Category Archives: Freedom

Dolly Parton says she was offered the honor by the Trump administration but was unable to accept. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Dolly Parton says she was offered the honor by the Trump administration but was unable to accept.

Last fall, former President Barack Obama told Stephen Colbert that he was "shocked" Dolly Parton hadn't gotten a Presidential Medal of Freedom during his time in office. "That was a screwup," he said. "I think I assumed she had already got one."

Now, the country icon says the Trump administration offered her the honor, not once but twice and she turned it down both times. "I couldn't accept it because my husband was ill, and then they asked me again about it and I wouldn't travel because of the COVID," she said in an interview with the Today show.

Only two weeks into his term, President Biden has not yet announced any new Medal of Freedom recipients. But Parton says she'd be hesitant to accept a possible third offer. "Now I feel like if I take it, I'll be doing politics, so I'm not sure."

And, she added, "I don't work for those awards. It'd be nice, but I'm not sure that I even deserve it. But that's a nice compliment for people to think that I might deserve it."

Parton has been in the news lately after it was revealed that she helped fund the development of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine.

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Dolly Parton Says She Turned Down Presidential Medal Of Freedom Twice - NPR

It should come as no surprise that interest in school choice is booming, with 15 states currently considering expanding or starting private school choice programs. COIVD-19 has shown people in even the wealthiest public school districts that one size cannot fit all. Some families want online instruction, some hybrid, some fully in-person, and one district cannot accommodate them all. Private schools, in contrast, have their own, diverse policies. Were education funds to follow students, parents could choose what they want without sacrificing their public education tax dollars.

Choice, quite simply, makes logical sense. Yet some opponents are freaking out.

Last Friday Jack Schneider, a historian and prominent choice opponent, published a Twitter thread in which he attacked state efforts to expand choice, characterizing them as scary, and saying public schools will be kneecapped. In writing about legislation to expand Arizonas voucher program, Schneider warned that the effort was happening in a state that has a massive and terrifying neo-voucher.

What is this terrifying neo-voucher? Tax credits for people or corporations who donate to scholarship funds for kids to attend private schools.

That seems more like Casper the Friendly Ghost than Dracula. We already have all kinds of tax credits, including for attendance at any type of college, public or private. And we have choice in everything from televisions to package shipping. Is any of that super scary?

Such terrifying rhetoric is not novelsee a slew of recent titles of books taking on choice, including from Schneiderbut it is overwrought. That said, even if hyperbolically stated, many opponents motives may be understandable.

Many people no doubt support public schoolinggovernment-run schools to which kids are assignedbecause they truly believe a common school system levels the education playing field and brings diverse people together. On the flip side, many honestly fear that choice allows people to select education they find repugnant, like schools with policies hostile to LGBTQ children.

These are not crazy worries. But to truly feel horror about choice you would need to ignore a lot of public schooling reality, including that it does not unite usindeed, it forces divisive conflictand it is chock full of its own unsettling things.

The history of public schooling is, of course, befouled by legally mandated racial segregation, as well as sometimes cruel marginalization of Catholics, immigrants, and many other groups.

Today, even with mandatory segregation gone, the residentially assigned public schools are highly stratified at the district, school, and classroom levels. And marginalization continues: In September, the Equal Justice Institute reported that over 240 public schools in 17 states are named after Confederate leaders, and about half of those serve majority Black or non-White students. Meanwhile, African Americans and other minority groups often have to fight to get what they see as fair representation in public school curricula. Finally, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network reported in 2017 that 72% of LGBTQ public school students had experienced victimization over their sexual orientation, and 61% over their gender expression.

What about the fear that choice would enable people to select schools with repugnant policies?

Some parents will indeed pick private schools with what many see as bigoted policies. But freedom of conscience is a basic right, and if we force all people to pay for public education, religious people should have the right to use the funding at schools that uphold their values rather than ignoring or violating them, as public schools too often do.

