Constitution

By Max Weiss via The Princetonian I have never met Slav Leibin. Nonetheless, it recently came to my attention that he vetoed, with the approval of the Center for Jewish Life, my right to participate in a proposed panel on the recent hostilities in Gaza. Apparently this preemptive act of exclusion was carried out on […]

Bill of Rights

Why do Politicians spend $9 billion a year to Jail the Mentally Ill?

contributors

Brave New Films “Instead of helping the mentally ill, police often put them behind bars. Watch how one police department is making a positive difference. It’s simple. Diversion programs work better than incarceration – for everyone. In cities like Seattle, San Antonio, and Salt Lake City, we see that successful solutions are a viable option […]

Bill of Rights

Islamophobia: Is Sam Harris As Dangerous As Sarah Palin? (The Young Turks)

contributors

The Young Turks: “”Whether you think him a truth-teller or a bigot, Bill Maher deserves credit for launching one of the most robust public cultural/intellectual debates in recent memory. Two weeks ago today, he said on HBO that “a vast number of Muslims across the world” believe people who do not share their religious beliefs […]

Barack Obama

Is Obama worse than Nixon on Harassing Journalists? Committee to Protect Journalists Petition

contributors

Electronic Frontier Foundation p>A free press has always been an essential part of any democracy. That’s why repressive governments insist on state control over media. That’s why the very first addition to the Constitution, the First Amendment, protects freedom of speech. And that’s why EFF is joining over 60 organizations supporting the Committee to Protect […]

Bill of Rights

Apple and Google Take on U.S. Government Over Encryption

contributors

“ Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) — While the newest Apple and Google smartphones will automatically encrypt data stored on them, that won’t keep U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies from obtaining evidence linked to the devices. Bloomberg’s Jordan Robertson reports on “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg)” Bloomberg News: ” Apple and Google Take on U.S. Government Over […]

African-Americans

Right Wing on Holder: al-Qaeda, Black Panther, Stalinist

Juan Cole

MediaMatters4America: mediamatters4america: The Worst Right-Wing Smears About Eric Holder

Climate Change

The Plutocracy Strikes Back: The Pathologies of Rule by a Handful of Billionaires

contributors

By Steve Fraser via Tomdispatch.com George Baer was a railroad and coal mining magnate at the turn of the twentieth century. Amid a violent and protracted strike that shut down much of the country’s anthracite coal industry, Baer defied President Teddy Roosevelt’s appeal to arbitrate the issues at stake, saying, “The rights and interests of […]

Bill of Rights

What the Hackers did to Celebs? The NSA has been Doing that to All of US instead of Predicting ISIL

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole There has been a lot of justifiable outrage about the invasion of privacy of celebrities and the posting of their private, nude photos at 4Chan by hackers who apparently got into their cloud accounts. It seems odd to me that the discussion of this issue has been completely unconnected to the Snowden […]

Constitution

Should Americans be allowed to Serve in Foreign Armies?

contributors

AJ+ “An American, Douglas McAuthur McCain was killed fighting for the Islamic State group (formerly known as ISIS or ISIL) in Syria. He’s not the only American to have been killed fighting for foreign armies and groups recently. But is any of this legal under US law? The answer might surprise you.” AJ+: “Can Americans […]