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Rep. Ross Berry: Why I voted for education freedom - The Union Leader

Australias freedom of information system is broken and the government is potentially unlawfully blocking the release of documents to the public, a new report has found.

Experts have long warned of the degradation of Australias FoI system, fuelled by increased delays and complaints, the use of heavy redactions and a higher refusal rate from government agencies.

On Thursday the Grata Fund, an organisation supporting public interest litigation, released the results of a two-year review.

The organisation found that despite its importance, Australias FOI system is broken and has written directly to the attorney general, Michaelia Cash, to warn that the overuse of exemptions to block the release of information is often unlawful.

The report identifies four areas where the handling of FoI requests would most likely be found unlawful, and contemplates using strategic litigation to test a series of issues before the federal court or administrative appeals tribunal.

They include the inappropriate use of cabinet confidentiality to block requests, and the unreasonable refusal of FoIs seeking text, Whatsapp, Signal or other electronic messages.

The common practice of ruling that documents in a ministers office cease to exist when they switch roles is also likely unlawful, the report says. Overused, broad exemptions from FoI should also be tested by the courts, including exemptions that withhold records that disclose personal information, law enforcement, commercial information, certain operations of agencies or deliberative processes.

Clarification of these provisions of the FOI Act, through the AAT or Federal Court, would create enforceable obligations on government bodies to apply the exemptions consistently with the Courts or Tribunals rulings, the report says.

Such test cases would follow the success of the independent senator Rex Patricks AAT challenge against the use of cabinet confidentiality to block FoI requests for national cabinet records.

The report also warns that the lack of resourcing for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is also contributing to the significant delays in that agency reviewing government FoI decisions.

Lou Dargan, Grata Funds head of strategic litigation, said delays reduced the worth of information and discouraged applicants from continuing to pursue requests.

Weve been hearing from partner organisations who use the FoI system all the time that it can take up to two years for an officer to be appointed to even look at your case, she told Guardian Australia.

Its really hard to see all of these efforts by various government agencies at various times, and ministers offices, to delay the release of information as anything other than gaming the system.

The report said government bodies only granted 26% of FoIs for non-personal information in full in 2019-20. A further 34% were granted in part and 41% were refused.

About 10% of FoIs were decided more than 90 days late, a five-fold increase from the previous year. Delays have worsened each year for three years, and 79% of requests were processed within the 30-day statutory time period in 2019-20, down from 85% in 2017-18.

As part of its research, the Grata Fund submitted FoIs to various government agencies for non-contentious documents about FoI handling practices.

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None of the requests were finalised within the 30-day statutory time limit. The home affairs department, which receives a huge number of FoI requests, did not even acknowledge receipt of the request within 30 days.

Delays in processing FOIs undermine the efficacy of the system, the report said. If government decision-making is to be scrutinised and decision-makers are to be held accountable, information must be provided quickly.

The report identifies a overarching cultural problem that actively resists disclosure.

The approach is inconsistent with its obligations under the FoI Act, the Grata Fund says.

Originally posted here:

Coalition unlawfully blocking freedom of information requests - The Guardian Australia

It was in the dusty depths of Birmingham record library in 2000 that Shabaka Hutchings first discovered the wonders of 70s British jazz. I was 16 and Id just moved back to England from Barbados, explains the Sons of Kemet saxophonist. The first record I played was John Surman and Stu Martin Live at Woodstock Town Hall, which starts off with this really gnarly synthesiser and sax. I remember thinking: this is pretty crazy. I know this sounds like a cliche but without it being punk music they were playing with this almost punk attitude.

The scene Hutchings is talking about was a brief golden window, from 1965 to 1975, when London record labels and recording studios opened their doors to British jazz stars creating a unique sound that combined the US influences of Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Gil Evans with the London blues, folk and rock scenes plus West Indian and African rhythms. Its a progressive and thrilling sound rawness, freedom, experimentation, Hutchings says that is now being documented in depth under the umbrella title British Jazz Explosion, with a scene-spanning compilation alongside a series of remastered original LPs.

For the man behind the project, DJ, music historian and film-maker Tony Higgins, it is the culmination of 20 years of work that began with a short-lived series of British jazz compilations and reissues entitled Impressed, compiled with DJ and broadcaster Gilles Peterson.

Gilles and I were both into the same records by people like Michael Garrick, Don Rendell, Neil Ardley, explains Higgins, Records that captured British jazz at its most innovative, dynamic and experimental. The compilation led to BBC documentary, Jazz Britannia, and a 2005 concert at the Barbican featuring such venerable British jazz names as Stan Tracey, Garrick, Surman and Mike Westbrook. Then nothing.

Universal should have seized that moment but they didnt, says Higgins. The moment flagged, management at Universal changed, and the idea just withered on the vine. Higgins would occasionally fire off an email to Universal to see if the idea was worth reviving. But in the end, he says, I had to let it go for my mental health.

