Daily Archives: February 15, 2017

As a candidate, Donald TrumpDonald TrumpFBI releases documents related to Trump apartment discrimination case GOP rep: Intelligence community too 'dishonest' to 'accept at face value' on Russia Overnight Regulation: Trump's labor pick withdraws nomination MORE said very little publicly about rising threats to religious freedom abroad. But recent reports suggest that President Trump may be moving quickly to nominate the official charged by law to lead that element of United States foreign policy: the ambassador at large for International Religious Freedom.

Given that President George W. Bush took well over a year to get his nominee in place, and President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaOvernight Energy: GOP Sen. Collins to vote against Trump EPA pick CIA chief met Palestinian leader Abbas ahead of Netanyahu visit: report Detained dreamer files lawsuit against DHS MORE took more than two, it appears that Trump may be placing a higher priority on international religious freedom than his predecessors.

Unfortunately, studies also show that religious freedom is in global decline, while religious persecution and terrorism are spreading.

In the Middle East, Christians, Yezidis, disfavored Muslims, and other minorities are still being savaged by ISIS and its jihadist cohorts. In Asia and Africa, millions more are persecuted by governments or terrorists. Religious persecution causes terrible human suffering, destroys economies, destabilizes societies, and abets the spread of jihadism.

Last September, candidate Trump invited religious-freedom advocates who had not endorsed him to meet at Trump Tower. At the time a Trump victory appeared unlikely, but it seemed a good opportunity to brief him anyway.

Im glad I took that opportunity. Now Id like to remind the president of what he said and suggest the steps he must take if his administration is to succeed where its predecessor failed.

I offered my view then that the Obama administration had not prioritized religious freedom in its foreign policy and had missed a golden opportunity to promote stability and human flourishing. A Trump administration should not make the same mistake.

Global religious persecution increased throughout President Obamas tenure, but U.S. actions were largely unfocused and ineffective until the last two years. A superb ambassador, David Saperstein, took over in 2014 and began to reenergize U.S. policy. He successfully urged Secretary of State John KerryJohn KerryThe case for Julian Castro as the 2020 Democratic nominee What Trump can do to secure religious freedom A boy from Utah in a Venezuelan dungeon MORE to declare that ISIS was committing genocide in Iraq and Syria. But Saperstein lacked the time to reverse six years of inertia.

Trump told us he agreed the policy should be revived. He seemed to understand that the very existence of Christians and other minorities in Iraq is at risk, and that the U.S. has done little to help them.

It is true that U.S.-trained forces may ultimately defeat ISIS troops. But the use of military force has been too little and too late to prevent the rape, torture, murder and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of defenseless Yezidis, Christians and Muslims. It has been a humanitarian catastrophe.

It also threatens to become a national security catastrophe for the United States. If the religious minorities of Iraq disappear, so will the possibility of pluralism, moderation and stability. An Iraq with no non-Muslim minorities will become a volatile majoritarian Islamic tyranny with little hope of achieving stable democracy. It could well become the battlefield of a Sunni-Shiite war that would destabilize the entire region and beyond.

The U.S. must do all it can to protect those minorities remaining after ISIS a process Saperstein began. But even if all ISIS terrorists are killed, the murderous jihadist ideology that drives them and other terrorist groups will remain, threatening non-Muslims and Muslims alike.

In the end, this vile ideology cannot be killed by bullets or bombs. It must be defeated by better ideas, and respect for civil and religious pluralism, which must come from Muslims themselves. Those who will engage in this war of ideas, however, cannot be effective without some semblance of religious freedom.

Most Muslim-majority societies silence reformers. Those who dare to advocate for the full legal equality of non-Muslims, women and disfavored Muslim sects are vulnerable to criminal punishment for blasphemy. Some, like Pakistani reformers Salmaan Taseer (a Muslim) and ShahbazBhatti (a Catholic), are murdered.

What will it take for the U.S. to be effective in addressing these problems?

The president must put in place an ambassador at large for International Religious Freedom with the skills to mold and lead an aggressive policy within a huge, resistant bureaucracy: the State Department. The nominee should have significant foreign policy experience and understand the relationship between religious freedom and national security. His or her loyalties during the campaign should be subordinate to one qualification: the capacity to succeed.

The president and secretary of State must ensure that the ambassador is vested with the authority and the resources necessary for success. Compared to the billions we are expending on military force to defeat ISIS, the funds needed will be small and their expenditure cost-effective.

