Monthly Archives: August 2021

Tuesday, Mayor John Johnny Hammock of Tallassee, AL, announced his campaign for Alabama Public Service Commissioner Place 1. Hammock is the current Mayor and Superintendent of Utilities for the City of Tallassee serving in his second term.

It has been an honor and privilege to serve as Mayor of Tallassee and Superintendent of Utilities over the past 5 years. The work that we have accomplished has helped make Tallassee a better place to live, raise a family, and start a business, and now I want to do the same for the State of Alabama, Hammock commented.

Mayor Hammock is a lifelong conservative Republican who is a graduate of the University of Alabama and a small business owner with his wife Kimberly Hammock. Hammock is a member of the Elmore County Republican Party executive committee and has three children. Mayor Hammock serves on the board of directors for the Alabama League of Municipalities, member of EDAA, member of ACCMA, founder of the Tallassee economic development committee, member of the Tallassee Planning commission, board of directors for AMES, board of directors for Central Alabama Aging Consortium, serves on board of CARPDC, and a member of the Tallassee Chamber of Commerce.

277

The failed energy policies we see coming out of Washington D.C from the liberal elites are making utilities more expensive. The Biden-Harris administration is working every day to do everything they can to make working-class families struggle right here in Alabama, Hammock said.

He added, [T]hey are killing our small businesses, the middle class, and destroying jobs in our economy. Im tired of it and Im ready to step up and start helping fight back against their socialist policies.

During his time as mayor of Tallassee, John brought in over $4.3 million dollars in grants to help improve the city of Tallassee from replacing sewer lines, gas lines, water tanks, repaving streets, etc. Johns work ethic speaks for itself, with over a decade of small business ownership and tirelessly navigating his city through a pandemic. He believes that the Democrats push for renewable energy will cost businesses, farmers, and the hardworking men and women of Alabama thousands of dollars.

I am running for the office of Public Service Commission because I have served my hometown and now I want to serve the people of the great state of Alabama. My experience as Superintendent of Utilities over water, waste water, and gas have prepared me to serve on the PSC. Ill always be transparent, fair, and an ethical public servant who will work each and every day for you, he stated.

The Republican primary election will be on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

We need fresh blood in the PSC and someone with boots on the ground experience in Utilities. I wont be outworked and I look forward to traveling the state and getting to meet the great people of our state, Hammock concluded.

Read the original post:

Listen: From addiction to freedom, one woman's story of success - Yellowhammer News

A Moscow court sentenced a Russian opposition leader Tuesday to 18 months of restricted freedom over her role in organizing last winter's mass pro-Alexey Navalny protests, the Associated Press reports.

Why it matters: Lyubov Sobol's sentencing is part of a wider crackdown by the Russian government on Navalny's allies, several of whom are slated to stand trial on the same charges as Sobol, Reuters reports.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

The big picture: The court found Sobol guilty of inciting people to break coronavirus restrictions by calling on people to come out and protest, per AP.

For a year and a half, Sobol will be banned from leaving her apartment between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and attending mass events. She will also be required to check in with police three times a month, AP reports.

Sobol is one of Navalny's closest allies and has worked with him since 2011. She was previously a lawyer for his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which was banned as an "extremist organization" by the government this past April.

Sobol has called the charge "politically-motivated nonsense," per Reuters.

She was placed under house arrest six months ago, leaving the possibility that her sentence could last only a year, according to her lawyer, per AP.

Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

Read the original here:

Opposition ally sentenced to 18 months of restricted freedom over pro-Navalny protests - Yahoo News

By Dewain E. Peek,

OCN Editor

Schools will open without mandated mask wearing, according to Overton County Director of Schools Donnie Holman.

The pronouncement came during a COVID-19 update held at Livingston City Hall on Monday, Aug. 2.

We have been working hard this summer to prepare things for school to begin, Director Holman said. I have a plan, a rough draft plan you might say, of what were going to do to have a safe reopening. We want everything to be as safe as we can possibly make things for our students and our staff.

