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Image via Facebook: Nick Castanes

Students are eagerly anticipating President Trumps upcoming commencement speech at Liberty University, so local residents are stepping in to supply the vitriol.

According to the The News & Advance, members of the Seven Hills Progressive Society are planning to hold a Trumps Non-Welcoming Committee demonstration just outside one of the main entrances to the university Saturday morning for four hours leading up to the start of the commencement ceremony.

It is our goal to send the message that even in Lynchburg, Trump is not going to find a space without dissent.

Honestly, we have deep ideological differences with Donald Trump and with Liberty University to be honest, said Nick Castanes, the chairman of Seven Hills. We want to make sure there is a voice of dissent to at least send a message through the media.

[RELATED: ND students feel unsafe about Pence giving Commencement]

We stand in opposition to Donald Trumps oppressive policies and divisive rhetoric, a flyer advertising the protest proclaims.

We condemn Liberty Universitys support of his administration, it continues, ending on a note of grandiosity with a call to Join us in showing President Trump and the rest of the world that not all of Lynchburg stands for hate.

This protest is a non-violent act of civil disobedience directed toward the Trump administration, and his presence in Lynchburg, Virginia, states a Facebook page for the protest. It is our goal to send the message that even in Lynchburg, Trump is not going to find a space without dissent.

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., who endorsed President Trump in the primary, is excited about the address, noting that the event is a significant moment in Libertys history.

Its something not many schools can boast about, Falwell told the News & Advance earlier this week, adding that we just want to make it comfortable and for it to go as smooth as possible.

[RELATED: Only one arrest, at most, made during Berkeley riot]

Although the protesters say that they will not be disrupting the graduation in any way, shape, or form, and are simply exercising our First Amendment right to free speech, some students are still worried that their plans will disrupt the ceremony.

I'm all for people exercising their rights to free speechin fact I would normally encourage peaceful protestshowever, this is a graduation ceremony, a day where students celebrate years of hard work and special accomplishments together, and I think that the protestors should keep that in mind, graduating senior Amanda Kieffer told Campus Reform. Adding to the chaos is really more disrespectful to the graduates and their families than it is effective as a protest against Trump.

LU students have earned praise for their respectful treatment of high-profile liberal speakers in the past, including Democratic Senators Bernie Sanders and Tim Kaine.

The protesters plan on parking at the nearby Central Virginia Community Colleges lower parking lot, although CVCC Police Chief Russell Dove notes that they will have to park there as individuals, because the campus will not be offering space for people to protest.

If they park there as an individual, theyre an individual parking there, Dove stated matter-of-factly.

[RELATED: University stands by DeVos despite petition, protests]

Conversely, the Lynchburg Democratic Committee will be conducting a day of community service during the address as a way to register its disapproval without interfering with the commencement proceedings.

"We feel strongly in education and regardless of who the Commencement speaker is, going to protest a graduation simply stands against our values, explained Lynchburg Democratic Committee Vice Chair Maria Childress, who acknowledged that this is a big day for the students.

Liberty Universitys commencement regularly draws around 35,000 guests, although this year the number is expected to be much higher.

Associate Registrar for Operations Lori Baker said that she hopes things will go smoothly, but advised attendees to show up as early as 6:00 a.m., rather than waiting until 10:00 a.m. to arrive on campus.

My goal is to not only make sure that its a great program and great event but that our graduates and our guests have a great experience when they come to the stadium as well, Baker said, noting that there will be food trucks, a bathroom trailer, and even a wireless signal-booster to accommodate early birds during the hours they will spend waiting for the event to commence.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AutumnDawnPrice

Read the original:
Local 'progressives' plan to protest Trump commencement at LU - Campus Reform

An outburst of sanity occurred Ontario, Canada: The Niagara Catholic District School Board (NCDSB) canceled performances of a play about gender identity booked in five elementary schools withstanding the inevitable accusations of transphobia that followed.

