Monthly Archives: February 2021

Covid-19: A sport-by-sport look at the cost to grassroots games – Irish Examiner

Posted: February 2, 2021 at 7:04 pm

Athletics: Its not a for-profit organisation, and were just doing stuff to keep it afloat

By Cathal Dennehy

THE numbers tell a story, in and of themselves. In a typical year, Carrick-on-Shannon AC has 250-300 members, but a month on from registrations opening for 2021, their grand total is currently 43.

People are just not thinking about it, says secretary John Connolly, a Dublin native devoted to the club for the past 30 years. Youd worry that a generation or two in a few years will be out of the habit of doing (athletics).

Heres the thing: Connolly considers his club among the luckier ones. He sees smaller athletics clubs in the region which have no registrations at all or at the local basketball or rowing clubs, where the situation is even more alarming.

Theyre just absolutely wiped out. Its a tough ask at the moment, but at least some of our members can do something themselves.

Despite its size, Carrick-on-Shannon AC is without a permanent facility, and for years its young members trained at an indoor sports complex in the town. But when that was converted for extra classrooms they had to look elsewhere, training outdoors for the last several months on the grounds of the local gaelscoil.

We made do with what we can. But I know a lot of clubs havent bothered coming back, given how hard it is with the restrictions.

Club training resumed last summer but due to limits on numbers it wasnt until the autumn that they could bring back the younger age groups.

Even amid the relative normality of last summer, it was still a life less ordinary for the older members. With a delayed national championships taking place for U20s, seniors, and masters in August and September, such athletes started making trips to the track in Sligo, where sprinters werent allowed to use starting blocks.

One of their upcoming stars, Alannah McGuinness, only did two track sessions before winning 100m silver at the National U20 Championships in September, but Connollys fears were not so much for committed athletes like her, but for those far more likely to drift away from athletics.

The ones that want to train are there. Its not all about competition but kids like competition, and I noticed with a few when there were no races on the horizon, they found it hard to get motivated. Its not the be all and end all, a lot do sport because its part of their social fabric, but its so unfortunate that way. You try to keep them going, to keep the interest, but its hard to explain to kids about long-term development.

Club coaches continue to send training plans to anyone who wants one, but from conversations with athletes, parents, and other coaches, Connolly can sense a shift in the mood this year.

The people who want to do it will do it, but you can definitely feel a different attitude, people are more tired of it.

In a typical year, athletes are going back and forth to Abbotstown or Athlone for indoor competitions around this time, but the chances of such events in the coming months now seems non-existent. While that might spare the club some coffers in expenses and entry fees, the lack of memberships and community collections means their balance sheet is far from rosy.

The registration fee for Carrick-on-Shannon AC is 35 for adults and 28 for juveniles, of which about two-thirds goes to Athletics Ireland, and Connolly is quick to credit the work of the governing body, which dropped its club licence fee from 150 to 50 in recent years. All the same, the absence of the few euro they gather each week from training sessions and the clubs usual church gate collection will be felt down the line not that such things will affect their commitment.

Our mantra has always been community, says Connolly. Its not-a-for-profit organisation, and were just doing stuff to keep it going, to keep it afloat.

Earlier this month Connollys many years of volunteering were credited with an award from the Federation of Irish Sport, and his hope once training and competitions resume is that more people appreciate the value of clubs like theirs in their communities.

I see lots of talk about mental health and how people are struggling, and no doubt they are, and its things like the local sports clubs that mean so much to everyone, he says.

Basketball: Clubs went outdoors and just got on with it, in hail, rain or snow

By Kieran Shannon

COVID has been particularly devastating for indoor sport but Ciarn OSullivan has seen one upside for his how the pandemic has reminded everyone that basketball can also be played outdoors.

After the country moved to level five in early October, his sport duly moved to the playgrounds and schoolyards. There still werent any matches. For a while because of a peculiar guideline from Sport Ireland, there couldnt even be any passing. But still, as the head of development for Basketball Ireland and the Cork Sports Partnership as well as a coach in his own club Ballincollig in the western suburbs of Cork city, OSullivan was heartened by the number of clubs who found a way to keep kids and the sport active in some form.

For a lot of people, basketball is a necessity, not a luxury, says the former senior international who won multiple Superleagues and Cups with UCC Demons before moving back to help his home club Ballincollig win promotion to the Superleague.

When we couldnt train indoors with the pandemic, clubs went outdoors and just got on with it, in hail, rain or snow. And it was great to see local parks and schools open up their courts.

I know in the past even in big clubs like [UCC] Demons and Neptune, theyd cancel training when the Mardyke or Stadium would be used for exams. But now with Covid theres a willingness to go outside. The excuse of there being no training because the hall is being used wont fly anymore. And thats a huge positive going forward.

Every Saturday morning from October up to mid-December, OSullivans own club used the outdoor court of their feeder school, Coliste Choilm, as well as rolling two portable baskets onto the adjacent all-weather surface.

The first thing youd spot was who played GAA and who didnt, he smiles.

The other kids would be all wrapped up in their hats and gloves and full tracksuits while the GAA players would just come in their shorts, ready to go! But the thing was they were all there. Some mornings youd be looking out at the rain and thinking only three or four kids might show. But theyd all come. Because they wanted to see each other and chat.

The social side of our sport is huge. Sometimes we get so caught up in the technical and tactical and the competition, we can forget that. So thats been another positive for me from all this.

Right now though there cant be any social interactions of that sort. Realistically its impossible to see the sport returning indoors before Easter, ruling out any prospect of a competitive domestic season. Irish national teams are still holding out hope that theyll be able to compete in Europe this summer but even if they get the green light, their preparations will be seriously constrained.

I was talking to one of our underage national team coaches this week and they were saying that they might have to make their cut without even having had an on-court session. So at the moment they might have 25 players on the programme, but theyll have to quickly reduce that to 16 or even the final 12 without anyone having played in over 12 months. And as the coach was saying, its the late developers that are going to get hurt. They might have really improved since last March but they havent been seen and coaches might have to opt with those who are more proven and ready to go.

