Monthly Archives: June 2022

The Fourth of July is fast approaching, and Philadelphias Wawa Welcome America festival is celebrating with a series of events that highlight the diversity and uniqueness of Philadelphia.

On Friday, the festival is hosting a storytelling event that aims to amplify the voices of local artists, through the lens of freedom.

Our America Now: Expressions of Freedom will be an interactive event that features the traditional elements of a Wawa Welcome America celebration festival atmosphere, food trucks, beer gardens, a DJ, and more but adds a twist with a new form of entertainment referred to as choreo-poems.

Weve got spoken word artists and poets and dancers and singers who come together and literally weave their personal narratives to showcase how their lives and the lives of those in their families have intersected with pivotal moments in American history, said Quentin Williams of Dragon Tree Media Group during an interview with WHYY host Cherri Gregg. WHYY is an event partner, with Gregg serving as one of its hosts.

See the rest here:

Wawa Welcome America to capture expressions of freedom in storytelling event - WHYY

The Supreme Court announced Monday it will not hear a case that challenges the landmark press freedom ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan of 1964. The current precedent remains guarding media from superfluous defamation suits filed by public officials and public figures.

For now.

The appeal in question involved Coral Ridge Ministries Media and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Coral Ridge, a Christian nonprofit group, sued the SPLC for listing them as a hate group due to their opposition to LGBTQ+ rights. In 2017, Coral Ridge claimed defamation because the categorization disqualified the nonprofit from participating in the AmazonSmile donations program. The suit challenged the standards set in NYT v. Sullivandecision nearly 60 years ago.

When the court announced it would not hear the appeal, Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter. Thomas suggested that it was time for the court to reconsider the actual malice standard which makes it difficult for public figures and officials to sue media organizations in defamation cases. Its a standard that has been underscored in several recent high-profile federal court cases, including the recently settled libel case involving Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee, against the New York Times.

The Supreme Courts decision to turn away the Coral Ridge appeal brought me a moment of relief. But I also recognize that my relief is temporary.

Thomas dissent should not be overlooked. His words signal a direct assault on the publics need to know the activities of their legislatures, courts and other public servants. When we eliminate the safeguards that allow the media to seek and report the truth, we infringe upon the publics right to know the truth.

Its a violation of our constitutionally protected right to free press. It is a continuation of a growing movement to impede the essential work of journalists.

So, today, I feel relieved about the courts decision.

Yet, Im preparing for decisions that are currently happening across the nation and could continue coming. Those decisions in courts and legislatures have the same damaging implications on press freedom, whether its through public records or the right to record police. We cannot overlook these decisions no matter how incremental or inconsequential they seem.

Press freedom and the publics need to know depend on it.

Dan Shelley is president and chief executive officer at the Radio Television Digital News Association, the nations largest association dedicated to broadcast and digital journalists.

See more here:

The frightening implications of Justice Thomas press freedom dissent - The Hill

The recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, as well as Texas regulations limiting treatments for transgender minors, has left many in the North Texas LGBT community uncertain about their own freedom to live and express their identities.

Its really discouraging when we see a lot of the policies pushed out by our Texas lawmakers that make my state feel less like a home,' said Javier Enrquez, who is from Grand Prairie.

Enrquez is the empowerment coordinator with FUSE, a group of young LGBT people who seek to engage in a healthy and safe community.

The news about the end of constitutional protections for abortion made its members feel like they could be targeted next, he said. Immediately after the court ruling, a lot of our participants expressed distress about how that could affect marriage equality, he said.

In February, the Texas government deemed some gender affirmation treatments as child abuse.

Subsequently, some parents of transgender children were put under investigation, and now are in legal proceedings to defend their access to the treatments.

Governor (Greg) Abbott and Attorney General (Ken) Paxton have been clear that they are going after transgender youth, and specifically trying to deny them medically necessary care just because they happen to be trans, said Rafael McDonnell, senior advocacy, policy and communications manager at Resource Center, a group that provides health services and support to LGBTQ people in Dallas.

