The Prometheus League
Breaking News and Updates
- Abolition Of Work
- Ai
- Alt-right
- Alternative Medicine
- Antifa
- Artificial General Intelligence
- Artificial Intelligence
- Artificial Super Intelligence
- Ascension
- Astronomy
- Atheism
- Atheist
- Atlas Shrugged
- Automation
- Ayn Rand
- Bahamas
- Bankruptcy
- Basic Income Guarantee
- Big Tech
- Bitcoin
- Black Lives Matter
- Blackjack
- Boca Chica Texas
- Brexit
- Caribbean
- Casino
- Casino Affiliate
- Cbd Oil
- Censorship
- Cf
- Chess Engines
- Childfree
- Cloning
- Cloud Computing
- Conscious Evolution
- Corona Virus
- Cosmic Heaven
- Covid-19
- Cryonics
- Cryptocurrency
- Cyberpunk
- Darwinism
- Democrat
- Designer Babies
- DNA
- Donald Trump
- Eczema
- Elon Musk
- Entheogens
- Ethical Egoism
- Eugenic Concepts
- Eugenics
- Euthanasia
- Evolution
- Extropian
- Extropianism
- Extropy
- Fake News
- Federalism
- Federalist
- Fifth Amendment
- Fifth Amendment
- Financial Independence
- First Amendment
- Fiscal Freedom
- Food Supplements
- Fourth Amendment
- Fourth Amendment
- Free Speech
- Freedom
- Freedom of Speech
- Futurism
- Futurist
- Gambling
- Gene Medicine
- Genetic Engineering
- Genome
- Germ Warfare
- Golden Rule
- Government Oppression
- Hedonism
- High Seas
- History
- Hubble Telescope
- Human Genetic Engineering
- Human Genetics
- Human Immortality
- Human Longevity
- Illuminati
- Immortality
- Immortality Medicine
- Intentional Communities
- Jacinda Ardern
- Jitsi
- Jordan Peterson
- Las Vegas
- Liberal
- Libertarian
- Libertarianism
- Liberty
- Life Extension
- Macau
- Marie Byrd Land
- Mars
- Mars Colonization
- Mars Colony
- Memetics
- Micronations
- Mind Uploading
- Minerva Reefs
- Modern Satanism
- Moon Colonization
- Nanotech
- National Vanguard
- NATO
- Neo-eugenics
- Neurohacking
- Neurotechnology
- New Utopia
- New Zealand
- Nihilism
- Nootropics
- NSA
- Oceania
- Offshore
- Olympics
- Online Casino
- Online Gambling
- Pantheism
- Personal Empowerment
- Poker
- Political Correctness
- Politically Incorrect
- Polygamy
- Populism
- Post Human
- Post Humanism
- Posthuman
- Posthumanism
- Private Islands
- Progress
- Proud Boys
- Psoriasis
- Psychedelics
- Putin
- Quantum Computing
- Quantum Physics
- Rationalism
- Republican
- Resource Based Economy
- Robotics
- Rockall
- Ron Paul
- Roulette
- Russia
- Sealand
- Seasteading
- Second Amendment
- Second Amendment
- Seychelles
- Singularitarianism
- Singularity
- Socio-economic Collapse
- Space Exploration
- Space Station
- Space Travel
- Spacex
- Sports Betting
- Sportsbook
- Superintelligence
- Survivalism
- Talmud
- Technology
- Teilhard De Charden
- Terraforming Mars
- The Singularity
- Tms
- Tor Browser
- Trance
- Transhuman
- Transhuman News
- Transhumanism
- Transhumanist
- Transtopian
- Transtopianism
- Ukraine
- Uncategorized
- Vaping
- Victimless Crimes
- Virtual Reality
- Wage Slavery
- War On Drugs
- Waveland
- Ww3
- Yahoo
- Zeitgeist Movement
-
Prometheism
-
Forbidden Fruit
-
The Evolutionary Perspective
Category Archives: Freedom
‘Freedom Highway’ by Rhiannon Giddens Review: Lives, Sounds and Purpose in the Details – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Posted: February 20, 2017 at 7:10 pm
'Freedom Highway' by Rhiannon Giddens Review: Lives, Sounds and Purpose in the Details Wall Street Journal (subscription) Singer, songwriter and instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens has never been one to be easily categorizedor to sit still. Her first wide recognition, at the turn of this decade, came as a co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, a celebrated outfit ... Rhiannon Giddens: Freedom Highway review timely and arresting |
Read the original here:
Posted in Freedom
Comments Off on ‘Freedom Highway’ by Rhiannon Giddens Review: Lives, Sounds and Purpose in the Details – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Pence Asked to Assure NATO That ‘Freedom of the Press Is Not Under Attack in the United States’ – CNSNews.com
Posted: at 7:09 pm
Pence Asked to Assure NATO That 'Freedom of the Press Is Not Under Attack in the United States' CNSNews.com Vice President Mike Pence and European Council President Donald Tusk address a media conference at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. U.S. Vice President Pence is currently on a two-day visit to meet with EU and NATO ... |
