Category Archives: Freedom

Daniel L. Gardner, Contributing columnist Published 10:19 a.m. CT Nov. 11, 2019

Republican Tate Reeves won the election for governor Tuesday. He made his first public appearance Friday at a Veterans Day event. Giacomo Bologna, The Clarion-Ledger

Someone shared the following definition of a veteran on Facebook:

A Veteran whether active duty, retired, or National Guard or Reserve is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life." That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

Harold Grant of Jackson, Miss, 71, an Army veteran, who served in Vietnam in 1968, wears his heavily decorated VFW garrison cap during an early Veteran's Day ceremony at the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Miss., Nov. 8, 2019.(Photo: Rogelio V. Solis, AP)

The earliest post of this definition I could find was on a Googlegroup called parklandwatch. On Aug. 4, 2007, Art Allen posted that Reed Jarvis had discovered a great definition of a veteran, followed by the definition cited above. I dont know Allen or Jarvis, and neither attributed the quote to anyone. Nevertheless, the quote says a lot about veterans and was probably written by a veteran or one who loves a veteran.

Sometimes we fail to remember all the branches of our military, including all the statuses within each of those branches. Even on Nov. 11 at 11:11 a.m., many of us no longer consider with thanksgiving our fellow Americans who have served and are serving to protect our nation, our rights and our freedoms. Most of the time most Americans take our veterans for granted, or worse.

The closest I ever came to becoming a veteran was in the fall of 1971 when I drove to a Marine Corps recruiting station in Meridian. The recruiter showed me many options but recognized much more than I did at the time that my reasons for joining were more about leaving a place than about joining a service.

My father was a Naval aviator in the Pacific in WWII and achieved the rank of Lt. Commander. I have his log book and have read enough to know how well he served our nation honorably. My dad never spoke about his experiences in that war.

Our oldest son joined the Marine Corps right out of high school two years before 9/11 broke the world. Needless to say, he also served honorably in every station where he was sent, and he achieved the rank of Sergeant. Both grandfathers fought in WWI, and an uncle served in WWII.

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No doubt many American families can be proud of contributions they have made in the defense of our country. Make no mistake, when a family member serves, the whole family is involved in service and sacrifice.

Like many parents, I feared for our sons life when he made the decision to write a blank check made payable toThe United States of America,for an amount ofup to and including (his) life.After 9/11, like many fathers,I would have given anything to have taken my sons place in that fighting.

But thats not how wars work.

And too many of those who cheer for war or who send our sons and daughters to war do so out of selfish political reasons.

Veterans who have served and are serving today know the price of honor. They have all signed the blank check. Veterans and their families always pay the price of service and sacrifice.

All Americans should make time to honor our veterans with thanksgiving throughout the year. Heartfelt honor is not political. Heartfelt honor is patriotic regardless of politics.

Lets honor our veterans today.

Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist from Starkville. Contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.

Read or Share this story: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2019/11/11/veterans-day-honor-men-and-women-who-protect-our-freedom/2562200001/

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Veterans write a blank check that costs them greatly. We should honor their sacrifices. - Clarion Ledger

At first, it seemed the communists had things under control. The government back then organized an annual official march to commemorate the death of a communist resistance fighter who opposed the Nazi occupation during World War II. Students marched obediently through the streets chanting communist slogans and bearing communist-approved signs. Then things went awry. As the march was about to end, the students suddenly veered off and headed for Wenceslas Square and the heart of the city. Police scrambled to cut them off. They formed a cordon at one end of the long avenue blocking the march then set up a line of police behind the march, and along every side street. The protesters were trapped. Minutes passed, then hours. The students began singing. Few of us journalists spoke Czech so we couldnt understand the words. But the melody was clear. In Czech, the students were singing, We Shall Overcome.

Suddenly the police charged the students with truncheons. Secret police in civilian clothes and with expressionless faces followed behind, methodically punching and pummeling everyone in their path. A reporter from the Chicago Tribune was driven back into a store doorway, beaten until her head split, blood pouring everywhere. A policeman raised a truncheon in front of me. I covered the top of my head with my hands. My wedding ring still carries the dent.