If President Trump follows through on what he told religious-freedom advocates in New York, he can help millions suffering religious persecution. He can set a new, more hopeful tone in American foreign policy that inspires the oppressed and undermines their oppressors. And he can, at low cost, increase the security of the American people.

Thomas Farr is president of the Religious Freedom Institute, director of the Religious Freedom Research Project at Georgetown University and professor of the Practice of Religion and International Affairs at Georgetowns School of Foreign Service. He was the founding director of the State Departments Office of International Religious Freedom.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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What Trump can do to secure religious freedom - The Hill (blog)

The Freedom wrestling team flexed its collective muscle on Wednesday, winning its fourth consecutive Class 3A-4 district title outscoring runner-up Timber Creek 227.5-155.5.

The Patriots had 11 wrestlers in the finals with Brenden Maharaj, Stephon Halliburton, Briso Aimableand Justin Marotta winning district titles.

Smaill Saint-Pierre, Marcus Jean-Baptiste, Colby Wang, Wesley Britos, Marc Dillard, Patchiney Prophete and Darrell Lowefinished second for the district champions.

Four consecutive titles is a great accomplishment for our kids, Freedom coach David Bush said. It gives the younger kids something to strive for.

In total, all 14 Freedom wrestlers advanced to next weeks region tournament at Flagler Palm Coast.

Getting 14 guys to the regional tournament is so important, Bush said. You hate to see a kids season come to an end, so this gives us another week as a complete team going into a very tough regional tournament.

All 11 of Timber Creeks wrestlers advanced to the region tournament that begins on Friday, February 24.

Third place Boone advanced 10 of its 11 wrestlers through the district tournament and finished with 142.5 points.

Orlando University was fourth with 124 points, host Cypress Creek fifth at 88.5 and Oak Ridge in sixth with 42.5.

Check out district results from across the state

Timber CreeksErnesto Maysonet (29-10) started the finals off with a 15-4 major decision win over Cypress Creeks Ivan Reyes.

The first stunner of the afternoon happened at 113 pounds when Cypress Creeks Michael Ortega (49-6)beat Boones top-seeded Jayden Bradshaw 6-4. Both wrestlers are ranked in the latest 3A rankings on The Wrestling Nationwith Bradshaw ranked seventh and Ortega tenth.

The next upset of a top seed too place at 120 points when Antonio Estrada (40-3) won the second district crown for the Wolves with a 10-4 win over Saint Pierre.

A highly-anticipated final at 126 pounds did not disappoint with Boones Lucas Rodriguez securing a 1-0 decision over Freedoms Jean Baptiste.

Rodriguez (36-0)is ranked second by TWN and Jean-Baptise (42-9) is sixth.

Maharaj (34-11)picked up the first title for Freedom at 132 pounds with a pin in the first period against Boones Andrew Fletcher.

Carlos Matos (23-6) won the third title for Timber Creek with a 4-3 win over Orlando UniversitysJoshua Pantoja at 138 pounds.

FreedomsHalliburton (30-9)picked up two pins on the day to win at 145 pounds, including a win in the final over Cypress Creeks Reggie Smith.

Gage VanKuilenburg (42-12) picked up Boones second title on the day at 152 pounds with a major decision victory over Freedoms Colby Wang.

Freedoms third title came at 160 pounds when Aimable (36-11) beat Orlando Universitys Uziel Rivera in the final.

Orlando UniversitysAlejandro Gonzalez took home the schools lone district title with a pin over Britos.

At 182 pounds, Timber Creeks Brian Santiago (35-5) took home the fourth title for the Wolves with 10-5 win over Freedoms Dillard.

Freedoms Justin Marotta (40-5), ranked seventh in the state, beat Timber Creeks Anthony Coleman 12-3 in the 195-pound final.

Orlando Universitys Wals Edmund scored the final upset of a top seed when he beat Prophete 8-0 in the 220-pound title bout.

Cypress CreeksUzochi Oparaji (31-1) finished off the day with a win by fall over FreedomsDarrell Lowe at 285 pounds.

1. Orlando Freedom 227.5; 2. Timber Creek 155.5; 3. Boone 142.5; 4. Orlando University 124; 5. Cypress Creek 88.5; 6. Oak Ridge 42.5; 7. Winter Park 23.5; 8. Colonial 12.