The hope is that if by around Easter outdoor sports can resume training in pods, so can basketball outdoors, and then come May and June therell be 3x3 tournaments at all levels across the community and country. By having fewer numbers on the court, more players can be retained in the sport.

OSullivan, either by nature or by Covid, is a patient optimist. His own wedding to fellow international Claire Rockall was due to take place last July but has now been rescheduled for the end of May. Either way, some day, they will be married. And the same holds true for his other great love. Some day he and people like him will hoop again, just maybe not when theyd expected.

He has no doubt that some players and even clubs will be lost on account of them not being able to get back up and running last autumn. But providing some programme of outdoor basketball throughout the summer should help close the gap between when kids last played and when the sport can, hopefully, resume indoors next August or September. In other words, before the biggest indoor sport in the country returns to its natural habitat, it has to see itself as an outdoor sport. And recent months has shown OSullivan that if you roll those baskets out, they will come.

Boxing: Im afraid as a sport that were going to lose a lot of kids because of this

By Kieran Shannon

NO sport has been as good to this country at the Olympics as boxing but theres no sport Covid has been as cruel to as well.

While the high-performance team gearing for Tokyo might be allowed to continue to train away in Abbotstown on account of their elite athlete status, future potential Olympians have had their prospects seriously hindered, or at least their progress seriously disrupted.

There has been no competitive amateur boxing in Ireland since March. There hasnt even been any sparring, outside the National Sports Campus. And in recent months, and for the next couple, clubs cant open their doors and allow their members even hit the punch bags.

But the biggest worry isnt the number of possible medals that could be lost. Its the number of kids that could be lost to the sport. Which means possibly to society itself. A sport renowned for helping keep kids on the straight and narrow is itself uncertain when it can reopen its path or where its leading.

Tommy Kelleher has been a head coach to multiple Irish underage international teams and for almost 30 years coach in one of the sports great hubs, the Glen Boxing Club on the northside of Cork city.

Its very hard for anyone involved in boxing, he says. Everyone kids, parents, coaches are wondering, When are we going to start again? but theres nothing we can do until we get the go-ahead to restart.

Its some change from 12 months ago. Last February the club had seven boxers at the Cork championships win through to the Munster championships, but a week into that competition everything was shut down.

In September the brief easing in restrictions allowed the club to reopen its doors to its 30 or so members.

We have a big hall so we were able to get 14 boxers in at a time training, all three metres apart. There was still no sparring or padwork, otherwise social distancing would have been gone out the window. But they were still able to do their warm-up, skipping, shadow boxing, do some groundwork and then their warm-down and thatd be it.

It went down great. They were all happy, all their parents were happy. But then it went back up to level 5 and that was the end of it. You couldnt even do one-to-one training. You have to be an elite boxer to do that.

In all reality, with theirs being an indoor contact sport, itll be a good while yet before the Glen reopens its doors to its boxers. Itd be inaccurate to say though that the hall itself has been dormant. Its had to be maintained, repaired. Which causes its own challenges in these times.

I still come up every day to the hall to see if everything is all right. We have to keep heating going, otherwise the place gets very damp. And with no script [registration fees] coming in, its hard to pay for those kind of overheads.

We have loans to pay back on money borrowed to help with the maintenance of the hall but I know the IABA [through Sport Irelands club resilience fund] are looking for some resolution to give a few bob for all the clubs that are feeling the pinch.

His greatest concern though is the potential loss of members, not money.

Im afraid as a sport that were going to lose a lot of kids because of this. Especially those who were just starting it up; theyre the ones most likely not to come back. Its going to be a big challenge when we are let back in the gym to get them back into it, because they havent trained in so long, it hasnt become a habit, a routine, for them.

Some parents wont allow their kids into the club even if we were able to train. And its hard to blame them. Anyone could have it [Covid]. Not even the Government knows whats happening. But theres a real need for us to get back, whenever that is.

Any young fella who came down to us has never got into trouble. Once theyre in boxing, they have to be disciplined; in this game, if you dont have discipline, you have nothing. Parents want to see the kids back, get them off the street. Theyre asking us, When will they be back? But we dont know. Theres nothing we can really do. Its very hard on everyone.

Cycling: As with many situations in life there is the rough with the smooth

By Brian Canty

With bike shops reporting record sales in 2020 and others struggling to meet demand, the challenge is to harness that surge in interest. Despite the pandemic,the situation at grassroots level is not so bad according to Martin OLoughlin, one of the countrys most well-known cycling figures.

Cycling Ireland has really done well compared to other sporting organisations, OLoughlin said.

A lot of championships were run within Covid restrictions last year with no reported Covid outbreaks. And the Zwift league and group rides have been good. Ah Zwift. Thank God for Zwift, laughs cycling coach, Matteo Cigala, who has led the aforementioned weekly online group rides of several hundred participants for the sports governing body.

Because of the restrictions, most people (I coach) are now on the indoor trainer and are approaching the E-sports discipline more. They can race every week as part of their programme, so at least they can stay fit.

OLoughlin reports similar interest with upwards of 70 aspiring Cycling Ireland members (U14-U18) logging onto Zoom every Monday for a coaching session. They are now approaching their 20th week.

Another online initiative called the Athlete Development Programme overseen by former international rider Paul Doyle with assistance from OLoughlin was rolled out in recent months and very well received. Its future, like most things, will depend on funding.

Indeed, if Zoom and Zwift keep riders fit, they dont necessarily balance the books.

One club who addressed this issue before it became one was Killarney CC, who boast a membership of over 200.

We have reduced the club membership charge by approximately 50% across the board for 2021 as an acknowledgement of the reduced activity and the financial constraints on some members, said club secretary Tom Daly, author of the famous book, The Rs.