The students scattered. But the next night they returned, and the night after that. The crowds grew larger; the singing louder. Within days the communist government had fallen. Vaclav Havel, the imprisoned dissident playwright, was named president. The anti-communist revolutions swept onward, eventually engulfing the Soviet Union which collapsed and dissolved two years later, in 1991.

Thirty years on, its clear that the tumultuous revolutions of 1989 havent fully lived up to their promise. The end of communism allowed many of the old ethnic hatreds of Eastern Europe to resurface. The economic shock that followed the collapse of the iron curtain led to mass unemployment. Conservative populist governments now rule Poland, Hungary, and even Prague. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of a seemingly implacable foe left Europe and the United States without a common enemy, leading to fractures in the European Union and, now, in NATO and among Americas longtime alliances.

But if Europe is unsettled today, it is far better than it was in 1989, when the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain divided the continent, the United States and the Soviet Union aimed nuclear missiles at each other, and millions of Czechs, Poles, Hungarians, East Germans, and Romanians lived under communist repression, watched by the secret police, forbidden to travel, forced to stand in line for meat and toys and new shoes.

In the tumult of 1989, the young Eastern Europeans protesting in the streets kept saying that they just wanted to live in a normal country where they could live freely, vote in elections, argue about politics, make their own choices. We may not agree with all those choices, just as many Eastern Europeans today surely cringe at some of Americas political choices. But with their hard-won freedom, they have undoubtedly built something better than what came before.

The street where I watched police beat up demonstrators has now been renamed in honor of that night and is packed with cafes and shops. The Berlin Wall that once symbolized the division of Europe has been reduced to an unobtrusive path underfoot, like Bostons Freedom Trail, that busy Berliners stride over as they hurry to work.

The students who courageously marched down the streets of Prague remind us that history often surprises, and that change can come quickly and unexpectedly.

They also gave us something important: hope.

In our polarized times, it is easy to question whether democracy can continue to advance or even survive. But 30 years ago, tens of millions of people living under communist totalitarianism, who hadnt experienced democracy since before World War II, stunned the world by rising up and peacefully overthrowing their leaders.

They sang a song made popular by the American civil rights movement decades earlier and thousands of miles away.

They reminded us, as Martin Luther King once preached, that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

Jonathan Kaufman, director of the Northeastern School of Journalism, covered the revolutions of 1989 for the Globe. He is the author of The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China to be published by Viking in June.

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The wages of freedom - The Boston Globe

It was 2017 and Jared Jenkins stood on the field at J. Birney Crum Stadium after leading Freedom High Schools football team to victory over Allentown Central Catholic in his first varsity start.

Jenkins, a sophomore at the time, wasnt surprised. And Patriots coach Jason Roeder wasnt either.

We knew what we were getting with Jared before he even walked in the door here, Roeder said. He's been in our program for all these years. His dad (Earl) has been on the staff.

Its true. Roeder had high expectations for Jenkins from Day 1.

Now, after Jenkins has claimed every major passing record in program history, its probably safe to conclude those hopes have been fulfilled nicely.

But theres still work to be done.

Second-seeded Freedom (10-1) hosts third-seeded Parkland (9-2) 7 p.m. Friday during the District 11 Class 6A semifinals at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

Jenkins will have the same high standards for himself in the upcoming blockbuster playoff contest as he had in Allentown dozens of starts ago.

I always want to do the best I can for my teammates, the senior said. I feel like, with the coaches I have and the team around me, I can play a great game because they're always going to put me in spots to do that.

The seniors name is all over the Patriots record book. He holds the marks for career passing attempts (775), completions (450), yards (7,129) and touchdowns (69); season passing attempts (313), completions (160), yards (2,651) and touchdowns (29); and single-game completions (25), yards (426) and touchdowns (5).

Hes 136-for-196 with 2,207 yards and 23 touchdowns (5 INTs) this fall.

Even with all of those numbers and there are a boatload Roeders attention is on the effect that the QB has on his teammates and the leadership he displays.

To maintain that focus, of trying to get better every game, has been such a great example for the rest of our guys, Roeder said. He never got complacent; he never got caught up in reading his own headlines. He's been the consummate team player. He remained humble and coachable through all his successes. I think that just sets a great tone for the way we operate here.

