Category: Speech & Religion

Free Speech at universities & churches

 

Freedom of speech

Censorship of conservative voices.   Your voice has no merit and we will censor your voice  – that happens more and more  in university settings and other public settings  –including   churches.

Don’t like someone’s opinion?  Make more speech.  That’s the essence of freedom to speak.

Administration at U.C. Berkeley  recently spent  $60o K to protect free speech when Ben Shapiro, a conservative writer,  spoke at U.C. Berkeley. As of 9/23/2017,   is not clear whether the Free Speech Week sponsored by Berkeley Patriot student group  will go forward.

What about  churches?

Are ‘conservative’ voices treated  equally — and  respectfully —  as ‘liberal’ voices in your church?

If some church member raises concerns about an issue  are they  greeted respectfully  with  ‘let’s talk about that…” or are they treated indirectly  with derision, ignoring the person and quick  hostile comments followed by walking away.

An example that happened recently: The church volunteer person  who sends out email regarding events of interest to the  parishioners was asked  more than once  to put a link to a specific  post concerning  an  event.  Response in person was ‘our parishioners are older and don’t do links…’   Oh?  The following week the email sent out by that volunteer contained a link to a newly created church related   blog.  Is that censorship? I think so.

How do churches handle conflict? With listening and prayer we hope.  And respect for the other person’s opinion.   And supportive of freedom to speak.  That takes active steps since the elections in November, 2016.

Increasingly, churches start their church board  meetings with a Covenant  how people will talk to each other.

How might respectful discourse be encouraged in all church related meetings?   At coffee hour?  When two or three church Members gather to make decisions  planning future  events?

Weigh in.  Express your views on this topic and other topics.

Monterey Bay Forum is exactly that  — a Forum  for the expression of different views.   Some people write under a pen name.   One high school youth publishes on Birds.  One ex-policeman now an  R.N. writes about his career changes.  There are many voices expressed on the Forum.  Licensed Psychologist  Cameron Jackson writes under her own name — on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and through other avenues.

Your voice is welcome.

Many of the  most popular posts (most read over time)  on Monterey Bay Forum relate to Freedom.  Wonder why?    Probably because the domain name  is   www.freedomok.net    That’s probably why we see readers  popping up from all over the world and all over the U.S.A.

written by Cameron Jackson    DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

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Want to know how — not why — to become a Member of St. John’s Episcopal, Aptos, CA?

       Want to know how — not why — to become a Member  of St. John’s Episcopal church in Aptos, CA?
There’s 4  “must do” requirements to become a Member of the body of Christ located at  St. John’s.
Perhaps you need help meeting those requirements?   If so,  we ‘ll help you meet  those  requirements.
[Please note:   This was written tongue-in-cheek to point to some important,   underlying issues.  One  issue: Is  100% of  St. John’s  church vestry  — the people that make the legal decisions for the church  — are they  listed as Communicants on  the church books?  Yes or No?   If the answer is No, then  are the decisions made by St. John’s  vestry legal and binding?  Ask a lawyer!  
Another issue:   People serve in many leadership capacities  at St. John’s.  How many of  these ‘ministers’ — that’s ‘all of  us’ per the back cover of the weekly service bulletin  — listed as Communicants?  If not,  then who is entitled to   vote in the upcoming election in Dec. 2017?  
The NEW  Bylaws state  that you have to be a Member for six months in order to vote.  Per the new rules, only persons listed as Communicants can vote in the next election in Dec. 2017.  Oh dear!  What to do?    
 
 It is easy to find out who  is a Communicant at St. John’s.    Look in the Index of the (green)  book for Communicants.  It’s kept in the church office. 
 You can readily  check the  Index of the book for Communicants  and  see whether you are listed.    The church is very supportive behind the scene to assist  all people to update their  church records.]   

So — What are those “must do”  requirements for basic Membership at St. John’s?

