Daily Archives: January 19, 2022

Suyen Barahona, a civic leader and president of UNAMOS, has been a political prisoiner since June 13, 2021.My mothers name is Esperanza (Hope), I am filled with her. Lets continue united. Courage. Justice and Liberty.By Xenia Barahona (Confidencial)

HAVANA TIMES A drone hovered over the house. Then dozens of riot police and special forces violently burst in with weapons of war and dogs. They abducted her. They arbitrarily took our sister, Suyen Barahona. Today held as a political prisoner with more than 165 Nicaraguans unjustly incarcerated because they exercised their right to think freely.

Suyen has a contagious laugh. She loves life and is a person of fierce hope. She has a profound love for her country and lives out her principles of solidarity and justice.

As a child Suyen was quiet, observant but she was also independent. Perhaps because she grew up with over-protective older siblings or perhaps because she was the youngest for many years, she learned to defend herself and to articulate her positions at an early age. During her years at Colegio Centro America the motto to love and serve became her own.

She volunteered to play with the children at La Mascota Hospital and she taught children to read and write in El Recreo -one of Managuas poorest neighborhoods-. It was during these school activities where she met her beloved best friend Ana Margarita Vijil. Together they have worked for the country they love so much.

Suyen has always had a keen interest in Nicaraguan young people having opportunities. She never failed to find time to read or edit an essay by a young man or woman applying for a scholarship that could help them realize their aspirations. I remember on more than one occasion, she said, It is difficult to be a young person in this country. They just need a little support. We have run into several young people, many unknown to us, who have told us how Suyen helped them believe in themselves and helped them elevate their voice.

Suyen, a name from the Asian origin of our family, means precious jewel.

She has an unwavering belief in womens empowerment, and she has worked towards their independence and the realization of their dreams. In 2013 she supported a group of women entrepreneurs by providing business administration workshops. She shared her enormous excitement and admiration for these womens creativity and ingenuity with us.

Her nieces speak of how their aunt has been an example to them. She has taught them how to be strong girls and support other women. Her eldest niece narrates:

My aunt Suyen is joyful, and she is an empowered woman. She is courageous, empathetic, resilient, kind and funny. She has always taught us to be super power girls and that we should show the strength, courage and power of girls and women. She encouraged us to participate in activities that serve others. Thanks to her I began visiting a nursing home. She also told us to try new things and so my sister got involved in theater classes. She leaves an impression wherever she goes and her name is engraved in the hearts of those who know her.

For us, her family, her determination, and tenacity became even more evident when she became a mother. After an emergency cesarean she gave birth to her little miracle. Her baby, born at 32 weeks, had to remain in the hospital for a month. Despite her fresh wound and without a second thought she traveled daily to the hospital, sometimes three times a day, to care for her son. While there, she met Grace a tiny premature baby whose mother could not breastfeed. Immediately, Suyen shared her breast milk with her. This is the way she approaches life. In adversity she moves forward with her unwavering determination, encouraging those around her, sharing what she has with those in need, always with a smile.

It has been similar with her activism. She worked tirelessly in defense of the environment putting her knowledge and her studies at the service of the country. When she shared with us that she wanted to enter politics, we were completely taken aback, so she said, Well then, tell me? Is there any other way in which we can peacefully bring about change? Several years before 2018 you would see her with a small group of people at traffic lights with her posters demanding citizens rights and free and fair elections.

After April of 2018, with her eyes filled with tears she spoke to us of the pain of the mothers who had lost their children and of the families of political prisoners held in the prisons. She continued protesting, civically, firm in her convictions. She continued in solidarity with journalists, activists and feminists while demanding the liberation of all political prisoners.

When we asked her if she was not afraid, she responded, It is important to control it and keep moving forward despite the fear. She is an example of never giving up. She is an example of solidarity and love. She would say, I want my son and the young people of Nicaragua to be able to resolve issues without resorting to violence. We must create a culture of tolerance, of participation.

