Category Archives: Freedom

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, MI Freedom Work Opportunities of Grand Blanc Township is in need of a new van and residents votes can make that happen.

Freedom Work Opportunities, 5509 Fenton Road, is one of 500 nonprofit finalists in Toyotas 100 Cars for Good program, where the goal is to give away 100 vehicles to 100 organizations in 100 days.

On Saturday, Freedom Work Opportunities will be one of five organizations up for consideration. Every day since May 14 Cars for Good profiled five organizations for the program.

Freedom Work Opportunities is a nonprofit organization that helps empower adults with disabilities find employment and gain valuable skills.

The van being used now was donated used to the organization several years ago and have more than 200,000 miles on it, said Marie Tino, marketing and fundraising director of Freedom Work Opportunities.

The drivers seat is broke on it. There is a lot of rust on it. And its not going to make it much longer, Tino said. It was great to get that but weve definitely gotten our use out of it.

The van is being used to pick up residents from their home or group home take them to work or to a Freedom Work Opportunities facility.

Voting is open from 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday at http://www.100carsforgood.com. Freedom Work Opportunities headquarters are in Highland, so that is the city it will be listed under on the website. But the van, if the organization gets enough votes, will go to the Grand Blanc Township location.

Runner-up will also receive $1,000 from Toyota.

Excerpt from:
Freedom Work Opportunities in Grand Blanc Township needs votes to win a new van

[Day 23 of Robert Wenzel's 30-day reading list that will lead you to become a knowledgeable libertarian, this article originally ran June 03, 2010.]

It seems incredible that in the last days, a fundamental right of the whole of humanity, the freedom of association, has been denounced by the New York Times and all major opinion sources, even as a national political figure was reluctant to defend his own statements in favor of the idea, and then distanced himself from the notion. Has such a fundamental principle of liberty become unsayable?

Or perhaps it is not so incredible. An overweening government, in an age of despotism such as ours, must deny such a fundamental right simply because it is one of those core issues that speaks to who is in charge: the state or individuals.

We live in antiliberal times, when individual choice is highly suspect. The driving legislative ethos is toward making all actions required or forbidden, with less and less room for human volition. Simply put, we no longer trust the idea of freedom. We can't even imagine how it would work. What a distance we have traveled from the Age of Reason to our own times.

Referencing the great controversy about the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Karen De Coster put the issue to rest by turning Rachel Maddow's question on its head. She demanded to know whether a white businessman has the right to refuse service to a black man. Karen asked, does a black businessman have the right to refuse service to a Klan member?

I don't think anyone would dispute that right. How a person uses the right to associate (which necessarily means the right not to associate) is a matter of individual choice profoundly influenced by the cultural context. That a person has the right to make these choices on his or her own cannot be denied by anyone who believes in liberty.

The right to exclude is not something incidental. It is core to the functioning of civilization. If I use proprietary software, I can't download it without signing a contractual agreement. If I refuse to sign, the company doesn't have to sell it to me. And why? Because it is their software and they set the terms of use. Period. There is nothing more to say.

If you run a blog that accepts comments, you know how important this right is. You have to be able to exclude spam or ban IP addresses of trolls or otherwise include and exclude based on whether a person's contribution adds value. Every venue on the Internet that calls forth public participation knows this. Without this right, any forum could collapse, having been taken over by bad elements.

We exercise the right to exclude every day. If you go to lunch, some people come and some people do not. When you have a dinner party, you are careful to include some people and necessarily exclude others. Some restaurants expect and demand shoes and shirts and even coats and ties. The New York Times includes some articles and excludes others, includes some people in its editorial meetings and excludes others.

When business hires, some people make the cut and others do not. It is the same with college admissions, church membership, fraternities, civic clubs, and nearly every other association. They all exercise the right to exclude. It is central to the organization of every aspect of life. If this right is denied, what do we get in its place? Coercion and compulsion. People are forced together by the state, with one group required at the point of a gun to serve another group. This is involuntary servitude, expressly prohibited by the 13th Amendment. One presumes that a freedom-loving people will always be against that.

Read the original:
Freedom of Association

Kindred Durant was perched on a stool Monday, surrounded by eight rising sixth graders brimming with energy and anecdotes, trying to focus their attention on the themes of a story poem.