He said student safety is the top priority.

What were planning on doing for this school year is, all schools will open for in-person learning following the regular daily schedule, Director Holman said. Multiple layers of protection that are already in place will continue.

Sanitizing stations and water bottle filling stations will still be used. Limited visitor protocols will be in place.

Masks will not be required, Director Holman said.

He went on to assure, But those who wish to wear them will be respected and allowed to do so, by all means.

Anyone exhibiting COVID-19 should not report to school, and should seek medical guidance. Isolation and quarantine protocols from health officials should be followed.

In the event of a positive COVID-19 case in one of our schools, we will follow the CDC and the Tennessee Department of Health guidelines, and parents or guardians will be notified of their childs possible exposure.

With Overton Countys positive COVID-19 cases rising from only one in recent weeks to 23 as of Mondays press conference, and with the Delta variant spreading, local leaders urged residents to be vaccinated.

Livingston Mayor Curtis Hayes made effective immediately a requirement for all city employees who have not been vaccinated to wear masks while on the job, and mask requirements and temperature checks were reinstituted for entrance to all city-owned buildings.

For the folks that have been vaccinated, it will be optional for those folks to wear their masks, Mayor Hayes said.

Employees will also have temperature checks at the beginning of each shift.

The next COVID-19 update was set for noon Monday, Sept. 13.

More:

Schools open with freedom of choice on masks - Overton County News

I write columns about politics and government, occasionally indulging as a frustrated sports writer; I dont write about business or leisure activities except:

Hopes that the misery of the pandemic is over are diminishing. There are more than 75,000 new infections daily, six times greater than a month earlier, overwhelmingly from the Delta variant and almost all among the unvaccinated.

Hospital intensive care units face overcrowding, again. If the spread isn't stopped, new variants perhaps more lethal will emerge.

There are a few unvaccinated for religious reasons, and people of color who have historical reasons to distrust public health workers and the CDC.

But chiefly, the vaccination failure is because Coronavirus has been politicized among conservatives, with right-wing politicians, judges, think tanks and activists charging its all about personal liberty. This ignores the fact that exercising those personal liberties risks the liberties and lives of others.

Accordingly, there is a pressing need for a more forceful public and private response to a looming crisis brought about largely throughconservative hypocrisy.

Conservative Republicans used to argue that government should only sparingly dictate practices to private companies; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantisRon DeSantisFlorida poll: DeSantis falls behind Crist as COVID-19 cases surge Overnight Health Care: Florida becomes epicenter of COVID-19 surge | NYC to require vaccination for indoor activities | Biden rebukes GOP governors for barring mask mandates Biden rebukes GOP governors for barring mask mandates MORE and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott are ignoring that philosophy. Republicans also used to argue that the government closest to the people governs best; their updated version adds the caveat: unless local governments are run by liberals or minorities and the state government by Republicans.

There's the politicized judiciary. in a speech to the Federalist Society late last year after the election Supreme Court Justice Samuel AlitoSamuel Alito'Freedom-loving' conservatives stoked latest round of infection and death Bill would honor Ginsburg, O'Connor with statues at Capitol No reason to pack the court MORE lashed out at the social distancing, mask wearing and other COVID measures: We have never before seen restrictions as severe, extensive and prolonged as those experienced for most of 2020. Of course, we actually have: rationing for food, gas and other resources during World War II; pervasive wage and price controls from 1971 to 1973.

In the main, this is more like falsely crying fire in a crowded theater unacceptable as it endangers others. The unvaccinated and those who ignore social distancing and mask mandates are threatening others. The crowded theater term was used by High Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes a century ago; it was a bad decision, against draft protestors during World War, but a good metaphor.

Mandates are not uncommon in America.

