Daily Archives: January 24, 2022

Bay Area college athletes, promised Silicon Valley deals, are selling their brands for quilts and coffee – SF Gate

Posted: January 24, 2022 at 10:30 am

In late June, the NCAA announced historic rule changes allowing student-athletes to earn money from their personal brands. The decision opened the door to quid pro quos that only a few years ago would have spurred investigations, suspensions or dismissals.

Immediately following the announcement, Bay Area schools began touting Silicon Valley connections, alumni networks and marketing platforms as tools to help students secure name, image and likeness deals, often abbreviated as NIL. Despite those implicit promises, though, few tech companies have gotten involved in the burgeoning industry, according to players, administrators and experts interviewed by SFGATE.

In the first seven months, a handful of Bay Area students have secured significant NIL partnerships: Stanford women's basketball player Cameron Brink, for instance, does ads for Netflix on her Instagram. One Cal athlete has made more than $10,000, according to school officials. They declined to name that person, though they pointed to quarterback Chase Garbers and freshman womens basketball player Mia Mastrov as examples of Bay Area athletes who are benefiting from the new rules. But Garbers told SFGATE he relied on help from family, not his school, when negotiating exchanges of products and cash for social media posts about coffee, sports drinks, protein shakes and clothes.

Garbers also signed on to endorse one of the only tech companies making NIL deals in the Bay Area so far, cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The company also inked a social media promotion deal with Garbers teammate Josh Drayden and spent $17.5 million to put its name on UC Berkeleys California Memorial Stadium.

At San Jose State, in the thick of Silicon Valley, quarterback Nick Starkel told SFGATE hes made a few thousand dollars signing trading cards, but hasnt seen tech companies descend onto campus to negotiate with college athletes. I have not seen any of it, like zero at all, he said last fall, adding that it hadnt come as a surprise to him.

But he does regularly hear from people who have little experience with NIL deals who seem to be looking for a quick buck. I get reached out to probably, you know, every other day by a new marketing agent, by somebody that is just trying to get a piece of the pie, he said.

California Golden Bears guard Mia Mastrov dribbles the ball during a women's college basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the California Golden Bears on February 21, 2021 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA.

FTX is one of the splashiest figures in the NIL market, giving monthly stipends to Kentuckys entire mens basketball team (in dollars) and paying BYU football players more than $500 each (in cash or crypto) to promote it on social media.

But there are huge disparities among NIL offers. While the average NIL transaction on the brand-building platform INFLCR is $1,306, the median transaction is $51, according to numbers provided to the New York Times in December. More than 200 Division I schools around the country have arranged for student-athletes to use INFLCRs app to connect directly with companies, as well as to post their schools photos and videos to their own social media accounts.

Jim Cavale, INFLCRs CEO and founder, thinks the numbers will go up as students figure out the system. I think that the data will show that student-athletes are going to learn and they're going to become more savvy, he told SFGATE last fall.

But the volume of tiny deals that athletes are accepting and which rights students are granting to third parties has surprised Darren Heitner, a Florida-based sports, entertainment and intellectual property attorney who helped develop the Sunshine States NIL law and has since assisted some students with deals.

I would suspect that we start to see athletes generally become a bit more cognizant of the importance of not simply just granting their rights without true, equitable compensation, Heitner said last fall, while acknowledging that some athletes dont have the luxury to wait for better offers.

Garbers and Mastrov, the two students Cal put forward as success stories, both come from families with a business background. But going forward, administrators hope that in-house programs and resources can help others find their footing in the new landscape.

Within hours of the NCAAs interim policy going into effect July 1, Cal Athletics announced its GOLDEN program, a comprehensive set of resources for student-athletes to build their brands and take advantage of new name, image and likeness legislation. It invoked its proximity to the tech space, saying the program would capitalize on Cal's alumni network and access to industry leaders in Silicon Valley and beyond.

A day earlier, when the NCAA approved the rule changes, Stanford announced the launch of Cardinal Connect, an in-house initiative that aims to leverage Stanford's campus and alumni resources to provide education and support to students. In a statement, Athletic Director Bernard Muir said Stanford was uniquely positioned to deliver NIL value to its students.

"Through our relationships in Silicon Valley, our world-class campus resources and an unparalleled alumni network, Cardinal Connect reflects our approach to NIL, and will provide students with the best education and opportunities to benefit from NIL," he said.

Less than two weeks later, San Jose State got into the mix and announced its partnership with Opendorse, an athlete marketing platform that, like INFLCR, partners with schools across the nation to help student-athletes traverse the NIL space. I think it's one of those things where if you don't have it, then you're kind of getting left behind, because most schools are working on something, Cal safety Elijah Hicks told SFGATE in an interview last fall. Hicks was part of a working group that developed the GOLDEN program.