Then, in 2019, Universal got back in touch. There was a booming British jazz scene again, fronted by the likes of Hutchings, Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd, and these old records were being name-checked. Recordings by people like Garrick, Westbrook and Surman are what really inspired me, Hutchings says. The first time I heard John Surmans red LP from 1969: that record is calypso, modal, Afro-Cuban. These people were making beautiful, far-out music.

That wasnt strange to me, explains the 76-year-old saxophonist , who had grown up in Plymouth and moved to London in 1962. I was still basically a schoolboy. I was learning from musicians like Mike Osborne and Alan Skidmore, Caribbean players like Joe Harriott and Harry Beckett, but also the South African musicians who came over here like Dudu Pukwana and Louis Moholo.

That is the beautiful thing about this music being out here again, says Hutchings. All these musicians were united in a common language at a time when when it seemed like there was actually no hope of finding unification; trying to bring society together as opposed to pull apart.

Surman agrees: In 1966, 1968 this was a time of liberation. We were all involved in anti-apartheid marches, CND marches, embracing different cultures. It all fed into the music and brought a freedom to it. Just living in Ladbroke Grove surrounded by West Indians and their music, it all went into the mix along with the English folk songs Id learned at the school piano. Put that on top of the blues that Id learned from playing with Alexis Korner and you have something very interesting.

Korner, who died from lung cancer in 1984, aged 55, is now a relatively forgotten figure but his group Blues Incorporated, the first amplified R&B band in Britain, was a training ground for everyone from Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts to folk musicians such as Davey Graham and Danny Thompson, as well as the burgeoning British jazzers.

That was our university, says tenor saxophonist Skidmore, 79. Learning to play and understand the blues was probably the most important thing you could do to become a jazz musician.

Skidmore, who married in 1965, was a working jazzer with a family to support, paying the mortgage with daytime gigs for the BBC Radio Big Band and an evening shift playing dance music at the nightclub Talk of the Town. Asked how he managed to fit jazz into all that, he mentions the importance of the Old Place, where I got to realise my dream of being a jazz musician.

Previously the original Ronnie Scotts jazz club on Sohos Gerrard Street, the Old Place became a place to meet, jam, perform, rehearse and share ideas. That was the birth of this new wave, says Tony Higgins. American jazzers like Sonny Rollins would jam there along with South African migrs like Chris McGregor and the Blue Notes. Thered be this collaborative creative energy feeding into the music.

By the mid-60s, many of the London clubs were becoming rock and R&B venues, edging out the jazz scene. But where one outlet died, another grew. In the wake of albums such as the Beatles Revolver, Pink Floyds The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and the Moody Blues Days of Future Passed, record labels began looking for more progressive sounds. Nurturing producers like Denis Preston at Lansdowne Studios and Peter Eden at Decca were there to facilitate, satisfying the demand for forward-thinking modern jazz by the likes of the Don Rendell & Ian Carr Quintet, the Mike Taylor Trio and, a few years later, Skidmores own Quintet.

But before that, we had to go to Europe and make jazz more respectable, says Skidmore with a dry laugh.

In 1968 the BBC had sent the Mike Westbrook Sextet to represent the UK at the Montreux Jazz festival. It had been a huge success. A year later they asked Skidmore to represent them at Montreux. And we won loads of prizes as well! he says. When we returned home this journalist called Steve Race wrote an article asking: Why do British jazz musicians have to go abroad to be recognised? From that period on people suddenly wanted to record British jazz. Thats when I became a professional jazz musician.

The Alan Skidmore Quintets spiralling, lyrical, abstract 1970 LP, Once Upon a Time, came out on Deram a Decca offshoot label that quickly became a home for other British jazz musicians and bandleaders such as Mike Westbrook and Mike Gibbs. Suddenly it was hip for major labels to have a boutique subsidiary releasing progressive jazz. RCA launched Neon, EMI had Harvest and Philips had Vertigo, the home of jazz trumpeter Ian Carrs prog-jazz-fusion collective Nucleus. But despite Steve Races words, and the late-60s efforts of jazz organisations to get the genre recognised as a government-subsidised art, British jazz musicians were still struggling to make a living on the live circuit.

That tight-knit time of cross-pollination of jazz and rock was a very narrow period, says John Surman. Just as quickly jazz lost its popularity. The clubs were no longer run by aficionados or musicians they were run by people looking to make a profit from the latest thing. In 1969, me, Mike Osborne, Harry Miller and Alan Jackson had a gig in Coventry and got paid four pounds and ten shillings. A pound each and ten shillings for the petrol. I think that tells your story.

Beaten down by lack of recognition in their own country, musicians such as Surman and Skidmore established themselves in Europe, where subsidised jazz gigs were regularly broadcast on national radio. Surman made a name for himself as a composer of note for Manfred Eichers ECM label, Skidmore toured the world playing with numerous outfits and British jazz went back underground.

But there was always someone carrying the torch, says Surman. The music has always been alive and well in its underground stream, its just that sometimes, like 1970 and like now, the general public and the press decide to take notice.

