Civil Liberties

Obama Can Help Reclaim Democracy by Closing Gitmo

Robert Greenwald | Posted 12.14.2008 | Politics

Read More: Aclu, Civil Liberties, Barack Obama, Guantanamo Bay, George Bush, Close Gitmo, Gitmo, Torture, Politics News
Robert Greenwald

We have the chance to help President-elect Obama reclaim democracy and restore the rule of law in our country, which he can do on his first day in off...

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The Unarmed Services

Frankie Sturm | Posted 12.12.2008 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, US Military, Patriotism, Politics News
Frankie Sturm

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a retired general. He gave me a gift that I hardly expected and heartily accepted: the option of patrioti...

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The Cutting Edge of Civil Rights: Why President Obama Must Lead on Gay Marriage

Pete Cenedella | Posted 12.09.2008 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, California Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Proposition 8, Prop 8, President Obama, Civil Unions, Civil Rights, Barack Obama, Gay Marriage, Loving vs. Virginia, Politics News
Pete Cenedella

It was the best of elections, and it was the worst of elections. Like everyone but the Republican base, I've been savoring Obama's stunning and beauti...

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An Obituary for the Bush Administration

Alex Geana | Posted 12.05.2008 | Politics

Read More: George Bush, Civil Liberties, Obituary, Colin Powell, Economy, Barack Obama, John McCain, Obama Election Day, Election Day 2008, Election Day, Joe Biden, Election Results, Sarah Palin, Election, Voting Day, Obama Presidency, Obama President, Presidential Election, US Economy2008 Election, Voting, Politics News
Alex Geana

This is the great gift of the Bush administration, that apathy has fallen by the way side; citizens are once again active in government. This is George Bush's legacy.

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Just What This Heartsick American Needed: A Republican Beacon for Civil Liberties

David Quigg | Posted 11.21.2008 | Politics

Read More: George Bush, The Dark Side, Warrantless Wiretapping, Civil Liberties, Terrorism, Guantanamo Detainees, Ronald Rotunda, Guantanamo, 9/11 Commission Chairman Thomas Kean, War on Terror, Habeas Corpus, Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, Jane Mayer, Kyndra Rotunda, Detainee Abuse, Enhanced Interrogations, Constitution, Torture, Politics News
David Quigg

A Republican almost made me burst into tears. In a good way. Gov. Kean's specifics are a reminder of how much is at stake now and of how bad things have been since 9/11.

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Yet Another Reason to Fear a McCain Supreme Court

Nathan Robinson | Posted 11.09.2008 | Politics

Read More: Supreme Court, Civil Liberties, Court, Law, Exclusionary Rule, Police, Scalia, Evidence, Politics News
Nathan Robinson

Those who value their civil liberties have much more to fear from a McCain Court than the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as police gain greater and greater incentives to disregard our rights without consequence.

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Domestic Wiretapping First Hand Account: NSA Listened To Phone Sex

ABC | BRIAN ROSS, VIC WALTER, and ANNA SCHECTER | Posted 11.09.2008 | Politics

Read More: Nsa, Civil Liberties, Domestic Wiretapping, Sex, Phone Sex, Wiretapping, Fbi, Domestic Spying, FBI Surveillance, Politics News

Despite pledges by President George W. Bush and American intelligence officials to the contrary, hundreds of US citizens overseas have been eavesdropp...

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Jews for Obama?

Michelle Haimoff | Posted 11.01.2008 | Politics

Read More: 2008 Elections, Civil Liberties, Jews, Democrat, Youth Vote, Liberals, Woody Allen, Barack Obama Israel, 2008 Presidential Campaign, Democratic Party, 2008 Presidential Election, Sarah Silverman, Gay Rights, Jewish, Voters, Election 2008, Israel, Swing Voters, Voting, Abortion, Obama Jewish Vote, Humor, Barack Obama Jews, Independent Voters, Democratic Presidential Candidate, Democrats, 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Obama Jews, Young Voters, Barack Obama 2008, Elections, Swing States, Political Humor, 2008 Presidential Race, Presidential Election, Obama Israel, Jewish Voters, Gay Marriage, Politics News
Michelle Haimoff

The one issue that surpasses even those that center around civil liberties is the continued existence of the state of Israel.