Despite these school programs, some student-athletes have found it challenging to navigate the NIL world on top of their existing responsibilities. Something that I've struggled with is having school and gymnastics, and then also trying to go through all of the [NIL] opportunities and still reach out for more opportunities, said Mercedez Sanchez, a first-year graduate student gymnast at San Jose State.

Some of Sanchezs friends have gotten managers, she said, but shes chosen to go it alone. Even without professional help, over the summer, she earned four-figure sums working at gymnastics camps in California and Pennsylvania, an opportunity she found herself. Shes also been using the Opendorse app, which has allowed her to quickly find reliable (if unspectacular) deals, like being paid $50 for an Instagram post about GummiShot energy gummies. Opendorse also introduced her to a company that turns shirts and jerseys into quilts; that one will net her $125 and a free quilt.

Sanchez appreciates that Opendorse vets the offers for her, helping her avoid potential scams. Sometimes companies will email her and ask her to set up an account or sign in to her Instagram, she said. I get worried about identity or passwords getting stolen. That's I think my biggest issue with it: Not having somebody else who can check that they're legit.

Opendorse is a really great tool, said Starkel, the San Jose State quarterback. One of the most useful features is a tool that suggests valuations for different kinds of promotion. It tells you how much an Instagram post is worth, how much a Twitter post is worth, Starkel said. But a lot of companies just ignore that, offering a tiny fraction of what the app recommends, he said.

Those who have been following NIL developments closely, like Heitner, see value in colleges proactively providing educational resources about endorsement opportunities. In Florida, for instance, financial literacy and life skills workshops are required for student-athletes. Bay Area schools, too, have placed an emphasis on education, including brand-building and personal finance talks from faculty and alumni and seminars led by tech company representatives.

But not everyone makes use of school-led NIL programs or resources. Though he considers the GOLDEN program a great asset to have at Cal, Garbers by early October hadnt taken advantage of it. Instead, his NIL dealings have been more of a family affair. I didn't hire a marketing agent. Ive kind of been doing all this on my own, asking for advice here and there, he said.

Chase Garbers of the California Golden Bears reacts after the 31-24 overtime loss to the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium on September 25, 2021 in Seattle, Washington.

To date, about 90 Cal student-athletes about 10% across 22 teams have made a total of more than 150 NIL deals, according to Jay Larson, senior associate athletics director at the school. That could be anywhere from getting some free gear from a startup clothing company to some deals that are in the thousands of dollars, he said.

School officials expect those numbers to climb in 2022. I think a strong percentage [of student-athletes] probably simply have no interest in this space, but if you see 10% after six months without a whole lot of effort, I think its probably safe to say, over time, half the student-athletes at Cal would have an NIL deal, Larson predicts.

Despite Bay Area universities highlighting their Silicon Valley connections, its difficult to draw a definitive line between tech-related NIL deals for student-athletes and local schools proximity to the Big Tech capital. Garbers believes that being at Cal gave him a leg up with FTX, though as evidenced by deals struck from Kentucky to Utah the cryptocurrency exchange has made plenty of deals at schools far away from Silicon Valley.

I don't think [tech companies] play much of a role right now, quite honestly, said Tim Derdenger, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellons Tepper School of Business who researches technology and sports markets. While he has heard of instances where representatives from Facebook and Twitter have gone to schools to help student-athletes build social media savvy, he thinks their involvement essentially starts and ends there.

Jeff Konya, athletic director at San Jose State, points out that the NIL landscape is still in the nascent stages. This is really new to most of corporate America, he told SFGATE last fall. What I can tell you is that Silicon Valley has an incredible interest in our student athletes.

Aside from its partnership with Opendorse, San Jose State is setting up a multi-media content solution for its student-athletes through an in-house television show and radio network called The Charge, Konya recently added in an email. The 24/7 station would allow student-athletes to market themselves as they build their brands. I see the role of the administration as providing our student-athletes the infrastructure so they can capitalize [on] NIL, Konya wrote.

Stanford, too, has been promoting relationship-building rather than cash, according to Carter Henderson, associate athletics director at Stanford. He argued that the schools alumni and Silicon Valley connections offer lots of value, including town halls with tech execs being held just for student-athletes. Meta, for instance, recently conducted NIL-related educational seminars with Stanford student-athletes. As for the commercial side, if I was a student-athlete thinking about NIL, I think this would be a really interesting kind of playground.

Whatever the current landscape, experts see huge growth ahead for the industry. Derdenger foresees close to a billion dollars in NIL deals in the next five years. But six months in, Derdenger a former student-athlete himself still thinks of the space as a kind of Wild West. We're all trying to figure this out and schools are trying to figure it out, he said.

