Category Archives: Freedom

The essence of freedom At the intersection of liberty and language, one of Ukraines leading writers contemplates his literary identity

By Andrey Kurkov

As Ukraine struggles against the current Russian invasion, it may seem strange to spend time remembering the collapse of the USSR in 1991. And yet I find it useful to reflect on that event. New, unexpected thoughts appear that provoke a shift in my attitudes, allowing me to reassess the past from the point of view of todays tragedy.

In 1991, the USSR was physically disintegrating, crumbling like an old, abandoned building. Now Russian President Vladimir Putins dream of restoring the USSR is crumbling, and nostalgia for the Soviet past is dying.

Donate to the Rotary Foundation Ukraine Disaster Response Fund.

I have always believed that the most important thing in life is to have a choice. This is the essence of freedom. Choice gives the opportunity to better understand yourself, the purpose of life, and your own role in it. In Soviet society, I could not choose a role that would suit both me and the Soviet system.

In my student years, I was an anti-Soviet Soviet person, as were many of my peers. I disliked many things about the USSR. I often argued with my communist father about the wrongness of the Soviet regime. And yet, I did not believe that this regime could be changed, that it could be made correct.

My father did not like to argue, although he always defended the Soviet system, in his calm, lazy manner. His positive attitude toward it grew from his belief that the Soviet system had allowed him to realize his dream. Since childhood, he had wanted to become a military pilot and he became one. He rose to the rank of captain, spending several years in Germany with the Soviet occupying forces after World War II. He returned to the USSR, and had it not been for the Cuban missile crisis and Nikita Khrushchevs unilateral disarmament policy, he would have risen to the rank of colonel. Having faced the threat of a third world war, Khrushchev wanted to demonstrate that the USSR was a peace-loving state. This meant that my father, along with tens of thousands of other military men, was sent into the reserve army and a peaceful life. I am still grateful to Khrushchev for this beautiful peacekeeping gesture. Without it, I would not be a Ukrainian today.

Illustrations by Oksana Drachkovska

After leaving the army, my father began to look for work in civil aviation. He was fortunate. My paternal grandmother lived in Kyiv, where one of the largest aircraft factories in the USSR the Antonov factory produced civilian passenger and cargo aircraft. It was this plant that invited my father to work as a test pilot, and our whole family moved to Ukraine. More precisely, we moved to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

I was not yet 2 years old when we moved. Budogoshch, my mother's home and the Russian village where I was born, is preserved in my memory only through the stories told by my mother and maternal grandmother. In my memories of early childhood, only Kyiv features Kyiv and Yevpatoriia in Crimea, where our family spent the summer holiday every year.

I have no non-Ukrainian childhood memories, though truthfully it is difficult to call the memories I have "Ukrainian." They were Soviet, geographically connected with Ukraine. The country's "Ukrainianness" at that time was expressed only in folk songs and dances, as if the Soviet republics differed from one another only in those narrow areas.

My parents considered themselves Russians all their lives, but in fact they were people of "Soviet nationality." They were brought up in Soviet, not Russian, culture. They did not sing Russian folk songs; they liked Soviet songs from popular Soviet films.

Vladimir Lenin, one of the founders of Soviet Russia, dreamed of creating a special "Soviet man," a person cut off from his ethnic roots, from the history of his specific, small homeland. Of course, Lenin took the Russian person as the basis of the "Soviet person": someone with a collective mentality who was loyal to the authorities and who valued stability more than freedom. And, of course, the Soviet person had to speak Russian. Without one common language, the system of control would not function. Therefore, the Soviet political system, which had initially abandoned the tsarist policy of Russification in the early 1920s, returned to this policy in the mid-1930s. The dramatic flourishing of distinctly Ukrainian culture in the 1920s ended in 1937-38 with the mass executions of those who had powered the Ukrainian cultural revival.

In Kyiv in the 1970s, most schools were "Russian," in that all subjects were taught in Russian. "Ukrainian schools" were considered to be institutions for the children of janitors and cooks, students with no ambition.

At Russian school number 203, only one of my friends was from a family that spoke Ukrainian at home. But at school, he spoke Russian, like everyone else. If someone in Kyiv spoke Ukrainian, it was assumed that they had come to Kyiv on business from some outlying village, or that they were nationalists.

We were taught Ukrainian twice a week. Some of my classmates were excused from these lessons. All you needed to be exempt from Ukrainian lessons was a letter from your parents stating that, in connection with a possible future move to another region of the USSR, their child did not need to learn Ukrainian.

I went to Ukrainian language and literature classes, but I do not remember that I enjoyed them. Strangely, I cannot now remember either the name or the face of our Ukrainian language teacher. I do not even remember if the teacher was a man or a woman. But I remember my Russian teacher very well. Her name was Bella Mikhailovna Voitsekhovskaya. She taught us Russian literature with great enthusiasm, constantly reciting Pushkin, Lermontov, and even the officially frowned-upon Anna Akhmatova. Now, when I think about the Ukrainian language and literature teacher who has disappeared from my memory, I suspect that he or she did everything possible to remain unremarkable, as if there was some shame in teaching the subject.

