NewsTrust - Civil Liberties - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Independent)

Why Is the ACLU Helping the Richest Americans Buy Our Elections?

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Steven Rosenfeld - Feb. 21 (Opinion) - The American Civil Liberties Union has earned its reputation as the nation’s foremost legal opponent of government censorship and defender of First Amendment political speech. But increasingly, this national organization with 500,000 members and a $70 million annual budget has another legacy—helping the wealthiest Americans and institutions spend unlimited sums on elections.

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Stop Being Cynical About Corporate Money in Politics and Start Being Angry

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:53:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Bill McKibben - Jan. 05 - My resolution for 2012 is to be naïve—dangerously naïve. I'm aware that the usual recipe for political effectiveness is just the opposite: to be cynical, calculating, an insider. But if you think, as I do, that we need deep change in this country, then c

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The Christmas War on Atheism: What's the Religious Right Whining About When It's Really Non-Believers Who Are Under Attack?

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Alex DiBranco - Dec. 23 (Opinion) - It’s that time of year when, if you tune into Fox News or right-wing talk radio, you’re sure to hear the phrase “war on Christmas” repeated ad infinitum. Perhaps you’ve also seen Rick Perry’s new war on Christmas ad, which gives the added gift of rabid homophobia, while absurdly accusing President Barack Obama of leading a war on religion. But in reality, this year, like most years, it's right-wing Christians who are waging a war on the right of non-believers to avoid having religion shoved down their throats. Say “Merry Christmas” -- or Else

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Paramilitary Policing of Occupy Wall Street: Excessive Use of Force Amidst the New Military Urbanism

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman - Nov. 17 (Interview) - We host a discussion on policing and the Occupy Wall Street movement with Chuck Wexler, director of the Police Executive Research Forum, which helped organize calls among police chiefs on how to respond to the Occupy protests, and with Norm Stamper, the former police chief of Seattle, who recently wrote an article for The Nation magazine titled "Paramilitary Policing from Seattle to Occupy Wall Street." "Trust me, the police do not want to be put in this position. And cities really need to ask themselves, is there another way to handle this kind of conflict?"

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Special Investigation: Who’s Behind the “Information Attacks” on Climate Scientists?

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Think Progress - By Climate Guest Blogger - Nov. 01 (Opinion) - by Sue Sturgis, in an Institute for Southern Studies repost This week, in a courtroom in Prince William County, Virginia, a hearing will take place that could have implications for the privacy rights of scientists at colleges and universities across the country. It’s part of a lawsuit brought by the American Tradition Institute, a free-market [...]

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Noam Chomsky on Israel-Palestine Prisoner Exchange, U.S. Assassination Campaign in Yemen

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Noam Chomsky - Oct. 18 (Speech) - MIT Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky, the world-renowned linguist and political dissident, spoke Monday night at Barnard College in New York City about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, just hours before Israel and Hamas completed a historic prisoner exchange. "I think [Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit] should have been released a long time ago. But there’s something missing from this whole story. There’s no pictures of Palestinian women, and no discussion, in fact, in the story of—what about the Palestinian prisoners being released?

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Bishops Are Behind the 'Let Women Die' Act and the Push Against Birth Control--Even As They're Under Fire for Sex Abuse Scandals

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - Oct. 17 (Opinion) - Last week, the House's passage of the now-notorious H.R. 358 -- also known as the "Let Women Die" bill -- caused deserved outrage. But the bill's connection to the high-ranking Catholic group that fought for its passage, even while the American church is fighting a horrific new sex abuse scandal, hasn't been given the attention it deserves.

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96-Year Old Dorothy Cooper Fighting to Vote Under TN's New GOP Voter-Suppression Law

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Brad Blog - By Brad Friedman - Oct. 09 (Opinion) - This story is heart breaking, appalling, and just the first of many similar that we're likely to hear as new voter suppression laws, jammed through by Republican legislatures around the country, take effect before next year's 2012 Presidential election cycle. Dorothy Cooper is a 96-year old African-American woman from Tennessee. Born ...

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The results are in: ‘Free trade’ is simply bad public policy

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

thestand.org - By Stan Sorscher - Oct. 08 (Opinion) - Free trade makes sense to market ideologues and it works sensationally well for the top 1% in each country, at least in the short term. Free trade is bad for workers, bad for communities, bad for long-term prosperity, and bad public policy.

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Is protest in America at a turning point?

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Nieman Journalism Lab - By John Hanrahan - Oct. 05 (Opinion) - Tea Party aside, activism slowed almost to a halt after Democrats took the House and Senate and Obama was elected. Now antiwar, anti-corporate, anti-big bank protests have started up in Washington and on Wall Street, and they are spreading elsewhere. Two main questions: Will they grow to be a serious force in America, and how long will the mainstream media give them the silent treatment?

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Law Professors Come Out Against PROTECT IP

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

techdirt.com - Jul. 13 (Opinion) - Although the problems the Act attempts to address -- online copyright and trademark infringement -- are serious ones presenting new and difficult enforcement challenges, the approach taken in the Act has grave constitutional infirmities, potentially dangerous consequences for the stability and security of the Internet's addressing system, and will undermine United States foreign policy and strong support of free expression on the Internet around the world.

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David House on Bradley Manning, Secret WikiLeaks Grand Jury, U.S. Surveillance of Manning Supporters

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By David House, Amy Goodman - Jul. 11 (Interview) - On the eve of the extradition hearing for WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange in London, we spend an exclusive hour with David House, who co-founded the Bradley Manning Support Network after U.S. Army Private Manning was arrested for allegedly releasing classified U.S. military documents to WikiLeaks. House refused to testify last month in Alexandria, Virginia, before a grand jury hearing on WikiLeaks and the disclosure of thousands of classified U.S. diplomatic cables.

