How the PATRIOT Act Came To Be

This blog was started because of a concern for our civil liberties, and as a reaction to Barack Obama’s backtracking on wireless wiretaps.
So it’s of particular interest that today, via The Washington Independent, we found out exactly how the PATRIOT was enacted:
“Then Chairman Dreier” — referring to Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), then chairman of [...]

Obama and gay rights

Here is the state of things with the Obama administration on gay rights:
Good: Obama extends federal benefits to same-sex partners
Bad: Obama has yet to follow through with his campaign promise to overturn Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Ugly: Obama administration supports the Defense of Marriage Act, which is the law that protects the right of states to [...]

Obama and the public option

Here are a couple articles talking about Obama’s relationship with the Blue Dogs, and if he’s really trying for the public option at all.
Greenwald: Even The New Republic now calls for a party purge of corporate-owned “centrists”
Rahm Emanuel, Tom Delay, and the Bush/Cheney White House have left no doubt that where there’s a will to [...]

Salon article on Obama letdowns

I was pleased to see an article in Salon today about Obama letdowns, Obama’s trail of broken promises. The article ruminates on the high value of holding politicians accountable to their campaign promises, and then lists 3 letdowns. Interestingly, we haven’t covered any of these letdowns here:
It started in December when he was asked why [...]

Obama’s new “Preventative Detention” Policy

This is scary stuff folks. Greenwald has the facts:
(1) What does “preventive detention” allow?
It’s important to be clear about what “preventive detention” authorizes. It does not merely allow the U.S. Government to imprison people alleged to have committed Terrorist acts yet who are unable to be convicted in a civilian court proceeding. [...]

What exactly is the Obama DOJ position on state medical marijuana laws?

In March, Eric Holder stated that the DOJ would no longer raid distributors of medical marijuana who were compliant with the laws in their state.
But now, the DOJ is conflicting with the principles implied by that position, and not intervening in just such a case, even after the judge in that case specifically postponed it [...]

Civil liberties and torture letdowns from April

I’ve had these two stories in the queue for a while — check them out:
There are no excuses for ongoing concealment of torture memos
New and worse secrecy and immunity claims from the Obama DOJ

Obama Administration Sides with the RIAA

From Wired:
The Obama administration for the first time is weighing in on a Recording Industry Association of America file sharing lawsuit and is supporting hefty awards of as much as $150,000 per purloined music track.
Two top lawyers in President Barack Obama’s Justice Department are former RIAA lawyers: Donald Verrilli Jr. is the associate deputy attorney [...]

February and March Letdowns

Well, we’ve now got an active administration facing one of the most challenging periods in American history, and there are bound to be plenty of compromises, and the occasional out-and-out… Letdown.
February and March have been filled with news, some of which hasn’t gotten much buzz. Here is a dump of my backlog of Letdowns from [...]

Jindal!

Seriously? Is this all you’ve got?
Jindal?
Good luck with that.