More important to all groups, failure to provide choice guarantees continued, fracturing social conflict, and inequality under the law for the losers. Without choice, for you to get what you want, you must defeat those who want something different. Indeed, one driver of both the right and left violence over the last few years is almost certainly a sense of having to fightliterallyto keep the other side from doing things to you, such as imposing woke curricula, or racist school discipline policies.

We should not fear freedom. We should fear force: Government requiring everyone to pay for schools that only those with the most political power control.

If we want peaceand peace of mindwe need school choice for all.

Neal McCluskey directs the Cato Institutes Center for Education Freedom and is co-editor of the new book School Choice Myths: Setting the Record Straight on Education Freedom.

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Dont fear educational freedom, fear force - The Daily Breeze

Rob Gronkowski has played for two coaches in the NFL: Bill Belichick and Bruce Arians.

Appearing on Sirius XM NFL Radio with Bruce Murray and Mark Dominik Monday, the former Patriots tight end acknowledged it's been "a complete 180" in terms of the style, but also acknowledged the two do have similarities.

I would say the two differences about them are Coach Belichick was defensive-minded and here, Coach B.A. he is very offensive-minded," Gronkowski said. "Thats the difference and then I would say what is very similar is they both know the ins and outs of what they know. Like Coach Belichick is very defensive-minded and an unbelievable coach working with the defensive side with the players. Coach B.A., working with the offensive side, just working the ins and outs. Both great coaches and both just know the details of what needs to be done to win football games.

The way the two coaches handle the media and the atmosphere with the team was brought up and Gronkowski said for the second time in recent weeks he has the freedom to be himself in Tampa Bay.

They both definitely have their own persona, their own approaches to the way the media his held, the atmosphere of the program," Gronkowski said. "Theres 32 clubs in the league. All 32 are always going to be different. There may be some similar, some totally different. I would say these two are totally different aspects of approaches to the media and everything. I will never take anything away from my nine years there. I learned so much under that program. I learned that way and I am actually very grateful that I learned that way. Theres many aspects of learning through that organization, lessons that were taught to me that I still use to this day, that I apply to this day.

"Just coming here its a complete 180 for sure. Totally different. I feel the biggest difference is having the freedom of being yourself here in this organization.

Gronkowski and the Bucs will take on the Chiefs Sunday in Super Bowl LV.

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Rob Gronkowski: I have freedom to be myself in Tampa Bay - WEEI

Tuesday, February 02, 2021

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Stages of Freedom founder Ray Rickman.

The event, free to the public, is taking place at 5:30 PM on Friday, February 12.

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More than forty years have passed since Congress enacted sweeping antidiscrimination laws in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, writes Stages of Freedom. In 2008, we elected the first African American president.

Some would say we have arrived at a postracial America, but The Imperative of Integration indicates otherwise, they continue. Join author Elizabeth Anderson, Americans foremost philosopher, as we discuss why racial integration is needed more than ever to overcome justice and inequality, to build a better democracy.

About Anderson

Anderson, who received her Masters and Doctorate in Philosophy from Harvard University, currently specializes in ethics, social and political philosophy, feminist theory, social epistemology, and the philosophy of economics and the social sciences at the University of Michigan, where she is the John Dewey Distinguished University Professor; John Rawls Collegiate Professor; and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor.

Andersons book The Imperative of Integration is described as the following by Princeton University Press with the following.

"Anderson demonstrates that, despite progress toward racial equality, African Americans remain disadvantaged on virtually all measures of well-being. Segregation remains a key cause of these problems, and Anderson skillfully shows why racial integration is needed to address these issues. Weaving together extensive social science findings in economics, sociology, and psychology with political theory, this book provides a compelling argument for reviving the ideal of racial integration to overcome injustice and inequality, and to build a better democracy.

Considering the effects of segregation and integration across multiple social arenas, Anderson exposes the deficiencies of racial views on both the right and the left. She reveals the limitations of conservative explanations for black disadvantage in terms of cultural pathology within the black community and explains why color blindness is morally misguided. Multicultural celebrations of group differences are also not enough to solve our racial problems. Anderson provides a distinctive rationale for affirmative action as a tool for promoting integration, and explores how integration can be practiced beyond affirmative action.