Most every state requires drivers to have insurance. Vaccines have been mandated since the country's inception; George Washington ordered his troops to be vaccinated for smallpox. Today, in every state, polio vaccines are required for elementary school children. If the current anti-vax right-wing social media and political echo chamber had been as robust in the 1950s during the Eisenhower administration when the polio vaccine came out, there would be a lot more iron lungs.

On the public front, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told me the Food and Drug Administration needs to rapidly give full approval for the vaccine. That would facilitate vaccine mandates.

The Biden administration is requiring most federal employees to be vaccinated or to get tested regularly. The Pentagon is applying this to the military.

Dozens of the country's top medical organizations including the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association called for health care facilities to require all employees to be vaccinated. A legal challenge to Houston Methodist Hospital's mandate was rejected. Over 600 Universities and colleges are requiring students to be vaccinated.

Emanuel, who organized that call from leading medical groups, thinks it was a tipping point the floodgates are going to open. He predicts resisters like Florida will have to back down: Hospitalizations and deaths are really going up. On Saturday Florida set a new high for COVID cases with 21,683.

There are a growing number of companies that are requiring employees to be vaccinated, except where prohibited by state law.

What are all those right-wing, chest-thumping anti-vax politicians, judges, think tanks and activists to do?

The exit ramp for conservatives may have been offered by Sarah HuckabeeSarah SandersTrump expected to resume rallies in June Andrew Giuliani planning run for New York governor Trump appears at Sarah Huckabee Sanders campaign event MORE Sanders, who's running for governor of Arkansas. The former Trump press secretary blasted Washington's condescending politicians and bureaucrats, praised what she called Donald TrumpDonald TrumpFive takeaways from the Ohio special primaries Missouri Rep. Billy Long enters Senate GOP primary Trump-backed Mike Carey wins GOP primary in Ohio special election MOREs superb response and then called on her constituents to take the Trump vaccine.

Al Hunt is the former executive editor of Bloomberg News. He previously served as reporter, bureau chief and Washington editor for the Wall Street Journal. For almost a quarter century he wrote a column on politics for The Wall Street Journal, then The International New York Times and Bloomberg View. He hostsPolitics War Roomwith James Carville. Follow him on Twitter@AlHuntDC.

Originally posted here:

'Freedom-loving' conservatives stoked latest round of infection and death | TheHill - The Hill

Last September, I wrote about a woman I'd seen but did not know who said a lot to me about the world I was living in. It was a world I had never expected to see in the United States of America.

Dressed in a matching, middle-class sort of way knitted mauve skirt and blouse, nicely coifed, nothing flamboyant or gaudy or swashbuckling about her, clearly neither depressed nor destitute but waving her arms and screaming out loud. It was a picture of an America I had not seen before.

Looking back now, I guess you could say that the demonstration was meant to be a dash of patriotism at its best.

The problem is that though this particular protest was meant to "protect the Constitution" that has for a long period now been hanging by a thread, the protest was actually contradicting a large part of the Constitution's preamble and its commitment to "the general welfare" of the country.

This particular woman in this particular protest was screaming her disregard for "the general welfare" by undermining that general welfare with her interpretation of what it means to be a citizen. "I refuse to wear a mask," she yelled. "I am free! I have 'rights'!"

She was shouting her "freedom" to ignore the rights of anyone of everyone else in the country by refusing to wear a mask in the midst of one of the most transmissible pandemics in 100 years. It's not, in other words, the historical practice of this country to mask the population as a show of political whim and fancy.

And politicians, even governors, agreed with her, apparently. So, many lost their rights to life while others crowed their freedom to do whatever they pleased in the name of "Americanism."

In all fairness, however, "freedom" is not an isolated concept. The great philosophers of the late 19th to early 20th century, John Stuart Mill and Rudolf Steiner, for instance, linked the concepts of freedom and liberty.

Neither could stand alone, they argued. Freedom is the capacity to do what I will, but liberty is the right to do what I can only as long as I do not infringe on the rights of others. There are, they pointed out, ethical and moral codes that limit my right to do as I please.