Jenkins indicated that his decision-making has improved as a senior. But, his concern is also about the intangibles, rather than the statistical or mechanical.

You either have it or you don't, Jenkins said about the will to lead. I learned a little from the guys above me, but I had it in me All summer, I was there at every workout, always trying to push everyone. On the field, I'm keeping everyone composed and ready for the next play.

The quarterbacks cool head has been invaluable for Freedom, which has played in several nail-biters during Jenkins career.

He's such a smart football player, Roeder said. He understands what we're trying to accomplish on offense. He's quick to diagnose how a defense is trying to attack us. His composure, during a lot of high-pressure games over the years, really stands out.

Jenkins, whos also been a solid contributor for the Patriots wrestling team, has won 29 games over three seasons. A 30th victory would give Freedom a chance to claim its second consecutive District 11 title.

The Patriots, however, are confronted with a Parkland team thats won seven straight games and is stronger/healthier than the squad that Freedom beat 21-18 on Sept. 6.

It definitely is a different challenge, Jenkins said. Beating a team twice, in the EPC South, in one year is a hard task. We have to put a whole new game plan together to try to beat them in different ways.

It's a long time ago, but neither team is completely different, Roeder said. Obviously, you take a peek at that and factor it in, but you also look hard at what they've been doing well lately. I think you gear your game plan to what they've done more recently.

Its the fourth year in a row Freedom has met the Trojans in the regular season and playoffs.

They're physical on both sides of the ball. They do things well in all three aspects of the game. They come off the ball; they're balanced on offense; and they always play fantastic defense, Roeder said. It's going to be a typical Freedom-Parkland game.

Roeder consistently preaches growth. Parklands gains have been fairly evident. How much Freedom has progressed should be revealed on Friday night.

When you start playing teams a second time, you get some clear benchmarks to how you've improved, Roeder said. I think our team, like theirs, has evolved.

We've gotten better every week, Jenkins said. That Week 10 win (against Liberty) was huge for us for momentum going into the playoffs. Then, another big win over Emmaus last week (in the D-11 quarterfinals) I think we're going to be ready to go on Friday.

Jenkins, who said hes being patient with his college recruitment and waiting to see if his final tape will generate some offers, has been playing with most of his fellow seniors since they were dominant together in the Bethlehem Township Bulldogs youth program.

Its been awesome, the QB said. Ive made so many great relationships with players, coaches and families. Im just so blessed to be able to be here today with the games we have left. I just want to make the most of what we have left together.

RELATED: High school football predictions for Week 12

Kyle Craig may be reached at kcraig@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KyleCraigSports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

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The bar has always been high for Freedom footballs Jenkins; thats where he likes it - lehighvalleylive.com

President Trump again slammed the media on Sunday, declaring that we no longer have Freedom of the Press!

He made the comment in a Sunday morningtweetwhere he also said: Journalistic standards are nonexistent today.

Trumps post was in response to a tweet blastingABCNews for not airing a report about Jeffrey Epstein while publicizing accusations of misconduct against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation process.

The president has frequently attacked the media in the past.

In a tweet months ago, hewrote: The press is doing everything within their power to fight the magnificence of the phrase,MAKEAMERICAGREATAGAIN! They cant stand the fact that this Administration has done more than virtually any other Administration in its first 2yrs. They are truly theENEMYOFTHEPEOPLE!

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Printing the New York Times in 1942

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As the copy boy's rush to meet deadlines mimeographed dispatches cover the floor.

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These editors are responsible for all stories outside the U.S.

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NYT correspondents forArgentina, Switzerland, and Mexico.

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'We no longer have freedom of the press,' President Trump declares - AOL

But that nearly 140-year quest for peace and freedom across the border has been marred by bloodshed and adversity.

"In many ways, this community has sought to live among the cracks -- not American, but not fully Mexican, either; Mormon, but not 'that' Mormon; desires a peaceful refuge, but faces constant violence," said Benjamin Park, a historian at Sam Houston State University.

The sheer brutality this week shocked even longtime observers of the migration of fundamentalist Mormons to northern Mexico.

History has been hard. They escaped what they saw as oppression at home to settle in a little-known country before many were driven away by the lawlessness of the Mexican Revolution. Periods of violence, extortion and threats from drug cartels and other criminal groups delivered them to this moment.