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A Technology Agenda for the Next Administration

Leslie Harris | Posted 10.30.2008 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, Internet, Transition, Surveillance, Fisa, Security, President, Election, Privacy, 2008 Election, Politics News
Leslie Harris

This privacy nightmare was born one on the one hand of bad legislation, abusive surveillance tactics and politically-motivated fear mongering, and on dramatic changes in technology on the other.

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Sarah Palin's Inbox Reveals Possible Troopergate Smoking Guns

Erik Ose | Posted 10.20.2008 | Politics

Read More: Troopergate, Civil Liberties, Sarah Palin Vp Pick, Mccain, Sarah Palin Vice President, General Election, Presidential Campaign, Yahoo, Politics News, McCain VP Shortlist, 2008, McCain Vice President, Obama 2008, E-Mail, Palin Inner Circle, Mike Wooten, Technology, Sarah Palin Reaction, Mccain Vice President Palin, Wasilla, Vice President, John McCain, Sarah Palin Vp, Palin E-Mail Hacked, Walt Monegan, McCain VP, 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin Mccain Vp, Secrecy, Barack Obama 2008, Internet Privacy, Mccain Palin Ticket, Sarah Palin Running Mate, Sunshine Laws, Sarah Palin, Palin Vp Choice, Alaska, Veepstakes, Hackers, Politics News
Erik Ose

Why the secrecy? Why try so hard to cover up your e-mail trail? What exactly is Gov. Palin trying to hide?

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What Is Wal-Mart So Afraid Of? Four Words: Employee Free Choice Act

Robert Greenwald | Posted 10.14.2008 | Politics

Read More: Rights, Walmart, Civil Liberties, Workers, Employee Free Choice Act, Economy, Baratunde Thurston, Seiu, Meet the Bloggers, Cenk Uygur, Pensions, American Rights at Work, Robert Greenwald, Recession, Working Class, Brave New Foundation, Efca, Jack and Jill Politics, Michael Whitney, Ceos, Andy Stern, Class,War, Unions, Politics News
Robert Greenwald

The Employee Free Choice Act is a vital piece of legislation that, if passed, will go a long way toward restoring the middle class in our country.

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The Worst 52 Hours Ever

Jack Helmuth | Posted 10.11.2008 | Politics

Read More: Republican Convention, Civil Liberties, Politics, Politics News
Jack Helmuth

As we digest last week's Republican National Convention and that party's traditional small government platforms, such as a constitutional ban on gay m...

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Baton-Bashed In Denver! Is This Really What Democracy Looks Like?!

Linda Milazzo | Posted 09.27.2008 | Politics

Read More: Democratic Convention, Civil Liberties, Democratic National Convention, Incarceration, Citizsen Journalist, First Amendment Rights, Internal Affairs Division, Protest, Free Speech, Denver Sheriff's Department, Codepink, Dnc, Denver, Arrest, Politics News
Linda Milazzo

IS THIS WHAT DEMOCRACY REALLY LOOKS LIKE?! There are characteristics essential to being a member of the peace and social justice organization, ...

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Convention Protesters To Be Treated As Terrorists

Chip Berlet | Posted 10.01.2008 | Home

Read More: Democratic Convention, Civil Liberties, Political Convention, Republican Convention, Political Repression, Police Abuse, Denver, Bruce Hoffman, Minneapolis, Marc Sageman, Home News
Chip Berlet

Government security agencies are planning to treat convention protesters like potential terrorists due to a reliance on flawed research, hyperbolic assessments, and political bias.

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The Death of DC Suburban Mayor's Dogs Should Matter to Every American

Robert Creamer | Posted 09.08.2008 | Politics

Read More: George Bush, Labrador Retrievers, Civil Liberties, John McCain, Mayor Calvo, Civil Rights, Breaking News, Drug Policy, Politics News
Robert Creamer

The Prince George's Sheriff's Office SWAT team raided the home of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and without apparent provocation, they shot and killed the couples' two Labrador retrievers.

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My Message to the Democrats

James Zogby | Posted 08.09.2008 | Politics

Read More: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Civil Liberties, Lebanon, Democrats, Iraq, Barack Obama, Politics News
James Zogby

Nowhere has misguided Bush administration policy been more evident than their behavior in the aftermath of September 11th. As Arab Americans, we feel the effect of these misguided policies acutely.

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Long Journey Into the Knight

Joshua David Stein | Posted 07.29.2008 | Entertainment

Read More: Civil Liberties, Heath Ledger Joker, New Batman Movie, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman, Batman Reviews, Movies, Entertainment News
Joshua David Stein

Director Christopher Nolan has decreased the contrast of Dark Knight not only visually but morally as well. Batman is no longer good. He's just less bad than the Joker.