Thats the thing, says Hutchings. Its not up to the artist to decide whether their music has longevity or relevance. The music will finds its place. Without those records from 50 years ago by people like Harry Beckett, Kenny Wheeler and John Surman you wouldnt have the music thats here today. You wont hear the influence directly but its there. It created where we are now.

Journeys In Modern Jazz: Britain is available now on double CD and double vinyl. The British Jazz Explosion vinyl reissue series starts with The Don Rendell Quintets Spacewalk (out now), Ken Wheeler & The John Dankworth Orchestras Windmill Tilter (out now) and Le Dejeuner Sur LHerbe by The New Jazz Orchestra (released 10 September), all on Decca.

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Rawness, freedom, experimentation: the Brit jazz boom of the 60s and 70s - The Guardian

The fourth season of Hulus The Handmaids Tale was quite a whirlwind for supporting drama actress Emmy nominee Yvonne Strahovski. Her character, Serena, may have been mostly confined to scenes within her Canadian holding cell, but her mind was doing mental gymnastics to figure out how to still come out on top for her and her unborn child.

Because yes, after years of Serena and her husband Fred (Joseph Fiennes) using a handmaid because they struggled to conceive, it turned out Serena was fertile after all, which was a slap in the face to their handmaid June (Elisabeth Moss), Strahovski tells Variety on the Awards Circuit podcast and probably to many audience members as well. Listen below!

The biggest complication for Serena didnt come until the end of the season, however. After so much flip-flopping about being aligned with her husband, he was killed literally beaten to death and strung up by Gilead refugees, including June. The season ended without Serena learning that knowledge, though the news has to be coming right around the corner. June did mail his finger to Serena.

Her hope is that she gets out and shes in Canada and shes living her own life with her baby, and shes fine and everythings hunky-dory, Strahovski says. Prior to knowing Freds fate, the actor thinks her character is still undecided as to whether or not she will keep using Fred.

Whats conflicting, or whats making that decision harder to make, is that she does realize that there was a fan club for her out there when shes united with Fred, when shes supporting Gilead. And in my mind, I think it would be really interesting to explore her having a win and I say that with air quotes in terms of, she gets out and starts a political career and gets [a] following of some kind, she explains.

Of course, Freds death throws a massive spanner into the works.

If she finds out June is the one that orchestrated it, shes living in fear at that point because then whats stopping June for coming for her baby? Strahovski says. [June] is capable of anything now. I really hope that moment is in the script next season where we see that June was responsible for that and the reaction.

In a way it would be her running and hiding. Thats the worst punishment she could have, she continues.

The fear for Serena, Strahovski adds, is that she could be sent back to Gilead perhaps to even become a handmaid. Mark (Sam Jaeger) already proved to make a questionable deal to hand Fred over, ultimately sealing his fate. Aside from the questionable legality and immoral ethics behind a similar deal being struck for Serena, Strahovski ultimately doesnt think that will be her characters fate because it would be too obvious a choice.

Before she has to dive into performing a season in which Serena will likely be in so much fear, though, Strahovski is reflecting on the freedom she felt while filming Season 4. This came, in part, from the characters journey of having a new person to prey on in Mark and some power over Fred (I just felt like she was confident beyond the scale of what she really should be feeling in that scenario, she says), as well as channeling her own pregnancy experience for the show.

From my experience, pregnancy makes you quite relaxed. It makes you care less about everything else thats going on around you, she recalls.

Though Season 4 saw Strahovski strapping on a pregnancy pad after spending a previous season concealing her own, she was excited to explore such a story.

Obviously thats a pot-stirring event for Serena to be pregnant, she says. I was excited for what that brings, both to the dynamics of her relationships with the other characters, but also the dynamic with herself and what that means. Does she learn to realize that perhaps her past actions were more horrendous than shed like to believe? What direction does that take for her psychologically?

Anyone who watched Season 4 knows that being pregnant did not make Serena a more selfless person. (Perhaps that will come when the baby is actually born and shes staring at another being who needs her to put it first. Then again, knowing the character wellperhaps not.) Having the baby to protect kept Serena leaning into her manipulative side, Strahovski notes. Although she didnt really want Fred as an ally, she had to go back to him after she realized she wasnt going to find any friends in such Gilead refugees as June and Rita (Amanda Brugel).

I always feel like Im walking that fine line between the two worlds in playing her, Strahovski says of Serenas vulnerabilities, more explored in the previous season, and manipulation.

This is especially evident in her interactions with her husband. At one point, Strahovski truly believes, they were a strong, loving couple. But as time went on and Gilead formed, things changed. She points to the first chapter of Gilead, pre-June arriving and going back to the original Offred as a turning point and one she would like to explore through flashbacks.

That was when Fred started to fool around with other people and that was [when] the trust started to go between Serena and Fred. That was the foundation of where I built Serena from from the bitterness of the hurt and the betrayal that she would have felt during that time, she says.

A few short years later, in Season 4, their relationship was a business transaction, she points out. The point where Fred decides to throw Serena under the bus and convict her as well, I think is the absolute final straw for Serena in terms of just anything remaining between them that is redeemable.