She is our precious jewel. From prison, after countless interrogations and more than 7 months of having her taken from us, she continues to resist, her spirit of solidarity ever present. I am worried about the elderly [imprisoned]. I insist that it is unjust, that they cannot be treated in this way, she shared.

On New Years Eve, in addition, to telling us how very much she loves us, her words of encouragement were: My mothers name is Esperanza. I am filled with her. Lets continue united. Courage. Justice and Liberty.

Through her commitment she has wanted to help break the cycle of violence and build a Nicaragua based on respect for human rights, democratic principles, inclusion and justice. By accepting the presidency of UNAMOS and by defending the human rights of all people, she has had to face persecution, incessant harassment, arbitrary arrest, isolation and solitary confinement yet, she did not shy away from this moment in history. Quite the contrary. She has faced the challenge with courage, integrity, and dignity.

The isolation faced by political prisoners violates all human rights. It is cruel and inhumane. We demand our right to weekly visits. Above all we want her immediate and unconditional freedom, and we know that Suyen, above all, wants the freedom of ALL political prisoners.

Read more from Nicaragua here on Havana Times

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Suyen Is Filled with Hope, We Want Her Freedom - Havana Times

Jalen Johnson was almost a Buc. Instead, hell be a member of the opposition on Wednesday.

When Mercer pays a visit to Freedom Hall to take on East Tennessee State, Johnson is expected to play a big role for the Bears. The former Tennessee and Wake Forest guard is averaging 14.6 points a game for Mercer while shooting 46% from 3-point range.

Back in 2020, Johnson had announced he was transferring from Tennessee to ETSU. Before he ever met his prospective new teammates in Johnson City, he changed his mind.

Two weeks after his commitment, ETSU coach Steve Forbes was hired away by Wake Forest. Johnson wound up transferring to Wake instead, where he played sparingly.

After one season with the Demon Deacons, Johnson headed for Mercer as graduate transfer and hell be facing some players who could have been his teammates Wednesday night.

We were looking forward to bringing him to ETSU, Bucs guard Ledarrius Brewer said. But we cant really help it. The guy, he moved on. He did whats good for his career, but I mean, Im definitely looking at it like yeah, he bailed on us. So Im going to make it tough on him.

ETSU coach Desmond Oliver recruited Johnson at Tennessee and hes hoping for a better outcome than the last Vols transfer ETSU faced. UNC Ashevilles Drew Pember lit up the Bucs for 27 points in a 79-64 win.

We havent had much success with that this year, Oliver said. Some players have had their way. We have allowed people to play against ETSU that I am associated with have great games. When does it stop?

ETSU, beginning a three-game homestand, comes in 11-8 overall, 3-3 in the Southern Conference. Mercer is 11-7 overall and tied with Chattanooga for first in the SoCon at 4-1.

Felipe Haase is averaging 15.5 points per game to lead Mercer. Hes making 49% of his 3-pointers to lead the SoCon.

Point guard Neftali Alvarez hasnt played since suffering a leg injury in early December.

Mercer is coming off a 71-64 win over The Citadel. Its lone SoCon loss was a 15-point setback to Furman.

Greg Gary is in his third season coaching the Bears.

Jordan King was surprised to learn of a disparity in his scoring statistics. In games following an ETSU loss, King is averaging 17 points. After a win, he gets just 10.4.

I guess the loss just gets to me, King said. I feel like we have to come out stronger. After wins, I feel like we settle down and not play as hard. I think we have to carry that over after we win games.

I definitely have to look at the film and see what Im doing wrong. I have to figure it out.

Overall, King is averaging 12.4 points a game, tied for second on the team with Brewer. David Sloan still leads the way at 12.7.

Sloan has had 10 assists in two of the last three games and leads the SoCon with an average of 4.7.

I actually did that a lot in Juco, so its nothing new to me, Sloan said. I just want to win and at the end of the day I feel like getting my teammates involved just keeps everybody happy.