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Real Homeland Security

Geoffrey R. Stone | Posted 07.08.2008 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, Mukasey Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties Advisor, Homeland Security, Harry Truman, Woodrow Wilson, Patriot Act Civil Liberties, Ramsey Clark, Fdr, Habeas Corpus, Politics News
Geoffrey R. Stone

The next president should create a brand new position, which should become a permanent part of the Executive Branch in the future: a Civil Liberties Advisor.

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Reminder: Obama Told Us To Judge Him, and Pressure Him

David Sirota | Posted 07.07.2008 | Politics

Read More: Barack Obama, Civil Liberties, Barack Obama Moves Center, Progressives, Politics News
David Sirota

So by Obama's own admission, when he casts an anti-progressive vote on civil liberties, we shouldn't whip up wild fantasies about him supposedly doing it because he actually is progressive the issue.

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Congress Abandons the Fight for Liberty and Privacy

Bob Barr | Posted 07.03.2008 | Politics

Read More: Bob Barr, Civil Liberties, Spying, 4th Amendment, Fisa, Bob Barr Libertarian, Politics News
Bob Barr

I'm a former U.S. Attorney, and I believed it when conservatives said, "you do the crime, you do the time." But if you violate the Fourth Amendment, you can count on a bipartisan amnesty.

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Inflammatory Committee Terror Report Helps McCain/Lieberman Target Obama

Chip Berlet | Posted 05.20.2008 | Home

Read More: Civil Liberties, Homeland Security Committee Report, Homeland Security Committee, Obama Appeaser, Lieberman Islam, And the Homegrown Terrorism Threat, Aclus Lieberman, Obama Hamas, Obama Homeland Security Committee, Terrorism Lieberman, Islamophobia, John McCain Hamas, Bush Nazi Appeaser, The Internet, Violent Islamist Extremism, Lieberman Obama, President Bush, Terrorism Obama, Home News
Chip Berlet

If Obama fails to embrace the report, he will be seen as ignoring his own congressional committee's findings-- and so knowingly failing to appreciate the threat of "radical Islam" and being willfully soft on terror.

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Lieberman's Very Serious Muslim-Bashing Senate Report

Chip Berlet | Posted 05.17.2008 | Home

Read More: Civil Liberties, The Internet, Lieberman Islamic Extremism, Repression, Terrorism, Homeland Security Report, Leberman Report, Liberman Homeland Security, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, And the Homegrown Terrorist Threat, Susan Collins, Witch Hunt, Violent Islamic Extremism, Almontaser, Violent Islamist Extremism, Muslims, Joe Lieberman, Home News
Chip Berlet

Joe Lieberman's homeland security committee lobbed a biased bombshell last week in its report on the domestic threat of violent Islam. U.S. Islamophobia has consequences. Take the case of Debbie Almontaser.

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Lieberman Gift To McCain: Senate Islamist Terrorism Report

Chip Berlet | Posted 05.16.2008 | Home

Read More: Witch Hunt, Muslims, Repression, Terrorism, Civil Liberties, Lieberman Islamic Extremism, Susan Collins, Violent Islamic Extremism, Homeland Security Report, Leberman Report, Liberman Homeland Security, Joe Lieberman, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, The Internet, And the Homegrown Terrorist Threat, Violent Islamist Extremism, Home News
Chip Berlet

A stacked senate committee on homeland security today issued the first of a series of reports on "homegrown terrorism and violent Islamist extremism." It's readymade election-year swiftboating material.

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The Great Repression: Civil Liberties, the Economy, and a House Mismanaged

Randall Amster | Posted 01.07.2009 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, Patriot Act, Suppressing Dissent, Obama Transition, Economy, Financial Crisis, Bush Legacy, Bush Policies, Fisa, Politics News
Randall Amster

The foundational bedrock once known as the Constitution seems to have been consigned for lavatory use. The windows are so caked with mud and dirt that they're completely opaque.

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New Security Bill Proposes Commission To Monitor Domestic 'Radicalization'

Seattle Times | Alicia Mundy | Posted 03.28.2008 | Politics

Read More: Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, 9/11, Terrorism Prevention Act, Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, Dennis Kucinich, Politics News

Since Sept. 11, the government has poured billions of dollars into homeland security. Congress, prodded by Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, and supporte...

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