Daily Archives: April 2, 2021

The Elmhurst ThreeGary Johnson,Rohan Bolt, and George Belloffer statements during the hearing to vacate their case, March 5, 2021. (Youtube screenshot via Anna Schwarz)

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One day in 2012, a year into my first real job, at the Innocence Project, my phone rang. It wasnt uncommon for intake calls to accidentally find their way to my line. For desperate family members advocating for a loved one in prison, it didnt always matter whom they spoke tothey just needed someone to hear them. On this day, it was a far more unlikely caller: a retired New York Police Department detective from Long Island named Pete Fiorillo.

Fiorillo told me at length about a case in Queens that he was certain had resulted in a wrongful convictionand not just of one man but of three: George Bell, Gary Johnson, and Rohan Bolt. All three were Black; all three had been convicted of a botched robbery and murder at a check-cashing facility in Queens. The year was 1996, at the height of New Yorks anti-crime crusades. The victims were the owner of the check-cashing facility and the off-duty NYPD officer providing security.

Fiorillos story struck me as persuasive, but since there was no testable DNA evidence, there wasnt much the Innocence Project could do to help. Still, Fiorillo was undeterred, insisting that a good article about the case was needed. I decided to start investigating.

A year and a half later, in October 2014, The Nation published the results of that investigation in an article titled These 3 Men Have Been Locked Up for Almost 20 Years. Are They Innocent? In 3,100 words, I traced the ample evidence that Bell, Johnson, and Bolt were not responsible for the crime, as well as the multiple failures of justice along the way. The case had every hallmark of a wrongful conviction: the rushed, sloppy investigation to avenge the death of a police officer; a bombastic politician (then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani) promising the cases swift resolution; the immediate focus on three Black men, two of them still essentially children; coerced confessions, which contained notably wrong facts about the crime; the absence of evidence tying any of the defendants to the crime; the use of an unreliable witness; the use of a jailhouse informant, who could only regurgitate the inaccurate coverage hed read in the papers; and, as time would reveal, prosecutorial misconduct.

The case, as Fiorillo summarized in the article, represents a total breakdown of the criminal justice system from the bottom to the top: the police that investigated this case; the DA that prosecuted the case; the judge that tried all three cases. They just didnt have the courage to do the right thing.

That courage, as I noted at the time, was still missing from the people with the power to overturn the convictions. While conviction integrity units had begun popping up in prosecutors offices across the country to review claims of innocence, the borough of Queens, with its 2.2 million people, still lacked such a unit. For Bell, Bolt and Johnson, I lamented, this means their claims of innocence will likely continue to fall on deaf ears.

For the next five years, thats pretty much what happened. But then, in January 2020, a change: Melinda Katz, the newly seated Queens district attorney, launched a conviction integrity unit, which began to investigate the case. It discovered, among other things, evidence showing that a member of a gang known as Speedstick confessed to his role in the robbery and murders, as well as mental health records indicating that a key witness had been experiencing hallucinations at the time of his testimony.Current Issue

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Attorneys for all three men had asked multiple times for the evidence that has now come to light. The Queens district attorneys office had responded, repeatedly, that no such evidence existed. In fact, the DAs office was fully aware of this information before the three convictions, but it tried the cases anyway, seeking the death penalty against Bell and ultimately, stealing 24 years of his, Johnsons, and Bolts lives.

On the basis of this long-hidden evidence, the Queens DA and defense lawyers for the three men filed a joint motion asking the court to vacate all three convictions and set the men free. On March 5, a judge did just that, declaring, It astounds me and shocks my conscience thatconstitutional violations of this magnitude can happen in any prosecution, much less the prosecution in a capital case in which the former district attorney was seeking the death penalty [for] a 19-year-old man.

That same day, almost a quarter century after they entered the prison, Bell, Johnson, and Bolt walked out, fists raised triumphantly in the air. Though the fight for a full exoneration continues, the three men are finally where they belong: free and surrounded by the people they love.

For the past 24 years, I rose each day to the view of prison cell bars, and would say to myself, Today is the day I will find the key, Bell told the court the day of his release. Today is the day I am going home!

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How the Elmhurst Three Finally Won Their Freedom - The Nation

By Gaby Garcia-Vera

New Jersey has a profound opportunity to protect and expand access to necessary and time-sensitive reproductive health care, including abortion, by passing the Reproductive Freedom Act. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church has come out against this bill, as well as frequently and consistently against all abortion care. But I am one of the majority of the faithful in the Catholic Church who understands that our tradition supports a persons right to follow their conscience on important moral matters like abortion. I know that protecting reproductive health care is undoubtedly a Catholic value.

I am proud to work for Catholics for Choice, an organization that for more than 40 years has served as a voice for the majority of Catholics everyday people like you and me who support access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion. We advocate for policies that allow each individual the freedom to make their own moral decisions about their health and their lives.

Catholics believe in prioritizing the needs of the poor and oppressed to advance the cause of justice. The Reproductive Freedom Act provides just that, by acknowledging that personal health care decisions must not only be legal, but free from financial and logistic concerns as well, or else these rights become reserved for the wealthy and well-connected. The Reproductive Freedom Act protects and expands access to reproductive health care in three key ways: affirm the right to abortion in state law; easing financial restrictions by requiring insurers to cover abortion care without out-of-pocket expenses; and lifting medically unnecessary regulations on abortion providers that serve only to block access.