"They have a very vivid sense of their own history of persecution, which is not imaginary," said Laurie Maffly-Kipp, a professor at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. "Now it's the cartels. And all they've wanted to do is live independently and according to their values."

Here's how thousands of Mormon families came to settle in the rural valleys of northern Mexico in the late 19th century.

Mormon families migrate south

But the church disavowed plural marriage in 1890 under pressure from the US government, which had imprisoned polygamists and seized their assets. By 1910, members who continued the practice were excommunicated.

Mormons who accepted polygamy as part of their faith began moving to Mexico and Canada to keep their families together, according to experts.

Thousands set out by rail or horse and wagon on a sometimes perilous journey to the states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa.

"Distances were great and physical obstacles imposed by the terrain were immense," the 1969 article said. "Contact with non-Mormons along the way was strained and threatening."

A relationship of convenience with Mexico

Mexican political leaders agreed to look the other way if the Mormon settlers remained quiet about their marriage practices and helped develop the local economy, said Barbara Jones Brown, executive director of the Mormon History Association. Polygamy is illegal in the US and Mexico.

"Up until the early 20th century, the polygamist Latter-day Saints had a great relationship with the Mexican government because they were bringing in industry and farming and helping to develop the desert area," she said. "They were contributing to the economy."

More than 4,000 Mormons settled in eight communities in Chihuahua and Sonora, according to the 1969 article.

One migrant, John R. Young, who settled in Mexico with his three wives and their families, described the journey of more than 1,000 miles as "long, tedious and expensive, but we were happy, for we have escaped imprisonment," the article said.

Mormons targeted during the Mexican Revolution

When the Mexican Revolution began in 1910, many Mormons were again forced to flee, as they had done in previous generations.

Nationalist and anti-American sentiment ran high. Mormon settlements were sacked or destroyed by rebels. Migrants were attacked.

Many Mormon families never returned, including Romney's father, who was then a boy of 5.

"Those polygamous families in Mexico who went back into the United States during the Mexican Revolution faced prosecution not only from their monogamous nation, but also ostracism from their own church members," Jones Brown said.

"For those two reasons, some of these families kept going back into Revolutionary Mexico in spite of the violence, robbery, and kidnappings they faced there during wartime -- so they could keep their polygamous families intact and try to live their religious beliefs without ostracism and prosecution."

The Chihuahua and Sonora settlers

The convoy of three vehicles that was ambushed this week set out Monday from the La Mora settlement in Sonora, founded decades ago by fundamentalists associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The victims lived there. Many were natives of Mexico, with dual US-Mexican citizenship.

Some La Mora families practiced polygamy, but most considered themselves independent Mormons, according to Cristina Rosetti, a scholar of Mormon fundamentalism.

Family members describe themselves as part of a religiously diverse Mormon community of about 3,000 members, living in their own agricultural enclave.

"The people in La Mora are what is called ... an independent Mormon family," Rosetti said. "They might practice polygamy but they're not part of a church. They're not part of a splinter group. They're not part of the sect. They don't have a leader. They're just a family that is Mormon."

Though some victims in Monday's ambush were named LeBaron, Rosetti said they were not part of a group known by the same name that settled in the nearby state of Chihuahua decades ago. The group is also known as the Church of the Firstborn.

"Calling them a group or a sect or a church is not only offensive but it's historically incorrect," she said of the La Mora families.

Members of the LeBaron group from Chihuahua have had a history of conflict with Mexican drug cartels.

Months later, Benjamin LeBaron and his brother-in-law Luis Widmar were beaten and shot to death after armed men stormed their home in Chihuahua. Authorities later arrested the alleged ringleader of a drug trafficking family that ran a smuggling operation on Mexico's border with Texas.

But the La Mora families had largely been spared the violence that afflicted their neighbors.

"To my knowledge, the La Mora group has lived in relative peace for 60 years," Rosetti said. "They have not had conflicts with cartels.

A close-knit community

Fundamentalist Mormons trace their origins to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"You have some who are fully committed to the LDS Church, including many who have given up the doctrine of polygamy and are members of the institution in Salt Lake City," said Park, the historian at Sam Houston State University.

