Monthly Archives: June 2017

Are you ready when disaster strikes? These Minnesota doomsday preppers are – Charleston Express

Posted: June 26, 2017 at 5:06 pm

By Richard ChinMinneapolis Star Tribune

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. The tiny house that Bryan Korbel is building in his Columbia Heights, Minn., driveway will have all the comforts of a 260-square-foot home.

There'll be a shower with an on-demand water heater, a microwave oven, stove, composting toilet, satellite dish and power provided by solar panels. It's being built on a trailer, so it can be towed anywhere.

Korbel's self-sufficient micro-cottage isn't being built out of a Thoreau-esque desire to simplify or to achieve a chic Dwell magazine minimalist aesthetic.

He's building it for the end of the world.

When all hell breaks loose war, natural disaster, a breakdown in civil society Korbel will hitch his house on wheels to a 1972 Ford F100 pickup. (That's before the advent of computerized car systems, which Korbel says will be fried by the electromagnetic pulse created by a nuclear blast.)

He'll haul the structure and his family to a patch of land he has north of Hinckley, Minn., stopping to get supplies he's cached along the way in PVC tubes buried underground. He's prepared, he believes, to ride out anything that man or nature might throw at him.

Korbel, 53, is a prepper, of course, that breed of person who stockpiles food, toilet paper and ammunition to last not days, but months just in case.

Preppers see themselves as prudent, sensible ants in a world of feckless grasshoppers, even while they recognize that others consider them paranoid conspiracy theorists and doomsday prophets.

"My wife gave me the nickname Mad Max," Korbel said. "My brother, he thinks it's nuts. He's lazy. I already know he's going to be knocking on my door."

Predictions that the end is near are as old as Noah. More modern manifestations have included people who felt the need to build home fallout shelters during the Cold War and pessimists who feared the worst from a Y2K collapse. Events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina have continued to fuel fears.

The latest bad news: This year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists decided to reset its famous Doomsday Clock "a universally recognized indicator of the world's vulnerability to catastrophe " from three minutes to only two-and-a-half minutes before midnight.

The scientific worrywarts cited tensions between the U.S. and Russia, North Korean nuclear tests, climate change, a rise in "strident nationalism" and "intemperate statements" from President Donald Trump and even "lethal autonomous weapons systems" yeah, killer robots among the looming existential threats to humanity.

According to the Bulletin scientists, in the 70-year history of the Doomsday Clock, the last time things have been this bad for the planet was 1953, just after the U.S. and the Soviet Union developed the first hydrogen bombs. At that time, the scientists deemed we were only two minutes to apocalypse.

Selling peace of mind

No wonder Costco is selling $3,399.99 packages of freeze-dried and dehydrated emergency foods that promise 31,500 total servings, enough to feed four people for a year, with a shelf life of up to 25 years. The food shipment arrives on a pallet that is "black-wrapped for security and privacy."

Or you could buy end-of-the-world supplies from a specialty retailer such as Safecastle.com.

Safecastle was started by Prior Lake resident Vic Rantala after 9/11 because he saw a niche for an online source of affordable, quality, long-term stored food.

The company has since branched out to sell surveillance robots, radiation detectors, folding "bug-out" bicycles intended for paratroopers and a 35-piece pet survival kit designed for a "CATastrophe."

"We sell stuff nobody else sells," Rantala said.

You can even buy an underground fallout shelter that costs more than $100,000.

"We early on developed a relationship with a steel plate shelter builder in Louisiana," Rantala said. "Our builder has done seven-figure bunkers for people."

He said his best-seller is something homier: canned, cooked bacon with a shelf life of more than 10 years.

Rantala, 59, said his background has included service in the Army, intelligence work for the government and communications and consulting for corporations. But selling prepping gear has become "kind of like a life's mission."

The shelters he's sold have saved lives in tornadoes, he said. Some of the food he's sold to preppers ended up being eaten when the disaster turned out to be a job loss.

"We sell peace of mind to people," Rantala said.

Even though he sold the company a couple of years ago, he continues to work for it. He said sales are close to $50 million a year.

He estimates that as many as "10 percent of the population are into prepping these days," although he admits figures can be fuzzy because preppers are notoriously secretive about their preparations.

"Sometimes you don't even tell your family members," he said. "It can be a little bit of an obsession, I have to admit."

Nuts or narrative

"It's good to have something stored away," said Peter Behrens, a psychologist who recently retired as a professor at Penn State University in Lehigh Valley, Pa. "Some 72 hours' worth of food is great."

But he said prepping can turn into a "non-substance pathology," similar to hoarding and excessive gambling, when taken to the extreme.

"A lot of people get into this as a pastime," he said. But he said, "It's a slippery slope to becoming irrational and aggressive."

Behrens said prepping is cause for concern if a person starts hoarding firearms and ammunition and if more than 10 percent of a person's income is devoted to prepping. And he warns that prepping can be similar to being in a cult if a person gives up long-standing relationships with friends and family members to associate only with other preppers.

