Guyana hopes to invest more cash in youth empowerment from scrapped sugar subsidy, oil revenues- Ramjattan – Demerara Waves

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Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan addressing a University of Guyana-organised Turkeyen-Tain Talks on Youth Crime and Violence

Guyana hopes to surpass Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica in the amount of monies it gives to youth empowerment and employment by scrapping a multi-billion dollar subsidy to the state-owned Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) and injecting more funds from oil revenues when production begins in 2020, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan says.

This why we are making sure that the bailouts now that we are having on sugar will have to come to a halt and understand that, he said to applause Wednesday night at a University of Guyana-organised public forum on Youth Crime and Violence.

We will not be bailing out sugar and we have a plan for that and so there will be some more money that can go into some other sectors and rest assured that we are going to up that 0.7 percent to more. I cannot tell you how much more No, no, no I am being realistic here. We have to be realistic. If the economy produces much more and the price of sugar gets up high, youll expect us challenging the other two other countries in the percentage rather than being half Jamaica and just one-third of Trinidad, he said.

Speaking in his personal capacity, Registrar of the University of Guyana, Dr. Nigel Gravesande highlighted that Guyanas budgetary allocation for direct youth empowerment is 0.7 percent compared to 1.5 percent in Trinidad and Tobago, and 2.3 percent in Jamaica. That is the statistical reality and the most recent UNECLAC (United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) report that I have seen spoke to a direct correlation in youth violence and economic empowerment, he said at the forum.

Dr. Nigel Gravesande

Gravesande questioned the Public Security Minister about whether there were short-term, medium-term and immediate plans to structure the economy to focus on sustainable youth empowerment through increased monies in annual national budgets.

He reiterated governments position at a time when authorities are grappling to manage the fall-out from last Sundays fire that destroyed the Georgetown Prison on Camp Street. The opposition Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) has already criticised Ramjattan for using the state of the sugar industry as a scapegoat.

The Public Security Minister acknowledged that more money needs to spent on empowerment, education and employment opportunities for youths. With a number of Guyanas sugar exports not doing well, he said government has had to decide on its priority areas for spending scarce cash.If we have to take our monies and do what is priority by our Cabinet. It does not necessarily mean that importance is not attached to others, he said.

Ramjattan suggested that with more revenues going into the national treasury from oil, Guyana would be able to spend more on a number of areas. Until such time that we have a better day with an oil-stream revenue, well have to start making some serious decisions and we have started that already, he said.

The Public Security Minister said it is time to implement the numerous recommendations contained in several reports on crime and violence among youths in Guyana and the Caribbean. We in the Caribbean, we in Guyana do a lot of reports. Somehow, that has to stop. We have to start utilizing the recommendations in those reports to immediately walk the talk as it were because we sometimes dont do that and we do that to the detriment of all of us he said.

Painting a picture of the reality confronting authorities, he said youths are affected by unemployment, poverty, alcohol and drug consumption- youths smoking marijuana as early as 11 years old.

Concerns were also raised about virtual illiteracy to the extent that only one in every five youths detained can read and there are also declining performances at high school and university among males . We have a number of things in these reports from which we have to move on, he said.

Ramjattan said authorities also have to address poor parenting, reduce risk factors and ensure that sport facilities ate made readily available to youths.

The state of youths has been thrown in the spotlight following an attempted bank robbery allegedly involving two qualified professionals and a number of members of the Guyana Police Force.

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Guyana hopes to invest more cash in youth empowerment from scrapped sugar subsidy, oil revenues- Ramjattan - Demerara Waves

Girls Trip and Bronx Gothic: Two Visions of Post-Obama Black Empowerment – National Review

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Part of the mess that Barack Obama left in the wake of his two presidential terms is the utter confusion that has descended upon black Americans who still feel stressed despite the media-promoted privilege of witnessing the first African-American president. That delusion deserves a lengthy, in-depth essay, but a movie column must provide a portion of it through this weeks contrasting releases: Hollywoods black feminist comedy Girls Trip and the independent art film Bronx Gothic.

Black female self-confidence is examined in Girls Trips story of four black girlfriends who attend an Essence Festival (staged by the magazine of that name) in New Orleans. Bestselling author Regina Hall, Internet entrepreneur Queen Latifah, nurse and single mother Jada Pinkett, and tough-talking office worker Tiffany Haddish mix business and partying (they trip) as they clear away the conflicts and changes that separated them in their transition from youth to maturity.

Bronx Gothic is more obviously political, translating the subject of black femininity into the now fashionable project known in academia as the black body, explored here in a performance-art piece by Okwui Okpokwasili.

These two films illustrate the crisis of black consciousness post-Obama. Girls Trip looks at the class aspirations of upwardly mobile blacks while Bronx Gothic replaces aspiration with grievance. Putting the two side by side gives us the Obama conundrum. Do Americans still believe in personal satisfaction as a reward for work and struggle, or have they given it up for progressive activism? In these movies, the issue comes down to cinematic pleasure and its discontents.

Girls Trip isnt original; it belongs to the Animal House genre that celebrates licentious liberties (a genre made popular by such films as The Hangover and Bridesmaids). Girls Trips black female quartet confirms the all-American commitment to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Theres no happiness in Okpokwasilis worldview. The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other liberal fronts have celebrated her for showcasing black American life as miserable, a cause for complaint and protest the social activities that makeleft-wing politicians feel electable and journalists feel powerful. Bronx Gothic is part documentary and part psychodrama. Okpokwasili, a tall, thin dancer-singer, jerks herself in sweaty, hebephrenic outbursts. She physically proclaims her psychic pain before audiences to scare them, to wake them up.

This art-world pretense of activism seems designed specifically for those white culture mavens who dont want to live or compete with black folks yet expiate their racism through pity and condescending applause. At least the women in Girls Trip provide ribaldry emphasizing the search for immediate physical pleasure as their own personal due and as a relief from the tension of sustaining their livelihoods. (I plan on getting white-girl wasted, one says, simultaneously contemplating bacchanal and sizing up others sense of freedom.)

Bronx Gothic director Andrew Rossi, who previously made Page One: Inside the New York Times, follows Okpokwasili on tour and shows art-house audiences relishing her self-flagellating routine: the blacks in shock, the whites in tears. Rossi and Okpokwasili reduce black cultural affectation to a mode that whites can easily comprehend by denying the sustenance of humor and catharsis that is the entire raison dtre of Girls Trip.

(If there is any fairness in the newly politicized Motion Picture Academy, Tiffany Haddishs friendly, obstreperous Dina will be an Oscar front-runner.)

When Okpokwasilis parents, Nigerian immigrants, appear late in the film, they watch a video of their daughters act. The mothers response is priceless: You know dancing is different. Theres [usually] some pleasure there. Girls Trip is all about pleasure, but Bronx Gothic, as its title suggests, is about the opposite. It follows the usual pattern of Hollywoods imprisoning blacks within the limits of white liberal imagination. The same complex of fascination, guilt, and self-aggrandizement explains Obamas triumph, just as it accounts for the current disappointment and shock that his triumph didnt last and has left other blacks badly off and, in some cases, speciously politicized.

Okpokwasili refuses pleasure and release in dance. Instead, she builds her own prison based on the template of white racism in order to win approval from the mainstream media, the art world, and who knows? the National Endowment for the Humanities. (She seems eternally on a war path, says choreographer Ralph Lemon.) One of this performance-art documentarys low points occurs when Rossi intercuts news video predictable, button-pushing montages of the Walter Scott and Eric Garner deaths. Rossis liberalism his whitesplaining intrudes on his stars storytelling. A good expressive performance piece like Edith Clevers in Hans-Jrgen Syberbergs six-hour monologue Die Nacht (1985) might have made a more powerful art statement.

Even after Obama, mainstream media still cannot countenance black American experience any way except through sociological catastrophe. Thats why Girls Trip is more enjoyable than it ought to be; scenes of zip-line urination and sexual pantomimes with fruit are a relief after Okpokwasilis grim negativity.

Most of Bronx Gothics sadness comes from Okpokwasilis own class-based stereotyping. She shows off academic cant about the black body (eccentrically preferring to say brown body) when referring to historic victimization. Her rant peaks when she dissects the vernacular phrase Ill slap the black off of you! Okpokwasili defines this expression through academic jargon: de-couple you from your genetic code. But the best popular culture is more provocative: In Dave Meyerss jokey 2002 Missy Elliott music video Work It, a Founding Father gets his pretense slapped off and winds up in black face, updating the good-natured race parody of Broadways Finians Rainbow(1947).

Contrast Okpokwasilis smugness to the dance scene in Girls Trip when the quartet competes with a group of hussies. Director Malcolm D. Lee misframes the choreography, but the song we hear is overwhelming its Missy Elliotts 1999 Shes a Bitch, in which the pejorative turns into a defiant boast. (See Hype Williamss Shes a Bitch music video to get the full pop-art magnificence.) That pre-Obama song doesnt resort to blame, accusation, or protest. Missy Elliott owns her pride and daring and fun.

Before Obama, Missy Elliott and her directors knew how to visualize black imaginative freedom. Now were left with post-Obama anxiety that makes Bronx Gothic alienating, nihilistic, and self-loathing while the women of Girls Trip use music and humor to access freedom.

