Category Archives: Freedom

Our Founding Fathers considered a free press so instrinsic to the democratic ideal that they wrote it into the very first amendment of the document that launched our nation. Thomas Jefferson wrote that "the only security of all is in a free press." Subsequent statesmen have had their ups and downs with the fourth estate, but have always understood and respected the need for a truly independent media.

President Donald Trump, as he so often does, stands as an exception and the tone he chooses to set in the Oval Office poses a clear threat not only to the press, but to American citizens in general.

What is at risk here is your access to information.

The president has hurled many epithets at the media "scum" and "sleaze" are among the more tame ones. But those words are the smokescreen that distracts the public's attention, and sometimes even the media's attention, from the more alarming pattern of behavior in which he is methodically chipping away at the very institution of a free press.

Mr. Trump has vowed, both before and after his election, to gut the First Amendment and "open up" libel laws to make it easier to sue news organizations for critical coverage. This spring he suggested the White House could dispense with press briefings and instead simply hand out written statements for the media to publish, unquestioned. It hasn't gotten to that point yet, but the White House has taken the rather stunning step of excluding TV cameras from briefings.

This attempt to undermine the fundamental institution of a free press are nothing short of insidious. The First Amendment, which also covers freedom of speech and religion, states that neither an individual nor a news organization can be prosecuted for criticizing the government. It seems so obvious now, but it was a revolutionary thought at the time.

The crucial watchdog role implicitly bestowed upon a free press has been instrumental in the continued development of our nation. The free press, unheard of in King George III's England, rallied colonists behind the revolution. It played a role in the abolition of slavery and a century later in the success of the Civil Rights movement.

Racers came to practice and run the track before race day tomorrow at the Langley Speedway in Hampton.

Racers came to practice and run the track before race day tomorrow at the Langley Speedway in Hampton.

Investigations that were only possible under the protections of the First Amendment have challenged unethical industries and fought for the rights and safety of workers and other American citizens. The free press has uncovered government corruption and held the offenders responsible.

Here on the Peninsula, reporting by the Daily Press uncovered a police sting operation that churned $4 million through its coffers without a single arrest; parsed crime and sentencing statistics to see if all of our citizens are treated farily by the legal system; and most recently, called out the Peninsula Airport Commission for throwing away millions of your tax dollars to pay off someone else's bad loan as part of a back room deal.

None of this would have been possible without the First Amendment freedoms that are now being threatened.

President Trump's ascent to the White House came at a time when the public's right to know was already under attack. Government bodies at all levels have been working to punch holes in the Freedom of Information Act, which guarantees the media and citizens access to public information and details about how your tax dollars are spent.

We find ourselves fighting these battles more and more these days battling a state clerk's office in an attempt to see a database of crime and sentencing statistics culled from public records around the state, or dealing with a judge who wanted to close a county supervisor's domestic violence trial to the media (but allow the public to attend).

The tone set by the president encourages this kind of response, making it easier for millions of citizens to shrug (or even cheer) when the press is denied access to important information that pertains to your tax dollars, your laws and your lives.

When we seek access to public records, when we use FOIA to investigate public officials and agencies, it is part of our job as the eyes and ears of the readers whom we represent and serve. It is our duty to keep a close watch on how your tax dollars are spent and on how the public's business is being conducted.

The free press is one of the critical pillars that supports any democracy. An attack on that foundation is an attack on the entire democratic system.

When someone wants to limit the press' freedom, they are really limiting your freedom. When they keep information from us, they are keeping it from you.

That notion offends us. It should offend you.

Excerpt from:

Editorial: Foundation of our freedom - Daily Press

Cars crossing from Italy into France are being stopped and searched. Their drivers and passengers are being interrogated and made to show their national identity documents. So much for open borders. Presumably France is being permitted to puncture the spirit of the Schengen agreement because Emmanuel Macron is the current darling of European Union optimists.

He is taking apparent liberties with what Michel Barnier constantly reminds us is the sacred EU principle of free movement of people, for which the leaders of countries such as Poland and Hungary would be castigated.

MrMacron and his border enforcement teams would, of course, argue that these procedures are not designed to prevent the populations of member states from exercising their right to live and work anywhere within the EU, but to prevent an unlimited influx of migrants from the rest of the world being transported across the continentillegally....

