Police State USA

Just a few words, before the professor Gates arrest and subsequent arrest of DC lawyer Tuma fades into the memory hole.
We need abuse of authority laws with the same power as hate crime laws. We need to challenge the culture behind our police state.

California Religious Schools Civil Rights Free

Apparently religious schools in California aren’t subject to civil rights laws.  I wonder what else they can get away with, thanks to this ruling?
The funny thing is that the kids were expelled based on the perception of their sexuality.  Wonder if this would fly is the school was run by a Christian Identity Church and [...]

Spies, Journalists and PR

Spy firm recruiting journalists?  Via impeccable sources, but something is off (Majikthise, PRWatch, emphasis mine):

A private intelligence outfit busted for infiltrating Greenpeace is now attempting to recruit journalists, PR Watch reports:
Melissa Sweet, a freelance Australian health journalist, reports that she recently received an email from a staffer with the private intelligence company Hakluyt. In it, [...]

Obama Shifts on Change, Says he Might Back Status Quo

SINCERITY BEACH, Fla. — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Friday he would be willing to support much of the status quo if that’s what it takes to push some of his minor ideas for changes through Congress.
Shifting from his clarion call for change, the Illinois senator told a Florida newspaper he could get behind [...]

The Evidence Against Diebold

I saw this a while back.  The press doesn’t seem to be picking it up.  Evidence of tampering, the ex-McCain advisor says.  In a country that elects its leadership, that is really up there on the list of severe crimes.
And no one will do a damn thing about it.
I know I’ll feel confident casting my [...]

Huff Pure Irony

Oh this is good:
Our Constitution is one of our greatest assets in the fight against terrorism. A free-flowing marketplace of ideas, protected by the First Amendment, enables the ideals of democracy to defeat the totalitarian vision of al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.
Who wrote that?  Have a guess.  No peeking!

Accountability and Politics: Bedfellows at Last!

But only if we’re aggressive.
My friend Marco sent me a link to an incredibly important article.  Glenn Greenwald has effectively reframed American politics as a struggle between voters and the political class:
The August 8 Money Bomb is intended to be used to fuel a long-term campaign and an enduring organization devoted to changing the behavior [...]

Analysis: Obama’s Argument on FISA

The last thing Obama wants to do is move closer to John McCain and George Bush on issues of constitutional rights.  But take a look at his own rationale for his terrible decision to vote for the FISA bill (TPM, emphasis mine):

Obama on the FISA ‘Compromise’ …
“Given the grave threats that we face, our national [...]

Electing the Judiciary: McCain on Reproductive and Gay Rights

With all the talk about Obama’s position on reproductive rights, its easy to look past McCain’s.  That would be a lasting mistake.  Straight from his campaign website under the heading “Overturning Roe v. Wade:
John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who [...]

There is Nothing Less American Than Censorship

Something to remember when John McCain has people arrested at his rallies for opposing political messages:
A 61-year-old librarian was ejected from an ostensibly public McCain campaign event at the Denver Center of Performing Arts in Denver, CO on June 7 because she was brandishing a deadly memetic weapon: a hand-lettered sign that read “McCain=Bush.”
Carol Kreck [...]

Establishment Candidates And Delusions

This election a lot is at stake.  Barack Obama is a much better candidate than John Kerry.  But if I could go back in time and ensure Kerry won over Bush, I would in a hearbeat.  This election cycle the stakes are just as high, and McCain just as damaging an alternative.  That didn’t stop [...]

Spying on Americans: Strike Back

Anyone in Congress voting to give telecoms immunity does not deserve to remain in office.  The deal brokered under heavy influence of lobbyist cash from the industry is a deep betrayal of the trust we put in our elected officials to represent us in government.  Slashdot:

Bimo_Dude writes “Today (June 20), Steny Hoyer is bringing to [...]

CA: Liberty Counsel and Marriage for Christians Only

The Liberty Counsel has issued a brave and bold call for marriage to be limited to opposite sex couples (via Pandagon):
The desperation of the wingnuts to stop the launch of legal same-sex marriage in California next week is now laughable at this point.

Today Liberty Counsel is filing a petition requesting the California Court of Appeal [...]

Specter Calls to Finally Investigate Illegal Spying On Americans?

That’s what I first thought when I saw an opinion piece from SI.com on google news.  I quickly realized the venerable congress critter was talking about investigating a fucking football spying scandal.
The chances of anyone in the Bush administration ever seeing justice for illegally spying on Americans?  Still zero.

Internet Privacy: Republicans and Democrats Unite Against YOU

Issues come along every now and again which remind us how both parties ultimately consider us peasants.  We are to be controlled, not listened to.  We can see this in our farce of an electoral system, from the fractured primary season up to the electoral college and voting sans paper-trail.  We can see it when [...]