Category Archives: Freedom

Ed Berthiaume| For The Post-Crescent

APPLETON - Molly Preston calls it a love letter to Wisconsin.

The New Jersey native fell hard for Appleton, the Fox Citiesand Wisconsin when she arrived as a first-year student at Lawrence University 15 years ago. She loved the picturesque landscape and the small-city vibe that blended active arts advocacy with Midwest niceties.

Now, the aspiring filmmaker has brought her Portland, Oregon-based film crew to the Fox Cities to film scenes forFreedom, WI, a coming-of-age comedy that she has written and is directing.

Wisconsin will always be that place that feels like going back home, Preston said.

The film crew, 15 to 20 strong on any given day, has been shooting scenes in and near downtown Appleton as well as nearby locations in Kaukauna, Menasha, Greenvilleand, yes, Freedom, since the middle of August.

Preston is hopeful the movie its centered on a young woman living in small-town Wisconsin who has her routine disrupted when she strikes up a friendship with a writer from Chicago will be ready for the film festival circuit next summer.

MORE:32 movies with Wisconsin ties in 2020, from 'Like a Boss' to 'Wonder Woman 1984'

MORE:How Lawrence's Laurie Carter went from first-gen student to university president

It was while a student at Lawrence that Preston first began entertaining the idea of a career in film. It was before Lawrences Film Studies program launched, but the history major found herself drawn to a number of history classes that focused on film.

I took every single film-related class that I possibly could, she said, pointing to insights from history professors Peter Blitstein and Paul Cohen as being particularly helpful in allowing her to connect her love of history with her passion for film.

She learned to look at films through the lens of history.

You are not only analyzing the film for what the filmmaker did the cinematography, the acting you are also analyzing a moment in time, Preston said. What the historical context is when the film was written and when it was shot gender norms of the time and the political climate. Its just really interesting to think about history through watching a movie and figuring out how the world was in that moment and how that might have influenced the filmmakers to make the movie in that particular way.

Those are analytical skills, she said, that come into play now as she finds herself writing and directing her own stories.

I found that while I dont technically work in the field of history, learning how to analyze text and figure out the narrative based on facts you read from different sources has made me a better filmmaker, a better writer, she said. Its definitely benefited my work in film.

Preston moved to Portland eight years ago to try to make headway in the film industry. She started as a production assistant, then moved into editing and producing before jumping into her own project withFreedom, WI, a story she began writing while living in Appleton shortly after graduating from Lawrence.

The storyline is dark but comedic, she said, focused on a young woman in the tiny Town of Freedom who enters adulthood grappling with grief. A relationship with a struggling writer from Chicago sets her on an unexpected journey of self-discovery.

Her film career is still a work in progress, but Preston is hopeful this film will be a stepping stone to more opportunities.

In the meantime, shespent nearly a month in Appleton and the Fox Cities, working alongside her husband, who serves as director of photography, and a film crew that has grown tight.

Its a fun time with friends, old friends and new friends, Preston said of being back in Appleton. We work such long hours, but we have our fun while were working.

Ed Berthiaume is director of public information at Lawrence University. He can be reached ated.c.berthiaume@lawrence.edu

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Lawrence University alum back in Fox Cities shooting a movie, 'Freedom, WI' - Post-Crescent

There will be no freedom day in South Australia when vaccine targets are reached, with efforts continuing to try to keep COVID-19 out of the state, Premier Steven Marshall says.

The premier says while SA has signed up to the national roadmap, to allow border measures and lockdown rules to ease, some level of local restrictions will remain in force to keep people safe.

We will have to keep some public health social measures in place, he said.

Were not going to have a freedom day where the borders are open and restrictions are removed at the same time.

This is still a very dangerous pandemic. We want to ensure we maintain our good management of the disease.

Mr Marshall said anybody who became infected in SA, along with their close contacts, would still face periods in quarantine.

The premier said South Australia did not want the disease running through our state but believed the virus will eventually come in.

