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Well-tested Freedom-Woodbridge boys basketball knocks off top seed Wakefield

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By Joey LoMonaco March 2 at 12:18 PM

Moments after his team dethroned reigning 5A North region champion Wakefield with a 62-59 win Saturday night in Arlington, Freedom-Woodbridge Coach James West turned to social media to rebuff proclamations of a landmark upset.

Is it really an upset we played the tuffest [sic] schedule in public schools in Va in order to prepare for this moment? West wrote on Twitter. Chess, not checkers.

Viewed in that light, regular-season blowout losses to OConnell (42 points), Montrose Christian (23 points), St. Christophers (25 points) and Riverdale Baptist (38 points) were simply the Eagles early-game pawn sacrifices made to open up the board for the final few moves of a postseason push.

Saturday, Freedom (14-11) fell behind 25-11 after the first quarter and trailed the Warriors 38-31 at halftime.

What I told them was, Well, its how the seasons gone, West recalled. The calls werent in our favor. But we love playing in other peoples homes, to turn their crowd against them and make them cheer for us based on our passion.

The Eagles turned the tide of the game by keeping things fluid on defense. To minimize the impact of vaunted big man Dominque Tham, whom West called a great player, Freedom alternated among five different sets, or segments. When Wakefield counter-punched, the Eagles remained one step ahead with multiple traps designed to pressure the Warriors guards on the perimeter.

Senior guard Frank Agyemang led the Eagles with 22 points and seven rebounds, and Abraham Pringle helped Freedoms output with 11 points.

The squads renaissance has come without its leading scorer and floor general. Earlier this month, senior guard Capri Manning was dismissed from the team for academic reasons. In his stead, junior James West IV the coachs son has moved into the point guard spot.

Hes comfortable there, having played the position with regularity on the AAU circuit and doesnt mind having fewer scoring opportunities.

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Well-tested Freedom-Woodbridge boys basketball knocks off top seed Wakefield

Academic freedom: Scholarly concept sparks lively mainstream debate

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Academic freedom is a source of lively debate right now among some at Kansas University, where the cases of two faculty members have propelled the term out of academia and into mainstream headlines. And KU is not the only school with academic freedom disputes making the news.

Theres unease among faculty on the KU campus now that the Kansas Board of Regents social media policy has been approved but not yet applied to anyone, which would reveal the extent of its restrictiveness, said University Senate President Jonathan Mayhew, a professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

There is a sense that academic freedom is under threat, Mayhew said. People feel that they dont really know ... what the limits are now.

Likewise, a pending lawsuit by a School of Business lecturer who does not want KU to release his emails to students requesting them under the Kansas Open Records Act has faculty wondering exactly where the academic freedom balance tips.

As a faculty member I dont love the idea that every email I write might be subject to public disclosure under the Kansas Open Records Act, said Richard Levy, J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law. But at the same time I also, as a lawyer, recognize that when you use your employers email you have no claim to privacy in those emails.

KU journalism professor David Guth.

Art Hall, KU School of Business

In 2013, KU journalism associate professor David Guth was put on leave for an anti-NRA tweet after a mass shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. The situation inflamed gun-rights supporters, outraged some politicians and prompted the Regents to enact a statewide policy allowing universities to fire faculty members who post messages on social media that are contrary to the best interests of the employer.

Currently, the University Senate is working to finalize a procedure for the university to adopt that would outline the fact-finding and possible disciplinary process for a faculty member accused of violating the policy.

In Douglas County District Court, a judge will decide whether to release lecturer Art Halls correspondence. Hall is founding executive director of KUs Center for Applied Economics and former chief economist for the Public Sector Group of Koch Industries Inc.

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Academic freedom: Scholarly concept sparks lively mainstream debate

How Pittsburgh's Freedom House Pioneered Paramedic Treatment

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Freedom House paramedics, who first were deployed in the 1960s, provided a crucial service for Pittsburgh residents. The program became a national model for emergency medical transport and care.

In the 1960s, Pittsburgh, like most cities, was segregated by race. But people of all colors suffered from lack of ambulance care. Police were the ones who responded to medical emergency calls.

"Back in those days, you had to hope and pray you had nothing serious," recalls filmmaker and Hollywood paramedic Gene Starzenski, who grew up in Pittsburgh. "Because basically, the only thing they did was pick you up and threw you in the back like a sack of potatoes, and they took off for the hospital. They didn't even sit in the back with you."

Ambulances existed, but they were privatized and didn't offer emergency care or go everywhere.

That changed with the start of the Freedom House Ambulance Service, the city's first mobile emergency medicine program. Starzenski tells the story in his documentary Freedom House Street Saviors.

The service became the national model, but it started out by serving Pittsburgh's mostly black Hill District. Nowadays, the Hill District is famous because of its prominence in playwright August Wilson's work. In the 1960s, like many city neighborhoods, it teemed with racial unrest.