"You also, on the other end of the spectrum, have those who are part of the Church of the Firstborn or the LeBarons, who are firmly committed to polygamy, who are formal members of those break-off churches and see themselves as representatives of the true church. And then you have many, many in between those lines."

A spokesman from the LDS Church said the victims were not members.

"We are heartbroken to hear of the tragedy that has touched these families in Mexico. Though it is our understanding that they are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our love, prayers and sympathies are with them as they mourn and remember their loved ones."

"They all know each other," Park said. "If they're not related to each other, their families go back generations as friends and associates and colleagues. This is very close-knit community."

Continued here:

Mormon quest for peace and freedom in Mexico shattered by violence and adversity - CNN

Chinese students speak to representatives from the Illinois Institute of Technology and other American colleges at the "Study in USA" section of the 2015 China Education Expo (CEE) in Shanghai. (Reuters File)

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A few years ago, I met a student from rural China who had come to a university in Washington, DC, and fallen in love with political science. But he was too afraid of being reported to the Chinese embassy to pursue the subject. While Americans take freedom at universities for granted, for some students from China the feeling is very different. This isnt a free space, he concluded.Ad Policy

There are now approximately 350,000 students from China at American universities. While many have great experiences, some have to deal with the surveillance and censorship that follows them to campus. Over the past several years, Human Rights Watch has documented the unique threats these students face. Our research has revealed Chinese government and Communist Party intimidation ranging from harassment of family members in China over what someone had said in a closed seminar to censorship by US academic institutions that did not want to irk potential Chinese government partners. One scholar said a senior administrator had asked him as a personal favor to decline media requests during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, fearing that any criticism could have negative consequences for the universitys profile in China.

Even when campus debates take an ugly turnsuch as when students from the mainland tried to shout down speakers at a March 2019 event at University of California, Berkeley, addressing the human rights crisis in Xinjiang, or in September when unidentified individuals threatened Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law as he arrived for graduate studies at Yaleschools appear reluctant to publicly respond to these threats against free speech. In mid-October, students at the University of California, Davis, tore down other students materials supporting Hong Kong protesters, yet in the ensuing days searching the schools website for Hong Kong yields only information about summer internshipsnot unequivocal support for peaceful expression.

Few schools leverage their broader relationships with Chinese institutions to help faculty members who are denied visas by China when they try to advance research on topics considered sensitive by the Chinese government; equally few institutions make provisions for students from China who want to study sensitive topics to do so without it being known to Chinese authorities. We are unaware of any university that systematically tracks the impact of Chinese government interference in academic freedoma step that could serve as a deterrent to such encroachments.

At a recent meeting I attended, some of the worlds foremost experts on vectors of Chinese government and Communist Party influence detailed for American university officials precisely the ways Chinese students and scholars in the United States are the focus of control and manipulation, including through on-campus surveillance of classroom speech and activities, which is then reported back to embassies or consulates. Yet those university officials appeared skeptical about the urgency or consequences for students or scholars, and the discussion quickly reverted to focusing on the technicalities of schools compliance with various regulations or their interactions with agencies like the FBI.Related Article

In private, some university officials will admit their discomfort in dealing with the issue of Chinese government influence on their campuses, and say theyre afraid that they may be labeled xenophobes. That fear needs urgently to be overcome to protect a community that is demonstrably vulnerable. A recent effort to do just that was initiated students themselves: In September, the student union at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, stripped the campus chapter of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association of its accreditation, on the grounds that the groups reporting of a talk on Xinjiang to the local Chinese consulate violated school rules.

But there are also crass reasons for their reticence. Many academic institutions around the world now have opaque academic or financial relationships with Chinese government entities or government-linked companies. Some are increasingly dependent on international students for tuition revenue, and fear alienating students from China. Others, including MIT, find themselves in the awkward position of accepting money for research partnerships with Chinese companies like iFlytek, which has now been placed on a list of companies sanctioned by the US Department of Commerce for their involvement in human rights abuses in China.Current Issue

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Our research formed the basis of a 12-step code of conduct that is designed to help schools combat Chinese government efforts to undermine academic freedom around the world. Those steps start with acknowledging the problem, and include publicizing policies that classroom discussions are meant to stay on campusnot reported to foreign missions. Schools could also appoint an ombudsperson to whom threats could be reported and thus tracked, join forces to share experiences and take common positions, and commit to disclosing all links to the Chinese governmentsteps that could deter Chinese government overreach.