Needless to say, when Serena finds out Fred is dead, her response may be some relief, Strahovski admits. But would she be safer if Fred were still around? Its something the actor goes back and forth on. The supporters she has shown in Season 4 at a small rally were showing up for the family values they represented. Is her wearing the teal dress and being by Freds side, Strahovski points out. That audience comes at a price and is not necessarily the way she wants to have an audience.

How she stirs up more support in the aftermath of Freds death remains to be seen in the upcoming season, but knowing Serenas powers of manipulation, that may not be as complicated as it seems.

Also on this episode of the Awards Circuit Podcast, we chat with Hannah Einbinder, who stars opposite Jean Smart in HBO Maxs Emmy-nominated comedy Hacks. But first, on the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast Roundtable, we discuss COVID contingencies, whether streamers are moving more to weekly episode drops, and if Ted Lasso can be beat in the comedy series Emmy race.

Varietys Emmy edition of the Awards Circuit podcast is hosted by Michael Schneider, Jazz Tangcay and Danielle Turchiano and is your one-stop listen for lively conversations about the best in television. Each week during Emmy season, Awards Circuit features interviews with top TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much, much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post every Thursday.

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Yvonne Strahovski Found Freedom in Season 4 of The Handmaids Tale But Expects Fear in Season 5 - Variety

Due to NCAA guidelines, athletes cannot have contact with their coaches during the summer offseason. However, this has not held Texas A&M volleyball back from preparing for the return to a normal season.

Senior libero Allison Fields said the team has been voluntarily exercising and conducting open gyms in College Station since June 1.

Workouts have been awesome because it has been our choice to be in the gym, Fields said. The past year, we have been on a leash with where we can go and what we can do, but we have our freedom back in a way.

Despite missing out on the NCAA tournament in 2020, coach Laura Bird Kuhn believes players are better prepared for the 2021 season. Kuhn said the team fully understands the expectations and level of play needed to be more successful in the fall.

Having a 9-9 record is not where we want to be at the end of the season. However, our young players gained a lot of experience, and we grew significantly as a whole, Kuhn said. Our goal going into next season is knowing the expectations of where we want to be and knowing as individuals, and as a team, what that takes.

Senior middle blocker Mallory Talbert finished last season leading the Aggies in blocks, blocks per set and was second in kills. Talbert said maintaining the same intensity and pushing herself and her teammates to the best of their abilities will be important in repeating her success of last season.

It all goes back to the team. I work so hard for every other person on the team, for their success and the success of our team, Talbert said. I am capable of doing all of that because of everyone who has touched my life in the past and all my coaches and teammates who continue to touch my life and push me to the best of my ability.

The Aggies are going into the season with five seniors, all bringing different leadership roles to the team. Being a senior comes with a lot of responsibility, Talbert said, by having more experience than anyone on the court.

Alongside Fields and Talbert are libero Taylor Voss, middle blocker London Austin-Roark and outside hitter and setter Camryn Ennis. Fields said she wants to be a motivator and the best version of herself so she can lead the team.

None of that motivation or drive just comes from me, Fields said. Mallory Talbert and every single one of my teammates is on the court every day keeping each other accountable and making sure we are working our hardest and that motivates me to do the same.

Along with the five seniors, the team expects two players to exercise their extra year of eligibility from COVID-19 Camille Connor, who made the All-SEC team in 2019, and University of Denver transfer Macy Carrabine, who played libero for four years.

Kuhn said the depth of competition the Aggies have at each position will have a significant effect on their success this fall.

Mallory Talbert and London Austin-Roark are two veteran middles whose presence and personalities not just as middles on the court but as people [are] significant to the team, Kuhn said. Allison Fields is also a returning captain for us. She got injured near the end of last season. However, her rehab over the summer has been very successful. There is an undertone that she provides for this team that is unmatched.

The Aggies will be facing tough talent in the 2021 season, including a young and competitive Missouri squad and the No. 1 returning national champion, the University of Kentucky. Ensuring the Aggies are in top-shape for the tough upcoming season is key, Talbert said.

The weight room has also been the biggest help this summer because we didnt have that spring offseason to get stronger and tune things, Talbert said. We also have been doing a lot of conditioning because we are playing a lot of tough teams this fall and we need to outlast them during the season.

Reflecting on her past three years of playing for A&M, Talbert said one of her favorite memories was beating Rice during the 2019 postseason. Talbert recorded 10 kills and six blocks in the 3-1 win.

That game went into the thirties, and there was definitely a point during the game where we thought we were going home, Talbert said. We went all-out for each other, for the 12th Man and for what weve been working so hard for all season.

The Aggies first game of the season will be held Friday, Aug. 20 at Reed Arena against Baylor. A&M will host the Texas A&M Invitational Friday, Sept. 10 and will then face the University of Texas on Friday, Sept. 17 before its first conference game on Wednesday, Sept. 22 against Alabama.

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We have our freedom back | Sports | thebatt.com - Texas A&M The Battalion

Alabama native Jason Isbell has been an outspoken advocate for COVID vaccinations, joining other music stars who require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test for admission to their concerts.