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Freedom of movement in Europe will end. But will it be orderly or chaotic? - Telegraph.co.uk

Protesters in front of the Polish parliament as senators voted on laws giving politicians control over judges. Photograph: Wojtek Radwaski/AFP/Getty Images

The EU is expected to give Polands rightwing government until September to reverse a controversial set of laws that give the countrys politicians control over its supreme court.

The Polish senate defied international condemnation early on Saturday and mass demonstrations in Warsaw to approve a law that allows the firing of its current supreme court judges, except those chosen by the justice minister and approved by the president.

Protests continued in Poland. on Saturday. But despite increasing dismay at developments, the European commission knows it needs time to build support before moving towards what is regarded as the nuclear option of suspending a countrys voting rights in the EU for the first time. Last week the first vice-president of the EUs executive, Frans Timmermans, warned that Brussels was very close to triggering the sanction, which would spark a major confrontation with one of the EUs most populous member states.

The legislation passed on Saturday is only one of a series of contentious legal reforms being pursued by the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) which have prompted thousands to take to the streets in protest against what many claim is the death of Polish democracy.

The new law gives the president the power to issue regulations for the supreme courts work. It also introduces a disciplinary chamber that, on a motion from the justice minister, would handle suspected breaches of regulations or ethics. The law now requires only the signature of the president, Andrzej Duda, who was previously a member of PiS, to become binding.

With Brexit negotiations in full flow, there is unease in Brussels at taking any action that could be seen as heavy-handed in relation to a member state.

With the EU engaged in a difficult balancing act, it is understood Timmermans will suggest at a meeting of commissioners on Wednesday that Poland be given until the next general affairs council of EU ministers, on 25 September, to respond to claims that its measures are a systemic threat to the rule of law. While Poland has ignored the commission when it has previously set deadlines on this issue, the move would at least give the commission the summer months to garner the support required to impose tough sanctions.

The EU believes, however, that it will be in a position to launch two infringement proceedings against Poland as soon as this week, in an attempt to slow the countrys drift towards what Brussels regards as authoritarianism.

The first, it is understood, will highlight that the governments insistence on the early retirement of judges is discriminatory towards women, as the age thresholds are different for the sexes under the new laws.

The second infringement proceeding focuses on the failure of Poland to give its people effective access to justice, by undermining the independence of the courts. Both legal arguments have been deployed by the European commission before in the case of Hungary, and forced the country to rethink.

Jarosaw Kaczyski, head of Polands ruling party, claims the judiciary in Poland still works to a communist-era model and that the system needs radical changes to become efficient and reliable. The Polish prime minister, Beata Szydo, says the legislation is an internal matter and the government will not bow to any foreign pressure.

About 200 protesters have gathered in front of Dudas holiday home in Jurata, on the Baltic coast, to demand that he does not sign the bill.

The president has 21 days to sign it and is not expected to do so before his meeting on Monday with the head of the court, Magorzata Gersdorf. Two other bills, on a key judicial body and on regular courts, also await Dudas signature.

On Friday the US state department urged all sides to ensure that any judicial reform does not violate Polands constitution or international legal obligations and respects the principles of judicial independence and separation of powers, and urged dialogue.

So far Duda has not accepted an invitation for talks on the issue from the European council president, Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister. Speaking to Polish broadcasters, Tusk repeated his readiness for talks and said he was a little disappointed there had been no meeting. Polands president should be concerned about a situation that is, lets say, serious, he said.

The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbn, said on Saturday that Budapest would fight to defend Poland. The inquisition offensive against Poland can never succeed, because Hungary will use all legal options in the European Union to show solidarity with the Poles, he said.

Read the rest here:

EU will hit Poland with deadline to reverse curbs on judicial freedom - The Guardian

After nearly two years of work, the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the Freedom Area Comprehensive Plan this week after making a few changes based on feedback it received from the public involving two large tracts of land, the Beatty and Gibson properties.

The residential portion of the Beatty property is designated high density residential. Gibson, meanwhile, which at one point during the planning process was designated for high density residential, was approved as medium density. This is still higher than the low density designation of the previous 2001 Freedom Plan.

While citizens of the Freedom area had argued against the so-called up-zoning of these properties, it makes sense to include some higher density development in this area of the county, one of few places where water and sewer infrastructure exist to support it. Future development here also balances agricultural preservation efforts elsewhere in Carroll.