The Ukrainian language was not banned during those years. There were Ukrainian-speaking communists and university professors. When I was a student at the Kyiv Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages, we had a professor who lectured in Ukrainian, the legendary translator Ilko Korunets, who translated into Ukrainian books by Oscar Wilde, James Fenimore Cooper, Gianni Rodari, and others. Strangely, of all the professors who taught me, he is the only one whose name I can still remember.

After university, I worked for half a year as an editor at the Dnipro publishing house. I edited translations of foreign novels into Ukrainian. Inside the publishing house, everyone spoke Ukrainian that was the unwritten rule of the place. I remember walking to work with my colleagues. As we approached the doors of the publishing house, we would be talking about something in Russian, but as we went inside, we automatically continued the same conversation in Ukrainian.

Knowing the Ukrainian language did not automatically make me a Ukrainian. Even though I had lived in the capital of Soviet Ukraine since early childhood, "Russian" was written in the nationality column of my Soviet passport. When I received a passport from independent Ukraine, I discovered that there was no "nationality" column in it, only the name of my new homeland, "Ukraine," embossed in gold on the cover.

Without crossing any borders, I found myself in a new country. I did not change much, and my attitude toward freedom of choice did not change. I continued to write literary texts in Russian, but I called myself, and considered myself, a Ukrainian writer. Some of my Ukrainian-speaking colleagues treated my self-identification with hostility. They stubbornly called me a Russian writer and insisted that if I wanted to call myself a Ukrainian author, I should switch to writing in Ukrainian. From the mid-'90s to the mid-2000s, I participated in dozens, if not hundreds, of debates on this topic, and I do not remember any of the participants shifting in their opinion. But at the same time, some Russian-speaking writers did start using Ukrainian as their language of creativity. The current war has caused a new wave of language migration. The most famous Russian-speaking writer from Ukraine's Donbas region, Volodymyr Rafeyenko, turned his back on the Russian language last year. This war has made many ethnic Ukrainians begin using Ukrainian in everyday life. They no longer feel any need of Russian.

The concept of identity is usually associated with belonging being at home in a particular community with a shared culture, history, and language. Although I cling to my native language as a writer, I feel that I am part of the Ukrainian community and therefore I need to know the Ukrainian language and understand Ukrainian history and culture.

Now the issue of self-identification has become one of the main themes of public discussion. Soldiers from the front are asking friends to send them books on Ukrainian history. We have seen an explosion of interest in classical Ukrainian literature and modern Ukrainian poetry. Putin, with his statements that Ukrainians do not exist, provoked in us a desire to feel and act as Ukrainian as possible. The process of Ukrainization is now unstoppable. "Ukrainianness" has become a powerful weapon in the defense of our country.

Ukrainian has long been the language I use for public communication for radio and television interviews and meetings with readers. I also write articles for newspapers and nonfiction in Ukrainian. But I still write novels in my native language. Now, when most bookstores refuse to sell books in Russian, my books are immediately translated into Ukrainian for the domestic market. Morally, I am prepared for the fact that my books will not be published in the language in which I write them. Russian will become my "internal" language, just as Ukrainian was the internal language of my school friend, who was forced to speak Russian at school, while at home with his parents, he used Ukrainian.

If I am honest with myself, I can see that my self-identification as a Ukrainian is more important to me than my native language. To be Ukrainian, especially now, means to be free. I am free. And, using this freedom, I reserve the right to my native language even though, thanks to Russian policy, it has gained the status of "the language of the enemy."

In the end, Ukraine was and remains a multiethnic state with dozens of active national minorities, each with their own culture and literature written in Crimean Tatar, Hungarian, Gagauz, and other languages. I need to see all these languages and cultures as part of my Ukrainianness.

Tolerance in interethnic relations is a Ukrainian tradition, and the harmony that flows from such tolerance should flourish in my country once we have peace.

Andrey Kurkov is the author of more than two dozen books, including the novels Death and the Penguin and Grey Bees. His novel Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv will be published in North America in January 2024.

This story originally appeared in the August 2023 issue of Rotary magazine.

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The essence of freedom - Rotary International

A caravan of over a dozen cars, with six Luna County Sheriffs Office units escorting them, made its way from the Starmax entertainment center on Country Club Road west on Pine Street and south on Gold Avenue to the Luna County Courthouse Sunday afternoon.

Messages painted on the vehicles windows or displayed on signs bore messages such as, Gods children are not 4 sale, Ride for freedom and End child trafficking!

At least two vehicles flew small flags bearing a logo, resembling three links of a chain, spelling out the initials of Operation Underground Railroad, the nonprofit organization whose founder, Tim Ballard, is depicted in this summers hit movie, Sound of Freedom.

Local Ride for Freedom caravans were encouraged by the organization to mark July 30 as a day of protest against human trafficking. The Deming event, including an hour-long gathering of about 20 people on the lawn at Poplar Street and Platinum Avenue, was organized by Sara Williams. (Williams recently spent several months as a marketing consultant for the Headlight.)

Among those in attendance was Mayor Benny Jasso.

Angel Studios released Sound of Freedom on July 4 and grossed $19.6 million in its opening weekend already surpassing its $14.5 million budget. By July 28, it posted a gross exceeding $130 million.