Offering an expansive model for practicing political philosophy in close collaboration with the social sciences, this book is a trenchant examination of how racial integration can lead to a more robust and responsive democracy."

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The Imperative of Integration - Stages of Freedom to Host Conversation With Philosopher Anderson - GoLocalProv

Austin, TX, 11 hours ago It was May 12, 2017, and bills were dying on the Texas House floor faster than soldiers at Stalingrad.

Except it was neither bullets nor explosions doing the damage rather, a strategically and mercilessly used parliamentary procedure that killed an entire slate of bills before a looming deadline. A legislative massacre, just days before Mothers Day, as it were.

The maneuver was a grand display of deliberate obstruction as much part of the process as sending bills through committee as many conservatives will say killing bad bills is more important than passing good ones. The undertaking was a message aimed squarely at then-Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio).

And the incensed band of rebels from which the shot came was the burgeoning Texas Freedom Caucus (TFC) plus Rep. Scott Sandford (R-McKinney).

The band of 12 conservative lawmakers had formed only months before with the mission to amplify the voice of liberty-minded grassroots.

Those founding members were Reps. Kyle Biedermann (R-Fredericksburg), Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park), Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth), Mike Lang (R-Granbury), Jeff Leach (R-Plano), Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving), Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), Matt Shaheen (R-Plano), Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford), Valoree Swanson (R-Spring), Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington), and Bill Zedler (R-Arlington).

Four are no longer in the House: Lang, Rinaldi, Stickland, and Zedler. Three others still hold their offices but have since left the caucus: Biedermann, Leach, and Tinderholt.

With a few additions elected since Reps. Mayes Middleton (R-Wallisville), Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands), and Cody Vasut (R-Angleton) the headcount now stands at eight.

Despite membership shifts, the TFC heads into its third legislative session. But discontent swells within some ranks of its base.

Firebrand Beginnings Born of Frustration

The caucus was launched in the dawn of the 85th Legislature. Krause told The Texan he credits its formation to Schaefer who had the idea after the 2015 session. After supporting Rep. Scott Turner (R-Frisco) against Straus in the speakers race, the group decided a cohesive front operating outside of leadership could help push for grassroots priorities.

Upset with Straus leadership and proclivity for snubbing their legislation out of hand, the ensemble banded together to mount opposition. Notably, the Republican Straus had originally secured the speakership with a majority-Democrat backing. But in 2017, he was elected unanimously with no opponent.

The Freedom Caucus apex that session, the Mothers Day Massacre, consisted of two maneuvers.

The first was the prevention of sunset safety net legislation from passing. That effort succeeded and triggered a special session during which the governor and lieutenant governor advocated a very conservative agenda. The results were a mixed bag, but the caucus, and many conservatives across the state, saw it as a win.

The second came after Straus and his lieutenant, then-Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton), refused to move members legislation. The retaliation came in the form of chubbing the Local and Consent Calendar a tactic designed to run out a bills 10-minute clock after which it is removed from the days agenda.

It wasnt about causing trouble. It was about using specific tactics to create leverage that would enable our GOP priorities to pass, former Rep. Matt Rinaldi told The Texan.

He stipulated the attempt couldnt have succeeded without an ally, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, in the Senate.

Krause added, From the perspective of dealing with leadership, it was tough. Yet we were still effective at getting through the sanctuary city amendment and various pro-life amendments, but it was really only from the outside looking in.

In an interview with The Texan, Shaheen also pointed to a rules change which required a speaker candidate to garner two-thirds support from Republican members to secure the nomination aimed directly at Straus original ascension.

Leach would later leave the TFC,citing a desire to focus on the House GOP caucus as a whole.

At the conclusion of the 2017 sessions, Straus announced he would leave office, a move many caucus members celebrated and took measured responsibility for.

