Monthly Archives: February 2022

Three months and twenty pounds (oy) ago, I went out to Colorado to meet the Focus On The Family folks, and to do some interviews about Live Not By Lies. I loved being with those brothers and sisters in Christ, and Im thrilled that they like the book and are now promoting its message. This just dropped yesterday:

Part two will be up tomorrow, I think (I will post it here as an update). Focus is also putting out audio-only versions of the interview on other channels.

I am so grateful to Jim Daly, Glenn Stanton, and their team for their attention to my book. Its rather timely too, given events in

Canada around the truckers protest. Whether or not you agree with the truckers cause or tactics (and I understand that there are Canadians who are no fan of Justin Trudeau, but who dont support the truckers either), the important thing to observe is how the Trudeau government is going after them specifically Trudeaus invocation of an emergency law that permits the state to freeze the financial accounts of anyone the government deems sympathetic to the truckers. Whats more, Trudeau is trying to smear the truckers as nothing but a bunch of deplorable bigots. This week, The Economist magazine, the influential neoliberal publication that has been a supporter of the prime minister and his government, sounded an alarm about the shocking tactics Trudeau has now embraced:

Mr Trudeaus government has expressed shock that racist symbols were displayed during the protest. It appears to be planning to reintroduce an anti-hate bill that could lead to the imprisonment of people who use racist speech. This could include a clause which would allow individuals to take other people to court if they fear that they may be about to say something which falls under the definition of hate propaganda. They could also be charged for contemplating an offence motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other similar factor.

Hate pre-crime can you believe it? You had better. Take a look at this stunning clip from a session in the Canadian parliament in which a visibly outraged Conservative parliamentarian demanded that the prime minister apologize for comparing them all to Nazi sympathizers for supporting the truckers. Trudeau, disgracefully, didnt give an inch:

What the Canadian government is doing is a preview of what the US government in the future will likely to do dissenters: brand them as domestic terrorists, use anti-terrorism laws to persecute them (including seizing bank accounts and bringing them to heel by threat of economic ruin), and passing more laws to crack down on free expression, under the guise of fighting hate and protecting America from would-be terrorists, or pre-terrorists.

I woke up a short time ago here in Budapest, and see that things are heating up between Russia and Ukraine. I hope and pray (literally) that Russia does not invade, even as I believe that the United States would be foolish to risk any kind of military showdown with the Russians. But if the Russians go in to Ukraine, the woke in the West, and the national security/foreign policy class in Washington, will lash out against internal dissent from its belligerent policy. I expect they will label any dissent from the official Washington line as Russian disinformation, and go after dissenters. Look also for coming fabricated accusations of bigotry against people like Tucker Carlson and Glenn Greenwald, who call out the war party.

My point is, whats happening in Canada the government crushing dissent under the guise of keeping Canada safe from haters and deplorables is a prelude of whats to come here. Of course we have to fight it! For example, if you have never joined a public demonstration, you need to prepare to do so. But you should also read Live Not By Lies and follow the practical advice of the dissidents who lived under Soviet communism. Here is a link to a free, downloadable study guide I wrote for the book. You we need to be ready for these people. If you wait until active persecution starts to get your family, your church, and your community prepared, and to get your networks in place, it may be too late.

The emigres who came to America decades ago escaping Soviet communism are sounding the alarm about what they see emerging here in the West. Their testimony, and their advice, is a gift. From the book:

It is very hard for Americans who have never lived through this kind of ideological fog to recognize what is happening. To be sure, whatever this is, it is not a carbon copy of life in the Soviet Bloc nations, with their secret police, their gulags, their strict censorship, and their material deprivation. That is precisely the problem, these people warn. The fact that relative to Soviet Bloc conditions, life in the West remains so free and so prosperous is what blinds Americans to the mounting threat to our liberty. That, and the way those who take away freedom couch it in the language of liberating victims from oppression.

I was born and raised in the Soviet Union, and Im frankly stunned by how similar some of these developments are to the way Soviet propaganda operated, says one professor, now living in the Midwest.

Another migr professor, this one from Czechoslovakia, was equally blunt. He told me that he began noticing a shift a decade or so ago: friends would lower their voices and look over their shoulders when expressing conservative views. When he expressed his conservative beliefs in a normal tone of voice, the Americans would start to fidget and constantly scan the room to see who might be listening.

I grew up like this, he tells me, but it was not supposed to be happening here.

This week in Budapest, I was having a conversation about the book with a Hungarian I met at a conference. He was telling me how the habits of those who were formed, and deformed, under Communism die hard. Even today, he told me, when hes listening to his older relatives, and the talk turns to politics, they all instinctively lower their voices. If we allow this evil to take root in our country, the habits of mind that emerge from simply having to survive under wokeness will mark us for the rest of our lives.