The PG-13-rated thriller dramatizes Ballards work as a former federal agent rescuing children from a Columbian child trafficking operation. It has received mixed reviews from critics and subject experts, who have variously called it a solid action movie with disturbing scenes while some criticize it for fictionalizing some events. The studio acknowledged creative liberties in its depictions of child trafficking.

A spokesperson for Starmax said Monday the film had grossed $15,876 in Deming since opening on July 4.

Jim Caviezel portrays former federal agent Tim Ballard in Sound of Freedom. (Courtesy of Angel Studios)

It has been our highest grossing movie for the month of July, the spokesperson said, adding that the only movie to outsell it in 2023 has been The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which ran at Starmax for seven weeks.

The theater reported that, nationwide, Sound of Freedom already ranked 13th for the year with a gross of $136,907,547 as of Aug. 1.

Among the groups promoting the movie are adherents of the widespread conspiracist movement known as QAnon, which Angel Studios, Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad have vaguely disavowed.

Flyers for Sundays caravan did not address the cause directly, referring readers to a social media hashtag, #RiseUpForFreedom, and showing the chain-like logo of Operation Underground Railroad, which is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ballard founded the organization in 2013 after a career at the Department of Homeland Security where, according to his bio, he worked on teams addressing internet crimes against children and child sex trafficking. Ballard stepped down as the companys leader just ahead of the movies release.

According to its website, OUR works with local law enforcement agencies to conduct extensive undercover work and intelligence gathering to rescue victims of human trafficking and bondage while providing recovery services to victims. From its name to its abolitionist club donor tier, the organization links its mission to the historic Underground Railroad consisting of safe houses and covert routes aiding escaped American slaves in the 19th century.

The organization has a rating of four out of four stars on the Charity Navigator website, which assesses nonprofits based on their financial transparency, adherence to mission and leadership among other rubrics, while noting that data used for some of its metrics were not available.

Sound of Freedom star Jim Caviezel has amplified QAnon claims while promoting the film. At the same time, Angel Studios, Ballard and OUR have all distanced themselves from conspiracy theories in general terms.

OUR states on its website: Accurate information about child exploitation and human trafficking is imperative to effectively confront these issues. We encourage anyone who wants to join the fight to stay informed and use care when engaging around these issues to not hurt the cause.

Man wears a T-shirt aligning with QAnon. (Marc Nozell/Wikimedia Commons)

QAnon is a wide-ranging mythos originating circa 2017 on the internet, initially attributed to an alleged intelligence operative posting anonymously as Q hence, QAnon. The central story is that an international, Satanic organization with roots through governments, the Democratic Party, Hollywood and news media, is molesting and/or murdering children on an industrial scale. According to the story, President Donald Trump and his administration were fighting a covert battle against the cabal and preparing to arrest thousands of conspirators in an event referred to as the Storm.

While these outlandish claims have been widely mocked, they have also inspired criminal acts among believers including violence. In 2016, a Washington, D.C. pizzeria named in QAnon-related social media posts received a visit from Edgar Maddison Welch, wielding an AR-15, to investigate online rumors that child sex slaves were harbored there. Welch fired three shots in the restaurant but did not injure anyone. He pleaded guilty to transporting his firearm across state lines and to assault with a deadly weapon, was sentenced to four years in prison and has subsequently been released.

One way QAnon spread into the mainstream and recruited believers was through signs at political demonstrations and hashtags on social media such as #SaveTheChildren.

QAnon has been compared to a cult in the way it seeks to alienate recruits from conventional agencies that vet information, accusing the medical establishment, tech companies and media organizations of suppressing evidence that would substantiate its claims; and in the way it presents adherents with an insular community of the like-minded.

Caviezel has aired claims from the QAnon storybook that young victims are being farmed for a substance called adrenochrome, which, as the story goes, is used by politicians and celebrity performers as an elixir of youth.

While the films producers and OUR have attempted to put space between the movie and QAnon, there is little argument that the movements embrace of Sound of Freedom has sold tickets.

The main speaker at Sundays gathering was Ernie Holguin, owner of a downtown business, whom Williams said she invited to offer data about human trafficking and child exploitation as a serious law enforcement concern.

Following a group prayer with participants standing in a circle, Holguin spoke from the bed of a pickup truck into a microphone, consulting notes from his personal research into the issue, citing a number of data points before moving beyond the movie into some of the wilder claims associated with QAnon, including those about adrenochrome.

Holguin denied to the Headlight that his remarks were connected with QAnon, but rather came from his own online research over five years.

His speech referred to a rumor nicknamed frazzledrip, which claims the existence of a video showing Hillary Clinton murdering a female child and wearing her skin as a mask. Somehow, this video has never been found and published.

Ernie Holguin was the main speaker at a World Day Against Human Trafficking rally in Deming on July 30. (Algernon DAmmassa/Deming Headlight)

Some members of the group appeared taken aback by these claims but listened politely, and some nodded as Holguin called on them to pray for the deliverance of victims and protection for law enforcement officers.

When asked for his evidence of the frazzledrip videos existence, Holguin obliged with a link to a seven-minute video that presents no footage of the incident, sources or any verifiable evidence.

Nonetheless, Holguin said he sincerely believes the story as well as claims about adrenochrome. The hard part is they keep removing videos and pics of the whole sacrifice, he wrote. If I was to keep searching for the video, pics and even the audio Im sure I could find it if I had the time.