"This is a situation that revolves around anxiety," he said. "It doesn't match with rational behavior."

But Richard G. Mitchell, who studied survivalists as a sociology professor at Oregon State University, said preppers are people who may just want to resist a humdrum life of comfort and consumption. They want to create a personal narrative of themselves as the rugged individual who's going to survive disaster.

"They want a place where they feel meaningful," he said. "Survivalism is a storytelling process. There's a certain satisfaction to that."

He added, "These are people who are hobbyists. They're amused by the process. They're entertained by it. They're proud of it. They're nuts in the sense that they've not accepted the status quo."

Knowing he'll survive

Korbel has stored enough beans, lentils, rice, pasta and soup to feed his wife and their two sons still living at home for a year and a half. He's prepared to grow his own vegetables, mill his own grain and vacuum-seal the foods he's preserving.

"These are good for 50 years," Korbel said, showing off the homemade pemmican balls he's made of beef, peanut butter and nuts.

He stores a couple hundred gallons of water and enough gasoline to fill his truck tank three times. He's got gas masks that he bought at Fleet Farm, and suits to protect against a chemical attack that he bought online. There are weather radios, two-way radios and first aid kits on every level of his house. The upper floor has escape ladders.

He lives about 4.5 miles from the center of Minneapolis, a little too close in case a nuclear bomb goes off in the city center. Ten miles would be better, he said. But his wife is happy living in Columbia Heights, and the mortgage is almost paid off.

"Yeah, there'd be severe burns, structures coming down. But still survivable," he said.

Among the things that worry him are tornadoes, civil unrest, racial tensions, terrorists, conflict with Russia, a government that "goes rogue."

"I wouldn't consider myself a conspiracy theorist. But I do think about it a lot," he said. "If a comet lands on me, I'm not going to worry about it.

"My worst fear would be a financial breakdown" and a collapse of the monetary system, he said. "You've got people bartering in gold, silver, jewels." Or ammunition.

Korbel has set aside some of that as well, along with handguns, rifles and shotguns.

"I also have compound bows. My boys, they've trained in compound bows. My wife is trained in that," he said.

"You need to defend your property and yourself," he said. But he said, "I'm not prepping for a war. I'm not trying to hide anything. I'm not trying to overthrow the government. I don't want to get shot. I don't want to shoot anyone."

Korbel is a Metro Transit driver and an Army veteran who used to work as a carpenter, a contractor and a semitrailer truck driver. He's been married 25 years, and his wife is a nurse.

"He likes to be our protector," Betsy Korbel said. "There's a lot worse things to be doing."

Korbel said he's been a prepper about 12 years. Last year, he estimates, he spent about $7,000 on the activity.

"When I turn 80, I might turn around and look at this stuff and I might say, 'OK, maybe I bought too much,'" he said.

But he said he pays for prepping with side income he gets from recycling metals from old laptops and wires and driving for a food delivery service.

"I love it," Korbel said of his preoccupation with preparing. "It's something I enjoy."

"I know I'm going to be able to survive," he said.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.

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Opinion: Gingrich admitted Trump was being dishonest – Port St. Joe Star

Posted: at 5:04 pm

By Aaron Blake The Washington Post

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is supposed to reveal this week, six weeks after making the initial suggestion, whether he actually has tapes of his White House conversations. Trump last month wielded those potential tapes as a very thinly veiled threat against former FBI director James Comey. And ever since then, he and the White House have decided to withhold the truth from the American people, refusing to answer a simple yes-or-no question.

But Newt Gingrich just gave away the game, for all intents and purposes. In an interview with The Associated Press, the Trump-backing former House speaker basically admits that Trump was just bluffing to try to get inside Comey's head.

"I think he was in his way instinctively trying to rattle Comey," Gingrich said. "He's not a professional politician. He doesn't come back and think about Nixon and Watergate. His instinct is: 'I'll outbluff you.'"

Apparently not being a "professional politician" is a license for dishonesty.

This is hardly surprising, of course. Assuming Gingrich is being honest about this, it's just the latest in a long line of Trump bluffs. There was the time he was going to force the House to vote on its health-care bill, pass or fail, until he urged that it be delayed in the face of defeat. There was the time during the spending debate when the White House signaled Trump would allow a shutdown if the bill didn't fund his border wall, only to back down just a couple days later. More examples abound.

But - again, assuming Gingrich is right here - this has been a particularly brazen brand of bluffing from the president of the United States. Gingrich is essentially confirming that Trump threatened a former top government official using a falsehood to try to get him to soften his testimony. It's not difficult to attach this to the lengthening list of things suggesting Trump has tampered in the Russia investigation, or even obstructed justice in doing so.

And for a president who has huge trouble with facts, it displays a rather striking disregard for the truth. No, Trump never said clearly that he had the tapes, but he has left that possibility out there for weeks, refusing to go on the record. Politics tends to be a pretty rough-and-tumble business, but this is unapologetic political nihilism, plain and simple.