See the article here:
Posted in Freedom
Comments Off on Pence Asked to Assure NATO That ‘Freedom of the Press Is Not Under Attack in the United States’ – CNSNews.com
PH economic freedom ranking jumps from 70th to 58th – Inquirer.net
Posted: February 19, 2017 at 11:07 am
Solid macro fundamentals sustained despite a change in administration last year helped the Philippines jump 12 spots to 58th in the 2017 Index of Economic Freedom (IEF) of Washington-based conservative political think tank The Heritage Foundation.
In a statement Sunday, the governments Investor Relations Office (IRO) claimed that with the Duterte administrations 10-point socioeconomic agenda ultimately aimed at slashing the poverty incidence to 14 percent by 2022 from 21.6 percent in 2015, the countrys economic freedom ranking is expected to further climb in the medium term.
The Heritage Foundations latest annual global survey covering 186 countries showed that the countrys 2017 position leaped from 70th in the 2016 IEF due to a higher score of 65.6, up 2.5 points from last year.
The IRO noted that the Philippines 2017 score exceeded not only the global average of 60.9 but also Asia-Pacifics 60.4.
The IRO quoted The Heritage Foundation as attributing the gains in the countrys higher score as well as ranking to notable successes in fiscal policy, government spending and monetary stability.
According to the IRO, The Heritage Foundations IEF measures economic freedom based on 12 quantitative as well as qualitative factors that were being grouped into four broad categories or pillars, namely: government size (fiscal health, government spending and tax burden); open markets (financial, investment and trade freedom); regulatory efficiency (business, labor and monetary freedom); as well as rule of law (government integrity, judicial effectiveness and property rights).
The IEF reveals a positive relationship between economic freedom and a variety of positive social and economic goals such as poverty elimination, greater per capita wealth, healthier societies, cleaner environments, and democracy, the IRO noted.
In the 2017 IEF report, The Heritage Foundation highlighted the countrys solid economic performance amid a challenging global economic environment, according to the IRO.
The Philippines has achieved notable economic expansion, driven by the economys strong export performance and inflows of remittances, The Heritage Foundation said.
The Philippine economy grew 6.8 percent last year, among the fastest in the region, as both public and private consumption and investment increased amid solid fundamentals.
In 2016, cash sent home through banks by Filipinos living and working abroad hit a record $26.9 billion, up 5 percent from $25.607 billion in 2015 to surpass the governments 4-percent growth target.
The latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data also showed that the 2016 foreign direct investment target was already exceeded during the first 11 months, as end-November net inflows reached $6.973 billion, up 25.4 percent year-on-year as well as higher than the $6.7-billion goal for the entire year.
Also, the Philippine government continues to pursue legislative reforms to enhance the overall entrepreneurial environment and develop a stronger private sector that is needed to generate broader-based job growth, the IRO quoted The Heritage Foundation as saying.
In the 2017 IEF, the country posted the highest jump in monetary freedom of 18 notches to 68th from 86th last year.
The IRO also noted of high rankings on government spending (22nd) as well as fiscal health (26th).
The Heritage Foundation also underscored the stability of the countrys financial sector, adding that in 2016, the central bank announced that it would end a 17-year moratorium on the granting of new banking licenses, the IRO added.
Given the 2017 IEF ranking, the Philippines economic freedom was deemed moderately free, the IRO said.
According to The Heritage Foundation, economies tagged as moderately free provide institutional environments in which individuals and private enterprises benefit from at least a moderate degree of economic freedom in the pursuit of greater competitiveness, growth and prosperity, according to the IRO.