Meanwhile, early this month, state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, said he would seek legislation on banning children from drag shows, in response to a family show offered in Dallas as part of Pride.

Were talking about (the massacre of 21 people in) Uvalde and gun control and doing something better to protect them, and what we get is, You know what? Youre right, we should protect children by not allowing them to attend drag shows, said San Antonio resident Jessica Hawkins, a drag artist and lesbian. She and her crew performed this month in Dallas as a part of an exhibition at the Latino Cultural Center.

Overall, the Texas political and regulatory atmosphere makes it difficult to feel free as an LGBT person, said Stephanie Hinojosa, a drag artist and lesbian.

I tell my partner all the time: I dont feel safe here, and thats because of the people in power.

The Oak Lawn neighborhood on Cedar Springs Road is teeming with bars, clubs and entertainment spots for the gay community. The area also attracts residents enjoying the comfort of living in this Dallas neighborhood.

Everybody says Texas is very conservative, said Jeremy Reid, 27, who lives close to Oak Lawn and is originally from Long Beach, Calif. He moved to Dallas just over a year ago and works as a driver for a hospital logistics company. However, I have always felt comfortable. I never felt like people were staring at me or looking at me weird or making me feel bad in any way.

I always felt like just everybody, and I think its more accepting here now, he said.

Enrquez, 27, who came out while a high school student in Grand Prairie, said the support he received from classmates and teachers didnt translate to the rest of the city.

Growing up in that Dallas suburb made him aware of the lack of businesses, civil organizations and resources for queer people.

If you want to access queer venues or resources, you have to go outside of the city boundaries to either Arlington, or directly to Dallas, the FUSE coordinator said.

As for Latina transgender women, many are undocumented, living a very different reality because of racism, transphobia and stigmatization.

Thats what Ana Andrea Molina, founder of Texas Trans Latina Organization, can say from her own experience.

Many of our trans women in Dallas are in the suburbs, which are more accessible places where they can find an apartment or team up to pay rent, as they dont have the privileges to live in Oak Lawn or Lemmon Avenue, which is predominantly white cisgender.

The Texas Trans Latina Organization is based in Houston, and although it had a chapter in Dallas for several years, it closed during the pandemic. Many of the transgender women didnt have the electronic devices or the skills to use them so they could gather via video call, Molina said.

Theres a big Latino trans community in the city of Dallas, much bigger than you can imagine, and many of them have lived an isolated, separate life, Molina said.

For Enrquez, laws affecting women and the LGBT community add another obstacle for Latinos and immigrant families in North Texas.

Not only do they have to fight for for resources and fight for a good job, but now they potentially have to work even harder if they dont have access to abortion or access to contraception, he said.

Aimee Villareal, a bisexual drag performer and Mexican American studies professor at a Catholic university in Texas, hopes the states young LGBT generations continue the activism the current generation is leading.

In Texas, 4.1% of residents over 18 identify themselves as LGBTQ, according to the Movement Advancement Project.

My son is exploring his gender identity, and all of his little friends have that same kind of experience of fluidity and openness. And thats the future, she said.

What were seeing now is the old guard trying to resist what has already been made, and which will not be reversed.

See the original post:

North Texas LGBTQ people say they live between fear and freedom - The Dallas Morning News

July 1 marks the first in-person Canada Day celebrations in the nations capital since 2019. But the celebrations could be overshadowed by a potentially large number of returning so-called freedom convoy protesters and sympathizers like the Rolling Thunder bikers.

If we want to understand why protesters are returning to Ottawa, lets reflect on why so many travelled to the capital and stayed there in the first place. What was the motive in February 2022?

The official goal was freedom from government overreach, particularly vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions. This narrative, however, was never a compelling explanation of what happened.