It also has shelf life. I argued after one of Trump's previous bluffs that this kind of strategy may pay dividends in the business world and in the near term as president, but that as a politician it can and will catch up to you:

"This kind of bluffing and having it called is undoubtedly something Trump is used to in the business and real estate worlds. But in the political world, you are negotiating with the same people over and over again. And the lesson of the first two big congressional debates is that when Trump says a bill must contain XYZ, he doesn't really mean it; it's just posturing. And that doesn't bode well for future Trump demands.

"During the last government shutdown in 2013, when Republicans demanded defunding Obamacare, they were at least willing to follow through on that demand. The government was closed for more than two weeks before the GOP relented. That served notice to Democrats that Republicans were at the very least willing to go all-in on their strategy and follow through - that they weren't bluffing when they made such demands in order for a bill to pass. And that made their threats on other things seem more legitimate.

"Trump has shown no such inclination to make it so people take his demands at face value. And given what's happened in the first two legislative debates, the next time he draws a line in the sand, you can bet lawmakers know how easily it can be raked over."

And the final point here is that Comey essentially called Trump's bluff. In rather blistering testimony that pointed to Trump's potential obstruction of justice, Comey didn't really hold back at all. And at one point, he addressed the threat of tapes directly and suggested they would vindicate him if they did exist.

"I've seen the tweet about tapes," Comey said. "Lordy, I hope there are tapes."

So basically Trump appears to have not only done something dishonest that undermines his credibility going forward, but it didn't even work. It'll be nice when this charade is over.

Aaron Blake is senior political reporter for The Fix.

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Comme des Garons’ spring collection designed for a warehouse rave – The Guardian

Posted: at 5:04 pm

Catwalk models for the Comme des Garons mens fashion week spring/summer 2018 collection in Paris. Photograph: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

Comme des Garons spring/summer 2018 menswear collection was shown in Paris on Friday evening. This is always a must-see show for the fashion crowd and they were present and correct in the Salle Wagram ballroom, sitting around a square catwalk.

But the Japanese label, designed by Rei Kawakubo, is now also on the mainstream radar. Kawakubo is the subject of Art of the In-Between, this years exhibition at New Yorks Costume Institute, which hosts the Met Ball in May. The Met Ball is now familiar as a razzle-dazzle evening with an alpha guest list and celebrity hedonism as standard. It appeared that Kawakubo, a sphinx-like figure rarely seen at a fashion opening, had been inspired by attending one of the biggest parties of the year: this Paris collection was one for after dark. The music was fit for a rave, and circles of coloured light were projected on to the catwalk. The models danced in groups and some even smiled. This was in contrast to typical shows for the label more often sedate affairs with models walking slowly down the catwalk.

Models had their hair slicked down, as if sweaty from a night in a warehouse. Their clothes looked appropriate for all-night dancing. Most wore wide-legged shorts, trainers and suit jackets. These had patches of different fabric sewn to them, including neon faux fur, as well as pieces of pinstripe. Several outfits featured pastel sequins on jackets and shorts, a winning combination even beyond the dance floor. The final looks were more unsettling, featuring jackets with parts of dolls sewn into the back.

One of the most upbeat collections from Kawakubo in the past few years, it was greeted by extended applause from the audience. Kawakubo, who chooses not to bow after her show, was nowhere to be seen.

Film director and writer John Waters, who once took part in a Comme des Garons show, has said the the clothes are integral to a look he described as disaster at the dry cleaners. The brand is, however, a commercial success with an annual revenue of 219.97m. While it may be the likes of Waters and friends who buy the catwalk collections, many more invest in perfumes, wallets classic shirts and T-shirts. The association with one of fashions genuine visionaries is what they are buying into.

The Art of the In-Between exhibition explores Kawakubos avant garde take on fashion. With more than 150 designs, it was themed around diametrically opposed ideas absence/presence, high/low, object/subject. But fashion/antifashion is perhaps the one that remains the most fitting. Comme des Garons remains a label able to do both.

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Synchronicity & the Psychic Witch – Patheos (blog)

Posted: at 5:03 pm

Even the most skeptical people have had psychic experiences whether they rationalize it as coincidence or embrace that it was a psychic experience. In my personal experience as a witch and psychicthere isno such thing as coincidence but rather that of endless synchronicity.

When we view the world as purely coincidental, we blind ourselves to the magick that is contained withinour every day life and the messages that are being sent to us. It is through synchronicity that witches read omens, signs auguries. It is also through synchronicity that the right runes or tarot cards that drawn are the ones that are meant to be.

In Hermetics theres the axiom As above, so below; as below, so above. which is called The Law of Correspondence in the Kybalion.Which simply means that all things have a connection, agreement and correspondence to different planes. Hermeticism teaches that all things that occur in the physical realm also has a correspondence in the mental realm and the spiritual realm.