Still, he sees NIL as transformative for student-athletes and the college sports landscape. While so-called revenue-generating sports like football and basketball have gotten lots of attention, athletes in sports that dont draw lucrative TV contracts, from golf and gymnastics to swimming, are benefiting, too.

And in an industry where, for decades, virtually everyone involved profited except for the labor on the field or in the gym, student-athletes finally have an opportunity (albeit an uneven one) for a payday while theyre enrolled.

You had the pie of profits, of money that was being spent on college athletics, from all different areas, and student-athletes outside of [their education], they were getting zero, Derdenger said. At least now they're able to get a small slice.

Patrick Riley is a Santa Cruz-based freelance reporter. He has covered a range of topics and beats in Florida and California.

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Proud Boys member pleads guilty for role in Capitol riot : NPR

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Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump swarm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. John Minchillo/AP hide caption

Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump swarm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Matthew Greene, a self-proclaimed member of the far-right group known as the Proud Boys, has pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington, D.C., to two criminal charges: conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding, related to the Capitol siege on Jan. 6, 2021.

The plea deal pledges Greene's cooperation with the sprawling Jan. 6 criminal probe in exchange for a reduced prison sentence and the dismissal of several other charges that had been pending against him. Greene could help investigators understand more about the activities of the Proud Boys' central New York chapter before and during the insurrection. He had been indicted alongside Dominic Pezzola, who broke a U.S. Capitol window with a police shield to enter the building that day; and William Pepe, a Metro Transit employee who took sick leave to attend the Jan. 6 rally.

Greene, of Syracuse, N.Y., was arrested in April and has been detained in government custody for months. Greene, 34, appeared via video before Judge Timothy Kelly Wednesday afternoon. Asked if he wanted to give up his right to a jury trial and plead guilty, Greene replied, "I do, your honor." Greene's lawyer said he had no prior criminal history.

Judge Kelly said under federal sentencing guidelines, Greene could face between 41 months and 51 months in prison, with a fine between $15,000 and $150,000. Federal prosecutors said they could seek to file a motion for additional sentencing reductions if Greene provides a "substantial" amount of help with the January 6th probe.

Prosecutor Erik Kenerson asked the judge to set a sentencing date on March 10, 2022, with the option of moving that date based on Greene's cooperation.

It appeared Greene had been helping authorities for some time. His attorney, Michael Kasmarek, told the judge that he'd had the opportunity to engage in "very detailed discussions about all aspects of this case."

In an email, Kasmarek told NPR that for Greene, the plea was "an important step in taking responsibility for his actions."

"He is a person of high moral character, who served our country honorable, and has made countless positive contributions to our community and his family," Kasmarek added.

The precise scope of Greene's assistance to the January 6th investigation, the biggest criminal probe in Justice Department history, is not yet clear. But at minimum, he could explain inner workings of the Proud Boys and help shore up the cases against Pezzola and Pepe. Both men have pleaded not guilty.

In a statement, Steven Metcalf, an attorney for Pezzola, said Greene's actions "should not have any indication, or implication on Mr. Pezzola's position." Greene's statement was "was neither evidence of Mr. Pezzola's guilt nor will it change our position going forward," Metcalf said in the statement.

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Wave the white flag in City Hall Plaza free speech case, Mayor Wu – The Boston Globe

Posted: at 10:30 am

Theres a lot of well-meaning advice against retreat, often offered in the context of war by people who are not themselves on the front lines. Yet, when it comes to the courtroom battle now being waged over a flagpole on Boston City Hall plaza, the opposite sentiment, as expressed by Norman Vincent Peale, is worth considering: Part of the happiness of life consists not in fighting battles, but in avoiding them. A masterly retreat is in itself a victory.

In this instance, retreat means ending the policy that allows public use of a City Hall flagpole. Given the legal tangle over free speech issues the flagpole has created for Boston and could create for other cities and government entities if the Supreme Court rules against the city it may be wise for Mayor Michelle Wu to end the policy now and negotiate a settlement with the plaintiff.

Under current policy, Boston has allowed a wide variety of flags to be flown on City Hall Plaza. Over time, this has included everything from flags celebrating Boston Pride and Juneteenth to flags of other countries. Indeed, from 2005 to 2017, the city approved 284 consecutive requests.

Then, in September 2017, the city refused to let Harold Shurtleff, a conservative activist and director of a private group, Camp Constitution, raise a flag featuring a red cross inside a blue box called a Christian flag. The group sued, and a federal appeals court sided with the city. However, the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case, and thats when, as Globe columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr, wrote, an interesting thing happened: The Biden administration and the ACLU backed Shurtleff.

And Supreme Court justices appear to be leaning that way, too.

