Selective and Brutal Enforcement

Some thoughts about my last post…  I’ve been on subways where NYPD officers ignore people breaking the law in a number of ways.  They’ve done nothing.  Which leads to a situation of selective, yet brutal, enforcement of laws. What does that do to citizens, knowing that the police might beat you and arrest you for [...]

NYPD Police Brutalize Musician, Threaten Crowd

NYPD, as part of a recent crackdown against musicians, arrested a man playing music illegally in a park in Chinatown.  The man, forced face down on the pavement with officers holding him down, displayed a bloodied face.  As of this time it appears he did not resist.  The crowd did voice their opposition quite loudly.  [...]

Outlaw Arbitration

The recent Supreme Court decision against arbitration was yet another victory for corporations over the rights of citizens.  The case was decided along partisan lines, with Republican nominated justices providing the majority pro-corporate opinion. It is time we fight back. Arbitration is, in essence privatized justice where the legal ball is always in the corporation’s [...]

TSA’s Bigotry Towards Wicca

The TSA – apparently deciding it wasn’t doing enough to earn the active hate of the public – has decided to indulge in a little anti-Wiccan bigotry.  And come on, who hasn’t wanted to spend a lazy Sunday hating on “those witches” and their evil witch powers?  We’re only human for heaven’s sake.  MSNBC via [...]

Protest the TSA, and Avoid Flying

A lot of this bullshit article by the AP doesn’t add up. Written with an anti-populist sneer, the article states: Despite tough talk on the Internet, there was little if any indication of a passenger revolt Monday at many major U.S. airports, with very few people declining the X-ray scan that can peer through their [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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.” [...]