Network Archives

Sessions’ ‘New’ Drug Policy: Even More Mandatory Minimums

"The directive instructs federal prosecutors to pursue the most serious, readily provable offense. It thus resurrects the emphasis on mandatory minimum sentencing requirements, which have required judges to impose draconian sentences for drug crimes, even when they don't believe these sentences are warranted. Sessions' memo rescinds and reverses the reforms implemented by former Attorney General Eric Holder, which urged prosecutors to charge people with low-level drug cases to avoid triggering mandatory minimum sentences. Nearly half (or 92,000) of the people in federal prison are serving sentences for drug convictions." Continue reading →

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Global Entry Passengers Swept Up In Trump’s Travel Ban

"American citizens certified for Global Entry often learned of the issue only when they sought to travel, according to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which says it received 'dozens' of complaints and is seeking agency records about the revocations through the Freedom of Information Act. The CBP did not respond to questions about how many people had been purged and restored to the 'trusted traveler' programs. Several of the people who complained about being removed from the programs were U.S. citizens originally from countries not included in the bans: India, Lebanon, and Pakistan." Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Senate Passes Bill to Prohibit Warrantless Stingray Spying

CONCORD, N.H. (May 18, 2017) – Today, the New Hampshire Senate passed a bill that would ban the use of “stingrays” to track the location of phones and sweep up electronic communications without a warrant in most situations. The proposed law would not only protect privacy in New Hampshire, but would also hinder one aspect…

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Podcast: Can the Feds Do Anything and Everything for Common Defense?

In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about the “provide for for the common defense” clause in the Constitution. Progressives have long used “general welfare” as an “anything and everything” clause to justify all kinds of unconstitutional overreach, from federal meddling in education to national healthcare. The right generally scoffs at this…

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Maine Legislature Kills Bill Taking on Asset Forfeiture

AUGUSTA, Maine (May 17, 2017) – The Maine legislature came together in a rare display of bipartisanship to kill a bill that would have reformed the state’s asset forfeiture laws. The legislation also took on federal forfeiture programs by banning prosecutors from circumventing state laws by passing cases off to the feds in most situations.…

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Louisiana House Votes to Expand Right to Try Act, Further Reject Some FDA Restrictions

BATON ROUGE, La. (May 18, 2017) – Yesterday, the Louisiana House unanimously passed a bill that would expand the state’s Right to Try law to include technology designed to help ALS patients with mobility. Passage into law would set the foundation to nullify in practice a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that currently denies…

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Michigan House Unanimously Passes Measure to Protect Electronic Data and Communications

LANSING, Mich. (May 17, 2017) – Today, the Michigan House unanimously passed a proposal to put “electronic data and communications” on the same level as “persons, houses, papers, and possessions” in the state constitution. House Joint Resolution C (HJRC) was introduced by Rep. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) along with 11 bipartisan co-sponsors. If approved, voters…

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WaPo: The U.S. will never win the war in Afghanistan

"Obama signed off on a surge that ended with 100,000 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. His generals also promised to break the stalemate. Today, the Taliban controls more of the country than it has since 2001. Why are we still there? We went into Afghanistan after 9/11 to get Osama bin Laden and to punish the Taliban for harboring al-Qaeda. Now bin Laden is dead; al-Qaeda is dispersed; the Taliban has been battered. The United Nations reports that there were more than 11,000 war-related civilian casualties last year, and 660,000 Afghans were displaced, adding to the country’s massive refugee crisis. The war has now cost us over $1 trillion, making it the second-costliest U.S. war." Continue reading →

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