As the gathering concluded, Williams, who said she was not familiar with the QAnon phenomenon, offered a few words about maintaining awareness of human trafficking, as New Mexico is situated on the border and the junction of crucial interstate highways. She said she hoped for more participation at a future event.

The Headlight reached out to the mayor for comment about the gathering, but he did not respond.

Algernon DAmmassa can be reached at algernon@demingheadlight.com.

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Locals organize 'Sound of Freedom' caravan - The Deming Headlight

Court Upholds First Amendment rights of Libraries, Librarians, Booksellers, Publishers,Authorsand Readers in Commanding Opinion

Washington, D.C. On July 29, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas granted a Preliminary Injunction, barring the implementation of two provisions of Arkansas Act 372, one of which would have subjected librarians and bookstore owners to criminal prosecution unless they removedfrom shelves serving older minors and adultsmaterial deemed unsuitable for the youngest minors. The other provision would have mandated a library book challenge procedure in public libraries whereby individuals may challenge books based on appropriateness (an undefined term not based on constitutional standards). In addition review boards would have been allowed or even invited to engage in viewpoint and content based discrimination. The ruling came in response to thesuitfiled by a coalition of plaintiffs that includes local Arkansas libraries, as well as authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and readers. The bill was signed by the Governor of Arkansas on March 30, 2023 and had been slated to go into effect on August 1.

Excerpts from the Order and Opinion

Joint Statement of the Organizational Plaintiffs

Allison Hill, the CEO of the American Booksellers Association; Maria Pallante, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers; Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild; Deborah Caldwell- Stone, the Executive Director of the Freedom to Read Foundation; Jeff Trexler, the Interim DirectorofComic Book Legal Defense Fund; Pearls Books; Kandi West, Lia Lent and Lynne Phillips, owners of WordsWorth Books:

The court has moved decisively to protect the First Amendment rights of Arkansas book community, consistent with the rigorous analysis that freedom of speech has always required. In barring theimplementation of the challenged provisions of ArkansasAct 372, the court has preserved the constitutional right of the states readers to receive information, including viewpoints that state legislators may find disagreeable. Just as profoundly, the court has shielded the states booksellers and librarians from extreme punishments for performing their essential function of making books available to the public.

What the Bill Would Have Done

The lawsuit challenged two provisions of Act 372 that would have violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. One component made it a crime for libraries, booksellers, and any brick-and-mortar establishment to display or make available works that might be harmful to minors. This would have required libraries and booksellers to limit all readers to books appropriate for minors or exclude all minor readers from their premises. The second provision made it possible for any person in Arkansas to demand the removal of a book the person deemed inappropriate, limiting readers to one persons opinion about what books should be in the library, and it would have permitted or encouraged review boards to engage in viewpoint- and content-based discrimination.

Plaintiffs

The plaintiffs in the suit include the American Booksellers Association, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Freedom to Read Foundation, and two local bookstores WordsWorth Books in Little Rock and Pearls Books in Fayetteville, as well as a consortium of local libraries, librarians, and library advocates, which includes Fayetteville Public Library, Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library, Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), Arkansas Library Association, Advocates for All Arkansas Libraries, Nate Coulter (Executive Director of CALS); Adam Webb, a librarian from Garland County; Olivia Farrell, an adult CALS patron; Hayden Kirby, a 17-year-old CALS patron; and Leta Caplinger, a patron of the Crawford County Public Library.

Counsel

Counsel for the various plaintiffs includeJohn T. Adamsof Fuqua Campbell, P.A.;Michael Bambergerof Dentons;Bettina Brownsteinof the ACLU of Arkansas; and Benjamin Seel and Will Bardwell ofDemocracy Forward.

Read the opinion here.

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Freedom to Read Foundation welcomes preliminary injunction ... - ala.org

Hugh Odneal, Jefferson City

Dear Editor,

One definition from the Webster Dictionary; "the quality or state of being free: such as; the absence of necessity, coercion or constraint in choice or action." Another is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint:"

Does this sound like the freedom's we experience in the United States? Where is the coercion or constraint in choice or action coming from? Is it from the Christian seminary that uses Biblical authority for its guidelines of admittance and conduct, the Christian baker, Christian photographer, Christian web-designer, Christian florist ... whose desires are to use their God-given talents to glorify God with the talents he gave them? They are not using coercion to force anyone to accept their Christian values; they are being coerced to compromise their Christian values.

Freedom cannot exist without tolerance, true tolerance. And what is true tolerance? Again from Webster, "sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own."

Notice tolerance does not require acceptance or agreement with the other's belief or lifestyle; in fact acceptance or agreement would not be tolerance. Tolerance requires compassion and love.

Freedom is not for the pacifist, from Gov. Reagan's Jan. 5, 1967, inaugural address, "Freedom is a fragile thing, and it's never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.

"With all the profound wording of our federal Constitution, probably the most meaningful words are the first three, 'We, the People.' Now, it is inconceivable to me that anyone could accept this delegated authority without asking God's help."

Jesus was not a pacifist nor did he compromise. Matthew 21:13: "My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'"

Franklin Graham gave the simple solution 2 Chronicles 7:14, "ifmy people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Notice God only asks for "my people who are called by my name," Christians, to humble themselves. So why is our nation and world in the chaos we see all around us? Is it because we are those God called stiff-necked and rebellious?