The IRO quoted economic managers as attributing the countrys higher economic ranking as well as score to gains from policy reforms undertaken by the government to maintain macroeconomic stability and enhance the countrys business and investment environment.
The BSPs firm commitment to maintain price stability and promote a sound and inclusive financial sector and the positive results we have achieved thus far have contributed to the big improvement of the Philippines IEF ranking, Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said.
The benign inflation environment has enabled the economy to further accelerate in 2016, a remarkable feat given the uncertainty and volatility in the global scene. With the BSPs relentless efforts to pursue proactive reforms to improve governance and risk management in banks, the Philippine banking system remains a pillar of strength that will support the rapid pace of growth of the economy, Tetangco added.
For his part, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that the significant jump in our countrys ranking in the 2017 IEF by 12 rungs from 70th to 58th validates the assiduous efforts by the Philippine government to sustain high growth and achieve economic inclusion by freeing some six million Filipinos from poverty.
For the Philippines to aspire to move up higher from the moderately free to the mostly free category in the near future, the Duterte administration needs to pursue without letup its comprehensive tax reform program along with other bold reform initiatives to keep the high-growth momentum, upgrade the living standards of the Filipino poor, eliminate official corruption, and improve the ease of doing business in order to attract more investments and create jobs for all, Dominguez added.
According to the IRO, the IEF is an annual index and ranking created by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal in 1995 to measure the degree of economic freedom in the worlds nations.
The IEF ranking of countries is used as input by other institutions for their respective governance and competitiveness ratings, such as the World Bank for its Worldwide Governance Indicators. Likewise, the index is used by some institutions in formulating policy, the IRO explained.
Here is the original post:
PH economic freedom ranking jumps from 70th to 58th - Inquirer.net
Posted in Freedom
Comments Off on PH economic freedom ranking jumps from 70th to 58th – Inquirer.net
Frankie Meyer: Underground Railroad helped former slaves gain freedom – Joplin Globe
Posted: at 11:07 am
In honor of February being Black History Month, this column is about myths of the Underground Railroad, a term for the system of networks used by slaves to escape.
Slaves were so valuable that slave owners often had large mortgages on them. Owners even carried insurance on them. Thus, when slaves escaped, owners risked great financial loss. To recover their escaped slaves, owners hired bounty hunters and placed ads in newspapers.
In 1793, President George Washington signed a fugitive slave law that gave slave owners the right to recover escaped slaves. Another law, passed in 1850, required governments and residents in free states to enforce the return of escaped slaves. Severe penalties were given to those who helped the escapees.
Numerous people helped slaves escape bondage. Most did so quietly and in secrecy. Had their names and sentiments become public, bounty hunters would have arrived at their doorsteps with arrest warrants.
Some people who helped were known as abolitionists. They wrote articles and gave speeches expressing their anti-slavery feelings in attempts to raise money for clothing, food and transportation that slaves needed as they fled to freedom. Although abolitionists raised money, they were not a direct part of the Underground Railroad. Out of necessity, people who lived along the Underground Railroad and supplied help were only able to do so by not bringing attention to themselves.
A misconception is that the Underground Railroad consisted of specific trails along which escaped slaves traveled. Instead, the pathways were corridors that constantly shifted. While on the journey to freedom, slaves needed clothing, food and a place to stay, and they needed money for transportation. They also needed directions to the next safe site. Many people along the corridors supplied these types of help. Had escaped slaves used the same trails, they would have been quickly captured by bounty hunters.
While on their freedom journey, escaped slaves slept in churches, barns, homes, caves and tunnels. One misconception is that those who helped often placed lights in their windows and placed quilts with unique designs on their wash lines or porches. That rarely happened. Bounty hunters soon learned about such techniques. Then, too, neighbors watched each other and were aware of unusual people coming and going night after night. Neighbors could collect bounties, too.
Another misconception is about the types of people who helped. Although Quaker families sometimes helped, aid also came from a variety of non-Quaker whites and free blacks, as well as escaped slaves.
Another misconception is that all escaped slaves followed the north star to Canada. Although several traveled there, some went to Mexico, some went out west and a few went to Florida, where the Seminole Tribe allowed them to live in freedom. Sometimes, escapees went to Liberia. Between 1822 and the start of the Civil War, more than 15,000 black Americans relocated to that area of Africa.