We want to do that on our own terms and that means, test, trace, isolate and quarantine, and have some public health measures remaining in place, he said.

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STILL VERY DANGEROUS: SA residents told there will be no freedom day by premier Steven Marshall - 7NEWS.com.au

In the final weeks of an 11-month Nottingham Forest tenure that ended last week, Chris Hughton would frequently talk about his desire to change formation; to try something different.

It was not just something discussed in the media Hughton had the same conversations with his coaching staff as they searched for a way to break their malaise.

But, to the end, he remained convinced he did not have the personnel to switch from his preferred 4-2-3-1. He never did. If he was monitoring events at Huddersfield Town on Saturday in Forests first game without him, Hughton might have felt a pang of regret.

In contrast, if Steve Cooper the man who is set to replace him in the dugout, with confirmation of the former Swansea City managers appointment expected imminently was doing the same, he will surely have been given some positive food for thought.

Because there was a new formation, a new approach and a new outcome as interim manager Steven Reid changed to a 3-4-3 system and immediately breathed fresh life into the team. It inspired a performance that secured a deserved first Championship win of the season at the eighth attempt and, more than that, suggested Cooper will be armed with the flexibility to play more than one way when he begins work.

Cooper also often favoured the 4-2-3-1 formation for much of the past two seasons at Swansea, but did also have lengthy spells when he switched to a 3-4-1-2 set-up. Tactically, the Welshman is somebody who is happy to mix things up.

He was not understood to have been among the crowd at the John Smiths Stadium as the final negotiations were completed over his appointment.

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'Freedom' and new formation show Forest have options in the team, with Cooper confirmation expected soon - The Athletic

Another Texas inmate has had his execution delayed over claims the state is violating his religious freedom by not letting his spiritual adviser lay hands on him at the time of his lethal injection.

Ruben Gutierrez was set to be executed on Oct. 27 for fatally stabbing an 85-year-old Brownsville woman in 1998.

But a judge on Wednesday granted a request by the Cameron County District Attorney's Office to vacate the execution date. Prosecutors said the U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming review of similar religious freedom issues made by another inmate, John Henry Ramirez, whose execution the high court delayed last week, will impact Gutierrez's case.

"As the Ramirez matter may be dispositive of any issue related to Gutierrez's religious liberty claim, it is in the best interest of the state, the family of the victim of Gutierrez's crimes, that his execution be delayed," prosecutors said in a motion filed Tuesday.

News from around the state of Texas.

Gutierrez was previously an hour away from execution in June 2020 when the Supreme Court granted him a stay because his spiritual adviser was not allowed to accompany him in the death chamber.

Last month, Gutierrez's attorneys filed a complaint in federal court alleging the Texas Department of Criminal Justice was violating his right to practice his religion by denying his request to have his priest touch his shoulder, pray out loud and perform last rites when he was executed.

Gutierrez, 44, said that these three things need to be done "to ensure my path to the afterlife," according to his complaint.

His attorneys cited the Constitution's First Amendment and a federal statute that protects an inmate's religious rights. Ramirez made similar claims when he was granted a stay.

The Supreme Court has dealt with the presence of spiritual advisers in the death chamber in recent years but has not made a definitive ruling on the issue. That could change after it hears oral arguments in Ramirez's case on Nov. 1.

The court was criticized after it declined to halt the February 2019 execution of Alabama inmate Domineque Ray over his request to have his Islamic spiritual adviser in the death chamber, but then a month later granted a stay for Texas inmate Patrick Murphy, who wanted his Buddhist spiritual adviser in the chamber.

Since then, the Supreme Court has delayed several executions over requests for spiritual advisers.

After the court halted Murphy's execution, the Texas prison system banned all clergy from the death chamber. Texas previously allowed state-employed clergy to accompany inmates, but its prison staff included only Christian and Muslim clerics.