The code has been sent to about 150 schools in Australia, Canada, and the United States, and about a dozen have replied. So far none have signed on, convinced that their existing rules are sufficient to mitigate any threat, but we have seen no evidence that those rules and procedures have succeeded.

In April the Association of American Universities published an update of actions taken by universities to address growing concerns aboutundue foreign influence on campusbut most of this document deals with issues like protection of data and export control compliance. A half-dozen universitiesincluding UC Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and Yale Universitypublished statements last spring expressing solidarity with international students and scholars on their campuses, and more than 60 colleges and universities have signed on to the University of Chicagos well-known principles on free expression.

But if schools are going to fulfill their solemn responsibility not only to promote a lively and fearless freedom of debate and deliberation, but also to protect that freedom when others attempt to restrict it, as the University of Chicago principles insist, they are going to have to tackle these threats head-on. That means providing the most precious asset a university should ensure that all of its students enjoy equally: freedom of thought.

Read more:

The Chinese Government Cannot Be Allowed to Undermine Academic Freedom - The Nation

Sister Loraine McGuire with Little Sisters of the Poor after the Supreme Court heard Zubik v. Burwell, an appeal demanding exemption from providing insurance covering contraception, in Washington, D.C., March 23, 2016. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

The late Supreme Court Justice Frank Murphy wrote, Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion all have a double aspect freedom of thought and freedom of action. To which one should be able to add, freedom of inaction meaning that absent a compelling state interest, people should not be forced to violate their own religious beliefs through compelled behavior.

Dont tell that to the secular left. Giving a fig about the constitutional guarantee of the free expression of religion, leftwing attorneys general have sued to thwart a Trump administration rule that seeks to protect medical professionals, who refuse to participate in what they consider to be immoral procedures, from being punished by employers that receive federal funding. This includes protecting doctors and nurses from forced participation in abortion or the surgical mutilation of minors (from a certain perspective) deemed medical treatments for gender dysphoria.

Yesterday, a federal judge prohibited the conscience rule from taking effect. From the NBC News story:

A federal judge in New York on Wednesday struck down a new Trump administration rule that would have allowed health care clinicians to refuse to provide abortions for moral or religious reasons.

U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York rejected the federal rule after womens groups, health organizations and multiple states sued the Department of Health and Human Services, arguing the exemptions were unconstitutional.

Engelmayer ruled that the so-called conscience rule was too coercive, allowing HHS to withhold billions in federal funding unless health care providers complied.

Alexandra is right that this ruling and others like it could eventually drive orthodox religious believers out of health care. Actually, I think that is the plan. For example, Dignity Health, a Catholic hospital, is being sued in California with the blessing of the state Court of Appeals for refusing to perform a hysterectomy on a biological woman/transgender man despite its clear violation of Catholic moral doctrine that prevents sterilization in the absence of a medical pathology.

And lets not forget that the Little Sisters of the Poor are still in court fighting an Obama era rule that requires they an order of Catholic nuns provide free contraception health insurance coverage. We also have the baker case and the florist cases, to further illustrate the point.

Back to Trump. Orthodox (small-o) Christians and other faithful people know that Trump seeks to protect their right to act or refrain from acting in the public square based on their faith. And, they know that many of his political opponents seek to coerce action and thereby shrivel their right to the free expression of religion into a mere freedom of worship that evaporates once outside of the home and church/synagogue/temple/mosque.

And that is one major reason why many voters of faith will vote for Trump next year despite his past peccadillos and obnoxious personality.

One last point: Voting Trump for this reason is not to shrink in fear instead of standing boldly in faith, as some have charged. Rather, it is acting in the public square e.g., rendering onto Caesar what is Caesars to protect a fundamental constitutional right that is under direct assault.

One can agree or disagree with that decision, but that is an honorable choice that has no bearing on the fortitude of ones religious beliefs.