*****

False Confessions, Luc Bondys modern interpretation of Marivauxs 1737 farce, offers two kinds of cultural heritage: Isabelle Huppert portrays Countess Araminte in Bondys deconstructed theatrical artifice, and Ella Fitzgerald, in her rendition of Cole Porters 1934 All through the Night, closes it with private whimsy. These performances are dedicated to a womans romantic imagination and demonstrate the psychological power to be found in classical traditions. Girls Trip derives from a lively culture while Bronx Gothic is in desperate search for cultural expression thats been lost amid academic and political confusion. Bondys gimmicky film isnt as beautifully tricky as Clare Peploes Marivaux adaptation, The Triumph of Love (2001), but through Huppert and Fitzgeralds artistry, he personalizes Western tradition sweetly.

READ MORE: Baby Driver: Hollywodo Goes Asbergers Okja: Sentimentality and Sanctimony Alien: Covenant: Hacker in Action

Armond White is the author of New Position: The Prince Chronicles.

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Girls Trip and Bronx Gothic: Two Visions of Post-Obama Black Empowerment - National Review

Messages From Beyond: Using Technology To Seal Your Legacy – Kaiser Health News

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By Bruce Horovitz July 14, 2017

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One year after her husband died, Janice Gentile received an unusual request from her daughter: make a legacy video about their marriage and their lives.

At first, Gentile, who was 72 at the time, was turned off by the idea. The Holbrook, N.Y., resident was still hurting from the loss of her husband, Cesare, who was her high school sweetheart and to whom she was married for half a century. But her daughter, Laura, urged her to make the video that lovingly traced the lives of both parents.

Its about both of us but since he couldnt speak for himself, I had to speak for him, recalled Gentile, who is now 80 and views this video as a central part of her legacy. All four children received a copy of the 23-minute video filmed in her home by a professional videographer and she saved one of the Blu-ray discs for herself, which she pulls out on special occasions and shows to friends who inquire about it.

Just as early humans used primitive tools to carve storyboards of their lives on cave walls, todays technology can leave a lasting trace at least as long as the technology lasts.

Everyone has a story to tell, but once youre gone, your stories are gone, said Diane Hirsch, the woman who filmed the video and president of MyVideoLifeStory.com. If you leave a video memory behind on a disc or memory stick, she said, future generations will know your life.

What exactly are we supposed to leave behind after death besides a will for those we love? Thats a complicated question that vexes many Americans. New technologies and yet-to-be-discovered technologies keep broadening the possibilities of both the medium and the message. Beyond companies that will film your video legacy, others, such as LegalZoom.coms forthcoming Legacy division, are exploring innovative ways to let select loved ones continue to connect with you after you die as they face new milestones.

Its kind of like youre saying: Dont forget about me whether someone wants to forget about you or not, said Bart Astor, best-selling author of AARPs Roadmap for the Rest of Your Life. The concept is kind of weird to me.

Indeed, most Americans do all they can to avoid thinking about their legacy.

Only 44 percent of Americans leave any kind of will behind, according to a 2016 Gallup poll. Most Americans never act on the question: How do I want to be remembered? said Astor.

But some who have been touched by the technological legacy say its wonderful, not weird at all. And there are those who only wish usually too late that they could be on the receiving end of digital-video memories of their deceased spouses, parents or grandparents.

The only tangible recording that one young lady told me she had of her mother is a cellphone message, said Craig Holt, global chief product officer of LegalZoom, who is overseeing the Legacy division that is in the testing stage in the United Kingdom, and which could expand into the U.S. market next year.

Legacy can do much better than old cellphone messages, said Holt. Think of one of its products as more like a time capsule that will dispense prerecorded messages at significant times or dates in the future such as a grandchilds 16th birthday.

This is very different from leaving some photos on a phone or some sort of journal behind, said Holt. It shows youve done some thinking about the future.

Holt, for example, has twin children who are nearly 5 years old. In the unlikely event that the 39-year-old executive dies early, he has digitally recorded personalized messages for each of them that will express his love around their 18th birthdays and their potential weddings.

Easing the pain of loss is about more than financial issues, said Holt. There is an emotional legacy, too, and certain things I want to tell people Im leaving behind.

LegalZooms Legacy plan also includes a dynamic will structure that allows for changes to a persons will to be easily made online instead of through an expensive trip to the lawyers office.

Holt declined to estimate what it might ultimately cost consumers to use the service.

Clients, of course, essentially would be betting that LegalZoom and its Legacy division will continue to be around and operational for years after they die.

You have to hope the company still exists years from now, said Astor. Its like buying an annuity. If the company is no longer there, its too bad.

Meanwhile, the only real risk with digitized videos from MyVideoLifeStory.com is that the recipient doesnt want to see them. That would be the exception, said Hirsch. Keeping a legacy going is really about keeping a familys history from disappearing.

In the case of Janice Gentile, for example, until she made that video, her children never knew she had once performed a piano concert at Carnegie Hall, said Hirsch.

But quality doesnt come cheap. Hirschs videos can cost up to $7,000. She spends hours with each subject getting to know them before she starts filming. Hirsch faces tough competition with at least a dozen other video legacy biographers offering similar services from New York to Arizona to California. The best way to select a legacy videographer, she said, is via recommendations. Even then, she said, its critical to spend lots of time getting comfortable with the videographer before filming begins.

The idea for the business came to her shortly after her mother died. Realizing how unpredictable life is, Hirsch persuaded her 85-year-old father, Raymond, to sit and talk for three hours while she shot video and he talked about his past. Nine months later, he died. I watch his video all the time, and it still makes me feel good, she said.

Gentile treasures the fact that her four children and 10 grandchildren will always have her recording as a way to remember both her husband and herself. She said that shed advise her best friend to do one, too. Go for it, Gentile said. Theres nothing to lose.

One of her sons has ribbed her about the video. He says I spent more time talking about the dog than my kids, she laughed. But her only regret is that she wishes she could have created it with her husband, when he was alive.

Astor said the legacy that he and his wife prefer to leave is more educational than sentimental. Both have established need-based college scholarships in their own names at their alma maters.

To me, its all about leaving your values to future generations, said Astor, who, like his wife, needed student aid to make it through college.

Instead of leaving behind a digital legacy, theyre giving back the old-fashioned way: cash.

KHNs coverage related to aging & improving care of older adults is supported byThe John A. Hartford Foundation.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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Messages From Beyond: Using Technology To Seal Your Legacy - Kaiser Health News

Coding culture: Native American skills needed in technology sector – The Missoulian

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Volunteers from the West Coast to the East trekked to Salish Kootenai College this week to teach Native Americans about technology and computer science.

The college held a free, four-day technology camp for Native American students in high school or who had recently graduated to give them insight into what types of careers are open to them in the tech sector.

The camp was put on as part of the Flathead Tech4Good Community Outreach and Professional Development initiative, launched by SKC Professor Jonathon Richter, department chair and lead instructor for the colleges Media Design, Film, & Television programs.

For four days, the students learned from people like Elizabeth LaPensee, who has won awards for her work as a writer, artist and designer of games, comics and animation. LaPensee has Anishinaabe and Metis ancestry and part of her work has included creating games that pass on her cultural history.

One of these games is Honour Water, a singing game that teaches her tribes water songs and language, LaPensee said. Early in her career, LaPensee questioned how someone could code the teachings of her ancestors, but the enthusiastic response she has had to her work has convinced her to continue on.

There arent enough Native Americans in the technology sector right now, said Cory Cornelius, a research scientist for Intel Labs and enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Cornelius lives in Portland, Oregon, but flew out for the camp this week to help mentor students interested in pursuing a future in technology.

Cornelius sees places where more Native American knowledge is needed, for example with the development of the Siri app.

That voice could be translated into other Native languages, but there needs to be a Native person there to speak up, Cornelius said.

Cornelius mentorship made an impact on students like 14-year-old Mossy Kauley, who will be a freshman next year at Ronan High School. Kauley loves math and science and wants to be an engineer one day.

She was most interested in Cornelius explanation of how sand is made into silicon for computer processors. Kauley took a robotics class through her middle school and might retake the class again, if there arent other computer science class options available to her.

Regardless of what is offered in school, the camp provided the students with a sheet of places they could access open-source education resources to foster their technology education.

The sheet was created by Tara Penny, a project manager for the non-profit group NPower, an organization that helps young adults from under-served communities launch digital careers. Penny helped to organize the camp and flew out from Brooklyn, New York, to volunteer for the week.

Technology serves everybody, but we dont have enough people of color or women driving the values of technological development, Penny said.

These are jobs people can do from anywhere, said Mary Byron, a retired partner in the Technology Division at Goldman Sachs. Byron was a benefactor of the camp and has spent her retirement helping to advocate for more diversity in the technology sector.

Companies are looking for people with diverse backgrounds to contribute, Byron said. Corporations dont want all their people in one place, they want them across all of the countries.''

This is why Richter hopes more students who may not have an interest in a traditional career will continue to be exposed to paths like this.

Every single kid that came to this camp was talented, Richter said. It felt like we did something good for the 15, 16, 17 or so kids who showed up. It was back-to-back days of programming and instruction. Even during lunch there were lectures, and the entire time they were engaged.

This includes students like 19-year-old Daniel Vollin, a recent graduate of Arlee High School. Vollin wants to continue to learn at SKC for a while but hopes to one day attend the University of Washington and work toward a career in audio design for video games.

Before attending the camp, the idea of working with technology was intimidating to him, he said. But the interactive format of technology education has made learning more enjoyable.