In April, the Texas prison system reversed its two-year ban. The new policy allows an inmate's approved spiritual adviser to be in the chamber, but the two cannot have any contact and vocal prayers are not allowed during the execution. Texas prison officials say direct contact poses a security risk and vocal prayer could be disruptive.

Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said the Ramirez case is an opportunity for the Supreme Court to determine if inmates have the right to a spiritual adviser in a death chamber and if so, what is permitted in exercising that right.

"The fact this case can provide the court with an opportunity to lay out a blueprint for what is and what is not acceptable, that's not a guarantee that they'll do it," said Dunham, whose group takes no position on capital punishment but has criticized the way states carry out executions.

If the Supreme Court doesn't provide clear guidance, this issue will continually come up, Dunham said.

Gutierrez has long maintained he didn't kill Escolastica Harrison during what prosecutors say was an attempt to steal more than $600,000 that the elderly woman had hidden in her home.

His attorneys have requested DNA testing they say could point to the real killer.

Prosecutors have said that request is a "ruse" and that Gutierrez was convicted on various pieces of evidence, including a confession.

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Another Texas Execution Delayed on Religious Freedom Claims - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Senate Democrats are all finally on the same page on voting rights. The full text of the newly drafted Freedom to Vote Act dropped Tuesday, the first voting rights bill introduced this year featuring the support of the entire Democratic caucus.

That unity, unfortunately, will not inspire bipartisan comity from their Republican colleagues. Instead, the GOP will likely dig in their heels against what they know is a bill that will overturn their partys state-level disenfranchisement efforts. A filibuster is inevitable.

Whats not written in stone is how the Democrats respond to this hurdle blocking whats likely a once-in-a-generation chance to finally level the playing field for both parties and all of Americas voters. Because this is it this is the ball game. There won't be time to start from scratch with a new bill. Its not hyperbole to say the future of democracy itself depends on Congress passing voting rights legislation before the year is out. And doing so will require, at minimum, carving out an exception from the filibuster for voting rights protections.

This is it this is the ball game. There won't be time to start from scratch with a new bill.

The Freedom to Vote Act is the result of weeks of efforts from senators to craft a pared down version of the For the People Act, or S1. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., was the lone Democratic holdout on that bill, voting with all 50 Republican senators in June to prevent the Senate from beginning debate on the bill. Since then, Manchin has worked with a group including Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to hammer out a compromise.

What they produced doesnt go as far as the For the People Act on reforming campaign ethics and finance, but it contains enough provisions to safeguard future elections against Republican tampering. It includes sections that would limit the ability of the GOP to box Democratic-voting minorities into convoluted districts through gerrymandering, overturn the Supreme Courts recent ruling on how provisional ballots can be counted and roll back newly passed laws that make voting by mail harder.

If passed, the bill will also make Election Day a federal holiday, expand voter registration and boost the power of the courts to safeguard elections, as election law expert Marc Elias wrote on Tuesday:

But, the crown jewels of the Freedom to Vote Act are contained in the judicial review provisions. The bill not only creates a specific right to vote in federal elections but guarantees it. Under the new bill, states would be prohibited from enacting laws or policies that are retrogressive i.e., that make voting harder. In addition, the bill would subject significant state restrictions on the right to vote to heightened judicial scrutiny. In another small but important improvement, the new bill allows for virtually all voting rights cases to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which has the promise of creating a national, uniform pro-democracy jurisprudence.

Schumer said Monday that he hopes to hold a vote on the bill as soon as next week. As things stand, though, the Freedom to Vote Act is set to meet the exact same fate as the For the People Act frozen in place thanks to a GOP filibuster. Manchin has set about searching for the 10 Republicans needed to get to 60 votes, enough to break the filibuster, buoyed by the bipartisan infrastructure bill he helped get over the finish line in August. But hes simply not going to find them, not this time.