The city argued that raising the Christian flag would make it look like the government is sponsoring religious speech. But the group said the citys rebuff violated its First Amendment rights. In its brief, the group argued that the citys application form designates the flagpoles as one of Bostons public forums open to all applicants for private speech. So why isnt the flagpole open to these particular applicants? As Justice Department lawyer Sopan Joshi argued, The city has some discretion, but it probably means that if it permits a group to raise a Black Lives Matter flag, they probably would have to be able to raise a Proud Boys flag. I mean, thats just what the First Amendment demands.

Supreme Court justices seem to agree. As The New York Times reported, Justices across the ideological spectrum . . . seemed ready to rule that the city had violated the free speech rights of Camp Constitution. Some of the justices also seemed to be telegraphing a message to Boston that it should fix the mess created by the policy. This was a mistake, Justice Elena Kagan said of the citys approach. And why is it that people have not been able to correct this mistake? Added Justice Stephen Breyer: Cant it be settled?

The program is on temporary pause, and no final decision about its fate has been made, according to Rob Arcangeli, assistant corporation counsel for the City of Boston. If the program is restarted, he said, it would be in accordance with any guidance set forth in a Supreme Court decision on the matter.

The city could end the practice for good. But according to Arcangeli, Boston cant simply end it and then ask the court to dismiss the case, because the complaint seeks damages. The city also seems reluctant to give up the flagpole policy entirely, believing theres a way to adjust the program so it retains discretion over the viewpoints expressed over its flagpole, said Arcangeli.

But a ruling against Boston, depending on how sweeping it is, could make it more difficult for cities across the country to maintain the separation between church and state. Does the City of Boston want to create that risk? In this case, retreat seems the better option.

Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us on Twitter at @GlobeOpinion.

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Defeat The Mandates Rally Against Covid-19 Precautions Held During Omicron Surge – Forbes

Posted: at 10:30 am

Someone obviously wanted to stop Karen at the "Defeat The Mandates" DC march at the Lincoln Memorial ... [+] January 23, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Well, so much for everyone in the U.S. rallying together against the common enemy: the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On Sunday, protester assembled for the Defeat the Mandate rally in Washington, D.C., right in the middle of a Winter Covid-19 surge. But instead of rallying against the virus, they protested Covid-19 vaccination and face mask requirements. The protesters listened to a bunch of speeches, carried a bunch of signs, and marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. Meanwhile, the SARS-CoV-2 just keeps spreading, just keeps spreading, just keeps spreading throughout the U.S., leading to an average of over 2,100 Covid-19-related deaths a day over the past week.

If you were looking to the rally for some new revelations on how to stop the Covid-19 coronavirus, you probably would have left the grounds fairly disappointed. The various signs and lineup of speakers didnt really provide any alternative solutions to prevent further deaths, hospitalizations, and long Covid cases or to assist the exhausted health care workforce. Although one protester did hold up a Stop Karen sign, which is bad news for either all people named Karen in the U.S. or perhaps one particular Karen who has done the protester wrong.

Other than addressing the Karen problem, the signs, the speeches, and the march didnt seem to provide a whole lot of new things or information. Some on Twitter remarked that the rally seemed to recycle a lot of the talking points that have been perpetuated by various anonymous anti-vaccination social media accounts, politicians, TV/podcast personalities, and maybe a quarterback or two:

Youve probably heard it all before. There were the natural immunity and the Covid-19 is no big deal arguments:

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Arent these essentially variants of the do nothing about the pandemic and let the virus just spread argument? Do nothing certainly sounds like the easier things to do. But, oh wait, how about the 865,000 and counting Covid-19-related deaths that have been happening in the U.S. And the hospitalizations. And the long Covid.

Others were tossing out the standard freedom and my body, my choice arguments:

(Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Again, freedom sounds great when your decisions dont affect other people. You certainly have the freedom to run in circles not wearing any clothes, yelling, sorry, not sorry, and lets unpack this, at the top of your lungs for four hours, as long as no one else is around. But doing so in a public setting would be a different story because others may not want to unpack what you are offering. Thus, the freedom argument has been a variant of the I dont care how my actions may affect other people argument.

Then there was this sign that claimed, mandates are racist:

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Its not clear what specific experience the sign-holder may have had with racism and why the sign=holder feels that mandates in general are racist. Nevertheless, it wouldnt be an anti-vaccination or anti-mask rally without the requisite Nazi references, right:

(Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Because why not compare public health measures designed to save lives with genocidal atrocities?

One thing that didnt seem to make much of a appearance was science. For example, one of the speakers, Robert Malone, MD, made some statements that could prompt a bunch of thats not what science has said response. The first of these statements was Malone asserting, Regarding the genetic Covid vaccines, the science is settled. Theyre not working. They are not completely safe.