Isbell, a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, announced his policy in early August, as the delta variant surged in the United States, causing case numbers to rise and hospital beds to fill.

I just dont want people to feel like theyre unsafe at a show, Isbell said during an interview with TMZ. And I know we cant guarantee that nobodys going to catch COVID at one of our concerts, but we can take some steps to make it a little more comfortable and a little bit safer for folks. And thats all were trying to do.

Theres been some pushback from folks who oppose so-called vaccine passports, and Isbell has sparred on Twitter with Marc Broussard, a singer-songwriter from Louisiana, over such entry protocols at concerts.

Isbell, 42, remains steadfast in his belief that vaccines save lives, and hes putting his career on the line to prove it. The artist recently canceled an appearance at the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, for example, because festival organizers didnt have a policy to screen ticketholders for vaccinations or negative COVID tests at the gates.

Isbell also has said that vaccinations are an important key to reviving the concert industry during the coronavirus pandemic. In a recent interview with Variety, Isbell detailed his stance on vaccinations for a story titled For Those About to Vax: Why Vaccination Proof is Suddenly Becoming a New Standard for Concert Entry.

Here are some excerpts of a Q&A with Isbell posted Thursday on Varietys website:

VARIETY: Generally in the music business, things go well when its actually musicians leading the way. Now were seeing AEG, Live Nation and other promoters and venues taking a stand with vaccination policies. Do you think yourself and other artists helped instigate this by drawing a line?

ISBELL: You know, maybe so, but I dont know that thats important. I know there were other people doing it before I did. And if me speaking out about it and putting these restrictions in place helps some people feel more confident about doing it themselves, thats a great thing. But its not something that Im going to take any kind of credit for. I feel like some of us saw the exit, and the building was on fire, and now we are trying to talk everyone into following us to the exit so we dont get burned. Its pretty much as simple as that. And also, I just dont think that our business is going to be able to continue this way unless we put some restrictions in place. I know my crew and my band might not be able to withstand another shutdown, and I think a lot of people are in that same situation. So Im just happy that its happening and that people are getting on board. I dont necessarily need to feel like Im leading the way.

VARIETY: In terms of the practicality of making these policies work, probably anybody who really wants to get into a show can, because you can fake vaccine cards, or we hear that people whove even been to your shows recently have seen people at the door just barely glancing at whatever proof people are putting out. Its not this incredibly rigorous process that you have to pass to get in, so far.

ISBELL: Yeah. But you know, you can drive drunk if you want to, and you might not get caught, but you might run over somebodys kid. So I think its still a good idea that we make it illegal to drive drunk. You know, were doing what we can. The practicality of it really just doesnt matter to me at all, because its what needs to be done.

VARIETY: Its hard to figure out right now which states have different laws that affect this. AEG made its statement about their new policy and it had the asterisk except in states where prohibited. A few states have laws now against any kind of vaccine policy from any business, but then others just have it where any venue that receives money from the state cant do it. And it seems like you ran into a problem with one of your venues that receives state funding and said thats why they couldnt do it.

ISBELL: Yes. Its hard to know at this point, because even in some states where those venues are under threat, were still going through with it. And I expect that there is a chance that well be playing a lot more venues that are completely self-sufficient in these states, places that dont need state funding. Thats just an assumption. I mean, it is going to require more logistical work from our standpoint, and at some point it might take some legal fees. I might even have to pay some lawyers. But I like my lawyers, and Ill do whatever I need to do.

Its gonna separate the venues in some situations. But none of that is really even worth considering. I mean, whatever needs to be done, well do it. Its better to do a little bit of extra logistical work and try to figure out where we can play and when than it is to not be able to work at all. I know my tour managers would much rather be trying to sort out whether or not we can play at a particular venue than just sitting at home trying to figure out how much longer theyre going to get paid before we can go back on the road because were headed for another shutdown if we dont do this. Its just as simple as that. Its not going to be possible for us to just ignore the delta variant and go on about our business. This is really the only way forward.

(NOTE: Alabama has a law intended to block the use of so-called vaccine passports, or any attempt by businesses to refuse service to people based on their immunization status. The law has yet to be tested in court. It also specifies no penalties for violations. At least one educational institution in Alabama, Birmingham Southern College, has implemented an apparent workaround. So has Furnace Fest, a music festival set for Sept. 24-26 at Birminghams Sloss Furnaces.)

RELATED: Alabama music festival to require negative COVID tests for unvaccinated ticketholders

VARIETY: Probably nobody wants this to be a deal where suddenly it turns out like the blue states are the have states, and the red states become the have-nots.

ISBELL: If it turns out that way, it will very much be a shame. But I would think maybe you would look at that and say, Well, theres a reason that happened. And if we want concerts in our state, maybe we should vote with that in mind next time around. You know, Im not doing this for that purpose, but when everybody has to show their hand ... then you start seeing which politicians are looking out for your better interests and which ones arent. And if this becomes something thats divided along political lines in that particular way, its going to be pretty obvious which politicians care about the health and the economic health of their states and which ones dont.