The play, Boys, Girls and Other Mythological Creatures, was produced by the St. Catharines-based Carousel Playhouse, an organization that touts its commitment to inclusive and diverse stories that contribute to a dialogue about how youth interact with their peers, their friends, their families, teachers, education system and society at large. One of their listed community partners is Pride Niagara, which identifies itself as a celebration of Niagaras sexual and gender diverse community and its supporters.

Thus it should surprise no one that the play features an eight-year-old boy who dresses as a girl and questions his gender. And given the progressive appetite for indoctrinating children, it should be even less surprising is that it was scheduled to be shown to students in the first though fourth grades.

In fact, it was shown in one Catholic grade school, and officials there came to the conclusion that the material was not age appropriate. A statement released by the district also explained the play was not originally presented as a play about gender identity.

NCDSB education director John Crocco echoed that sentiment, insisting the play was not age-appropriate for a predominantly primary audience. But he apparently felt compelled to defend the cancellations with the usual boilerplate bromides. Thus, while he explained the boards decision to defer showing the play was to afford time for further discussion and preparation with age-appropriate students and how the message links to curriculum expectations, he insisted the board was fully inclusive, accepting and supportive, and in alignment with recent changes to the Ontario Ministry of Educations health and physical education curriculum.

Its a curriculum based on the principles of inclusive education in which all students, parents, caregivers, and other members of the school community regardless of ancestry, culture, ethnicity, sex, physical or intellectual ability, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or other factors are welcomed, included, treated fairly, and respected. Diversity is valued, and all members of the school community feel safe, comfortable, and accepted [emphasis added].

Including gender identity means the school district taking its directives from openly-gay Premier Kathleen Wynn and her Liberal Party has completely capitulated to the LGBT communitys transgender agenda. The one where chromosomal reality is irrelevant and self-identification is the only factor determining whether one is male or female.

Furthermore, impatience is part of that agenda. As Crocco reveals, the curriculum that speaks to cultural values, beliefs, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc, isnt supposed to be imposed on students until Grade 3. Nonetheless students in Grade 1 and 2 attended the plays performance at Mary Ward Catholic Elementary School.

The subsequent cancellations have drawn the predictable fire from those who believe one either kowtows to the LGBT agenda or one is a bigot for refusing to do so. Carousel Playhouse artistic director Jessica Carmichael and playwright Mark Crawford posted open letters at the theaters website, replete with the requisite board-bashing epithets. Carmichael was concerned the cancellations may be based on misinformation, grown out of fear, intolerance, transphobia, homophobia and misogyny, while Crawford insisted he was apprehensive when the motivating factor for canceling performances of this play is a few adults' own fear, prejudice, and hatred.

Campaign Life Coalition member Clinton Somerton, a staunch opponent of the government-imposed curriculum, defended the NCDSBs decision. Pope Francis condemned attempts to indoctrinate children into gender ideology, expressing outrage over such sexual propaganda by saying Today children children! are taught in school that everyone can choose his or her sex. And this is terrible! Somerton explained, adding that the board was wisely following the Holy Fathers guidance by protecting its students from the psycho-sexual molestation of this theatre groups propaganda-in-a-play.

He also had some sage advice for faint-hearted people like Crocco and others, insisting they should not to be afraid of the bludgeon-words homophobe, transphobe and the like, that are too often used to intimidate decent people into silence and acquiescence to the mental and spiritual molestation of their children. On the contrary, he wrote, "NCDSB needs to be bold and outspoken in its commitment to protecting children, and in calling out these pan-sexual ideologues as child abusers.

By contrast Carmichael, who insists the board knew what the play is about, also insisted the Liberal Partys curriculum begins in Grade 1, and that gender nonconformity and gender fluidity are parts of it.

She further asserts Catholic schools cannot resist it. They are publicly funded, they cant just make their own decisions, otherwise they shouldnt be taking public funding, because this is mandated across the board, she declared. Its something they have to uphold in their schools; they cant pick and choose how they are going to do that.