As my organizations President Jamie Manson has noted, The obligation to not just care for the vulnerable but to actively privilege them over everyone else lies at the heart of the Catholic faith; its the guiding principle of the churchs work with the poor and the marginalized.

And lack of access to abortion care hits hardest among those most oppressed by systemic racism and misogyny, including Black, Indigenous and brown communities and other communities of color, immigrant communities, the LGBTQ community, communities with low income, and all of the areas where these communities intersect.

I stand with millions of Catholics in supporting the Reproductive Freedom Act, a bold declaration that all New Jerseyans have a fundamental right to access reproductive health care, including abortion, and that all people in the state have the right to make their own health care decisions without interference by politicians.

Catholic teaching regards our conscience as the final arbiter in any moral decision each of us must make. We regard it as both a gift and a responsibility in that we are called to follow our conscience and to respect the right of others to do the same.

Far too often I hear my faith used as the sword and shield that our opponents brandish to hide behind. They would stop at anything to derail us from progress; we know because they frequently harass and intimidate people entering clinics, lie about medical facts and downplay their violence in the name of their faith.

I am here to say: not today. Today we stand and bear witness to the moral arc of the universe; for today, it bends toward a more just, thriving New Jersey.

Gaby Garcia-Vera is the domestic states program manager at Catholics for Choice.

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The Catholic case for the Reproductive Freedom Act | Opinion - NJ.com

A bad thing happened in House committee Wednesday. It approved House Bill 1280, after previous failures, to allow cities and county boards to meet in private to discuss pitches for economic development deals (payout of corporate welfare in other words.)

A gift of public money shouldnt be a deal struck in secret. Subsequent presentation of a baked cake is not public disclosure. Corporate welfare is a chumps game anyway. It rarely determines an already-decided location (except maybe by a marginal operator) and many governments have sworn off participating in the bidding wars.

This bill is particularly bad because, for the first time, it puts the giant nose of a camel (otherwise known as a lawyer) in the tent of secret decision-making by a public body for the first time. When this passes, school boards will be back with the same camels.

An observer of the meeting said Democrats* , including legislators from Luttle Rock, voted for the bill, which got the minimum 11 needed to clear the committee.

A vote to give more secrecy comes at a particularly unfortunate time in Little Rock. Theres already entirely too much secrecy in the operation of Little Rock City Hall. Why legalize more?

By their non-responses to FOI requests, youd have to think the Little Rock mayor, his top aides and PR people have never exchanged a text, document or email about economic development. Topgolf? Whos that? Particulars on the mayors tax increase? Same thing. No single document was produced for FOI requests until the mayor announced it, with supporting media, at a City Board meeting. Twas a miracle of spontaneous document creation.

I dont believe several city hall responses Ive received that said there was nothing in the hands of the city responsive to my FOI requests. I think city officials may believe that cell phone texts are exempt (they are not). I think they believe if they erase texts they are exempt, because theres no longer a record and the FOI doesnt require an official to create record. Wrong. Records DO exist of erased texts at the phone companies. It is their obligation to obtain them and provide them. I also believe officials think that they can use outside servers to conduct business (they can, just not as a legal means of avoiding disclosure.) And while Im complaining, add the round-robin meetings City Manager Bruce Moore has with city directors to be a conduit between the mayor and city directors on proposals.

So back to HB 1280. Why give legal cover to someone already disinclined to be transparent?

The Arkansas Press Association has sounded the alarm on the bill, which is headed to the House floor Monday. It sent this message:

The Arkansas House of Representatives is expected to vote Monday on House Bill 1280, legislation that if passed will have a negative and dramatic impact on how cities and counties conduct public meetings.

If HB 1280 passes, city councils, quorumcourts and other governing bodies could enter into closed, executive sessions to make decisions about how to spend tax money on certain economic development projects. These types of secret discussions are unprecedented in the 54-year history of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

Proponents say it would make the job easier for mayors, city administrators and others, and theyre willing to exchange a lot of transparency for a little convenience. They contend Arkansas needs to allow for publicmeetings to be held behind closed doors to keep up with effortsin surrounding states, yet they cannot provide a single example of where Arkansas has lost an economic development opportunity because of a prohibition on executive sessions for economic development.

HB 1280 also allows attorneys to attend these secret meetings. Never before have attorneys been permitted in executive sessions under FOIA, and with good reason.Please contact the state representatives in your area before Mondays vote and ask them tovote Noon this attack on government transparency.

To read the bill, go to:https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2021R%2FPublic%2FHB1280.pdf

I hesitate to say this. Under the Rapert/Ballinger rule, their votes often are determined by the politics of the person making an argument. They dont like you, they wont like your position on a bill. The news media, such as they exist anymore, arent particularly popular in general. Some are held in particularly low regard, if you get my drift.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story misidentified lawmakers who voted for the bill. Nicole Clowney did not vote for the bill. Megan Godfrey did, as did Little Rock Reps. Andrew Collins and Tippi McCullough.

Continue reading here:

The Freedom of Information Act is under attack and Little Rock is one example of why it's a bad idea - Arkansas Times

Judith Graham

With a mix of relief and caution, older adults fully vaccinated against covid-19 are moving out into the world and resuming activities put on hold during the pandemic.