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COMMENTARY: What is freedom? - Jefferson City News Tribune

A rally protesting COVID-19 vaccinations outside the Tennessee Capitol in 2021. (Photo: Sam Stockard)

Tennessee Stands its founder and executive director is Gary Humble didnt slow down. It pumped out social-media posts and email newsletter updates. The group tried to shape state legislation; some of its targeted priorities in 2022 included medical freedom and so-called election integrity. It used a far-right view of Christianity as a driving force for its work.

Williamson County Schools school board removed a mask mandate in mid-November 2021. Moms for Liberty-Williamson County, its supporters on Facebook, or both, still had other things on their agenda. Just like early on, Moms for Liberty-Williamson County wanted books banned. There was a desire to affect curricula. They took issue with things that taught students about the LGBTQ+ community as well as racism and the U.S. Moms for Liberty-Williamson County opposed legislation that would require children in fifth through eighth grade to learn about Black history and Black culture. It also pushed for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that would let teachers, principals and other public-school employees use inaccurate pronouns when referring to students.

On Jan. 23, 2022, people walked the streets of Franklin, taking part in protests going on that month around the world against coronavirus pandemic-related mitigation efforts. At one point, at least some of the people participating in the Franklin protest stopped to take a group picture. No one was masked in it. Practically everyone was holding a sign; most, if not all, were conspiratorial and anti-science. One man, bald and smiling, stood out. Kneeling in the front row, toward the middle, he held two anti-vaccination signs, each had at least one Nazi-era yellow Star of David badge and the word Vaccinated within it.

WELCOME AMERICAN FREEDOM CONVOY, a sign read, in all-capital letters.

The sign was hard to miss at the James E. Ward Agricultural & Community Center in Lebanon, Tennessee. Located in Middle Tennessees Wilson County, Lebanon is about 30 miles east of Nashville and about 45 to 60 miles northeast of Franklin, depending on which route you drive.

Gates were already open for the American Freedom Convoys event there at around 2:30 on that sunny afternoon. Crowds had arrived. Food trucks, too. People were selling t-shirts and flags. And the events lineup of speakers and performances were underway.

The American Freedom Convoy was one of a number of cargo-truck-centered convoys in the U.S. that were copycatting the then-recent far-right Canadian truckers convoy, which had protested pandemic-mitigation efforts. In the U.S., far-right truckers from a number of places had already started working their way to the Washington, D.C., area to lawfully protest. They claimed that their freedom had been infringed upon by the federal government. As for the American Freedom Convoy, it specifically set out [t]o restore our freedoms, our civil liberties, and to bring an end to all unconstitutional mandates with legal provisions in place to ensure this never happens again, according to a southeastern regional-chapters private Facebook group.

The event in Lebanon served multiple purposes. One was to give truckers a place to rest before resuming their trek east. It also let locals show their support for the truckers, by buying them dinner and donating items to them: playing cards, toilet paper, toe warmers.

A third purpose intentional or not was to be a far-right pep rally. There were American flags; people dressed in American flag-themed clothing; pro-Trump signs; a sign reading ARREST Fauci, referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the countrys then-top government health official when it came to infectious diseases; a FJB LETS GO BRANDON flag, with FJB meaning F JOE BIDEN and LETS GO BRANDON being the popular anti-Biden saying used by some Trump supporters. One woman wore a dark shirt with UNMASKED UNMUZZLED UNVACCINATED UNAFRAID in white lettering.

Turnout at the event was solid. According to a tally by one of the events organizers, Sarah Kearney, posted on March 4, 2022, in a private Facebook group called Freedom Convoy Tennessee which the Lookout had direct access to thousands of people showed up. But one key group of event-goers fell short of Kearneys expectation: actual convoy trucks. While she didnt provide the number of trucks that showed up, Kearney posted it wasnt hundreds.

Part one: A darker shade of red

How many of you want to continue to fight for your freedom in Tennessee? Kearney asked in a mid-morning post in the Facebook group on March 5, 2022. Our rally was just the beginning. We are the majority in this country! Once the rest of the world figures this out we will be unstoppable. We want to do more events, we want to get more information out. Whos in?

Later that afternoon, Kearney posted again. This time, she had an announcement for the group: She had spoken with Humble from Tennessee Stands Humble was a featured speaker at the Lebanon event and he had talked her into helping out with his efforts to affect legislation in the state.

We ALL need to SHOW UP at The Capitol for this hearing to show our support for medical freedom, Kearney said of an upcoming hearing in Nashville.

The particular piece of far-right legislation that was set to be discussed would, basically, make it illegal if you turned someone away from a place, like a restaurant, if they hadnt been vaccinated against COVID-19 or another communicable disease.

Kearney continued: Regardless of your age, job, or school, NO ONE should be able to force ANY injections against your will.

The association between Kearney, Humble and Tennessee Stands would continue.

A new convoy happened on April 30, 2022, this one local. People motored from here and there in Tennessee to Nashville. At the time, Tonya Dodd was an administrator of the private Facebook group for the Tennessee chapter of the The Peoples Convoy; The Peoples Convoy was another of the multiple far-right U.S. cargo-truck convoys. According to an April 12, 2022, post by Dodd in The Peoples Convoy Official-Tennessee Facebook group, people from a number of convoys and other groups in Tennessee had banded together. She said the focus going forward would be restoring the U.S. Constitution as well as election/voter integrity and accountability all far-right conspiracy theories.