Riding high from their initial success, the caucus and all Texas Republicans transitioned toward an approaching knock-down, drag-out election battle led by a 6-foot-4 El Paso Congressman with a penchant for Whataburger and kickflips.

The Kumbaya Session

Having just lost nine state House seats, including Rinaldis; two state Senate seats; and nearly the first statewide office in 25 years, Texas Republicans were shellshocked heading into the 2019 session.

A renewed focus on bread and butter issues became the cause du jour, and property tax and school finance reform were chief among those.

Bonnen had secured the speakership with an initial list of 109 supporters including 10 of the 11 TFC members that eventually became a unanimous vote on the sessions opening day.

With the caucus bogeyman gone and a more conservative speaker now grasping the gavel, spirits were high.

Middleton, who cited the conservative grit of the TFC as what prompted him to join, said members had a refreshed optimism about their legislation being given a real shot.

As a freshman, Middleton was able to get the taxpayer-funded lobbying ban to the floor for a vote, which ultimately failed to pass.

One half of the 86th Sessions marquee accomplishment was property tax reform, reducing the cap on increases for cities, counties, and school districts. The caucus celebrated its passage and played a behind-the-scenes role in its final form.

Middleton said the caucus lobbied to cut the school district cap from 5 percent in half to the final 2.5 percent. Krause also pointed to the sales tax swap, proposed by the Big Three during the property tax fight which ultimately died under its own weight, as something the group worked behind the scenes to kill.

Shaheen further stated, Every session, the Freedom Caucus becomes more and more effective. The 2019 session, we were able to have influence over legislation.

Another push by the caucus came with Krauses Save Chick-fil-A bill. While his original bill died in the House, it was revived in the Senate and signed into law by Governor Abbott. Another came with a campus free speech bill which Cain sponsored.

Despite those successes, portions of the grassroots were upset with the whole GOP for, among other things, failing to deliver on significant pieces of pro-life legislation such as the Abolition of Abortion, Heartbeat Bill, or Preborn Nondiscrimination Act.

Each of those bills was carried by members of the caucus but the blame fell to them, too.

Krause said the TFC shared that disappointment. We felt that the best approach was to work within the system with people who wanted to work with us to get that done, and that also means we have to take some of the blame and criticism for things not getting done.

At the sessions close, group members held 10 of the top 15 most conservative spots on Rice Universitys post-session rankings. Soon-to-be member, Toth, held another spot, as did Stickland who left the caucus midway through the session.

From the outside looking in, however, Rinaldi saw the 86th Legislature as a missed opportunity for GOP priorities.

[Speaker] Bonnen used a different tactic than Straus by including conservatives in the process more to try to keep them quiet, said Rinaldi, which didnt become evident to most until late in the session.

I think most in the Freedom Caucus were caught by surprise, and didnt use the [2017 tactics] because they were hoping Bonnen was more conservative than he turned out to be, Rinaldi continued.

The late realization coupled with the lieutenant governor jumping on-board with the purple agenda, Rinaldi posited, left the caucus without the endgame for success of two years prior.

The Interim Nobody Saw Coming

Almost in an instant, the interim turned from lull to frenzy when Bonnens quid pro quo offer to a grassroots leader was exposed in a recording. The fallout amounted to a divided House GOP and a divided Freedom Caucus.

Three members called for his resignation; two pushed Bonnen to forsake reelection; four pulled their support for his speakership upon the reelection announcement; and one, Krause, remained impartial due to his post on the committee evaluating the allegations.

But after the Bonnen episode, the group moved toward preparing for the 87th Legislative Session.

They launched a new project, the Texas Wastebook, to investigate examples of waste, fraud, and abuse within the state budget. Already, the project has identified $8 million of excessive employee hazard pay from the Texas Department of Transportation during the pandemic.

Coronavirus, and the emergency powers it exposed, became another focus. Caucus members criticized the extent to which Abbott has exercised executive authority.

The group also hit on property taxes and police defunding significantly.

At the close of the interim, Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) mounted his successful bid for the speakership. Each member of the TFC signed Phelans initial support list.