All right, using the word genetic was a bit over the top. It may play into the conspiracy theory that the Covid-19 vaccines were somehow designed to alter your DNA. As Ive covered for Forbes, theres no evidence that these vaccines can change your DNA in any way. But the real WTS as in wheres the science was Malone claiming, the science is settled. Theyre not working. Umm, when exactly did science settle on that? What about all those scientific studies that have shown the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines? Wheres Malones evidence that the Covid-19 vaccines are not working?

The second of Malones WTS statements was, Now we have Omicron. These vaccines were designed for the Wuhan strain, a different virus. Umm, a different virus? Whoever said that the Omicron variant is a completely different virus? Sure the Omicron variant has a number of mutations compared to the initial version of the virus. But wouldnt calling the Omicron variant a different virus be akin to calling your children those different beings? The Omicron variant still spreads in a similar fashion, looks like the spiky ball at the end of a BDSM mace (not that you would know anything about that) and can cause similar problems as previous versions of the virus. Plus, studies have shown that protection from the Covid-19 vaccines does offer some protection against the Omicron variant, albeit not as well as against the earlier variants of the SARS-CoV-2.

Moreover, Malones reference to the Wuhan strain went counter to what the World Health Organization (WHO) has been asking everyone to do since 2015: to not name new infectious diseases after people and places. As their 2015 technical document explained, doing so could bring unjustified stigma and backlash against certain racial, ethnic, or other demographic groups. And lo and behold thats what happened during this current pandemic. In 2020, people and politicians started calling the SARS-CoV-2 the China virus, the Wuhan virus, and even the kung-flu virus, which may have further fueled hatred, racism, and attacks against people of Asian-descent, most of whom had nothing to do with the government of mainland China.

The third WTS statement from Malone was, Whether [the Covid-19 vaccines] made sense for protecting our elderly and frail from the original virus is irrelevant. So lets stop arguing about that. Yes, lets stop arguing that the Covid-19 vaccines only protect the elderly and the frail. Plenty of younger and relatively healthy people have either died or suffered other bad outcomes from Covid-19. Thus, the Covid-19 vaccines have helped protect a wide range of people across society.

Malone wasnt the only featured speaker at the rally. Others included Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has had a history of making baseless claims about vaccines, and Lara Logan, who recently compared Anthony Fauci, MD to Nazi physician Josef Mengele. It wasnt exactly a whos who of scientists. It was more of a where wheres the science?

One what-the-heck moment consisted of protesters blaring the song I Would Do Anything For Love by artist Meat Loaf, who died last week afterreportedlybecoming seriously ill with Covid-19 and who was reportedly against Covid-19 vaccine mandates, in the words of Mason Bissada reporting for Forbes.

Ultimately, many of the statements made at the rally really did not provide any solutions to the real problem at hand: the SARS-CoV-2. Sure, you can push against vaccination and face mask requirements just like a child may yell, I can pee wherever I want, then say, urine all over the place is not so bad, right? Yet, that wont be helpful in a public health emergency where public health officials and health professionals have been struggling to better contain a virus thats been hurting many, many people. Vaccination and face mask requirements have only arisen because not enough people are willing to put in the work to help control the SARS-CoV-2 and its consequences. While many healthcare professionals have been working to exhaustion, you still have people who dont want the bother of wearing a freaking mask while in a indoor public space. If everyone had banded together in the first place to fight this virus, then requirements, mandates, or whatever you want to call them wouldnt have been necessary in the first place.

That being said, its not clear how many people truly agreed with what was said at the Defeat the Mandates rally. While rally organizers indicated that they expected tens of thousands of participants, there been cases of premature exaggeration about crowds gathering in Washington, DC, before. Imran Ahmed, the founder and CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, felt that the attendance wasnt close to the 20K marcher they claimed:

Anna Merlan, Senior Staff Writer at Vice, mentioned an estimated several thousand people in attendance:

She also wondered aloud (because thats what you do on Twitter) whether the rally was more a market opportunity for some, an opportunity to sell alternative treatments for Covid-19. It can be very interesting how often people spreading anti-vaccination messages also happen to be selling alternative treatments as well.

The politicization of the pandemic response may have brought others with other business and political motivations to the rally. Prior to the rally, Ben Collins, a reporter for NBC News, noted that the rally was getting attention from online extremist forums:

Collins mentioned the Proud Boys and lo and behold, heres what video journalist Sandi Bachom posted:

So, all in all, did this rally really provide any new information or solve any problems? The SARS-CoV-2 is still circulating. Who knows, maybe the rally could have even helped the virus circulate even more? The virus is still hurting people each day, and health care workers are getting more and more exhausted. This brings to mind what Bruce Willis said as John McClane in the movie Die Hard, Now, you listen to me, jerk-off. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Quit being part of the [bleeping] problem and put the other guy back on? Well, youve got to wonder who this Defeat the Mandates rally was ultimately for: humanity or the SARS-CoV-2?