Click here for complete brackets from 3A-4 tournament

First-place match

106: Ernesto Maysonet (Timber Creek) maj. dec. Ivan Reyes (Cypress Creek) 15-4

113: Michael Ortega (Cypress Creek) dec. Jayden Bradshaw (Boone) 6-4

120: Antonio Estrada (Timber Creek) dec. Smaill Saint Pierre (Freedom) 10-4

126: Lucas Rodriguez (Boone) dec. Marcus Jean Baptiste (Freedom) 1-0

132: Brenden Maharaj (Freedom) p. Andrew Fletcher (Boone) 1:01

138: Carlos Matos (Timber Creek) dec. Joshua Pantoja (Orlando University) 4-3

145: Stephon Halliburton (Freedom) p. Reggie Smith (Cypress Creek) 1:26

152: Gage VanKuilenburg (Boone) maj. dec. Colby Wang (Freedom) 13-3

160: Briso Aimable (Freedom) p. Uziel Rivera (Orlando University) 1:33

170: Alejandro Gonzalez (Orlando University) p. Wesley Britos (Freedom) 1:04

182: Brian Santiago (Timber Creek) dec. Marc Dillard (Freedom) 10-5

195: Justin Marotta (Freedom) maj. dec. Anthony Coleman (Timber Creek) 12-3

220: Wals Edmond (Orlando University) dec. Patchiney Prophete (Freedom) 8-0

285: Uzochi Oparaji (Cypress Creek) p. Darrell Lowe (Freedom) 2:18

Third-place match

106: Erick Rocher (Freedom) p. Tyrese Hicks (Oak Ridge) 4:20

113: Corban Arana (Timber Creek) maj. dec. Armstrong Lubin (Freedom) 15-7

120: Noel Soto (Boone) p. Matthew Augustave (Oak Ridge) 2:11

126: Eliejah Bagley (Timber Creek) maj. dec. Colson North (Winter Park) 16-6

132: Linwood Lee (Timber Creek) dec. Carlos Arce (Cypress Creek) 3-1

138: Earl Johnson (Freedom) p. Grant Linnemann (Boone) 4:28

145: Ethan Rivera (Orlando University) p. Jordan Gates (Boone) 2:12

152: Craig Mariani (Cypress Creek) p. Jaden Delgado (Timber Creek) 5:41

160: Daniel Bass (Boone) dec. Austin Parker (Winter Park) 7-1

170: Khanh Dinh (Colonial) p. Ezequel Rivera (Boone) 2:59

182: Gabriel Banos (Orlando University) dec. Jason Angel (Boone) 9-2

195: Jon Powell (Orlando University) p. Kevin Perez (Oak Ridge) 4:29

220: Keon Bush (Oak Ridge) dec. Jacob Schalk (Timber Creek) 5-1

285: Brandon Pureza (Orlando University) dec. Shamir Nelson (Timber Creek) 5-3

Bookmark our wrestling homepage for the best coverage in the state

Follow our wrestling coverage on Twitter at OSWrestle and on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/OSWrestle/. Brant can be reached at bparsons@orlandosentinel.com

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Freedom wins its fourth consecutive 3A-4 title - Orlando Sentinel

The Freedom Caucus, a group of influential conservatives, publicly expressed their impatience Tuesday with Republican leaders for failing to schedule a vote to repeal the sweeping health care law. But GOP leaders are concerned about the political backlash that could come from swift and wholesale repeal of the health care law without having a replacement plan ready.

"Health care is very important to all Americans. We want to get it right and we've been taking our time to do that," GOP Rep. Greg Walden, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told reporters. "You're going to see us come forward with a replacement bill after we repeal that makes sure that people have access to affordable care health for the first time."

House Speaker Paul Ryan reiterated that the party is committed to both repealing and replacing Obamacare and said that leaders are taking a "step-by-step" approach.

Two senior GOP aides clarified to CNN afterwards that despite Walden's reference to "a replacement bill" that would come after Obamacare is repealed, there is no plan to consider one comprehensive legislation to replace what gets rolled back. Top Republicans are still considering a piecemeal strategy in which repeal and replace measures would be considered more or less at the same time, the aides added.

The remarks came just hours after members of the Freedom Caucus backed a proposal to immediately bring up a repeal bill that Republicans passed in 2015 to roll back Obamacare. Leaders from the Freedom Caucus will also roll out their own Obamacare legislation on Wednesday, and members of the group stress it will include provisions to both repeal and replace the law at the same time.