Their eyes are opened to the fact that this isnt incredibly hard, this isnt for nerds, Richter said.

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Coding culture: Native American skills needed in technology sector - The Missoulian

FOX 11 Investigates: Technology helps officers activate body cameras – Fox11online.com

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(WLUK) -- Twice in one year, Appleton police officers found themselves in life-or-death situations. But the events were not captured on their body cameras.

New technology could help make sure that doesn't happen in the future.

"They want these cameras on when they need them but they have a more important job to do," said Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for Axon.

In May 2016, police say Officer Stephanie Wiener was shot by a suspect who grabbed her gun during a confrontation. Wiener turned her body camera on after she was shot.

"That's, in my world, certainly understandable because she was attacked suddenly," Assistant Appleton Police Chief Todd Olm told FOX 11 Investigates in February 2017.

In May of this year, Lt. Jay Steinke was walking the beat on College Avenue when someone reported shots fired inside Jack's Apple Pub. Police say Steinke fired shots at the suspect. But one bullet struck and killed a bystander, Jimmie Sanders.

At a news conference two weeks after the incident, Police Chief Todd Thomas said he understands why Steinke didn't turn on his body camera.

"When you're standing outside a bar and somebody runs outside the door and says, 'there's a guy inside shooting.' Your first reaction is going to go to your firearm, your sidearm. And that's what he did. He ran to the door. It's not to try to find your body camera and try to turn it on. That could be a second or two lost," Thomas said on June 2.

Click here to read the Appleton Police Department's body camera policy.

At that same news conference, Outagamie Co. District Attorney Carrie Schneider said the body camera may not have even shown much.

"You're going to see this white shirt of this women directly in front of him is what you're really going to see or a blur of that and the other people in that doorway," Schneider said.

"Maybe, but we'll never know," said Emilio De Torre from the ACLU of Wisconsin. He says he understands why some cameras are not activated. But he says when cameras are rolling, they are very helpful.

"It is a protection certainly for the officers and it is an element of accountability to the civilians that are involved in these encounters," De Torre said.

New technology is helping to ensure that officers' body cameras are activated during emergencies.

The officer is not there to be director of a film, his first and foremost job is to protect community members, himself, others, Tuttle, the spokesman for Axon, said.

Tuttle says the company has developed a product called the Axon Signal which uses blue-tooth technology to automatically turn an officer's body camera on in certain situations. It also sends a signal for 30 seconds to activate the cameras on other officers nearby.

We're doing everything to bridge that gap to help these officers turn these cameras on because they want them on but they've got other more important things to do. So, let's leverage that technology and let it do it for them, Tuttle said.

Tuttle says the Signal can work in three ways: in a squad car, it can be set to turn on a body camera when the officer turns on the squad car lights or opens the door; the signal can be connected to a Taser, or to an officer's holster.

As soon as the weapon is drawn, that tells the Bluetooth to turn on and to tell all those Axon cameras within the 30 feet area for 30 seconds to turn on, Tuttle said.

While the holster technology isn't on the market just yet, the Taser and squad car pieces are being used.

The Wausau Police Department outfitted every one of its marked squad cars with the Axon Signal last year.

Capt. Todd Baeten says if an officer activates the flashing lights, the body cameras turns on.

If there's one less thing that those officers have to worry about in this case, activating a body camera before they make a life and death decision. Boy, if we can kind of eliminate that and allow them to really focus on their mission to protect the community, we think that's a positive, Baeten said.

FOX 11 Investigates found that the Appleton Police Department is planning to test the technology.

We're going to see how it works, said Lt. Gary Lewis.

He says the department has ordered two Axon Signals for squad cars. But he says the move is not a direct response to the two high-profile incidents that weren't caught on camera.

I would say those incidents just happened to fall in to line with the technology starting to get there. They definitely highlight why it would be important for us to try to institute this type of technology, Lewis said.

Body camera advocates welcome the technology.

This could be extremely significant. It certainly sounds like a step in the right direction, De Torre from the ACLU said.

I would love to see the police have a mechanism where it's not in their discretion to turn it on or off, said Tory Lowe of Milwaukee. Lowe is an advocate for the family of Jimmie Sanders, the bystander shot in Appleton.

If they can find a way to get these body cameras working automatically to where we can actually get the full story from beginning to end, that will be a blessing to our community, Lowe said.

Axon says the blue-tooth attachment for a Taser runs $89. The unit for a squad car costs $270. Axon does not have a price listed yet for the holster attachment. That is expected to hit the market later this year.

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Smart technology is changing lives in the disabled community – Daily Herald

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Kevin Hoyt uses a smart doorbell to see whos standing on his front porch without having to go to the door. His wife, Melissa, will ask Amazon Alexa to turn off a light as shes rushing out of the house. Ten-year-old Bailey uses Alexa to play songs so she can practice dancing or will ask the devices how to spell a word, or to play tic-tac-toe with her. Sometimes, Melissa and 14-year-old Cameron will use Alexa to face off with sports trivia questions.

The Hoyts Saratoga Springs home isnt an abnormality in 2017 as families turn to smart technology to add a new layer of convenience to their lives. But for Kevin Hoyt, who became a paraplegic in 2015 after a fall, the tech means so much more.

It has been amazing, Kevin said. I can think of three or four things that have made a huge difference in my quality of life like my wheelchair, my ankle braces and the smart home tech. I absolutely put it on par with any medical equipment.

Smart technology allows users to connect and control the technology in their home by using their phone or even just their voice. For Kevin, it means being able to turn off a light or turn on a fan without having to get to a switch.

Mostly, it gives me more peace of mind that I can leave Kevin here on his own, Melissa said.

And after he started to use smart tech to increase his independence, Kevin knew he couldnt keep it to himself. So he founded Transition Tech Solutions, a business that performs smart home consulting and installation in Utah with a speciality in helping those with mobility issues.

Kevin was in his attic on New Years Day in 2015 when he fell, crashing through Sheetrock in his ceiling and falling into his living room.

I do remember crashing through the Sheetrock, right up in this corner, Kevin said, pointing to a spot on his ceiling, between the smoke detector and the peak. So I remember the sound of crashing through the Sheetrock and then smashing into the ground below. I totally remember all of that, and laying on my back with insulation in my throat.

Melissa called 9-1-1, urged Kevin not to move and tried to keep the kids calm while Kevin laid there in excruciating pain as an ambulance arrived.

To this day, they still dont know what caused him to fall.

He had damaged his spinal cord. He was in the hospital for five weeks after the fall as surgery followed and he learned he was now a paraplegic. Kevin went home in a wheelchair, not knowing what his future held.

The next few months were all about physical therapy and learning if he couldnt do something now, or just not yet.

So far, most things have been not yet, Kevin said.

Now, Kevin walks around his house using ankle braces and still has some sensation and motor abilities in his legs.

But those little motions, and physical therapy, are exhausting.

Theres a huge amount of work for very little return, which is OK, he said.

Everything takes work. Kevins morning routine now takes two and a half hours to complete, and walking is still difficult as he has to concentrate to send signals to his muscles.

Trying to walk down the hallway and have a conversation, I cant do both, he said.

He cant feel most of his legs, so Kevin uses his vision to keep his balance. It works pretty well, until that first winter after his injury hit, when the sun would go down early and suddenly getting to bed became a lot more dangerous.

I couldnt turn out the light and then get to bed, because Ill go down as soon as the light goes out, Kevin said.

So if Melissa wasnt home, hed either have one of the kids turn the lights off, or hed go to bed with the light on and Melissa would shut it off when she came home.

Kevin, a self-proclaimed Amazon junkie, was considering either hiring an electrician to wire a light switch by his bed or the possibility of carrying around a lantern when he saw smart light bulbs online. From there, the smart tech in their house boomed.

After the lights, the front door was a whole other problem. Without ankle braces, it takes Kevin a long time to reach his front door using a walker.

It used to be that I wouldnt even attempt to get to the door because they would be long gone by the time I got there, Kevin said. Now, I get the notification. I can answer, I can see who is at the door and I can talk to them on my phone.

He can even use his phone to immediately unlock the door and let someone in, or tell a mail carrier hell be at the door soon to sign for a package.

It is seriously amazing to be in my bed and not get wound up or feel anxious when somebody comes to the door, Kevin said.

Hes not the only one who uses the smart doorbell. The Hoyts said its popular with the neighborhood kids.

Everyone knows around here that we have a talking doorbell, Melissa said.

Its not just those with disabilities who are benefiting from the technology, but their caretakers as well.

Vivint Smart Home, a Provo-based company that provides smart home technology and services, started working with a test group of families of children with autism about three years ago. Parents of children with autism took a survey rating their stress levels before and after smart technology was installed in their home. After the technology was installed, the parents rated their stress levels at half of what they were at before, according to Holly Mero-Bench, director of Vivint Gives Back.

Vivint Gives Back specifically targeted families of children with autism spectrum disorder or other intellectual disabilities. The technology is discounted for families of individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Children with autism tend to wander, which can be terrifying for a parent when they discover their child is missing from their home. Vivint alarms, cameras and sensors can capture where a child went and alert parents when a child leaves a home.

Those individuals dont have a lot of boundaries and they are not afraid of things, Mero-Bench said. So we find that those children, they get out of the house, they slip out without their parents knowing, so the parents have to keep an eye on them literally 24/7.

Indoor cameras also give parents the ability to keep an eye on their children without having to be in the same room as them. Mero-Bench has heard parents say they can finally take more than just a quick shower because they can watch their children via their smart devices to assure theyre safe.