Carl Jung, the founder of Analytical Psychology was a man very interested in mysticism and occultism. His work was a major contribution to western occultism and the majority of his writings were exploring occult topics, religious ideas and mythological themes. Jung coined the theory of synchronicity, which he defined as an acausal (or related by meaning) connection of two or more psycho-psychic phenomena, which appear to be a coincidence on the surface.

The idea is that the universe via the Collective Unconscious is always trying to communicate to us psychic information throughsymbolism, including in the real world but that rationalism keeps us from understanding it. This idea of the Collective Unconscious is once again very similar to the Kybalions statements regarding the Law of Mentalism which states THE ALL IS MIND; The Universe is Mental. and The Universe is Mental held in the Mind of THE ALL. Especially when you pair that with theLaw of Correspondence.

He discovered this when was having a session he had with a psychotherapy client where she was talking about her dream of a golden scarab and the next day an insect flew into his window and after catching it, he found that it was a golden scarab. This was extremely unusual for his location and climate, however there it was! It seemed far too strange to be a coincidence. He thought about the historical symbolism ascribed to the scarab and realized that it was what she needed (symbolic death and renewal) to recover from her psychological ailments. This began his exploration of the concept.

Jung believed that behind all of these synchronicities, archetypal constellations were the key. An archetype is a primordial psychic image that serves as a model for a character, symbol or role that isinherently universal becauseit arises from the Collective Unconsciousness, which were all tapped into. The Collective Unconscious speaks through symbols that we have ascribed meaning to throughout our existence as a human species. The easiest examples arethe archetypes of the hero and the villain or friend or monster or healer or lover, which are all universal and everyone understands what type of character that is.

An archetypal constellation is when various elements begin to merge in the Unconscious Mind from the Collective Unconscious into patterned relationships externally for the Conscious Mind to assimilate and understand. This means that we can see a very observable link between these premonitions that seem to be coincidental and a direct message related to your experience and what you need to know.

Carl Jung was heavy into exploring the realm of dreams and the meanings behind them. He believed that the Collective Unconscious was speaking viasymbols through dreams. Heavy emphasis was placed on the interpretation of dreams and the archetypes and symbols within them to understand the messages that the individual was receiving. Many spiritual and mystical traditions around the world view the waking world as a dream or as having equal importance or validity to dreams.

By recognizing the synchronicity around us and acknowledging it, we begin to see patterns and themes. I believe that one should try interpreting synchronistic events in the same way that one would interpret dream symbolism. Doing so leads to a more open psychic state to the messages of the spirits, gods, ancestors, Higher Self and universe.

A talented psychic is an observant psychic, in this physical reality and others, constantly translatinginformation between realms, whether that be the physical, mental or spiritual planes. By paying attention to synchronicity you begin opening up those channels of language between different planes. So pay attention the next time a strange coincidence occurs within your life. Its an opportunity to open your lines of communication and guidance within your life.

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The world where the truth matters not (Book Review)- The New … – The New Indian Express

Posted: at 5:03 pm

The post-truth age.

Title: Post-Truth - The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back Author: Matthew D'Ancona Publisher: Ebury Press/Penguin Random House UK Pages: 164 Price: Rs 399

Populists pandering to parochial identities, polarising multi-ethnic societies, posing extravagant claims but backtracking without any blushes after securing their objective (while the public doesn't seem to care), reversing rationalism, demonising dissent and blaming the other/outsiders for all ills. Welcome to the "Post-Truth" world where the truth is no longer an obstacle - and its very concept is contested.

But Donald Trump, the Brexiters, the climate change deniers, the anti-vaccination or anti-immigration crowd, even our own infallible leaders, and the like proliferating all around are consequences, not causes of the "Post-Truth" phenomenon.

And it is not only rooted to these people or issues, contends British political journalist Matthew D'Ancona, noting that even Trump's eventual departure from office will not mean its end since the phenomenon is not only a mere contest between two competing ideologies of the political spectrum.

Therefore it is necessary to know why it this different from politics so far, how did we get to such a state of affairs, and why should we care.

It is a new strain of politics, shows D'Ancona in this book, one which goes beyond the usual tactics of less than the full truth, exaggeration and hyperbole or spin seen so far but is far more worrying because of its unwholesome underpinnings, response of particularly credulous public and reach and impact of digital technology and social media which facilitate it.

"We have entered a new phase of political and intellectual combat, in which democratic orthodoxies and institutions are being shaken to their foundations by a wave of ugly populism. Rationality is threatened by emotion, diversity by nativism, liberty by a drift towards autocracy. More than ever, the practice of politics is perceived as a zero-sum game, rather than a contest between ideas. Science is treated with suspicion, and sometimes, open contempt."

And "at the heart of this global trend is a crash in the value of truth", with honesty and accuracy no longer prized in such politics.