Shaheen explained his optimism, telling The Texan, A good speaker is one that lets the members drive the process and lets each member represent their district.

The TFCs ranks dwindled slightly as Biedermann and Tinderholt left, with Biedermann specifically citing the groups internal list of approved speaker candidates as part of his reasoning.

A New Session Brings New Promise

The caucus recently unveiled itslegislative priorities that includes the Heartbeat Bill, constitutional carry, andtaxpayer-funded lobbying ban.

It also features new initiatives like a prohibition on minor hormone therapy and restriction of the states emergency powers.

Middleton, now the caucus chair, said he doesnt expect everything to matriculate but remains optimistic.

Shaheen added, Our constitution is very conservative in nature its meant to make it very hard to pass bills.

Rinaldi, on the other hand, thinks the caucus must channel its former outside-the-box tactics to pass priorities this session along with other conservatives in the House.

Krause sees opportunity with those fellow conservatives to succeed where they failed two years ago.

Its important to listen to the criticism and learn from it for the next opportunity, said Krause. But now if you see a dearth in GOP priorities getting done, I think youre going to again see that contingent within the Freedom Caucus, and those outside of it, get more vocal and push back where we can.

Vasut, who is succeeding Bonnen, opted to join the group in his first session.

Im passionate about liberty and limited government, and so, joining the Freedom Caucus is a natural step for me to represent my district, Vasut said. My constituents value the [Republican Party of Texas] legislative priorities and the things the Freedom Caucus stands for.

He added, The more that I learn about how the House operates, the more respect I have for Dennis Bonnen because Dennis empowered members to represent their districts. He further stipulated that he thinks Phelan will be friendly to GOP priorities.

Meanwhile, Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) said he declined an invite to the TFC. Slaton told The Texan in a statement, I have made it clear to every member Ive talked to that my priority this session is delivering conservative results.

I will work with any member, regardless of what group they are in, to advance Conservative Policies. Most of the Freedom Caucus have made it clear they want to work together, several have made it clear they do not, he concluded.

Another conservative freshman, Rep. Jeff Cason (R-Bedford), also did not join.

Slaton caused a stir amid the rules fight during which he introduced two amendments that would have barred Democrats from chairing some or all committees. The proposals highlighted discord within the TFC, as some members sided with the freshman while others, like Cain, remained adamantly opposed.

With new opportunities ahead, the caucus looks to balance playing ball to accomplish its goals with assuaging growing discontent.

Our priorities are the grassroots priorities, concluded Middleton. Were here to do everything we can to implement what they want to see happen.

Editors Note: The piece has been updated to more clearly specify how members of the Freedom Caucus navigated the Bonnen scandal.

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Firebrand Roots Contrast Legislative Hopes as the Texas Freedom Caucus Enters Third Session - The Texan