Riots that erupted in the wake of the April 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. left Hill District shops gutted and hundreds out of work.

Freedom House provided a solution, creating jobs for the unemployed and providing a crucial service for an imploding community.

Blacks were not the only Pittsburgh residents who suffered from lack of care in those days. In 1966, the city's mayor collapsed. By the time he reached the hospital in a police car, he had gone too long without oxygen; he later died.

Starzenski's family also experienced the difficulties before Freedom House services existed. His grandfather suffered a fall in the early 1960s. "When they came to the house," Starzenski says, "they didn't have any equipment. My grandfather, his head was bleeding pretty bad, and the only thing they did was they asked us for a towel and they slapped a towel around my grandfather's head and they took off to the hospital."

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How Pittsburgh's Freedom House Pioneered Paramedic Treatment

High taxes, regulations make NY dead last in freedom

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The United States might be the land of the free, but some states are clearly freer than others. Based on a new national ranking, New Yorkers have the worst claim to the benefits of a free society.

This week, the North Carolina-based John Locke Foundation published its inaugural First in Freedom Index. Using more than 60 data points, we calculated fiscal, educational, regulatory and health-care freedom in the 50 states.

New York ranked last.

Yes, this means that the state has the dubious distinction of having less freedom than California and even New Jersey.

Between high taxes and onerous regulations, New Yorkers are squeezed more than residents of other states, on top of the high cost of living.

This endeavor was no mere academic exercise. A sizable body of empirical research suggests that fiscal freedom drives economic growth, educational freedom raises student achievement, regulatory freedom promotes entrepreneurship, and health-care freedom improves quality of life.

All states have room to improve, but none more than New York.

Overall, 25 percentof states total ranking was based on taxes controlled and amended only through the decisions of state lawmakers. These included individual income, sales, corporate, property and unemployment insurance taxes. Another 25 percentfocused on government spending, including welfare payments, food stamps, housing assistance and various grants and subsidies.

Using these and other measures of fiscal freedom, we determined that New York ranked 47th nationwide. Frankly, that should come as no surprise to taxpayers and small business owners.

NewYork has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation.

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High taxes, regulations make NY dead last in freedom

Carnival Freedom Cruise Tour of Dr. Seuss Bookville; Camp Ocean Kid’s Club; Circle C Teen Club – Video

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Carnival Freedom Cruise Tour of Dr. Seuss Bookville; Camp Ocean Kid #39;s Club; Circle C Teen Club
The Carnival Freedom ship has plenty for kids and families, including Dr. Seuss Bookville; the Camp Ocean Kid #39;s Club (2-11) and the Circle C (12-14). This is...

By: MouseSteps / JWL Media

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Carnival Freedom Cruise Tour of Dr. Seuss Bookville; Camp Ocean Kid's Club; Circle C Teen Club - Video

Protecting Journalists and Freedom of Expression in the Face of Conflict – Video

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Protecting Journalists and Freedom of Expression in the Face of Conflict
On Thursday, February 12th, IPI together with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-hosted a panel discussion focusing on the importance of a free pre...

By: International Peace Institute

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Protecting Journalists and Freedom of Expression in the Face of Conflict - Video

Freedom Climb Applauds Passage of 'End Slavery Act' by US Senate Foreign Relations Committee

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Contact: Michele Nadeem-Baker, 617-818-1223

ATLANTA & ARUSHA, Africa, Feb. 28, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- As the Freedom Climb starts up Mt Kilimanjaro to fight human trafficking by raising awareness, and raising funds for 55 ending slavery OM projects, they pause to applaud US Committee passage of the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act 2015 and support Shine A Light on Slavery Day (photo).

"On this eve of our ascent up the world's highest freestanding mountain we are further fueled for our 7-day Freedom Climb by the unanimous passage of the End Slavery Act by the U.S. Foreign Relations Committee," said Tina Yeager, Freedom Climber and Freedom Climb US Director. "To know that we are climbing to be the voice of those with no voice in this world -- the enslaved and exploited -- and that our overall goal is joined by others, such as Senators Bob Corker and Robert Menendez, is in one word -- inspiring."

The Freedom Climbers are currently in Arusha, Africa, starting their climb to free the enslaved on February 28 up the highest freestanding mountain in the world -- Mt. Kilimanjaro. They'll reach the 20,000 foot summit on March 5. The overall Climb will take 7 days.

Freedom Climb was conceived and launched by Californian Cathey Anderson. What started as a vision has become a global movement, with climbs all over the world. "Human trafficking, slavery and exploitation are a worldwide epidemic," says Anderson. "It's a problem in our own back yard. We celebrate and support efforts to combat trafficking nationally and locally. Freedom Climb attacks the problem at the source - in countries where women and children are most vulnerable."

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Freedom Climb Applauds Passage of 'End Slavery Act' by US Senate Foreign Relations Committee


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