Dont you dare think that it cant happen here. It can, and it is. Canada is farther along the road than we are, but not by much.

UPDATE: Here is Part II of my Focus On The Family interview:

Continue reading here:

Focus On Preparing Your Family For Persecution - The American Conservative

Voted most likely to succeed in 1982, Filipino journalist Maria Ressa returned to Toms River High School North 40 years later on Friday, Feb. 18, as a Princeton graduate, TIME Person of the Year and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Maria Ressa from the Toms River High School North yearbook in the early 1980s. Ressa's family immigrated from the Philippines to Toms River in 1973 when she was 10 years old. She said her experience in the public schools there taught her that "you can accomplish anything if you work hard enough."

Maria Ressa is the personification of what we want our students to be, said Toms River North Principal Ed Keller.

Ressa, a 1986 Princeton alumnus, is co-founder of the Philippines-based online news organization Rappler.com. She received the Nobel Prize for her brave commitments to free expression, human dignity and democratic government in reporting on the authoritarian administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

We talk a lot about Maria Ressa in our journalism class, said Katie Marra, editor of the school newspaper The Captains Log. She risked her life and faced jail time using her voice to speak out against people who are doing wrong in the world.

Ressa arrived at Toms River North late in the morning, straight from an overnight flight from the Philippines. She is in New Jersey to accept Princetons highest undergraduate alumni award at Princeton Alumni Day on Saturday, marking her first time in the U.S. since accepting the Nobel Prize in Oslo in December. Before the Alumni Day ceremony, Princetons Office of Communications worked with Keller to arrange Ressas visit to her old high school.

Ressa is greeted by Katie Marra as she arrives at Toms River High School North on Friday. Marra, editor of the student newspaper, said Ressa is a role model for journalists and an inspiration for all students at the high school.

Photo by

Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications

Welcome home, Keller said as Ressa walked through the lobby doors. She was greeted by students from class government, the school newspaper and the theater company, three of the many organizations in which Ressa participated when she attended Toms River North in the early 1980s.

Ressa then walked down the blue and yellow halls pointing to her old English classroom and the orchestra room where said she lived while she was a student there. In addition to playing multiple instruments in the orchestra, she was class president for three years, acted in school plays, and played basketball and softball.

Toms Rivers public school system gave me free music lessons, computer programming classes, Advanced Placement classes that allowed us to compete in Ivy League schools, Ressa wrote on Rappler.com in 2019, a future that promised you can accomplish anything if you work hard enough. Her family moved to the town from the Philippines in 1973 when she was 10 years old.

Ressa spent most of her visit in the media center talking with about 100 students who represented various clubs and activities. She also toured the auditorium that will be named in her honor in May, following a petition of students and approval by the Toms River Regional Schools Board of Education last fall.

It is great to see that someone from our school could attend an institution like Princeton and go on to make such a big impact in the world, said Dhruv Parikh, student council president. It is inspirational and lets us students at Toms River North know we have a chance to make that impact.

Ressa (seated in front) from a high school musical performance in the 1980s.Ressa was a three-time class president, played multiple instruments in the orchestra, and was involved in theater and athletics.

Photo courtesy of Asbury Park Press

After brief greetings and words of appreciation, Ressa turned her microphone to the students. Their questions ranged from her favorite high school activity, why she became a journalist, advice on applying to college, what inspires her, how she finds courage to fight against oppression, and how she adapted to life as a young immigrant.

More than anything, I wanted to learn, Ressa said, recalling how teachers helped her evolve from a shy child who barely spoke English to an outgoing and diligent student that ended up going to Princeton.

On how to deal with challenges, Ressa said: Never let something that you fail at stop you. In fact, if you dont fail at something you havent tried enough. She noted that Rappler.com was a startup that could have failed but is now marking its 10th year.

Ressa also talked about the moral compass that has guided her more than 30 years in journalism. She said Princetons Honor Code helps center her work. The Honor Code is an example of the world I want to live in, Ressa said. You pledge on your honor to do the best you can, and then you also hold others accountable.

Following the discussion, Ressa stayed to take photos with students who lined up to talk one-on-one with her. John Claude Yambao, a senior, said Ressas life reflects his background as a Toms River student who emigrated from the Philippines as a child. My family was very excited that I would be meeting her today, he said.

Ressa also connected with some of her high school classmates at the event. You are famous around here! Donna Garofalo-Muiz, who now works as the senior guidance secretary, said as she gave Ressa a big hug.

To close the day full of warmth and fond memories, students presented Ressa with a sweatshirt embossed with the Toms River North mascot. Once a Mariner, always a Mariner, they proclaimed proudly.

Ressa answers questions from students who wanted to know about her favorite high school activity, why she became a journalist, what inspires her and how she finds courage to fight against oppression. Toms River North Principal Ed Keller said Ressa personifies what "we want our students to be."