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Reynolds v. United States | The First Amendment Encyclopedia

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George Reynolds was a party toReynolds v. United States(1879), in which the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a federal law prohibitingpolygamydid not violate the free exercise clause of the First Amendment. The Courts decision was among the first to hold that the free exercise of religion is not absolute. (Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

In Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1879), the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a federal law prohibiting polygamy did not violate the free exercise clause of the First Amendment. The Courts decision was among the first to hold that the free exercise of religion is not absolute.

The case began when George Reynolds, a resident of the Territory of Utah, was sentenced to two years at hard labor and assessed a $500 fine by a federal court for violating a federal anti-bigamy law. Congress had passed the statute against polygamy because it perceived that such a practice contravened good order and peace.

By practicing polygamy, Reynolds, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church), was following what was then one of the central tenets of his religion. Appealing his case to the Supreme Court, Reynolds argued that the anti-bigamy law was in direct violation of the First Amendments free exercise clause.

Although the Court agreed with Reynolds that the free exercise of religion underlay the founding of the United States, it also held that government officials have a right to regulate behavior as part of religious practices that are considered odious and violate basic notions of morality. Until the inception of the Mormon Church, the Court noted, the northern and western nations of Europe and every state had criminalized polygamy.

More important, the Court created a belief-action dichotomy for free exercise clause cases. It held that the federal government cannot interfere with a persons religious beliefs, except when a religious practice violates certain notions of health, safety, and morality commonly called police powers. Reynolds, therefore, had the freedom to believe in polygamy, but he could not practice it, because the action violated national police powers.

If the federal government could not regulate certain religious actions, the Court concluded, religious doctrines would become the superior law of the land. Indeed, in oft-cited language, Chief Justice Morrison Waite wrote: To permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to becomea law unto himself. Government could exist only in name under such circumstances.

Since this case, the belief-action dichotomy created by the Court in Reynolds has become a central principle of free exercise clause jurisprudence.

Justices have cited this principle in cases such as:

This article was originally published in 2009. John Hermann has been a professor at Trinity University for the 25 years where he teaches on Civil Rights and Liberties. He is an expert in minority rights and the Supreme Court of the United States.

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Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act – Wikipedia

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The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act (37th United States Congress, Sess. 2., ch. 126, 12Stat.501) was a federal enactment of the United States Congress that was signed into law on July 8, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. Sponsored by Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont, the act banned bigamy in federal territories such as Utah and limited church and non-profit ownership in any territory of the United States to $50,000.[1]

The act targeted the Mormon practice of plural marriage and the property dominance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the Utah Territory. The measure had no funds allocated for enforcement, and Lincoln chose not to enforce this law; instead Lincoln gave Brigham Young tacit permission to ignore the Morrill Act in exchange for not becoming involved with the Civil War.[2] General Patrick Edward Connor, commanding officer of the federal forces garrisoned at Fort Douglas, Utah beginning in 1862, was explicitly instructed not to confront the Mormons over this or any other issue.[2]

The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act was amended in 1882 by the Edmunds Act, and then again in 1887 by the EdmundsTucker Act.

Enforcement of these acts started in July 1887. The issue went to the Supreme Court in the case Late Corp. of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. United States that upheld the EdmundsTucker Act on May 19, 1890. Among other things, the act disincorporated the LDS Church. Within five months, the LDS Church officially discontinued the practice of plural marriage with the 1890 Manifesto. On October 25, 1893, a congressional resolution authorized the release of assets seized from the LDS Church because, "said church has discontinued the practice of polygamy and no longer encourages or gives countenance to any manner of practices in violation of law, or contrary to good morals or public policy."[3]

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And Just Like That: Is [spoiler]s new romance over before its began? – Hidden Remote

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Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for And Just Like That. Catch up before reading ahead.

Last week, And Just Like That marked the end of another era-defining relationship. Miranda and Steve are no more with the former in pursuit of a passionate tryst with Che. Is this budding romance doomed for failure before its even began?

Following Carrie and Bigs tragic conclusion, fans had to watch as Miranda uttered those dreaded words to long-time love Steve. She wants a divorce. The revelation comes as no surprise to viewers or Miranda for that matter. For weeks she has been drilling on to her pals about her desire for excitement and change and she finds it all in Carries boss, Che.

The pair began the revival by sharing flirtatious remarks, lingering looks, sensually shotgunning weed who said romance is dead? It was hard not to pick up on the implication being left by the writers; something was building between these two. Nothing actually goes any further until episode 5, and just like that, Miranda becomes a fully fledged adulterer.

Following the encounter, Miranda fails at reigniting the spark with Steve but continues to fantasize about her new lover. This is more than a quick romp in the kitchen. This isnt a mid-life crisis. Miranda is at last discovering her identity and she wants to explore the world with Che tinted glasses.

