Gov. Napolitano Tapped for Homeland Security
Dec. 1 –President-elect Barack Obama names Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as his choice to head the Department of Homeland Security. Gov. Napolitano, the nation's only governor whose campaign was fully financed with public funds, spoke at the Brennan Center's first ever Living Constitution lecture earlier this year. The speech, "Money and Politics: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," can be found by clicking here.
Pres. Obama and a 9/11-style Congressional Commission
Nov. 22 – Newsweek reports top advisers to President-Elect Obama are considering a 9/11-style commission to investigate counterterrorism policies. Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr., Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center, made a similar suggestion in testimony before both the House and the Senate earlier this year. Mr. Schwarz, Chief Counsel for the Church Committee, called for a non-partisan Congressional Committee modeled on the 9/11 Commission to investigate the government's policies in confronting terrorism and immediately set the course for restoring checks and balance. Click here for Senate testimony. Click here for House testimony, video included.Another Setback for Bush Administration
Nov. 20 – Today Federal District Court judge Richard J. Leon ruled the detention of five Algerians in Guantanamo unlawful and ordered their release. According to reports, Judge Leon, who Bush appointed, urged the government not to appeal the decision. One of the men ordered to be freed included Lakhdar Boumediene. In August 2007, the Brennan Center filed an amicus brief in his Supreme Court case. Read more about Boumediene, click here.
- Summit Reviewing Ohio’s Nov. 4 Election
(Associated Press, 12/02/08) - Better Ways to Vote
(Parade, by Lyric Wallwork Winik and Daryl Chen , 11/30/08) - 2,000 days in detention
(Los Angeles Times, Jonathan Hafetz, 11/25/08) - Despite Uproar, Just 2 Votes Questioned
(Cincinnati Enquirer, Jessica Brown, 11/25/08) - It should be easy to register to vote
(St. Petersburg Times, by Robyn E. Blumner, 11/23/08) - Obama to Take on Torture?
(Newsweek, by Michael Isikoff, 11/22/08) - Judge Orders Five Detainees Freed From Guantánamo
(NY Times, by William Glaberson, 11/20/08) - Eric Holder Said to Be Top Pick for Justice Dept.
(Washington Post, by Carrie Johnson, 11/19/08)
Build Democracy, Protect Public Safety
Last week, John F. Timoney, Miami Police Chief and President of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), placed two important issues on President-Elect Obama’s to-do list....
The New York City Council Committee on Governmental Operations held a hearing this morning....
Voter Education at Rikers Island
Winette Saunders-Halyard, set out to inform every inmate about his or her right to vote. She asked us to assist her....
Illustrations by Risko
ACT NOW!
Bad ballots don't just happen—they're designed. Help us solve this all-too-important issue. We need you to join us in fighting for better ballot design, for this election and those to come.
Read about the important of ballot design and learn more at the Better Ballots Action Project, click here.
Remember, this problem won't solve itself. Eight years after the 2000 election, and billions of dollars spent on new voting technology, the problems caused by poor ballot design still have not been fully and effectively addressed on a national level. Year in and year out, we see the same mistakes in ballot design, with the same results: tens, and sometimes hundreds, of thousands of voters disenfranchise.
End of the Anti-Government Era
For years, I have enjoyed quoting a line from John Kenneth Galbraith: “The end had come, but it was not yet in sight.” Lately I have remembered rather queasily that the line appeared in 1929: The Great Crash.
We’re at a similar moment of cognitive dissonance, when onrushing events outstrip people’s ability to perceive and understand them. This autumn the economic crisis hit with sickening suddenness. Many millions of Americans are hurting, and many more will suffer in months to come.