Or, not to put too fine a point on it, I do not have the right to limit the freedom of others to enjoy "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

But even politicians ignored the obvious to get the votes of those who have no interest in either "the general welfare" or "the rights of others" in this free country "to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

So much for political leadership and its responsibility for the common good.

In fact, look closely at the "limitations on our freedom" that have been operative for years. Does the lady in the mauve skirt have the "right" to pick and choose between the ones she'll keep and the ones she won't? How shall we break the news to her about their binding contribution to the common good? For instance:

But in 2020, with no central leadership from Washington, each state stumbled along without a national program of disease control and with a president who made fun of the only defense we had masks.

The common good, the general welfare, collapsed in the United States of America. More than 600,000 people have died. Six hundred thousand. So far.

From where I stand, with an undercurrent of resistance still firmly defined, it's time, I think, for the federal government to mandate a vaccine passport. No passport? No theater ticket. No passport? No mall shopping. No passport? No baseball games. No passport? No air travel. And more.

But that leads to what may be the fundamental question: On what grounds beyond the Constitution of the United States of America shall we accept masks and get vaccinated? Answer: On the law above the law the moral codes the philosophers talk about that guide our care for one another, and that all the great religions teach. They leave no doubt.

Jesus preached relationship and rights so decisively. He left us the Beatitudes and its prescript "Blessed are the merciful." He told us the parable of the good Samaritan who abandoned his convenience for the sake of his neighbor as a real model of spiritual maturity.

Then he left us the most astounding comments of them all: "For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?" and "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you." There, "my rights" melt into yours.

The governor of Alabama, amid the sounds of "I've had it" from so many across the country who have been so patient so long, says it all: "It's time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It's the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down."

Saddest of all, the governor knows, is the story of the patients who lay in Alabama dying and begging for the vaccine. "I'm sorry," the attending doctor told them, "but it's too late." It's too late. Too late to think about others as so many think only about themselves.

Unfortunately, it seems that there are still more than enough people in that category to affect all our lives.

I can't help but wonder if the woman in mauve is still out there somewhere wildly claiming the "rights" that the Constitution with its commitment to freedom and liberty do not give her.

Excerpt from:

Masks, vaccines and rights in the land of freedom and liberty - National Catholic Reporter

Grab the best deals on Kitchen appliances

Amazon Freedom Day sale will be live from August 5th to 9th ; and we can't keep calm because it's getting bigger and better! With lucrative discounts and exceptional deals, this is just the right time for you to get shopping. The 5-day sale brings a plethora of options for buyers - one of them being the kitchen appliances. And if you are looking to revamp your kitchen on a budget, well there couldn't possibly be a better time to do this than this weekend! From chimneys to microwave ovens, here is a list of essential appliances and the amazing deals you can avail. Read on.

Have you been thinking of replacing that old and boring refrigerator with something fancy and better, but scared of the budget? Well, fret not because Amazon Freedom Day Sale brings some amazing offers on refrigerators. During this time, you can avail refrigerators starting from Rs.6,790. Sounds interesting, right? So, what are you waiting for? Now, change the old refrigerator, without a dent in your pocket. Here are some of the refrigerators that are on sale:

The kitchen is a hot and greasy place, and if you don't have a proper outlet for all that steam, your kitchen will soon start showing the signs with greasy and dull-looking walls and ceilings. That is where a chimney comes to the rescue; it helps you cook delicious dishes while keeping the look of your kitchen clean and neat. With almost 55% off on these chimneys, you don't need to wait long for the kitchen of your dreams. Here are some of the options :

We love cooking and experimenting in our kitchens. But doing the dishes after that can be tedious and time-taking. Well, thankfully we have a dishwasher to solve the issue. This appliance is a must-have in every household. Just keep those used utensils in the dishwasher and you can forget the rest. You will get clean and shiny utensils in just no time. If you've ever been confused about whether to get this appliance or not, let us makes things easier for you. Here're some dishwashers which are available for up to 30% off. Take a look:

If you think microwaves are a thing of the past, then you are highly mistaken. Microwaves are still one of the most used kitchen appliances and have multiple usages. From the daily reheating to quick-cooking needs - our microwaves do it all. Use this freedom day sale as an excuse to revamp your microwave corner and get a beautiful new microwave for up to 45% off. These are some of the options that you can avail during the sale:

Waiting for response to load...