As I have argued previously, emotion is what compelled the so-called freedom convoy in particular, a sense of aggrieved entitlement among white men fuelled by anger and resentment at changes in a society they believe is wrongly marginalizing them.

Read more: The 'freedom convoy' protesters are a textbook case of 'aggrieved entitlement'

Why else would so many protesters risk economic consequences that included impounded assets, emptied savings accounts, terminated employment and, in some cases, lost housing?

Why risk the consequences of arrest and potential prosecution? Why not heed the explicit warnings from government and law enforcement of these very consequences?

Many protesters appeared to act against their own interests. Alberta web developer Martin Joseph Anglehart is an example. He spent his entire lifes savings on food and gas at the protest despite never having a stance on mandates.

So how do we explain this contradiction?

By looking beyond self-interest defined by economic trade-offs, and considering the oft-overlooked but significant power of emotional self-interest.

The concept of emotional self-interest was developed by American sociologist Arlie Hochschild in her book, Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. Emotion, she argues, best explains what she calls the great paradox that is, the fact that many Americans who would directly benefit from greater government regulation and programming are instead deeply distrustful of government oversight and disdainful of government support.

Even personal tragedy and economic hardship that can be directly linked to corporate criminal behaviour is not necessarily enough to move voters away from free market ideologies and the preference for minimal government.

Why? Because this behaviour fits with their emotional sense of the world, particularly their need to see themselves, and to be seen by others, as honourable.

What Hochschild terms honour we might also think of as ones sense of status. As U.S. political scientist Diana Mutz explains, the impact of status threat should not be underestimated. Her study of the 2016 American election reveals that feelings of status threat experienced by traditionally high-status Americans (white, Christian and male) best explain Donald Trumps presidential victory.

Trumps political rhetoric was almost entirely focused on re-establishing status hierarchies of the past. The same was true of the political rhetoric behind Brexit. I suggest its also behind the freedom convoy and its return to Ottawa.

The convoy protest provides a way to express and defend the emotional self-interest of those Canadians who feel they have lost, or are in the process of losing, their rightful, honourable place in Canadian society and who want a return to the social order of the past.

The original Ottawa occupation was never about ending COVID-19 restrictions, which are now largely lifted, but rather about an opportunity for disaffected Canadians (again primarily white, Christian and male) to build and express community with others. I argue this is based on underlying feelings of shame rising from their inability to achieve their expected status in society.

Shame inevitably leads to anger, and the target for this anger is the liberal ideologies, politicians and policies that support equity and inclusion at the expense of the traditional social hierarchy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the ultimate symbol of these shifts and therefore the perfect target for their rage.

Read more: From sunny ways to pelted with stones: Why do some Canadians hate Justin Trudeau?

The Ottawa occupation provided an outlet for this anger but, perhaps even more importantly, it also provided an opportunity for protesters to publicly take on new roles to demonstrate both individual and collective honourable behaviour ostensibly fighting government overreach and to reward each other accordingly.

The pride experienced from the peer recognition of this supposedly honourable behaviour remains a powerful motive for those planning to return.

Emotion is key to understanding these events and is equally central to changing this growing disaffection. For Hochschild, this means scaling the empathy wall to learn the deep story of others who might hold a very different, perhaps offensive world view in comparison to our own.

This is a challenging task in a number of ways, especially given our increasing levels of polarization. Yet, working to bridge these divides can have real, long-lasting impact.

Read more: How to function in an increasingly polarized society

As experiments by American political scientists Joshua C. Kalla and David E. Brookman demonstrate, the non-judgmental exchange of personal stories can reduce exclusionary or prejudiced attitudes on highly contested topics, including immigration and transphobia.

Their work clearly shows that learning one anothers stories is a powerful avenue for gaining perspective, humanization and attitude transformation.

Creating spaces that foster this kind of exchange is a daunting but necessary task one that some Canadians are already undertaking through what are known as community solidarity initiatives. Shifting our focus to these efforts offers the best pathway to healing socio-political divisions and alienation.