This story also ran on CNN. It can be republished for free.

Many are making plans to see adult children and hug grandchildren they havent visited for months or longer. Others are getting together with friends indoors, for the first time in a long time.

People are scheduling medical appointments that had been delayed and putting trips to destinations near and far on calendars. Simple things that felt unsafe pre-vaccination now feel possible: petting a neighbors dog, going for a walk in the park, stopping at a local hangout for a cup of coffee.

I feel I can breathe again, said Barry Dym, 78, of Lexington, Massachusetts, expressing a widely shared sense of freedom.

The rapid rollout of covid vaccines to people 65 and older makes this possible.As of Monday, nearly 49% of seniors in the U.S. had been fully vaccinated, while nearly 73% had received one dose of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.(A third vaccine, from Johnson & Johnson, became available earlier this month and requires just one dose.)

Recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes the protection that vaccines offer. According to the CDC, people who are fully vaccinated can meet indoors without masks, without incurring significant risk. Also, they can visit relatively safely with people who havent been vaccinated, so long as those individuals are healthy and gatherings remain small.

Still, with coronavirus variants circulating and 55,000 new infections reported daily, the CDC continues to recommend precautions elsewhere, such as wearing masks, staying physically distant in public and refraining from air travel.

How are older adults whove been fully vaccinated a privileged group, to be sure, given the millions of seniors whove yet to get shots balancing a desire to shed isolation with a need to stay safe amid a pandemic thats not yet over? I asked several people Ive spoken with previously about their plans and their reflections on the difficult year weve been through.

Mardell Reed, 80, of Pasadena, California, told me she wasnt sure shed get the vaccine originally, because I was concerned about the process going so fast and drug companies maybe producing something that wasnt up to par. But she changed her mind once we all started hearing from actual scientists rather than politicians.

Now, Reed tries to educate people she knows who remain reluctant to get the shots. One of them is her 83-year-old stepsister. No one had explained anything about the vaccines to her, Reed told me. I talked about all the things that would be possible seeing her daughter, who lives up north, seeing more of her grandkids, and I think that convinced her.

Reed used to walk in her neighborhood regularly before the pandemic but stopped when she became afraid of being around other people. Reviving that habit is a goal.

Among Reeds other priorities in the months ahead: visiting with her daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and seeing her primary care physician, a dentist, a neurologist whos treating nerve damage and an eye doctor. I didnt want to go to places where people might be sick this last year; now, its time for me to catch up on all that, she said.

Harry Hutson, 73, and his wife, Mikey, 70, invited two couples to their house in Baltimore, on separate nights, after getting their second Moderna shots in February and waiting two weeks. Were going right into having safe dinners with people whove been vaccinated, Hutson told me.

He feels a touch of lingering uncertainty, however. While were 95% sure this is the right thing to do, were a little tentative. For a whole year, weve had Covid is death engrained in us. After that, you cant just go back to normal, just like that, he said.

Hutson has continued working as an executive coach during the pandemic and has recently been giving talks on hope to business groups, nonprofit organizations and churches. What I tell people is Youll help yourself by helping others. Were all emerging from trauma and healing has to be a collective, not an individual, endeavor.

On a personal note, Hutson is going through an attic full of yearbooks, letters and photos, curating my familys history. He hopes to make an across-the-country road trip with his wife later this year visiting the family of his wifes son in Madison, Wisconsin, his daughters family in Portland, Oregon, and his brother in Eugene, Oregon, as well as several friends.

Marian Hollingsworth, 67, of La Mesa, California, spent last spring and summer sequestered at home with her husband, Ed, 72, who had stomach cancer, focused on keeping Ed safe from the coronavirus. But his illness progressed and, in early October, Ed died at home, where the couples four adult children had gathered to say goodbye.

Since then, Hollingsworths son Morgan, 27, who lives in New York City, has stayed with his mom, keeping her company. But grief struck hard: Hollingsworth lost weight and couldnt sleep at night despite profound fatigue. It was like getting hit by the biggest Mack truck you could find, she told me.

The pandemics resurgence in the fall and winter made adjusting to Eds loss even more of a challenge, Hollingsworth said, since she couldnt get together with friends or get hugs a form of contact she longed for. To this day, his clothes hang in the closet because the places shed like to send them arent accepting donations.

When Hollingsworth became fully vaccinated in early March, she said, she felt for the first time that my head was coming up above water. Although shes not sure, yet, how much she wants to go out and see people, shes looking forward to simple pleasures: petting the neighbors dog and going on distanced walks with a few friends. Im going to be cautious until theres more clarity about whats really safe, she told me.

Wilma Jenkins, 82, who lives in South Fulton, Georgia, has struggled with depression off and on for years a challenge shes spoken about publicly in talks to older adults. This fall and winter, isolated at home, its been rough for me its just been so sad, she admitted.

Even though Jenkins describes herself as an introvert, she made sure she had regular social contact before the pandemic. Most days, shed take herself out to lunch at local restaurants, chatting with the wait staff and other regular customers.

One of Jenkins great loves is music the blues and jazz. A few days after we spoke, she was planning to return to her favorite nightclub, St. James Live in Atlanta, to catch a show her first such outing since becoming fully vaccinated in mid-February.

Im not afraid to move back into the world, but I will continue to be masked and socially distanced and wash my hands, she told me.

