In our early years, anytime we got a big traffic boost – our site went down. Sometimes it was for hours, and one time in 2009 – we were down for more than 3 straight days. It was at that point that I decided we could no longer rely on basic, shared website hosting (think…
LANSING, Mich. (Jun. 2, 2016) – The Michigan House overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday that would give voters an opportunity to put “electronic data and communications” on the same level as “persons, houses, papers and possessions” in the state constitution. If ultimately passed, it would also set the foundation to help block a small but intrusive practical effect…
Once again, the New York Times has published an editorial attacking constitutional principles. This time, it calls for the virtual dissolution of the Republic. The reasoning behind this assertion? That the government is too small. Parag Khanna wrote an op-ed article in the May 30 edition of the Times suggesting a dissolution of the states because of…
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (June 2, 2016) – Two local New York law enforcement agencies spent over $550,000 purchasing and maintaining stingray devices to track the location of phones and sweep up electronic communications. Documents obtained by the ACLU reveal the departments went to great lengths to hide the existence of the devices and rarely obtain court…
The industrial hemp industry in Colorado is expanding in spite of federal prohibition after the people of the state voted to legalize hemp farming. It demonstrates how the people themselves can nullify unconstitutional federal laws by taking direct action at the ballot box and through market activity. According to Pueblo Chieftain, the amount of acreage…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (June 1, 2016) – Yesterday, the California Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bill that would set the foundation to nullify in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that deny access to experimental treatments by terminally ill patients. A massive bipartisan coalition of 29 Assembly members introduced Assembly Bill 1668 (AB1668) on Jan.…
ALBANY, N.Y. (June 1, 2016) – A bill introduced in the New York Assembly to put strict limitations on the use of automated license plate reader systems (ALPRs) by the state was drastically altered in committee. The new version of the bill only applies restrictions to private individuals. Introduced by Asm. Jeffrey Dinowitz on Feb. 13,…
BOSTON, Mass. (May 31, 2016) – Last week, a Massachusetts joint committee passed an agriculture bill that would expand raw milk sales in the state. Passage of the bill into law would facilitate the process of nullifying the federal prohibition scheme in practice. The Senate Ways and Means Committee created Senate Bill 2286 (S.2286) to…
What is Originalism? That’s the question Brion McClanahan explores in Episode Ten of his podcast. LISTEN HERE: Originalism is the idea that you interpret the Constitution the way the proponents of the document said it would be interpreted when it was going through ratification in 1787 and 1788. McClanahan makes the case that this is the only…
LOS ANGELES (May 30, 2016) – Dedicated activists in Los Angeles forced the end to federal militarization of law enforcement on a hyper-local level, demonstrating the power of a bottom up approach when confronting federal power. After 18 months of pressure and activism, the Labor/Community Strategy Center reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Unified…