VARIETY: As far as your home state of Alabama, it sounds like you probably dont really know for sure how things will pan out for your festival, ShoalsFest, in October.

ISBELL: Um, were going to do it at my festival. Yeah. Its going to be all right for my festival. I just found out earlier today.

VARIETY: So they dont have anything in place that would prohibit that?

ISBELL: Who knows? Who knows, but I dont think theyre going to stand up to me on it. Im bringing a lot of money into that state that weekend.

(NOTE: Isbells tour itinerary includes four concerts in Alabama: Sept. 3 at the Montgomery Performing Arts Centre, Sept. 11 at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Pelham, Oct. 2-3 at ShoalsFest in Florence and Oct. 7 at Mobiles Saenger Theatre. ShoalsFest has announced an entry policy that requires proof of a negative COVID test for all unvaccinated festivalgoers. Its unclear how Isbells admission requirements will affect the other shows.)

VARIETY: (Vaccine opponents) position not being allowed to come to the show as a violation of freedom of choice.

ISBELL: Were adding choices. No, were not taking away your freedom. Were giving you an opportunity to choose. You could choose to stay ... at home, and then youll be free, and alone. The constitution guarantees freedom in a lot of situations, but it doesnt guarantee somebody elses company. Theres no guard against loneliness, so good luck with that.

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Jason Isbell on COVID vaccine mandates at concerts: No, were not taking away your freedom - AL.com

People who refuse to wear masks or not get a COVID vaccine on the grounds that any mandate to do so tramples on their freedom, are certainly free to follow their belief.

So are they willing to extend that belief to others? If so, then hospitals are free to deny treatment or an ICU bed to someone who contracts COVID that did not get a vaccine and refuses to wear a mask, keeping those services open for people who are looking out for the general welfare (see the first paragraph of the Constitution).

Insurance companies and Medicare are free to deny paying their medical bills in order to keep premiums down. Life insurance is free not to pay a beneficiary if they die, since it was self inflicted. And your favorite shop has the freedom to post "No shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service."

Everyone believes in freedom until the other person, who has the freedom to swing their fist, hits you in the face.

Originally posted here:

Eric Rollnick: Freedom to refuse to wear masks ends where my health begins - Conway Daily Sun

A black SUV pulled into a parking lot in New Haven late Monday night, and out stepped a small woman in a blue plaid dress and tan hijab. Her toddler clung to her neck, yawning wide and blinking sleepily under the glow of the Shell gas station lights.

More than 30 hours before, the woman, her husband and their four children had left their home in Kabul and boarded one of the last commercial flights out of Afghanistans capital city before it fell to the Taliban.

The family and a single man from Kandahar, an Afghan city southwest of Kabul, flew from Kabul to Qatar to Virginia to New York before being driven to New Haven, where they'll begin to rebuild their lives as refugees.

Ranging in age from 3 to 44, the seven started their journeyinKabul, where crowdswere seen on video desperately clinging to U.S. military aircraft in an attempt to flee the Taliban takeover. Mere hours after they left, the nation's president fled the country, and the Taliban captured the capital, closing the city's airport to commercial flights.

Now, hardly anyone is allowed to leave.

"I'm so lucky," said the man from Kandahar, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Noorullah. "My life is safe. ... I much appreciate the U.S. government, that they gave me the chance to come inside America."

As Noorullah embraced a friend of a friend, a fellow refugee from Afghanistan whom he will live with while he secures his own housing, staff members from the New Haven-based nonprofit Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, orIRIS, unloaded their luggage onto the city sidewalk.

The 33-year-old woman identified only by her first initial, M stayed close toher tired children: an 11-year-old boy in a striped T-shirt toting a large laptop bag, an 8-year-old girl with sparkling pink polka dot sneakers slipped mostly off her feet, a quiet 5-year-old boy and the sleepy 3-year-old boy in her arms.

For now, they'll move into a three-bedroom apartment with their cousin identified only by his first initial, Nhis wife and their five children. Though their new home will be crowded, it will be safe.

Over the next few weeks, the family will start their lives over with the few belongings they were able to bring with them. Two black suitcases and a few bundles wrapped in white and blue tarps tied with yellow rope hold all they have left.

IRIS will help enroll their children in school, provide medical screenings for the family andhelp the adults find employment. Right away, they'll enroll M who speaks no English in English classes and set her up with a volunteer "cultural companion" who will teach her practical skills like how to ride the bus, how to shop for food and which playgrounds she should to take her children to.

Typically, when a family arrives at the IRIS offices on Nicoll Street in New Haven, the nonprofit already has rented an apartment for them. But in this case, the family fled Kabul so quickly that IRIS only learned of their arrival 24 hours before their plane touched down on U.S. soil.

So, they turned toN, whom they had helped find a job, an apartment and schools for his children just a few years ago when he arrived as a refugee. Without hesitation, he came to the IRIS office late Monday night to welcome his relatives to safety, to welcome them home.

