs public moral witness presented by a radical secularism where there were certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.
Many of you have pointed out that concerted efforts have been made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices, the pope said. Others have spoken to me of a worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience.
The U.S. bishops voted in 2014 to extend the committee for another three-year period. Then on Thursday, they voted to make the committee permanent by a vote of 132-53, with five bishops abstaining.
Most notably, the committee established the annual Fortnight for Freedom, a two-week campaign of prayer, penance, and advocacy for the Churchs continued freedom to serve in the public square, starting on June 21, the eve of the feasts of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, and ending on July 4, Independence Day.
One of the most notable threats the ad hoc committee warned of was the contraceptive mandate. The Department of Health and Human Services, interpreting the Affordable Care Act, had issued rules under the Obama administration that employer health plans had to cover sterilizations, contraceptives, and drugs that can cause abortions.
While churches and their immediate auxiliaries were exempt from the mandate, many religious institutions, including hospitals, universities, and charities, were not. Changes to the regulation offered by the Obama administration still violated the religious beliefs of the Catholic organizations, bishops and Church leaders contended.
In May, President Donald Trump promised regulatory relief from the mandate for religious non-profits like the Little Sisters of the Poor.
The struggle against the HHS mandate is not over, Lori warned on Thursday. Victory is not assured.
The promised relief could change with another presidential administration who could again enforce the mandate against religious groups, the archbishop said.
And other threats to religious freedom persist, he said, like the legalization of same-sex marriage, which could pose problems for religious institutions that uphold the Churchs teaching on marriage.
The archbishop cited then-Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, who admitted during oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states, that there could be an issue with the tax-exempt status of religious universities teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman, if same-sex marriage were the law of the land.
Some bishops voiced their strong support for the committee on Thursday, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who chaired the USCCB when the committee was formed, and Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. The most recent president of the USCCB, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, also supported making the committee permanent.
The bishops of the world look to us, Dolan told his fellow bishops, to be the real quarterbacks in defense of religious freedom.
A few bishops voiced objections to making the committee permanent in the discussions before the vote on Thursday.
Several were concerned about how it would appear to make the religious liberty committee permanent at the same time that the bishops working group on immigration, begun in November, finished its formal work.
However, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, vice president of the conference, clarified later on Thursday at an afternoon press conference that the working group will continue, although Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston-Galveston, president of the conference who had begun the working group last November, had not specified a timeline for how long it would continue.
Furthermore, Lori stressed, the conference already has a standing Committee on Migration. The important thing is that as the sun sets, theres a permanent committee in place, because we understand the questions of migration are permanent, he said.
Bishop Christopher Coyne of Burlington, Vermont also voiced concerns that funding for the religious freedom committee could eventually dry up, while Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark said that domestic religious freedom concerns can be handled by the domestic policy committee, referring to the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.
I am not convinced that there is a need at this time for it, he said of the religious freedom committee.
Bishop Francis Kalabat of the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle in Detroit strongly supported extending the committee, however.
There are currently 60 million refugees in the world, he said. What percentage of them came as a result of a lack of religious freedom?
Who you back up, or who backs you up, is who gives you the strength in the Middle East, he said, noting that if the U.S. shows strong support for religious freedom, it also shows support for persecuted Christians elsewhere.
Religious freedom, Lori stressed, covers a wide spectrum of ministries, a wide spectrum of advocacy, and there is need for some consistency for a clearing house and a clear voice.
Religious liberty is a concept that really relates to ones fundamental stance towards God, he said, that first and primal relationship towards God. As Dignitatis Humanae states, he noted, religious freedom is rooted in human nature and granted by God as a fundamental human endowment.
On Thursday, the bishops also voted to approve new guidelines for the celebration of the sacraments of persons with disabilities.
The new guidelines were said to pay deeper attention to allergy problems, for example the gluten intolerance or alcohol intolerance of a communicant. They encouraged parishes to be more aware and accommodating of persons with disabilities in the distribution of the sacraments.
Kurtz tweeted on Thursday that the National Catholic Partners on Disability were excited about the revised guidelines.
Read more:
US bishops vote to make religious freedom committee permanent - Crux: Covering all things Catholic