Evolution of the Christian right in Tennessee

In Tennessee, people within the far right were hard at work trying to get themselves or others elected in the 2022 midterm elections. That way, they could try to put their stamp on things from the inside.

For Robin Steenman, work started before 2022.

In 2021, a self-described conservative, Judeo-Christian political action committee named Williamson Families got launched. The person in charge? Steenman. You see, Moms for Liberty-Williamson County was classified as a 501(c)(4) organization, and according to the IRS could only run as a non-profit and was solely limited to operating in a fashion that promoted social welfare. That meant elections were off-limits. Steenman relayed the news on the private Moms for Liberty-Williamson County Facebook group on Oct. 6, 2021. But she noted a loophole: a PAC.

In an email to Williamson Families listserv which a Lookout writer received directly a week later, Steenman wrote to supporters, saying that the PACs purpose was to find, vet and support candidates. After endorsing three candidates running for county alderperson in the local 2021 election, Williamson Families set its sights on 2022.

On March 8, 2022, more than a dozen people publicly got Williamson Families endorsement at an event in Franklin.

Psalm 144: Praise be the Lord, my rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle, Steenman said from the lectern on the stage at the event. The hands of the American people are what will tend the sacred fire of liberty. Williamson Families is not going away. And we will not be cowed. And we will not be afraid. We derive our courage and our calling from God above, and when we win this year, in 2022, all glory to God above. Steenman paused. The crowd clapped. She continued: Not me.

On April 6, 2022, Williamson Families announced via email an endorsement for someone running in the midterm elections for county juvenile court judge. At that point, the PAC had doled out 20 endorsements. Half of Williamson County Schools board was on the ballot; those six seats had Williamson Families-approved candidates vying for them.

Its a 12-member [school] board, and if they get four of those seats, that gives them more of an opportunity to try to swing some other people over. If they get four out of the six seats, then, in two years, theyll have the opportunity to take four or six more, says Brad Fiscus. If they were to get all six, then all hell will break loose in the school system. I really see it happening because, even though that doesnt give them the majority, it gives them, basically, a six-six tie. Vetoes anything. It kills anything.

Muzzled: COVID-19 and controversy in Tennessee

Of the PACs remaining 14 endorsements, 13 went to people running for seats on the county commission. The other one went to Connie Reguli in the county juvenile court judge race; however, that endorsement would get rescinded. Why? Turns out, Reguli had been found guilty of breaking the law.

Brad Fiscus wouldnt be surprised if Steenman runs for office herself someday. But, he noted, her running hinged on how her agenda would end up doing at the ballot box in the midterm elections.

A seat representing Williamson County in the states Senate was also up for grabs in the midterms. One person hoping to win it was none other than Humble.

He was challenging the Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson. Johnson himself had embraced far-right ideology.

And Gov. Bill Lee, a Franklin-native, was up for reelection. Since first getting elected in 2018, Lee had signed an anti-LGBTQ education bill as well as an anti-transgender health-care bill into law. Those moves are in addition to him banning critical race theory from being taught in public schools.

Former president Donald Trump endorsed Lee for reelection.

Tennessees two U.S. senators still had time left on their six-year terms. So, their seats werent available in the midterms. However, all nine of the states members of the U.S. House of Representatives were. And, yes, candidates with far-right views threw their hats into the ring.

Look for the final installment in our series A darker shade of red tomorrow.

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"Medical freedom" at the forefront of 2022 Tennessee elections ... - Tennessee Lookout

Faster, Auntie, faster! my little girl cried. Her aunt, a close family friend, moved the lever up next to the wheel and up went the front of the boat. My stomach turned as the water rushed behind us, and the wind brushed the hair from our faces. It was our first time in a motorboat and our first time feeling freedom on a lake.

This was not our original plan for our summer trip. We were going to visit some close friends at their cottage by the lake for some swimming, hot dogs and taco salad. Nothing too fancy or crazy, until they told us that their parents owned a boat that we could ride on. Having lived in the Texan/New Mexican desert for most of my life, riding on a boat was not common, so although I was hesitant at first, my friend assured me that as long as the children wore a life jacket, there was nothing to worry about. I looked about the boat before committing to riding in it. No seat belts, nothing to hang on to; it was a wonder anyone was able to stay on this foreign contraption.

I wasnt sure that my youngest, who is only 3, would be interested in anything of the sort, but she loved the idea of speed and water; two of her favorite things. I found a seat, put on a jacket, and got ready for an experience I will never forget.

The noise wasnt any louder than some cars, and the ride started out very smooth and slow. I could totally handle this, I thought, but after the request to go faster, I was in for the ride of my life. Unprepared for the bumpy waves, I held onto my daughter nice and tight, unaware of how tight I was actually holding her.

It was different from any motorcycle or convertible I had been on; the feeling of the wind in your hair was accompanied with this feeling of riding into a vast expanse of water and mountains. There were no lanes, no signs, just birds, trees and water. The islands showed you where to turn, the birds told you where to fish, and the frogs showed you where to swim.