    #1:   Baptism.  You must be baptized.  Were you baptized — but  you don’t have a copy of  the record?     We’ll help you track down your baptismal record.   Where ever it happened   and when ever.
2). There must be a record of  your baptism listed  in  St. John’s church records. Perhaps you know that  you were baptized but never submitted the record to St. John’s Episcopal church in Aptos, CA?  .  We will help you.    We will submit the record of your baptism  to the church authorities   — and we will  take a  photo/ video   of the page so that  you know that it’s been accurately recorded in the church records.
    3). You must take communion (wafer and wine)  3 times during  the current year. Unless physically indisposed.    Discretely,  we  will  photograph/ video you receiving communion  3 times.  By recording it,   no one, i.e.,  such as the Executive Committee of St. John’s,  can  kill your membership application by inuendo —   questioning  whether you  actually  received communion   3 times this last year.   Yes, it sounds odd but you never know who believes what about whom  these days.    To be on the safe side, we suggest that you wear  different clothes when you are photographed during communion.
4). Participate in life of parish.  There are a multitude of ways  that you can participate.  What’s important is that there is an actual record of how you participated.  A record that you can submit to the church when you apply for Membership.
   Perhaps you open the church doors for services ?       Perhaps you have  carpentry skills?  Or perhaps  you do child care and can help out in the nursery?  Maybe you work in a school cafeteria and can make cookies for a bake sale?
However you contribute, we will photograph/ video your contributions  to the life of the parish.  And we will submit those records to St. John’s as part of your application to be a Member at St. John’s Episcopal in Aptos, CA.
Cost of this service?   Absolutely free.  Send requests for assistance to DrCameronJackson@gmail.com
To become a Member of St. John’s episcopal church  you must meet the above listed  4 requirements.

 There are other levels of Membership which you can achieve.

To become a Voting Member you must meed 6 additional requirements including the laying on of hands by Bishop Mary.
And, should you want to run for the church board (Vestry) you must meet one more requirement  — a donation of money to either the Building Fund or the Undesignated fund. And that donation of money must be recorded in the financial books of the church.

Summary:   Are you thinking of serving on the church board?   This is what you must do:  Meet   the  4  requirements (to be a Member) + 6 additional requirements including the laying on of hands by Bishop Mary  (to be a Voting Member) + 1 Financial Requirement of money to one of two funds (to serve on the Church board).

If you want help with the first 4 steps  — so you are a Member  of the Body of Christ at St. John’s Episcopal in Aptos — help is available.   

 P.S.   for those who have read this far — this was initially written tongue-in-cheek. Not intended as a joke nor to be funny  but to underscore important issues.

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UCLA hires student advocates — to “educate” peers about ‘whiteness’ and ‘patriarchy’

 

UCLA Hiring Student ‘Social Justice Advocates’ to Fight Against ‘Whiteness’ and ‘Patriarchy’

 This is not a drill.  Big Brother is taking names.

The backlash against the University of Arizona hiring “social justice advocates,” hourly employees who, as part of their duties, would be watching and reporting other students for “bias incidents,” was swift and pointed. Arizona only responded by changing the creepy job title, which generated another round of criticism.

You might think the explosion of awful PR would serve as a warning for other schools — but you’d only think that if you haven’t been paying attention. The rest of you could have predicted that, say, UCLA wouldn’t want to be considered less “woke” than Arizona:

The University of California-Los Angeles is offering to pay students to serve as “Social Justice Advocates” who will “educate” their peers about “systems [of] oppression.”

The Social Justice Advocates program seeks students who want to help their classmates “navigate a world that operates on whiteness, patriarchy, and heteronormativity as the primary ideologies,” and comes with a quarterly stipend, the amount of which has yet to be determined.

“Social Justice Advocates will systems [of] oppression and how they intersect and build upon each other to maintain the status quo,” the description continues. “Most importantly individuals and the collective will be empowered through liberatory scholarship and practices and strengthening their emotional intelligence to create change within their spheres of influence.”

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Firenze Sage:  History majors alert. Remind the ignorant around you about who did this in the past.

 

 

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500 fainting couches needed — quick — at Orange Coast College in CA

fainting couches needed at Orange Coast College

 

Sociology professor bans Republican Club

Quick – we need 500 fainting couches over here.    

