Monthly Archives: January 2022

Weatherford College history and government students wont get a pass on classroom discussions of the Jan. 6 Capitol violence when they come for their spring semester 11 days into the new year.

We will definitely talk about Jan. 6, history and government instructor Nick Pugh said, adding that those dialogues in his class will start with students general thoughts of the event, when hundreds of then-President Donald Trumps most ardent supporters stormed the Capitol steps and into the building in an attempt to halt Congressional certification of Joe Bidens electoral college win over Trump.

And, two, what can we take from these events? Pugh continued. What are we supposed to learn from this?

Pughs colleague, history and government instructor Darrell Castillo, appeared eager to get his students talking.

As long as youre talking, theres going to be a resolution somewhere, Castillo said. For the history classes, of course, Ill relate it to other times there have been spontaneous demonstrations. And for the government class, Ill relate it to constitutional free speech or not.

The or not, he said, depends on if you think that was a constitutional exercise of free speech. I personally think it was. I do not classify any of those events as insurrection. I classify those events as the exercise of free speech, whether it comes from the left or it comes from the right.

The disruption left four dead on Jan. 6, and a Capitol Police officer died the following day of injuries sustained in the violence. More than 700 participants have been arrested in connection with the event, many of whom now have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and/or felonies with which they were charged.

I couldnt believe what I was seeing on TV, Pugh said. We have to address these topics respectfully and with the knowledge they inflame passions on both sides. We are being invited to dig deeper, and (delve) what leads to the circumstances that this could happen in the U.S.A.

Castillo didnt say a word when asked if he thinks the country is headed for civil war. He just nodded.

If history is any indication, yes, he replied after a moment.

Sitting in his office at Weatherford College, Castillo indicated the events of Jan. 6, 2021, could be the preface for more far-right violence in America.

Thats why I find Jan. 6 interesting from a historical and political science perspective, he said. Because, that type of overt public extreme action, if you even want to call it extreme violence, is coming from the right. I will add its a precursor of more extreme violence coming from the right.

Castillo can speak of the right political flank both because politics is his bag and because he is a right-leaning conservative with the bonafides to prove it he has worked in Congress and served in the Reagan White House.

As for his students, he said a year ago they largely seemed OK with the scenes the nation watched on TV.

There was a lot of agreement and some disagreement, Castillo said of student reactions then. But the disagreement was in the minority, and I mean that in the sense of numeric minority.

He added hes detected no shifts in that student mindset as the anniversary has approached.

My students are usually politically conservative and socially conservative, said Castillo, who is faculty sponsor for the Weatherford College Republicans.

Pugh acknowledged the conservative community in which he teaches, adding that his students more often than not take their political cues from their parents.

I think their biggest question was, is this going to become normal? he recalled. I think that was the biggest fear.

The separate discussions that will take place in the instructors classrooms could get lively.

Castillo said some members of the crowd who ascended the Capitol steps that day, at worst, committed disorderly conduct. He said those who committed assaults, and several have pleaded guilty to that and other felonies, were engaging in unconventional political participation.

I dont think any examples one can put forth rise to the level of criminal activity, he said. Civil disobedience and disorderly conduct have been known to be effective. It certainly was proven to be effective in the Civil Rights movement.

And members of Congress, who were spirited from their chambers to undisclosed locations during the melee, were never remotely in any real danger, he said.

One has to remember that the Capitol is a public venue, he said, adding it is far less secure than the White House. In this free and open democracy we should be able to walk in the Capitol building or the White House.

Castillo said Antifa, the loosely knit coalition of anti-fascist protesters, and participants in the youth-fueled, 2011 Occupy Wall Street demonstration, have had their own violent episodes while exercising their free speech rights.

You see those same instances of police being assaulted by individuals involved in such extra-political actions, he said.

According to Fox News, one officer was pushed off a scooter during the Occupy Wall Street demonstration and 28 occupiers were arrested on disorderly conduct charges.

Pugh, who said he and Castillo enjoy a friendship despite sometimes politically opposed stances, said he did see criminal activity occurring at the Capitol a year ago Thursday.

Its pretty clear the federal courts dont agree with [Castillo], he said.

He also said he believes members of Congress did feel fear as the protestors filled the Capitol halls and breached the House of Representatives.

It doesnt take a whole lot of wind around here to get a backyard fire into a wildfire, he said. And, with passions being what they are, yeah, I think they had a genuine reason to be afraid.