To top it off, this was up in the Great White North where my husbands family and close friends are from, so the air was cool and crisp, much like winter in South Texas, and I was pretty unprepared.

My little girl was completely unaffected, however, She loved the wind, smiled her bright and free smile all the ride-long, and shook her head at the spray of the water. I had never seen such a free and nature-loving spirit as I saw in her that day. In fact, I enjoyed it all the more because of it.

Its amazing how these little experiences can bring out the best in people you see on a daily basis, including your own children. How wonderful it is to experience nature, friendship and love all in one activity. I hope you all are having an equally amazing summer, bonding with friends, family, or just yourself and nature.

Ashley Hunter is a mom, teacher, and community supporter who loves who she is and where she lives. If you have ideas that you would like to share with Hunter, you may email suggestions to hunter.ashleyk@gmail.com .

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Experience the freedom of the open water | Features ... - Victoria Advocate

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Freedom of speech can have consequences | Letters to the Editor ... - Tullahoma News and Guardian

Whatever happens with the indictment of former President Trump for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, the pressures on our democracy continueoften to the detriment of Latinos and other growing communities of color.

Many politicians continue their efforts to undermineelectoral systems and push anti-voter policies,promptingthe reintroduction of legislation in Congress toestablishbaseline national standards to protect elections against sabotage. Known as theFreedom to Vote Act, the bill would also, importantly,end partisan gerrymandering and help curb big money in politics.

Many of these problems target the ability of Latinos and other communities of color to gain political power through the ballot boxand the democratic processas their numbers grow.

The Freedom to Vote Actspecificallyaddressesobstacles thatharmBlack and Latino voters, such as long lines on Election Day, byrequiring states to ensure that lines last no longer than 30 minutes. It would alsorestrict states fromblocking donations of food or water to voters waiting in line.

It may be hard to believe that these anti-voter practices exist andthat we would needa congressional bill to stop them, but manyconservativestates have been busy in recent years passingsuchrestrictive laws. Among other things, the lawsalso make voter registration more difficult, prevent early voting, close polling places, and limit voterassistancelike language help for Spanish-speaking voters.

And gerrymandering, the discriminatory manipulation of voting district boundaries to favor the party in power, is a major reason Latinos lagin politicalstrength in Texasdespite the fact thatthey havesurpassedwhites as the largest ethnic and racial group in the state. When Texas lawmakers drew new congressional and legislative maps after the 2020 census, they shockinglyfailed tocreate any new Latino electoral opportunities in the metro areas where Latino communities are growing most rapidly. (Latino groups are challenging this omission in court.)

It is significant that among thefederalchargesthat SpecialCounselJack Smithbrought againstTrump is violation of acivil rights lawmaking it a crime to threaten or intimidate anyone in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege provided by the Constitution or by federal law.

Thatcivil rights law,Section 241 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, historically was used to prosecute the Ku Klux Klan for deterring Black Americans from exercising their voting rights and has been applied to punish broader efforts to subvert election outcomes.Manyof the Trump campaigns legal challenges and voter fraud allegations after the 2020 election centered on invalidating votes in cities and counties with large Black and Latino populations, including Detroit, Philadelphia, and Georgias Fulton County.

Theescalatingefforts to disenfranchise communities of color are an assault on ourdemocracy at a time of profound demographic changes in our country. These attacks need to be repelled, with both old and new laws that protect our freedom to vote freely and equally.

A version of this article was originally published in Spanish byLaOpinin.

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Freedom to Vote in Jeopardy, Especially for People of Color - brennancenter.org

From our Understatement Department: Tonights (Friday) Freedom Fest, being held at Hutchins Street Square, has created a bit of a stir among villagers. Some have been so aghast at the speakers list (Kari Lake, Kevin Crye, Dr. Doug Frank, and Steve Ding) that theyve fired off letters to the editor and begun circulating a petition demanding that Supervisor Steve Ding not take the stage, as planned. Were also told there may be a well organized protest against the whole thing lined up for tonight. And local TV stations have been alerted, so there could be something for everybody. In our mailbag this week was a note from Mike Hartung, who wrote, I get freedom of speech, but come on, this is just awful, and Steve Ding showing is reprehensible.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Lodi Police Chief Sierra Brucia announced on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of this year after three years at the departments helm and 30 years in law enforcement. Brucia took over as chief on May 1, 2020 and much of the time has been a trial by fire. Just a month or so into the job there were anti-police marches on the streets of Lodi protesting police brutality in Minneapoliss George Floyd case. Brucia also had to find a way to manage $2 million in budget cuts. Brucias last official day will be Dec. 30. He says he may also move out of state after he retires.

FOR THE GOLD: Lodis Dan Christy and his Santa Barbara Silver Surfers water polo teammates are in Kumamoto, Japan to compete in the world championships. Their first heat is tomorrow (Saturday). Theyll competing in the 65-plus division and Christy says it will be difficult. Its gonna be a definite challenge; these are some real good teams we are playing, he cautions. In June Christy and his team won gold at the Masters National Championships. Four years ago, they won gold at the world championships in Gwangju, South Korea. Makin us proud.