We are down about 25% this year but this may pick up as some dont see the need for membership during lockdown. Cycling Irelands decision to increase their membership fees was disappointing and that hasnt helped.

Echoing his sentiments was club chairman Mark Murphy who also stressed the pandemic must be neither a barrier nor an excuse to stall any progress.

The club will plan for whatever new normal we will have to live with, he said. As with many situations in life there is the rough with the smooth and we will embrace the challenge and be determined to make our club function to its maximum and make the most positive impact possible.

Killarney CC can count themselves lucky with regard to sponsorship, mind, with the aforementioned Murphy recently announcing an ambitious three-year sponsorship agreement titled Together for 2021-2023.

The agreement of 12 businesses to continue sponsoring the club for three years is an endorsement of our standing and we, in turn, must reciprocate by redoubling our efforts to continue developing the club on the one hand, and by supporting local businesses on the other. We know that multinational corporations would not have sponsored us. We also know that, directly or indirectly, we are all part of the bigger club which is the wider Killarney region and it must be our priority to make this sustainable in every respect, from sporting to business and jobs.

In Carrick-on-Suir, there was the feeling of an opportunity missed when Irelands Tour de France green jersey-winning hero Sam Bennett wasnt able to leverage his new-found stardom with what should have been a bumper homecoming.

Not having a homecoming for Sam was gutting for the club, the town and the sport here, acknowledges OLoughlin.

Sam only truly realised how much the town rowed in behind him when he eventually came home in December. Hes mentioned it a few times that hes sorry he didnt insist on coming home. Its tough enough as it is on sponsors and any exposure is always welcome but our club is luckier than most to have the support of Panduit.

Our membership is static, but I know others are struggling.

GAA: The year as a whole reinforced how important the GAA is in the community

By John Fogarty

E kept the revenue stream flowing rather than kicking the can down the road, says Pauric Keane of his first year as chairman of Allen Gaels, a period which could only be considered as a baptism of fire.

It hasnt been easy for the club drawing from Drumshanbo and Ballinaglera in mid Leitrim. Before the pandemic, the traditional club lotto had been dying a death, admits Keane. Moving it online in October was a necessity more than anything, but by tying it to club membership the hope is it will be a reinvigorated source of income. Clubforce, who facilitate Gaels lotto as they do other clubs across the country, have reported an 800% increase in club funds via lottos.

We just have to think differently. The club lotto is the only viable and safest revenue stream at the moment. Weve a mortgage of 1,800 a month that finishes in June and we would hope to get that cleared off and look to develop the grounds further.

Sponsorship has remained steady while the club has other initiatives such as an underage calendar to offset the cost of running teams. A race night last February was a major help as much as that cant be repeated next month.

What did generate some income was the Leitrim County Boards decision last summer to fix a couple of championship games in Shane McGettigan Park, named after the son of singer Charlie who was tragically killed in a scaffolding accident in Boston in 1998. Our club is centrally located and they are good grounds and a good field. Our gates showed a little increase.

But finance is going to be the burning issue for a long time to come. The bills have to be paid and when it comes time to open the gates again we have to keep them open. We did fundraiser walks and were trying to see what we could do within the restrictions to make up for the loss of things like rental of the clubhouse and the golf classic.

With approximately 450 members, Allen Gaels were able to retain that number, but it is likely to be a challenge this time around. Some understanding will have to be shown to members as Keane hopes the GAA will show to clubs like his.

We will definitely look at putting the membership back, probably March before we can look for it. I definitely think the GAA need to do something with the affiliation fees we only really ran half a year last year and that has to be taken into consideration.

Allen Gaels was one of only two clubs in Leitrim that ran a Cl Camp last year with 170 attending. The reaction from parents to its successful staging brought home to Keane the importance of the GAA.

It, and the year as a whole, reinforced how important the GAA is in the community and letting them know we are there for them. The coaching within the club is the key thing. They all rowed in with the officers. I remember meeting in late June with a group of people and discussing how we could open up with all the social distancing awareness and the hand sanitising that was needed. Getting great feedback from parents afterwards emphasised what we did was important.

However, he believes the GAA have to work more with clubs this year if Cl Camps are to be organised.

The onus was on the clubs to run the Cl Camps last year and that was fine and we managed to run a successful one. I was asked if we would do the same again this year and I said we would if it was a greater revenue-generating activity.

A lot of the money for the Cl camp went on gear. We asked about just buying the jerseys but were told we had to buy the whole kit including the training top and gear bag. That could be looked at this year, that it could be cut back and the clubs could retain more of the revenue. For the amount we brought in, we made about 300-400.

Gaels 18-person executive committee convened on Zoom last Thursday as they have been done remotely every month with plans for more social outreach planned for 2021.

Wed 18 members involved with the Leitrim County Council Covid Response Forum, and members helping with Leitrim Calling who make calls to the vulnerable and elderly. Our senior players were involved with the Tidy Towns in Drumshanbo, doing power washing blitzes, to let the community know we were there for them.

Golf: People just went mad for golf

By Paul Keane

IN a regular year, the Royal Tara Golf Club in Meath might lose 50 or so members through natural attrition and pick up 50 more, maintaining a membership of around 700.

Last year, the old parkland club in the heart of the Boyne Valley took in 150 new members, enjoying a net gain of around 100 overall, a welcome but entirely unexpected spike in interest. The clubs experience is not a unique one with huge numbers turning to the sport immediately after the first lockdown of 2020. Golf Ireland CEO Mark Kennelly has estimated that club membership in general has increased by a figure certainly north of 10%.

As Royal Taras honorary secretary Ray Keogh commented of the initial weeks after restrictions were eased last May, allowing casual golf to resume, People just went mad for golf.

The sports appeal was twofold; it was a safe, outdoor activity conducive to social distancing but just as importantly, it was open and available to play when other sports werent. With three separate nine-hole courses, a spectacular full-length driving range that is being constantly upgraded with new tees and target greens, the club next to the Hill of Tara was well positioned to meet the demand.

