Government officials have admitted to newspaper that they have used extraordinary renditions to send individuals to other countries for torture. Congress rather belatedly after six years of GOP control is now looking into these abuses. Continue reading “Congress Hears of Abuse in Extraordinary Rendition Case — Members Apologize to Victim”
Category: Constitutional Law
The case against the two Arizona newspaper executives has been dropped by the Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Continue reading “Case Dropped Against Arizona Jounalists — Prosecutor Removed”
A federal magistrate has rejected claims from the White House and recommended the issuance of a court order against the White House to ensure the preservation of e-mails. Continue reading “Federal Magistrate Calls for Court Order to Preserve White House Emails Over Administration’s Objections”
Given the Crist controversy, the prior column below on the separation of church and state may be of interest. Continue reading “Suing Over the Separation of Church and State”
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is under attack after an event in which Rabbi Schneur Oirechman affixed a mezuzah from Israel upon the doorway of his Capitol office on Oct. 11. Continue reading “Florida Governor Under Fire for Hanging Religious Symbol on Governor’s Office Door”
Despite refusing to denounce water-boarding as torture and cl aiming a lack of knowledge of the technique, leading democrats are still praising Mukasey for “at least answering the question.” He has also come out against a major reform demanded after attacks by the Administration. Continue reading “Mukasey Opposes Federal Shield Law to Protect Journalists and the Free Press”
Given the recent crack down on reporters in Arizona, the prior column from the Washington Post below on the grand jury secrecy may be of interest. Continue reading “Grand Jury Secrecy and the Rocky Flats Scandal”
In a clear attack on the first amendment, the editors of an Alternative Newspaper have been arrested on charges of violating Grand Jury secrecy. Continue reading “Attack on the Free Press: Arizona Officers Arrest Journalists for Disclosing Grand Jury Abuse”
In his confirmation hearing, Judge Mukasey has refused to say whether a well-known torture technique is indeed torture. If Democrats are serious about demanding a return to the rule of law, it is an issue that should compel Senators to withhold their votes in confirmation. Continue reading “Mukasey Refuses to Denounce Water-Boarding as Torture and Forces Democrats into Another Crisis of Principle”
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has attacked the Islamic Saudi Academy, a private school serving nearly 1,000 students in grades K-12 in northern Virginia’s Fairfax County. The Commission has that the school reflects a lack of religious freedom in Saudi society and promotion of religious extremism at Saudi schools. The real question is why we still have this commission funded by the federal government. Continue reading “United States Commission on Religion Attacks Islamic School”
The Senate has reportedly reached a deal giving telecommunication companies legal immunity for their possible unlawful conduct in domestic surveillance. Continue reading “Privacy and Telephone Customers About to Lose Again in Congress”
Through a procedural move, the Republicans have delayed the vote on the surveillance bill. Continue reading “GOP Delays Surveillance Bill”
The House surveillance bill is now complete. It does not force the government to satisfy the Fourth Amendment on surveillance of citizens and allows for a relatively weak level of review — albeit more review than President Bush will accept. Continue reading “Congress Holds Out Promise of Retroactive Immunity for Telecoms”
There has long been an erosion of parental rights in the United States as a byproduct of the decision in Roe v. Wade. Now, students who have parental permission to be treated at King Middle School’s health center in Portland would be able to get birth control prescriptions under a new proposal. Continue reading “11-Year-Old Girls in Maine May Be Allowed the Pill Without Parental Notice”
With the government still invoking the state secrets privilege on particular requests, Verizon revealed that from 2005 through this September there were 63,700 requests for information on its customers with 720 from federal authorities. Continue reading “Verizon Turns Over Vague Information on National Security Letters”