Photo by

Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications

Ressa had originally been scheduled to arrive Wednesday evening, but those plans were temporarily put on hold after she received only six of seven necessary court approvals to travel.

The seventh court order, from the Philippine Court that is handling her appeal for a cyber libel conviction, eventually came through, but not before its delay threatened to derail her plans. Ressa filed an urgent motion for reconsideration to travel, which was granted during an emergency Zoom meeting, she said.

On her Twitter account Ressa wrote: The randomness is a mind game, but it doesn't defeat me. Makes me more resolute to demand justice.

Rapplers reporting on Duterte's authoritarian administration has spurred repeated intimidation tactics by the Philippine government to discredit Ressa and the media outlet. She was convicted on the cyber libel charge in 2020 along with a former Rappler reporter.

After she was given permission to leave the Philippines for her Princeton trip, she followed up on her earlier tweet with another: Lessons learned: hope is dangerous because it creates expectations, but life without hope means you become an automaton with no meaning or purpose. So it's really a balancing act: be prepared for the worst, but keep taking risks to make your world the way it should be.

But Ressa didnt wait for the planes touchdown to start her visit to Princeton.

Although she had to miss a Thursday luncheon on campus with New Jersey higher education communicators, she found a creative way to join the Thursday afternoon virtual panel discussion, Reporting on Repressive Governments: How journalists overcome barriers to safeguard free speech and inform democracy, hosted by Princetons Program in Journalism, the Office of Communications and the Department of Anthropology.

Just moments before the panel started at 4:30 p.m., Ben Chang, deputy vice president for communications and University spokesperson, received a text from Ressa: She would, indeed, be able to participate via Zoom on her phone from the plane.

Joe Stephens, Ferris Professor of Journalism in Residence and director of the Program in Journalism, welcomed Ressa and the other panelists: Barbara Demick, visiting McGraw Professor of Writing, foreign correspondent and author; Razia Iqbal, visiting Ferris Professor of Journalism and anchor of the BBCs Newshour; and Carolyn Rouse, Princetons Ritter Professor of Anthropology and department chair.

I was ready to say how disappointed I was that Maria Ressa cannot be with us today so Im very excited to tear up my remarks and start from scratch, Stephens said with a wide smile.

He noted that the drama of the last 48 hours for Ressa underscores why were here today and why its so important to look at how journalists are being treated and the power of hostile regimes around the world. Simply put, democracy is under siege.

Ressa, whose trip to New Jersey was delayed by the Philippine courts, joined a Princeton journalism virtual panel on Reporting on Repressive Governments from her airplane seat. Clockwise from top left: Barbara Demick, visiting McGraw Professor of Writing, foreign correspondent and author; Razia Iqbal, visiting Ferris Professor of Journalism and anchor of the BBCs Newshour; Joe Stephens, Ferris Professor of Journalism in Residence and director of the Program in Journalism; Ressa; and Carolyn Rouse, Princetons Ritter Professor of Anthropology and department chair.

Kicking off the conversation, Stephens said to Ressa: I hear you are writing a book, How to Stand Up to a Dictator? [forthcoming from Penguin Books]. I would love to hear, how can we do that?"

Wearing a red zippered jacket and a black face mask that in no way hid her signature energy, Ressa jumped right in, her eyes beaming in the darkened plane.

First of all, thank you, and I am so excited there is WiFi! Ressa said. Im sorry I cant do better with the lighting, but OK! It begins with values. I started [as a student] with [Princetons] honor code the fact that in your area of influence, you pledge on your honor not to be corrupt, not to do the wrong thing, and if you see anyone else around you, that you report them. All of us here have standards and ethics. That is what not just journalism, but democracy means.

Citing Harvard Business School Professor Emerita Shoshana Zuboffs 2019 book "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism,"Ressa noted how algorithms determine what information reaches the widest audience.

Since 2018, studies have shown that lies, laced with anger and hate, spread faster and further than facts, she said. If lies become facts, what happens? No facts, no truth, no trust. if you have these conditions, no shared reality exists, no democracy can exist. Thats the descent to tyranny we are on globally.

Ressa continued: Let me make it very personal. Im on a plane a day later than I should be. I have seen 10 arrest warrants in less than two years. This is my 36thyear as a journalist. I have no control of my life.

And yet, perenially undeterred, Ressa offered a call to action, leaning forward in her airplane seat with her guidance for standing up to dictators: You hold the line! You dont give up ground. You know what the constitution says.

She continued: The Philippine constitution is patterned after the U.S. Constitution. There is a bill of rights. So, thats what weve been doing. But, man, it is exhausting!

She also expressed gratitude and excitement about coming to Princeton. Its kind of like Im forced to live moment by moment. You know what the good thing is? Man, you appreciate everything. Thank you, justices of the court of appeals!

