“Mr. President, it is time to have checks and balances in this country. So spoke Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, as he filibustered reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Acts surveillance provisions. It was The New York Times revelation that the National Security Agency, or NSA, was eavesdropping on telephone calls and e-mails far beyond its long-standing watch on foreign entities that so provoked Sen. Leahy.
Everybody but Dick Cheney knows it: America has a Guantnamo problem. While Vice President Dick Cheney continues to insist that Guantnamos detainees are the worst of a very bad lot, the rest of the world sees the Cuban prison as a symbol of hubris and a rallying cry for Al Qaeda. Calling the camp an anomaly that has to be dealt with, even staunch administration ally Tony Blair has joined the worldwide chorus pressing the Bush administration to solve Guantnamo.
Here is an idea for a new law: Lets establish a procedure that will exclude hundreds of thousands of eligible voters from our democracy.
If those citizens want to vote, lets make them take time off work several months before an election, travel to distant offices, wait in long lines and pay a poll tax. Many wont be able to afford the tax, and many others will be required to go through this process more than once.
More than 40 years ago, Americans abolished the poll tax in the 24th Amendment, taking a historic stand against the shameful exclusion of poor people from the polls and use of poll taxes to enforce the Jim Crow segregation laws. As the Supreme Court explained a few years later, “the right to vote is too precious, too fundamental to be ... burdened or conditioned” on a voter’s affluence or payment of a fee.
New York is about to purchase new voting machines. Unfortunately, the New York State Board of Elections has taken the position that the state may only choose from among the most expensive, error-prone and inaccessible machines available.
The Freewheeling Executive
TomPaine.com
Thursday, December 22, 2005
The Freewheeling Executive
By Aziz Huq
License To Spy
Tompaine.com
Monday, December 19, 2005
License to Spy
By Aziz Huq
“Mr. President, it is time to have checks and balances in this country. So spoke Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, as he filibustered reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Acts surveillance provisions. It was The New York Times revelation that the National Security Agency, or NSA, was eavesdropping on telephone calls and e-mails far beyond its long-standing watch on foreign entities that so provoked Sen. Leahy.
America's Gulag Problem
Everybody but Dick Cheney knows it: America has a Guantnamo problem. While Vice President Dick Cheney continues to insist that Guantnamos detainees are the worst of a very bad lot, the rest of the world sees the Cuban prison as a symbol of hubris and a rallying cry for Al Qaeda. Calling the camp an anomaly that has to be dealt with, even staunch administration ally Tony Blair has joined the worldwide chorus pressing the Bush administration to solve Guantnamo.
NY Times, Bob Barr, Chuck Colson, and NCC Agree
They all believe "it's time to stop restricting legal aid."
Let's Heal Legal Services
Fmr. U.S. Rep. Bob Barr calls restriction "wasteful, anti-libertarian, downright dangerous."
Hobbling Nonprofits
NY Times Letter to the Editor by Rev. Dr. Lindner, Nat'l Council of Churches
Separate and Inequitable
The NY Times calls for an end to the legal services physical separation requirements.
Voter ID Law Would Do More Harm Than Good
Tuscaloosa News
November 27, 2005
Here is an idea for a new law: Lets establish a procedure that will exclude hundreds of thousands of eligible voters from our democracy.
If those citizens want to vote, lets make them take time off work several months before an election, travel to distant offices, wait in long lines and pay a poll tax. Many wont be able to afford the tax, and many others will be required to go through this process more than once.
Disguised Poll Tax Still Unfair
Charlotte Observer
November 25, 2005
More than 40 years ago, Americans abolished the poll tax in the 24th Amendment, taking a historic stand against the shameful exclusion of poor people from the polls and use of poll taxes to enforce the Jim Crow segregation laws. As the Supreme Court explained a few years later, “the right to vote is too precious, too fundamental to be ... burdened or conditioned” on a voter’s affluence or payment of a fee.
Getting Out the Vote Just Got Tougher
New York Daily News
Monday, November 21, 2005
By Lawrence Norden and Jeremy Creelan
New York is about to purchase new voting machines. Unfortunately, the New York State Board of Elections has taken the position that the state may only choose from among the most expensive, error-prone and inaccessible machines available.
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