With ourselves, the majority of the people who joined were footballers, rugby players, hurlers, that sort of thing, from all the surrounding areas, said Keogh.

And when you looked deeply into it, a lot of these people had been casual golfers down the years without ever being members. So they kind of migrated into taking up golf membership because of the circumstances.

The influx of new members worked well on a number of levels for the club. For starters, the extra revenue coming in offset some of the lost income from bar and catering and from competition and green frees.

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Covid-19: A sport-by-sport look at the cost to grassroots games - Irish Examiner

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Dolly Parton Says She Turned Down Presidential Medal Of Freedom Twice – NPR

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Dolly Parton says she was offered the honor by the Trump administration but was unable to accept. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Dolly Parton says she was offered the honor by the Trump administration but was unable to accept.

Last fall, former President Barack Obama told Stephen Colbert that he was "shocked" Dolly Parton hadn't gotten a Presidential Medal of Freedom during his time in office. "That was a screwup," he said. "I think I assumed she had already got one."

Now, the country icon says the Trump administration offered her the honor, not once but twice and she turned it down both times. "I couldn't accept it because my husband was ill, and then they asked me again about it and I wouldn't travel because of the COVID," she said in an interview with the Today show.

Only two weeks into his term, President Biden has not yet announced any new Medal of Freedom recipients. But Parton says she'd be hesitant to accept a possible third offer. "Now I feel like if I take it, I'll be doing politics, so I'm not sure."

And, she added, "I don't work for those awards. It'd be nice, but I'm not sure that I even deserve it. But that's a nice compliment for people to think that I might deserve it."

Parton has been in the news lately after it was revealed that she helped fund the development of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine.

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Dolly Parton Says She Turned Down Presidential Medal Of Freedom Twice - NPR

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Dont fear educational freedom, fear force – The Daily Breeze

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It should come as no surprise that interest in school choice is booming, with 15 states currently considering expanding or starting private school choice programs. COIVD-19 has shown people in even the wealthiest public school districts that one size cannot fit all. Some families want online instruction, some hybrid, some fully in-person, and one district cannot accommodate them all. Private schools, in contrast, have their own, diverse policies. Were education funds to follow students, parents could choose what they want without sacrificing their public education tax dollars.

Choice, quite simply, makes logical sense. Yet some opponents are freaking out.

Last Friday Jack Schneider, a historian and prominent choice opponent, published a Twitter thread in which he attacked state efforts to expand choice, characterizing them as scary, and saying public schools will be kneecapped. In writing about legislation to expand Arizonas voucher program, Schneider warned that the effort was happening in a state that has a massive and terrifying neo-voucher.

What is this terrifying neo-voucher? Tax credits for people or corporations who donate to scholarship funds for kids to attend private schools.

That seems more like Casper the Friendly Ghost than Dracula. We already have all kinds of tax credits, including for attendance at any type of college, public or private. And we have choice in everything from televisions to package shipping. Is any of that super scary?

Such terrifying rhetoric is not novelsee a slew of recent titles of books taking on choice, including from Schneiderbut it is overwrought. That said, even if hyperbolically stated, many opponents motives may be understandable.

Many people no doubt support public schoolinggovernment-run schools to which kids are assignedbecause they truly believe a common school system levels the education playing field and brings diverse people together. On the flip side, many honestly fear that choice allows people to select education they find repugnant, like schools with policies hostile to LGBTQ children.

These are not crazy worries. But to truly feel horror about choice you would need to ignore a lot of public schooling reality, including that it does not unite usindeed, it forces divisive conflictand it is chock full of its own unsettling things.

The history of public schooling is, of course, befouled by legally mandated racial segregation, as well as sometimes cruel marginalization of Catholics, immigrants, and many other groups.

Today, even with mandatory segregation gone, the residentially assigned public schools are highly stratified at the district, school, and classroom levels. And marginalization continues: In September, the Equal Justice Institute reported that over 240 public schools in 17 states are named after Confederate leaders, and about half of those serve majority Black or non-White students. Meanwhile, African Americans and other minority groups often have to fight to get what they see as fair representation in public school curricula. Finally, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network reported in 2017 that 72% of LGBTQ public school students had experienced victimization over their sexual orientation, and 61% over their gender expression.

What about the fear that choice would enable people to select schools with repugnant policies?

Some parents will indeed pick private schools with what many see as bigoted policies. But freedom of conscience is a basic right, and if we force all people to pay for public education, religious people should have the right to use the funding at schools that uphold their values rather than ignoring or violating them, as public schools too often do.

More important to all groups, failure to provide choice guarantees continued, fracturing social conflict, and inequality under the law for the losers. Without choice, for you to get what you want, you must defeat those who want something different. Indeed, one driver of both the right and left violence over the last few years is almost certainly a sense of having to fightliterallyto keep the other side from doing things to you, such as imposing woke curricula, or racist school discipline policies.

We should not fear freedom. We should fear force: Government requiring everyone to pay for schools that only those with the most political power control.

If we want peaceand peace of mindwe need school choice for all.

Neal McCluskey directs the Cato Institutes Center for Education Freedom and is co-editor of the new book School Choice Myths: Setting the Record Straight on Education Freedom.

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Dont fear educational freedom, fear force - The Daily Breeze

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Rob Gronkowski: I have freedom to be myself in Tampa Bay – WEEI

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Rob Gronkowski has played for two coaches in the NFL: Bill Belichick and Bruce Arians.

Appearing on Sirius XM NFL Radio with Bruce Murray and Mark Dominik Monday, the former Patriots tight end acknowledged it's been "a complete 180" in terms of the style, but also acknowledged the two do have similarities.

I would say the two differences about them are Coach Belichick was defensive-minded and here, Coach B.A. he is very offensive-minded," Gronkowski said. "Thats the difference and then I would say what is very similar is they both know the ins and outs of what they know. Like Coach Belichick is very defensive-minded and an unbelievable coach working with the defensive side with the players. Coach B.A., working with the offensive side, just working the ins and outs. Both great coaches and both just know the details of what needs to be done to win football games.