The rest is here:

Religious-Freedom Voters Will Vote Trump - National Review

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BERLIN Saturday will mark 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Wall went up virtually overnight in August of 1961. From the end of World War II and up until then, Communist East Germany lost 3.5 million people. If people continued leaving the East for the West, East Germany would collapse. The Wall was the government's solution.

West Berlin was unique in that it was an island of freedom in a sea of East Germany Communism.

The four allies in World War II divided Germany with the former Soviet Union controlling the East and the three other allies, including the U.S., overseeing the West. All had flags planted in one of the four sectors of Berlin. It was a mission of Western Europe and every U.S. president from Kennedy to HW Bush to keep West Berlin free.With that mission came the real possibility that a simple misunderstanding could turn into World War III.

Kennedy famously said he was a Berliner, but he also said a wall was better than a war. That didn't mean peace for Berlin.

On November 9, 1989 an East German government official announced it would be lifting restrictions on travel. When a reporter asked when this new policy would take effect the leader mistakenly, or not depending on who tells the story, said, "Immediately."

Soon after, thousands showed up at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. Overwhelmed and confused East German Guards opened the boarder and the wall started to come down.

Leo Klein grew up in Chicagos Lakeview neighborhood and had moved to West Berlin six years before the wall came down. He was on what he called his grand tour of Europe. He spent two years in Rome and two more in Paris before deciding to move to West Berlin. He lived just blocks from the wall and had been asleep when the wall started coming down.

"One of my common neighbors said, Oh, the wall came down, he said. I was like, Wait. I just took a nap for a half-hour and the wall came down?"

Soon he joined the thousands at the wall to celebrate the physical symbol of the Cold War.

Big celebrations are planned in Germany this Saturday and in Chicago.

Isabelle Flegel will be celebrating at the Dank Haus on Chicago's North Side. She was born in West Berlin and was 16 the day the wall was brought down. She said that night was "euphoric.

There was no other word for it," she said.

Klein said seeing the stark differences between the two systems in the East and the West proved democracy has a huge impact on people and the U.S. needs to stay involved in world events.

For Flegel, she said living through the historic moment has made her see and question all governmental system and try and see the angles of who benefits from decisions made.

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30 Years of Freedom: The Fall of the Berlin Wall - WGN TV Chicago

In the middle of a grassy traffic island, adjacent to a nondescript strip mall in southern Louisiana, stands the only physical memorial to an event that rocked the racist foundations of the United States.

A brown plaque, erected to commemorate a plantation home, has one short, embossed aside: Major 1811 slave uprising organized here.

It is an understatement that Dread Scott, the noted New York artist, finds infuriating. The 1811 slave rebellion, involving around 400 enslaved people rising up on their white captors and marching towards New Orleans, was the largest slave insurrection in American history. But this minimization is also an inspiration, and partly explains why he committed six years of his life to a mass re-enactment piece that starts on Friday and ends in New Orleans on Saturday evening.

Im glad that there is a sign that marks it, he said in an interview with the Guardian. But I also think that its pathetic. To mark this most magnificent event with a sign by the side of a highway? Thats crazy.

Scott, 54, who has spent much of his career producing provocative work examining race and oppression in contemporary America, has taken on one of his most ambitious pieces.

It will involve hundreds of re-enactors dressed in costume, some on horseback, others carrying replica muskets and machetes, singing in Creole, and marching to drumbeat in formation as they partially reconstruct the uprising that took place here over two centuries ago.

The 1811 revolt, often referred to as the German Coast Uprising, has been largely overlooked by historians.

Its leader, Charles Deslondes, a slave driver who organized hundreds of enslaved people from different plantations along a stretch of the Mississippi River now known as the River Parishes, remains a relatively anonymous figure compared to other rebel leaders like Nat Turner in Virginia and Denmark Vesey in South Carolina.

But recent revisionist accounts have sought to recapture some of its significance. The 1811 revolt was distinguished by a degree of military sophistication and political intent, that saw its participants burn down a number of plantation homes, kill a handful of owners and march towards New Orleans when the citys defences were weak.

It was a revolt that was planned for a year or more. And that planning, vision, boldness and courage of trying not just to strike back, but to actually get free, is something that is significant. People should really view these leaders as heroes and learn from this history, said Scott.

