2024 Events

Dr. Renata Moon, MD, a board-certified pediatrician, shared her personal and professional experiences following her decision to speak freely, and her beliefs on the importance of free speech to medical care. She served at the WSU School of Medicine from its inception until her abrupt termination in June 2023, following her Senate testimony on the risks and benefits of childhood COVID-19 vaccinations, which she gave as a private citizen at the invitation of a sitting U.S. Senator. WSU also reported Dr. Moon to the Washington Medical Commission for "unprofessional behavior".

Dr. Alfonso Oliva, MD,  a Spokane board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in microsurgery, is a nationally recognized spokesman and expert on medical issues related to transgender medicine. He shared with attendees updated research on the adverse effects of transgender interventions in minors and the politics that influence the peculiar U.S. response to overwhelming scientific evidence of harm to minors (vs. the European ban on such interventions).

A spirited debate, indeed, on the role of abortion in women's health care. Glendie Loranger, Executive Director of Life Services and Dr. Samuel Schneider, family physician, modeled perfectly for the nearly 200 in attendance just how free speech functions in a debate - civil, passionate, personal, respectful, fearless, and challenging. Audience members had pointed questions and comments for both speakers, highlighting again that there are few, if any, boundaries for speech and expression at these events.

Ryan Crocker, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, and Lebanon, spoke in the affirmative to the proposition, “The United States has a moral and strategic obligation to provide military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia.” The contra position was put forth by Dr. Eric Cunningham, PhD, Dept. of History, Gonzaga University. This was a classic debate format with pro/con/rebuttals followed by audience comments and questions.
Dr. Cunningham: "Despite claims by the media and academic community that the Special Military Operation launched by Russia upon Ukraine was an unprovoked assault, there exists overwhelming evidence to argue that Russia has been the aggrieved party in relentless NATO expansion for thirty years. In this presentation, Prof.Eric Cunningham lays out a chronological and conceptual rationale for Russia's response to the aggressive and disingenuous encroachment of western powers upon Russia's historical buffer zone."

Professor Eric Cunningham, an historian with a longstanding interest in the impact of monetary policy on social and political events, shared with attendees his concerns and predictions about the future of the U.S. economy resulting from the present policies of the U.S. Federal Reserve System. In part, he stated, "How do we make sense of the fact that United States, which labors under a burden of $36 trillion in national debt, continues to pursue inflationary monetary policies? How did it come to pass that our currency is not backed by any precious metal and is loaned to the Treasury by a large and powerful central bank in violation of the Constitution and sound banking practices?" Prof.Cunningham discussed the dangerous monetary policies that are now bringing our economy to the brink of collapse. "There is historical and contemporary evidence to suggest that the Federal Reserve System is and always has been a categorically destructive institution, and now stands poised, through the proliferation of debt-based fiat money to make the free republic of the United States a thing of the past. You’ll own nothing and be happy,  there will be perpetual military conflict, recurrent managed crises, and managed depopulation."

A debate on the impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) on medical care, medical education, and medical scientific research was re-configured into a single presentation as Spokane Free Speech was unable to recruit an authoritative individual willing to defend the affirmative position. Dr. Eric Johnson, MD, who is associated with one of the medical schools in Spokane, but spoke as a private citizen, gave evidence from the medical literature and his personal experiences that DEI and its "cousins" (cultural competence, critical race theory, implicit bias, intersectionality, micro-aggression, pronouns, oppressed/oppressor, tonality police, white privilege, white fragility) are counterproductive in reducing health care disparities. "Health Care disparities that exist", he maintained, "are due to Social Determinants of Health and not physician bias or racism." He called on the phasing out of DEI in medical education, medical student acceptance, and mandated DEI diversity in scientific research, as well as expansion of free speech in medical schools for students and faculty.