See the original post here:

What the truck? The 'freedom convoy' protesters are heading back to Ottawa - The Conversation

Lincoln, Neb., seemed like a wonderful place to live to Jessica Versaw, 33. It is a college town where she has a supportive network of family and friends. But since the decision, she has spent much of her time contemplating what a post-Roe world means for Nebraska.

Now, Ms. Versaw, a software designer, is entertaining the idea of moving out of the state. Abortion is still legal, but Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, has said he will move to ban it, even in cases of rape.

We thought it was enough to live somewhere thats this blue dot in a red state, she said. But if the state is going to leave us behind, then we will leave it.

Abbey Ragain, a 23-year-old in Lincoln, said she had heard from friends in other states where abortion access had been threatened or banned, and was even more determined to fight a similar move in Nebraska.

We arent working towards a future, or living in a state that protects existing lives, she said.

Emily Ross, a 33-year-old project manager in a manufacturing plant in Greensburg, Pa., did not consider herself politically active before. But now she feels compelled to volunteer for a political campaign, trying to elect a Democratic governor in the fall election. If Roe could be overturned, would the Supreme Court take on contraception next even the morning-after pill?

Im really concerned about what the future could be, because this is Step 1, she said. I dont care what anyone says: There are a lot of liberties we thought we had, and I dont think they will exist come five years from now unless we make serious changes.

Read more from the original source:

For Many Women, Roe Was About More Than Abortion. It Was About Freedom. - The New York Times

It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but there are some pictures where words do not suffice. Take as an example the cache of photos from the Xinjiang police files recently published by an international media consortium. The faces of Uyghurs who have been detained by the Chinese Communist Party tell the story of their suffering: some are fighting back tears, while others stare at the camera with a resigned look on their faces. Many of them can be seen with menacing guards standing behind them, a visible sign of their oppression.

The world has known about Chinas persecution of the Uyghursa predominantly Muslim Turkic people in the Xinjiang region of Chinafor some time now. About one million Uyghur men, women and children are believed to be imprisoned in Chinas so-called reeducation centers, where they are subject to physical, mental and emotional torture. But this is perhaps the first time we have been able to see so many of their faces, which offer a haunting reminder that to this day many religious minorities and faith communities around the world face severe persecution because of their beliefs.

To borrow from Charles Dickens, it is, in a sense, the best of times and the worst of times for religious freedom. The latter is easy to prove: government restrictions on the practice of religion are at a historical high. According to Pew Researcha think tank that over the past has studied religious persecution in nearly 200 countriesa staggering 57 countries had high or very high levels of restrictions on religious practice and belief in 2019, when the most recent data is available. Even more countries have laws or policies that punish blasphemy against the state religion, which are often weaponized against minority communities.

Pew Research also noted a rise in government harassment of religious groups and interference in worship. For example, in recent years the military junta ruling in Myanmar has damaged or destroyed hundreds of churches and, in some instances, killed their pastors. Afghanistan is another sobering example of how religious minorities suffer under the rule of autocratic regimes. The violent takeover of the Taliban has resulted in a mass exodus of Muslim minority sects like the Hazaras and Ahmadis, as well as Hindus, Sikhs and other faith communities that have lived in the country for generations, according to USCIRFs most recent report. Places like North Korea and Eritrea, for all intents and purposes, are prison-states where freedom of conscience and belief is all but nonexistent.

As cited in State Department and USCIRF reports, the Turkish government has become increasingly repressive since July 2016. The government continued to limit the rights of non-Muslim religious minorities. Sunni and non-Sunni Muslims, and non-practicing Muslims said they continued to face heavy pressure or persecution. Especially members of the Hizmet aka Gulen Movement, which is a civil society focused on education and interfaith dialogue globally.