Suggestions or queries? Send to Frankie Meyer, 509 N. Center St., Plainfield, IN 46168, or contact: frankiemeyer@yahoo.com.
Excerpt from:
Frankie Meyer: Underground Railroad helped former slaves gain freedom - Joplin Globe
Posted in Freedom
Comments Off on Frankie Meyer: Underground Railroad helped former slaves gain freedom – Joplin Globe
These principles of freedom are worth the fight by universities – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted: at 11:07 am
I am writing to express my support for the 50 members of the Faculty and Staff Social Justice Association at Duquesne University for their efforts to protect students by urging that the school become a sanctuary campus.Freedom of expression and right to protest are hallmarks of our democracy. This free exchange of ideas is particularly important in academic settings. I applaud the faculty members for taking this strong and righteous position against the new administration in Washington over its threats and inequitable policies against immigrant students.
While I very much respect Duquesne Universitys president and understand why he has taken a neutral stance on the sanctuary campus issue, I would urge the university to join other schools and academic leaders across the state and nation who have taken a stance in support of all their students against these shortsighted immigration policies.
Whether these students are documented immigrants or not, I do not see the point in disrupting their lives and educational pursuits. In seeking a college education, they are positioning themselves to have a positive and constructive impact on our country and its future.
I would emphasize that many police officers and law enforcement leaders across the nation have also expressed opposition to President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown. Yet another unfunded federal mandate, these proposals would only add additional enforcement and detention costs and responsibilities for local police departments stretching limited resources and placing additional financial burdens on local taxpayers. This repressive policy would also discourage immigrant populations from reporting crimes and cooperating with police officers.
I salute Duquesnes faculty members for supporting their students and urge the schools administration to bolster this ethical and principled position with full institutional support.
SEN. WAYNE D. FONTANA Brookline
The writer represents the states 42nd Senatorial District.
Go here to see the original:
These principles of freedom are worth the fight by universities - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted in Freedom
Comments Off on These principles of freedom are worth the fight by universities – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Freedom and Jack London draw refugees to Fairbanks – Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Posted: at 11:07 am
FAIRBANKS - My story is not at all unique, said Sveta Yamin-Pasternak. Its the same as it is for over a million people just from our wave of immigration that came over. Sheand her husband Igor Pasternaks stories are far from the standard American experience, however. Though they met in Chicago, both are Jews from the Soviet Union who came to America as political refugees.
Sveta was born in Rechitsa, a small town in Belarus, and grew up in Minsk. In 1989, her parents took advantage of an opening that allowed Jews to leave. The family traveled through Austria to Rome, where they were aided by HIAS, formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which helps refugees of all backgrounds re-establish themselves in new countries. They were assisted by Fairbanks-born HIAS worker Sam Sherman, with whom Sveta reconnected in Fairbanks many years later.
Igors family lived in Odessa, Ukraine, before leaving in 1992. Thawing relations between the United States and the USSR led to an American consulate being established in Moscow, and they were able to apply directly for political asylum.
Both had limited knowledge of America. For Sveta, the country existed only in my imagination, adding, It was ideologically constructed as the enemy, and at the same time it was a very desirable place.
Igor had seen VCR tapes that circulated underground and said, We believed that Hollywood was what it is. Money grows on trees. You can do whatever you want. Sex, drugs and rock n roll. I had no idea about the conservatism.
They did know about Alaska, however, mostly from Jack London novels which they read in school because the Soviets approved of his socialist politics.
Because both their families had relativesalready in Chicago, that is where they each wound up Sveta as a high school student and Igor having completed army service and studies in mechanical engineering. For both, the most astonishing thing about America was that they suddenly didnt have to hide being Jewish.
I could not believe that young men would walk on the street wearing yarmulkes, Sveta said. I was coming from the perspective that if at all you can, you would pass for a non-Jew for your everyday safety and to not be denied opportunities. It was mind blowing.
Igor, who describes his father as a big time dissident in the USSR, immediately noticed that nobody gives a damn about you. You could walk on the street and no one is looking at you. That was completely new.
That sense of freedom required getting used to, but both said the Jewish community in Chicago was supportive and they quickly learned English and settled in.