This time around, much more is on the line than Americas bridges and highways. Passing this bill would totally scramble assumptions about what the next two years look like. Right now, the conventional wisdom is that the Democrats are almost certain to lose control of at least the House next year, thanks in no small part to Republican gerrymandering. In states that President Joe Biden barely won, such as Georgia, Republicans have been working overtime to limit access to the polls and make it harder for those same voters to turn out in the midterms.

But in reversing state laws passed in the name of preventing voting fraud and creating a truly level playing field across the country, Democrats may actually be able to retain power. And, more importantly, elections will be freer and more open than at any point since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013. Politicians will have to work to convince their constituents to vote for them rather than relying on voter suppression.

That, in turn, could reset assumptions about what President Joe Biden will be able to pass through Congress before time runs out on his time in office. Biden gets that, which is why hes finally ready to do what it takes to get this bill over the line, according to Rolling Stone:

During a late-July meeting in the Oval Office, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pressed Biden to do more on voting rights; Democrats needed action from him, according to a person briefed on the meeting.

In that Oval Office meeting, the source says, Biden made a pledge: If Pelosi and Schumer tried every option they had to pass a voting-rights bill with Republican votes and got nowhere, Biden would get involved himself and lobby the handful of moderate Democrats to convince them to weaken the filibuster so that the For the People Act could pass without any Republican votes.

Since then, the tenor has shifted in the White House in the last month, multiple sources tell Rolling Stone. The White House has devoted more staff to the issue. More importantly, it has given assurances to outside supporters that Biden now plans to push for filibuster reform when necessary.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also understands the stakes. The longtime GOP master strategist gave his blessing to the infrastructure bill earlier this summer and allowed it to sail through without opposition. He knew that the benefits outweighed any that would come from blocking it, given that it could all be folded into the Democrats budget reconciliation bill. Thats not the case with federal election legislation, which once upon a time McConnell supported.

That means that there can be no hope for the GOP to see the light on this one, as Manchin has insisted the only way out is through changing the rules of the game. Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have been the two most vocal holdouts to preserving the filibuster. But Norman Eisen and Norman Ornstein argued in the Washington Post Tuesday that while eliminating the filibuster is probably off the table, changes to the filibuster are likely inevitable at this point.

Creating a carveout for voting rights then provides Democrats with the chance to send the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which passed in the House in August, to Bidens desk as well. Together, the two bills can be the bulwark against the GOPs attempts to revitalize Jim Crow for a modern era and dilute the poison that Republicans have allowed to seep into our elections. But this is the last chance on the table for the Senate to act. If the Democrats abrogate their duty to the American people in the name of tradition and civility, it will be decades before the damage done to our system will be able to be undone.

Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for MSNBC Daily, where he helps frame the news of the day for readers. He was previously at BuzzFeed News and holds a degree in international relations from Michigan State University.

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The Freedom to Vote Act is Democrats' final chance to save voting rights - MSNBC

San Diego

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 Tuesday to declare the county a champion of reproductive freedom, in response to a Texas law banning nearly all abortions.

Im outraged that here we are in 2021 and politicians are still making decisions on womens health care, said Supervisor Nora Vargas, who proposed the declaration. Access to health care is and always has been my top priority, and safe, legal abortion is health care.

Supervisors Vargas, Terra Lawson-Remer and Nathan Fletcher voted in favor of the declaration. Supervisor Jim Desmond voted against it, and Supervisor Joel Anderson was not present for the meeting.

The Texas law, which took effect Sept. 1, bans physicians from inducing an abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected. Thats about six weeks from the womans last menstrual period, although it may be two weeks or less from the time she learns she is pregnant.

The law empowers private citizens in Texas to sue abortion providers and anyone else who helps a woman obtain the procedure.

Vargas said the San Diego County declaration is necessary to oppose that law and other legislation throughout the county that would limit abortion access.

The recent attacks on reproductive freedoms in Texas are alarming but sadly not new, Vargas said. We are seeing over 600 restrictive laws introduced across the nation by state legislatures, courts and governors, eager to set us back decades by a stroke of a pen by restricting access to safe and legal abortion care.