Tanya Granic Allen, executive director of the Ontario-based parents' rights group Parents As First Educator, wasnt buying it. Its appalling for any school board, let alone a Catholic one, to use a cutesy play to force gender ideology, and whatever the latest social fad is, on kids who are nowhere near equipped to process this information, she stated.

Unfortunately, indoctrinating children too young to think for themselves is the agenda. One that begs an essential question: How can the LGBT agenda simply be imposed on entire school systems, turning them into what Fox News columnist Todd Starnes refers to as playgrounds for the gender and sex revolutionaries?

Playgrounds is a very apropos description of an agenda where puberty blockers for boys as young as 12 and girls as young as 10 are recommended by Boston Childrens Hospital endocrinologist Norman Spack despite extensive data collated by Dr. James Cantor revealing 60-90% of trans-kids change their minds upon entering adulthood. Administering life-altering hormones to children, knowing a substantial to vast majority will no longer need them, reeks of medical malpractice. And the reality that 41% of transgender individuals attempt suicide at some point in their lives, compared to only 4.6% of the general public, suggests a large degree of mental instability among transgender individuals.

Yet schools should be normalizing transgenderism in the minds of children?

Abiding the LGBT agenda and the authoritarian way it is imposed can only happen when parents would rather surrender their own children to a politically correct worldview than defend traditional family values.

Values for which no apology whatsoever is necessary.

It is our collective failure to resist the sexual militants that has allowed the situation to deteriorate to the point where such groups can virtually demand access to little children while fearful adults stand gaping and blinking helplessly, Carmichael warns.

Schools should not be repositories for un-rebuttable progressive ideology, which is every bit as faith-based and proselytizing as any religion. Should it thus require the same court-mandated religious restrictions with regard to schools? When a school nurse cant give an aspirin to a minor without parental permission but can direct that same child to an abortion clinic without parental knowledge perhaps its an idea that needs exploring.

See the original post:
Culture, Science & Faith Leave the Kids Alone, Progressives - Patriot Post

By Neera Tanden and Matt Browne By Neera Tanden and Matt Browne May 9 at 3:45 PM

Neera Tanden is president and chief executive of the Center for American Progress. Matt Browne is a senior fellow at the organization.

The landslide victory of Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election will be met with a sigh of relief among many across the Western democracies who feared the advance of ethno-nationalist populism. Many commentators, trying to discern lessons for the United States or elsewhere, may well focus on the rise of Macrons new party. Others will likely emphasize how the French media was far more discerning in its handling of emails hacked by a foreign entity than, say, the American media was in 2016, ensuring that it did not impact the election.

Both are important elements of the story, but in an age of anti-establishment politics and reduced trust in politicians, it is perhaps Macrons vision of political reform, and his pledge to put the French back at the heart of political life, that provides lessons for all Americans, but particularly progressives.

In France, as elsewhere, lack of trust in the political establishment has never been greater. This is in part because the French Parliament has been too slow to act and often produces poor laws that are not easy to understand. But the French Parliament and government have also been unrepresentative of the population at large. Ninety percent of the ministers of the Fifth Republic so far have been men, while 40 percent of deputies in Parliament have served for well over a decade, according to Macrons campaign.

Macron set out to challenge the status quo in French politics. He has vowed to take steps to get a new generation into politics, on the basis of skill and ability rather than connections, and will make this renewal a condition of future party funding. Similarly, he has promised to gradually eliminate the old practice of French politicians holding more than one office and to keep intact legislation to prevent politicians from serving more than three consecutive terms.

Macron also has a plan to make politicians more accountable. Parliamentarians would be prohibited from hiring members of their families as parliamentary assistants or advisers, a position that drew a sharp contrast with the predicament of the conservative candidate Francois Fillon in the first round of voting. The generous personal allowances made to French parliamentarians would be subject to taxation. And those with serious criminal records would be prevented from running for office.