I think we need to read this one more time because I dont think we fully understand what the poem says, said Durant, a recent USC graduate who will begin teaching full time in August.

The youngsters, all rising students at W.A. Perry Middle School, werent hesitant about reading out loud or dissecting the images, even as they got creatively sidetracked by stories of the occasional neighborhood confrontation, the epistemological meaning of whats up, bro and whether it is appropriate to cultivate boyfriends and girlfriends in middle school.

Video from around the world

Welcome to Columbias first Freedom School, a project of the Childrens Defense Fund that aims to enhance reading skills even as it instills a message that middle school students have big contributions to make if they are willing to put in the time to excel.

Durant, one of 11 motivational interns, was happy when the kids chimed in with strong opinions about the book.

He puts in more angry words than the other one, Shakiyah Craig, 11, said of the poetic narrator.

He says do your thing, be yourself, said Deshon Thomas, also 11.

USC education professor Tambra Jackson is the creative force behind the five-week Columbia summer school, which is offered free to 110 middle school students. She remembers her own exhilarating experience in 1996 as a Freedom School intern while she was a student at Miami University in Ohio.

For me, it sealed the deal that education is what I wanted to do, Jackson said. After Jackson joined the USC education faculty in 2006, she began lobbying potential community and corporate sponsors who might be willing to contribute toward the $106,000 it takes to run a summer Freedom School. There are currently 130 Freedom School sites in 27 states, seven in South Carolina.

Link:
Freedom School: ‘Reading is not just opening a book'

By: the Record Staff | Hickory Daily Record Published: July 16, 2012 Updated: July 16, 2012 - 11:13 PM

Freedom Highs Rob Noyes scored 15 points to help the West All-Stars to a 107-97 win over the East All-Stars in the North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star game Monday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Noyes, who was the second leading scorer for the West behind Mooresvilles Shawn Lester (20 points), connected on 7-of-10 shots and 1-of-2 free throws and added seven rebounds.

Lester was named the Most Valuable Player for his efforts in leading the West to as much as a 22 point lead at one point in the third quarter.

Denzel Ingram of Chapel Hill led the East with 23 points.

The West won the girls game 82-65 behind 15 points from Wilkes Centrals Paige Love, who was named the games Most Valuable Player.

BASEBALL

Rain halts Area IV play

A late afternoon thunderstorm wiped out semifinal action in the Area IV American Legion baseball playoffs on Monday.

Play will resume on Tuesday, weather permitting, with Caldwell Post 29 playing the Gaston Braves in the second game of a best-of-five series at South Point High at 7 p.m.

Original post:
Freedom's Noyes scores 15 as West defeats East in annual game

Joe Stellato wasn't expecting his Freedom High School team to make a run for the Stellar "Catch A Rising Star" Boys Basketball Tournament title this past weekend.

"We didn't have a good summer and we were in a tough bracket," Stellato said. "It was a surprise we came out of our bracket undefeated (5-0)."

Freedom defeated Parkland in the semifinals, then rallied from an 11-point deficit in the championship game to beat Easton 36-33. Senior Derike Chiclana earned tournament MVP honors. Classmate Nyreef Jackson was chosen to the tournament's second team.

"Derike and Nyreef were the only starters we had coming back," Stellato said. "The newcomers starting were Maceo Connor (senior), (juniors) Nigel Long and David Williams. They really stepped it up. We didn't know what they were capable of doing. We weren't sure what we had.

"Coming off the bench were (seniors) Brian Uliana and Andrew Arner. They played a lot of minutes for us."

Freedom defeated Phillipsburg, Whitehall, Trinity, Berks County and Pocono Mountain West in its bracket. The victory over Trinity was in double overtime and gave Stellato the belief that perhaps his team could win the tournament.

"We were down three with 10 seconds to go and Nyreef hit a huge 3 to send it to overtime," Stellato said. "Then we were down six in the overtime and David Williams hits a 3 to send it to the second overtime and we went on to win. Trinity was one of the better teams in the tournament."

Freedom followed with a last-second win against Berks, then rallied against Pocono Mountain West to capture the B bracket.

"It seemed that we just kept finding ways to win the entire weekend," Stellato said.

Freedom next faced Parkland, which fought its way out of the losers bracket but came into the game at less than 100 percent.