As Republican Club students  are not allowed to attend a  college discussion.
The  sociology professor cited an ‘expectation that this is a safe space event.’
A professor at Orange Coast College in California banned the school’s Republican Club from attending a public African American/Women’s round table discussion in March — apparently over “safe space” concerns.
Jessica Alabi, a sociology professor, apparently e-mailed three campus officials announcing that she would not allow the students to attend.
The e-mail, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Examiner, stated: Hi Kevin. I just told the Republican club that they could not come to the Curl Talk event. This event is an African American / Women’s round table discussion. I asked Vincent why was he doing this and I was very upset. He brought five people who kept saying that they were told that they could come to women’s history month events.  I just want everyone to be advised that the African American female students had and still have an expectation that this is a safe space event. If the college will not stand up to the Republican club, I have decided to stand up for myself and other students. Just wanted to keep you informed.
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Firenze Sage:   Sociology anyone??

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how to choose a church in Aptos, CA or elsewhere? Compare the cost of “out” versus “in”.

Christian church
Christian churches  & who can serve as leaders

How to choose a church in Aptos, CA  — or elsewhere?

One way is to compare two costs.

Compare the cost to maintain the   enterprise with the cost to do the goals of the  enterprise.  Compare the costs “out” versus “costs in”.

For all churches including Christian churches, there are “costs” associated with reaching out to the world with the good news which  they preach.    Most  Christian churches  — not all —  offer the good news of Jesus Christ.

What ever the “good news” offered, to do the enterprise of reaching out to others with the good news,  there are “costs” of maintaining a building, providing clergy and providing services on Sundays.  Right?

Find out the “costs” to maintain the enterprise.     And compare those costs with the costs to achieve the goals of the church enterprise.

st johns episcopalLet’s discuss one particular church in Aptos, CA and briefly compare it with two others.

Principle example:  St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, Aptos, CA., commonly called St. John’s.

Per  St. John’s 2015 budget information, it costs  $317 K  to maintain the enterprise.  Roughly 110 persons  attend  St. John services on Sundays.  Divide the figures and it “costs” $2,881. or roughly 3K per attendee.  If every St. John’s   attendee paid roughly 3K,  that would fully fund maintenance of the church  enterprise ( e.g., pay clergy, staff, cost of building, Fair Share to episcopal diocese, payroll taxes).

Now, what are the “goals” that St. John’s  church enterprise hopes to achieve?  That’s a bit ‘ify’ but let’s try.

One  ‘goal’ (typical of most churches) would be to ‘equip the Saints’.  We know that cost.  That ‘cost’ at St. John’s  is roughly 3 K per attendee for services and small group meetings.

Another ‘goal’  for St. John’s  would be to do   ‘good works’ associated with that church.   One ‘good work’ associated with St. John’s (for many years)  is financial support to educate youth in Africa.

Many churches have goals, projects, ‘good works’  that they hope to achieve. Some local examples from other Aptos, CA churches:

For example, the catholic church in Aptos pays  once a year for several buses to take children to visit their parent(s) in prison. Support for families connections is an important goal for this church.

The Lutheran church in Aptos (together with two other denominations) supports clean water and latrines in San Salvador.

Twin Lakes  church in Aptos supports missionary activities in various parts of the world.

Clearly, support for goals besides maintenance of the enterprise are vital for Christian churches.  Right?

What about  pass through money?  St. John’s in Aptos  calls goals such as supporting education in Africa as “pass through” money — money that goes towards a worthwhile goal  which does  not go to maintain the enterprise.

For St. John’s, let’s look at what occurs when attendees support maintenance of the enterprise compared to support for goals / projects supported by the church.

Here’s a hypothetical:  Let’s say that two women both give $1,000 a year  to St. John’s.   Both have been members for 10+  years.

Woman A  at St. John’s gives her $1,000 to  a church sponsored ministry which  educates  youth in Africa.  Woman A has given money to this ministry for a couple of years.

Woman B at St. John’s gives her $1,000 to  the fund which pays  the clergy and maintains  building. Likewise, this woman has given money for several years.

In the fall of 2016, both women   apply  to serve on the church board.  Elections occur in December, 2016.   Can both serve?   Nope.  Why?

The woman who gave “pass through” money  — that went to achieve a goal of the church (educate African youth) — cannot stand for election to the St. John’s  church board.

The woman who gave documented money to the  St. John’s designated fund (which pays for the clergy/ building, Fair Share to diocese, taxes)  can stand for election.

What does this mean?  It does say something about values….