More than 80 speakers addressed the board item, including many who opposed the board measure on religious grounds.

The idea that abortion is a right was made up by human beings, said Jasmine Wilson, one of the public speakers. The truth is that abortion is a grievous sin and is never Gods will. Quite simply, God is pro-life. I urge you to do everything you can to create policy consistent with Gods will.

Cindy Paris, who has protested vaccine and mask mandates at previous board meetings, said the county should instead focus on support for pregnant women and those with young children.

You talk about equity; this is not about equity, she said. Why dont you help the women who are pregnant have their babies?

Some speakers applauded the countys declaration, saying women should be free to make their own decisions about whether to carry a pregnancy to term.

Id like to thank Vice Chair Vargas for fighting for our right to decide when we start a family on our own terms, one speaker said.

The declaration does not call for any actions regarding abortion or other reproductive health services, and it doesnt allocate any county funding.

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Supervisors: San Diego County will champion reproductive freedom - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Today was a big day at the Capitol.

Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, introduced the Freedom to Vote Act. The bill is a successor to the popular For the People Act, which passed the House in March but hit a Republican brick wall in the Senate. It is a strong bill that should be passed without hesitation by all members of Congress.

This bill has new momentum, real momentum. Its our best chance for democracy reform in years. Sponsors with Klobuchar include several Democratic colleagues, including, yes, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. He worked intensively on this over recent weeks. According to NBC News, President Biden has said hell work to change filibuster rules to pass this bill.

The stakes couldnt be higher.

The legislation protects millions of Americans access to the ballot box and will make it easier for citizens to cast a ballot in a secure but convenient way. Every state would be required to have automatic voter registration. Election Day would become a federal holiday. Every eligible citizen could request a mail ballot and drop it off at a secure drop box if they so desire.

The Freedom to Vote Act also advances civil rights and racial justice. It restores federal voting rights to returning citizens who have been released from prison after serving their sentences. The bill includes targeted protections to ensure underserved and vulnerable communities, such as those with disabilities and Native Americans, arent disenfranchised through no fault of their own.

It addresses the flood of undisclosed dark money into the electoral process and creates the option for matching funds for House candidates when states opt in, modernizing and expanding federal campaign finance reforms passed in previous decades.

And perhaps most time-sensitive of them all as states begin to draw their voting maps for the next decade, the legislation bans partisan gerrymandering and makes it easier for judges to strike down maps that unfairly entrench one political party in power and deny communities of color fair representation.

I cannot express how critical this piece of legislation is. Legislatures in nearly half of the states have passed laws that make it harder for eligible voters to cast a ballot. The politicians claim its all about election integrity. In fact, its about preserving power as America diversifies and advancing Trumps Big Lie of a stolen election. In the California recall election, for example, Republican candidates and operatives are already alleging voter fraud before all the votes have even been cast. Why wait?

Just last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed S.B. 1 into law. This dangerous and sweeping law makes it harder for voters with language barriers or who have disabilities to get the help they need to cast their ballot. It also threatens poll workers with criminal prosecution if they try to stop partisan poll watchers from harassing and intimidating voters. Its the most extreme of the voting restrictions passed by legislatures this year.

Lawsuits like ours are important. But theres no substitute for strong national standards.

Will Congress have the political will to act? Will the White House put its muscle behind Bidens statement that this is the greatest threat to American democracy since the Civil War? The coming weeks will tell. But for right now, this is a breakthrough and a momentum boost and we are closer than we have ever been to the most significant democracy reform bill in a half century.

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Pass the Freedom to Vote Act - brennancenter.org

In his latest novel, award-winning author Ha Jin returns to familiar ground, exploring the struggles and sacrifices many Chinese immigrants endure in their quest to build a new life for themselves in the United States. But this time, Jin (GRS94), a College of Arts & Sciences professor of English and of creative writing, focuses on one immigrants pursuit of artistic freedom and the lengths hell go to to achieve it. The novel is also one of Jins most political, an unsparing look at a contemporary China whose government oppresses and exploits its citizens.