The couple met in a coffee shop near Northwestern University in 1993. They dated throughout Svetas years at Northern Illinois University, where she earned bachelors and graduate degrees in anthropology. There she became fascinated with the cultures on both sides of the Bering Strait, leading her to Fairbanks in 1998 to pursue her Ph.D.at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
To this day, the shared indigenous culture with its nuanced differences between the Russified and Americanized everyday practices just continues to fascinate me, she said.
Igor helped her move to Fairbanks and made repeated visits during her first 11/2 years here. I did not have plans to settle here, but very quickly, within the first year, it became my home, Sveta said.
When Sveta started sending him emails about friends living in dry cabins with outhouses, Igor grew concerned. I thought, OK, time to bring her back. Even in the Soviet Union they had running water and toilets, he said, laughing.
However, after visiting her waterless cabin off Farmers Loop, I realized that privacy is such an important thing. We were able to get lost in the woods for hours and nobody would bother us. All the Jack London books came back. After two years I said, I want to be here too.
Igor came to stay in 2000. While Sveta completed her Ph.D., he earned a BFA in art. Theyve made Alaska their home ever since, except for 2007 to 2009 when Igor earned his masters degreefrom American University in Washington D.C. and Sveta did post-doc work at Johns Hopkins.
These days they collaborate on projects involving both anthropological research and art. This is what I believe success is, Igor said. We work together. We figure out how to come up with something in common between studio art and social science. In addition to the standard curriculum, Sveta and Igor team-teach original courses they developed, serving more than100 UAF students eachsemester.
Theyve also embraced the Alaska lifestyle by buying land, building their home, hunting, fishing, trapping and raising animals while conducting classes and traveling the world (theyve visited more than40countries).
Both have found Fairbanks welcoming.
I dont think Ive ever had an experience in Fairbanks connected with xenophobia, Igor said. That wasnt always the case in Chicago. Here even at the gun show, nobody told me I have an accent.
Sveta added, The big cities in the United States are perceived as very diverse and they are in their entirety, but they are actually divided into ghetto neighborhoods. People remain within their own groups.
This creates fun neighborhoods, but the cultures dont mix.
In Fairbanks, it is diverse but also a lot more integrated. Most people come from Outside, she added, so being an immigrant isnt as unique.
After living in Chicago, It feels like we have even more freedom here, Igor said.
Its a refuge from the refuge. The ultimate refuge, Sveta added.
The idea of refuge has been on her mind a lot owing to current events, making her especially sensitive to refugees fleeing far worse conditions than she knew.
I did come to the United States as a refugee, she said. I did come from a country where we faced everyday persecution. Its part of our story and it is relevant to what is happening now.
David James is a freelance writer who lives in Fairbanks.Becoming Alaskan is an ongoing series documenting the lives of immigrants in Fairbanks. Feedback and suggestions for future interviews can be emailed to nobugsinak@gmail.com.
See the rest here:
Freedom and Jack London draw refugees to Fairbanks - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Posted in Freedom
Comments Off on Freedom and Jack London draw refugees to Fairbanks – Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Beth McKee-Huger: My take on freedom of religion – Greensboro News & Record
Posted: at 11:07 am
Our new president and I are both concerned about freedom of religion. He wants an end to the prohibition against churches and nonprofits getting involved in partisan politics and candidate campaigns. I am appalled that people are barred from reuniting with families or beginning new lives in America because of the religion of the majority of people in their countries.
He is adamant that keeping out all refugees and persons from seven countries is necessary for security. I am confident that, while some churches and nonprofits would use this rule change to support Trumps choice of candidate, many others may become more vocal in their insistence on welcoming, transparency and protection of Gods creation.
Steve Bannon, the presidents chief strategist, who engineered the executive order suddenly banning entrance to the U.S., is critical of Pope Francis because the pope preaches Gods love for all, rather than just those selected by Mr. Bannon. (If he thinks the pope is nave, he may want to talk to the popes boss, Jesus.) Freedom for government to meddle in religion as well as for religion to get involved in partisan politics?
The terrifying travel ban reminded me of my own experience being detained. In 1985 President Reagan issued a ban on travel by U.S. citizens to Nicaragua, one week before my mission trip there for Habitat for Humanity. I changed my reservations to fly through Costa Rica but on the return flight authorities in Costa Rica interrogated me, confiscated items from my luggage and held my passport. After delaying the flight, they finally returned my passport but at the U.S. border I was questioned again before U.S. Customs finally let me through.