 

 

 

 

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test for migrants to Australia: questions on female genital mutilation…

female genital cutting Freedom to protect a country’s values?  That’s what Australia is doing.

Australia recently  broadened the test migrants must pass.    The new  test  gauges a migrant’s attitude towards “Australian values”. The new  test includes questions about child marriage, female genital mutilation and domestic violence.

Recently in Sidney a man wearing a Christian cross was beaten and had his cross taken from him by a group of Muslim men and women.  Is it time for countries to defend their values?

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No freedom to speak for conservatives Ann Coulter or Horowitz at CAL Berkeley

ex-President Fox of Mexico speaks at CAL Berkeley but Ann Coulter cannot speak there.
ex-President Fox of Mexico speaks at CAL Berkeley but  conservative Ann Coulter — scheduled to speak on immigration — cannot speak at CAL Berkeley.

  Ex-President of Mexico Fox  speaks  at Berkeley. On immigration and other issues.    Conservative Ann Coulter — scheduled to speak April 27 on immigration —  cannot.

CAL Berkeley tells conservative  Ann Coulter that the university cannot protect her from possible riots. Therefore,  CAL Berkeley told Coulter she cannot come on campus  to  discuss immigration on April 27.

Don’t the police protect students and visitors to the  CAL Berkeley campus?

    It’s time for the Berkeley and Oakland police to protect life and property of students and visitors to the CAL Berkeley campus?

What did  the  former President of Mexico Fox say about immigration? That would be an interesting conversation —  Ann Coulter and ex-President Fox discussing immigration.  

 

Former President of Mexico  Fox  continues to engage in political discourse, most noticeably through his tweets in which Fox expresses his open disagreement with President Trump’s stances on immigration, and calls for the American public to “wake up.”

CAL Berkeley, a liberal college,   had to “cancel” yet another guest speaker because of safety concerns. The Berkeley College Republicans, BridgeCal and Young America’s Foundation were planning on having Ann Coulter address their groups, until they received an email from the university’s vice chancellors.

“We have been unable to find a safe and suitable venue for your planned April 27 event featuring Ann Coulter,” vice chancellors Scott Biddy and Stephen Sutton emailed the student groups. “In the wake of events surrounding the planned appearance by (right-wing speaker) Milo Yiannopoulos in February, as well as several riots which have occurred in recent weeks in the city of Berkeley, we have increased our scrutiny regarding the time and location of high-profile speakers so that these events can go forward unimpeded.”

The university also requested that if Coulter should decide to still come to the campus, that they not disclose the location until closer to the event and only students would be allowed to attend. She agreed to the conditions but told the university she had her own conditions, as described on YAF’s blog:

1) That the University of California chancellor request that the Oakland chief of police refrain from telling his men to stand down and ignore law-breaking by rioters attempting to shut down conservative speakers, as he has done in the past; and

2) That UC-Berkeley announce in advance that any students engaging in violence, mayhem or heckling to prevent an invited speaker from speaking would be expelled.

As Coulter explained, “If Berkeley wants to have free speech, it can have it.”

Last week, conservative speaker David Horowitz’s speech was also canceled after UCB police told the student groups Horowitz’s safety could not be ensured. The decision was made after the university instructed the group to hold the event during the middle of the day and on the outskirts of campus.

The Republican groups on Cal’s campus feel the cancelation of conservative speakers is an infringement upon their First Amendment right to free speech.

Now the question becomes: will Berkeley ever do anything to ensure conservatives can come to the liberal hotbed without a riot ensuing?

My guess? It’s probably not at the top of their priority list.

UPDATE: Coulter spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, telling them:

“Yes, it was officially banned,” Coulter said of her planned April 27 appearance. “But they can’t stop me. I’m an American. I have Constitutional rights.”

Coulter had accepted an invitation from two campus groups — the Berkeley College Republicans and BridgeUSA — to deliver a speech about immigration, the topic of her last two books, both of which were New York Times bestsellers. “If that’s banned, then no conservative can speak,” Coulter told THR on Wednesday.

“Meanwhile, corrupt banana republic leaders like Vincente Fox have the red carpet rolled out for them on the taxpayer’s dime.” Fox, the former president of Mexico, spoke in Berkeley this week.

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Harvard University: name calling is lame …

  mean-mindedMean-minded: means  uncoopeative, un-kind, unfair.