Yao Tian, the protagonist in A Song Everlasting (Pantheon, 2021), is a well-known Chinese opera singer who has no intention of emigrating to the United States at the novels outset. While on tour with his ensemble in New York, he agrees to take a side gig performing in a concert for Taiwans National Day celebrations to help earn money for his daughters school tuition. The offer of a $4,000 paychecknearly a quarter of what Tian makes in a year in Chinais too tempting to pass up. But when he returns home, the politically naive artist soon finds himself in the crosshairs of the Ministry of Culture. He flees to New York, leaving behind his wife and daughter and a promising career.

Constructed in short chapters and told in spare language, the novel matter-of-factly describes the setbacks and challenges, personal and professional, Tian endures in his quest for autonomy. Accustomed to performing in big concert halls, he finds himself reduced to cleaning offices, working in construction, and eventually, singing in a casino and as a busker. And at every turn, he is threatened by the Chinese government. They cancel his passport, making it impossible for him to return home to see his family and to attend the funerals of his sister and his mother. Yet Tian remains resolute in his quest to live life on his own terms, reinventing himself as a teacher and songwriter when illness makes it impossible to continue performing.

Tians life bears some similarity to Jins own. He had traveled to the United States to earn a PhD in American literature at Brandeis in 1985, with plans to return to China to teach. But after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, he felt it was impossible to go home. He enrolled in BUs Creative Writing Program and embarked on a career as a poet and novelist (A Song Everlasting is his ninth novel).

Bostonia spoke with Jin, a William Fairfield Warren Professor who numbers among his honors a National Book Award and two PEN/Faulkner Awards, about the book, the ways his protagonists story mirrors his own, and the advice he offers students embarking on a writing career.

Q&AWith Ha Jin

Ha Jin: For about a decade, I couldnt view myself as an artist. During my eight years teaching at Emory University, I never used the word artist when referring to myself. It was a long process for me to learn there was a different kind of existence, one which can transcend politics. Its not easy for an artist to survive, even in the United States and in this language, especially for a new immigrant.

Ha Jin: Very little. I share his pain. When my parents passed away, I couldnt go back to attend their funerals because I was unable to get a visa from Chinas consulate. I was told I was on a blacklist. I am bitter about this.

Ha Jin: It is awful. Despite its economic power, China is still medieval in its political system. Now it has become the source of global suffering. The country has to change. If it cannot change by itself, it is our responsibility to make it change. Otherwise, humanity will suffer from such a monstrous power.

Ha Jin: Not really. In recent yearssince Xi Jiping came to powersuppression has become very severe. Artists can hardly survive in China, where the red culture is becoming prevalent again.

Ha Jin: No publisher on the mainland dares to touch such a book, but the translation for a publisher in Taiwan is underway. I have been censored by the Chinese government all the time. Recently, an Asian American literary scholar had her book translated into Chinese, but her mainland publisher cut a whole chapter about my writings and my name was struck out throughout the book. I dont expect that will change unless the country changes politically.

Ha Jin: When I came to the United States to do graduate work, I didnt think of immigration. But after the Tiananmen mMassacre, I couldnt get my passport renewedI was practically forced to immigrate. I became a refugee. In that sense, I am an exile and an immigrantdifferent from an exile, who usually lives in the past, I have always worked like a regular immigrant to earn the keep for my family and myself. It is a liberation, mentally.

Ha Jin: The spareness might have something to do with the fact that I also write poetry. It is a lengthy novel, so the short chapters provide some kind of inner briskness. As for the structure, I followed the unfolding of the story itself, which required a lot of patience. I also wanted the tone of the novel to remain somewhat neutral, not satirical, but lyrical at moments. I hope Ive realized what I imagined for the novel.