Jenkins plans to start walking outside again; go to restaurants, so long as theyre not too crowded; and resume visits with her two daughters, both physicians, who live in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Her most ambitious goal: flying out to San Diego in late July for a celebration marking her grandson Jamals retirement from the Navy.

Barry Dym is haunted by an image thats recurred often during the past year: Hes on a moving sidewalk, unable to get off, being hurried to a destination he doesnt want to reach: old age. The image is associated with the pandemic and knee pain that has worsened, painfully, over the past six months, making walking harder.

This past year was a time of adjustment for Dym, who retired four years ago from his work as a consultant to nonprofit organizations. One of the lessons of covid for me was I still need to feel useful and I love helping people. I realized maybe Id pulled back too far.

So, Dym expanded his coaching and mentoring practice an activity he plans to continue. Whatever I can do to help make this world better, Im not going to stop trying, he said.

Outside of travel plans with his wife, Franny to the Florida Keys this spring, to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts in the summer, and perhaps to Israel in the fall Dym said he finds himself more curious than anything about what lies ahead. I really dont know what my life will be like. Ill have to find out.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

This story can be republished for free (details).

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I Can Breathe Again: Older Adults Begin to Test Freedom After Covid Vaccinations - Kaiser Health News

Sometimes you just get lucky and have a good day, and I got one yesterday. Outside of my dad getting his second vaccination done, there wasnt anything special involved: slept in by an extra 20 minutes, meals coming together timing-wise without intricate planning, enjoyed an album that is new to me (The Seduction of Kansas by Priests), bought some beers. No one in my general circle of people and organizations did a terrible April Fools joke, which I am very thankful for. I highly recommend all of these things.

To the soccer!

Kaku arbitration ruling expected soon; MLS national TV broadcast breakdown: Notebook | The AthleticNormally we dont start things off with a story whose headline leads with Kaku, but the breakdown of national TV games in MLS this season leaves D.C. United dead last among American teams, with one single national broadcast (on Univision) all season long.

On the other hand, that means more of Dave Johnson and Devon McTavish, and fewer weird broadcast windows for ESPN or FS1, so honestly? Ill take it. The networks are going to miss out if this team becomes the goal bonanza (in both directions) that Hernn Losadas history points to it being.

Philly MLS 25: Stephen King was the original Medford Messi | Brotherly GameOur longtime readers remember The Standard, a loose concept where a specific player served as an indicator of roster strength. If youre starting players who arent as good as The Standard, youre gonna have a tough go of it; if The Standard cant find minutes because the team is too good, youre a contender.

Im not sure who the current standard-holder (this was intentional!) is. Joseph Mora, maybe? Take it to the comments!

P.S. that isnt actually post-script because its in the middle of the piece: were trying to arrange for in-person coverage of Sundays preseason game against NYCFC. If Im allowed to be there, Ill be making the drive up to get some in-person observations.

Washington Spirit captain Andi Sullivan added to USWNT roster for Sweden, France friendlies | Black and Red UnitedAndi Sullivan was added to the USWNT squad, and shortly after we put this piece about the news out, Saori Takarada was called up by Japan. So, this piece has an update about the impact both call-ups will have on the Washington Spirit at the start of the Challenge Cup.

Couples love of soccer leads to Washington Spirit investment | Washington BladeEnjoyed this interview with married Spirit investors Bri Scurry and Chryssa Zizos, which also has some new notes about the Spirits plan for the gameday experience at Audi Field.

The NWSL is making progress by adding sponsors, but not every deal has to be billed as a game-changer | The AthleticA sponsor logo on a sleeve being called an activation is not my favorite thing, so Im very on board with this piece. Glad the league is getting these needed and significant sponsors, but teaser announcements that could be construed as something as big as expansion news are going to get old really fast.

Yall wanna talk jerseys?

This is a wild idea, and I think Im into it.

Welcome everyone, to Emma Hayes Orchestra! | We Aint Got No HistoryOur own Andr Carlisle provided some great context for this excellent video featuring Chelsea womens head coach Emma Hayes and her in-game instructions on team shape and how/when to press. The video is in the piece, and if you want to know whats going on with all the team shape stuff you hear about now, this will give you good insight into what coaches are doing, and why theyre doing it.

And now that Im out of stories, lets finish up with an unreal goal from college woso:

The long run-up, the fact that you get more than enough time to know what shes gonna do, the bench also knowing whats coming and freaking out even before the hit...just A+ all around.

Alright folks thats all Ive got. Enjoy your Friday!

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Friday Freedom Kicks: D.C. United (not) on TV, Andi Sullivan on USWNT, and more - Black And Red United

Image Courtesy of the National Catholic Reporter

By Eduardo Castillon

Statement to Conscience; To Awaken Conscience, a petition written by Catholic University Busch School Professor Catherine Ruth Pakaluk Ph.D, has received more than three thousand signatures from faculty and even clergy.

The complaint is a reaction against the statements of many Catholic medical and scientific organizations on the moral responsibilities of Catholics to take COVID-19 vaccines that were derived from fetal cell lines. Organizations cited by the petition include the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), the Catholic Health Association (CHA), as well as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The petition states We deplore the lack of moral imagination displayed by public health officials, politicians, and all those who disregard the natural disgust felt by persons who wish to remain separate from the crime of abortion in every way possible.