Watch out Pete! Guess who's the target of a snowball fight in New Freedom

Updated: 5:43 PM EST Feb 1, 2021

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SURE. PETE: THAT IS CORRECT, MY NEIGHBOR HAS BEEN HELPING ME NOT TOP. SHE IS RELENTLESS. A COUPLE OF BIG ARMS BACK HERE. IT IS A GREAT DAY FOR KID. THEY DID THEIR VIRTUAL WORK, AND STILL GET A BIT OF A SNOW DAY. THEY ARE HAVING ON. AS IS TYPICALLY THE CASE, SELF THAN JOEL PENNSYLVANIA IS THE SWEET SPOT OR SNOW. IT IS COMING DOWN HEAVILY. WE HAD ABOUT FOUR INCHES INITIALLY FOR SNOW, THEN RAIN. AROUND 1:00 IT CHANGED BACK TO SNOW. THIS IS WHAT WE DO. WE HAVE SNOWBALL FIGHTS, FUN. WE ARE HERE BY THE NCR TRAIL. YOU HIT THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE, IT BECOMES THE RAIL TRAIL. IT GOES FROM HUNT VALLEY TO YORK, PA. IT IS A GREAT TRAIL. THIS IS NOT OPEN. WOULD BE NICE, BUT IT IS MORE A SUMMER THING. WE COULD TAKE THE TRAIN, DO SIGHTSEEING, HAVE FUN. MORE NEIGHBORS READY TO THROW SOME SNOWBALLS. WE ARE ANTICIPATING ANOTHER SIX TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW UNTIL THIS IS DONE. WE ARE USED TO IT. THEY MAY OR MAY NOT PLOW IT. EVERYONE IS USED TO WIT. WE ARE GOOD WITH IT. UP A LITTLE WAY AS IS A PLACE CALLED THE HODLE. A RESTAURANT BAR THAT IS BEEN HERE SINCE THE 1850S. AT ONE POINT, IT WAS LOST IN A POKER GAME. NEEDLESS TO SAY, IT IS A PLACE WITH CHARACTER. MY LITTLE SNOWBALL GUYS HAVE BEEN HAMMERING ME THE LAST 15 MINUTES. IT IS MY TIME TO GET YOU, GIANNA. YOU GOT ME GOOD, ANTHONY. THERE IS JOEY. I GOT HIM. GIANNA IS COMING AT ME NONSTOP. IT IS WINDY, HARD TO SEE, BUT NOT THAT COLD. 28. GOOD WEATHER FOR SNOWBALL ACTIVITY IN NEW FREEDOM, PENNSYLV

Watch out Pete! Guess who's the target of a snowball fight in New Freedom

Updated: 5:43 PM EST Feb 1, 2021

Pete Gilbert shows the snowy conditions in New Freedom, Pennsylvania, where the snow is coming down steady -- and watch out, the snowballs have Pete's name on them!

Pete Gilbert shows the snowy conditions in New Freedom, Pennsylvania, where the snow is coming down steady -- and watch out, the snowballs have Pete's name on them!

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Watch out Pete! Guess who's the target of a snowball fight in New Freedom - WBAL TV Baltimore

Business leaders recognised that attracting and retaining the best talent was going to be critical to future resilience and to do that, they needed to look forward at the post-pandemic world of work, rather than hold onto the past.

We implemented a flexible working policy that accelerated the move away from a traditional sort of 9-5 office environment to a more agile work structure, which supports our commitment to creating a more dynamic, high trust, high performance, team-oriented culture, she said.

We really have empowered our teams with the flexibility they need to have a more integrated balance across their work, family commitments and the gift of enjoying the outdoors and their downtime.

The initiatives introduced include flexi time, allowing employees to decide their start and finish times or work split shifts, as well as the options of condensed four-day weeks or reduced hours.

The company also introduced FriYay flexibility giving teams the opportunity to finish early on Friday afternoons.

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Kathmandu's HR lead on flexibility, freedom and the great outdoors - Human Resources Director

Fear they say is a response elicited by things we don't understand. We're afraid of flying, because we don't grasp aerodynamics. We're afraid of the spider in our bathtub, because we don't know if it's a species that can hurt us. We're afraid of computers, because, who knows? Maybe one day they'll have a mind of their own.

Decades ago, the latter bloomed into a full-fledged subgenre of horror preoccupied with contemporary anxieties of isolation and alienation, accelerated by advances in technology. "Technohorror is not merely a form of pure technophobia, but instead is a form of creeping, pervasive dread born of symbiotic uncertainty in our relationship to technology and our shifting perceptions of what it means to be human," explains Daniel W. Powell in his book, Horror Culture in the New Millennium.

But while technohorror began as a genre obsessed with the perils of digital life (think of the dated hysteria of 1992's Lawnmower Man, or 1995's The Net, or 2002's Feardotcom), movies like Jane Schoenbrun's terrific narrative feature debut, We're All Going to the World's Fair, are blazing a new path forward one that stems from a deep understanding of technology, rather than ignorance and fear of it.

