where the spirit of the Lord is; there is liberty
“Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte last week told soldiers to shoot female rebels in their genitals, the latest in a series of violent, misogynistic remarks. Since he came to power on a promise to kill all the country’s drug users and dealers, thousands of Filipinos have been shot dead, prompting the international criminal court to open a preliminary examination.”
“In the People’s Democratic Republic of New York City, the owner of a building covered in graffiti must pay the ‘artists’ who trespassed on and defaced his property because he whitewashed their ‘work,’ a clown in a federal gown has decreed. And he must pay a lot: $6.7 million.”
“Freedom to quit is essential to all of these goals. I am talking here about the freedom to walk away from people and situations that are harmful to our well being.”
“This final exit scan had a different feel. It was not about the airline. It was not about stopping terrorism and other mischief. It is purely about the possibility that the right of a person to exit could be denied for any reason the government happens to dream up.”
“A woman at the coroner’s office said — apparently incorrectly — that identification had been made through fingerprints. Another family member who talked to the coroner’s office said a woman told her Kerrigan also had been found with his identification, according to the lawsuit. Last May, Kerrigan’s family buried a man. Eleven days later, Kerrigan turned up at a family friend’s house. The friend called Kerrigan’s family to tell them he was alive. The man the Kerrigan family had buried turned out to be a Kansas native named John Dickens, who had to be exhumed before he was cremated and sent to his mother in Kansas.”
“Mr Jamal, a 55-year-old Bangladeshi-born chemistry professor, was arrested on his front lawn nearly two weeks ago by immigration officials as he stepped out to drop his daughter to school in Lawrence, Kansas. His wife and other two children rushed out but even before they could say goodbye, he was led away in handcuffs. He has been moved from a detention centre in Missouri to a facility near El Paso, Texas, close to the border. All three of Mr Jamal’s children – seven, 12 and 14 – are US citizens and his wife has a medical condition that limits her mobility, making him the sole provider for the family.”
“Contesting the cases can cause a defendant to rack up tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars of legal bills — forcing those without means to capitulate early in the legal process. Once someone is convicted and stripped of their citizenship in civil proceedings, they revert back to their original status, usually a permanent resident. Then, depending on the circumstances, the individual is deportable.”
“This debate has particular salience as Congress has been taking steps to check the president’s authority to continue funding military support of Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.”