The late-night reunion was the first time N had seen his family since he, too, left Afghanistan under the threat of the Taliban.

'We will kill you'

Five years ago,Nwas working with United States military forces in Afghanistan when he received a text message from a member of the Taliban.

"We will kill you," it said. "And if we can't find you, we will kidnap your children."

The Taliban wanted N to stop working with theAmericans, so he went to his boss for help. And then for months, he hid.

He applied for a special immigration visa, or SIV,which brings to the U.S. those who have worked with American military missionsin Afghanistan and Iraq and provides them with protection. While he waited for his visa to be approved, he stayed safe and out of sight. He didn't see his family for months and his children couldn't go to school.

Seven monthslater, hisapplication was approved and he, his wife and their five children boarded a flight to the United States.

When they first arrived, N said, assimilating into a new life in New Haven was incredibly difficult. They didn't speak English, they didn't have a car and he didn't have a job. But with IRIS' help, they built a life. N found a job, and his children enrolled in school; now his oldest daughter is about to head off to college.

"Right now we have a good life, my kids every day go to the school,"he said,"I'm happy."

But he still remembers what it was like to live with the fear of being executed by Taliban and to live under their rule.

He remembers working as a storekeeper with the Taliban patrolling the streets. If they thought he hadn't prayed during each call to prayer, they might beat him. If they thought his beard was trimmed, they might beat him.

"They would hit by hand, by stick, by gun, they hit the women," he said,"they hurt the people."

As he watched the Taliban capture city after city in Afghanistan last week, N said he feared for family members who are now stuck there. He said he's been reaching out to his siblings, his cousins and his uncles every day and telling them to hide.

"I call them and I tell them 'stay at home, don't (go) out from the home,'" he said."The situation is (too) bad."

As he described the images and videos he's seen of Afghans clamoring to board planes to escape his homeland, he paused to take a breath.

"They're scared," he said. "Everybody is scared that they're coming. The Taliban is coming."

More refugees expected

In the next year, IRIS plans to welcome at least 400 refugees from Afghanistan, a number they expect will grow exponentially as more and more people try to pour out of the country on SIVs, according to IRIS Director Chris George.

Started in 1982, IRIS helps refugees, immigrants and asylum-seekers become self-sufficient and integrated into their new communities. Within a few weeks, the organization helps every refugee connect with essential services: housing, employment, education and health care.

As refugees get on their feet in their new homes, IRIS furnishes theirnew apartments with donated furniture and household goods and fills their fridges with food from the agency's weekly food pantry. The agency also addresses the physical and mental health needs of refugees, many of whom live with the trauma of the conflict and violence they fled.

The agency also helps them build community connections, learn about the culture of their new city and provide them with legal services to help those theyve left behind.

"We help them restart their lives from the ground up," IRISDirector of Community Engagement Ann O'Brien said.

t.hartz@theday.com

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From Kabul to New Haven: 30 hours to freedom - News from southeastern Connecticut - theday.com

Today we send a Sun-Gazette shout-out to John Cerquozzi of the citys Newberry neighborhood.

At age 94, Cerquozzi, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, was treated this week to a flight aboard a 1940 Boeing Stearman airplane.

It was a trip back in time, provided by a Carson City, Nevada, organization called DreamFlights, and a moment of sheer joy and happiness for Cerquozzi.

We were delighted by photos of him giving a thumbs up from the plane, the biggest smile spreading across his face as the plane prepared to take off.

This type of experience happens every so often, and its special every single time. Organizations that maintain vintage planes and take them around the country enrich those with whom they come in contact, from aging military veterans to those interested in history.

The Stearman has an important role in military history. It was considered the quintessential primary trainer for American aviators in WWII.

With the 80th anniversary of the start of Americas involvement in that war later this year, DreamFlights is taking up WWII veterans this month and next in what the organization is calling Operation September Freedom.

Ahhh, freedom. And September.

These two words remind us of another quickly approaching anniversary 20 years since Sept. 11, 2001. On that day, we realized how easily threatened our freedom is.

That had to be the same feeling people had on Dec. 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

After Pearl Harbor, just as after the terror attacks 20 years ago, we vowed to never forget.

The truth is, our freedom is fragile. We need to respect those who fought to secure this freedom by handling this most cherished of gifts with care and not taking it for granted.

Today, we thank John Cerquozzi for his military service. John, we appreciate your contributions and are thrilled that you had such a wonderful experience with your DreamFlight this week.

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

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A dream of flight and appreciation for our freedom - Williamsport Sun-Gazette

Coronavirus brought a cycle of sickness, death and grief to the American South

In southern states, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic transformed the American life and killed more people than any event in generations.

Mike Fant and Brett Kelman, Nashville Tennessean

AlanLevine is worried. For children. For hospitals. For the nation, as the COVID-19 pandemic rages through neighborhoods, schools and communities in the South.

