Special Coverage: Rights and Liberties

The Persecution of Political Prisoner Sami Al-Arian

Ali Gharib, IPS News. July 3, 2008.
Years after he was found not guilty in a federal court, the Bush administration is keeping a Palestinian university professor jailed, in legal limbo.

From the blogs

Race-Baiting Former Senator Jesse Helms Has Died

by Lindsay Beyerstein, AlterNet

Conservative Republican railed against "Negro hoodlums", opposed the Voting Rights Act, backed terrorists, and died an unrepentant segregationist.

House Judiciary Committee: Rove Must Testify

by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress

Former Bush adviser must tell Congress what he knows about U.S. Attorney purge, Don Siegelman prosecution.

Is the Department of Justice Tracking Your Mobile Phone Without a Warrant?

by Lindsay Beyerstein, AlterNet

The ACLU sues the DOJ to learn more about warrantless triangulation.

Judge: President Can't Just Make Up His Own Wiretapping Rules

by Lindsay Beyerstein, AlterNet

Only FISA law can authorize wiretaps.

Watch Christopher Hitchens Get Waterboarded

by Isaac Fitzgerald, AlterNet

Please remember while you watch this video that there are no safety words for the victims of torture.

Canadian Abortion Rights Pioneer Awarded Nation's Highest Civilian Honor

by Amanda Marcotte, Pandagon

Dr. Henry Morgentaler receives the Order of Canada.

Christopher Hitchens Gets Waterboarded

by Spencer Ackerman, Firedoglake

"Believe me, it’s torture."

Olbermann: Obama Makes a Play for Evangelical Support

by Lindsay Beyerstein, AlterNet

Interview with Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

DNA Proves Texas Man Innocent Nine Years After he Died in Prison

by The Innocence Project, The Innocence Blog

Timothy Cole was serving 25 years for a rape he didn't commit.

Obama Outlines Faith-Based Agenda

by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report

Like Bush's plan, only more constitutional...

Hitchens Gets Waterboarded, Withdraws from Iraq in 11 Seconds

John Dolan, AlterNet. July 2, 2008.
Warmongerer and neocon Christopher Hitchens just noticed that waterboarding is torture!

We Are Through the Looking Glass: Guantánamo as Alice in Wonderland

Andy Worthington, Andy Worthington's Blog. July 2, 2008.
The ruling in Parhat v. Gates invokes Lewis Carroll: "the fact the government has 'said it thrice' does not make an allegation true."

The Intolerant States of America -- Why My Middle Name Is Now 'Hussein'

Kyle de Beausset, AlterNet. July 1, 2008.
Intolerance isn't just popular among the ignorant. It is within every one of us.

In Case of Extraordinary Rendition Victim Maher Arar, U.S. Gets Away with Torture

Center for Constitutional Rights. July 1, 2008.
Citing national security, a federal court rules that Maher Arar, who was kidnapped at JFK and sent to Syria by the U.S., had no due process rights.

Revisiting the Execution of Willie Francis: Race, Murder and the Search for Justice

Eleanor J. Bader, Public Eye. July 1, 2008.
It took two trips to the electric chair to kill murder suspect Francis, whose unfair trial catapulted racial justice into public consciousness.

Congress Learns About Transgender Bias

Deb Price, Creators Syndicate. June 30, 2008.
The June 26th hearing was an important first step in educating Congress about why a federal law protecting transgender employees is sorely needed.

Pretending That Bush is Not a Tyrant

Robert Parry, Consortium News. June 30, 2008.
If you listen to Bush's legal advisors, questions about the limits of his authority might not be hypothetical anymore.

L.A. Judge OKs Cops' not Asking Crime Victims, Witnesses About Immigration Status

Kenneth Kim, New America Media. June 29, 2008.
Pragmatism prevails amid anti-immigrant fervor.

The Injustice Continues: New Indictment Brought Against Political Prisoner Sami Al-Arian

Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace. June 28, 2008.
Months after completing a sentence he never should have had to serve in the first place, Sami Al-Arian faces new trumped up charges by the Bush DoJ.

Bipartisan Campaign Seeks Presidential Executive Order to Ban Torture

Jim Lobe, IPS News. June 27, 2008.
A muscular group of religious, military and former government officials has created an anti-torture declaration. The names may surprise you.

Child Detainees Battle an Unforgiving System Alone

Maya Schenwar, TruthOut.org. June 27, 2008.
Children who enter the US parentless may undergo a series of harsh trials before they ever reach the courtroom to seek asylum.