Of course, the process isnt over quite yet. The plan now moves to the Board of County Commissioners, who have the ability to make significant changes to it prior to final approval, thanks to a state law that went into effect in 2015.

The law gives elected officials in non-charter governments, like Carroll, the ability to modify the plans themselves and remand master planning documents back to the planning commission for specific changes. Previously , county commissioners could only adopt or reject plans, with the latter choice restarting the process.

Thats what happened back in 2009 when the previous board of commissioners rejected the countywide master plan, known as the Pathways Plan. It wasnt until five years later, in 2014, that the countys master plan was finally sent to the commissioners and adopted.

Now, the commissioners have the ability to make minor changes they could simply substitute one word for another or major ones striking the entire document and rewriting it themselves. The planning commission has no power to counter any changes the commissioners may make to the plan, although any modifications would have to go through a public hearing process.

When the law was passed, there was some consternation from planning commission members that giving the county commissioners so much latitude could not only render the planning commissions work futile, but it would also allow elected officials to interject politics into what should be an apolitical document.

One of the final changes the planning commission made prior to approving the 2014 county master plan was to remove a letter outlining the Board of County Commissioners stance on property rights, after speakers at the final public hearing vehemently spoke out against its inclusion, saying it politicized the growth plan.

Theres no question the Freedom Plan was controversial, with hundreds of public comments submitted to the planning commission, many opposing land-use changes included in the plan.

Since Doug Howard, the commissioner who represents the Freedom area, has declared he is not seeking re-election, and presumably the constituents of the four other districts wont be swayed much by what happens in the Eldersburg/Sykesville area, there arent many brownie points to be gained with voters by politicizing the plan.

Still, we are hopeful that even with their newfound powers our elected officials leave politics out of the plan and, save for some minor alterations, respect the months of work of the planning commission in developing a blueprint for growth that is good for both the Freedom area and the county as a whole without making sweeping changes.

Link:

Editorial: Elected officials should respect planning commission's work on Freedom plan - Carroll County Times

O.J. Simpson was on the move again this time to his own cell in the Lovelock Correctional Facility.

Prison officials said Friday the former football star was removed from the general population for his own protection as he waits for his release in early October.

Brooke Keast, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Corrections, said after Simpson was granted parole Thursday, officials decided it made sense to keep him out of harms way.

Keast said prison officials usually dont allow hearings to be viewed by the nearly 1,700 inmates, but with the widespread attention Simpson received, that proved impossible.

When you have people who are lifers that are not going to be getting out, there are some people who might want to make a name for themselves, Keast said. Its not worth the risk.

Simpsons parole hearing like most legal issues with the 70-year-old was a spectacle that grabbed international attention. Media flooded Carson City, the small capital city of Nevada, with large array of satellite television trucks. His conviction on robbery charges nine years ago landed him in Lovelock, a speck of a town two hours northeast of Carson City, where the four-member parole board unanimously granted his release.

The decision to grant parole proved disappointing to some who were hoping Simpson would serve a longer sentence as payback for being acquitted in the 1994 double murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.

David Montero and Matt Pearce

Goldmans father, Fred Goldman, who along with the Brown estate successfully sued Simpson in a civil lawsuit related to the deaths, told Good Morning America on Friday that the family was disappointed with the parole commissioners decision.

They never pressed him about anything," he said. "He snapped at one of the commissioners. ... The first gentleman who spoke, he snapped at him. There was no feedback to that. He lied numerous times about many things. He was never re-questioned about anything.

Goldman said the commissioners appeared to go over a checklist of conditions that make inmates eligible for parole, and they checked them off, and as long as he answered the proper number of items on the checklist, it was a done deal."

During the parole hearing, the commissioners said they received letters of support for Simpsons release as well as those who wished to see him remain behind bars, but they couldnt consider the 1995 acquittal in their deliberations.

Simpson told the board hed led a conflict-free life" and repeatedly said he was a good guy." Fred Goldman took offense at the remarks.

"Everybody in the world except him knows that he has not led a conflict-free life," Goldman said. "He beat up his first wife, he beat up Nicole numerous times, he had numerous other altercations with people over the years hardly conflict-free, nor do I suspect it'll ever be conflict-free. He's just not capable of being that person."

