Rhode Island Bill Takes on Asset Forfeiture, Would Effectively Shut Federal Loophole

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (April 24, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Rhode Island Senate would reform the state’s asset forfeiture laws to prohibit the state from taking property without a criminal conviction. The legislation also takes on federal forfeiture programs by banning prosecutors from circumventing state laws by passing cases off to the feds in most…

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Speaking Truth on the History of “States’ Rights” and Slavery

Most people’s political convictions resemble those of Captain Renault from the classic film Casablanca; it blows with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be not entirely hostile to states’ rights. But that will likely change. That’s why it’s important that the myths used to smear and tarnish a noble ideology by equating it…

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California Committee Approves Measure to Help End Unchecked Police Surveillance, Establish More Local Control

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (April 23, 2018) –  Last week, a California Senate committee passed a bill that would increase oversight and transparency of law enforcement surveillance technology. Passage of the bill would take the first step toward limiting the unchecked use of surveillance technologies that violate basic privacy rights and feed into a broader national surveillance…

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NE Medicaid Expansion: Birth of an Entitlement Nation

The purpose of this article is to sketch a short history of Medicaid.  Why? “We study the past to understand the present; we understand the present to guide the future."     -- William Lund Nebraskans are, even now, being asked to sign a petition to put the question of whether to expand the state's Medicaid program […]

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South Carolina Committee Approves Measure to Legalize Medical Marijuana; Set Foundation to Nullify Federal Prohibion

COLUMBIA, S.C. (April 20, 2018) – Yesterday, a South Carolina House committee passed a bill that would legalize medical marijuana for qualifying patients in the state, setting the foundation to nullify unconstitutional federal cannabis prohibition in practice. A bipartisan coalition introduced House Bill 3521 (H3521) last year and it carried over to the 2018 session. The legislation…

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After More than Two Centuries, the Spirit of the Sedition Act Lives On

In 1798, President John Adams signed a bill into law criminalizing speech critical of the federal government. Today, the feds take a more subtle approach to controlling speech, but the spirit of the Sedition Act lives on. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts.…

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California Committee Passes Bill Taking on Federal Militarization of Local Police

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (April 20, 2018) – On Wednesday, a California Assembly committee passed a bill that would require law enforcement agencies in the state to get local governmental approval before acquiring or using military equipment. Passage of the bill into law would set the stage to limit federal programs that militarize local police. Asm. Todd Gloria…

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