Civil Liberties

National Security As Culture War: Why Civil Libertarians Lose the Argument

Jimmy Soni | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Anwar Al Awlaki, Bush Administration Torture, George W. Bush, Guantanamo, Guantanamo Torture, Guantanamo Bay, Gitmo Detainees, Gitmo, Barack Obama, Torture, Politics News
Jimmy Soni

Why is Guantanamo still open? Why has there been no public accounting for the use of torture? Why does President Obama successfully claim the right to assassinate American citizens living abroad? And why do civil libertarians lose arguments of this sort time and again?

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The Power of Apathy

Shahid Mahmood | Posted 05.21.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Homeland Security, Bahrain Anti-Government Protests, Islamists, Decade After 9/11islam, Politics News
Shahid Mahmood

On an Air Canada flight a few weeks ago, I sat in front of a group of Cenovus oil rig workmen. Before take-off, two of the workmen proceeded to viciou...

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The Hollow Ring of Liberty

Michealene Cristini Risley | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: Patriot Act, Civil Liberties, Department of Defense, National Defense Authorization Act, Homeland Security, President Obama, Freedom, SOPA Bill, Civil Rights, Barack Obama, Cispa, Politics News
Michealene Cristini Risley

The Obama administration has expanded on many of the civil rights violations that the Bush administration pioneered. These infringements have assaulted the freedoms of speech, assembly, association, and the rights to privacy and fair trial.

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The Assault on Civil Liberties Continues

Allan Brawley | Posted 05.03.2012

Read More: Barak Obama, Civil Liberties, Bill of Rights, Lusk Committee, Joseph McCarthy, Palmer-Raids, National Security, Franklin Roosevelt, Japanese Internment, Nypd Antiterror, Woodrow Wilson, War on Terrorism, Politics News
Allan Brawley

Assaults on our constitutional protections are not new. They have been a recurring phenomenon for at least the last hundred years.

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Mayday. Mayday. Mayday.

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Mayday, Mitt Romney, May Day, Civil Liberties, Barack Obama, Politics News
Richard (RJ) Eskow

Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. This is the United States of America. Our pilot and crew are under the influence of unseen forces. Our position is unknown, and our time is growing short. We have 311 million souls on board. We are in urgent need of assistance.

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Where Did All the Liberal Civil Liberties Advocates Go?

Noah Baron | Posted 04.26.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Democratic Party, Liberals, George W. Bush, President Obama, Activists, Guantanamo Bay, John Yoo, Politics News
Noah Baron

If civil liberties mean anything to liberals, we need to start criticizing violations of those civil liberties regardless of who perpetrates them -- and that criticism must be done with the same urgency as always.

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Gerry Smith

Cybersecurity Bill's Authors Will Add Amendments To Address Privacy Concerns

HuffingtonPost.com | Gerry Smith | Posted 04.24.2012

Read More: Mike Rogers, Rogers Cybersecurity Bill, Aclu, Cyber Threat, Civil Liberties, Video, Pipa, Cybersecurity, Dutch Ruppersberger, Privacy, Cispa, Technology News

Authors of a cybersecurity bill said Tuesday they will amend their legislation in response to privacy concerns before the House votes on the controver...

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Trayvon Martin, Drug Policy, Civil Liberties, Gun Rights: The Common Thread

Richard Feldman | Posted 04.13.2012

Read More: Gun Rights, Politics, Civil Liberties, Nra, Gangs, Marijuana, Trayvon Martin, Gun Laws, Gun Regulation, Gun Control, Marijuana Laws, Crime News
Richard Feldman

In an economy where failing corporations have to be bailed out by the government, is it not time to end the madness, stop wasting the billions, and begin to create drug policies based on science, personal liberty, and learned lessons?

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Thirteen Ways Government Tracks Us

Bill Quigley | Posted 04.13.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Department of Defense, War on Terror, Homeland Security, Surveillance, Cellphone Tracking, Government Surveillance, Counterterrorism, National Security Agency, GPS Tracking, Electronic Surveillance, Tracking, FBI Surveillance, Politics News
Bill Quigley

The advanced technology of the war on terrorism, combined with deferential courts and legislators, have endangered both the right to privacy and the right of people to be free from government snooping and tracking.