D'Ancona notes Trump figures quite a bit but clarifies his book is not about him or the the far right or any other ideology, but seeks to explore truth's "declining value" for society and its implications.

"If indeed we live in a Post-Truth era, where do its roots lie? What are its principal symptoms? And what can we do about it?" he asks and seeks to go to some quite unexpected areas to find the answers.

For its roots, he, tracing warnings from George Orwell in the age of totalitarianism, seeks to lay some culpability on Dr Sigmund Freud and his system of therapy giving primacy to emotions to the post-modernists and their attack on the notion of any objective reality.

But D'Ancona also shows how blame also lay in eroding trust in institutions spanning the governments, parliaments, big business (especially banks in 2008), media and experts of all stripes, which led to to "an uprising against the established order and a demand for ill-defined change".

And there was no shortage of politicians, to use this trust deficit- not only out of unscrupulousness but also of zealotry (sometimes closely linked to bigotry too) and the conviction they are right.

The symptoms of this phenomenon are too well known for anyone who follow the revolt against the status quo, seen most in the Brexit campaign and Trump's rise. D'Ancona is particularly scathing on the latter, terming him "a soiled Gatsby" or an entertainer with a talent for emotional narrative who has successfully "recast the presidency as the most desirable role in show business" and pointing how erroneous his statements are.

D'Ancona not only describes this "pernicious trend" of Post-Truth and its dangers but also calls on anyone who is worried about it not to sit passively for it to dispel but fight to defend respect for the truth, and rational, scientific thinking against its practitioners' "plutocratic, political and algorithmic firepower". He also offers a selection of strategies, ranging from vigilance to verification, and even satire, to confront it.

Ultimately it is up to us to determine if we want to think independently or allow someone's prejudices to determine our choices and future.

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An acclaimed international artist is taking over Sydney’s Observatory Hill – Time Out Sydney (blog)

Posted: at 5:03 pm

John Kaldor has been helping international artists transform Sydney since Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the coast of Little Bay in 1969. In 2016, he and his team made it possible for Sydney artist Jonathan Jones to take-over part of the Royal Botanic Gardens with his ambitious public art project barrangal dyara.

Next up, Kaldor Public Art Projects has set its sights on Sydneys Observatory Hill, where Berlin based Albanian artist Anri Sala will be taking over the 105-year-old Rotunda with the world premiere of a new public art project inspired by the site and by Sydneys colonial history.

The subject of a major career survey at New Yorks New Museum in 2016, Sala is best known for works that engage with social and political histories. For the last 15-or-so years, hes been increasingly interested in music and sound as psychologically-charged mediums for evoking and reinterpreting the past.

From a distance, Kaldor Public Art Project 33 will look like business as usual; as you approach the Rotunda on Observatory Hill, however, youll hear the difference: orchestral music, and the sound of 38 snare drums. Suspended from the ceiling of the pavilion, with reflective mirror skins facing down, the snares will tap out an altered version of Mozarts Clarinet Concerto in A Major, in sync with a recorded track.

A site visit in 2012 inspired Salas project, titled The Last Resort. The artist became fascinated with the history of Dawes Point as a site of First Contact, and the conversations between lieutenant William Dawes (an astronomer with the First Fleet) and young Indigenous woman Patyegarang that led to the first European record of local Aboriginal language.

Mozarts Clarinet Concerto in A Major (K. 622), written in 1791, was chosen by Sala as an emblem of the European Enlightenment a movement directly related to colonial expansion, with its mantra of science, rationalism and progress.

Sala says: I look at [The Last Resort] like a musical artefact that we have thrown in the ocean the winds, the waves, the water currents take it one way and the other and it eventually reaches somewhere, though not as it originally started out, as it is transformed by the journey."

In other words: you should be able to recognise Mozarts original melodies within Salas new interpretation (one movement of the Concerto, for example, is altered so that the tempo changes according to recorded weather patterns of a voyage from Europe to Australia).

Premiering in October 2017, The Last Resort is five years in the making. John Kaldor first met Sala in 2011, and organised for him to visit Sydney in 2012 the same year as Project 25, by Thomas Demand: The Dailies. It was Demand who had suggested Kaldor look into Salas work. The original intention was to present Salas KPAP in 2013, but as Kaldor says, then Anri got selected to represent France at the Venice Biennale in 2013, and obviously he had to do that. And [his work Ravel Ravel Unravel] was one of the best things at the Biennale, it was fantastic.

Kaldor and Sala stayed in touch and kept bouncing ideas back and forth, until the artist asked Kaldor to find him a pavilion to work within, and the Observatory Hill site became available. Its a magnificent site, a great tourist destination, and the most beautiful view of the harbour expanse, says Kaldor. Its also the most elevated point in Sydney (at over 40m above sea level) and the site of Australias first observatory, administered by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS).

Anri is one of the most committed artists that Ive come across, says Kaldor. He did a lot of research, and contrasted what was happening in Australia when the First Fleet arrived in 1788 with what was happening in Enlightenment Europe at the time.