The re-enactment, which will involve mostly African American performers, will see some of this brutal history reimagined.

The 1811 rebellion was violently suppressed by a militia of plantation owners before it made it to the city. Deslondes was captured during a skirmish, and brutally tortured before being burned alive. Other rebels were convicted in show trials, executed and had their heads impaled on spikes along the Mississippi River in a show of white supremacist power.

Scotts re-enactment will not involve this bloodshed, and will instead end in a public celebration at Congo Square in New Orleans, the historic park where, in the days of slavery, black people both slaves and free people of colour were allowed to congregate.

This city, and indeed the region as a whole, is still grappling with depictions of its racist past. In 2017 New Orleans removed four Confederate monuments from public spaces, the same year that riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the removal of similar artefacts, led to the murder of an anti-fascist campaigner, Heather Heyer.

Many plantation museums in the American South continue to sanitize the brutal reality of slavery.

Scott is also keenly aware that the 26-mile performance route will weave between sites that were once plantations and are now petrochemical plants in a region known colloquially as Cancer Alley due to its air quality issues and high cancer risk rates in predominantly black communities.

These petrochemical plants were put down literally on top of the graves of enslaved people who had died in that region, he said.

The artist insists that even though the piece will portray a slave rebellion, ultimately it is not about slavery but a continued struggle for freedom.

This is a story about rebellion, about freedom and emancipation. This is not a project about slavery, he said.

Whether it is the struggle for reparations, or police murder or mass incarceration, which have origins and roots in enslavement, the people fighting to change those things today are actually walking in the tradition of enslaved people who were fighting for freedom and emancipation.

Dread Scotts Slave Rebellion Re-enactment begins on 8 November. The Guardian will cover it in print and multimedia.

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'A story about freedom': artist set to re-enact largest slave revolt in US history - The Guardian

There has been a lot of talk about Abhishek Shahs debut Gujarati feature film, Hellaro, that could well be a successor to Ketan Mehtas 1987 classic Mirch Masala. However, several of its scenes took me back to the iconic moment in Dev Anands Guide when Waheeda Rehman breaks the pitcher and dances with abandon to the song Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai. Hellaro is also about song and dance becoming womens route to flight and freedom.

The winner of the Best Feature Film at the 66th National Film Awards and the opening film at the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Hellaro is also Indias entry, along with Uyare, in the best debut film award category at the festival. Based on a folklore, it is set in a remote village in Kutchch in 1975. A reference to Indira Gandhi and Emergency and the shorts-wearing Dimple Bobby Kapadia set the time frame.

Hellaro (Gujarati)

It is no village for women, dominated as it is by men. While the presiding deity of the village is a devi, women here are forced to remain confined within the four walls of their homes, more so in the kitchen. Even the garba dance is a privilege of the men. The only outing for women is to the faraway pond to fetch water for the whole household, in a region has been facing drought for three years. They dont belong to a city or a village but to their respective husbands, they cant earn money by putting their talent like embroidery to good use; and if they are seen doing so they are denied the right to practice their own skill.

Unlike the pro-active and rebellious women in Mirch Masala, who overthrow patriarchy with just chilli and spices for weapons, the women in Hellaro are not all wholly radical. It takes a while for some of them to liberate themselves of their conditioning. So they treat a widow like a pariah, realising only with time that they all are victims of the same rabid and violent male entitlement. They get guilt stricken, wondering if the misfortunes and deaths in their family have to do with their own so-called trespasses and the little moments of joy by the pond. They eventually get justice not just through their own agency and power of resistance, but some divine intervention to boot.

Shah has an accomplished ensemble of actors and skilled technical team to fall back on. The meticulously-designed and fabulously-mounted film, while questioning patriarchy, is also a celebration of the lush colours and culture of Gujarat. There are the gorgeous earthy shades, the rich Gurjari-like garments, the hypnotically choreographed shots of women walking the distance to fetch water, the placement of their matkas in one corner of the frame as their garba fills up the rest of it. The fetching packaging of the arid desert landscape can easily coax you to go visiting the next round of holidays. I am planning for sure.

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Hellaro movie review: Of song and dance leading to flight and freedom - The Hindu