The way the two coaches handle the media and the atmosphere with the team was brought up and Gronkowski said for the second time in recent weeks he has the freedom to be himself in Tampa Bay.

They both definitely have their own persona, their own approaches to the way the media his held, the atmosphere of the program," Gronkowski said. "Theres 32 clubs in the league. All 32 are always going to be different. There may be some similar, some totally different. I would say these two are totally different aspects of approaches to the media and everything. I will never take anything away from my nine years there. I learned so much under that program. I learned that way and I am actually very grateful that I learned that way. Theres many aspects of learning through that organization, lessons that were taught to me that I still use to this day, that I apply to this day.

"Just coming here its a complete 180 for sure. Totally different. I feel the biggest difference is having the freedom of being yourself here in this organization.

Gronkowski and the Bucs will take on the Chiefs Sunday in Super Bowl LV.

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Rob Gronkowski: I have freedom to be myself in Tampa Bay - WEEI

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The Imperative of Integration – Stages of Freedom to Host Conversation With Philosopher Anderson – GoLocalProv

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Tuesday, February 02, 2021

GoLocalProv News Team

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Stages of Freedom founder Ray Rickman.

The event, free to the public, is taking place at 5:30 PM on Friday, February 12.

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More than forty years have passed since Congress enacted sweeping antidiscrimination laws in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, writes Stages of Freedom. In 2008, we elected the first African American president.

Some would say we have arrived at a postracial America, but The Imperative of Integration indicates otherwise, they continue. Join author Elizabeth Anderson, Americans foremost philosopher, as we discuss why racial integration is needed more than ever to overcome justice and inequality, to build a better democracy.

About Anderson

Anderson, who received her Masters and Doctorate in Philosophy from Harvard University, currently specializes in ethics, social and political philosophy, feminist theory, social epistemology, and the philosophy of economics and the social sciences at the University of Michigan, where she is the John Dewey Distinguished University Professor; John Rawls Collegiate Professor; and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor.

Andersons book The Imperative of Integration is described as the following by Princeton University Press with the following.

"Anderson demonstrates that, despite progress toward racial equality, African Americans remain disadvantaged on virtually all measures of well-being. Segregation remains a key cause of these problems, and Anderson skillfully shows why racial integration is needed to address these issues. Weaving together extensive social science findings in economics, sociology, and psychology with political theory, this book provides a compelling argument for reviving the ideal of racial integration to overcome injustice and inequality, and to build a better democracy.

Considering the effects of segregation and integration across multiple social arenas, Anderson exposes the deficiencies of racial views on both the right and the left. She reveals the limitations of conservative explanations for black disadvantage in terms of cultural pathology within the black community and explains why color blindness is morally misguided. Multicultural celebrations of group differences are also not enough to solve our racial problems. Anderson provides a distinctive rationale for affirmative action as a tool for promoting integration, and explores how integration can be practiced beyond affirmative action.

Offering an expansive model for practicing political philosophy in close collaboration with the social sciences, this book is a trenchant examination of how racial integration can lead to a more robust and responsive democracy."

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Watch out Pete! Guess who’s the target of a snowball fight in New Freedom – WBAL TV Baltimore

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Watch out Pete! Guess who's the target of a snowball fight in New Freedom

Updated: 5:43 PM EST Feb 1, 2021

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SURE. PETE: THAT IS CORRECT, MY NEIGHBOR HAS BEEN HELPING ME NOT TOP. SHE IS RELENTLESS. A COUPLE OF BIG ARMS BACK HERE. IT IS A GREAT DAY FOR KID. THEY DID THEIR VIRTUAL WORK, AND STILL GET A BIT OF A SNOW DAY. THEY ARE HAVING ON. AS IS TYPICALLY THE CASE, SELF THAN JOEL PENNSYLVANIA IS THE SWEET SPOT OR SNOW. IT IS COMING DOWN HEAVILY. WE HAD ABOUT FOUR INCHES INITIALLY FOR SNOW, THEN RAIN. AROUND 1:00 IT CHANGED BACK TO SNOW. THIS IS WHAT WE DO. WE HAVE SNOWBALL FIGHTS, FUN. WE ARE HERE BY THE NCR TRAIL. YOU HIT THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE, IT BECOMES THE RAIL TRAIL. IT GOES FROM HUNT VALLEY TO YORK, PA. IT IS A GREAT TRAIL. THIS IS NOT OPEN. WOULD BE NICE, BUT IT IS MORE A SUMMER THING. WE COULD TAKE THE TRAIN, DO SIGHTSEEING, HAVE FUN. MORE NEIGHBORS READY TO THROW SOME SNOWBALLS. WE ARE ANTICIPATING ANOTHER SIX TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW UNTIL THIS IS DONE. WE ARE USED TO IT. THEY MAY OR MAY NOT PLOW IT. EVERYONE IS USED TO WIT. WE ARE GOOD WITH IT. UP A LITTLE WAY AS IS A PLACE CALLED THE HODLE. A RESTAURANT BAR THAT IS BEEN HERE SINCE THE 1850S. AT ONE POINT, IT WAS LOST IN A POKER GAME. NEEDLESS TO SAY, IT IS A PLACE WITH CHARACTER. MY LITTLE SNOWBALL GUYS HAVE BEEN HAMMERING ME THE LAST 15 MINUTES. IT IS MY TIME TO GET YOU, GIANNA. YOU GOT ME GOOD, ANTHONY. THERE IS JOEY. I GOT HIM. GIANNA IS COMING AT ME NONSTOP. IT IS WINDY, HARD TO SEE, BUT NOT THAT COLD. 28. GOOD WEATHER FOR SNOWBALL ACTIVITY IN NEW FREEDOM, PENNSYLV

Watch out Pete! Guess who's the target of a snowball fight in New Freedom

Updated: 5:43 PM EST Feb 1, 2021

Pete Gilbert shows the snowy conditions in New Freedom, Pennsylvania, where the snow is coming down steady -- and watch out, the snowballs have Pete's name on them!