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In Defense of Neighborhood Watch

Norm Stamper | Posted 04.12.2012

Read More: North Park, Skinheads, Florida, Community Policing, San Diego, Civil Liberties, Neighborhood Watch, 911, Trayvon Martin, Crime, Police Department, George Zimmerman, Sanford, Hillcrest, Crime News
Norm Stamper

You want greater police accountability? Get involved. Push for citizen involvement in every aspect of police policies and practices, from civilian oversight to crime fighting.

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Radley Balko

Traffic Stop Of Star Trek Fans Raises Concerns About Drug Searches

HuffingtonPost.com | Radley Balko | Posted 03.31.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Video, Drug War, Police, Terrance Huff, Asset Forfeiture, Police Search, Illinois, Drug Dogs, Fourth Amendment, Drug Search, Collinsville, Civil Rights, Star Trek, Politics News

Last December, filmmaker Terrance Huff and his friend Jon Seaton were returning to Ohio after attending a "Star Trek" convention in St. Louis. As they...

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GOP May Change Indefinite Detention

AP | DONNA CASSATA | Posted 05.30.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Video, National Defense Authorization Act, House GOP, Obama Indefinite Detention, Ndaa, National Defense Authorization, Indefinite Detention, Politics News

WASHINGTON — Facing a conservative backlash, House Republicans are working to change a new law that allows the indefinite detention without tria...

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Repress U, Class of 2012: 7 Steps to a Homeland Security Campus

Michael Gould-Wartofsky | Posted 05.23.2012

Read More: Cia, University of Puerto Rico, Homeland Security Campus, University of Wisconsin, University of Texas, University of Arizona, City University of New York, Occupy Wall Street, Ice, UC Irvine, Ows, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Civil Liberties, Department of Defense, Nypd, UC Davis, Stratfor, Surveillance, Muslim Students Association, University of North Carolina, Dhs, Homeland Security, UC Berkeley, Twitter, New York Police Department, Department of Homeland Security, University of California, DREAM Act, Private Security Contractors, SWAT Team, Repress U, Fbi, Sevis, College News
Michael Gould-Wartofsky

Since 9/11, the homeland security state has come to campus just as it has come to America's towns and cities, its places of work and its houses of worship, its public space and its cyberspace.

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NYPD Surveillance: What We Don't Know, And Why It Matters

Brad Lander | Posted 05.15.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Nypd, Nypd Stop and Frisk, Nypd Scandals, Nypd Surveillance, New York City Council, Handschu Agreement, Nypd Spying on Mosques, Nypd Spying, New York, New York City, New York City Council Progressive Caucus, New York News
Brad Lander

The truth matters. That's why I am working with my colleague Jumaane Williams, the Brennan Center for Justice, and other groups on legislation to establish an NYPD Inspector General.

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Blacklisted as "Troublemakers," U.K. Construction Workers Struggle for Justice

Michelle Chen | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Britain, Labor, United Kingdom, Labor Rights, Surveillance, Construction, Unions, Workers Rights, Video, World News
Michelle Chen

An investigation by the UK government's Information Commissioners Office revealed that some of the country's most prominent construction firms had worked with a company to create a blacklist of workers with a history of being suspected "troublemakers" or labor advocates.

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University of California Gets It Wrong (Again)

Bob Ostertag | Posted 05.13.2012

Read More: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Civil Liberties, Mark Yudof, University of California, Student Protest, Free Speech, Politics News
Bob Ostertag

Why is it that every time an administrator from the University of California opens their mouth about social protest they immediately insert their feet...

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HR 347 'Trespass Bill' Criminalizes Protest

Jeanine Molloff | Posted 05.12.2012

Read More: Trespass Bill, Civil Liberties, Occupy Wall Street, 1st Amendment, Politics News
Jeanine Molloff

As I write this op-ed, I primp for the mirror -- looking for the most flattering pose -- for my mug shot. Now, don't get the wrong impression; I have...