Of course, this was mild compared to what people face now but a reminder that even U.S. citizenship and white privilege and Christian faith do not protect from suspicion if one is not approved by our government. I suppose building homes in rural Nicaragua was considered a threat to the U.S., perhaps similar to the perceived danger posed now by refugees fleeing violence, family members returning from visits to home countries and international scholars. The U.S. government (and airport authorities in other countries implementing U.S. bans) decided it cant be too careful.
Obsession with security, growing out of fear, views those different from us as enemies. My faith says that we love our enemies even politicians who dont acknowledge that any of their constituents have different positions. Caring for each other is the foundation of other religions, as well, and is a key value for many people who espouse no religion. Not that we ignore safety concerns but that we seek to overcome dangers and differences by building relationships with all of Gods children.
To put that into practice in Greensboro, we are welcoming refugees, building bridges between leaders of many faiths, working for racial reconciliation, feeding the hungry and housing those experiencing homelessness, raising up a new generation of peacemakers, and reconnecting life-long activists. Almost daily, we are distracted by another distressing outburst, conflict of interest, alternative fact, or confirmation of appointees whose main qualification is readiness to dismantle protection of most of Gods children. Our day-to-day progress in community partnerships is set against the backdrop of chaos and divisions that tear apart the fabric of democracy.
Now even our deepest faith is drawn into the partisan fray where we are supposed to assume that God is on our partys side. Instead, let us seek Gods will for all of Gods world, sharing across the divides of religion and party.
Beth McKee-Huger is an Episcopal deacon, housing advocate and News & Record Town Hall community columnist.
Read the rest here:
Beth McKee-Huger: My take on freedom of religion - Greensboro News & Record
Posted in Freedom
Comments Off on Beth McKee-Huger: My take on freedom of religion – Greensboro News & Record
11 Times Barack Obama Abused Press Freedom – Breitbart News
Posted: February 18, 2017 at 4:07 am
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
Perhaps the mainstream media Brahmins have short memories or selective memories. Because when President Barack Obama took direct aim at the media and press freedom, few complained. And when they did, the media soon went back to giving him fawning coverage.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
Here are 11 moments Obama abused the press:
1. Campaign plane hijacking journalists. In 2008, the Obama campaign flew 25 members of the media to Chicago without telling them then-Sen. Obama was not, in fact, on board. CNN reported: [T]he press was essentially held hostage with no candidate and no choice but to fly to Chicago on a chartered plane.
2. Closing White House events to all but the official photographer. Obama barred the media from events including, ironically, an award ceremony where he was recognized for transparency and often restricted photographers access, only releasing images taken bythe official White House photographer.
3. Trying to shut out Fox News. The Obama administration targeted Fox News for isolation and marginalization, arguing that it was not a legitimate news organization but the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party. That served as a warning to other potentially critical outlets.
4. Stonewalling FOIA requests. The Obama administration set a record for failing to provide information requested by the press and the public under the Freedom of Information Act. The low point was Hillary Clintons email scandal, where tens of thousands of emails were hidden on a private server and deleted.
5. Prosecuting journalists and their sources. The Obama administration pursued Fox News reporter James Rosens private emails then misled Congress about it. CNNs Jake Tapper to his credit pointed out that Obama had used the Espionage Act against leakers more than all of his predecessors combined.
6. Wiretapping the Associated Press.After the Obama administrations snooping on the AP was exposed in 2013, a senior NBC correspondent excused President Obamaon the grounds that he would not have been nasty enough to alienate one of the presidents most important constituencies, the press.
7. Refusing to hold press conferences.For long stretches of his presidency, Obama refused to hold press conferencesat all, going 10 months without a formal press conference in a critical stretch from 2009 to 2010. He heeled the lowest average annual number of press conferences of any president since Ronald Reagan.
8. Filibustering at press conferences. When Obama did, finally, hold press conference, he often limited the number of questions by delivering long, rambling, often condescending answers. He wastes reporters time by refraining from answering questions with any candor, Jack Shafer complainedin Politico in 2016.
9. Attacking tough questions. When a Major Garrett of CBS actually asked a tough question about why the administration seemed not to be trying hard to free Americans held by Iran, includingWashington Post journalist Jason Rezaian Obama scolded him: Major, thats nonsense, and you should know better.