She said theyve also heard of families who have used camera footage to show video of seizures to doctors.

Sensors on interior doors can also alert caretakers when a door to a pantry or bathroom has been opened.

Parents can record their voice to play when a door is opened to urge a child not to go outside, or to say its not time to eat yet when the pantry is opened.

It kind of slows the kids down just a little bit, Mero-Bench said.

And for caretakers of people with intellectual disabilities, that brief head start can make all the difference in catching a family member before its too late.

Kevin was in the middle of an online MBA program at Colorado State University when he fell. Afterward, he doubted if hed return to school. He took a few semesters off before eventually starting classes again.

His programs last class required a capstone project where the students apply what theyve learned to a real business situation. The students pitched ideas, and then voted on their favorites. With one of the most popular projects, Kevin spent the next few months working with a team of students to build a business plan for a smart tech company catering to those with mobility challenges.

At graduation, Kevin stunned the crowd as he wheeled up in his chair, put a finger up to signal he needed a moment and then stood up amid a standing ovation to accept his diploma and continue walking across the stage.

The video of his walk reached more than 5 million people, becoming CSUs most popular Facebook post in its history.

A semiconductor manufacturing engineer by day, Kevin never intended to become an entrepreneur. But after discovering how the technology has changed his life, and seeing the hope other people hes met with disabilities have had when hes talked about it, he launched Transition Tech Solutions earlier this month on top of his full-time job.

I am astounded in the difference in quality of life it has made for me, and I am really independent and mobile for someone with a spinal cord injury, Kevin said.

The products the business installs dont require monthly fees. The business can install products like smart light bulbs and switches, smart speakers, video doorbells, garage door openers, ceiling fans, outlets and motion sensors.

And he doesnt think the tech stops at just giving independence to people with disabilities. Kevin said he can see the smart technology also aid retiring baby boomers and the elderly who are becoming less mobile.

For Melissa, it hasnt just been about adding additional convenience in the Hoyt home, but also about helping Kevin, who she was originally terrified to leave home alone, be more independent.

I know that he sometimes feels bad at so much that I do, Melissa said. I know that sometimes he feels like hes a burden when hes not. But this way, it makes him have less of that feeling.

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Smart technology is changing lives in the disabled community - Daily Herald

Tim Harford on the lessons of technology for economic history – FT Alphaville (registration)

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Tim Harford on the lessons of technology for economic history
FT Alphaville (registration)
Forecasting the future of technology has always been an entertaining but fruitless game. Nothing looks more dated than yesterday's edition of Tomorrow's World. But history can teach us something useful: not to fixate on the idea of the next big thing ...

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Tim Harford on the lessons of technology for economic history - FT Alphaville (registration)

Phone call at All-Star fan convention helped Jose Quintana trade progress – Chicago Tribune

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White Sox general manager Rick Hahn was at the All-Star Game FanFest on Tuesday with his younger son when Cubs President Theo Epstein called.

Hahn, knowing the call was about the most anticipated trade in Chicago baseball this season, ducked behind an exhibit to talk specifics.

If only the exhibits had ears, the blockbuster trade might have been scooped before the Cubs and Sox issued the shocking announcements Thursday, though a pair of Reddit users apparently put the rumor out there Wednesday night. The Sox sent left-hander Jose Quintana to the Cubs for prospects Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Matt Rose and Bryant Flete.

The initiation of the deal came Sunday, when Hahn texted Epstein to let him know the negotiations for Quintana were likely to come to a head over the next few days. Hahn said he was direct that the deal had to begin with Jimenez and Cease.

"If they were interested, then now was the time to engage," Hahn said.

The pair reconnected Monday, spoke Tuesday about the Cubs' willingness to include their top two prospects and texted throughout the All-Star Game to figure out the final two pieces of the deal. It was finalized Wednesday night and announced Thursday morning.

It put to end seven months of speculation about where Quintana might end up.

Hahn said there were other deals for Quintana close in December, but they fell through. He also said the interest remained "very strong" through Wednesday, and the Sox were even in negotiations with a different team Saturday that prompted them to consider scratching Quintana for his final start before the All-Star break against the Rockies. But it wasn't close enough to pull him out.

Then the Cubs deal was finalized.

"In our opinion, in retrospect, this deal trumps anything we discussed last offseason," Hahn said.

Hahn said earlier this season that he was willing to do business with the Cubs, but speculation continued that he really wouldn't deal with the crosstown rival. Hahn said Thursday he found it "somewhat laughable" that the Sox would let such a deal lapse because of an interleague, intra-city rivalry.

"If we really felt motivated to take an inferior baseball deal, to not put this organization in the best possible spot to win multiple championships simply because of emotion, then we would be the wrong people running this club," Hahn said.

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Phone call at All-Star fan convention helped Jose Quintana trade progress - Chicago Tribune

Tillerson leaves Gulf after crisis talks, no word on progress – Reuters

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DOHA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson left Qatar on Thursday after a tour of Gulf Arab countries aimed at easing the worst regional dispute in years, saying he made proposals that would help in resolving the month-long crisis.

Tillerson met Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, to discuss Doha's feud with four Arab states that cut ties with Qatar on June 5 over allegations it funds extremist groups and is allying with their arch-foe Iran. Qatar denies this.

"Well I think it was helpful for me to be here and actually talk to them about a way forward, first to listen and get a sense of how serious the situation is, how emotional some of these issues are," Tillerson told reporters after leaving Doha.

"But we tabled some documents with both sides while we were here which lays out some ways that we might move this forward," he added.

Tillerson had been flying between the two sides and Kuwait, which has been acting as the mediator between the feuding Gulf countries, in the last two days in an effort to ease a crisis that put the whole region on edge.

On Thursday he flew back to Doha where he met Qatari rulers for the second time in two days. He also met with Kuwaiti and Saudi officials.

Tillerson said he was not a direct mediator but supporting the emir of Kuwait's role in building bridges to end the crisis.

"In my view there's a changed sense of willingness to at least be open to talking to one another and that was not the case before I came," he said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain accused Qatar of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement that has been the greatest challenge to Arab autocrats. The Brotherhood was a major player in the Arab spring revolts across the Middle East and North Africa.

Qatar hosts some of the movement's prominent figures, including the spiritual leader and Egypt-born Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

"As to the Muslim Brotherhood, we've had sticking points with these parties ourselves, the U.S., in terms of how we view the Muslim Brotherhood's activities," Tillerson said. "And there's a difference of view among these parties over the Muslim Brotherhood, and again in many ways it's not much different than the differences we have."

On Wednesday, Tillerson left the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah after talks with ministers from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, the four countries which have imposed travel and commercial sanctions on Qatar.

He earlier signed a U.S.-Qatari accord on terrorism financing in an effort to help ease the crisis, but Qatar's opponents said it fell short of allaying their concerns.

"No wavering on the 13 demands" the headline of the Abu Dhabi government-linked al-Ittihad newspaper read on Thursday, referring to a list of demands the Arab states had put to Qatar.

Writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Sylvia Westall; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Leslie Adler

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Tillerson leaves Gulf after crisis talks, no word on progress - Reuters

Jim Irsay Surprised By Progress Of 2017 Colts – Colts.com

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INDIANAPOLIS Jim Irsay is never one to hide feelings about his football team.

For the past couple of offseasons, Irsay has made it clear where improvements were needed.

Judging by Chris Ballards first offseason, one with a potential seven new defensive starters coming over to the Colts, the message has been heard by the teams new general manager.

I didnt think we would be this far along quite frankly, as we are. We have a ways to go. Im not saying we are there, but weve made a lot of progress.

Watching Ballards bevy of moves this offseason has given Irsay an extension of the January interview process.

Irsay wants fans to know their team is in good hands.

I just have to tell our fans that Chris Ballard is the real thing. Im telling you that theres many a team out there that wanted him. He wanted to be here.

Ballards presence in Indianapolis has led to some significant changes in personnel.

Like Irsay said, the total re-tooling of the Colts is not complete.

The faces have largely changed in Indianapolis, but the end goal for Irsay has not, and will not.

Ive said it before, we are into plural Lombardis. Thats what our goal is. Thats what we are pursuing. Ill be damned if we dont go out and get that. Ill be damned if we dont go out and get that.

The analysis from those producing content on Colts.com does not necessarily represent the thoughts of the Indianapolis Colts organization. Any conjecture, analysis or opinions formed by Colts.com content creators is not based on inside knowledge gained from team officials, players or staff.

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Special session nears end without public progress on oil taxes – KTOO

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Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, speaks during a House Floor sessionin April. Tarr and the House majority havent agreed on an oil and gas tax bill with the Senate majority. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)

As of late afternoon Thursday, the Alaska Senate and House hadntmade any public progress on oil and gas tax legislation. They met Wednesday, but they still cant agree on how to replace the state system allowing companies to receive tax credits. Lawmakers only have two more days in the special session.

When oil companies that arent major producers spend money to develop new fields, they get tax credits from the state they can trade for cash. Its an incentive for companies that are smaller or newer to the state to do business here.

Both House and Senate members want to get rid of these cash credits. But House members want to delay replacing these credits. Senators want to allow companies to use the losses to reduce the taxes theyll have to pay in the future.

Sitka Republican Sen. Bert Stedman saidcompanies need to know what will happen when they spend in Alaska. He saidthat wont happen under the Houses revisions to the oil and gas tax bill, known as Version X.