CONSTRUCTION ZONE: The police department has been laying plans for a new training complex for at least 10 years. The vision is to build the new facility at White Slough, along I-5 near Highway 12 on city-owned property. The city council appears solidly behind the project, earmarking $1,152,439 in surplus operating funds for it at its meeting two weeks ago. Chief Brucia is thrilled, but concedes there is a lot ahead. At the top of the list is securing a partner for the project, one who will contribute capital funds to build it and possibly help run it. Brucia says his department has been working with San Joaquin Delta College at the staff level for quite some time, and he believes there is an agreement in principle on co-oping the project. However, the colleges board of trustees first has to ratify any agreement and commit funds to it, says Brucia. He hopes something like that will happen at the trustee meeting this month. When its built, Brucia says the new training center will reduce the citys training costs and generate revenue from its emergency vehicle operation course (EVOC), and possibly the firing ranges included in the plan. At this point, all eyes are on Delta College, which conducts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) programs, and has its own police force.

UPDATE: We recently reported on the local real estate market, which said the market is still tight in Lodi, resulting in some interesting feedback on social media. Jaime Stirm said Lodi is circling the drain. Anna Disch wrote that there remains a real need for starter homes for first-time buyers. Price tag on large homes is unrealistic for families, she says. Gerardo Garcia wrote, If prices get high enough those homes are gonna sit empty. And then youll have a bubble on your hands. Then itll be a great time for us millennials. Realtor Roxanne Rocha, who was quoted in the piece, says shes a capitalist at heart, until she hears of large real estate investment trusts buying up single family homes and entire subdivisions for their portfolios. She says they shouldnt be allowed to buy anything smaller than a 100-unit complex, and politicians should fix this. Rocha said during the financial crisis of 2008 large corporations bought up many single-family houses in Lodi, some of them on the courthouse steps during foreclosure. She says the corporate practice, which is much more prevalent in other parts of the country, deprives first-time homebuyers the opportunity to buy a home they can afford. To put things in perspective, Californias average home price is $743,362. The median California home price for May, 2023 was $836,110, according to the real estate website Zillow. The average (typical) home in Lodi sells for about $470,000, the company says.

LOOKING BACK: A week or so ago we wrote about the sudden and untimely death of local farmer Frank Mills. He died three days after his 61st birthday. He came from a pioneering family. His great-great-great-grandparents Freeman and Minerva (Grace) Mills braved the plains from Illinois and settled in Woodbridge in 1857. His great-grandfather Freeman B. Mills married Carrie C. Ellis Mills on August 11, 1885. Mrs. Mills was the daughter of Ralph Ellis, one-time owner of the Lodi Sentinel and former sheriff of Napa County. His grandfather Everts Mills built the white mansion on Lower Sacramento Road, near Elm Street.

PICKERS: The History Channels American Pickers is coming to California (maybe Lodi) and you might have something they want. The program producers are looking for large, rare collections and things the producers have never seen before. They also want to know the backstory of items they feature. American Pickers is a documentary series broadcast on the History Channel, which explores the fascinating world of antique picking. So, theyre looking for leads. Collectors interested in being considered for the show can call (646) 493-2184 or email at AmericanPickers@cineflix.com.

FLASHBACK: A blaze broke out in the early evening hours of April 15, 1955 at the Shewan-Jones Winery at the intersection of Turner Rd. and Sacramento St. The fire was reported by winery night watchman Gottlieb Zahn at 8:40 p.m. Both Lodi and Woodbridge fire departments responded to the call. The fire consumed the winerys cold storage plant, which had been undergoing some renovations. A cutting torch was blamed for the fire, which caused an estimated $100,000 in damage. The blaze injured winery worker Edward Rodacker, who was working inside the cold storage warehouse when the fire broke out. Assistant Fire Chief Forrest Eproson and volunteer firemen Riney Bender and Rudy Vaccarezza narrowly escaped serious injury when the roof of the warehouse started to collapse while they were cutting a ventilation hole. Firefighting efforts were hampered by thick smoke and the inability of the winery sewers to drain the huge amount of water being poured on the blaze.

Rodacker was rushed to Buchanan Hospital on East Pine Street for emergency treatment of first degree burns to his face and neck and undetermined damage to his lungs due to smoke inhalation. The winery, which was located where the River Pointe subdivision is today, produced the popular Italian Swiss Colony wine.

Steve is a former newspaper publisher and lifelong Lodian whose column appears most Tuesdays and Fridays in the News-Sentinel and at stevemann.substack.com. Write to Steve at aboutlodi@gmail.com.

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Steve Mann: Should Ding exercise his freedom not to speak? - Lodi News-Sentinel

God's Trying To Tell You Something is a theatrical masterpiece that highlights and celebrates the journey of African Americans from slavery to the auction block to freedom.

It's been entertaining audiences in more than 40 cities, and now it's Salt Lake City's turn.

Tim Drisdom, the Pit Choir Director for the show here, joined us to tell us more.

He says the first act of the show gives glimpses into some inspiring icons from Harriet Tubman, to Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.

The second act is more light-hearted with salutes to famous entertainers like Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and more.

"God's Trying to Tell You Something" is at Abravanel Hall on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.

Click here to get your tickets and to learn more about the show, visit godstryingtotellyousomething.com.

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Celebrate the journey of African Americans from slavery to freedom ... - FOX 13 News Utah