In episode 8, she and Che take a huge leap together theyre falling in love. It could be sweet if not for the weight hanging over their heads; Miranda is still married and Che pointedly assures they are unable to offer anything traditional before jetting off to Cleveland. Now, heres where the other shoe drops. Che was under the influence that Miranda was in an open-marriage and they were wholeheartedly okay with the idea, which begs the question: is Che the monogamous type?

There isnt much viewers actually know about their personal life so itd be difficult to pinpoint an answer. However, maybe their offer of non-traditional suggests they are not. Thats not to say they wouldnt be committed to a relationship with Miranda, just that settling down isnt entirely within their comfort zone. This would probably throw a damper on things because Miranda certainly doesnt scream polygamy perhaps this love affair is too good to be true.

What if Miranda arrives to Cleveland to find Che with someone else? Its highly plausible she will not be happy, leading to a blow out between the two. Theyre still in the honeymoon phase; the spark is intense because its unlike something Mirandas ever experienced; reality might come crashing down sooner than later for her. It could be the push she needs to reevaluate what she really wants out of life; she may even attempt to rekindle the flame with Steve thought it looks unlikely hell take her back so freely.

If the theory holds, its looking like Miranda will end the series single and figuring out where her path will lead. Thankfully, Harry and Charlotte are still going strong through all the drama so at least theres some hope to tide us over!

Watch new episodes ofAnd Just Like ThatHBO Max.Thursdays on

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The landmark trial over death of Burkina revolutionary Sankara – Eyewitness News

Posted: at 10:29 am

Marxist-Leninist icon Sankara and 12 colleagues were gunned down by a hit squad in 1987 during a coup that brought Sankara's former comrade, Blaise Compaore, to power.

Former Burkina Faso president Thomas Sankara. Picture: Wikipedia.

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso - After three months of hearings, the landmark trial into the assassination of Burkina Faso's 1980s revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara enters it final stage next Monday.

Marxist-Leninist icon Sankara and 12 colleagues were gunned down by a hit squad in 1987 during a coup that brought Sankara's former comrade, Blaise Compaore, to power. Compaore ruled the West African country for the next 27 years.

Here are some highlights from the a military court in the capital Ouagadougou. The proceedings are being followed avidly in Burkina, where the unpunished killings were a taboo subject during the Compaore years.

CONSPICUOUS BY THEIR ABSENCE

Twelve of the 14 suspects appeared in court when the trial began in October 2021, charged with complicity in murder, harming state security and complicity in the concealment of corpses.

But two of the key defendants -- Compaore himself and his then head of security, Hyacinthe Kafando -- have been conspicuous by their absence.

The former president, who was deposed by a popular uprising in 2014 and fled to neighbouring Ivory Coast, has always denied ordering Sankara's murder and is boycotting what his lawyers dismiss as a "political trial".

Kafando, who is accused of leading the commando that carried out the bloodbath at a meeting of Sankara's Revolutionary Council, has been on the run since 2016.

A third key suspect, 61-year-old general Gilbert Diendere, has categorically denied the charges against him, as have all but one of the other defendants.

Diendere, who became Compaore's right-hand man after the putsch, is already serving a 20-year sentence for a 2015 plot to overthrow the transitional government that replaced his former boss.

SOURING RELATIONS

Ballistics experts told the trial Sankara had been shot in the chest at least seven times by assassins using tracer bullets. When fired, the bullets ignite a burning powder, helping the shooter mark their target.

But the defendants said the victims died in a botched attempt to arrest Sankara after he and Compaore fell out over the direction the country's revolution was taking.

Sankara allies, including ex-military commander Blaise Sanou, accused Compaore -- whose bid to cling to office precipitated his 2014 downfall -- of being hungry for power in 1987.

But political analyst Valere Some said it was Sankara's decision to move to one-party rule that had sparked the rift between the two.

Sankara, still a revered figure for many, was an army captain, aged just 33, when he came to power in a 1983 coup.

A fiery revolutionary, he railed against imperialism and colonialism, often angering Western leaders but gaining followers across Africa and beyond.

He scrapped the country's French colonial name -- Upper Volta -- and pursued a socialist agenda of nationalisations and social reforms, including bans on female genital mutilation, polygamy and forced marriages.

ACCUSATIONS OF CONSPIRACY

In court, several of Sankara's former aides talked of an "international conspiracy" against a progressive leader who had sought to upend the world order and eradicate poverty in his landlocked state.

Felix Houphouet Boigny, the then president of Ivory Coast and a close ally of former colonial power France, was accused of being "central to the conspiracy".

Former Burkina television director Serge Theophile Balima said the late Ivorian leader had warned Sankara, "If you don't change, we'll do it for you."