If you want to put the industry in the freezer in Alaska literally, shut it down for expansion into these new, fairly colossal fields that have been targeted, this is how to do it, Stedman said. We need to take this Version X and quite frankly put it into the shredder.

Anchorage Democratic Rep. Geran Tarr saidthe state cant afford to give up a similar amount in future taxes than it currently hands out in cash credits. She saidthe money is needed to fill in the gap between what the state spends and what it raises in taxes, fees and oil royalties. Without any changes, she saidPermanent Fund dividends could be cut further.

Every dollar not earned through a reasonable oil tax puts more pressure on the use of the PFD for state government, she said.

Senators saidthe Legislature should make progress with what both sides can agree on: getting rid of cash credits.

Anchorage Republican Sen. Cathy Giessel saidthe state would be in worse shape financially if uncertainty leads to less oil production. That would meanfewer royalties flowing to the state.

We are focused on making sure that we continue production on the North Slope, because this royalty value is significant, she said.

Rep. Andy Josephson,an Anchorage Democrat, raised the possibility of putting setting an end dateon when companies can use or carry forward their losses from spending on oil-field development or leases to lower future taxes. He saidthat would put pressure on lawmakers to make more changes to the tax system.

We dont know how we can have that serious discussion without further discussion to carry-forward lease expenses, he said.

State Tax Division Director Ken Alper agreed with senators who expressed concern about the uncertainty potentially caused by the House bill.

It does create an uncertainty to not know what sort of value youre going to get for your spending, he said. And so I understand why there is some consternation from the Senate side and from some in industry as to why this House compromise bill might not be a completely viable solution.

But Alper saidtheres still room for compromise between the two chambers.

I encourage the two sides to continue to talk to find some sort of middle ground on the valuation of losses on what some will call cost recovery, so that we can all complete this project for 2017 and move on to whats next in passing a fiscal plan, Alper said.

The special session must end by Saturday.

Alaskas Energy Desks Rashah McChesney contributed to this report.

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Special session nears end without public progress on oil taxes - KTOO

I’d Be A Nihilist If I Weren’t A Hedonist – Patheos (blog)

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When it comes to my personal life philosophy, I tend to start by going straight to nihilism. Right down to the dregs, and then I ask myself, Why cant I stay here?

And I think thats somewhat an important question to ask, for me. Not for everyone, but for me. Lets start out with a clean slate, and see what is left.

Maybe you think this is harder than it looks, and Id agree. First, the idea of a clean slate is, itself, one that we made up; its not clean itself. And the very thought that starting out with a clean slate is a good thing is a product of culture, environment, etc. Therein lies the great paradox of trying to find a clean slate the concept of a clean slate itself is not clean, and so youre doomed to failure from the outset.

But the concept is somewhat helpful, in that it forces me to continually answer the question, Why?

Why is it better to be selfless than selfish? Why is it better to be ambitious than lazy? I know people want you to be more selfless, and I know that, especially in Western culture, ambition and the amount you contribute is prized. But why? Why is that important?

Ive found it a rather interesting feature of my education that, at every turn, what I learned deconstructed the value of education in various ways. The more I learned about the structure behind our patterns of thought and our values, the more I saw that things I took for granted or set in stone as good or bad werent that simple; they were constructs, made-up concepts, that at several points in the history of their construction could have been built one way or the other, although, after several generations, we take them for granted.

The disconcerting thing about knowing this is that the things you once knew as objective fact become accidents of subjective preferences that largely depended on happenstance. So you become less confident about a lot of things, which makes you curious about what else you dont know. And so much of what we take advantage of reality seems so constructed that you get tempted to peak behind the curtain.

But there is no objective behind the curtain, Ive found theres always, it seems, one more construction, one more why youve jumped down the rabbit hole, and it seems like youre going to falling forever, and theres nothing, necessarily, to hold onto on the way down.

And so sometimes, in my case, I have to think, Whats next? What do I hold onto to keep from falling?

You might say, People.

Heres the thing, though: People are fickle. And I think they have a right to be. No person should be there just to prop me up, to make me feel good, to take the emotional burden that is my life. Help them? Sure, I can. Depend on them? No, I cant. And Im not saying I should be able to; they have their own lives, and I should respect that. And altruism isnt something to really hold onto, either, because its outside yourself; if you are altruistic for your own salvation, youre not being altruistic, and sooner or later thatll be exposed in an ugly way.

So, yeah. Maybe here you think Im selfish. Maybe you think that existential angst is silly that while Im here questioning things, youre working. Maybe you think less of me. Maybe, Maybe, Maybe

How to respond? I could say, F**k you, this is my life. That has a certain utility to it. But the fact is that even though it IS my life, your judgment is your judgment, and you can think of me as you see fit. You can judge me and say about me what you like. Its your life, its your right. Although it does make me uncomfortablewhich puts me right back into the existential angst

Why does it make me feel uncomfortable? Why do I care about what people think?

And you say, Stop caring about what people think. I dont, and it solves a ton of problems.

I find it hard to believe that people dont care what people think, although I think its awfully important to some people that other people THINK they dont care about what other people think. I think, honestly, that most people who say they dont care about what people think are either lying or are so privileged they dont have to worry about what others think in their position of power.

Maybe thats reflective of my own personal experience with trying not to care what people think, and at times thinking I succeeded. Anyways, my answer is no. I dont care enough about what you think to impress you by trying to show off that I dont care about what you think.

Anywayswere getting off topic. I was explaining how Im falling down this abyss of constructed subjectivity and the accidents of circumstance that lies behind objective values, trying to get to the bottom of it. How I was trying to argue all the way down to nihilism.

And there have been moments in my life whereI think I glimpse it. Its not the construct of the things its what makes me want the construct of the things.

That desire.

Yeah, I know thats all still constructed by circumstances and the brain and blah, blah, blah. Im not talking about that part. Im talking about the raw experience. That feeling. Everything else taken away, so far as I can see I want to live because I feel desire, and I love the experience of having a desire fulfilled. The classic answer to, Should I kill myself or get a cup of coffee, for me is simply that the coffee tastes better.

And so from that basis, that feeling, I build my entire moral system, because I want to. Its an openly selfish enterprise; I make no pretense about it being purely altruistic. And therein lies my hedonistic philosophy; I see morality as a thing I can help build to make as many people able to freely embrace their freely chosen desires as possible, simply because I love doing it. Same with social justice. Same with human relationships. These are all tools to help us achieve and realize desire, because my desire is AWESOME and fulfilling it feels great, and knowing that Im causing others to fulfill it feels even better.

Thats been my view increasingly over the last few years. Its the main reason I became an anti-theist and relaxed my own views on spirituality. I thought I wanted a perfect worldbut then I realized that I just wanted everyone to be as happy and openly accepted in the past, present, and future as possible, and religion was only a problem when it was in the way of that, and that fighting directly against religion wasnt really accomplishing my goal of encouraging or fostering happiness. So I shifted my position, a bit.

Its what I hold onto in the face of constant learning and constantly shifting constructions its what keeps me going. The reason Im not a nihilist. Maybe its different for you. Thats OK.

I just hope its what you want.

Finding my way through the darkness, guided by a beating heart

PS: I want to thank all 32 of my patrons who make posts like this possible.

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I'd Be A Nihilist If I Weren't A Hedonist - Patheos (blog)

Hyundai has come a long way with its outstanding Ioniq Hybrid – Philly.com

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In 1986, shortly after I started writing about cars, a Hyundai operative showed up at the Inquirer with the South Korean automakers first U.S. offering: the Excel Sedan. He came back to retrieve it a week later.

Well, how did you like it? he asked, brandishing a salesmans hopeful smile.

Well, I replied, when I tried to roll down the drivers window, the window crank came off in my hand.

The smile dropped to less than half mast. Suffice it to say that the Excel was a lousy car that almost nipped Hyundais American adventure in the bud.

After spending a recent week with Hyundais newly minted Ioniq Hybrid, I was struck by just what ancient history the Excel had become, and what a quantum leap Hyundai has taken.

The Ioniq I drove was nicely realized from the standpoint of both styling and workmanship.

It also boasted enough lovely, innovative engineering to give it EPA mileage numbers that crown it king of the hybrid hill. The base Blue model has EPAs of 59 city and 57 highway for a combined rating of 58. (The more upmarket Limited model I drove was 55 and 54 for a combined 55.) This surpasses the EPAs mustered by the Toyota Prius. The perennial hybrid gold standard is rated at 54 city, 50 highway, and 52 combined.

The Ioniq, a compact hatchback, will ultimately come in three flavors. The Hybrid and an all-electric model are already here. A plug-in hybrid follows later this year.

Like its corporate cousin, the Kia Niro, the Ioniq utilizes a 104-horsepower, 1.6-liter gas engine buttoned to a six-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission. That exceptionally efficient engine it packs goodies such assodium-filled exhaust valves and direct injection shares the work with a 43-horse electric motor.

Under mild demand, the Ioniq can get along solely under the auspices of the electric motor. If your accelerator foot gets heavier, the engine is fired up and seamlessly joins the electric oarsman.

The Ioniq Hybrid is more fun to drive than its leisurely zero-to-60 time of 9.5 seconds might suggest. Its fully independent suspension makes this an agile car, and its responsive, accurate steering adds to the festivities.