Obama's Draconian New Death Penalty Stance

Liliana Segura, AlterNet. June 27, 2008.
In a reactionary political calculation, Barack Obama comes out in support of the death penalty for child rape.

The Supreme Court's Distressing Ruling on Gun Rights

Sanford Levinson, Huffington Post. June 27, 2008.
The Court's decision played into the unhelpful stereotypes of "gun rights" and "gun control."

Following Public Outcry, Senate FISA Vote Postponed

True Majority. June 26, 2008.
Congress thought granting immunity to phone companies that violate our rights was a good idea. Tens of thousands of their constituents disagreed.

Congress, Step Up and Start Defending the Constitution

Art Brodsky, Huffington Post. June 25, 2008.
The Democrats' capitulation on FISA is a triumph of Congressional self-importance over the guardianship of our Constitutional rights.

Children Paying a Heavy Price for ICE's Showy Immigration Raids

Kay Steiger, In These Times. June 24, 2008.
The children of those arrested in flashy-but-ineffectual ICE raids -- many of whom are U.S. citizens -- suffer dire consequences.

Scalia Used False Information in Gitmo Dissent

Marjorie Cohn, AlterNet. June 24, 2008.
"At least 30 of those prisoners hitherto released from Guantánamo have returned to the battlefield," the belligerent judge said. This is a lie.

LGBT Activists Fighting the Last Battles of the Culture Wars

Anja Tranovich, AlterNet. June 24, 2008.
A group of gay rights activists are visiting Evangelical churches around the country in an effort to change hearts and minds.

Retired General: "The Current Administration Has Committed War Crimes"

Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez, Democracy Now!. June 23, 2008.
As Congress pieces together the White House torture program, former Army General Antonio Taguba condemns Bush's "systematic regime of torture."

Inside Bush's Billion-Dollar Immigration Gulag

Tom Barry, Americas Policy Program. June 23, 2008.
ICE has created a multi-billion dollar industry for holding immigrants deemed "removable" by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Religious Right Groups Want Pastors to Cross the Partisan Line and Spark Court Showdown

Rob Boston, Church & State Magazine. June 23, 2008.
The nation's most prominent Religious Right legal group is looking for a pastor who will knowingly break the law and spark an IRS penalty.

The New Surveillance Bill: The Worst of Both Worlds

Aziz Huq, The Nation. June 21, 2008.
On fundamental matters of privacy and accountability, the new FISA Amendments Act reduces the separation of powers to a check-the-box exercise.

Jeb Bush And His Cronies Have Big Plans for Govt.-Funded Religious Schools in Florida

Joseph L. Conn, Church & State Magazine. June 21, 2008.
Religious school scheme backed by the former Fla. governor has provoked a church-state showdown with national ramifications.

Democrats Have Legalized Bush's Crimes

Robert Parry, Consortium News. June 21, 2008.
The Democratic leadership cleared the way for the president and his collaborators to evade punishment for defying the law.

Scott McClellan Lays out a Damning Case Against Bush's White House (Video)

Davin Hutchins, American News Project. June 20, 2008.
Former presidential spokesperson Scott McClellan gives tough testimony about the Plame affair and Iraq before the House Judiciary Committee.

How the Pentagon Turned an Interrogation Resistance Program into a Blueprint for Torture

Spencer Ackerman, Washington Independent. June 19, 2008.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing this week, answers about the Bush administration's "enhanced interrogations" finally came to light.

Finally, Marriage Licenses for All

Susie Bright, SusieBright.com. June 18, 2008.
The legalization of gay marriage is a huge milestone in the fight for equal rights. Still, it begs the question: why do people get married, anyway?

Afghan Prisoners Abused by U.S. Military in Retaliation for 9/11

Anand Gopal, Christian Science Monitor. June 18, 2008.
An eight-month investigation by McClatchy newspapers finds the U.S. has wrongfully imprisoned, and routinely tortured, scores of terrorist suspects.

Israel Commits Daily Acts of Terrorism Against Palestinians: Where's the Outrage?

James G. Abourezk, CounterPunch. June 18, 2008.
What the American public doesn't hear about from any mainstream news source is the history of Israel's terrorism from the 1940s to the present.

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Coverage concerning protecting your rights, habeas corpus, torture, death penalty, eavesdropping, spying, no-fly lists and more.

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