Continued here:

Former ETSU commit Johnson to visit Freedom Hall with Bears - Johnson City Press (subscription)

Good afternoon! We dont have a ton of concrete articles from yesterday, but there are plenty of D.C. United developments going on as preseason gets underway, plus the latest in the Washington Spirit ownership saga.

Lets get started with the bad news: For roughly the 900th time in the last 13 months, a United player has picked up some kind of knock playing for his national team:

International soccer must be stopped at all costs.

I mean this at least somewhat seriously, since FIFA and every confederation has responded to the realities of the pandemic by flooding the calendar with more national team fixtures than ever before, but Uniteds luck in particular has been terrible on this front. Edison Flores needing an MRI on his knee is just the latest development. Generally speaking, this is an attempt to gauge what degree of sprain a player has, and knee sprains are not generally gone after a week or so.

Moving on to less bad news:

Andy Najar wants the raise that he frankly earned last year with his play. Its good to hear that United is in talks with him, but those talks are now entering the preseason, meaning they werent squared away during the long winter break. Could be fine, could be not fine.

Hayden Sargis, a 6 center back, is the newest name linked to a move to the Black-and-Red. 33 appearances at the USL Championship level, for an independent club that expects itself to contend every year, is very good for a 19 year old at a position that teens dont often get to play. United currently has six players who are capable of playing in the back three, but with Najar probably only able to play around 75% of the schedule at the max and Chris Odoi-Atsem more of a wingback who can fill in deeper, specialist depth is not a bad idea.

OK, so I hope you enjoyed the positive news. Here comes a quick turn back towards bad news:

Zach Thornton left United this offseason, and now Oka Nikolov a longtime Bundesliga goalkeeper as a player, who was on staff as a coach (not goalkeeper-specific) is off to LAFC. So now theyre down a goalkeeper coach, and an assistant coach. Its not ideal!

In more upsetting news, United had to release a statement after the teams eMLS player was subject to racist comments on a stream over the weekend:

Theres absolutely no place for talking to anyone like that. Hopefully MLS and Twitch are going to take steps to foster a better environment that extend beyond banning one account.

OK, over to the Spirit, who are having a very big day today in a way that we wont really be able to judge for a bit:

Essentially, Y. Michele Kang and Steve Baldwin are going to make their cases to the NWSL Board of Governors. It seems to me like one case is much stronger than the other, what with the support of the teams players and the much higher valuation being offered, but what do I know?

Lets shift gears and get into some self-promotion. I was just on Equalizer Soccers podcast talking about the Spirit, but also getting into the other big NWSL news items from the last week. Give it a listen:

What Charlotte FC coach said about teams roster and lack of DPs as training begins | Charlotte ObserverThe echoes of where United was last year and where Charlotte are right now feel pretty strong, at least as far as a coach trying to do something very new. To end on a positive note, theres one key difference: Uniteds non-DP starters are pretty good, while Charlotte...well, it might be a rough debut season for (insert nickname for this team once one organically comes up).

OK, so plenty of stuff has come out this morning as well, but thatll be included in tomorrows Freedom Kicks. Until then, stay warm and try to have a good Tuesday!

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Tuesday Freedom Kicks: D.C. United news, Washington Spirit ownership updates, and more - Black And Red United

SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --BestCompaniesAZhas namedFreedom Financial Network (FFN), a leading digital personal finance company helping people on their path to financial freedom,one of the "100 Best Arizona Companies," and awarded the company the "Trailblazer" distinction.

The list, published earlier this week, highlights 100 organizations that have been instrumental in making Arizona "a great place to work and live," according to BestCompaniesAZ. The organization is honoring FFN with the Trailblazer award for pioneering and sustained exceptional performance over the past two decades and making a significant contribution to Arizona.

"BestCompaniesAZ has been at the forefront of recognizing sought-after employer brands and creating prestigious workplace awards programs in Arizona since 2002. As we celebrate 20 years, we are proud to recognize companies across our state who are making a positive difference in the lives of their employees and our communities," said Denise Gredler, Founder and CEO of BestCompaniesAZ.