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Bill in Iowa Threatens Animal Welfare, Human Health, and Civil Liberties (VIDEO)

Ari Solomon | Posted 05.02.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Animal Cruelty, Mercy for Animals, Animal Welfare, Undercover Investigation, Health, Free Speech, Iowa, Factory Farms, Ag Gag Bill, House File 589, Video, Green News
Ari Solomon

The state with the weakest animal protection laws in the nation has just passed House File 589, a bill that would criminalize undercover investigations of misconduct at factory farms.

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Demanding Accessibility To Documents Regarding Military Sexual Violence

Rachel Natelson | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Women's Rights, US Military, Violence Against Women, Military Sexual Trauma, Sexual Harassment, Military Sexual Assaults, Ptsd, Women in the Military, Sexual Assault, Women Veterans, Civil Rights, Veterans, Impact News
Rachel Natelson

In the government's view, the public needn't concern itself with the ugly details of the epidemic of sexual violence in the military.

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Yale Students Pose To Say 'Call The NYPD'

The Huffington Post | Tyler Kingkade | Posted 02.29.2012

Read More: Photos, College Students, Civil Liberties, Religions, Muslim Student Association, Spying, Yale Students, Students, Photo Campaign, Yale, Ivy Leagues, Richard Levin, College News, Muslims, Yale University, Higher Education, Nypd Spying, New York Police Department, Diversity, College News

Students at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. are protesting the NYPD after a series of articles revealed the New York police spied on Muslims on ca...

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America as Constitutional Republic: When Can the President Kill?

Doug Bandow | Posted 04.29.2012

Read More: Targeted Killings, Civil Liberties, Anwar-Al-Awlaki-Killed, Anwar Al Awlaki, Constitution, Terrorism, International Law, Surveillance, Fisa, Barack Obama War on Terrorism, Assassination, Drones, Predator Drones, Hamdi-v-Rumsfeld, War on Terror, War on Terrorism, Politics News
Doug Bandow

What should be done if there are no obvious battlefields and no certain combatants? Should propagandists be treated as fighters? Are any procedural protections required before a U.S. citizen can be killed?

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Councilman Proposes Cops Give Business Cards After Stop-And-Frisks

Posted 02.24.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Michael Daragjati, Business Cards, Nypd, Ny News, Nypd Scandals, Stop and Frisk, Jumaane Williams, Scott Stringer, New York News

With the NYPD's controversial stop-and-frisk practice seeing an alarming all-time high in 2011, Councilman Jumaane Williams is proposing serious chang...

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Andrea Stone

Russ Feingold, Foe of Patriot Act, Says Al-Awlaki Drone Killing Was 'Legitimate'

HuffingtonPost.com | Andrea Stone | Posted 02.22.2012

Read More: Anwar Al Awlaki, Patriot Act, Civil Liberties, Video, Aqap, Yemen, Drone Attacks, War on Terror, Terrorism, Obama Administration, Drones, Al Qaeda, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, whose lone vote against the Patriot Act made him a hero among civil libertarians, said he has no pr...

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5 Reasons You Should Never Agree to a Police Search (Even if You Have Nothing to Hide)

Scott Morgan | Posted 04.22.2012

Read More: Civil Liberties, Marijuana, Crime, Police, 4th Amendment, Criminal Justice, War on Drugs, Racial Profiling, Politics News
Scott Morgan

Are you 100 percent certain there's nothing illegal in your home or vehicle? You can never be too sure. A joint roach could stick to your shoe on the street and wind up on the floorboard. A careless acquaintance could have dropped a baggie behind the seat.

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Eleventh Circuit to University Administrators: Respect Student Rights

Greg Lukianoff | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: Law, Civil Liberties, College, Free Speech, Qualified-Immunity, Georgia, Higher Education, Hayden Barnes, Fire, Greg Lukianoff, Liability, College News
Greg Lukianoff

The Eleventh Circuit's recent ruling is a clear sign that university presidents and administrators that choose to brazenly violate student rights will not be able to do so without real consequences.

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