He also criticized the critical thinking of people who now support those who participated in the event.

Ive heard Jan. 6 talked about with echoes of the Declaration of Independence, he said, drawing a distinction between the very specific complaints of the colonists and the false claims of a stolen election. What I have not heard is a cogent list of grievances. If theres a list of cogent grievances, I want to hear them. I anticipate, in the discussions this spring, the students will be respectful. Theyll be insightful, curious, intelligent often characteristics they are accused of not having.

Castillo likewise will encourage frank student discussion and discourage trivializing the day.

My approach is, I feel that students should feel free to question the answers, not just ask the questions but to question the answers, he said. Im not going to change anybodys thinking they are 18 or 19. They already know what they are thinking.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

Read more here:
DIVERGING VIEWS: College profs talk instruction of Jan. 6 - Weatherford Democrat

A community activist was arrested at a Florida press conferenceheld by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday after he protested the state's protest and coronavirus policies.

The confrontation began when DeSantis' aides began asking attendees for their press credentials at the Florida Department of Health prior to the governor's entrance. One attendee, Ben Frazier, the 71-year old president of Jacksonville's Northside Coalition, was asked to leave the room because he wasn't a journalist.

But Fraizer, who was there to challenge the state's lack of COVID-19 precautions, stood his ground, along with a group of likemindedcitizens. "This is a public building, and we don't intend on moving," he said. "We're here to hold the governor accountable."

RELATED: Floridians ask, "Where is Ron DeSantis?" as state shatters COVID records

"That's not the proper way to do that," an aide responded.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

"What's the proper way, sir, not to follow our First Amendment rights?" Frazier asked. "Public expression, sir, it's critical to our democracy. This governor has stood against our rights to protest and to assemble peaceably. It is wrong."

Frazier's remarks refer to Florida's "anti-riot" bill signed back in April of last year, which stiffened the penalties associated with participating in "riots." Critics have broadly demurred the measure as an attempt to silence free speech and peaceful protest.

RELATED: Cops and their allies have pushed hard for new wave of stringent anti-protest bills

During the presser, Frazier pointed to a lawsuit by several states currently aimed at challenging the bill's constitutionality.

"This governor is an enemy of the people," he said. "We have a right to be here and we are not moving."

Eventually, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office deputies put handcuffs on the community organizer and escorted him out of the building. Frazier, a Black man, asked the officers why he was the only one being arrested.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Frazier faces onetrespassing charge, which is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

Ron Desantis, who surrounds reporters with sycophants who cheer his answers and jeer the press (on rare occasions when they are allowed to ask questions), just had a citizen arrested for peacefully attempting to observe the presser in a public building. pic.twitter.com/62siI33PCh

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 4, 2022

Asked about the incident, a DeSantis spokespersontold The Tampa Bay Times that Frazier had "the right to protest in public places but not to trespass in a secured facility in order to disrupt a press briefing and prevent information from being conveyed to the public."

The development comes amid a massive upsurge in COVID-19 cases throughout the Sunshine State. This week, DeSantis, who has vociferously opposed mask and vaccine mandates, said that DemocraticCOVID policies have been driven by a sense of "hysteria," disputing the science of common-sense health precautions.

Read the original:
Ron DeSantis hounded during press conference: "This governor is an enemy of the people" - Salon

Last month, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in a case that could set off a new era of abortion bans across much of the country. It also marked the start of President Bidens Democracy Summit, a high-level conference bringing together world leaders, civil society and the private sector to discuss challenges and opportunities facing democracy internationally. One of the stated themes of this first of two planned summits is a focus on human rights.

The proximity of these two moments is more than mere coincidence. Yes, the U.S. faces an unprecedented crisis for the right to abortion. But we must also recognize the numerous links between democracy and reproductive rights. A most basic and fundamental freedom in a democracy is the ability to control decision-making around ones own reproduction. When this freedom is removed, it threatens the ability of half of the countrys population to participate equally in society. So, if the U.S. hopes to credibly host a marquee event to promote its return to global democratic leadership, it must contend with cracks in that facade here at home.

If the U.S. hopes to credibly host a marquee event to promote its return to global democratic leadership, it must contend with cracks in that facade here at home.

The recent Supreme Court cases out of Texas and Mississippi are a key example. They involve some of most extreme abortion bans in U.S. historybanning abortion at six and 15 weeks respectively (the former a cut-off before many even realize they are pregnant).