FFN, founded in California in 2002, opened its Tempe, Arizona, office in April 2006 with six employees. Today, it employs almost 2,500. "The Phoenix market has proven to be an exceptional base for FFN's growth," says Brad Stroh, FFN's co-founder and co-CEO. "As Freedom continues to expand its services, solutions and client base in 2022, Arizona will continue to be integral to our success in helping consumers move forward in creating better financial futures. We're a special company with a great team changing lives, and we're excited to keep building our team in Arizona."

Freedom Financial Network helps people make better financial decisions by managing expenses and debt, saving money, and planning. The company provides innovative technology and relationship-driven support for every step of a consumer's financial path, including personal loans, debt solutions and restructuring, home equity lines of credit, and financial tools and education.

In addition, Freedom Financial Network recently announced that it had surpassed $15 billion in consumer debt resolved, and more than $6.5 billion in loans originated. The company has now served more than 1 million Americans and is innovating new solutions to expand the depth and breadth of its financial services offerings. Freedom also announced that it is hiring more than 200 remote and hybrid employees for roles in sales, engineering, technology and product in California, Arizona and Texas.

BestCompaniesAZ's 20th anniversary listing honors well-known employer brands. For the full list, visit https://bestcompaniesaz.com/100-best-companies-in-arizona/

Freedom Financial Network (www.freedomfinancialnetwork.com)Freedom Financial Network is a leading digital personal finance company, built to help people. We do what traditional banks don't: Put people first. We believe in treating people like humans, not account numbers. We help everyday people get on, and stay on, the path to a brighter financial future, with innovative technology and personalized support at every step. We help people control expenses, manage debt, save money, plan ahead, and make better financial decisions. By leveraging our proprietary data and analytics, and artificial intelligence we are able to offer solutions tailored for each step of a consumer's financial journey, including personal loans, home equity loans, help with debt, and even financial tools and education.

For information on career opportunities at FFN, visit: https://jobs.freedomfinancialnetwork.com/

BestCompaniesAZArizona's Employer Branding Partner, BestCompaniesAZ, specializes in helping corporate clients develop, strengthen and market their unique employer brands through a variety of digital marketing, events, communication, and award programs. Founded in 2002, BestCompaniesAZ pioneered the intersection of recruiting, human resources, marketing, and public relations and has evolved into an exclusive, niche PR, marketing and employer branding firm that specializes in building and promoting strong employer brands. For more information, visit BestCompaniesAZ.com.

SOURCE Freedom Financial Network

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Freedom Financial Network Named one of the "100 Best" Arizona Companies by BestCompaniesAZ - PRNewswire

I am a constitutional conservative, born in the heartland of the West and raised in the plains of Texas. While the conservative label can mean many things, at its core it means preserving liberty, equality and the constitution. Without free and fair elections, no country can claim it values liberty or equality.

Unfortunately, Americas elections are plagued with corruption and partisanship. But we can fix these flaws with the Freedom to Vote Act. We can strengthen our elections by making certain they do not unfairly favor one party, and striving to put people of all backgrounds on an equal playing field. We also need strong election security so fraud doesnt taint the results. The Freedom to Vote Act does these things and more, and I urge my fellow conservatives to support it.

One way we can promote equality in elections is by banning gerrymandering, a tactic partisans use to draw congressional lines in a way that virtually guarantees their party wins. Most representatives can safely win their seats without needing to find broad support in the communities they represent.

Because of gerrymandering, only 43 U.S. House races about 10 percent were competitive in 2020. Representatives in gerrymandered districts tend to be more extreme because no matter what they do, they likely arent risking their electoral prospects. The will of voters in those districts who didnt support the elected candidates becomes swallowed up in partisan ambition and extreme polarization. As defenders of equality, conservatives should oppose gerrymandering. The Freedom to Vote Act would ban partisan gerrymandering and allow states to choose how to draw fair districts.