LIKE SUICIDE

Other witnesses said there had been a terrible inevitability to Sankara's death.

"(It) was like suicide because he knew what was coming and he did nothing to prevent it," recalled Boukary Kabore, then commander of the advanced airborne battalion.

Sankara's security chief Famoro Ouattara said he "had been warned about the danger he faced", but had "never let anyone challenge Compaore militarily... It's as if he wanted to be killed."

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Futurist Ayelet Baron Named 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021 by Thinkers360 – PRNewswire

Posted: at 10:27 am

NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Thinkers360 recognized 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders to follow in 2022 who contribute and share their thought leadership in the Thinkers360 community; their members have over 100M followers on social media combined.

The 150 women are changemakers, visionaries and pioneers transforming education, business, healthcare and wellness, and many other industries that are transforming the way people live and work.

As an early adopter of the future of work and leading global teams in five continents herself as a tech executive at Cisco Systems, Ayelet Baron saw what was coming nextthe business and cultural shifts that organizations and leaders would need to embody to be positioned for success in the 21st Century and beyond. Many of those predictions are happening NOW.

Ayelet is one of the first female futurists focused on humanity. "My mission is to help us see that there is a healthy way to live and work when we come together and create what we need most. During this time of great questioning, there is a need for us to remember that the future is human. While I love technology, it's time to integrate technology and not lead with it."

Like Ayelet, Angela Maiers, Founder, Choose2Matter, imagines a world where young people can transform problems into opportunities. Angela is one of the most influential women shaping the future needs of the next generation. Angela reminds us that today's students have questions that need answers and we will see an increase in young people not accepting the status quo. "When they see a problem, they ask, what can we do about it? They want and need to use their genius and talent to do meaningful work that matters."

Jude Jennison, Founder, Leaders by Nature, believes it's time to embrace uncertainty, especially when it comes to teamwork in business. We need to "create a culture where it is safe to be honest, to say what you think and feel without judging others' behavior. Above all, if you want someone else's behavior to change, change your own. It will create a different response and it's much easier to change your own behavior than to change someone else's.

Ayelet Baron is a multi-award-winning author, facilitator and keynote speaker, Ayelet contributes insights into conscious living, conscious business, future of life and work. Her books and talks serve as guides where each person and organization is asked to do their own work. Her strategies bring together people, perspectives and result in real-world outcomes.

Learn more about Ayelet Baron, the award-winning F*ck The Bucket List book trilogy, and her vision of the future on her website.

Contact:Donna Cravotta914-663-5266 [emailprotected]

SOURCE Ayelet Baron

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See a futuristic flying car’s first untethered flight – Big Think

Posted: at 10:27 am

This article was originally published on our sister site, Freethink.

British startup Bellwether Industries has sharedfootageof its futuristic flying car prototypes first untethered test flights bringing the aircraft one step closer to a city skyline near you.

The challenge:Experts predict the worlds population is going to skew more urban in the future, withabout 70%of people living in cities in 2050 compared to 50% today.

If thats the case, surface streets will likely become even more congested than they already are.

More congestion means longer commutes,more traffic accidents, and unless thetransition to electric vehiclesaccelerates more idling cars pumping pollutants into the air.

Bellwethers goal is to have its flying car on the market by 2028.

The idea:Bellwether is one of many companies betting on flying cars as the solution to this problem or at least part of the solution.

Technically, the vehicles theyre developing are called electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles because theyre battery powered and you guessed it take off and land vertically, like helicopters.

Because they dont need a runway,eVTOLscould operate from rooftops, parking garages, or even driveways, carrying people from one part of a city to another without contributing to street trafficoremitting CO2 or harmful air pollutants.

A flying Antelope:Bellwether calls its flying car the volar, and it looks like what youd get if the Batmobile mated with a flying saucer.

On January 12, the company shared a video of a half-scale prototype flying untethered for the first time.

This remote-controlledprototype named Antelope can only hit an altitude of 13 feet and a top speed of 25 miles per hour.

Bellwether says the full-scale volar will seat four or five people, with a top altitude of 3,000 feet, a top speed of 135 mph, and enough battery power for a one-hour flight at max payload.

The big picture:Bellwethers goal is to have its flying car on the market by 2028, and these untethered test flights of a prototype put it closer to reaching that goal but the company still hasa lotof hurdles to surmount.

Even if the full-sized volar flies how the company wants it to, eVTOLs wont be zipping across city skies until regulators can figure out how to certify them and how to manage the airspace the vehicles plan to traverse.

Flying car makers will also need to win over the public to bring their vision of urban transportation to fruition, and no doubt many people will be hesitant to risk their lives in the vehicles initially even if they do look cool and can cut down on commute times.

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