Clapping her hands together, she exclaimed: Hey, Im going to be on campus in a little while, so yay! Thats it. Dont stop!

All the panelists had words of thanks and admiration for her.

Iqbal said unabashedly: I am just going to fangirl, Maria. It is so amazing that you are going to get this [alumni] award and I just want to say, Power to Maria Ressa!

Demick said, People like Maria are a tribute to our perseverance.

Rouse agreed, adding: I want to thank Maria and all the journalists who write fearlessly. A free press is not debatable in a democracy.

Calling Ressa a role model for all journalists, Stephens said the difficulty of the last 48 hours made her appearance even more meaningful. Its almost better this way, to have you just push through all the barriers and be on our screens providing us with your wisdom. And that goes for this entire panel of all-stars.

Jill Dolan, dean of the college, the Annan Professor in English and professor of theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts, was among the viewers.

Ill never forget the image of Maria participating from her airplane seat, and making such vital, moving contributions to the discussion, said Dolan, who is introducing Ressa at Alumni Day on Saturday. It was wonderful to hear from women journalists who are so committed to everything that matters to democracy.

Watch the full 90-minute panel discussion online.

Jamie Saxon and Denise Valenti contributed to this story.

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More:

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa visited her NJ high school alma mater in the run-up to receiving Princeton Alumni Day award - Princeton...

The Calcalist business daily's report on police use of NSO spyware apparently only has negligible impact on former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial. Netanyahu knows this, though he called for a state commission of inquiry on the issue anyway, and asked his supporters to fill Tel Aviv's Habima Square to underscore his demand.

What happened on the evening of the protest was nothing less than a sociological turning point. That morning, Netanyahu responded with humility to a letter that Supreme Court President Esther Hayut sent to Netanyahus Likud party colleague David Amsalem, as would be expected of a man from an established Ashkenazi family, a man who had always respected the judicial system and submitted to its authority until the criminal investigation was opened.

The assumption that he used Amsalem and then threw him under the bus after Amsalem lambasted the court, presumably at Netanyahus bidding, again shows how flawed and inadequate the reading of the Israeli reality is when it comes to status and social standing particularly by the left wing. Thats apparent from the reaction of Netanyahus supporters, who flooded social media with statements that they would stay away from the demonstration until Netanyahu backtracks on his decision to disassociate himself from Amsalem and his flattery of Hayut. Amsalem had taken the court to task claiming bias against Mizrahim.

Surprised? The public discourse over the courts racism is important to this segment of the public. The conflict between Amsalem and Hayut - in which Netanyahu naturally falls on the side to which he belongs socially, economically, ethnically and culturally reveals the bare bones of the story.

Let me tell you, someone with a Twitter profile picture of pro-Netanyahu commentator Jacob Bardugo tweeted, addressing Netanyahu. Next time that you contradict Dudi Amsalem, you lose 200 voters. I guarantee it. Your next tweet against our Mizrahi cell in Likud and you will remain alone and that also includes your nonsense over your fabricated [criminal] cases.

Do you feel the earthquake? Because at my house, the windowpanes are rattling, the books are falling from the shelves and the light fixture is swaying back and forth. The Twitter account holder publicly stated that the conspiracy to fabricate the cases against Netanyahu was nonsense, that his supporters dont believe him, but they have stuck with him because he suits their purposes in their war against the social elites and their dazzling whiteness.

This isnt an isolated anecdote. There have been similar tweets on a daily basis. And if one can judge from the turnout at Habima Square, a considerable number of people made good on their word to stay away.

Amsalem did his job. He attacked the court as part of a broader effort in which he throws Netanyahu crumbs by undermining public trust in government institutions, but Amsalem wants dialogue with Hayut not the Esther Hayut of the immigrant transit camp of her childhood, but with Hayut the Supreme Court president. He wants a serious conversation about ethnic identity and oppression and discrimination.

Netanyahus attitude toward the judicial system is related to his legal situation. Its possible that hes attempting to maintain good relations with Hayut because hes pursuing a plea bargain, but deep down, he really believes in the judicial system.

On the other hand, in the Likud Mizrahi cell, they think the claims regarding fabricated criminal cases and a government run by civil servants is rubbish, but theyre prepared to go along with Netanyahu as long as he understands whos the man (Amsalem). Those making fun of the new Mizrahi middle class that supports the millionaire former prime minister from Caesarea can see that this support comes with considerable limitations.

Amsalems attacks are wild, crude and damaging, but they keep the discourse on structural anti-Mizrahi bias alive. A nervous Netanyahu attempted to appease the crowd by tweeting that the under-representation ofMizrahi communitiesis a real and painful problem in Israel.But the rift has already been exposed.

Link:

The unmasking of Netanyahu's politics - Haaretz