Making voting accessible is another way our elections can promote equality. Recent attempts by partisans to decrease the number of voting days, arbitrarily reject valid voter ID methods, and discourage vote by mail are betrayals of the principles and values the Constitution aspires to. The Freedom to Vote Act proposes at least 15 consecutive days of early voting, and Election Day would be an official holiday. These are sensible reforms that ensure all people have enough time and opportunities to vote.

Lastly, many conservatives have been concerned about corruption in our electoral process in some cases leading them to contest legitimate results and even engage in violence. The Freedom to Vote Act imposes penalties for voter intimidation and giving false election information. Additionally, it gives election officials greater protections against partisan removals, protects against the intentional mishandling of ballots, and prevents the illegal purging of voter rolls. It also requires disclosure of all political spending, including online ads, and cooperation between candidates and super PACs. Conservatives should support this bill to make elections more secure.

It is vital to the health of our democracy that we restore faith in our elections. A threat to one persons vote is a threat to all. As we strive to live up to our ideals of liberty and equality, we must put down our partisan hats and recognize the need to strengthen our institutions and eliminate the partisan corruption tearing it down. Our constitutional republic depends on it.

Amy Wudel is an advocate for election reform and eliminating political corruption. She volunteers for many democracy groups, including RepresentUs. The Fulcrum covers whats making democracy dysfunctional and efforts to fix our governing systems. Sign up for our newsletter at thefulcrum.us. The Fulcrum is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news platform covering efforts to fix our governing systems. It is a project of, but editorially independent from, Issue One.

2022 The Fulcrum. Visit at thefulcrum.us. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Commentary: The Freedom to Vote Act aligns with conservative values - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel

With the Senate poised to vote as early as today on voting rights, Senate Republicans have taken to the chamber floor, arguing that legislation such as the Freedom to Vote Act is simply unnecessary. The American Independent noted yesterday:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) complained on Tuesday that Democratic efforts to protect the right to vote are really just about making Republicans look racist. And though GOP-run states passed dozens of bills to make it harder to vote in just the past year, he said the issue is completely "manufactured."

"As to voting rights itself, I think this is the most hyped, manufactured issue in a long time," the South Carolina Republican argued. "It's not a problem in search of a solution, it's a manufactured problem."

This dovetails with the line Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed last week: "[T]he big lie on the other side is that state legislatures are controlled by Republicans are busily at work trying to make it difficult for people to vote."

I'll confess, this isn't the line I expected GOP officials to take. My assumption was that Republicans would say the wave of voting restrictions imposed at the state level was necessary to "restore public confidence" and prevent fraud.

Instead, GOP senators have effectively been reduced to saying, "What wave of voting restrictions?"

None of this is constructive. This is an issue at the heart of our democracy. It's worthy of a great debate. No one benefits from senators pretending not to notice the 19 states where Republican officials made it more difficult for voters to cast ballots with more anti-voting efforts on the way in 2022.

Texas Republicans spent part of 2021 making it even harder to vote, banning drive-through voting, restricting voting by mail, banning voting in overnight hours, empowering partisan poll watchers, and restricting absentee voting. Around the same time, Florida Republicans did the same thing, making it harder to use ballot drop boxes, creating new powers for partisan poll watchers, and making vote-by-mail more difficult.

This happened. The real-world effects on the electorate matter. Lindsey Graham may see it as a "hyped" and "manufactured" problem, but for those Americans who find it more difficult to participate in their own democracy, simply because voters had the audacity to elect Democrats in 2020, the anti-voting crusade is all too real.

Even Republicans who know better are playing along. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah this morning insisted that President Joe Biden, by championing voting rights, is "casting doubt on the reliability of American elections" which is the "same tragic road" taken by Donald Trump.

But that's absurd. Trying to pass legislation to protect voting rights does not undermine public confidence in elections. By Romney's reasoning, Democrats should simply watch Republicans impose voting restrictions without saying anything, because to speak up is to "cast doubts" on the integrity of the system GOP officials have tried to manipulate.

There's a reason today's vote is not likely to go well.

Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics."

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GOP struggles to make the case against the Freedom to Vote Act - MSNBC