Ha Jin: Novels are harder, of course. A novel needs more concentration and brain power. If a short story doesnt work, you can abandon it and start a new one. But with a novel, you cannot afford to do that, and you have to spend years on it. A short story is close to poetry in impulse and needs a burst of energy. A novel is a long-distance run.

Ha Jin: Write your heart out, but dont expect success in the short run. Treat it as a kind of existence.

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Ha Jin Ponders the High Cost of Freedom - BU Today

With the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalitions 32nd annual Boston Freedom Rally (formerly known as Hempfest) returning Saturday, Sept. 18, to the Boston Common, some are concerned that in addition to bringing the usual array of issues associated with the event, like public consumption and trash left behind in the park, it also has the potential this time to turn into a covid super-spreader, while MassCann officials, who acknowledge the past problems, are hoping this year will be the beginning of a fresh start between them and the nearby residential community.

Weve gone through a fundamental change over the last 12 months, with the board centered first and foremost on community relationship-building, coupled with a focus on consensus-based decision making, said Grant Smith-Ellis, president and press secretary of MassCann, a nonprofit working for the moderation of marijuana laws, as well as the state affiliate of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). This is our opportunity to make a very rare second first-impression.

This year, Boston Freedom Rally takes place Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. on the Common, said Smith-Ellis, with staff setting up Sept. 17, and everything coming down on Sept. 19. Cars loading in are required to remain on a path designated by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, he said, and all vehicles must be removed from the area by 11 a.m. Saturday. Cars are permitted to load in on Saturday between 9 and 11 a.m., after which time the Common will be closed to incoming vehicles. No camping will be allowed in the park for the event.

The Boston Freedom Rally is traditionally the second largest annual gathering for marijuana law reform in the U.S., after the Seattle Hempfest, as well as an event that has previously taken its toll on the Common.

Over the weekend of Sept. 14 to 16, 2018, an estimated crowd of between 15,000 and 20,000 was on hand for the 29th annual Boston Freedom Rally an event that, according to city officials at the time, caused an unprecedented amount of damage to the Common, with reports of attendees driving their cars onto the park, camping out there overnight, and leaving behind mountains of trash in their wake, including discarded syringes allegedly found among the debris.

Chris Cook, the Boston Parks Commissioner at the time, said during a City Council hearing in November of 2018 at City Hall, no other event in the citys park system generates as much trash as the Boston Freedom Rally. And that years three-day event set the city back $10,000 in overtime to clean up the Common afterwards, with that cost rising as high as $20,000 in previous years, added Cook at that time.

The Boston Parks and Recreation Department has legally challenged Boston Freedom Rally at least six times to no avail, going back to the 1990s, and doesnt endorse the event, which it views as a direct affront to the smoking ban enacted in city parks, including on the Common.

(Specifically, the event again takes place on Carty Patade Field on the Common, its home every year since 1995, with the exception of 2007, when the field was being resodded.)

Despite the opposition, the Boston Freedom Rally returned to the Common as a one-day event on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2019 (and as an eight-hour virtual event on Sept. 19 of last year, which featured 80 speakers and was produced by Smith-Ellis).

Colin Zick, chair of the Beacon Hill Civic Association Parks and Public Spaces Committee, as well as a longstanding board member with the organization, remains steadfast against the event this year not only because of its past history, but also on account of its potential to proliferate the spread of covid.

At this point, its really a public health concern, with so many people crowded together, many of them we know are engaged in a high-risk activity for spreading covid (i.e. the smoking and sharing of cannabis), said Zick. Its just doesnt seem to be the smartest thing to have going on at this point.

The citys face-covering mandate doesnt apply outdoors, he added, and the age group seeing the most cases are on the younger side, as are those who are likely to attend the Boston Freedom Rally. And afterwards, these same people will return to their own communities, where, said Zick, they risk spreading the virus to others.