Finally, Macron has set out a bold agenda for institutional reform. He has pledged to concentrate the governments energy on key priorities and to limit governmental and parliamentary bureaucracy. He plans to limit the number of months that issues can be debated in Parliament and reduce the number of parliamentarians in each chamber. He also embraces the promise of digital democracy, pledging to introduce an electronic vote to broaden participation, reduce election costs and modernize the image of politics.

(Adam Taylor,Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

In short, his program directly addressed the fact that, in a democratic society, government should be responsive to citizens equally, irrespective of wealth. Macron understood that to challenge the rising tide of ethno-nationalist populism, political leaders must also challenge the status quo. Asking voters to choose between the status quo and nationalist populism leaves supporters of liberal democracy too insecure. Macron provided the French people two visions of change his and Marine Le Pens. And they chose wisely.

For progressives in the United States, this is a critical lesson. In 2016, when Democrats held the presidency, it may have been hard for them to argue against the status quo. But now, shut out of control of the presidency and the two chambers of Congress, Democrats can and should campaign on an agenda that challenges the status-quo politics of Washington. They should campaign to truly drain the swamp. That means offering reforms of our public corruption laws to ensure that we truly end pay-to-play politics, advancing campaign finance reforms that end the practice of dark money flooding elections and closing the revolving door between lobbyists and the government. Real reforms should show progressive leaders on the side of people instead of a political system that seems rigged against them.

Just as in France, an aggressive agenda for political reform in the United States can demonstrate to the public that progressive candidates dont accept a status-quo politics that isnt delivering. And it can be a strong rebuttal to ethno-nationalist populism, whose wave may have finally crested in France.

Read the original here:
What American progressives should learn from France's Macron ... - Washington Post

The progressive Alliance for Justice group is opposing Judge Amul Thapar's nomination to join the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting to consider Thapar's nomination on Thursday.

"Judge Thapar fundamentally misunderstood and misapplied the law in a key case involving campaign ethics and finance, and he has repeatedly ruled to deny citizens' access to justice and weakened critical legal protections," said Nan Aron, the president of Alliance for Justice. "We believe Judge Thapar should not be confirmed to sit on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and urge senators to oppose this nomination."

Senate hearings on Thapar's nomination prompted many questions from Democrats about the judge's connections to the right-leaning Federalist Society, as a result of Thapar's inclusion on President Trump's shortlists for the Supreme Court vacancy filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch. Three of Trump's nominees to federal appellate court seats were first considered by the president for the Supreme Court vacancy and increased opposition to their nominations from Senate Democrats is expected. The Alliance for Justice has already prepared a dossier on Thapar as part of its effort to block Thapar's confirmation.

See the original post here:
Progressives mount opposition to Amul Thapar's 6th Circuit nomination - Washington Examiner

While Liberty University opens its arms wide to President Donald Trump, one group of Lynchburg-area residents is planning a non-welcoming demonstration.

Trump, a Republican supported wholeheartedly by Libertys President Jerry Falwell Jr., will speak at the schools commencement Saturday, and the Seven Hills Progressive Society plans to demonstrate its distaste across the busy Wards Road.

At the same time, the Lynchburg Democratic Committee plans a day of action focused on community service.

Honestly, we have deep ideological differences with Donald Trump and with Liberty University to be honest, said Nick Castanes, Seven Hills de facto chairman and a Montessori school teacher. We want to make sure there is a voice of dissent to at least send a message through the media.

The group expects to set up along Wards Road near its intersection with Harvard Street. The Lynchburg Police Department said final details will not be publicly available until Thursday.

On the Trumps Non-Welcoming Committee Facebook event page, Castanes said demonstrators will be allowed to park at Central Virginia Community Colleges lower parking lot.

The parking area generally is open when LU holds graduations and other larger events, according to CVCC Police Chief Russell Dove.

The campus will not be offering space for people to organize or protest on campus, he said.

If they park there as an individual, theyre an individual parking there, Dove said.

Link:
Lynchburg progressives plan anti-Trump protest - Lynchburg News and Advance