I’ve hammered the guy enough over the years, I ought to at least acknowledge when he’s gotten something right. And his recent column about the 10th anniversary of 9/11 has some good stuff in it. One of the many troubling aspects of the hijackings is the brutal demonstration that we, as a people, have received …
Category Archive: Liberty
Sep 09 2011
Farah’s Anti-Jihadist Nonsense
Worldnutdaily Grand Poobah Joseph Farah writes a typically hysterical column extolling the virtues of Pam Geller’s latest bit of crazy, which is a handbook for fighting the marauding hordes of Muslims set to take over America any minute now. I especially loved this line: Are you willing to lie down and accept the multicultural mumbo-jumbo …
Sep 09 2011
Sneak and Peek Warrants Not Used for Terrorism
We’ve been told over and over again by both political parties that the Patriot Act was vital to stopping terrorism, including such clearly unconstitutional measures as National Security Letters and sneak and peek warrants, which allow the police to break into someone’s home or business and collect evidence without even notifying the person or organization …
Sep 08 2011
Whitehead on the Anniversary of 9/11
This is a perfect example of why I still have a good deal of respect for John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute despite some serious disagreements on a few issues (like his support for John Freshwater). He is one of the few conservatives who is serious about constitutional limits on executive power and on enforcing …
Sep 06 2011
2% of Welfare Recipients Fail Drug Tests in Florida
You may remember that Gov. Rick Scott of Florida instituted drug testing for all welfare recipients in that state on the premise that it would save the state money by not having to pay benefits to those who were on drugs. And guess what they found out? Welfare recipients use drugs at a lower rate …
Sep 05 2011
My New Hero
Gotta love this kid. Her Catholic school banned a bunch of books so she started keeping them in her locker and loaning them out to other students. Nekochan wrote about the recent book ban: “I was absolutely appalled, because a huge number of the books were classics and others that are my favorites. One of …
Sep 03 2011
Another Reason to Love the First Amendment
Another absolutely creepy case of government overreach, this time in Russia: A court in the Kaluga Region of Russia has ruled that a painting of Jesus Christ with the head of Mickey Mouse is offensive and banned it from being exhibited. The courts called the work “extremist,” and ruled that it was “religiously offensive” under …
Sep 01 2011
Judge Rips Government on Mistreatment of Drake
This is actually about a month old but I missed it when it came out. I’ve written before about the failed prosecution of Thomas Drake, the former NSA employee who blew the whistle on corruption and unconstitutional surveillance by that agency. The case collapsed and the government dropped all the espionage charges against Drake earlier …
Aug 31 2011
CIA Censoring Soufan Book
If you don’t know who Ali Soufan is, you should. He is a former FBI interrogator who played a vital role in the war on terrorism before he became an even more vital opponent of the government’s torture regime. He’s trying to publish a book that reveals even more, but the CIA is preventing him …
Aug 30 2011
Most Important Op-Ed You’ll Read This Year
Thomas Drake, the former NSA employee who blew the whistle on that agency’s unconstitutional surveillance programs, had an op-ed piece in the Washington Post last week that should be required reading in every high school government and civics class and should be read by every American. What he reveals here is enormously important, especially that …
Aug 30 2011
1st Circuit Rules Recording Police Protected by First Amendment
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an enormously important ruling that says recording police officers during an arrest is not only constitutionally protected, but so clearly constitutionally protected that it overrides qualified immunity for an officer who arrests someone for doing it. You can read the full ruling here (PDF). As Balko notes, …
Aug 29 2011
The Racial Injustice of the War on Drugs
This report from the Washington City Paper could have been written about any large city in the country. But even with a high arrest rate, some people in D.C. can probably safely get high without worrying that the cops are coming. Those people are white people. In 2007, 91 percent of those arrested for marijuana …
Aug 25 2011
Smoke a Joint, Lose Your Child
The New York Times had an article about the appalling practice of taking children away from parents if they are found to smoke pot — even if they’re not charged with the drug infraction. The police found about 10 grams of marijuana, or about a third of an ounce, when they searched Penelope Harris’s apartment …
Aug 24 2011
No Drugs? We’ll Find Something to Charge You With
If this story doesn’t send chills down your spine, turn in your ACLU membership card: Residents in a Cedar Rapids home woke up to a SWAT team. Police in SWAT gear entered the home on 5th AVE SE, to search the home for narcotics. Police said that there were no drugs inside the house but …
Aug 24 2011
Another Reason to Love the First Amendment
A disturbing report: Cairo police arrested a man who allegedly ‘insulted Islam’ in postings on Facebook after they tracked him down through his internet address, state news agency MENA reported on Saturday. The agency said the 23-year-old, identified only as Ayman Y.M., posted comments ‘that were insulting to the Koran and the Prophet Mohammed and …
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