We're All Going to the World's Fair premiered this week as part of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, and introduces us to Casey (Anna Cobb, in her fantastic feature debut), a high schooler who decides to join the "World's Fair" challenge. Sitting before her computer screen our frame into the scene Casey pricks her finger and chants "I want to go to the World's Fair" three times, then watches a strobing video that's supposed to, in some ominous way, transform her. She proceeds to record video diaries about her experiences as the challenge progresses; they're never watched by more than a handful of people, but still manage to catch the attention and concern of a fellow World's Fair obsessive who goes by the anonymous initials JLB.

While traditional technohorror uses an outside-in perspective to evaluate digital life whether Nightmare Weekend or Kairo or Stephen King's exceptionally dreadful novel Cell We're All Going to the World's Fair is a creation of the inside out. That means more than just that Schoenbrun (who wrote, directed, and edited the film) has a vocabulary that includes "creepypasta." Rather, like several other recent movies (Unfriended: Dark Web and Cam being other greats of this new generation), World's Fair truly "gets" how people use the internet to forge their identities, reach out for connection, and play-act different versions of themselves.

The creeping sense of dread stems not from an alarmist fear of what a teenage girl finding her way on the internet might do, but knowing exactly. Unlike technohorror of yore, the answer doesn't involve robots bent on world domination, or demons that pass through phone lines, or serial killers lurking on the other side of chatrooms, but the draw of online communities when you have no one in your hometown, and the internet strangers who fill the void of friends. Jeva Lange

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says freedom is 'earned with the price of blood' in newly-resurfaced video - The Week

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Pretoria The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, issued an order by agreement with the South African Health Products Regulations Authority (SAHPRA) which will enable doctors to start ivermectin treatment which is not yet registered for human use within South Africa.

This will enable doctors to start ivermectin treatment concurrently with the submission of an article 21 application, in cases where the doctor deems urgent access to ivermectin as crucial for a patient.

According to the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act, an article 21 application has to be submitted to SAHPRA by medical practitioners who want to prescribe medicine which is not registered for human use within South Africa.

AfriForum, which is one of the parties in an urgent application to get the green light for the use of ivermectin, said this is a groundbreaking ruling because doctors will not have to wait for approval of an article 21 application before starting treatment.

It is also a huge victory as doctors can decide to proceed with treatment using their own judgement. In addition, the court order determines that any person can qualify for access to ivermectin and that medical practitioners are entitled to apply for access to ivermectin.

The remaining question in the application, which will be argued in full by all the parties at a later date, will involve whether SAPRA has the right to stop doctors and pharmacists from using this medication without first approaching the regulatory authority for permission as it must now do.

The core of the issues to be raised is whether SAPRA has the right to regulate ivermectin in the case of each and every patient in the midst of a pandemic, where thousands of people are falling ill, lawyer Willie Spies explained. He said as things now stand, each patient, through a doctor, must individually obtain permission from SAPRA before they may use ivermectin.

Judge Peter Mabuse, who made the agreement between the parties an order of court, noted that the parties may approach the deputy judge president for a preferential date on which to determine on the issues.

Pretoria East doctor George Coetzee launched the urgent application, together with two of his patients, for permission to be able to use ivermectin as a treatment.

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) also brought a similar application, which will be heard together with Coetzees application.

The ACDP will, among others, ask for an order to remove the restrictions on the use of ivermectin in South Africa, as long as it has been prescribed by a medical doctor. Its arguments will predominantly rest on the constitutional rights of people to use this drug.

Regarding the agreement between the parties pending the adjudication of the two urgent applications, AfriForum confirmed that it is now an order of the court that a medical practitioner can start treating a patient with ivermectin without having to wait for approval of a submitted article 21 application.

The quick access to medical treatment is a breakthrough for healthcare freedom and our battle against Covid-19, as the hurdle of pre-authorisation is no longer an issue. It is an important first step in our effort to ensure access to ivermectin, said Barend Uys, head of research at AfriForum.

Coetzee responded that he is thankful for the assurance the court order gives that doctors can use their clinical judgement to commence ivermectin treatment when access to it is urgent.