The Vaticans Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF), which was reviewed and approved by Pope Francis, states that the use of these types of vaccines is morally licit due to the dangerous circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the aforementioned Catholic organizations do not disagree with the CDFs position, the signatories do not see the statements as going far enough in opposition to the mandating of vaccines: Even if, as a matter of general principles, it is not always morally illicit to use such abortion-tainted vaccines temporarily, in extreme necessity, and even then under strenuous protest, the use of such vaccines must never be advanced as mandatory, or as a universal duty.

We are arguing instead that it cannot become morally obligatory to take the vaccinessince an evil cannot be placed on the conscience as a duty, said Dr. Pakaluk. Therefore, we wanted to remind people that the Church protects our right to resist doing an evil, if in conscience we feel we cannot do this thing and we then outline some of our reasons for seeing this as the right approach to take in the face of a culture of death.

The statement by the CDF also claims the use of such vaccines should be voluntary, but that those who refuse such vaccines on the grounds of their conscience still have a duty to take preventative measures for infection. However, the CDF also stresses the importance of ones duty to the common good. In the absence of other means to stop or even prevent the epidemic, the common good may recommend vaccination, especially to protect the weakest and most exposed.

While it is not mandatory to accept vaccination currently, the signatories believe there are legislative threats on the horizon. The petition mentions a D.C. law that has since passed which allowed for children to receive vaccinations without parental consent. A more recent example may be the Vaccine Passports the Biden administration is currently discussing.

We invite (and call upon our lawmakers to require) all product manufacturers to reveal publicly and label their use of these cells, reads the petition, so that we can go forward avoiding such products.

Naturally, as the campus is gradually reopening to pre-pandemic standards, students may be worried about the safety of returning to school next semester especially after hearing about this petition.

We should pray and trust that God will not leave the students and faculty of Catholic University in trouble because of the respect of conscience rights in this matter. said Dr. Pakaluk, We are in good hands under President Garveys leadership. He has always found a way to pursue the common good while protecting religious and conscience libertiesin fact its an area of his special expertise.

Dr. Pakaluk also cited a USA Today article mentioning how decline in COVID-19 cases have been seen before vaccines were meant to have any influence.

The new petition voices the disappointment from thousands of signatories on the soft opposition of many Catholic organizations towards COVID-19 vaccines derived from fetal cell lines. Chief amongst their concerns is the ability to morally choose not to be vaccinated as well as possible future legislation making it harder to refuse to receive vaccines.

Follow this link:

Catholic Petition Circulates Claiming Freedom to Choose Vaccination - Catholic University of America The Tower

Marjorie Taylor Greene is characterizing vaccine passports as Joe Bidens mark of the beast, so they must have some value. But we have to come up with a different name for them if were going to get the conspiracy nutserRepublicans on board.

And that includes rightwing media. The headline in The Washington Post sums up todays health crisis: The Dangerous Game [Fox News] Tucker Carlson is Playing on Vaccines.

If our country is going to open up again in a way that preserves the lives and liberty of millions of Americans whove stayed virus-free so far, were going to have to confront the GOP death cult, head-on. Freedom shouldnt mean the right to force other people to die all alone in a hospital ICU hooked up to breathing tubes.

Airlines, retail stores, restaurants and bars, workplaces, office buildings, colleges, stadiums, theaters, you-name-it all will have to start exercising their Supreme Court-certified right to the freedom to prevent un-vaccinated people from entering their premises.

That sweet new Ad Council Its Up To You campaign wont be enough. Too many Republicans have taken in Donald Trumps lies and Qanons bizarre conspiracy theories to be influenced by sweet pictures and nice words.

Fully 59% of registered Texas Republicans say they have doubts, and about half of all Republicans in Congress where the vaccine is, daily, freely and easily available on demand have chose not to get vaccinated.

Americas venues have to kick some ass to save lives and rebuild our economy. Its going to take both the carrot and the stick.

I got my first vaccine passport in 1979 when I traveled to Kenya, Uganda and had an onward ticket to Somalia on behalf of the Salem international relief organization.

To get on a plane to those countries, and then to get through their own passport control, I had to prove that I was immunized against cholera, yellow fever and typhoid, as I recall, and there might of been a few others; I remember the shots hurt like hell and made me sick as a dog for a day or two.

But that yellow card, with the proof of vaccination stamps in it, periodically updated, sat inside my passport for the next 20 years and not only got me into multiple Third World countries on three continents, but also got me through US border stations and back into the United States from them.

The idea of vaccine passports is nothing new.

Although my kids didnt need them to get into school 40 years ago (the schools just took your word for it), my grandchildren do today. Theres pretty much not a school or summer camp in America thatll let a kid in without proof of vaccination against, at least, measles and a few other childhood diseases.

Right now the Biden administration is reportedly working with 17 different organizations and private companies to come up with some sort of vaccine passport thatll work for America, which is apparently why Newsmaxs White House Correspondent calls the idea totalitarian communism.

Want to own the cons? Put photos on the passports and require states to allow them as voter ID. But, seriously

IATA, the International Air Transport Association, which licensed the travel agency Louise and I owned in the 1980s and oversees international travel, is working on one, as is the office of World Tourism with the United Nations. IBM is developing a digital vaccine passport, and Clear, the company that speeds you through airport security lines, has already announced that they, too, will soon have one.