Pete Gilbert shows the snowy conditions in New Freedom, Pennsylvania, where the snow is coming down steady -- and watch out, the snowballs have Pete's name on them!

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Watch out Pete! Guess who's the target of a snowball fight in New Freedom - WBAL TV Baltimore

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Firebrand Roots Contrast Legislative Hopes as the Texas Freedom Caucus Enters Third Session – The Texan

Posted: at 7:03 pm

Austin, TX, 11 hours ago It was May 12, 2017, and bills were dying on the Texas House floor faster than soldiers at Stalingrad.

Except it was neither bullets nor explosions doing the damage rather, a strategically and mercilessly used parliamentary procedure that killed an entire slate of bills before a looming deadline. A legislative massacre, just days before Mothers Day, as it were.

The maneuver was a grand display of deliberate obstruction as much part of the process as sending bills through committee as many conservatives will say killing bad bills is more important than passing good ones. The undertaking was a message aimed squarely at then-Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio).

And the incensed band of rebels from which the shot came was the burgeoning Texas Freedom Caucus (TFC) plus Rep. Scott Sandford (R-McKinney).

The band of 12 conservative lawmakers had formed only months before with the mission to amplify the voice of liberty-minded grassroots.

Those founding members were Reps. Kyle Biedermann (R-Fredericksburg), Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park), Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth), Mike Lang (R-Granbury), Jeff Leach (R-Plano), Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving), Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), Matt Shaheen (R-Plano), Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford), Valoree Swanson (R-Spring), Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington), and Bill Zedler (R-Arlington).

Four are no longer in the House: Lang, Rinaldi, Stickland, and Zedler. Three others still hold their offices but have since left the caucus: Biedermann, Leach, and Tinderholt.

With a few additions elected since Reps. Mayes Middleton (R-Wallisville), Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands), and Cody Vasut (R-Angleton) the headcount now stands at eight.

Despite membership shifts, the TFC heads into its third legislative session. But discontent swells within some ranks of its base.

Firebrand Beginnings Born of Frustration

The caucus was launched in the dawn of the 85th Legislature. Krause told The Texan he credits its formation to Schaefer who had the idea after the 2015 session. After supporting Rep. Scott Turner (R-Frisco) against Straus in the speakers race, the group decided a cohesive front operating outside of leadership could help push for grassroots priorities.

Upset with Straus leadership and proclivity for snubbing their legislation out of hand, the ensemble banded together to mount opposition. Notably, the Republican Straus had originally secured the speakership with a majority-Democrat backing. But in 2017, he was elected unanimously with no opponent.

The Freedom Caucus apex that session, the Mothers Day Massacre, consisted of two maneuvers.

The first was the prevention of sunset safety net legislation from passing. That effort succeeded and triggered a special session during which the governor and lieutenant governor advocated a very conservative agenda. The results were a mixed bag, but the caucus, and many conservatives across the state, saw it as a win.

The second came after Straus and his lieutenant, then-Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton), refused to move members legislation. The retaliation came in the form of chubbing the Local and Consent Calendar a tactic designed to run out a bills 10-minute clock after which it is removed from the days agenda.

It wasnt about causing trouble. It was about using specific tactics to create leverage that would enable our GOP priorities to pass, former Rep. Matt Rinaldi told The Texan.

He stipulated the attempt couldnt have succeeded without an ally, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, in the Senate.

Krause added, From the perspective of dealing with leadership, it was tough. Yet we were still effective at getting through the sanctuary city amendment and various pro-life amendments, but it was really only from the outside looking in.

In an interview with The Texan, Shaheen also pointed to a rules change which required a speaker candidate to garner two-thirds support from Republican members to secure the nomination aimed directly at Straus original ascension.

Leach would later leave the TFC,citing a desire to focus on the House GOP caucus as a whole.

At the conclusion of the 2017 sessions, Straus announced he would leave office, a move many caucus members celebrated and took measured responsibility for.

Riding high from their initial success, the caucus and all Texas Republicans transitioned toward an approaching knock-down, drag-out election battle led by a 6-foot-4 El Paso Congressman with a penchant for Whataburger and kickflips.

The Kumbaya Session

Having just lost nine state House seats, including Rinaldis; two state Senate seats; and nearly the first statewide office in 25 years, Texas Republicans were shellshocked heading into the 2019 session.

A renewed focus on bread and butter issues became the cause du jour, and property tax and school finance reform were chief among those.

Bonnen had secured the speakership with an initial list of 109 supporters including 10 of the 11 TFC members that eventually became a unanimous vote on the sessions opening day.

With the caucus bogeyman gone and a more conservative speaker now grasping the gavel, spirits were high.

Middleton, who cited the conservative grit of the TFC as what prompted him to join, said members had a refreshed optimism about their legislation being given a real shot.

As a freshman, Middleton was able to get the taxpayer-funded lobbying ban to the floor for a vote, which ultimately failed to pass.

One half of the 86th Sessions marquee accomplishment was property tax reform, reducing the cap on increases for cities, counties, and school districts. The caucus celebrated its passage and played a behind-the-scenes role in its final form.

Middleton said the caucus lobbied to cut the school district cap from 5 percent in half to the final 2.5 percent. Krause also pointed to the sales tax swap, proposed by the Big Three during the property tax fight which ultimately died under its own weight, as something the group worked behind the scenes to kill.

Shaheen further stated, Every session, the Freedom Caucus becomes more and more effective. The 2019 session, we were able to have influence over legislation.

Another push by the caucus came with Krauses Save Chick-fil-A bill. While his original bill died in the House, it was revived in the Senate and signed into law by Governor Abbott. Another came with a campus free speech bill which Cain sponsored.