A group of doctors and medical practitioners, who call themselves I Can Make a Difference, will meanwhile also join the fray as a separate applicant in the main applications still to be heard.

They initially indicated that they wanted to join as an interested party, but Durban lawyer Kuben Moodley, of the law firm Pather and Pather, now confirmed that they will now bring their own application.

The group of about 50 health practitioners said in court papers that many of the group wanted to lawfully take ivermectin themselves as a prophylactic, to be obtained from a reputable and recognised supplier, given their ongoing risk of contracting Covid-19 due to their exposure to the virus.

They also want to use it in relation to their patients who desperately need it.

Pretoria News

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Ivermectin court ruling hailed as 'breakthrough for healthcare freedom in Covid-19 battle' - IOL

Numerous lawmakers and media talking heads have called for more control over speech under the facade of combating misinformation since the US Capitol riot on January 6, and a new CNN segment has taken things even further.

After noting that words like censorship were spewed on right-wing news networks like Fox News and Newsmax hundreds of times during the month of January, CNNs Brian Stelter ironically the host of a show called Reliable Sources launched into one of the most offensive, unintelligent, and blatantly anti-free speech diatribes ever aired on the network.

While some cry, cancel culture, let me suggest a different way to think about this: a harm reduction model, he told his audience.

He went on to note that most people want accurate news and rational views.

In that healthy environment...then we can have great fights about taxes, and regulation, and healthcare, and all the rest, he said.

Stelter seemed to praise tech companies targeting and suppressing what they deem to be disinformation about topics like the Covid-19 pandemic and election fraud, and he then launched into a further rebranding of cancel culture.

Reducing a liars reach is not the same as censoring freedom of speech; freedom of speech is different than freedom of reach, Stelter noted.

If freedom of reach sounds like a fancy way to excuse suppressing someones freedom to express their views while never quite fully admitting youre stopping their freedom of speech specifically, thats because it is. This is word vomit that was luckily called out by many who noted Stelters arguments fly in the face of legal precedents and the Constitution, but sadly, this is only the latest call from a liberal public figure for more censorship in the wake of the US Capitol riot, which is being blown up and used as an excuse to target freedoms.

The Washington Posts Max Boot recently called for the deplatforming of influencers found to be spreading disinformation in a column.

We need to shut down the influencers who radicalize people and set them on the path toward violence and sedition, he wrote, an argument that suggests some sort of policing body needs to keep journalists accountable to incredibly vague standards all in the name of public health.

Even worse, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) has suggested a government solution to the problem, arguing in the wake of the riot during which she claims she feared fellow conservative lawmakers would turn her over to protesters that we're going to have to figure out how we rein in our media environment so that you can't just spew disinformation and misinformation. She said a truth and reconciliation committee is being discussed to push media literacy.

Those are very open-ended, but frightening words from someone holding elected office.

Cancel culture is nothing new. Mostly conservatives have argued for years about the tactics used in both politics and Hollywood to suppress voices that dont toe the liberal narrative line, but we have reached a dangerous point where liberals are not even denying its existence as they used to. They are now using the Capitol riot as an inciting incident for them to kick off a brand new chapter in their crusade to silence voices that disagree with them.

They have a new strategy now, one that is centralized around the supposed dangers of misinformation and disinformation and they will always point to the riot as proof of their wildest fears, using it to justify the suppression of freedoms, just as defenders of the war on terror and the surveillance state will always point to 9/11 to justify their blind eye toward the Constitution and individual freedoms.

We have given up rights and power before to loud talking heads and lawmakers spewing fear-mongering rhetoric, and such compromises never work. Lost freedoms are rarely, if ever, returned. We must be careful now as we are entering a dangerous ground where the table is so clearly being set for serious censorship pushed by the mainstream media and implemented by the government or big tech, and liberals are hungrier now more than ever since they can exploit Januarys riot to justify their single-minded authoritarianism.

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CNN proves the left doesnt believe in freedom of speech, only freedom of reach as media targeted in wake of Capitol riot - RT