And this is on top of all the other concerns weve had over the years, said Zick, who added whenever an event takes place on the Common, it becomes increasingly difficult for others to use and enjoy the park. Now, add the risk of this turning into a super-spreader event, and I just shake my head. Unfortunately, this year, its really a double-whammy.

The Central for Disease Control also continues to advise against large gatherings, said Zick, so basically, the city is saying, in this regard, we dont care what the CDC says, and the organizers of the event are saying the same.

Moreover, Zick added, We continue to do things that spread covid , and I think thats something responsible people and our government should be acting against, and this seems like an easy one just follow CDC guidelines.

Zick said he also laments that the event is moving forward with no solicitation of views from the community, although Smith-Ellis said MassCann sent the Civic Association a letter dated Aug. 25 to notify them of the event, as well as to tell them about setup and breakdown times in an effort to minimize the traffic impact on the neighborhood.

MassCann is also going to new and unprecedented lengths to not only ensure the health and safety of those attending this years Boston Freedom Rally, said Smith-Ellis, but also to see that the event doesnt have an adverse impact on the Common, or on nearby residents, as it has before.

Fifty uniformed and unarmed security guards will be on hand for the event, paid for by MassCann, said Smith-Ellis, and the park will be replete with 150 collapsible trash barrels that will be routinely emptied into dumpsters, as well as ample hand-washing stations and around 75 porta potties.

As a result of community feedback, weve gone above and beyond this year at our own expense to provide a cleaning contractor to work throughout the course of the one-day event, said Smith-Ellis. We are fully prepared not only to comply with federal, state, and local covid guidelines, but also to ensure that there is no sharing or consumption, which will be repeatedly emphasized throughout the event.

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Freedom Rally Returns Saturday to the Common - Beacon Hill Times

Theres a great deal of posturing from the conservative wing about freedom freedom from COVID-19 vaccine mandates, freedom from mask mandates.

There seems to be an attitude that that freedom must be absolute and defended by violence, even if it results in the ongoing spread of COVID-19, hospitalizations and death for these freedom fighters, not to mention their children, relatives, neighbors, co-workers and strangers on the street.

So what about the concept of responsibility for oneself and for others health and well-being?

Heres my challenge. Do a Google search combining the words conservative or Republican, coupled with the word freedom. Youll get millions of hits, because that word freedom is beloved by conservatives, who frequently and constantly use it in letters to the editor, op-ed pieces, speeches, sound bites, websites and entire programs from the right-wing media and pundits like Ingraham, Hannity, Carlson, Levin, Bill OReilly and the late Rush Limbaugh.

Now do a Google search combining the words Republican and responsibility. When I did those two browser searches, the word freedom came up twice as often as responsibility when combined with the search term Republican.

Why is that? I seem to recall that the Republican Party used to pride itself as the party of personal responsibility. No more.

What I see happening is that conservatives are claiming absolute freedoms to own rapid-fire weaponry, not get vaccinated, not mask up and never accept responsibility for personal, political and legal transgressions. If conservatives do utter the word responsibility, it is always focused on their political, cultural and economic foes and their transgressions.

Freedom for me, but not for thee.

Responsibility for thee, but not for me.

Those are the core dictums for todays conservatives. Have Republican presidents ever accepted responsibility for Watergate, Iran/Contra, the Great Recession, 9/11 or Jan. 6?

Absolute freedom, without responsibility or accountability, becomes anarchy or might makes right. Think white plantation owner.

Absolute responsibility, without freedom, sounds like the authoritarian states of North Korea and dictators like Mao, Stalin or Hitler. Think obedient, responsible gulag prisoner.

There has to be balance between the two concepts.

There has to be compromise and flexibility.

Absent balance, compromise and flexibility, I fear we are headed for increasingly violent conflict between the two tribes, Red and Blue.

I hope I am wrong.

Brodie Farquhar

Hayden

Read more:

Letter: Freedom and responsibility should be linked - Steamboat Pilot and Today