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How Fundamentalist Religion Is Destroying the World

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Frank Schaeffer - Jul. 07 (Opinion) - The earth bursts with life. Far right exclusionary religion bursts with death. If there is a creator of life He/She/It must hate fundamentalist religion. The countries in the world that are the most fundamentalist and religious, and/or those whose identity is most religion-based, are the world's greatest troublemakers. Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the USA, Vatican City and the state of Israel come to mind.

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“A Moment in the Sun”: An Extended Interview with Independent Filmmaker, Author John Sayles

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, John Sayles - Jun. 17 (Interview) - “However small your audiences, however frustrating it is to get where your version of the world or what you want to talk about out there, it is part of the conversation. If you shut up, the conversation is one-sided,” says Sayles.

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40 Years of Drug War Failure - LEAP's Neill Franklin

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Reason Magazine - By Nick Gillespie, Joshua Swain - Jun. 17 (Interview) - As the reform group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) documents in a new comprehensive study, the drug war has destroyed lives and property, shredded the constitution, and distorted American education, health care, and even foreign policy. That's why, notes LEAP, fully 75 percent of Americans and 69 percent of police chiefs agree that the drug war has failed.

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Rand Paul, ... , Calls For Jailing People Who Attend ‘Radical Political Speeches’

Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Think Progress - By Alex Seitz-Wald - May. 31 (Opinion) - Libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) made headlines last week for single-handedly obstructing the renewal of the Patriot Act, calling the law an unconstitutional infringement on civil liberties. His demand to insert a series of amendments to weaken the law nearly allowed it to lapse and put the country at “risk,” but Paul said it was worth it to prevent the government from continuing to “blatantly ignor[e] the Constitution.” But when Paul went on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s radio show Friday to discuss his opposition to the national security law, he suggested implementing a far more serious infringement on civil liberties.

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“Sing Your Song”: Harry Belafonte on Art & Politics, Civil Rights & His Critique of President Obama

Mon, 16 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Harry Belafonte - May. 16 (Interview) - Legendary musician, actor, activist and humanitarian Harry Belafonte joins us for the hour to talk about his battle against racism, his mentor Paul Robeson, the power of music to push for political change, his close relationship with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the U.S. role in Haiti

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Separation of Church and State: PBS Airs Documentary of a Mother's Story

Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Chris Benson - May. 11 (Review) - The powerful human story behind the story of the fight that led ultimately to the Supreme Court's 8-1 ruling in 1948 that provided the framework for the contemporary principle of separation of church and state. It is a story that is beautifully rendered in the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning documentary, The Lord is Not on Trial Here Today.

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Rankism

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

TED - By Robert Fuller - Apr. 29 (Speech) - The dignity movement is against humiliation, it is against talking down to people, it is against games of one-upmanship. It is against what I call rankism. Rankism is what somebodies feel they can get away with and do to nobodies. Robert Fuller, former president of Oberlin College and author of Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank, coined the term "rankism" and is a leader in the worldwide quest for human dignity.

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Obama Speaks on Manning and the Rule of Law

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Glenn Greenwald - Apr. 23 (Opinion) - 'Obama said this when justifying Manning's treatment, 'We're a nation of laws. We don't let individuals make their own decisions about how the laws operate. He broke the law.' The impropriety of Obama's public pre-trial declaration of Manning's guilt ('He broke the law') is both gross and manifest. How can Manning possibly expect to receive a fair hearing from military officers when their Commander-in-Chief has already decreed his guilt?' Glenn Greenwald, Common Dreams

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Clubbing, San Fran style: ID scans, video cameras, metal detectors

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Ars Technica - By Matthew Lasar - Apr. 13 (Opinion) - Greetings, dance clubbers and event goers—welcome to San Francisco. Feel free to patronize the club or festive event of your choice; just remember that the following regulations apply for all events and entertainment establishments with capacity for over 100 people.

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Photos capture TSA repelling toddler terrorist threat with intrusive grope-downs of 6-year olds

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Doug Ross @ Journal - By Doug Ross - Apr. 12 (Opinion) - This administration -- and Janet Napolitano in particular -- is simply out of control, that's all there is to it.

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Bradley Manning Humiliated and Abused: Why Is Exposing a War Crime More Dangerous Than Committing One?

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Medea Benjamin, Charles Davis - Mar. 08 (Opinion) - Bradley Manning is accused of humiliating the political establishment by revealing the complicity of top U.S. officials in carrying out and covering up war crimes. In return for his act of conscience, the U.S. government is holding him in abusive solitary confinement, humiliating him and trying to keep him behind bars for life. The lesson is clear, and soldiers take note: You're better off committing a war crime than exposing one.

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Behind the Arab Revolt Is a Word We Dare Not Speak

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

truth-out.org - By John Pilger - Feb. 24 (Opinion) - "How did they get away with it?" I asked. "The press allowed the crazies to get away with it." "Who are the crazies?" "The people running the [Bush] administration have a set of beliefs a lot like those expressed in 'Mein Kampf,'" said McGovern. "These are the same people who were referred to, in the circles in which I moved at the top, as 'the crazies.'" I said: "Norman Mailer has written that he believes America has entered a pre-fascist state. What's your view of that?" "Well ... I hope he's right, because there are others saying we are already in a fascist mode."

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The Tea Party and civil liberties

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - Feb. 09 (Opinion) - It's long been clear that the best (and perhaps only) political hope for civil liberties in the U.S. is an alliance that transcends the standard Democrat v. GOP or left v. right dichotomies.

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