Unfortunately, we also are noticing trends of governments harnessing technology to repress religious minorities. Reports indicate that China has tested facial-recognition software to analyze the emotional state of Uyghurswhom the Communist Party labels a security threatand identify suspicious behavior. Online spaces are monitored as well, so that any critic of the governments treatment of religious minorities can be traced and punished.

Given these deeply concerning trends, it may be hard to see how it could also be the best of times for religious freedom. The good news is that while nefarious actors keep working to repress faith communities, a growing coalition made up of a kaleidoscope of civil society activists, faith leaders and governments is advocating for their rights. This remarkable group is made up of people from various faithsand indeed, many human rights advocates without any religious affiliationwho share the common conviction that people everywhere should have the fundamental right to freedom of religion, conscience and belief.

This coalition is came together this week in Washington for a second annual summit for international religious freedom. It is a rare bipartisan, multi-faith gathering of leaders from government and civil society who have come together for this common cause. Their commitment is an encouraging reminder that while in some ways it may be the worst of times for religious freedom, we also stand on the cusp of what could very well be the best of times for the global movement to protect this fundamental human right.

Religious freedom is no longer a cause reserved solely for obscure government offices or niche human rights organizations. Its vital importance to building free, pluralistic and democratic societies is being recognized across many industriestechnology, trade, art and finance, to name a fewand the drive to expand international religious freedom is generating innovative cross-sector solutions that promote collaboration. Just last week the U.S. State Department announced U.S. Customs officials would begin enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which will prohibit imports of goods suspected of being manufactured using forced labor, hopefully persuading international corporations to stand up against human rights abuse in their supply chains. Advocates have also suggested adding a religious freedom clause into multinational trade deals in the future.

Religious freedom is also finding new champions, from grassroots activists to professional athletes. Its one thing to hear elected officials and policy wonks talk about the importance of religious freedom. It is quite another thing to see a grassroots movement building around the cause or to have a professional basketball player risk his career by wearing shoes proudly emblazoned with human rights slogans like Free Uyghurs and Free Tibet.

Take it from usone of us a policy wonk and one of us that NBA player with infamous shoesthere are reasons to feel optimistic about the future of religious freedom.

Enes Kanter Freedom is an NBA basketball player who has raised his voice to advocate for human rights, freedom, justice and democracy around the globe. Samuel Brownback served as U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom (2018-21) and is co-chair of IRF Summit 2022.

The rest is here:

Why it is the best of times and the worst of times for religious freedom - The Hill

By Kathy Knotts

How will you spend your long holiday weekend? Will you be having friends and family over for a cookout and then heading to an area fireworks display? I hope so, as they are back and better than ever this year. I know I missed the lights and booms over the last couple of yearsalthough my dog hates me admitting that.

As a child I loved going down to the fireworks display in my hometown. We would line up along the levees of the Red Riverthe luckiest ones had truck beds to lay down inand crane our necks to watch this miracle of gunpowder and chemistry. This was long before pyrotechnics got fancy with their musical theatrics and microchip timing. I think we just tuned into a local radio station that played patriotic music while the show unwound.

Chesapeake Country is blessed to have so many opportunities to see these patriotic displays in the sky. If you can get on the water to watch, I hear it is a view unlike any other. (Just remember, there are those among us, pets and people, who hate the noise, so be mindful of the hour and your proximity to homes!)

Its the highlight of summer, when we head outdoors and join our neighbors in community parades and picnics, spending the day at the pool or the beach. Many of us will travel, thanks to the holiday falling on a Monday. I plan to visit family I missed seeing at my sons graduation because I fell victim to that nasty virus on the very same week.

Independence Day is special. Its a time for us to remember just how blessed we are to live in this land of the free and home of the brave. We need to continue to work to protect those freedoms.

Gov. Hogan proclaimed June 28 as Freedom of the Press Day in Maryland, in memory of the five Capital Gazette staffers who were murdered four years ago. Tuesday, Annapolis and Anne Arundel County officials, families and friends placed a wreath at the small park dedicated to their memory, known as the Guardians of the First Amendment Memorial.