Go here to see the original:
Freedom High School boys capture Stellar basketball tournament title

LifeChoice Victoria will be awaiting the outcome of Wednesday's Special General Meeting (SGM) at Auckland University with interest. ProLife Auckland, LifeChoice Victoria's sister club, has been threatened with disaffiliation after an unsubstantiated anonymous complaint was made to the Auckland University Student's Association (AUSA) about the pamphlets handed out on the Auckland Campus as part of the national "Right to Know" campaign.

At Wednesday's SGM University of Auckland Students will vote on whether ProLife Auckland can remain an affiliated club of AUSA.

"Freedom of speech is a vitally important right in a society that truly claims to be open, free and democratic," says LifeChoice Victoria President, Mary-Anne Evers. "University is the perfect place for discussion of controversial issues. Student Associations should encourage free and frank discussions and not shy away from these topics."

"We don't want AUSA's actions to send a message to other University Student Associations that they can chose which clubs they do or don't want on campus based on the personal views of the Executive members, or a particular group on campus."

"At Victoria University of Wellington, we are very happy with the level of respect we get. VUWSA has always been 100% supportive of the right of freedom of speech and consequently of us as a club. They have supported us just like they do any other club, and most students are open to respectful and intelligent debate."

"This is how things should happen at universities around the country. Voltaire's saying "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to death your right to say it" should especially ring true on campus."

LifeChoice Victoria expresses its support for ProLife Auckland, and encourages all University of Auckland students to attend the SGM and support freedom of speech, regardless of their opinion on the topics under discussion.

See original here:
'Threat to freedom of speech' at Auckland Uni causes concern

July 15, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom SAUGET,IL-Peter Fatse drove in three runs on Saturday night, but it was the Gateway Grizzlies(27-24) defeating the Freedom(28-23) 4-3 in 10 innings. Justin Dunning hit a game winning single off Matt Kline(0-2)scoring John Shelby in the 10th, giving the Grizzlies the series win over the Freedom. Richard Barrett(1-3) collected the win pitching scoreless innings in the 9th and 10th.

The Freedom jumped on Gateway's all-star pitcher Tim Brown for two runs in the 1st inning. Junior Arrojo led off the game with an infield single, and John Malloy hit a double to right field. Fatse then lined a 2 run single to left field which he tried to stretch into a double, but was thrown out by Shelby.

The Grizzlies led 3-2 going into the 9th inning as Brown attempted to go the distance and pitch a complete game. Malloy greeted him with a leadoff single, and then Fatse crushed one to center field scoring Malloy with an RBI double to tie the game at 3-3. The Freedom had a chance to take the lead in the inning, with runners on the corners and nobody out. However, Barrett came out of the bullpen and retired David Harris, and Jim Jacquot on a pair of infield pop outs, and then struck out Drew Rundle to end the threat.

Brown went 8 innings allowing 9 hits and 3 runs, while striking out, earning a no decision. Andres Caceres started the game for the Freedom as he struggled with his command only going 2 innings allowing 3 hits, and 2 earned runs while walking two.

The Freedom will have Sunday off, before beginning a three game series Monday night in Traverse City, Michigan against the Beach Bums. Monday's game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki starting at 6:50 pm on Real Talk 1160 and realtalk1160.com.

Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board... Digg this story Add to Del.icio.us

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Read more here:
Freedom Fall in 10 Innings and Drop Series against Gateway

July 14, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom SAUGET,IL-Eddie Rodriguez broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning with a two run double that lifted the Freedom(28-22) to a 5-4 win on Friday night over the Gateway Grizzlies(26-24). Brennan Flick improved to 6-0 out of the bullpen, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings, while Matt Kline earned his fourth save of the season.

The Freedom took a 2-0 advantage in the fifth, after Drew Rundle hit his fifth homer of the season. Freedom starter Scott Moviel earned a no decision after pitching 6.1 innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs. Moviel gave up a three run homer to Chris McClendon in the sixth which gave the Grizzlies a 3-2 lead.

The Freedom came back though, as John Malloy came off the bench to pinch hit to lead off the eighth inning. Malloy hit a towering fly ball off Phillip Reamy(3-1) over the right field wall for his fifth homer of the season which tied the game at 3-3. After a walk to Junior Arrojo, Reamy struck out Pierre LePage, and intentionally walked Peter Fatse. It was Rodriguez then who drove a pitch over CF Antone DeJesus's head to score Arrojo and Fatse and give the Freedom a 5-3 lead.