10. Appearing on fringe outlets. While media elitesgripe about conservative journalists being given a chance, Obama often restricted his appearances to fringe media:Inside Edition; Funny or Dies Between Two Ferns (which was then nominated for an Emmy); YouTube stars; anda radio show called Pimp with a Limp.
11. Iran deal echo chamber.The Obama administrationcreated fake news to support the Iran deal, setting up what it later boasted was an echo chamber of experts who would comment in the media to support the White House narrative on the negotiations. Meanwhile, key details were hidden from the public.
Through it all, President Obama regarded himself as a champion of press freedom, having run the most transparent administration ever.
Many mainstream media journalists ignoredthe Obama administrations abuses. A fewspoke out against them. But mostof them continued to paint him in glowing terms, regardless.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the most influential people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
See the original post here:
Posted in Freedom
Comments Off on 11 Times Barack Obama Abused Press Freedom – Breitbart News
Religious freedom topic of local talk as Congregation Beth Israel wraps up lecture series – The Daily Progress
Posted: at 4:07 am
Corporations religious rights and President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration were among the topics of a recent lecture at Congregation Beth Israel in Charlottesville.
About 60 people attended the third and final talk in the Legal Issues and Ethics speaker series Sunday. In this installment, Micah Schwartzman, the Edward F. Howrey Professor of Law at the University of Virginia, spoke on Religious Freedom in the Supreme Court.
Schwartzman attended UVa for his undergraduate studies and for law school. He holds a doctorate in politics from Oxford and clerked for Judge Paul V. Niemeyer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
Schwartzmans lecture contained four sections: corporate religious freedom in relation to providing contraception; religious exceptions to serving LGBTQ customers; Trumps executive orders on immigration and travel for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries; and the nomination of Neil Gorsuch for the U.S. Supreme Court.
The government shall not substantially burden you unless it has a compelling governmental interest, Schwartzman said of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The government has to have a really powerful reason and the policy it adopts that burdens your practice has to be what courts call the least restrictive means.
The professor then dove into the Hobby Lobby case, which stems from the contraception mandate of the Affordable Care Act. Overarching questions in the case, he said, include the extent of corporations human-like rights and the ramifications for future cases.
Hobby Lobby, a for-profit craft store chain, argued it should not have to pay for employees contraception because doing so would violate the family-owned companys religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby asserted that because corporations are people under the law, the company has the right of religious freedom.
There has been a big debate in this country about whether corporations are people, Schwartzman said. I have to tell you that this debate was lost a long, long time ago, probably in the late 19th century. Corporations are persons for all kinds of purposes The question that were really interested in is, can they have these particular rights: rights to freedom of speech, rights to freedom of religion The Supreme Court said that not only do they count as persons, they count as the kinds of persons that can exercise religious freedom.
Next, Schwartzman discussed corporate religious freedom in the context of gay marriage. In recent years, some businesses across the country have denied service to gay customers, refused to staff gay weddings and fired transgender employees.
Schwartzman said the issue is a natural extension of the Hobby Lobby decision. Hobby Lobbys progeny were a series of cases involving gay marriage and the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people, he said.
Attendees at Sundays talk expressed concern over the presidents controversial executive orders. After the orders were signed, Schwartzman spoke to members of a Charlottesville mosque who expressed confusion and concern about whether their dual-citizen members would be able to visit family abroad.
Schwartzman argued that the orders violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, among other statutes.
The Establishment Clause, if it means anything, says that the government cant treat some religious groups better than others its not allowed to play favorites to engage in preferential treatment between people of different faiths , he said. This order discriminates amongst people in religious crowds. That seems to be [quite clearly] a violation of the Establishment Clause.
Finally, Schwartzman discussed Trumps Supreme Court nominee. He spoke about Gorsuchs educational and legal background, which includes an opinion in the Hobby Lobby case.
This is a very conventional, high-prestige nomination, Schwartzman said. Gorsuch is extremely well-educated. In fact, many people thought that he wouldnt be the pick because he is too well educated Hes a very conservative judge, hes congenial. People who know him like him, including his opponents.
Tom Gutherz, senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel, invited Schwartzman to speak.