Despite those successes, portions of the grassroots were upset with the whole GOP for, among other things, failing to deliver on significant pieces of pro-life legislation such as the Abolition of Abortion, Heartbeat Bill, or Preborn Nondiscrimination Act.

Each of those bills was carried by members of the caucus but the blame fell to them, too.

Krause said the TFC shared that disappointment. We felt that the best approach was to work within the system with people who wanted to work with us to get that done, and that also means we have to take some of the blame and criticism for things not getting done.

At the sessions close, group members held 10 of the top 15 most conservative spots on Rice Universitys post-session rankings. Soon-to-be member, Toth, held another spot, as did Stickland who left the caucus midway through the session.

From the outside looking in, however, Rinaldi saw the 86th Legislature as a missed opportunity for GOP priorities.

[Speaker] Bonnen used a different tactic than Straus by including conservatives in the process more to try to keep them quiet, said Rinaldi, which didnt become evident to most until late in the session.

I think most in the Freedom Caucus were caught by surprise, and didnt use the [2017 tactics] because they were hoping Bonnen was more conservative than he turned out to be, Rinaldi continued.

The late realization coupled with the lieutenant governor jumping on-board with the purple agenda, Rinaldi posited, left the caucus without the endgame for success of two years prior.

The Interim Nobody Saw Coming

Almost in an instant, the interim turned from lull to frenzy when Bonnens quid pro quo offer to a grassroots leader was exposed in a recording. The fallout amounted to a divided House GOP and a divided Freedom Caucus.

Three members called for his resignation; two pushed Bonnen to forsake reelection; four pulled their support for his speakership upon the reelection announcement; and one, Krause, remained impartial due to his post on the committee evaluating the allegations.

But after the Bonnen episode, the group moved toward preparing for the 87th Legislative Session.

They launched a new project, the Texas Wastebook, to investigate examples of waste, fraud, and abuse within the state budget. Already, the project has identified $8 million of excessive employee hazard pay from the Texas Department of Transportation during the pandemic.

Coronavirus, and the emergency powers it exposed, became another focus. Caucus members criticized the extent to which Abbott has exercised executive authority.

The group also hit on property taxes and police defunding significantly.

At the close of the interim, Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) mounted his successful bid for the speakership. Each member of the TFC signed Phelans initial support list.

Shaheen explained his optimism, telling The Texan, A good speaker is one that lets the members drive the process and lets each member represent their district.

The TFCs ranks dwindled slightly as Biedermann and Tinderholt left, with Biedermann specifically citing the groups internal list of approved speaker candidates as part of his reasoning.

A New Session Brings New Promise

The caucus recently unveiled itslegislative priorities that includes the Heartbeat Bill, constitutional carry, andtaxpayer-funded lobbying ban.

It also features new initiatives like a prohibition on minor hormone therapy and restriction of the states emergency powers.

Middleton, now the caucus chair, said he doesnt expect everything to matriculate but remains optimistic.

Shaheen added, Our constitution is very conservative in nature its meant to make it very hard to pass bills.

Rinaldi, on the other hand, thinks the caucus must channel its former outside-the-box tactics to pass priorities this session along with other conservatives in the House.

Krause sees opportunity with those fellow conservatives to succeed where they failed two years ago.

Its important to listen to the criticism and learn from it for the next opportunity, said Krause. But now if you see a dearth in GOP priorities getting done, I think youre going to again see that contingent within the Freedom Caucus, and those outside of it, get more vocal and push back where we can.

Vasut, who is succeeding Bonnen, opted to join the group in his first session.

Im passionate about liberty and limited government, and so, joining the Freedom Caucus is a natural step for me to represent my district, Vasut said. My constituents value the [Republican Party of Texas] legislative priorities and the things the Freedom Caucus stands for.

He added, The more that I learn about how the House operates, the more respect I have for Dennis Bonnen because Dennis empowered members to represent their districts. He further stipulated that he thinks Phelan will be friendly to GOP priorities.

Meanwhile, Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) said he declined an invite to the TFC. Slaton told The Texan in a statement, I have made it clear to every member Ive talked to that my priority this session is delivering conservative results.

I will work with any member, regardless of what group they are in, to advance Conservative Policies. Most of the Freedom Caucus have made it clear they want to work together, several have made it clear they do not, he concluded.

Another conservative freshman, Rep. Jeff Cason (R-Bedford), also did not join.

Slaton caused a stir amid the rules fight during which he introduced two amendments that would have barred Democrats from chairing some or all committees. The proposals highlighted discord within the TFC, as some members sided with the freshman while others, like Cain, remained adamantly opposed.

With new opportunities ahead, the caucus looks to balance playing ball to accomplish its goals with assuaging growing discontent.

Our priorities are the grassroots priorities, concluded Middleton. Were here to do everything we can to implement what they want to see happen.

Editors Note: The piece has been updated to more clearly specify how members of the Freedom Caucus navigated the Bonnen scandal.

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Kathmandu’s HR lead on flexibility, freedom and the great outdoors – Human Resources Director

Posted: at 7:03 pm

Business leaders recognised that attracting and retaining the best talent was going to be critical to future resilience and to do that, they needed to look forward at the post-pandemic world of work, rather than hold onto the past.

We implemented a flexible working policy that accelerated the move away from a traditional sort of 9-5 office environment to a more agile work structure, which supports our commitment to creating a more dynamic, high trust, high performance, team-oriented culture, she said.

We really have empowered our teams with the flexibility they need to have a more integrated balance across their work, family commitments and the gift of enjoying the outdoors and their downtime.

The initiatives introduced include flexi time, allowing employees to decide their start and finish times or work split shifts, as well as the options of condensed four-day weeks or reduced hours.

The company also introduced FriYay flexibility giving teams the opportunity to finish early on Friday afternoons.