The proclamation states, Whereas, The Founding Fathers of the United States recognized the vital importance of a free press to uphold the nations democracy through the inclusion of the right to a free press in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America; and Whereas, Other nations throughout the world do not enjoy this right, and it goes on to name Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters, the five people killed in the Annapolis newsroom. While we may not have been working in the same buildings under the same company name, the CBM Bay Weekly staff considers them our colleagues and mourns them, too.

Thank you for supporting our local press, by picking up this paper or reading us online. We love hearing from you and I hope you will thank those local businesses that advertise in our pages or distribute our print version each week.

Kathy Knotts is managing editor of CBM Bay Weekly. Reach her at [emailprotected]

Read the rest here:

Flags, Family and Freedom - Bay Weekly

The countdown to Freedom Has a Birthday is on! We have just three more days before the event kicks off at Washington Park. Are you ready? Yeah, me too! This wonderful event is put on by the City of Laramie, which announced the event's musical lineup last week, and today the event released its lineup of kid activities.

What's There for the Kids at Freedom Has a Birthday?

The kids will have ample opportunity to enjoy a day of fun in the sun while celebrating our country's birthday. Check out all the events the City of Laramie announced will be happening at the event:

Your toddlers will have a place just for them at the celebration thanks to UniWyo Credit Union. There will also be a NEW playground opening at Washington Park for the kids to enjoy.

Your kids can wrestle their way through an inflatable obstacle course, a bungee jump trampoline, andenjoy other fun inflatables.

It's supposed to be a warm 4th of July in Laramie (with some isolated showers, so maybe pack an umbrella?) The City's Wading Pool will be open for kids to cool off after running around the celebration.

Laramie's finest will be out with their cop cars, fire engines, and gear for the kids to explore. The Laramie Fire Department plans to hose down participants around 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m., too!

Yep, there will be free ice cream cones thanks to Meadow Gold Dairy and the Masonic Temple. Yum!

And, of course, there will be plenty of games at vendor booths around the park. So bring your sunscreen and get ready for a day of 4th of July fun!

For more information on the kids' events at Freedom Has a Birthday, click here.

Go here to see the original:

Everything Happening For the Kids at Freedom Has a Birthday! - laramielive.com

IDAHO FALLS Preparations are underway to welcome thousands of people to Snake River Landing Monday for Riverfest and the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration.

The annual Independence Day events are expected to bring an estimated 200,000 spectators for the biggest fireworks display west of the Mississippi River. Before the show, Riverbend Communications hosts Riverfest with live entertainment, food vendors, activities for kids and more beginning at noon.

Multiple businesses, organizations and government entities have been working with Ball Ventures, the owner of Snake River Landing, to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

RELATED | There will be several changes to Riverfest this year. Heres what you need to know.

Thousands of hours are spent with people volunteering and we start planning this six to eight months ahead of time, says Eric Isom, Ball Ventures Chief Development Officer. There is a lot of coordination between all the different agencies and every effort is taken to make this as enjoyable and as safe as possible.

One of the biggest challenges organizers face is coordinating parking for everyone who wants to come. Attendees are encouraged to carpool, walk or ride bikes and those who do drive are asked to look at these parking maps before heading to Snake River Landing.

RELATED | Biggest Melaleuca Freedom Celebration fireworks show planned for 4th of July

Theres actually a spot on there where you can look and it will tell you the best parking lots to park in depending on where you live. This will help you get out as efficiently as possible, Isom explains. Theres a lot of coordination and planning that goes into the traffic maps. Weve had it engineered by Horrocks Engineers and theres been a lot of cooperation with law enforcement agencies, city, county, state everybody.

You can find everything you need to know about Riverfest here and the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration here.

Watch our complete interview with Eric Isom in the video player above.

Original post:

Snake River Landing ready to welcome thousands for Riverfest, Melaleuca Freedom Celebration - East Idaho News