Israel rolled them out last month, and Denmark has announced theyll soon be doing the same.

The way to sell these freedom passports to right wingers is pretty straightforward: tell them its the free market, andthat it has to do with religious liberty.They love those words even when they dont know what they mean.

These are the same people, of course, who want a business to refuse an LGBTQ person the freedom to patronize that company based on who they are or love. If conservatives believe an American business must legally be able make a decision like that, why shouldnt companies have the freedom to refuse service to someone who may be spreading a deadly disease?

Doesnt freedom include the freedom to stay alive in the midst of the worst pandemic in a century?

Freedom is a much misused word. How is it that anybody can say with a straight face that person A should have the freedom to refuse a vaccine or wear a mask and spread a deadly disease in the direction of person B, but that person B shouldnt have the freedom to remain free of illness?

Its a good argument for calling them Freedom Passports.

For that matter, vaccine passports are the ultimate statement of belief in the sanctity of human life.

Its truly bizarre that legislators in Arkansas and Texas think a woman who wants to get an abortion should go to prison or even get the death penalty, but if a red-state Republican wants to breathe a deadly disease in your face because theyve joined an anti-mask, anti-vaccine cult, thats just fine.

Maybe we should call them Right To Life Passports.

Crazed Republican conspiracy-mongers aside, the main international objection to vaccine passports comes from groups and organizations concerned about increasing the gap around the world between the haves and the have-nots. One billion people in the world dont even have proof of identity, much less a passport or birth certificate, and this would leave them even farther out of the loop.

On the other hand, those are not generally the folks trying to get into the Super Bowl, your local supermarket or wanting to sit next to you on a flight from Omaha to Cincinnati.

Back in the 1980s, restaurants around the country experimented with being all non-smoking, or having well-spaced smoking sections with separate ventilation. Restaurants today could do something similar.

The taco place down the street might only let you in with a vaccine passport, a modern-day variation on the no shoes, no shirt, no service slogan. Farther down the block, the burger joint may opt to ignore the passports and run at 1/3 capacity or even throw caution to the wind and pack the place in.

Nobody, at least so far, is arguing passports should be required by the gummint the way those communist drivers licenses are issued and required to speed down the highway. Although I disagree with President Biden on this issue, it looks like its going to be entirely up to the free market.

The NFL has already weighed in, promoting vaccination among their fans so people can show up knowing that Covid isnt floating around inside the stadium.

Meanwhile, Floridas Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, arguably responsible for thousands of unnecessary deaths (that he appears to be hiding), is swearing that hell never allow a private business in his state to require a vaccine passport for service.

Hes fine with Florida businesses refusing to do business with LGBTQ folks, but Republican cult members who refuse to get vaccinated because theyre convinced Bill Gates is gonna chip them so they can be tracked? No way! (Dont tell them about that GPS thing in their cell phones, please; they may not be able to handle it.)

As Republican politicians, judges and lawyers constantly repeat, private business should be able to refuse service to people on their deeply held beliefs. This ones gone all the way up to the Supreme Court, and repeatedly gotten the Republican seal of approval.

And, even for them, Freedom Passports could encompass it all: Freedom! America! The Free Market!Saving innocent lives!

What red blooded, Nazi-arm-band-wearing, Confederate-flag-waving, Capitol-invading, gun-toting American patriot could possibly object?

Continue reading here:

Call Them 'Right to Life" or 'Freedom' Passports! If They Are Vaccine Passports, Conservatives Will Freak Out - CounterPunch.org - CounterPunch

Posted: Mar 30, 2021 / 03:22 PM CDT / Updated: Mar 30, 2021 / 03:22 PM CDT

(WTVO) Do average Americans feel pressure from cancel culture? A new study suggests so.

As exclusively reported by The Hill, a new poll released by the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard and The Harris Poll, 64% of Americans view cancel culture as a threat to freedom.

The survey also found 54% of respondents were concerned that they could be banned from social media or fired from their job for expressing their opinions online. 46% said they were not concerned.

It is a chilling finding that most people in the country now are afraid they would be fired if they expressed their real views on social media, saidMark Penn, the director of the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey.

The public generally gives negative ratings to social media companies and sees the movement as more about censorship rather than trying to correct wrongs. It is growing as a national issue, he added.

Only 13% of the participants said they did not consider cancel culture to be a problem, with 32% calling it a moderate problem and 20% said it was a small problem.

Merriam-Webster defines cancel culture as the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure.

A total of 1,945 registered voters participated in the study.

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Is cancel culture a threat to freedom? Poll says 64% of Americans think so - WGN TV Chicago

Jerusalem

A year ago, Giordana Grego's parents spent Passover at home in Israel, alone but grateful that they had escaped the worst of the pandemic in Italy. This year, the whole family will get together to mark the Jewish feast of liberation and deliverance from the pandemic.

Israel has vaccinated over half its population of 9.3 million, and as coronavirus infections have plummeted, authorities have allowed restaurants, hotels, museums and theaters to re-open. Up to 20 people can now gather indoors.

It's a stark turnaround from last year, when Israel was in the first of three nationwide lockdowns, with businesses shuttered, checkpoints set up on empty roads and people confined to their homes. Many could only see their elderly relatives on video calls.