McClendon homered again for the Grizzlies in the ninth, but the Freedom ended the game with a defensive gem for their fourth double play of the night. Kline got Richie Jiminez Jr to hit into a 5-4-3 twin killing which ended the Freedom's three game losing streak.

The Freedom and Gateway Grizzlies will play the rubber match of their three game series Saturday night. LHP Andres Caceres will start for the Freedom, as the Grizzlies will send RHP Tim Brown to the mound. The game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki starting at 7:50 pm on Real Talk 1160 and realtalk1160.com.

Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board... Digg this story Add to Del.icio.us

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Read the original:
Freedom's Rodriguez Delivers Clutch 8th Inning Hit for Victory

Saturday night's Freedom Bowl Classic at Kiggins Bowl is the last chance for many of Clark County's top graduated seniors to play football, as most won't go on to play in college.

Union's Kaben Humphrey-Butler looks at the Freedom Bowl as a last chance of sorts, too. It will be his last chance to compete with, and in some cases, against, some people he grew up playing with in youth and high school football.

But Humphrey-Butler is determined to extend his football future beyond Saturday night's all-star game that benefits the Shriners Hospitals for Children. In February, he signed a letter of intent to play quarterback at Central Washington, where he'll enroll in the fall.

If he is to eventually earn the starting job, or even meaningful playing time, he'll have to stand out against stiff competition. Central Washington signed five quarterbacks in its 2012 class. Undoubtedly, there will be attrition.

"I love to compete. I don't like anything given to me," said Humphrey-Butler, Union's starting quarterback the past two years. "I've seen the other guys play. It'll be fun going up and competing. I'm just going to go up and do the best I can. At the end of the day, if someone else is better than me, so be it."

He reached college-level competition because of his love for football. Because he's 6-foot-3, friends encouraged him to play basketball, but it didn't interest him enough to put in the time.

He has some baseball bloodlines; his father, Michael, played at Clark College, and for a time in the minor leagues. But Humphrey-Butler gave up baseball in seventh grade because "I kind of got burned out playing it in the summer. Plus I went on a little growth spurt and got a little uncoordinated."

Not so in football. He started with flag football in second grade, tackle football in third grade, and has yet to miss a season.

"Everything I dedicated my time to went to football," he said.

Playing quarterback was an acquired taste. When offered a shot at the position in seventh grade, "I hated the thought of playing it." But then, "I figured out I could touch the ball on every play."

Read the original:
Central Washington commit Kaben Humphrey-Butler to play in Freedom Bowl

Every year Freedom Quilts has a quilt raffle to help raise funding to keep the project going. So far Freedom Quilts has given over 7,100 quilts thanks to donors that help make this possible. Many of our fallen heroes' families have enjoyed the comfort the quilts have given them.

This year's winner is Donna Buckmiller from Des Moines. Donna has kindly helped Freedom Quilts continue its mission, always giving her yearly donation for this project since she read an article on the Freedom Quilters. Thanks to Donna and others like her we have continued to make quilts for families of the terrorist attacks and those lost while serving in the military.

We took a trip to Des Moines to present the 2012 winning quilt to the lovely couple. Eugene told us the story of his mother and how she would make quilts for the whole family. His mother enjoyed making quilts - the process was comforting to her and a joy to the family. Eugene truly understands the labor of love that it takes to make a quilt and the many hours that go into a creation. His mother hand stitched all of her quilts which made for a time-consuming process, but all the love put into each stitch makes it priceless and unique. Eugene brought out two of his mother's quilts to show us and they were truly beautiful and the hand work was extraordinary. They have shared their quilts that Eugene's mother made with their children but the winning quilt they plan on keeping for themselves. They will show it off to the family but with a sweet smile they said this one was theirs. Donna said she has never won anything so this was a real experience.

Congratulations to the Buckmillers. We are already working on the 2013 Freedom Quilts for next year. For those that wish to help this project like Donna has, check out our website http://www.freedomquilts.net and see if next year you can be a winner also. We will be uploading the picture onto the website so everyone can see soon.

Freedom Quilts Inc

C/O Betty Nielsen

13637 550th St

Fonda, IA 50540

712-288-5328

Visit link:
Freedom Quilt winner announced