Kim Goldman, Ron Goldmans sister, told Good Morning America that the family had a nine-year reprieve with Simpson serving the minimum amount of time for the robbery conviction. His sentence couldve been as long as 33 years.

We're going to go back to doing what we've done. I run a nonprofit working with teenagers, I do stories on other victims and survivors, I'm raising my kids, she said. We're active in the world of victims and survivors' advocacy. We're going to continue doing those things and take it one day at a time, and if he chooses to write a book, or do a reality show, we'll be there."

Simpsons plans for when he is released indicate a desire to move to Florida, though the state would have to accept him as a parolee. He told the parole commission he wanted to be with his family already living there.

Tanya Brown, Nicole Brown Simpsons sister, told CNN on Thursday night that she watched the hearing, but said their life doesnt revolve around Simpson.

If you cant change it, you have to at least try to accept it," she said. It works for me. I know it is what it is, and I know its cliche to a lot of people, but it's what gets me through.

Sights, sounds, and the people that made the first day of 2017's Comic-Con a sight to behold.

Sights, sounds, and the people that made the first day of 2017's Comic-Con a sight to behold.

Democrats Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Tim Canova are preparing already for their August 2018 congressional primary rematch by raising and spending campaign money.

Democrats Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Tim Canova are preparing already for their August 2018 congressional primary rematch by raising and spending campaign money.

david.montero@latimes.com

Twitter: @davemontero

ALSO

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This is what happened to all the important people in O.J. Simpson's life

Bill Plaschke: USC seems to be unwavering in its fond remembrance of former Trojan O.J. Simpson

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As freedom awaits, newly paroled OJ Simpson isolated at prison for his protection - Los Angeles Times

Free Press readers Published 12:06 a.m. ET July 22, 2017

As citizens, we are not truly free if we do not have realistic access to good health care, one Free Press reader wrote.(Photo: TNS)

Free Press readers share their opinions on the health care reform debate in Washington:

Our national anthem ends with the words land of the free and home of the brave. As citizens, we are not truly free if we do not have realistic access to good health care. Republicans, pushing for the repeal and replacement of the ACA, and now just the repeal, are selling the warped notion that freedom is the right to choose to not have insurance, or to have a junk insurance policy. I doubt this freedom is ever chosen by those with financial means.

This version of freedom is packaged and sold to less affluent Americans because, for many of them, obtaining health care currently requires hard choices. Our countrys version of freedom should not be that we allow vulnerable citizens the choice to meet other essential needs while they forgo health insurance and gamble that they will not become sick. For this wealthy, bountiful country, freedom should be something more noble than that.

Freedom should be the ability to choose to leave your current job and start a new business, knowing that you can buy health insurance, and that pre-existing conditions will not affect your ability to obtain or keep that insurance. Freedom is saving and planning for retirement and not worrying that you will lose all of that hard-earned retirement savings should you become ill or have an accident. Freedom is retiring when you want, without having to wait until age 65 when you will be eligible for Medicare. Freedom is not worrying about how you will pay for doctors visits, hospital visits, a childs birth, medicines, or expensive lifesaving treatments. Shouldnt we want these freedoms for all Americans?

If the Republicans repeal the ACA or fail to work with Democrats to fix the ACA, many Americans will be denied the essential freedom to live healthy lives without fear of whether they can pay for it.

Lauren Lisi

Huntington Woods

People forget or never realized how long it took to get a health care plan for all Americans. Finally came the Affordable Care Act. It works to a large degree but has weaknesses. Those problems could have been overcome without so many wasted months if the GOP accepted the ACA and worked to make it a success. Of course, that would mean working for the benefit of the American people rather than the party.

Ron DePentu

Canton

The Republicans had seven years to come up with their version of a health care plan they chose to spend it on meaningless repeal votes on the Affordable Care Act. When it came time to deliver their plan, after claiming for years that they had all the answers, a chosen few went behind closed doors and threw something together in a few short weeks and their own party couldnt support it.

One of the most disturbing things that has come out of all of this is that Mitch McConnell threatened the recalcitrant senators by vowing to work with the Democrats to get a bipartisan agreement if the Republicans didnt fall in line. Well, heaven forbid! Work together for the common good of the American people? Thats something that the Senate on both sides of the aisle seems to have forgotten is their purpose.