For us in Israel, really celebrating the festivity of freedom definitely has a whole different meaning this year after what we experienced, said Grego, who immigrated to Israel from Italy. Its amazing that this year were able to celebrate together, also considering that in Italy, everybody is still under lockdown."

Passover is the Jewish holiday celebrating the biblical Israelites' liberation from slavery in Egypt after a series of divine plagues. The week-long springtime festival starts Saturday night with the highly ritualized Seder meal, when the Exodus story is retold. It's a Thanksgiving-like atmosphere with family, friends, feasting and four cups of wine.

Throughout the week, observant Jews abstain from the consumption of bread and other leavened foods to commemorate the hardships of the flight from Egypt. Instead, they eat unleavened matzah.

Holiday preparations involve spring cleaning to the extreme to remove even the tiniest crumbs of leavened bread from homes and offices. Cauldrons of boiling water are set up on street corners to boil kitchenware, and many burn their discarded bread, known as chametz. Supermarkets cordon off aisles with leavened goods, wrapping shelves in black plastic.

Most Israeli Jews religious and secular alike spend the Seder with extended family. Last year's Passover was a major break in tradition.

Government-imposed restrictions forced the closure of synagogues and limited movement and assembly to slow the virus' spread. Some conducted the ritual meal with their nuclear family, others over videoconference, while an unfortunate few held the Seder in solitude.

Another lockdown was imposed over the Jewish High Holidays in September, again preventing family gatherings, and a third came earlier this year with the emergence of more contagious variants of the virus.

By the third lockdown, Israel had launched one of the most successful inoculation campaigns in the world after the government secured millions of doses from Pfizer and Moderna. Israel has now vaccinated more than 80% of its adult population.

It's too early to say that Israel's coronavirus crisis is over, as new variants could emerge that are resistant to the vaccines.

The vaccination campaign in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza has been slow to get off the ground, withIsrael facing criticism for not sharing more of its supplies. Israel has vaccinated over 100,000 Palestinian laborers who work in Israel and West Bank settlements, and has sent a couple thousand doses to the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinians have imported more than 130,000 doses on their own, but it could be several months before shots are available for the vast majority of the nearly 5 million Palestinians in the territories.Experts say that could pose a risk to Israel's own public health efforts.

For now, however, Israelis are enjoying what feels like a post-pandemic reality, lending special significance to Passover.

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Its not only symbolic that its the holiday of freedom, but its also the holiday of the family, said Rabbi David Stav, chief rabbi of the city of Shoham and head of the liberal Orthodox organization Tzohar.

This year, families are uniting. People that were so lonely, especially older people, who were disengaged from their families, all of a sudden they discover the freedom and the joy of being together with them.

More here:

Passover in Israel: Celebrating pandemic progress and freedom - The Christian Science Monitor

"In an era when everyone is online, everyone is a public figure." Bill MaherWilliam (Bill) MaherWhy the unhinged woke brigade is a profound threat to our freedom The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Happy anniversary to ObamaCare Elon Musk: Not broke, never woke, and in on the joke MORE on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Mar. 26

That's 100 percent correct. Social media gives everyone and anyone a broadcast studio that can potentially reach millions in a viral minute.

And that means everyone is a potential target for the woke brigade as it continues to add scalp after scalp to its trophy room.

How utterly ridiculous is our country getting thanks to an increasingly woke media that is replacing the isms in going from journalism to activism?

Consider Exhibit A: The Washington Post publishesa guide called Social Justice for Toddlers.

Social justice for toddlers: These new books and programs start the conversation early https://t.co/yWtMAftxCW

"Leigh Wilton and Jessica Sullivan, Skidmore College psychology professors who study race and social interaction, say that children develop implicit bias as early as 3 months old, and at 4 years old are categorizing and developing stereotypes, the Post reports.

Yep, you read that correctly: Children begin to become racists at three months old, before they speak or even crawl. At four years old, before even beginning kindergarten, kids are developing stereotypes.

The books hatching from this mentality includeA to Z for Preschoolers,where"A" isn't for apples, but for activists, and E isn't for elephant, but equality. T isn't for train, but forTrans.

This is utterly confusing to kids (for no good reason) and insulting to parents for the assumption that their kids are racist and need to be reprogrammed.

Exhibit B: Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne.

The story highlights a growing pattern in WokeLand.

Summary: Morgan expresses an opinion about Prince HarryPrince HarryTucker Carlson to air Piers Morgan interview on Fox streaming service Why the unhinged woke brigade is a profound threat to our freedom Hillicon Valley: House lawmakers fired up for hearing with tech CEOs | Zuckerberg proposes conditional Section 230 reforms | Lawmakers reintroduce bill to secure internet-connected devices MORE and Meghan MarkleMeghan MarkleWhy the unhinged woke brigade is a profound threat to our freedom Piers Morgan pens Daily Mail op-ed about recent scandals, defends Sharon Osbourne after her 'The Talk' exit Sharon Osbourne leaving 'The Talk' amid allegations of racism MORE by stating that he didn't believe her claims that the royal family didn't provide assistance when she was having suicidal thoughts. Nor did he believe her allegation of racism within the family since she didn't name names. One could agree or disagree with that opinion, which is what Morgan is paid to provide. But on cue, a petition to remove Morgan from the air is drawn up. Tens of thousands sign it. The British governmental regulatory aim, OfCom, opens an investigation...into an opinion.