On KPAPs philosophy of taking over iconic Sydney sites, Kaldor says: If you do a project in the art gallery or a similar institution, people go there with certain expectations: to see art. But if you do it in strange places whether its in a church, or Bondi Beach people dont know what to expect. We get a completely different audience, which is exciting; an audience who is not necessarily looking to see art, but who encounters art unexpectedly.

The Last Resort will run from October 13 to November 5 at the Observatory Hill Rotunda, Millers Point.

Check out the best art in Sydney this month.

Dee is the Arts & Culture editor for Time Out Australia, which means on any given night shes probably seeing a show. She started out writing about film, and still fantasizes about finding a way to Have It All. Her favourite films includeWithnail and I,Picnic at Hanging Rock,The Big Lebowski,Chungking ExpressandBringing Up Baby. Her pet peeves include the dearth of interesting theatrical roles that are not straight white men, and unintelligible artist statements.

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Free Speech on Campus – HuffPost

Posted: at 5:02 pm

There has been a lot in the media recently about speakers with a conservative message who were scheduled to speak on college campuses but through one action or another were not able to speak. Whether these speakers were cancelled by the administration or whether they were not allowed to speak due to large (and sometimes violent) protests has led to a widespread belief that conservative voices are not tolerated on college campuses. While I understand why some speakers have been cancelled, often for safety reasons, I think cancelling speakers who were invited is a mistake. Let them speak; challenge their statements; but, dont silence their voices.

This is not a new issue. While serving as the Provost at Luzerne County Community College, I addressed a legislative subcommittee on the issue of conservative voices on campus. I stated then (12 years ago), as I state now, all voices are welcome on college campuses. However, with the current climate polarized positions, the tendency for people to act out (conservative or liberal) with violence and the seemly lack of meaningful dialogue across the country, the issue is being exacerbated for everyone. The current climate adds a heightened concern for public safety to the mix of speakers on campus, liberal or conservative.

There are those who argue that college campuses are bastions of liberal thinking attempting to indoctrinate liberal viewpoints in all students. I respectfully disagree. Do more people who work on a college campus lean to the left of the political spectrum? Most probably. I think two factors lead to that conclusion. First, those with more liberal leanings tend to be drawn to careers that are designed to help others. College education is indeed a career of helping others. Second, students, for the most part, are young. Historically, younger folks tend to be more liberal; conservative views tend to develop as we get older. Does that mean conservative voices cannot be heard in our classrooms, in our lecture halls, in public speeches or in community events? Of course not.

The faculty and staff that I have known at each of the colleges and universities where I have worked, welcome students opinions in class. They are thrilled when students participate in discussions and express their views on either side of the topic of the day. However, faculty will question any student as to how they reached their conclusion. What data did they use? How do they know the data is factual? Did they cherry pick data or conduct a reasonable review of both sides of the issue? Today, far too many people dig in their heels on an issue based on a headline or something they read on Facebook. We are academic institutions and we must teach students to use facts, data and reasoning to reach whatever conclusion that they reach. It is our job.

It is my belief that colleges, like Fulton-Montgomery Community College have the responsibility to bring discussions of current issues to our campuses; and, to do so with a balance voice of both sides of any issue. This is particularly important in rural regions, such as the one FM serves, as the college may be the only place to have such discussions in an academic and balanced manner. Given todays climate, I believe that it is important to discuss these issues as a panel and not through a single speaker. Whether the voice is conservative or liberal, we need to demonstrate to our students, and our public, that fair and measured discussions or debates are not only possible, also meaningful.

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Free Speech for Zi – The Weekly Standard

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Bill C-16, which recently received Royal Assent and will soon become law, is the most recent bill to threaten free speech and to mandate that individuals adopt a social constructionist philosophy of gender. Those who refuse to use gender neutral pronouns such as they or zi and zir, or who oppose the notion that gender is subjectively determined, may find themselves facing the full force of federal law. The federal statute is akin to existing provincial laws in Canada and municipal laws in the United States, and demonstrates a disconcerting turn toward compelling speech and ideology. Laws that protect people from discrimination need not infringe on free speech or individual rights. However, Bill C-16 risks crossing the line into coerced speech for favored groups at everyones expense.

The bill itself looks quite innocuous. It makes three alterations to federal law. Two are amendments to the Criminal Code to include "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the groups protected from hate propaganda, and to include gender identity and gender expression as an aggravating factor. That is, if a crime is committed against a transgender individual and there is evidence that the crime was done due to the individuals gender identity or gender expression, the defendant may be given a harsher sentence.

Serious restrictions on free speech come with changes to the Human Rights Act to include gender identity and gender expression to the list of groups protected from discrimination. Previously, discriminatory practices did not include failure to refer to an individual by their preferred name. Rather, they included denying someone public employment due to their race, gender, sexual orientation.

