Monthly Archives: May 2017

Imprisoned U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning U.S. Army / via AFP - Getty Images file

The former Army private also faced new charges in July 2016: three administrative prison offenses related to her first of two

"I am forever grateful to the people who kept me alive, President Obama, my legal team, and countless supporters," said Manning on Tuesday, citing struggles over "nearly seven years of bars and cement, of periods of solitary confinement, and of my health care and autonomy restricted, including through routinely forced haircuts."

Manning, who has

"I watched the world change from inside prison walls and through the letters that I have received from veterans, trans young people, parents, politicians, and artists," Manning said. "My spirits were lifted in dark times, reading of their support, sharing in their triumphs, and helping them through challenges of their own."

Nancy Hollander and Vincent Ward, the attorneys representing Manning in clemency and appellate cases, called Manning's long sentence "draconian."

"Chelsea has already served the longest sentence of any whistleblower in the history of this country," said Hollander and Ward in a joint statement Tuesday. "It has been far too long, too severe, too draconian. President Obama's act of commutation was the first time the military took care of this soldier who risked so much to disclose information that served the public interest."

Manning then known as Bradley was convicted in 2013 for stealing 700,000 military files and diplomatic cables and giving them to WikiLeaks in 2010. Her defenders say no one was endangered by the leaks. She came out as transgender shortly after her sentencing.

An ACLU spokesperson told NBC News that a lawsuit against the DoD over gender transition-related medical care is now "on hold" and will likely be dropped after her release. Meanwhile, ACLU attorney Chase Strangio said Manning's visibility as a transgender woman is a "critical force" in the movement for equality.

"The transition out of these horrific institutions will not be easy, and part of what we hope is that Chelsea will find the space, love, and support to heal and build a life of her choosing," said Strangio. "Her fight to be herself, to access the medical care that she needed, and to gain her freedom have transformed law and society for the better."

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Chelsea Manning on Impending Release: 'Freedom Used to Be Something I Dreamed Of' - NBCNews.com

Condoleezza Rice on Russia, North Korea's Threat and Freedom Wall Street Journal (subscription) Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week releases a new book, Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in advance of the book's release, Ms. Rice touched on the role of Russia in U.S. ...

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Condoleezza Rice on Russia, North Korea's Threat and Freedom - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

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Meadows (R-NC) told HuffPost that he has been working with the Senate to reflect the more conservative elements that the Freedom Caucus added to the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which passed through the House last week.

The AHCA passed after Meadows brokered a deal with Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ), the co-chairman of the moderate Tuesday Group, to add an amendment that would allow states to waive Obamacare regulations such as community regulations and essential health benefits.

Sources close to the Freedom Caucus confirmed on Monday that Meadows met with the Senate steering committee on health care over the past month to discuss the Senatesoverhaul package.

He believes theres a grand compromise to be made if negotiating partners are willing to come to the table, the source said of Meadows.

Freedom Caucus sources said that Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), two conservative members of the upper chamber, have been heavily involved in meetings between the moderate and the conservative wings of the Senate. Sens. Cruz, Lee, and Rand Paul (R-KY) came out with the Freedom Caucus in opposition to the original version of the AHCA for not repealing enough of Obamacare.

Meadows also met with Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Tom Cotton (R-AR) about the AHCA.

Meadows told HuffPost that The fundamental question is going to come down to the tax credit subsidy in place, or do they drop back to an Obamacare modified subsidy.

Conservatives want to retain the AHCAs flat, age-based, tax credits; however, Thune advocated for keeping Obamacares income-based subsidies. Meadows has had discussions with Thune about AHCAs tax credit scheme.

Meadows remains at the center of the healthcare debate after successfully negotiating a deal with Rep.MacArthur that led to the bills passage in the House. The Freedom Caucus chair stood behind President Donald Trump, next to Speaker Paul Ryan and the chairmen of the House committees that drafted the AHCA, during the celebration at the White House following the bills passage in the House.

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House Freedom Chairman Meadows Working on a 'Grand ... - Breitbart - Breitbart News

Most progressive groups oppose any expression of religion in the public square, and will likely oppose whatever this president does

After President Donald Trump issued an executive order on religious freedom last week, the Left used its pre-written script to attack it even though it was dramatically scaled back from the draft that was leaked to left-wing media outlets in February.

As if on cue, the Rev. Barry Lynn, president of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, pounced, claiming the executive order tramples and guts the entire notion of religious freedom.

The president pandered to his far-right fundamentalist base, upending protections for houses of worship and allowing religion to be used as an excuse to deny women coverage for contraception and other preventive health care, Lynn said.

That obviously makes for a good fundraising letter for Americans United and other like-minded groups, but it doesnt resemble reality.

In the Rose Garden ceremony on the National Day of Prayer, Trump signed an order directing the Treasury Department to use great discretion in enforcing the Johnson Amendment against churches. The Johnson Amendment, a provision in the U.S. tax code, prevents all 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates. In the same order, Trump directed multiple departments to address conscience-based objections to the Obamacare mandate requiring employers to pay for contraception and abortion-inducing drugs.

Most social conservative groups wanted to give the president the benefit of the doubt, using some iteration of a good first step to describe the order. However, Michael Farris, the president of Alliance Defending Freedom, was a little more blunt. ADF has been behind Pulpit Freedom Sunday to challenge the Johnson Amendment and has represented dozens of employers in litigation over the Obamacare contraception/abortifacient mandate.