The testers fun quotient was also enhanced by placing it in Sport mode. That keeps the engine on all the time, cracks the whip on the gear changing, stiffens the steering, and gives you a tachometer readout.

The Ioniq is handsome in a clean, civil fashion, and the fastback slope of the roof and rear window make the car resemblea stylish sedan more than a hatchback. It also contributes to the Ioniqs exceptional aerodynamics. The trade-off? The roof slope means tall, rear-seat passengers will find their heads encountering the headliner before the headrest. And the steeply raked, split liftgate window diminishes visibility.

The testers interior was comely in a spare way with a welcome Bauhaus need for form to follow function. Cargo space was a generous 26.5 cubic feet with the backseat up. The volume with the rear seat down was not available.

The Ioniq starts at an affordable $22,200. And that price includes an industry-exclusive lifetime warranty on that expensive hybrid battery. The more upscale Limited tester was very well-equipped for its price point ($27,500). Standard safety gear and hedonism included blind-spot detection with cross-traffic alert, lane-change assist, power sunroof, and leather seating. In addition to the battery guarantee, the Ioniq has exceptional warranties on the car itself (5 years/60,000 miles, bumper-to-bumper) and the power train (10 years/100,000 miles).

Base price: $27,500. As tested: $31,460. Standard equipment: 1.6-liter engine, electric motor, front drive, and an extensive array of safety gear and conveniences, including leather and a blind spot alert. Options: Includes a $3,000 package, which contains aids like automatic emergency braking, smart cruise control, lane departure warning, headlights with dynamic bending light function, rear parking sensors, and a navigation system. Fuel economy: 55 MPG city and 54 highway. Engine performance: Produces leisurely acceleration. Handling: Crisp. Ride comfort: Fine. Styling: Stylish but civil. Warranty: 5 years/60,000 miles bumper-to-bumper. Four Bens: Excellent

Published: July 14, 2017 5:00 AM EDT

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Hyundai has come a long way with its outstanding Ioniq Hybrid - Philly.com

Moses Mendelssohn: Personally Observant Progenitor Of Reform Judaism – The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com

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Photo Credit: Jewish Press

The son of Menachem Mendel, a Torah scribe, Moses Mendelssohn (son of Mendel) not only studied in yeshiva and became a promising rabbinic scholar, he also pursued secular learning, particularly languages and philosophy, studying the works of Locke and Leibniz and becoming friends with Immanuel Kant.

He published important philosophical essays in German and became known as the German Socrates; was awarded the prestigious status as a Jew under extraordinary protection by Frederick the Great (1750); and was awarded a prize by the Prussian Academy of Science for a treatise on Evidence in the Metaphysical Sciences (1763).

But he became best known for his personification of the conflict faced by the modern diasporan Jew seeking integration into broader secular society while maintaining a strong commitment to his Jewish identity.

Ironically, though Mendelssohn (1729 1826) was a great defender of traditional Judaism, he actually undermined it applying the intense rationalism test of the Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment). His philosophical approach ultimately proved incapable of spanning the chasm between the traditional Judaism from which he emerged and the world in which he now found himself; between his inferior civil status as a Jew and his emancipated status as a recognized and respected intellectual; and between his loyalty to halacha on the one hand and his rejection of various fundamental religious beliefs on the other.

The great irony of Mendelssohns life was that while he always remained a faithful Jew whose basic beliefs included the Sinaic revelation and the centrality of mitzvah observance to Jewish existence, his radical ideas led to assimilation and to the loss of Jewish identity on a massive scale, and he is perhaps best remembered today as a progenitor of Reform Judaism whose children converted to Christianity and in whose ideas the early Haskalah reformers found justification for secularism and emancipation at the expense of their Judaism.

The fact is, he never intended to reform Judaism but, rather, to harmonize traditional Jewish life with the new world of emancipation. Thus, the harshness of Jewish historys judgment upon him is more a reflection of his philosophical approach to Jews in contemporary society than a critique of his Torah observance or his dedication to halacha.

Mendelssohns belief in a wise and merciful God and in the immortality of the soul as eternal truths are the themes of his two major religious/philosophical works Morgenstunden (1785), in which he demonstrates the rationality of the belief that God exists, and Phaedon (1767), in which he argues for the eternal existence of the soul.

Where his beliefs proved antithetical, even heretical, to Jewish thought, however, is in the realm of free will, which he argued is logically impossible; his rejection of schar vonesh (strict divine reward and punishment); his embrace of ultimate rationalism and moral autonomy, such that any external law even if from Hashem himself must be subject to mans own conscience and morality (i.e., man is the sole arbiter of right and wrong); and his belief that divine revelation is no longer a necessary source for truth, since religious doctrines are based upon mans pure reason.

As opposed to Spinoza, who bitterly criticized Judaism as religious behaviorism that idolizes external action at the expense of inner devotion and who became famous for his rejection of Jewish law, Mendelssohn praised Judaism for being a revealed law rather than a revealed religion. He maintained that whereas a Jew is free to adopt the philosophical approach of his choice spiritual, rationalist, chassidic, kabbalistic, etc. his actions must always be consistent with Jewish law freedom in doctrine but strict conformity in action. Thus, for example, he translated the opening words of Maimonidess famous Thirteen Principles of Faith as I am firmly convinced rather than the traditional I believe . . .

Mendelssohn bravely and eloquently defended the principles of Judaism in the face of Christian conversionary polemics, most famously in his response to a challenge by Lavater, a leader of the Lutheran Church, to either disprove the truth of Christianity or convert to it. He response was his monumental work Jerusalem, or On Religious Power and Judaism, in which he argued that Judaism is not a religion that uses dogma to coerce thought and belief and that, as such, no Jewish institution should use its power, including particularly the power to excommunicate, to compel theological faith and practice.

The leading fighter for Jewish civil rights in Germany, he used his respect and renown to assist individual Jews and entire communities in disputes with the German authorities and he facilitated the revocation of many anti-Semitic laws.

The Orthodox view of Mendelssohn is perhaps best summarized by Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodoxy, who wrote in his Nineteen Letters:

And when the yoke from without began to be lifted, and the spirit breathed more freely, one eminently illustrious personality came upon the scene and influenced Jewish life to the present day. His freer intellectual development, indeed, owed much to the influence of forces extraneous to Judaism. In his personal life and practice an observant Jew, he showed his brethren throughout the world that a man could be strictly religious and yet enjoy the eminence and luster of a German Plato. But it was this and yet which proved decisive. His successors contented themselves with the zealous cultivation of Tanach on philological and aesthetic linesto the neglect of Judaism itself.

With the advent and growth of the Haskalah movement, the Jewish public became conversant with German literature, which led to significant dissatisfaction with traditional Judeo-German biblical translations. Moreover, most German biblical commentators had interpreted the Bible from a personal point of view rather than emphasizing pshat (making clear the actual textual meaning). Mendelssohn became the first to breach this divide when he compiled a literal German translation of the Pentateuch, important not only because it awakened in its readers an esthetic interest in literature but also because it led to the greater use of high German by German Jews.

Exhibited with this column is a page from an incredibly rare document, Mendelssohns original handwritten manuscript of his translation of Sefer Yirmiahu (Jeremiah), which was later published by Joseph Wolf and David Ottensosser (Frth, 1810). I have selected this particular page because it includes Jeremiah 2:2, one of most beautiful verses in all of the Prophets an expression of Hashems sublime love for the Jewish people which may be familiar to readers from the Rosh Hashanah Mussaf service (Gods name has been redacted from the document to prevent the creation of shaimos):

Go, and cry out in the ears of Jerusalem saying: So says Hashem, I remember for you the affection of your youth, the love of your betrothal, how you went after me in the wilderness, in an unsown land. Israel is holy to Hashem . . .

Its interesting to note Mendelssohns footnote explaining that Jeremiah 2:4 is the beginning of the Haftarah portion that is read on Shabbat Parshat Maasei. As with all his translation work, he strove to conscientiously reproduce the text to reflect the spirit of the original.

Though grounded in traditional exegesis, Mendelssohns biblical translations into German proved highly controversial. Immediately upon publication, his Pentateuch was severely criticized by mainstream rabbinical leaders, including Rav Ezekiel Landau. Fearing that the magnificence of the German language and Mendelssohns beautiful linguistic rendition of the Pentateuch would induce young Jews to first abandon the study of the Torah itself and then to forsake entirely the practice of Torah-true Judaism, the rabbis joined to issue a ban against the German Pentateuch of Moses of Dessau (June 1779).

Various writers and commentators who had been working on a German commentary to Mendelssohns translation including famed poet and grammarian Solomon Dubno were frightened by the vociferous rabbinic opposition and ceased their efforts. A determined Mendelssohn soldiered on himself to complete the Pentateuch commentary. He delegated some work to individuals unmoved by the rabbinical ban and ultimately completed the work, which he called Netivot Shalom (Paths of Peace) in March 1783. The translation was in High German, and he personally wrote a Hebrew introduction discussing the development and history of his Pentateuch and the rules of idiom and syntax he used in his translation.

Mendelssohns work led to the Biurist movement (from the Hebrew word biur, or commentary), which consisted of a class of Jewish biblical exegetes including Samuel Israel Mulder, who translated the Pentateuch and other biblical works into Dutch; I. Neufeld (Polish); J. L. Mandelstamm (Russian); Samuel David Luzzatto (Italian); and M. Rosenthal (Hungarian).