 Freedom to express ideas too often   results  in personal   name calling.  You’re mean-minded!  Oh?  

This happens too often   in churches, at colleges  and  by other entities.

Rather than examine the validity of the message, go after the messenger.

Instead of answering why one disagrees with an idea  — e.g.,   someone says that  an Aptos CA   church board  made a dumb decision to get rid of  a board reporting to it   or  someone says that  a college department  at Harvard  made  a dumb decision to  require  a poltically correct course   — critics  attack the author expressing the idea.   She’s out to hurt us. She’s mean minded.  Sound familiar?

A recent illustration:

harvardThe Chair of the Department  of English at Harvard  — James Simpson —  recently   maligned  author Heather Mac Donald for her  “mean-minded article”. Mean-minded?   What in the world does that mean?

Jim Simpson, Chair
Jim Simpson, Chair

 Dept. Chair  Simpson adds nothing to explain what he means.  But being “mean-minded ” certainly sounds bad.  See  Jim Simpson’s Wall Street Journal letter titled Great Literature Magnifies Repressed Voices, Always

  heather mac donald manhattan instituteWhy malign author  Heather  Mac Donald for criticizing a new requirement of Harvard University  that all  English majors must take a politically correct class? It’s widely known that institutions of higher learning have become more and more politicized in recent years.  It’s a topic  which parents and all persons concerned with education are increasingly  concerned about.

Ms Mac Donald wrote a OpEd titled,  Does Harvard Consider Oscar Wilde Marginalized?

Mac Donald writes,  it used to be that English majors at Harvard were free  to “pursue the subline free of political overlay…” but now Harvard requires a course in authors who have been “marginalized for historical reasons...” “Told that literature is one long process of “marginalization” she [the English major student]  is less likely to lose herself in the shady pastoral poetry being instead on the hunt for partiarchy...”She has been primed to see marginalization, usually her own, evem hilariously at regally privleged Ivy League schools…”  

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Aptos Psychologist:  take away  Let’s stop attacking the messengers and listen to the messages?

And, if a decision is bad — it’s always possible to re-consider it!

And, let’s protect freedom of speech — in churches and on college campuses.

 

 

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Dynamic Duos: Christian Saints Charles & John Wesley

hymns of faithChristian saints John and Charles Wesley are remembered and discussed today,  Friday, March 3,  5:30 pm at St. John’s in Aptos during evening prayers.

During March 2017  different dynamic duos  — Christian saints linked in ministry — will be remembered and discussed at St. John’s in Aptos, CA during the Friday 5:30- 6:00  evening prayer service.

Methodist preachers John and Charles Wesley are linked together in ministry.

Charles Wesley  wrote over 6,000 hymns including Hark the Harold Angel Sing.

Charles Wesley  is remembered March 2 in the Calendar of Saints for Evangelical Lutherans,  March 3 in the Episcopal Calendar of Saints and March 29 in the Order of Saint Luke calendar.

 

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Media: their job is to control exactly what people think some say

fake-news-pppListen up ….

Controlling “exactly what people think” is the job of the media, MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski boldly declared Wednesday morning.

While discussing President Trump’s entreaties to the American people to remain skeptical of the press, Bzezinski worried that if the economy turns south, Americans may end up trusting him over the media.

“And it could be that while unemployment and the economy worsens, he  [Trump] could have undermined the messaging so much that he can actually control exactly what people think,” Brzezinski said. “And that, that is our job.”

SCARBOROUGH: “Exactly. That is exactly what I hear. What Yamiche said is what I hear from all the Trump supporters that I talk to who were Trump voters and are still Trump supporters.

They [Trump supporters] go, ‘Yeah you guys are going crazy. He’s doing — what are you so surprised about? He is doing exactly what he said he is going to do.'”

BRZEZINSKI: “Well, I think that the dangerous, you know, edges here are that he is trying to undermine the media and trying to make up his own facts. And it could be that while unemployment and the economy worsens, he could have undermined the messaging so much that he [Trump]  can actually control exactly what people think. And that, that is our job.”

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Firenze Sage;  These totalitarians think this is what freedom of the press is all about. Journalism school or indoctrination camps?

information-control-as-weapon

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