While these roundups won’t focus directly on acts of terror, much of the debate regarding civil liberties stems from how we choose to respond to them. After the Charlie Hebdo attack, many were quick to point out that those supposedly standing up for the ideals of free expression don’t exactly have that ideal in all circumstances.
Shortly after the attacks, the French arrested comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala for writing that he sympathized with Jewish supermarket attacker Charlie Coulibaly. As disgusting as that sentiment is, it shouldn’t be a crime merely to have an unpopular opinion. And thankfully in the United States, it isn’t.
The allure of these laws is obvious – a desire to combat racism in general by trying to outlaw individual instances of it. But the failure of these laws isn’t just a matter of poor implementation. It’s simply impossible for any government to draw that line without a strong subjective bias. One person’s biting satire will always be another person’s offensive broadside. Trying to criminalize the latter without infringing upon the former is an impossible task. The logical end is a system where some extreme views are penalized while others are overlooked, a process that often exacerbates the underlying racial issues you’re trying to address in the first place.
Of course, the extremism exhibited by the Charlie Hebdo attackers is of a far more repugnant variety, one that doesn’t even make an attempt at pluralism. The idea that one’s religious beliefs give them the right to dictate everyone else’s speech and behavior is a far more toxic ideology than the state-based variety above. And the co-mingling of that type of religious decree and the unrestrained government power defines a number of the worst regimes around the world, who will be featured in these roundups a lot.
More recent news items…
After being caught in their attempts to spy on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the CIA attempted to whitewash the whole affair. The CIA was so brazen about it that even hardcore intelligence supporter Dianne Feinstein was outraged. Dan Froomkin writes about the horrendous person in the center of it all, CIA director John Brennan.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced changes to Federal asset forfeiture regulations, but the changes are far short of what reformers actually want.
Religious fundamentalists in the U.S. House were forced to scale back an anti-abortion bill in order to get it passed.
Amy Davidson writes about the mess we’re continuing to oversee in Guantanamo Bay.
The Nation reviews a new book that discusses how liberals were largely responsible for our prison overcrowding problems.
Despite Obama’s attempts to limit deportations, our broken immigration system is still tearing apart families.
Reporter James Risen (whose recent book Pay Any Price is amazing) will not be forced to testify and reveal his source for classified information.
Twitter is fighting the DOJ in order to be able to publish how often they receive requests for information.
State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon tried to eliminate an unconstitutional cold war era state law called the Subversive Activities Act. In response, Reps. Larry Haler and Jay Rodne had a contest to see who could say the most ridiculous thing out loud.
A lawyer for the Kettle Falls 5, a group of Eastern Washington medical marijuana patients raided by the Feds in 2013, is pushing once again to dismiss the ridiculous charges against his clients.
In Albuquerque, one of the nation’s most unaccountable and rogue police forces is now battling the county DA’s office over murder charges against one officer and a former officer.
Rikers Island in New York City will no longer be putting anyone under age 21 in solitary confinement. Meanwhile, a captain and five guards who beat an inmate in 2012 were fired.
The battle over whether DC residents are able to vote for their own laws continues.
Record numbers of prisoners are dying inside Florida jails.
In Venezuela, protestors are being arrested as people deal with massive food shortages across the country.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron wants to block online communication apps that are encrypted to defy government surveillance. Trevor Timm explains why this is such a terrible idea.
In Israel, a 22-year-old Ethiopian Jew named Yosef Salamseh was killed in a case of suspected police brutality. David Sheen discusses the environment of institutional racism that continues to cultivate a strong cultural divide in the country.
In Saudi Arabia, a man was sentenced to three years in jail for sorcery.
A rights activist in Bahrain was sentenced to 6 months for a tweet critical of the government.
In Iran, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian will stand trial on unspecified charges.
In China, reporter Angela Kockritz writes about how the government “disappeared” her assistant. Imprisonment of government critics remains far too common.
A recent report looks at the 30-year reign of Hun Sen in Cambodia and documents the political repression under his rule.
Indonesia executed 6 people for drug offenses.
” … it shouldn’t be a crime merely to have an unpopular opinion. And thankfully in the United States, it isn’t.”
Unless you argue with the police, in which case they’ll push you and your wheelchair off the curb into the street.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vi.....to-street/
@1
Wow, that’s horrible. I hadn’t seen that.
Lee,
Having been to Indonesia and Malaysia, there are signs posted in the AIRPORT as you leave customs telling you the consequences of drug trafficking. Google “indonesian airport signs drug trafficking”.
Now Puddy doesn’t condone killing foreign nationals, butt they were warned.
@3
Just putting up a sign isn’t an excuse.
These cases are certainly close to a gray area for me as to whether they should be covered though. The reason I cover them is because drug prohibitions in general are about government trying to make a citizen’s moral choices for them. But people who get caught smuggling aren’t necessarily the one’s making those moral choices, they’re the ones trying to profit from them.