In America, Isaac Leeser translated the Bible into English according to the interpretations of the Biurists. (See my Jewish Press column Isaac Leeser: Father of Torah Judaism in America, January 27, 2017.)

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Moses Mendelssohn: Personally Observant Progenitor Of Reform Judaism - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

The End of Jewish Guilt – Patheos (blog)

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Editors Note: The third and last Rabbi featured in the series on non-believing clergy guilt doesnt feel any guilt! How did he manage to avoid it? By becoming a Rabbi at a humanistic Jewish congregation, a subject he wrote about earlier here. While he didnt respond to my series of questions, he did respond with a hopeful message for all non-believing clergy.

=====================

By Jeff Falick

After reading over these questions about clergy guilt, I realized that they really do not apply to me. Once I realized that I could no longer function as a conventional believing member of the clergy, I was so fortunate to find meaningful work as a Secular Humanistic rabbi.

As I have entered the world of Congregational Humanism, as I like to call it, I have had the honor of meeting Humanistic clergy from other traditions, notably those from Humanistic Unitarian-Universalist congregations and from the American Ethical Union. One such meeting took place at Linda LaScolas home on the morning of the June 2016 Reason Rally in Washington, D.C. It was there that I met Amanda Poppei, leader of the Washington Ethical Society. The result of our conversation was the first ever modern-era gathering of Humanistic clergy this past March. Over two days at her congregation, we enjoyed a remarkable opportunity to discuss our unique roles in the vanguard of nontheistic religion.

Throughout the eventwhich was covered by The Washington PostI frequently thought about our colleagues in the Clergy Project, particularly those still in the closet. Here we sat openly discussing our work in godless congregations while so many others who believe exactly as we do are forced to suffer in silence. As a gay man, it reminded me of nothing more than my days in that particular closet as I watched out and proud LGBTQ+ people openly organizing.

The Clergy Project provides a crucial service to those who are transitioning from traditional belief systems and seeking support or even new careers. I would like to extend an invitation to the members to think about working as Humanistic clergy. We who do this work employ the same skill set as other clergy. But we put it to use in the service of Humanism, rather than God.

Certainly it is difficultnearly impossibleto find full-time employment as we lucky few have done. Yet there is so much room for this movement to grow and we who are fortunate to do this work have discovered that a need absolutely exists. The number of nontheists in this country is growing and many of them will be seeking communities to replace the churches and synagogues in which they were raised.

For most who choose this path it will not provide full-time work. Yet I know many clergy, both conventional and Humanist, who work part-time with fellowships and congregations.

Imagine how much more quickly Congregational Humanism would grow if more members of the Clergy Project now exiting their closets chose to build new communities that reflect their newfound commitments! Who better to help build capacity for our hoped-for future wave of (nontheistic) religion?

Please consider joining us!

Bio: Jeffrey L. Falick is the rabbi of The Birmingham Temple Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in Farmington Hills, Michigan.Ordained by the (theistic) Reform Jewish movement, he later became associated with Secular Humanistic Judaism, an approach thatcombines adherence to nontheism with a celebration of Jewish culture and life.He serves as president of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis and on the Executive Committee of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. He blogs on the Patheos atheist channel as The Atheist Rabbi.

>>Photo Credits: By Jeff Falick, personal photo 2017

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The End of Jewish Guilt - Patheos (blog)

Net Neutrality: Corporate Censorship Is State Censorship – International Policy Digest (press release) (blog)

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Health + Tech /13 Jul 2017

Organized protests are taking place against the Trump administrations goal of dismantling net neutrality, which will enable the powerful plutocrats who rule the United States to severely limit the ability of Americans to share anti-establishment ideas and information online. The United States of America is not a democracy, nor a democratic republic, nor a representative democracy, nor a constitutional republic, nor any combination of the above. America is effectively a corporatist oligarchy, according to a Cambridge University-published study conducted by Princeton University Prof Martin Gilens and Northwestern University Prof Benjamin.

Since the Supreme Court has slowly made it legal for the billionaire class to fully control the US government by legalizing corporate lobbying and campaign funding in a way that undeniably amounts to legalized bribery (see 1976s Buckley v. Valeo, 1978s First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, and 2010s Citizens United v. FEC), America is now ruled by the wealthy and the people who serve them as surely as a monarchy is ruled by a king or queen.

Ending net neutrality in the name of letting the Magical Free Market Economics Fairy sort things out in an unregulated system, as FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been advocating, only makes sense if you live in a fictional America that isnt ruled by a small group of plutocrats. Since no American lives in a country wherein ordinary citizens can influence their government in any meaningful way, this cannot possibly be the case.

The US is a nation whose entire government is ultimately answerable only to the owners of enormous multinational corporations and banks, which means that deregulating the ability of those plutocrats to control internet communications is the exact same thing as allowing state censorship. Its easy to get lost in the smaller battles and partisan politics, but when you zoom out and look at the big picture US politics can accurately be described as the slow, suffocating process of robbing the American people of power and giving it to the plutocrats while preserving the illusion of democracy. This new bid to dismantle net neutrality is just one more of the many, many steps that have been taken over many generations to allow this to happen.

Net neutrality is an obstacle for US oligarchs in that it hamstrings their ability to manipulate web traffic away from information which challenges their rule. By dismantling an independent internet, the ever-growing media conglomerates who provide internet services will be able to choke off smaller independent sites by slowing them down with an unaffordable fee for faster service, which will put fewer eyes on dissenting online media. That may be all they need to do to strangle the media revolution, which for the first time in history caused Americas unelected power establishment to completely lose control of the narrative on both ends of the political spectrum in 2016.

The internet has been causing many problems for the ruling class, who up until very recently were able to use the consolidated legacy media they own to manipulate and control the way Americans think and vote. Last year, saw a populist candidate named Bernie Sanders nearly secure the Democratic party nomination while openly using the word oligarchy on national television and speaking out against the billionaire class. Then the official preferred candidate failed to win the general election. This all happened because the American people were able to use the alternative media, social media and WikiLeaks to form their own narratives about what was happening in their country.

Now, the oligarchs were never afraid of either Sanders nor Trump; subsequent events have shown that the US power establishment has been able to push those two individuals around pretty effectively. What they feared, and continue to fear, is the way the people broke out of their corporate media brain boxes and started fighting to take power away from the oligarchs and give it back to themselves. If they lose the ability to manufacture the consent of the governed using their media propaganda machine, they will be unable to govern, and people will use their insurmountable numbers to overthrow them by whatever means.

I feel very confident telling all of my readers that no matter where you are on the political spectrum, the dismantling of net neutrality is bad for you. Go to YouTube and watch some video footage of Ajit Pai right now. Ignore his words and just watch his face, listen to his tone of voice. That is not a sincere person. You can feel it in your guts. Trust that feeling. This former Verizon lawyer isnt trying to dismantle net neutrality because he wants to help you; this former Verizon lawyer is trying to dismantle net neutrality because he wants to hurt you. He wants to take away your power and give it to the ruling class he serves.

Net neutrality was one of the very few victories the American people were able to secure for themselves prior to last year, and they need to fight for it. It will be a challenge, because the ruling elites want the internet as loyal to pro-establishment narratives as they can possibly make it, but its worth fighting for. Dont let these creeps take this away from you.

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Net Neutrality: Corporate Censorship Is State Censorship - International Policy Digest (press release) (blog)

How Chinese internet users got round censors to mourn Liu Xiaobo – South China Morning Post

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Large numbers of internet users in China have used elaborate methods to get round the censors to express their grief over the death from liver cancer of the political activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.

References to Lius name were blocked on Weibo, Chinas version of Twitter, as well as other phrases linked to the rights activist such as I have no enemy a line from his final statement to court during his trial on subversion charges in 2009.

Liu was sentenced to 11 years in jail, but was released on medical parole and treated in hospital after his cancer was diagnosed in May. He died on Thursday.

Other references to Liu blocked online on the mainland included RIP and Emojis of candles, a common method used by internet users to express mourning, such as after natural disasters or serious accidents.

Liu Xiaobo the quiet, determined teller of Chinas inconvenient truths

Blocked searches on Weibo led to a message appearing saying the result cannot be displayed according to relevant laws, regulations and policies.

Similar censorship was in place on WeChat, Chinas hugely popular instant messaging app.

Internet users managed to express their sadness for Lius death by using indirect references to the political activist or through pictures and screenshots.

Many posts referring to Liu, however, were still blocked.

Abnormal weather appeared in many places around the nation and heavy rain poured down, one person wrote on Weibo, Maybe the gods were sad about someones death.

Many articles and poems written by Liu or his wife, plus the cover of Lius doctoral thesis, were widely circulated on WeChat.

Rest in peace, Dr Liu of Beijing Normal University, one of the posts said.

Internet users also posted screenshots of reports and obituaries released by overseas media about Lius death.

State-run media have largely remained silent about the Nobel Peace Prize winners passing.

However, the Global Times, a tabloid controlled by the Communist Party mouthpiece the Peoples Daily, said mourners were putting on a grand show of sorrow. The article was later removed online.

In another article, the newspaper said that Liu was a victim led astray by the West".

Liu lived in an era when China witnessed the most rapid growth in recent history, but he attempted to confront Chinese mainstream society under Western support, it said.

This determined his tragic life. Even if he could have lived longer, he would never have achieved his political goals that are in opposition to the path of history, it added.

Censors appear to have stepped up their surveillance and cast a wider net to catch posts with indirect references Liu as news of his death spread.