We, as a congregation, are fortunate to have many distinguished UVa law faculty among our members, including some who can share their expertise with the larger community and help to advance the conversations we are having among ourselves about some of the issues facing us today as a community and as a nation, Gutherz said in an interview before Sundays talk. The question of how the concept of religious freedom is being shaped by recent court decisions is one of these issues, and Micah Schwartzman is an expert in this field.
Gutherz said Congregation Beth Israel was pleased with the lecture series and hopes to continue such events in the future.
Weve got a few more lectures in the works for the coming months, on diverse topics, he said. Well do another round of Legal Issues next year.
See the original post:
Posted in Freedom
Comments Off on Religious freedom topic of local talk as Congregation Beth Israel wraps up lecture series – The Daily Progress
Trump’s Labor Pick Seen As Champion of Hard-Working Immigrants, Religious Freedom – Fox Business
Posted: at 4:07 am
If confirmed, President Donald Trumps new pick for labor secretary Alexander Acosta will be the first Hispanic in Trumps cabinet.
Shortly after the announcement on Thursday, Acostas hometown Miami Herald newspaper praised Trump's choice in an editorial pointing to his local, hard-working roots.
Heres the big news for us: Having a labor secretary who knows Miami-Dade can only benefit us. There is no two ways about it. The Cabinet member charged with creating and returning jobs to America the hallmark of Trumps presidency grew up in Miami, worked in Miami and was a boss in Miami, the papers editorial board wrote.
Trump announced his new pick a day after his first choice, Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name from consideration. Unlike Puzder, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Tom Donohue says Acosta should have no problems winning confirmation.
I believe this is an easy confirmation. The attorney has been confirmed three times by the Senate of the United States. He has the distinguished career not only in the Labor Department, but in the Justice Department. He now runs a law school. Hes just the right type of choice, Donohue told FOX Business on Friday.
Acosta, a 1994 graduate of Harvard Law School, has a formidable resume. Currently the dean of Florida International University Law School, he has held several positions in the federal government. He served on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from 2002 to 2003. He also served as an assistant U.S. attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice under President George W. Bush, and he is a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Continue Reading Below
ADVERTISEMENT
During his tenure, the South Florida office was known for prosecuting major drug trafficking, terrorism and fraud cases, including obtaining a conviction of super-GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff in the notorious Sun Cruz casino case, according to the Miami Herald.
The son of Cuban immigrants, Acosta spoke out on the topic during a C-SPAN panel discussion in 2012.
Today, we have people journeying here on a little wooden [boat] or rafts made of tires tied together, and theyre coming here for the exact same reason, because they are looking for a home that will be free. That is an experience that so many of us who grew up here in Miami have, he said at the time.
He added the cost of illegal immigration is not simply exclusion and we need to figure out what to do with the illegals who are already living in our nation.
We need them here. They provide construction jobs. They provide agricultural jobs. We need to figure out a way to address that. We need to figure out a way to then have the pathway to further future immigration. If we do not take it all at once, were not [going to] solve it, he said.
Former presidential candidate and Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio also cheered Trumps new pick, calling Acosta a phenomenal choice, and adding that he is confident he will impress my colleagues and secure the support necessary to be the next secretary of labor, Rubio said in a statement to the Miami-Herald.
In 2011, Acosta testified at a Senate hearing on protecting the civil rights of Muslims, telling committee members that we are a nation [built] on principles of freedom, and high on the list of freedoms is freedom of religious expression. Indeed, as is well known to this Committee, this freedom pre-dates our Constitution.
He also at the time commended President Bush for reaching out to the Muslim American community, in an effort to bring the country together after the 9/11 terrorist attack.
Our nation is strong because we respond to [attacks] with resolve, he said at the time. History has shown the need, however, for leadership that tempers resolve with wisdom. President George W. Bush understood this, when on September 17, 2001, he visited the Islamic Center of Washington D.C. to remind a resolute nation that those who feel like they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their angershould be ashamed of that kind of behavior. This was not the message many Americans wanted to hear at that time, but the president chose to lead, rather than to be led.
Visit link:
Trump's Labor Pick Seen As Champion of Hard-Working Immigrants, Religious Freedom - Fox Business
Posted in Freedom
Comments Off on Trump’s Labor Pick Seen As Champion of Hard-Working Immigrants, Religious Freedom – Fox Business