Lenore S. Litwin

South Lyon

There is an answer to the health care/health care insurance problem in this country. All federal employees starting with the president down should be on the same plan as citizens. All state employees from the governors down should be on the same plan as citizens. Once that is accomplished I think that federal and state governments will very quickly come up with an excellent health plan for all of American citizens.

M. Chudnov

Farmington Hills

Wouldnt it be something if Congress rallied around Sen. John McCain, and came together to reach a consensus for a health care bill. They certainly have not felt compelled to rally around the people they represent.

Ron Ustruck

Davisburg

Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/2toHvc7

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There is freedom in good health insurance for all - Detroit Free Press

The Legends of Motown featuring the Four Tops, the Temptations, the Spinners and the Stylistics

7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 23.

Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, 14900 Metropolitan Parkway. Sterling Heights.

Tickets are $59.50-$125.50 pavilion, $25.50 lawn.

Call 586-268-9700 or visit palacenet.com.

In any discussion of Motown, the Temptations are among the first acts mentioned -- with good reason.

The quintet, formed as the Elgins in 1960 and later known as the Primes, is one of Motowns most successful groups, with 25 Top 20 singles and the distinction of being the first Motown act to win a Grammy Award. The Tempts are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.

And the Tempts are still going, under the auspices of co-founder Otis Williams and with some formidable projects in motion for the near future.

The Temptations big project at the moment is Aint Too Proud To Beg: The Temptations, a musical directed by Tony Award winner Des McAnuff and opening Sept. 15 at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California, with plans to move to Broadway later on. I just had the pleasure of being there to see (rehearsals) and I was moved to tears, Williams (nee Miles), 75, says by phone from his home in California. I cant put it into words; Its gonna be good. Id like to think (audiences) will take away a greater perspective and to some extent a respect of what we have gone through and why were still around doing it and people want to see it.

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Williams -- who wrote the best-selling Temptations, a 1988 autobiography that was adapted into an NBC miniseries 10 years later -- is also hoping the Temptations will be doing some recording soon, hopefully releasing the groups first new studio albums in nine years. Were getting ready to go back in (to the studio), he says. Were going to sit down with our producers soon and figure it out. Well be doing some original tunes and well be doing some cover tunes; That much I know. We used to record an album twice a year, so to put something out after nine years will be a special moment in Tempts history.

Like Duke Fakir in the Four Tops, Williams is the lone Temptations founding member still alive and actively performing, and he doesnt take that distinction lightly. Were just blessed to continue on, Williams says. The Four Tops are fine, and the Tempts and myself, and (Henry) Fambrough of the Spinners, because hes the last original member from that group...Im just glad that we are able to continue this music and this group that people have come to know and love.

Among the Temptations many career anniversaries, this year marks the 45th for Papa Was A Rollin Stone, a chart-topping hit that won three Grammy Awards. The song was first released earlier in the year by the Undisputed Truth, and the Temptations didnt want to do it at first, according to Williams. We were tired of the psychedelic stuff. We had the Ball Of Confusion, the Could Nine, the Runaway Child, I Cant Get Next To You. We wanted to go back to the Just My Imagination and My Girl sort of feel. So we almost passed on Papa Was A Rollin Stone, but (producer) Norman Whitfield said, Itll be a hit, so we stopped bickering and went into the studio and recorded it, and it came out and it was the No. 1 record and everything and turned out to be one of our big hits.

As the 50th anniversary observation of the Detroit riots begins Sunday, July 23, Williams recalls his experience as primarily trying to stay out of the fray. I was getting ready to go to the Chit Chat Lounge to see the Funk Brothers play and I heard about whats going on and said, Id best go home, Williams remembers. I got home and sat down and looked at the news and all hell had broken loose. I said, Wow, if that isnt a hell of a thing... It was scary. But one of the things I remember is that as bad as the riot was and marshal law and all that, when they finally let the city start moving about I said, Lemme go see what happened to Motown, and it was untouched, not one brick scratched or anything. I thought that was something special.

If You Go

The Legends of Motown show, featuring the Four Tops, the Temptations, the Spinners and the Stylistics, is at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 23 in the Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, 14900 Metropolitan Pkwy., Sterling Heights. Tickets are $59.50-$125.50 pavilion, $25.50 lawn. Call 586-268-9700 or visit palacenet.com.