The most recent 200 Weibo posts deleted on Weibo were all related to Lius death on Friday morning, according to Weiboscope, a University of Hong Kong project that tracks censorship on the social media platform.

Live on well: fury, farewells and Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobos last words to his wife

None of the deleted tweets contained Lius name, with many referring to the activist simply as him.

Nearly a 10th of the censored posts after the announcement of Lius death on Thursday night contained the Chinese words for rain and storm.

Some of the messages trying to circumvent censorship by adding text inside pictures were also blocked.

Liu, 61, died of multiple organ failure on Thursday, according to statement released by the hospital treating him in Shenyang in Liaoning province.

Liu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. He was represented at the ceremony by an empty chair.

Additional reporting by Kinling Lo

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How Chinese internet users got round censors to mourn Liu Xiaobo - South China Morning Post

Donald Trump Jr.’s Free Speech Defense – Slate Magazine

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Donald Trump Jr. walks offstage after Donald Trumps debate against Hillary Clinton at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on Sept. 26.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Get ready for the latest defense for Donald Trump Jr.s actions: He had a First Amendment right to collude with the Russians to get dirt on Hillary Clinton. This defense, which has been advanced by noted First Amendment expert Eugene Volokh and others, posits that he cannot be charged under campaign finance laws for soliciting a foreign contribution because seeking and providing such information would be protected political speech, or at least protected for an American to receive. Its a dangerous argument which fails to recognize the compelling interest promoted by Congresss ban on foreign contributions: specifically guarding American self-government against foreign intrusion.

Lets first start with the statute Trump Jr. may have violated. Federal law makes it a potentialcrime forany person to solicit (that is, expressly or impliedly ask for) the contribution of anything of value from a foreign citizen.

While we do not know enough to say that Trump Jr. should be charged with violating this statute, emailsreleased by Trump Jr. himself on Tuesday (as the New York Times was about to report on them) provide more than enough detail to merit an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. We know that Trump Jr. got an email from his friend stating that the Crown prosecutor of Russia had offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. This high level and sensitive information was being presented as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump.

Trump Jr. replied almost immediately:If its what you say I love it especially later in the summer.

It seems obvious that I love it constitutes solicitation in this instance. And there is a very strong argument to be made that very high level and sensitive information coming from the government of Russia is a thing of value for purposes of federal campaign finance law. The Federal Election Commission has said that providing free polling information to a candidate is a thing of value. It has said that when Grover Norquists Americans for Tax Reformgave a list of conservative activists in 37 states to the BushCheney campaign in 2004, this was a thing of value which had to be reported by the campaign, even if the list was publicly posted on the groups website. It said that Canadian campaign literature which an American candidate wanted to borrow from in his own campaign is a thing of value, even if its value is nominal or difficult to ascertain. It said that opposition research provided by a political group to Republican candidates can count as an in-kind contribution. And a federal court, in the prosecution of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, said that a thing of value need only have subjective value to the recipient.

In the case involving the Canadian campaign literature, the FEC said the solution was for the campaign to buy it at fair market value, not to take it for free. And in the case involving the polling data, the court distinguished between volunteering for a campaignwhich is OK, even for foreignersand providing things of value that the campaign would otherwise buy, including information.

So heres where the First Amendment argument comes in. Professor Volokh argues that applying the FEC statute against Trump for getting a Russian government oppo dump must violate Trump Jr.s First Amendment rights because otherwise it would prevent all campaigns from obtaining mere information from a foreign individual. What if foreign individuals came forward during the campaign with dirt on Trumps travails in Russia and gave it to the Clinton campaign? Would that violate the law? Could a campaign not even speak to a foreign individual?

If a law is substantially overbroad, Volokh argues, it could be unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds against all people, including Trump Jr., even if a narrower lawfor example, against taking information from a foreign governmentcould pass constitutional muster.

Should it ever come down to a prosecution of Donald Trump Jr., I think courts wouldand shouldreject these arguments. One way to do so would be to read the statute more narrowly to proscribe actions like Trump Jr.s: campaigns taking compiled information for free that they would have paid significant value to receive from a foreign sourceor at least a foreign government.

Should it ever come down to a prosecution of Donald Trump Jr., I think courts would reject these arguments.

Campaign finance laws are usually justified on the grounds of preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption. But the laws barring foreign interference are different: They are about protecting self-government and the right of the American people themselves to decide who our elected officials and representatives are. As the FEC acknowledged in 2007, Congress passed and strengthened the foreign contribution ban with a broad scope out of a legitimate fear of interference in American electoral processes. It is a concern which has only been heightened by recent reports of Russian hacking into state voting and election systems in the 2016 campaign, as well as Russian proliferation of propaganda and Twitter botdriven fake news and the countrys hack of the Democratic National Committee.

Right after the Supreme Court decided the 2010 case Citizens United v. FEC, freeing corporations to spend money in elections independent of campaigns on the grounds that such independent spending cannot corrupt democracy, a Canadian lawyer living in New York named Benjamin Bluman brought a similar suit. He argued that his independent spending of 50 cents to make flyers and hand them out in Central Park in support of President Barack Obama should not be a crime because he could not corrupt the process.

A three-judge district court, in an opinion by conservative D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh, roundly rejected the argument and affirmed the broad scope of the foreign contribution ban in Bluman v. FEC: It is fundamental to the definition of our national political community that foreign citizens do not have a constitutional right to participate in, and thus may be excluded from, activities of democratic self-government. It follows, therefore, that the United States has a compelling interest for purposes of First Amendment analysis in limiting the participation of foreign citizens in activities of American democratic self-government, and in thereby preventing foreign influence over the U.S. political process. The Supreme Court thought this result was so self-evident it summarily affirmed the lower court judgment withoutscheduling argument and without issuing a separate decision. That is how obvious the countrys interest is in preventing foreign influence over our elections.

Top Comment

1. No contact with any Russians at any point 2. Okay, some contact, but just routine stuff, not related to the campaign 3. Okay, contact related to the campaign, but not collusion 4. Alright, collusion, but totally accidental 5. More...

To let someone off the hook who solicited very high level and sensitive information from a hostile government because there may be cases in which information from a foreign source does not raise the same danger to our national security and right of self-government is to turn the First Amendment into a tool to kill American democracy.

Put aside the incredulity Trump World would deserve if it pivots from saying there were no campaign contacts with the Russian government to acknowledging the contacts and saying they were just free speech. As a matter of protecting American democracy, the argument is pernicious and threatens the very core of what it means for we the people to decide who governs us.

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Donald Trump Jr.'s Free Speech Defense - Slate Magazine

Judge: Campus Carry Doesn’t Hurt Free Speech – Reason (blog)

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Three University of Texas at Austin professors filed a lawsuit claiming that letting people carry firearms on their campus would have a chilling effect on speech. Last week, District Judge Lee Yeakel dismissed the suit claiming the professors could present "no concrete evidence to substantiate their fears" and that their fears rest on "mere conjecture." Although it's certainly refreshing to see professors using First Amendment justifications with such vigor, it's even better that Yeakel dismissed their ludicrous arguments and protected campus carry.

In 2015, the Texas legislature strengthened their commitment to gun rights at public universities. Senate Bill 11, which came into effect in August 2016, permitted campus concealed carry in campus buildings within reasonable guidelines. Those guidelines vary from school to school. At UT Austin, guns must stay out of sight, and individuals professors can choose to make "gun-free zones" in their offices, provided they post their rules clearly.

Professors Jennifer Lynn Glass (sociology), Lisa Moore (English), and Mia Carter (English) banded together and filed a lawsuit that sought to overturn the new law. One professor argued that the "possibility of the presence of concealed weapons in a classroom impedes my and other professors' ability to create a daring, intellectually active, mutually supportive, and engaged community of thinkers." Their reasoning centered around the idea that students will be unable to speak freelya First Amendment argumentin an environment where other students are armed.

But this logic posits that students will pull guns on each other when they hear ideas they disagree withan unlikely outcome. Even for controversial topics like abortion and, ironically, gun rights, it would be beyond the scope of reason to expect that a classroom conversation would become so heated that a student's life would be threatened.

Judge Yeakel drew on the reasoning in the 1972 free speech case Laird v. Tatum, which said that "Allegations of a subjective 'chill' are not an adequate substitute for a claim of specific present objective harm or a threat of specific future harm."

Yeakel then used the precedent of Laird, and lack of specific evidence, as grounds for dismissal: "Here, Plaintiffs ask the court to find standing based on their self-imposed censoring of classroom discussions caused by their fear of the possibility of illegal activity by persons not joined in this lawsuit. Plaintiffs present no concrete evidence to substantiate their fears" He's right that there's no evidence that this law has caused harm in the way they claim. Unfortunately, Yeakel only addressed a small part of the professors' argumentthe speech-related points. They also brought up issues with equal protection and the law's vagueness, so it's likely that this issue won't be fully laid to rest.

On one hand, it's good that college professors are recognizing the value of creating environments for free speech to thrive in. On the other, this seems like a thinly veiled political move, and it's unlikely that opponents of campus carry laws will be quelled by this lawsuit's dismissal. Hopefully these professors remain committed to the First Amendment principles they hold so dear whenever they're threatened in a classroom environment. They're certainly right about one thing: exchanging ideas freely is the whole damn point of college.

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Judge: Campus Carry Doesn't Hurt Free Speech - Reason (blog)