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says freedom is ‘earned with the price of blood’ in newly-resurfaced video – The Week

Posted: at 7:03 pm

Fear they say is a response elicited by things we don't understand. We're afraid of flying, because we don't grasp aerodynamics. We're afraid of the spider in our bathtub, because we don't know if it's a species that can hurt us. We're afraid of computers, because, who knows? Maybe one day they'll have a mind of their own.

Decades ago, the latter bloomed into a full-fledged subgenre of horror preoccupied with contemporary anxieties of isolation and alienation, accelerated by advances in technology. "Technohorror is not merely a form of pure technophobia, but instead is a form of creeping, pervasive dread born of symbiotic uncertainty in our relationship to technology and our shifting perceptions of what it means to be human," explains Daniel W. Powell in his book, Horror Culture in the New Millennium.

But while technohorror began as a genre obsessed with the perils of digital life (think of the dated hysteria of 1992's Lawnmower Man, or 1995's The Net, or 2002's Feardotcom), movies like Jane Schoenbrun's terrific narrative feature debut, We're All Going to the World's Fair, are blazing a new path forward one that stems from a deep understanding of technology, rather than ignorance and fear of it.

We're All Going to the World's Fair premiered this week as part of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, and introduces us to Casey (Anna Cobb, in her fantastic feature debut), a high schooler who decides to join the "World's Fair" challenge. Sitting before her computer screen our frame into the scene Casey pricks her finger and chants "I want to go to the World's Fair" three times, then watches a strobing video that's supposed to, in some ominous way, transform her. She proceeds to record video diaries about her experiences as the challenge progresses; they're never watched by more than a handful of people, but still manage to catch the attention and concern of a fellow World's Fair obsessive who goes by the anonymous initials JLB.

While traditional technohorror uses an outside-in perspective to evaluate digital life whether Nightmare Weekend or Kairo or Stephen King's exceptionally dreadful novel Cell We're All Going to the World's Fair is a creation of the inside out. That means more than just that Schoenbrun (who wrote, directed, and edited the film) has a vocabulary that includes "creepypasta." Rather, like several other recent movies (Unfriended: Dark Web and Cam being other greats of this new generation), World's Fair truly "gets" how people use the internet to forge their identities, reach out for connection, and play-act different versions of themselves.

The creeping sense of dread stems not from an alarmist fear of what a teenage girl finding her way on the internet might do, but knowing exactly. Unlike technohorror of yore, the answer doesn't involve robots bent on world domination, or demons that pass through phone lines, or serial killers lurking on the other side of chatrooms, but the draw of online communities when you have no one in your hometown, and the internet strangers who fill the void of friends. Jeva Lange

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says freedom is 'earned with the price of blood' in newly-resurfaced video - The Week

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Ivermectin court ruling hailed as ‘breakthrough for healthcare freedom in Covid-19 battle’ – IOL

Posted: at 7:03 pm

By Zelda Venter 8h ago

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Pretoria The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, issued an order by agreement with the South African Health Products Regulations Authority (SAHPRA) which will enable doctors to start ivermectin treatment which is not yet registered for human use within South Africa.

This will enable doctors to start ivermectin treatment concurrently with the submission of an article 21 application, in cases where the doctor deems urgent access to ivermectin as crucial for a patient.

According to the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act, an article 21 application has to be submitted to SAHPRA by medical practitioners who want to prescribe medicine which is not registered for human use within South Africa.

AfriForum, which is one of the parties in an urgent application to get the green light for the use of ivermectin, said this is a groundbreaking ruling because doctors will not have to wait for approval of an article 21 application before starting treatment.

It is also a huge victory as doctors can decide to proceed with treatment using their own judgement. In addition, the court order determines that any person can qualify for access to ivermectin and that medical practitioners are entitled to apply for access to ivermectin.

The remaining question in the application, which will be argued in full by all the parties at a later date, will involve whether SAPRA has the right to stop doctors and pharmacists from using this medication without first approaching the regulatory authority for permission as it must now do.

The core of the issues to be raised is whether SAPRA has the right to regulate ivermectin in the case of each and every patient in the midst of a pandemic, where thousands of people are falling ill, lawyer Willie Spies explained. He said as things now stand, each patient, through a doctor, must individually obtain permission from SAPRA before they may use ivermectin.

Judge Peter Mabuse, who made the agreement between the parties an order of court, noted that the parties may approach the deputy judge president for a preferential date on which to determine on the issues.

Pretoria East doctor George Coetzee launched the urgent application, together with two of his patients, for permission to be able to use ivermectin as a treatment.

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) also brought a similar application, which will be heard together with Coetzees application.

The ACDP will, among others, ask for an order to remove the restrictions on the use of ivermectin in South Africa, as long as it has been prescribed by a medical doctor. Its arguments will predominantly rest on the constitutional rights of people to use this drug.

Regarding the agreement between the parties pending the adjudication of the two urgent applications, AfriForum confirmed that it is now an order of the court that a medical practitioner can start treating a patient with ivermectin without having to wait for approval of a submitted article 21 application.

The quick access to medical treatment is a breakthrough for healthcare freedom and our battle against Covid-19, as the hurdle of pre-authorisation is no longer an issue. It is an important first step in our effort to ensure access to ivermectin, said Barend Uys, head of research at AfriForum.

Coetzee responded that he is thankful for the assurance the court order gives that doctors can use their clinical judgement to commence ivermectin treatment when access to it is urgent.

A group of doctors and medical practitioners, who call themselves I Can Make a Difference, will meanwhile also join the fray as a separate applicant in the main applications still to be heard.

They initially indicated that they wanted to join as an interested party, but Durban lawyer Kuben Moodley, of the law firm Pather and Pather, now confirmed that they will now bring their own application.

The group of about 50 health practitioners said in court papers that many of the group wanted to lawfully take ivermectin themselves as a prophylactic, to be obtained from a reputable and recognised supplier, given their ongoing risk of contracting Covid-19 due to their exposure to the virus.

They also want to use it in relation to their patients who desperately need it.

Pretoria News

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