Now, particular courts may find that individuals who do not use preferred pronouns guilty of discrimination as well. Precise grounds for discrimination are not laid out in the legislation. Rather, according to Canadas Department of Justice, With very few exceptions, grounds of discrimination are not defined in legislation but are left to courts, tribunals, and commissions to interpret and explain, based on their detailed experience with particular cases. An individual accused of discrimination can be named in a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission and then be tried and fined by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

This is not at all far-fetched, given the precedent of the provincial courts where this kind of legislation already exists. Even supporters of Bill C-16 have been forthcoming about this possible interpretation of discrimination by the Human Rights Tribunal. University of Toronto law professor Brenda Cossman wrote, Non-discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression may very well be interpreted by the courts in the future to include the right to be identified by a persons self-identified pronoun.

Theryn Meyer, a political commentator on YouTube who focuses on transgender issues, critiqued Bill C-16 for claiming to benefit transgender individuals while infringing on everyones right to free speechtransgender people included. She noted that transgender individuals are already protected under the laws against discrimination, which do not infringe anyones rights.

Everyone who cares about free speech should be concerned that this prima facie benevolent legislation actually harms everyone who wishes to practice their right to free speech.

Provincial law in Canada has prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression for years. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) added "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the listed of protected groups in 2012. The OHRC defined gender identity as "each person's internal and individual experience of gender. It is their sense of being a woman, a man, both, neither, or anywhere along the gender spectrum. A persons gender identity may be the same as or different from their birth-assigned sex.

As with the federal law, the problem arises with the definition of discrimination: "Refusing to refer to a trans person by their chosen name and a personal pronoun that matches their gender identity, or purposely misgendering (using a pronoun that is not ones preferred pronoun), will likely be discrimination when it takes place in a social area covered by the Code, including employment, housing and services like education."

Individuals who refuse to use made-up words, who refuse to endorse a social constructionist philosophy of gender, who refuse compelled speech and ideology can be brought before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and severely fined. Professor Jordan Peterson, a University of Toronto psychologist, came under fire last fall when he made a YouTube video saying that he would not use made-up gender pronouns. The University sent him a letter requesting that he stop making such videos because he was expressing an intent to violate the law. Ontario human rights commissioner Renu Mandhane suggested that Peterson might be liable under the law, but no action has been taken.

This kind of legislation has already made its way into the United States. In the District of Columbia, the Office of Human Rights, which enforces the D.C. Human Rights Act, prevents discrimination on the basis of gender identity and has recently stated that Deliberately misusing a persons preferred name or pronoun may be considered unlawful harassment.

In New York City, the Commission on Human Rights Legal Enforcement requires employers and covered entities to use an individuals preferred name, pronoun and title (e.g., Ms./Mrs.) regardless of the individuals sex assigned at birth, anatomy, gender, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on the individuals identification. The legislation states, Some transgender and gender non-conforming people prefer to use pronouns other than he/him/his or she/her/hers, such as they/them/theirs or ze/hir. Failure to comply can result in, civil penalties up to $125,000 for violations, and up to $250,000 for violations that are the result of willful, wanton, or malicious conduct.

If each person is allowed free speech, then surely each person should be able to decide for him or herself whether or not to act out a radical social constructionist philosophy of gender. However, each of these laws, regardless of their intent to benefit transgender people, infringes individual liberty. They require not only that people use government approved speech, but that they adhere to a government-approved ideology. They are coercive intrusions by the government into the speech of individuals. Protections for transgender individuals can and should be accomplished without infringing on everyones rights.

Max Diamond is a writer and editor in New York.

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Q & A : Free Speech 101 | Newton Daily News – Newton Daily News

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By U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

Q: Why did you conduct a hearing to examine free speech on college campuses?

A: On July 4, Americans will celebrate 241 years of independence. We will celebrate our nations sovereignty and cherished individual freedoms that have been passed down from one generation to the next. As Americans, we are endowed with unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As citizens, we are challengedto protect and defend the sacred blessings of freedom enshrined in our nations founding charters. During tumultuous periods of war and social upheaval, these founding principles have served as an unbending arc to keep America united,from the nations Civil War and civil rights movement to the Vietnam War and 21st century terrorism. Through it all, the U.S. Constitution enshrines the protection of freedom, liberty and justice for all.

The five freedoms of the First Amendment are arguably the most well-known among Americans of all ages and walks of life: freedom of religion; freedom of speech; freedom of the press; freedom to assemble peaceably; and, freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances. Upholding this legacy and heritage of freedom for posterity depends on the next generation to stand up for and champion the free flow of ideas. Indeed, a consequential dissent written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes one year after World War I heralds the marketplace of ideas that has influenced the protections of the First Amendment for decades. Opendialogue and diversity of thought are vital hallmarks of self-government.

Throughout my public service representing Iowa in the United States Senate, I prioritize constituent dialogue by holding meetings with Iowans in every county, every year. Thats why I view efforts to thwart free speech on college campuses as a red flag to self-government. The censorship of ideas on college campuses has a chilling effect on a students ability to digest, analyze and question opposing opinions.