As we wrote in a brief in the Mississippi case with Amnesty International USA and Human Rights Watch, abortion bans are inconsistent with international human rights protections and a worldwide trend toward expanding access for abortion care. They also place the U.S. in direct violation of its human rights obligations. The U.S. has ratified several human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and must comply with their terms. Access to abortion is protected under a myriad of rights under these treaties, including the right to life, the right to non-discrimination, the right to privacy and the right to be free from torture.

Abortion bans are inconsistent with international human rights protections. They also place the U.S. in direct violation of its human rights obligations.

U.S. disregard for these internationally-recognized human rights far predates Texas and Mississippis abortion bans. For decades, its global restrictions on abortion have not only deprived countless pregnant people of their right to necessary healthcarethey have disrupted core democratic freedoms such as free speech. Policies like the Helms and Siljander Amendments, as well as the global gag rule, impact the ability of individuals to participate in political life by shutting down free speech and democratic conversation about abortion around the world.

The foundation of the U.S. approach to human rights is American exceptionalismthe idea that our Constitution affords us the most protections. But where has that left the status of fundamental rights such as reproductive freedom here in the U.S.?

Fortunately, President Biden has the power to improve the United States credibility on human rights. Early in 2021, the Global Justice Center and over 140 other organizations signed a letter to the president calling for executive and administrative action to implement U.S. human rights obligations on sexual and reproductive health and rights. As an example, President Biden could take executive action and issue guidance from relevant agencies clarifying that under the Helms Amendment U.S. foreign assistance funds can be used to support abortion care provided in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment of the pregnant person.

Constructive U.S. engagement on human rights has the potential for broad impactnot only to shore up protections for Americans domestically, but also to bolster the perception of human rights globally. As Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, U.N. special rapporteur on the right to physical and mental health, recently said, We have this joke among us that when the U.S. sneezes the rest of the world catches a [cold]. We know that politically that what happens in the United States does have an impact in precedents elsewhere in the world.

In her remarks at the Democracy Summit, Vice President Kamala Harris said, We are working to defend equal rights, including reproductive rights, which are at grave risk here in the United States. While such acknowledgement is a welcome step, there is far more the U.S. could do to live up to its promises.

Before its next Democracy Summit, the Biden administration should make a real commitment to ending all anti-abortion policies that cause the U.S. to fall short of its democratic aspirations.

If you found this articlehelpful,please consider supporting our independent reporting and truth-telling for as little as $5 per month.

Up next:

Continued here:
The US Can't Be a Global Leader on Democracy While Banning Abortion at Home - Ms. Magazine

In the weeks following its capture of Afghanistan, sympathy for the Taliban emerged from an unlikely corner of the internet: the online far-Right. In awe of the Islamist terrorist organisations martial spirit and revolt against liberalism, a number of online dissidents took to framing the Taliban fighters as heroes on social media. From caricaturing them as Chads (alpha males) to sharing images of other Islamist groups with captions like Wahabi boy summer (a play on the nationalist white boy summer slogan), many of the memes notoriously associated with fringe digital subcultures were suddenly absorbed into discussion around terrorism including by Taliban members themselves.

This use of far-Right tropes in particular, the Chad vs Wojak dichotomy is telling of the two groups mutual mourning over modern degeneracy and the decline of the West. But this alliance also throws a spoke in the wheel the conventional narrative surrounding Islam and the Right.

After all, in both fringe and mainstream conservative discourses, Islam is loathed as a prime culprit driving societal decline. Whether it takes the form of European white nationalist groups such as Generation Identity blaming Muslim immigration for the great replacement or a Right-wing newspaper columnists deeming it a threat to our liberal values, hostility towards Islam seems to be a defining feature on the modern Right. No less ambiguous is Islamists own hostility towards the Right as the vanguard of the Western culture that they oppose; for both parties, a convergence with one another would seem paradoxical.

Islamism and the Left, on the other hand, appear to make far more intuitive allies. Most recently, it has been suggested that some Islamists may be actively co-opting wokeness andcamouflaging their agenda in the language of diversity and inclusion. But well outside the sphere of extremism, the so-called Islamo-Leftist alliance is a well-established source of analysis. A number of mainstream trends reveal the extent of a relationship between Islam and the Left, from the crossover of Muslim and Leftist causes among student activists to the fact that Western Muslims statistically tend to vote for Left-wing parties.