I’ve thought about this distinction each of the last two times I’ve posted and whether it makes sense to keep including these types of news items. I think the extreme punishment aspect of it warrants its inclusion, but I should probably expound on that a bit, and might do so in the next roundup.
Thank you for the commentary before the thread item list. Hoping that’s a regular part of what you post in the future.
@4 “drug prohibitions in general are about government trying to make a citizen’s moral choices for them”
Plus the fact that illicit drug use is behind a lot of property crime.
On the subject of civil liberties, we should clarify that gun rights promoters believe the Second Amendment applies only to whites.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/.....tail=email
Oh and 3 former Confederate states — Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi — have turned MLK Day into a joint holiday celebrating the birthdays of MLK and Robert E. Lee on the same day. I guess that’s their chippy way of repudiating MLK and the civil rights movement without doing it overtly. Remember, this is a party of the country where people think the KKK is a civic group and juries routinely refuse to convict people who burn down churches and lynch black children.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/.....tail=email
One of the best statements I’ve seen about abortion:
“I understand that, for those who believe in their hearts that abortion is murder, there is an imperative to do something, anything, to stop it. Some people have similar moral passion about capital punishment or the thousands of lives lost each year to gun violence.”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/.....tail=email
Roger Rabbit Commentary: This really sums up the rightwing worldview: My concerns matter, yours don’t; my point of view is important, yours isn’t; my constitutional rights are sacrosanct, but if you don’t want the police violating yours, don’t talk back to them, and don’t be black. (Segue to “Breathe Easy, Don’t Break The Law” t-shirt. “Breaking the law,” of course, is an expansive term that includes disputing a ticket or videotaping a violent arrest.)
@ 9
Um, what part of the statement you highlighted in quotes is dismissive of the concerns of others?
“On the subject of civil liberties, we should clarify that gun rights promoters believe the Second Amendment applies only to whites.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/…..tail=email”
Lol……
1. Dude who tackled licensed gun owner arrested..system works.
2. Concealed carry means CONCEALED. license holder should have his permit pulled for stupidity.
The assertion that there is a conspiracy to deny minorities their 2nd amd rights is 100% full tilt hillarity.
Thnks.
@5
Thanks, I hope so, been optimistic about how I’ve been able to manage my time to put these together.
quite odd that we spend time talking about robert e lee holidays when about 6 million plus people don’t even have the basic right to vote in America.
And I mean people who are adults, competent, not felons. People who pay taxes. This is taxation without representation.
The intense passion with which we slam other nations for having laws that are not as good as our first amendment is really odd to me when we right here in america have millions of people who are denied voting rights by law. and no one really cares. it seems that it’s always way more fun to criticize others for their faults than it is to take responsibility for our own! really, it’s us americans who deny millions of people in our lands voting rights, by law, and basically never even discuss it. or do so rarely at best. it just doens’t bug us. we get upset if say myanmar or saudi arabia doesn’t have elections, but millions of our own don’t get to vote in elections, too.
@10 It’s a reply to people focused on abortion who dismiss opponents of capital punishment and unrestricted access to guns.
@11(2) It WAS concealed, jackass. The dude saw the gun under his jacket in the parking lot, followed him into the store, and tackled him. Didn’t alert store security or call the police first; just tried to play hero. After doing a little amateur impromptu racial profiling. Get the facts straight before popping off your mouth.
@13 “no one really cares”
That’s not true. For several presidential election cycles now, tens of thousands of attorneys (mostly recruited by the Democratic Party) have worked as volunteer voting rights attorneys at election time. I’m one of them. Journalists and academics write books and articles about the problem. Democratic legislators have tried to pass laws making it easier to register and vote. Republicans have invested millions of dollars and countless man-hours in preventing American citizens from voting in their own country. Lots of people are working very hard to shut down this shameful and illegitimate political strategy.
“The dude saw the gun under his jacket in the parking lot,”
Yep, he did. And was arrested for assaulting the man. Yep, stupid hero play..
I did read the article, and the fact that the “concelaed” weapon was seen is why the permit should be pulled..
You’re not adressing your silly assertion re: minorities being denied their 2nd amd rights. Additionally hillarious as the concealed carry person, is a minority…..classic KOS, classic rabbit.
@17 “the fact that the “concelaed” weapon was seen is why the permit should be pulled”
How do you justify that under the relevant Florida statute?
“790.053 Open carrying of weapons.—
(1) Except as otherwise provided by law and in subsection (2), it is unlawful for any person to openly carry on or about his or her person any firearm or electric weapon or device. It is not a violation of this section for a person licensed to carry a concealed firearm as provided in s. 790.06(1), and who is lawfully carrying a firearm in a concealed manner, to briefly and openly display the firearm to the ordinary sight of another person, unless the firearm is intentionally displayed in an angry or threatening manner, not in necessary self-defense.”
http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2013/790.053