"We made a commitment to the American people to repeal this law -- we must keep that promise," the caucus said in a statement Tuesday morning. "We remain open to and encourage a swift vote on a health care package that is market-based, consumer driven, and fair."

Idaho GOP Rep. Raul Labrador urged fellow Republicans to follow through on pledge to dismantle Obamacare.

"Members of Congress are scared all the time," he said. "They need to just lean in."

House conservatives in the House say they are getting nervous that some senators are softening on Obamacare repeal and that some Senate Republicans from state that have expanded Medicaid are especially weary of moving the process along quickly.

GOP Rep. Dave Brat, a member of the Freedom Caucus, referred to the 2015 repeal legislation as "the only politically expedient piece to push."

"If you add anything to it, the Senate probably flies away," Brat said.

"Let's just call it a hunch," said GOP Rep. Trent Franks added.

One GOP source familiar with the vote told CNN: "There's no reason we shouldn't be able to pass this ASAP -- there's also no reason we should send anything less to President Trump's desk than we did Obama's. No need to reinvent the wheel."

But since President Donald Trump's inauguration, many congressional Republicans have asked party leaders to slow down the repeal efforts to ensure that a consensus is reached on an Obamacare alternative. Top Republicans are still weeks away from completing a repeal legislation, which now aims to include various replacement measures.

Republicans have previously used the budget reconciliation process to repeal major portions of Obamacare (in 2015, it was vetoed by President Barack Obama).

Conservative House Republicans have become more vocal in recent days in pressing GOP leaders to move that same 2015 repeal bill rather than taking more time to craft a new version.

In a meeting Tuesday morning, House leaders announced to colleagues that there will be an all-conference policy planning meeting on Thursday to continue the repeal and replace discussions, according to source in the room. At the Tuesday gathering, Walden, along with Rep. Kevin Brady, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, presented on replacement plans, and plan to get into more of the details on Thursday, that source added.

CNN's Lauren Fox contributed to this report.

Excerpt from:

House Freedom Caucus seeks swift Obamacare repeal, setting up clash with leadership - CNN

The Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom compares countries on a number of measures of how free their economies are. (Heritage.org)

Economy: The U.S. currently ranks a dispiriting 17th on the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom. That's down from 6th when Obama took office in 2009. The question isn't whether President Trump can turn this dismal trend around, it's whether Democrats will let him.

The Heritage Foundation has been publishing this index since 1995. It measures things like property rights, fiscal health, business freedom, tax burden, government spending, rule of law and other indicators of economic freedom in 186 countries. Based on these, each country gets an overall freedom index score, which then can be ranked against other countries.

As Heritage points out, there is good reason to focus on these measures of economic freedom, since theydirectly correlate with a country's growth and prosperity. "The affirmative link between economic freedom and long-term development is unmistakable and robust," the report notes. "The higher a country's level of economic freedom is, the higher its income per capita also is."

The good news is that economic freedom worldwide has been inching up for the past two decades. It went from a low of 57.1 in 1996 to 60.9 today.

The bad news is that it's been on the decline in the U.S. since 2008, when it stood at 80.7. Since then, it has dropped every year but one under Obama, and now measures 75.1. That's the lowest score for the U.S. since Heritage started this index 22 years ago.

As a result, the U.S. now ranks behind Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand Canada, Taiwan, the U.K., Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Even Lithuania currently has more economic freedom than the U.S.

"The substantial expansion of government's size and scope, increased regulatory and tax burdens, and the loss of confidence that has accompanied a growing perception of cronyism, elite privilege, and corruption have severely undermined America's global competitiveness," the report finds.

In other words, the U.S. index was dragged down by Obama's anti-growth war on businesses, investors and other productive elements of the economy.

Not surprisingly, the past eight years have also been characterized by historically low economic growth rates, with annual GDP growth never once hitting 3% under Obama.

Turning this around should be a priority in Washington for both Republicans and Democrats. Faster economic growth is desperately needed, not only to create jobs and increase prosperity, but to reduce the federal government's yawning deficits and mountain of debt.

Unfortunately, Democrats and the mainstream press are entirely focused on destroying the Trump administration before it has the chance to put forward any of its pro-growth proposals.

If the U.S. continues to slide down the scale of economic freedom and the economy continues to struggle, the blame will rest on the shoulders of these obstructionists.

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Thank You, Obama: US Steadily Lost Ground On Economic Freedom Over Past 8 Years - Investor's Business Daily