Yet this alliance is not without its own tensions: the modern Left has an uneasy relationship with traditional religion, and struggles to incorporate moral absolutism, spiritual hierarchies, and the submission to a Divine order that is integral to Islam. In other words, while the modern Left seeks to break down grand narratives, Islam is a grand narrative, and one imbued with a profound metaphysical potency at that.

This is not to overlook the fact that there have been numerous attempts to systematically converge Islamic and Leftist political philosophy. Most prominently in the 20th century, movements such as the Islamic socialism of the Iranian Revolution or the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party sought to achieve their political aims through means which were, or at least strived to be, theologically sincere. It is also notable that this kind of Leftism, which was closer to orthodox Marxism, was more sympathetic to grand narratives than its contemporary forms where postmodern currents prevail (leaving aside the overtly anti-religious sentiments of Marx himself, that is).

Today, attempts by Western Leftists to form alliances with Muslims often overlook religious narratives: unsurprisingly, Islamic theological and intellectual traditions do not take centre stage in secular activism. Though modern Leftists committed to showing solidarity with minority groups may represent the identities of Muslims, they struggle to represent the values of Muslims. Incorporating their traditional beliefs would involve revising their own secular (and ironically, modern Western) biases, which, despite efforts to decolonise the mind, they are often reluctant to do.

In effect, the modern Lefts concern with religion boils down to identity politics; an impetus, perhaps, for practising Muslims to gravitate to the other side of the ideological spectrum. But religion is also relegated to identity politics on the modern Right, where the term culturally Christian is commonplace. Self-styled anti-woke commentators may invoke Christianity in their paeans for a return to tradition, but this often gives precedence to the cultural and aesthetic residues of the religion over its metaphysical and moral precepts. As far as ideology is concerned, more faith is placed in the axioms of the European Enlightenment individual liberty, free speech and, ironically, secularism than those of traditional Christianity, now reduced to little more than a signifier of Western heritage.

It follows that the Rights contempt towards Islam does not come so much from a theological defence of Christianity, but a cultural one. Likewise, the Lefts representation of Muslims, owing to its own secular biases, also ends up reducing Islam to a cultural entity. In effect, theological and metaphysical considerations have been rendered obsolete on both the Left and the Right when it comes to religion.

This points, among other things, to a major shift within the Right: traditionally, it was the Right that served to uphold religious principles, including moral absolutism, spiritual hierarchies and, in a way, submission to a Divine order. But fixated as it now is on individual liberty, free speech and secularism, the modern Right overlooks this. And in relocating its origins to the European Enlightenment, it forgets that the conservative tradition was itself born out of a hesitation towards the Enlightenment.

Roger Scruton one of the last philosophers to defend conservatism as a counterweight to the Enlightenment, rather than a full embrace of it saw it necessary for politics to have a metaphysical dimension. Following Edmund Burke, Michael Oakeshott and Matthew Arnold, he remained true to the origins of British conservatism as a reaction against the excesses of liberalism and secularism. This conservatism was, he wrote, a defence of tradition against calls for popular religion and high culture against the materialist doctrine of progress.

With this in mind, the notion of an alliance between Islam and the Right begins to make sense. Islam poses many of the same challenges to Enlightenment liberalism as the English conservative tradition once did, with both traditions recognising the social and spiritual dangers of modern materialism. Islam, in a sense, fulfils Scrutons definition of metaphysical conservatism as a defence of sacred things against desecration. But today, the modern Right is more concerned with defending free speech against wokeness, individual liberties against collectivism, and freedom against censorship than sacred things against desecration.

What does this tell us about the alleged alliance between Islam and the far-Right? Since the mainstream Right has become indifferent towards traditional values, their ideological debris has drifted downstream to be claimed by fringe subcultures. But these fragments, severed from their original contexts, have been misappropriated to suit hateful ideologies that are just as unmoored from religious virtues. Defences of gender roles, the family and community, for example, are often articulated through crude biological reductionism rather than spiritual concerns. Whether its the blood and soil paganism of Neo-Nazis or the New Atheism of hardline rationalists, much of todays far-Right is just as materialistic and hostile towards traditional religion.

The fact that many look for or encounter traditional ideas in these extremist subcultures is telling of the fact that these ideas are severely underrepresented in political discourse. This was once a role fulfilled by the Right. Yet modern conservatisms embrace of liberalism and secularism, despite originating as a counterweight to these Enlightenment ideologies, excludes those wishing to defend the sacred. Without representation of such concerns, dissidents will continue to drift to extremes even if it means promoting a group as nefarious as the Taliban.

