bill of rights

Toobin Preaches Sanctity of Gov. Secrets, Despite Himself Stealing Classified Docs

"CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and the Government Accountability Project’s Jesselyn Radack appeared to discuss Miranda’s detention under UK terrorism laws. Toobin, who has aggressively denounced Snowden, said in the interview that Miranda’s role had been to serve as a 'mule.' Toobin’s campaign in defense of the government’s right to protect sensitive national security secrets is incredibly hypocritical. In journalist Michael Isikoff’s book, Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter’s Story, he described how Toobin was caught 'having absconded with large loads of classified and grand-jury related documents from the office of Iran-Contra independent counsel Lawrence Walsh' in 1991." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingToobin Preaches Sanctity of Gov. Secrets, Despite Himself Stealing Classified Docs

Dan Rather: NSA ‘is demolishing the trust in the government’

"AXS TV anchor Dan Rather and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night said the National Security Agency couldn’t justify its sweeping surveillance powers. An internal audit found the NSA had violated its own privacy rules due to errors, such as using wrong the area codes. On Wednesday, it was revealed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had halted an NSA online surveillance program because the agency was unable to separate American emails from foreign emails. Rather said he was skeptical that the NSA’s actions could simply be attributed to ineptitude." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDan Rather: NSA ‘is demolishing the trust in the government’

NSA’s surveillance “most serious attacks on free speech we’ve ever seen.”

"The chilling of free speech isn’t just a consequence of surveillance. It’s also a motive. We adopt the art of self-censorship, closing down blogs, watching what we say on Facebook, forgoing 'private' email for fear that any errant word may come back to haunt us in one, five or fifteen 15 years. 'The mind's tendency to still feel observed when alone... can be inhibiting,' writes Janna Malamud Smith. Indeed. Peggy Noonan, describing a conversation with longtime civil liberties advocate Nat Hentoff, writes that 'the inevitable end of surveillance is self-censorship.' Hentoff stressed that privacy invasions of this magnitude are 'attempts to try to change who we are as Americans.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA’s surveillance “most serious attacks on free speech we’ve ever seen.”

Guardian teams up with New York Times over Snowden documents

"In a brief story posted on its website, the Guardian said it 'struck a partnership' with the Times after the British government threatened the Guardian with legal action unless it either surrendered or destroyed files it received from Snowden about Government Communications Headquarters - Britain's equivalent of NSA. 'In a climate of intense pressure from the UK government, the Guardian decided to bring in a US partner to work on the GCHQ documents provided by Edward Snowden. We are working in partnership with the NYT and others to continue reporting these stories,' the British newspaper said in a statement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGuardian teams up with New York Times over Snowden documents

Run Snowden Run!

"NSA leaker Edward Snowden set the world on fire when he stood up to the powerful and secretive National Security Agency, exposing its illegal and unconstitutional spying to a global audience. Since that time, statists, neoconservatives, and supporters of the Obama administration have called for him to stand trial for treason. Meanwhile, civil liberties activists have hailed him as a whistleblower and a hero. Some have even suggested that the NSA should be disbanded, that its officials should be held accountable, and that Edward Snowden deserves a ticker tape parade. Today's Enemies Domestic short tackles this national conversation head-on." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRun Snowden Run!

Mike Gogulski: We Need Freedom of Speech in our Financial Commerce

"Financial privacy has almost completely disappeared, except for the very wealthiest. Cash transactions larger than $10,000, €5,000, €2,500,€1,500, €1,000 and now even €500 are being or have been outlawed in some places. And on and on. The suppression of financial speech is being used as a weapon of war against the people of this planet just as surely as drone strikes, pervasive surveillance and land mines are and have been. The time has come to begin separating money and currency from state, irrevocably and irretrievably. Free people and a free world deserve currencies that they control directly." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMike Gogulski: We Need Freedom of Speech in our Financial Commerce

NY’s SAFE Act Imperils Yet Another Victim

"David Lewis is a librarian who lives in Amherst, New York, and owns several pistols. He once swallowed some anti-anxiety medication -- allowing cops to grab his guns pursuant to the SAFE Act's cruel discrimination against people with 'mental-health issues.' Turns out cops had the wrong 'David Lewis.' ''I was extremely shocked and saddened and immediately just felt embarrassed knowing that someone had thought negatively of me and wrongly. I had absolutely no idea how this could have happened,' said Lewis...' He also 'hoped his health record would be confidential. 'It's not right. i always thought people could expect more privacy than that,' said Lewis.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNY’s SAFE Act Imperils Yet Another Victim

Gun Confiscation Begins in California

"As reported by David Knight, California law enforcement is now confiscating legally purchased guns from registered gun owners who have been labeled 'Armed Prohibited Persons' (APPs.) Police shoved two M16s within inches of gun owner Joe Mendez’s face during a raid on his house to seize his legally-purchased firearms. Fourteen officers total were involved. Police even showed up later to lie to Mendez’s wife about the raid, saying that they were only taking a report after her car was involved in a 'hit and run.' All of the targeted APPs had purchased their firearms legally but the State of California declared afterwards that they were prohibited from gun ownership." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun Confiscation Begins in California

Gun Confiscation Begins in California

"As reported by David Knight, California law enforcement is now confiscating legally purchased guns from registered gun owners who have been labeled 'Armed Prohibited Persons' (APPs.) Police shoved two M16s within inches of gun owner Joe Mendez’s face during a raid on his house to seize his legally-purchased firearms. Fourteen officers total were involved. Police even showed up later to lie to Mendez’s wife about the raid, saying that they were only taking a report after her car was involved in a 'hit and run.' All of the targeted APPs had purchased their firearms legally but the State of California declared afterwards that they were prohibited from gun ownership." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun Confiscation Begins in California

Gun Confiscation Begins in California

"As reported by David Knight, California law enforcement is now confiscating legally purchased guns from registered gun owners who have been labeled 'Armed Prohibited Persons' (APPs.) Police shoved two M16s within inches of gun owner Joe Mendez’s face during a raid on his house to seize his legally-purchased firearms. Fourteen officers total were involved. Police even showed up later to lie to Mendez’s wife about the raid, saying that they were only taking a report after her car was involved in a 'hit and run.' All of the targeted APPs had purchased their firearms legally but the State of California declared afterwards that they were prohibited from gun ownership." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun Confiscation Begins in California