Banning speakers from campus to prevent certain messages from being heard does a disservice to the studentbody. It assaults the First Amendment. Institutions of higher learning should not be in the business of shielding students from opposing views. It poisons the well of democracy and erodes constitutional protections that generations of men and women in uniform have sacrificed life and limb to protect.

Q: What is your takeaway from the Judiciary Committee hearing?

A: We heard from seven witnesses who shared their views about the state of free speech on college campuses. The good news is not all college campuses are censoring free speech or restricting who comes to speak to the student body. However, two college students reported on free speech zones and other measures that they say results in intolerance and even fosters violence towards opposing viewpoints.

In my opening statement, I referred to Northwestern Universitys president who supports safe spaces for students to avoid uncomfortable debates. Carving out free speech zones and safe spaces creates a disconnect on college campuses that unplugs young adults from reality. Colleges need to help open their eyes to the world, not muddy the lens through which they see it. Restricting the free flow of ideas at an institution of learning flunks common sense. It fosters a conformist culture that will shrink mindful learning and stunt schools of thought. Expanding tolerance for differing viewpoints comes from exposure to dialogue, not censorship. College administrators who testified raised concerns about limited resources for maintaining campus security and student safety amid recent incidents of violent protests.

Certainly, campus safety is critical to families who send their kids off to college and a critical responsibility of a college administration. However, using it as a scapegoat to undercut the First Amendment is a flawed argument. Its very troubling that some college administrators are discriminating against speakers based on their points of view and political ideology. America does not subscribe to one single political orthodoxy. And while its no secret that prevailing political orthodoxy among many universities leans to the liberal end of the political spectrum, its unacceptable to prevent students from exploring the free flow of ideas and nurturing their ability to compromise and negotiate differences of opinion with civility and respect.

Polarization and gridlock in Washington wont ever improve if the next generation is indoctrinated to shut down free speech and shut out opposing views. Even liberal university administrators agree that conservative views are often unwelcome on campus. A provost from Stanford University has said, There is growing intolerance at universities ... a political one-sidedness that is the antithesis of what universities should stand for.

Its promising that not all schools are adopting the censorship approach. America would be better served if more colleges adopted the University of Chicagos policy. It expressly prohibits obstructing or otherwise interfering with the freedom of others to express views they reject or even loathe. Instead, it calls for counter-speech and peaceful protest to express disagreement.

My takeaway from the hearing confirms what I have long practiced in public office. Ill continue listening to whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing and continue seeking input from Iowans to bring their views to bear at the policymaking tables in Congress. America is better off when all voices have the freedom to be heard.

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Steps from Lincoln Memorial: Dueling rallies for free speech, against … – WTOP

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Protesters attending the free speech rally. (WTOP/Liz Anderson)

WASHINGTON At the National Mall Sunday afternoon, a few hundred people gathered with signs and flags to exercise their First Amendment rights.

Both rally groups gathered near the Lincoln Memorial; one in support of free speech, the other just steps away to rally against hate speech.

Were not going to be replaced, one speaker told the audience gathered near the reflecting pool for the free speech rally. This was our country, the founding fathers objectively founded this country for white people.

There were a variety of ideological representations at the gathering including Ariel Kohane, who held Jews for Trump signs. Kohane said he traveled from Manhattans Upper West Side for the rally.

I definitely think that the left is trying to smother free speech. We on the right definitely promote it, Kohane told WTOP.

The free speech speaker lineup included controversial white nationalist Richard Spencer.

At the counter rally staged by D.C. Unite Against Hate, attendees said they felt it necessary to also make their voices heard.

The U.S. is very progressive as of right now. I think were moving in the right direction. But of course there are some people who just are living in the past, said Rose, who is from D.C. but now lives in Rockville, Maryland.

I think we have to come out when the far right is demonstrating and the racist white supremacists are out here, said John van Kamp of Arlington, Virginia.

But everyone at the free speech rally didnt agree with everything they heard.

I think that shows I stand up 100 percent for freedom of speech, said Irma Hinojosa, a rally speaker who says shes taken lots of flack because she is a Donald Trump supporter.

Others gave a listening ear at that rally, not to show their support for all the rhetoric, but to understand other points of view and try and see what people are concerned about and what their grievances are with other political parties and ideologies, said William, a student studying government at Georgetown University.

Meanwhile, Yale University student Sidney Daniels attended the counter rally because there are people in this country, Americans, fellow citizens, who dont believe in my right to exist and who dont believe in my right to have rights, she told WTOP.

Now that Trump is in office, lots of people have been given license to do and say things that they wouldnt have said before. Things that werent previously (socially) acceptable have become socially acceptable, said Daniels. Because of that, I think its important to have counter protests in order to demonstrate that Black lives matter, that women matter, that all people matter.

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