Sharon Osbourne, a good friend of Morgans, appears onCBSs The Talk to react. Osbourne defends Morgan not the opinion itself, but his right to it.

. @piersmorgan I am with you. I stand by you. People forget that youre paid for your opinion and that youre just speaking your truth.

Like Morgan, CBS pays Osbourne for her opinions and has for more than a decade. And for the sin of the most benign opinion in the history of talk shows defending one's free speech rights the show decided to go on hiatus before parting ways with Osbourne.Again, over her opinion in defending someone else for giving his opinion.

What is happening to this country? Seriously.

Exhibit C: Alexi McCammond'steenagetweets means she may never be able to work in journalism again.

She was offered the job that any 27-year-old journalist would dream of: editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, which falls under the umbrella of publishing giant Conde Nast. The possibilities from there would have been endless.

But McCammond, like so many her age, grew up at a time when social media was prominent, particularly during her teen years. And like clockwork, a few of McCammond'sold racially insensitive tweets were unearthed, albeit a few years ago. McCammond apologized for them at the time. She also proactively broached the tweets in question during the interview process at Teen Vogue, where she was assured they wouldn't cause a problem.

But this could not stand. McCammond, who is African-American, could not be permitted to work again because of what she wrote on social media when she was just 17, according to the mob. Staffers internally at Teen Vogue implored management to nix the deal to bring her on as EIC.

Ultimately, the Teen Vogue powers folded: Earlier this month, it was announced that McCammond was out. Worst part: She will officially be deemed toxic to most other publications for the foreseeable future.

A recent CATO Institute poll showed that 62 percent of Americans are afraid to share their political views. That's nearly two-thirds of the country saying their First Amendment rights are sometimes too scary to exercise, even if most of those views are perfectly reasonable and pragmatic.

For more on this, take Exhibit D in Justin Kucera, now a former teacher and coach of Walled Lake School District in Michigan.

The former part comes because Kucera tweeted the following: "I'm done being silent. (Donald TrumpDonald TrumpThe Hill's Morning Report - Biden may find zero GOP support for jobs plan Republicans don't think Biden really wants to work with them The biggest campaign issue of 2022? MORE) is our President.

He was fired shortly thereafter.

Kucera later explained his dangerous, unhinged thought process around the basis for the tweet.

"I felt a lot of people were rooting against our president and I just felt like we should be rooting for him to succeed," Kucera toldFox 2 in Michigan. "Because when he succeeds. we all succeed."

Yep. Don't let this guy around children. Fire him in the middle of a pandemic instead.

It also begs the question: What if Kucera had written "Barack ObamaBarack Hussein ObamaOver 260 groups call on Biden to improve whistleblower protections Why the unhinged woke brigade is a profound threat to our freedom Biden seeks to learn from Obama errors MORE is our president" in 2015 or "Joe BidenJoe BidenThe Hill's Morning Report - Biden may find zero GOP support for jobs plan Republicans don't think Biden really wants to work with them Lack of cyber funds in Biden infrastructure plan raises eyebrows MORE is our president" in 2021. Does he keep his job after sharing such sentiment?

Fortunately, there appears to be some pushback from the left and right and everyone else in-between.

A group of alumni from the San Francisco school system, for example, is suing its school board in hopes of permanently blocking any effort to change schools over their allegedly racist names. The list of horrible racists that need to be erased from history in the Bay Area include Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Earlier this year, the Board had voted 5-2 to change the names before backlash from parents forced it to walk the decision back, albeit temporarily.

"(Americans) see a problem and we ignore it, lie about it, fight about it, endlessly litigate it, sunset clause it, kick it down the road and then write a bill where a half-assed solution doesnt kick in for 10 years," Bill Maher explained brilliantly onReal Timethis month."China sees a problem and they fix it. They build a dam; we debate what to rename it.

Overall,a solid majority of Americans seecancel culture that stems from wokeness as a threat to their freedom, while 54 percent say they are "concerned" they could be fired if they express their opinion on social media.

Overall,according to a Harvard CAPS-Harris survey released Monday, a solid majority of Americans(64 percent) see cancel culture that stems from wokeness as a threat to their freedom, while 54 percent say they are "concerned" that they could be fired if they express their opinion on social media.

More than a few of you reading this agree with that perspective.You likely avoid fiery debates between friends on Facebook.You've taken your Twitter app off your phone.

At parties or at work, perhaps you'd like to join in on a discussion about the border or schools reopening or unprecedented spending but decide in the name of self-preservation to walk away or stay silent.

That's not who we are or have ever been in this country.

Apologies don't appear to be the answer. The mob doesn't care if you feel remorse or have learned a lesson if you said or wrote something idiotic or insensitive in high school.The scalp is all that matters.

"Criticism is great. What cancel culture is about is not criticism, former New York Times writer Bari Weiss correctly told Maher on his HBO show not long ago. It is about punishment. It is about making a person radioactive. It is about taking away their job."

So, if and when the mob comes for you, here's some free advice: Don't apologize. Don't back down.Tell your employer or boss to do the same.There is no appeasement in this culture war.May common sense eventually prevail.

Joe Concha is a media and politics columnist for The Hill.

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Why the unhinged woke brigade is a profound threat to our freedom | TheHill - The Hill