Originally posted here:

Amazon Freedom Day Sale 2021: Fridge, Microwave Oven And More - Kitchen Appliances With Discounts And Offer - NDTV

Mainstream of Indias freedom movements was shaped largely by Gandhi-led agitations. There were revolutionaries, but they were ruthlessly repressed by Government forces and continuously censured by the Gandhian leadership of Congress.

They had to go underground to carry out sporadic violent attacks on British officers. On the surface, the Gandhian path reigned supreme.

Gandhi emphasised redressal of grievance without annoying the perpetrator of injustice. The pattern was set in South Africa with his experiment called

Satyagraha. How did he launch it and how successful was this movement? When the Asiatic law amendment act was passed in the Transvaal Parliament to make it obligatory for Indians to give finger impressions for registration, Gandhi called for a non-violent rejection of this new rule.

It was immediately found attractive by both Indian businessmen and indentured labourers in South Africa. There was now a hope of salvaging their dignity without risking great sacrifice. Thus began Satyagraha in South Africa. It led to mass arrests and authorities resorted to shooting, as and when the agitators refused to court arrest peacefully.

Meanwhile, Gandhi entered into a strange agreement with the Transvaal colonial Secretary General J.C. Smuts which ended the movement in a bizarre compromise.

People were asked to give finger impressions voluntarily and not following the new Act.

In other words, they were asked to accept the insult voluntarily. An assurance was given that the Act would be repealed if people did it. Gandhi himself did it in reverence to the settlement and many followed his example despite having doubts about the governments real intention.

Soon, the doubts were proved correct. The government refused to withdraw the act. Later, the entire atmosphere became explosive when a judgment of the Cape Supreme Court invalidated all Indian marriages. Resentments spread to different sections of South African Indians in different forms. Indian workers in the coal-mining area of Natal declared a strike; they were flogged indiscriminately and robbed of their household properties.

Gandhi rushed to Newcastle and led 5,000 workers to enter Transvaal crossing the border.

The tension was diffused by putting them behind bars.

Thousands of Indian workers in the sugar plantations, municipality and in the Railways, almost the entire Indian working class in South Africa, started agitations. Mine-workers were ordered to resume work in the mines without any arrangement of food.

They refused to work. Authorities pounced upon them with floggings and firings.

Many were injured and several killed. Gandhi himself said Government adopted the policy of blood and iron. Nevertheless, while proposing a march from Durban, he privately negotiated for an interview with Smuts.

The interview was granted and Gandhi postponed the march. This was the beginning of an opposition driven less by the objective of fighting injustice done by the ruler than by the agenda of winning the trust of the ruler. In 1913, in an interview given to Reuter, Gandhi claimed to rank amongst the staunchest loyalists alike to the Imperial Government as to the Union Government and, his loyalty being rather to the constitution than to persons, was unaffected by acts of Government, however harsh he might consider them to be.

The foundation of the mainstream that grew out of it culminated in negotiations for transfer of Power in India.

This loyalty informed his letter to Tilak dated 25 August 1918. He said that instead of attending the ensuing special session of Congress at Bombay, he would like to go for recruitment of Indians in the British Indian Army in the World War as he firmly believed it would be a great service to India.

He never lost faith in the rulers benevolence. So much so, that the idea of destruction of the empire horrified him. In South Africa he refused to start movements against the government when the European workers in the Railways were on strike.

The most clinching aspect of his strategy of compromise is his reaction to the Jalianwalla Bagh mass killing. The letter he wrote on 30 May 1919 to S.R. Hignell, private secretary to the Viceroy after the massacre, reveals his intentions.