Thepresident and chief executive officer of Ballad Health which serves 29 countiesof Northeast Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky andoperates a family of 21 hospitals in Tennessee and Virginia posted onFacebook Wednesday expressing his concern over the direction of the pandemic, namely that it was still intensifying despite mitigation efforts such as vaccines, social distancing and masks over the last year.

Struggling hospitals: All ICU beds full at most hospitals in every major Tennessee metro area, says hospital association

Levine has a history of serving at the intersection of public health and politics in the South.

He served on former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal's cabinet as secretary of Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals and as Gov.Jindal's senior health policy adviser.

Under Jindal, Levine was confronted with emergencies and crises not unlike the one facing America now: He oversaw health care response to 12 major hurricanes making landfall in Florida and Louisiana, managed Louisianas response to the H1N1 influenza outbreaks and led Louisianas effort to improve child immunization rates from ranking 48th in the nation to 2nd, according to his biography.

Levinealso served as deputy chief of staff and senior health policy adviser to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush prior to his appointmentto serve as secretary of Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration.

And now,he serves asan appointee of Tennessee Gov.Bill Lee's on the state's Charter School Commission. Gov. Lee signed anexecutive orderMonday allowing parents to opt children out of school mask mandates as many Tennessee schools are pushing back and requiring masks.

Afteryears of helping shape Republican leadership and policy,Levine's social media post questioned the party's trend toward viewing pandemic safety efforts as affronts on personal freedoms:

"I'm a freedom loving, 2nd amendment supporting, federalist Republican, and while I strongly disagree with those who feel masking is an infringement on liberty, I do understand where these folks are coming from," Levine wrote."THAT HAVING BEEN SAID: political choices come with tradeoffs. Choosing individual liberty and freedom is a legitimate position to take, but what comes with that is to ensure you have a clear-eyed understanding of what the tradeoff is for yourself and for your fellow citizens."

While Levine recognized that people's "strong feelings" toward libertywhen it comes to government-directed health recommendations are genuine, he warned of what that freedom may cost.

If the course of the pandemic continues to trend upward, he said, citizens must prepare themselves for exposure bychildren who can spread COVID-19 to families from school, especially if unvaccinated. His post referenced theshortage of nurses and hospital beds as compounding the problem.

Ballad Health only has 10 PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) beds, he wrote, with two currently occupied by teenagers on ventilators. Tennessee only has fivelegitimate children's hospitals, he added.

Much of Levine's post concernedchildren, who have been increasingly susceptible to rising COVID-19 cases in the last weeks. Foryouth who will be infected and hospitalized, he wrote, "our system of health care for children is not built for this kind of surge."

Tennessee alonereported an average of 549 new COVID-19 infections among children age 10 and younger each day over the past week,according to virus data released by the Tennessee Department of Health on Tuesday. Additionally, at least57minors were hospitalized with the virusas of Tuesday, state data shows.

In Louisiana, 20 United States Navy healthcare professionals landed at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center Wednesday to aid in the hospital's increasing battle against a surge of COVID-19 patients, The Daily Advertiser reported.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said in an Aug. 13 press conference that he resistsimposing more restrictions on commerce and gatherings other than the state mask mandate already in place, according to the Advertiser.

Then, Levine called on parents to educate themselves on a condition that affects children and has been associated with the coronavirus:Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in Children,or MIS-C.

MISC-C in kids: COVID-19 cases among Tennessee children spike as delta variant spreads. What to know.

MISC-C is a condition, sometimes deadly, where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs, according to the CDC.The CDC, as well as Levine, acknowledged that many children with MIS-C had the virus that causesCOVID-19, or had been exposed to it.

Levine urged that the risk for COVID-19 transmission in schools, but the compound risk of MISC-C adds yet another layer of threats to children. Coupled with the upcoming flu season, infrastructure for tending to surges in child cases is already being tested, he said.

Louisiana numbers: Louisiana COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are surging. Here's a look at the latest info

Tennessee numbers: COVID-19 in Tennessee: Latest case counts, vaccination rates and updates as delta variant spreads

So, where does that leave personal freedomin all this?

"To me, the most important thing our institutions are supposed to do is protect those who are vulnerable any way possible while also preserving our liberty," Levine wrote. "Regardless of how individual parents feel, our laws require vaccinations in schools, car seats for infants and toddlers, seat belts for kids, and we don't let parents decide not to do these things because their freedom is being infringed upon ... Society, and our legislatures, and our governors, have decided that the tradeoff is worth it because the evidence shows that doing these things protects our kids and our families from what might be devastating decisions by some to put their individual liberty first."

Vaccines: What we know on COVID-19 booster shots: Who needs vaccines, do they combat delta variant?

Vaccines, according to numerous regional and federal health officials, are one of the best defenses to stopping the spread, especially among young patients and those more likely to develop serious complications.

With vaccines available to anyone over the age of 12 and booster shots on the way come September for all Americans, states are looking to keep the immunity momentum going.

Molly Weisner is a digital producer for the USA Today network. Find her on Twitter @molly_weisner.

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Health care exec with ties to Louisiana, Tennessee GOP warns of consequences of pandemic freedom - Tennessean