Originally posted here:
Why the online Right flirt with the Taliban - UnHerd

The Flagler County School Board will vote on a proclamation that board member Cheryl Massaro drafted to denounce hate group protests at board meetings.

But the edited resolution will be missing two words: hate groups.

Massaro presented her resolution at an agenda workshop on Jan. 4. Board member Colleen Conklin, who had supported such a resolution, did not attend the workshop.

Massaro suggested a proclamation at a Dec. 7 workshop in response to the November board meeting when adult protesters seeking to ban the book, All Boys Arent Blue, clashed with high school student protesters outside of the Government Services Building.

Im very concerned about actions that took place outside our building, caused by members of certain hate groups especially when its targeting our students, Massaro said at the Dec. 7 workshop.

She read a draft to the board at the Jan. 4 meeting, denouncing intimidating actions, slurs, name calling or threats of violence toward Flagler County School district students and staff.

I dont want to be subjective. I would denounce poor behavior against our students.

JILL WOOLBRIGHT

Her four-sentence draft specifically denounced hate groups. Board member Jill Woolbright asked her to modify the text to denounce the behavior without using the term,hate group.

Woolbright said she had a conversation with a representative from the Sheriffs Office, who told her that no members of any known hate groups were identified at the November protests. She also referred to a list by the Southern Poverty Law Center identifying statewide hate groups in Florida and hate groups located in nearby counties, but none based in Flagler County.

I witnessed poor behavior from all groups in our community, Woolbright said. Slurs, name calling, name calling from the podium addressing the dais.

Massaro said video showed protesters wearing clothing that displayed names of two extremist groups, Three Percenters and Proud Boys.

Woolbright said the term,hate group, is subjective.

I dont want to be subjective, Woolbright said. I would denounce poor behavior against our students.

School Board member Janet McDonald appeared to be against the resolution, saying the Sheriffs Office and not the School Board should determine whether behavior goes over the line.

I think there is antagonistic behavior on lots of parts, McDonald said. Its their free speech. We dont have to like it or approve of it, but they have the right to their opinions.

Massaro removed "hate groups" from her draft. The resolution is expected to be on the Jan. 18 board meeting agenda.

Originally posted here:
Proposed School Board resolution would denounce behavior, not hate groups - Palm Coast Observer

The Sparks Police officer suing the City of Sparks for being disciplined after posting caustic tweets about leftists, protesters and Black Lives Matter in 2020 got a court victory in late December.

Officer George Forbush sued Sparks after his tweets were determined by the city to have violated city policies. Forbush sued after being put on unpaid leave for four days and told he had to attend diversity training.

His tweets prompted community outrage in the wake of George Floyds murder at the hands of Minneapolis police and the May 30, 2020, downtown Reno riot.

Forbush suggested protesters and those suspected of crimes should be executed, assaulted and punished by police.

His comments were documented in the lawsuit.

In response to a video depicting individuals at a Black Lives Matter march breaking the window of a car and beating the driver, Plaintiff commented: I have six AR-15 rifles. I always thought having an AR-15 or AK-47 pistol was pointless because of lack of shouldering but now Im going to build a couple AR pistols just for BLM, Antifa or active shooters who cross my path and cant maintain social distancing.'

That was one of many tweets showing support for violence by police against citizens. Forbush was disciplined for violating city policy, including all private, personal, off-duty social media activity and speech.

He remains a police officer but is challenging city policies by saying he posted his opinions on his own time. The city tried to get the case dismissed in favor of arbitration, citing Sparks collective bargaining agreement with its officers.

Federal Judge Miranda Du disagreed in what is shaping up to be a free speech case.

Because Plaintiff asserts claims arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States, the Court finds that it does have federal question jurisdiction, Du wrote. Defendants argument that a binding arbitration agreement alters the Courts authority to hear federal statutory claims is unpersuasive.

Bob Conrad is publisher, editor and co-founder of This Is Reno. He has served in communications positions for various state agencies and earned a doctorate from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2011, where he completed a dissertation on social media, journalism and crisis communications. In addition to managing This Is Reno, he holds a part-time appointment for the Mineral County University of Nevada Extension office.

More here:
Judge: Forbush lawsuit against the city of Sparks can proceed - ThisisReno