He gave an assurance that he had not publicly said anything about the Punjab event; he could not form any opinion because he had no reliable data; he was unwilling to do anything calculated needlessly to irritate local authority and he was not prepared to infer from Dyers severe administration that martial law would be unduly hard.

Gandhi claimed that he had no reliable data, but what was the necessity of assuring the government that he had not made any public declaration on the Punjab event? Besides, Rabindranath Tagore, about this time, had renounced his knighthood as a mark of protest against the Jalianwalla Bagh massacre. Was the bard misinformed about the incident? In his speech to the students and teachers at Surat, Gandhi said, the men and women who died in Jalianwalla Bagh were not martyrs and heroes.

Finally, for General Dyer, the only punishment he recommended was stopping of his pension. Such love for the adversary, we were told, was the essence of Satyagraha. If it is argued that Gandhis observations have been selectively chosen out of context, one should only focus on his general attitude towards the state.

In Satyagraha in South Africa, in the context of supporting the British in the Boer war, he wrote: justice is on the side of the Boers but every single subject of a state must not hope to enforce his private opinionauthorities may not always be right but so long subjects owe allegiance to a state, it is their clear duty to accord their support to acts of the state.

His objective of freedom was freedom of the subjects of the Empire. The firebrand Nehru opposed the compromise scheme, and once stood for complete Independence. In his letter of 11 January 1928 to Gandhi, he even rejected the idea of Hind Swaraj. But, when Gandhi asked him to unfurl his own banner and threatened that he would publish the letter to bring the differences into the public domain, Nehru pleaded for reconciliation and requested not to publish his letter of 11 January.

The Left challenge within the Congress was muted by forcing Subhas Chandra Bose to resign and Left consolidation outside the Congress could not crystalise due to foreign mentors interference. In the closing years of the freedom movement, when the INA trial and the Naval Mutiny brought about an opportunity of direct revolt against the Raj, the mainstream leaders did whatever they could to stop the dangerous development.

The end game was played by presenting Mountbatten as the new messiah of independence. Radcliffes cartographical horror in the name of partition, at the behest of this messiah, was condoned. On 15 August 1947 after thenational flag was unfurled on the council House all the way back to the Government House the cries of Jai Hind were mixed with Mountbatten ki jai and even Pandit Mountbatten [Alan Cambell Johnson: Mission with Mountbatten].

Was there really any scope for an alternative? Let us find out.

(To Be Concluded)

The writer is former Head of the Department of Political Science, Presidency College, Kolkata

See more here:

Road to Freedom~I - The Statesman

Elon Musk's Twitter posts are as popular as him. They have been known to move cryptocurrency values, promote space travel, bring attention to electric mobility and showcase the billionaire's views on a plethora of subjects of his interest. On Friday, Musk once again took to the microblogging site to respond to a two-word question: "Define freedom."

The Tesla CEO put on his philosophical hat and replied: "Maximum set of possible future actions".

And like it usually happens, Musk's response gathered numerous comments. Many comments emulated Musk's philosophical tone.

"Way too simple, have to constrain and make choices (and own them) to truly be free," one user wrote.

While another replied, "Freedom isn't free, it costs folks like you and me."

One of the comments read, "Does reality have infinite degrees of freedom?". This was followed by another comment that said "It depends on whether youre talking about the very next action you can take (possibly limited to a discrete list of items that youre free to do) or a decision tree of acts youre free to do, which explodes into a more continuous (practically limitless list of possibilities)."

One Dave Smith had this to say.

Another comment read, "Enhancement Maximum set of possible future actions across all peoples" If your choices/actions reduced my choices/actions then WE have not maximised freedom!"

Meanwhile, others saw this as an opportunity to crack jokes (read memes).

One user came up with a very ambitious response to Musk's comment.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters

* Enter a valid email

* Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!

More here:

'Define freedom'. This is what Elon Musk had to say - Mint