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The Temptations at Freedom Hill, 5 Things To Know - The Oakland Press

US President Donald Trump has approved a plan to allow the US navy more freedom to carry out patrols in the South China Sea, in a move that could be seen as a challenge to Chinas maritime claims in the disputed waters, a far-right US news website reported.

US patrols challenging Beijing in South China Sea will continue, says US Navy commander

The plan, submitted to the White House in April by Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, outlines a full-year schedule of when US navy ships will sail through contested waters in the South China Sea, Breitbart News cited a US official as saying.

Under the plan, the White House will be aware of all planned freedom of navigation operations so it will not be a surprise when requests come up the chain of command, and they will be approved faster than before, the official said.

US Navy carrier group begins South China Sea patrols

The faster approval process means the operations can be conducted on a very routine, very regular basis, as part of a programme to keep the waters open, rather than as a one-off event, the person said.

It is not yet clear if the plan is part of a larger Asia-Pacific strategy or whether it is simply designed to make freedom of navigation operations more routine in the South China Sea.

China shows US its military muscle with patrol off Hong Kong waters amid rising maritime tensions

Under President Obamas administration, the Pentagon was required to send requests to conduct such operations to the National Security Council, where they would stall, the website report said.

There was a concern of doing anything that would cause anybody to get their feathers ruffled, the official was quoted as saying.

Chinas coastguard staking claim to contested reefs in South China Sea

Despite tough rhetoric during Trumps campaign trial, the US did not conduct any freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea until late May, when the USS Dewey sailed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands.

Mischief Reef is controlled by mainland China, which has built airstrips in the region, but is also claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

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Trump signs off on plan to allow US navy more freedom to patrol in South China Sea - South China Morning Post

By Francis Ewherido

As parents gathered in the chapel of St. Gregorys College, Ikoyi, Lagos, for the Holy Mass to commence the graduation ceremonies of their children last Saturday, one feeling was mutual: joy. Beyond that, there were divergent feelings.

For some parents, St. Gregorys was a refuge for their children while away from home. Now they are moving to the university with cultism and other social vices and they are worried about how their children would cope. Some are worried about how their children will manage the new found freedom when they get to the university.

Those who will send their children to private universities or foreign universities were probably dealing with the arithmetic of the increased expenses. But while parents were struggling with their mixed emotions, the graduating students were chatting away in low tones, hugging and back-slapping themselves before the Mass started. They were certainly cherishing their impending freedom, away from the regimented life at St. Gregorys: low hair cut, waking up at a specific hour, food timetable, etc.

The homilist and St. Gregorys Assistant Administrator, the very cerebral Rev. Fr. John Njorteah, correctly gauged the feelings of the students. Seizing the opportunity of talking to them together for probably the last time, he told them some home truths about life out there. Parents kept nodding as Fr. John spoke. Please find below excerpts of the homily, a reference for every teenager and young adult.

My dear little ones, as you step out of this college today to go into the world, I humbly implore you to listen attentively to me as I share with you the word of God on this auspicious occasion. First, I would like you all (the graduands) to look around and see yourselves again. Today marks the end of your gathering together as a group.

Never shall you all be complete as a class. You have journeyed together as a group and today you are beginning another journey on your own. Yes, your individuality will be key in determining the extent you will go in life.

My dear friends, for some years now the college has taught and protected you, and now you are being unleashed into the world. This is the world that is full of evils and times have really changed. Insecurity is at its peak, kidnapping has become commonplace, economic hardship is killing our people, suicides and suicidal attempts are becoming rife among our people. Our cultural values are being eroded in the wake of imitating western trends and fashions, and there is less of everything in the world today.

Our phones have become wireless; cars, keyless; our dresses have become sleeveless, our youths, jobless; our leaders, shameless; our relationships, meaningless; our attitudes, careless; our feelings, heartless; our education, valueless and our children manner-less (ill-mannered).

Do not, therefore, fail to make recourse to the good training you had in the college. Indeed friends, you have been given the flesh of moral discipline and uprightness. Remain firm and sturdy in this path. Lies fill the length and breadth of the social media and move faster than the speed of light; thanks to the power of the internet.