Farris said the order provides hope, but added its vague instructions to federal agencies simply leaves them wiggle room to ignore that gesture, regardless of the spirit in which it was intended.

We strongly encourage the president to see his campaign promise through to completion and to ensure that all Americansno matter where they live or what their occupation isenjoy the freedom to peacefully live and work consistent with their convictions without fear of government punishment, Farris continued.

In fairness, the Johnson Amendmentnamed for a provision pushed by then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson in 1954 that restricts political speech by churches and other nonprofitswould require an act of Congress to overturn. But attacks on religious freedom in the United States went much further during the Obama administration.

Compared to the draft that was leaked to The Nation magazine (of all outlets) in February, the order by Trump was relatively vague. The draft included language to allow religious organizations to adhere to their religious beliefs in hiring decisions; required the Obamacare exchanges to include pro-life plans; and restrict the government from retaliating against federal employees or federal contractors over religious beliefs, such as same-sex marriage.

While the Washington Blade, a leading gay newspaper, said the order was silent on LGBT issues, the top LGBT advocacy group, Human Rights Campaign, attacked it, claiming it amounted to a #LicenseToDiscriminate in agencies across the federal government.

This sweeping approach could result in an unprecedented expansion of religious exemptions affecting employment, services, and programs. Revisiting federal law, including regulations and policies, will almost certainly have significant implications for LGBTQ people. In essence, the executive order punts the question of how and where the administration will permit discrimination against LGBTQ people to [Attorney General] Jeff Sessions, a man who has consistently denied LGBTQ people equality under the law.

There is of course no such license to discriminate. Ask the group that never misses a chance to sue and manufacture controversy.

At least in this instance, the American Civil Liberties Union should actually be applauded for demonstrating intellectual honesty compared to other left-wing groups, shockingly announcing it wouldnt sue.

What President Trump did today was merely provide a faux sop to religious conservatives and kick the can down the road on religious exemptions on reproductive health care services, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said after reviewing the order.

The ACLU description was only slightly more critical than that of ADF, and the two organizations routinely spar in court.

The ACLUs frankness was in short supply on the Left, which much prefers to traffic in hysteria, claiming that theocracy is always around the corner. A case in point is Michael Keegan, president of People for the American Way, who called the order an unambiguous attack on the separation of church and state.

This EO can be added to the mountain of evidence that Donald Trump is not and never has been a social moderate; hes a loyal ally of the most extreme and intolerant voices in the Religious Right, and hes willing to put that partnership above the wellbeing of women and the core principles of the First Amendment, Keegan huffed in a clich-laced statement.

Then, theres the Interfaith Alliance that made a similar attack. The organizations president, Rabbi Jack Moline, called the executive order a payment to religious extremists for their support, and a betrayal of the First Amendment.

This could serve as a teachable moment for the infant administration.

The White House chiseled away at the draft executive order apparently to appease these same groups that went on the warpath over the draft. In the end, the lesson is that most progressive groups oppose any expression of religion in the public square, and will likely oppose whatever this president does.

Fred Lucas is author of Tainted by Suspicion: The Secret Deals and Electoral Chaos of Disputed Presidential Elections (Stairway Press, 2016) and White House correspondent for The Daily Signal.

Bombthrowers is a blog about politics and the war for the hearts and minds of Americans from a conservative viewpoint.

In line with our name, we do not hold back. We have a take-no-prisoners attitude when it comes to fighting for conservative principles. The Left doesnt play nice, and thats why theyve been winning. Its time for conservatives to rise up and turn the tide.

Were not afraid to take on anyone, especially the Washington EstablishmentRepublican or Democrat.

Bombthrowers is a project supported by the Capital Research Center. Its editor-in-chief is Matthew Vadum.

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Trump's executive order on religious freedom under attack - Canada Free Press

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USA TODAY 5:58 p.m. ET May 8, 2017

During the National Day of Prayer at the Fort Walton Beach Municipal Auditorium in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.(Photo: Nick Tomecek, AP)

Letter to the editor:

Franklin Grahams column Persecution of Christians isnt rare is absolutely correct. The persecution of Christians in other countries is a horrible evil, and nobody should suffer because somebody elses religious beliefs are forced on them. However, Grahams father (Billy) believed that his brand of prayer should be among students in American schools. The Grahams have also perpetrated the right-wing Christian myth that the only way to get to heaven is through Jesus Christ. I think true religion believers, like Graham and Vice President Pence, believe that religious freedom means right-wing Christians should be able to keep women from controlling their own bodies and discriminate against gays in public places, so Im not sure they are the ideal spokespeople for worldwide religious freedom.

Marvin Schwartzwalder; Walden, N.Y.

Persecution of Christians isn't rare: Franklin Graham

Facebook comments are edited for clarity and grammar:

If you ask certain American Christians about persecution, they will be happy to tell you how persecuted they are when they arent allowed to deny civil rights to others, when others arent forced to live according to their beliefs, etc. They dont have a clue what actual persecution is.

Bill Carey

There are killings going on in our world, and we need a religious freedom executive order in this country, where left-wing fascists are trying to make their twisted ideology the religion of the land.

Gerald Vander Hoek

I would be much more impressed if Franklin Graham would launch a campaign to bring attention to persecution of members of all religions, as well as persecution of unbelievers on religious grounds. This occurs across the world. But hes nothing more than a cheerleader for his own team: the Christians. Will anyone stand up for anothers religious rights?

Michael Arrowood

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Can Christians defend religious freedom? - USA TODAY