Your academic foundation is one that is the envy of many who are not privileged and who might have desired to be beneficiaries. Let it not amount to naught. Your desire for freedom is realised. Know your freedom comes with responsibility. The era of pushing the blame to someone else gives way to the era of I did it. Put your future in good handsyour own.

Remember that we led you to God, allow Him to accompany you through your life. You were always instructed that there is a God who seeks the response of your love and wants you never to forget Him. Today, there is a neo-atheism.

Denial of spiritual realities and replacing God with money. We see the extent to which money has driven people to do the unimaginable in the country. Do not live above your means. Do not impress anyone. Practice your faith, live your faith and be glad to share it. Do not be ashamed to live for God.

Your time is limited, so dont waste it

living someone elses life. Dont let the noise of other peoples opinion drown your own inner voice. Be focused and firm on whatever path you want to tow in the university and with Gods help you will succeed. Remember that bad company corrupts good manners. Choose your friends and do not let your friends choose you, and ensure that you do not make friends with people of questionable character.

Today, you have a new mother in this institution, please do not put her to shame by your conduct and ways of life. Just as Jesus Christ enjoined his disciples in Mt. 28:19 to Go therefore make disciples of all nations, in the same way you are being charged to become ambassadors of this college, and see to it that you contribute your own quota to the growth and development of this institution.

Continue to rely on the promise of Christ to you in the gospel reading when he says, In the world you will suffer, take courage for I have overcome the world. You are being charged then to heal and not to contaminate the world, to build and not to destroy, to uplift and not to bring down, to support and not to oppose, to renew and not to ruin.

Read more from the original source:

Freedom comes with concomitant responsibility - Vanguard

One of the world's great champions of freedom has passed. Liu Xiaobo, 61, a literary critic, civil rights activist and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, died on July 13 after losing a battle against lung cancer.

Mr. Liu followed in his fathers footsteps and became an academic, a lecturer at Chinas Beijing Normal University in literature, with tenures at Columbia University, the University of Hawaii and the University of Oslo.

But what he became known for was something quite different than literary criticism.

Mr. Liu opposed his countrys Marxist philosophy, and supported the concept of freedom. He said in a Nov. 27, 1988 interview with Open Magazine, modernization means wholesale westernization, choosing a human life is choosing a Western way of life.

Chinas Communist regime was obviously not pleased with the expression of such views. The safest thing Mr. Liu could have done was to remain outside the countrys perimeters.That is not what heroes do, however.

In June 1989, Mr. Liu left Columbia and returned to China to help support students during the Tiananmen Square protests.He organized a three-day event later described as the Tiananmen Four Gentlemen Hunger Strike. He called for an end to class struggle, and helped in the negotiations between students and the army to help prevent further bloodshed.

For that, hewas arrestedand went to Qincheng Prison. The state-run media called him a mad dog and black hand." He lost his university position several months later.

He was imprisoned several more times in his life.

There was a six-month sentence in 1995, on the sixth anniversary of the Tiananmen uprising, and three years in a labor education camp from1996 to 1999. Finally, his 11-year sentence in 2008 for suspicion of inciting subversion of state power led to an extended stay at Jinzhou Prison and, as his health failed, a trip to Shenyangs First Hospital of China Medical University, where he passed away.

Mr. Lius participation in a 1993 documentary film enabled him to travel to Australia and the United States, and provided him with a rare chance to escape. But he returned to the country of his birth to defend freedom against tyranny.

Through it all, he continued to write about politics and human rights (although he was banned from publishingin mainland China). This includes his powerful 1992 memoir "The Monologues of a Doomsday's Survivor," his notable work of political criticism called "A Nation That Lies to Conscience," and other articles, poems and collections.

He was also involved with creating Charter 8, a 2008 manifesto signed by more than 300 Chinese citizens. It called for freedom of expression, religion and assembly, for privatizing state enterprises, and for eliminating one-party rule. More than 10,000 signatures have been added since.

China vigorously opposed his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, initiated by such important figures as Vaclav Havel, Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. (His wife, Liu Xia, was even put under house arrest.) Yet, the committee didnt back down and bestowed him with the honor for his long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.

Liu Xiaobo stood up to the Chinese Communists, and defended Western values to his dying breath. In a world of timidity and compromise, he stood for the rights of every human being. In short, he led a heroic life.

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Editorial: Death of a brave freedom fighter - The Providence Journal