[ Posted Thursday, February 6th, 2014 – 18:03 UTC ]
Constitutional legal cases are, at times, ponderous and dense with seemingly-arcane hairsplitting to determine what the Constitution really means in the modern word, or when viewed with modern attitudes. Sometimes, however, constitutional cases are pretty easy to understand, because virtually everyone can relate to the circumstances which brought it to court in the first place. An injunction just issued by a federal judge falls into the second category, because it affirms the right to free speech -- specifically, the free speech of an automobilist flashing his headlights at oncoming traffic to warn of an impending speed trap. Obviously, this is something most who have driven cars can relate to on a very personal level.
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[ Posted Friday, January 31st, 2014 – 18:21 UTC ]
Republicans in the House have announced they are now ready to do something on immigration. I only mention this in passing here, because the entire talking points section is going to be devoted to a warning for Democrats: there will be traps laid by the Republicans, so Democrats have to be vigilant about defusing each one as it pops up.
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[ Posted Monday, January 20th, 2014 – 18:41 UTC ]
Almost immediately after Martin Luther King formed the Southern Christian Leadership Council (S.C.L.C.) in 1957, the F.B.I. began a trail of internal memos warning that the group was "a likely target for communist infiltration." Within a year, King had his own personal F.B.I. file. But it wasn't until 1962 that surveillance of King would be ratcheted up -- which was approved personally by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. By November of 1963, all of King's phones -- both at home and at the S.C.L.C.'s offices -- would be wiretapped.
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[ Posted Thursday, January 16th, 2014 – 17:38 UTC ]
President Obama is slated to give a momentous speech tomorrow, on the subject of what changes should be made to the National Security Administration and all of the other alphabet-soup agencies which provide intelligence to the federal government. Much attention has been paid to the N.S.A.'s activities, due mostly to the revelations from Edward Snowden. But there's one subject which Obama should address which has been discussed for years -- ending the blatantly unconstitutional practice of issuing "national security letters." Obama should take the opportunity tomorrow to announce he is adopting one of the key recommendations his oversight commission proposed: forcing judicial oversight of national security letters. In plain terms, making them similar to all other search warrants, to comply with the Fourth Amendment.
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[ Posted Wednesday, January 15th, 2014 – 17:32 UTC ]
President Barack Obama is scheduled to give a speech later this week where he will outline changes to be made to the National Security Agency and their ability to collect information. This will be a pivotal speech in the realm of national security and how the federal government operates, especially with regards to the privacy of its own citizens. There is no mistaking the truth, however, that this presidential shift in attitude has come as the result of one man's actions: Edward Snowden. Without Snowden's revelations about the N.S.A., we simply wouldn't be at this point in history.
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[ Posted Tuesday, January 7th, 2014 – 18:21 UTC ]
In short, if I had the time, money, and energy to propose a statehouse monument somewhere (where a Ten Commandments display already exists), what I would propose is a honkin' big statue to honor the god of Venus. Create a "Temple of Venus" group and sue to erect a gigantic statue of a beautiful nude female, arising from the waves! Hey, I warned you this was going to be an immodest proposal, right up front.
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[ Posted Friday, December 27th, 2013 – 17:50 UTC ]
Welcome back to our annual year-end awards column!
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[ Posted Friday, December 20th, 2013 – 19:27 UTC ]
Welcome everyone to our year-end awards columns! Every year, we pre-empt our normal "Friday Talking Points" columns for two weeks, in order to take a look back at the year that was.
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[ Posted Wednesday, December 18th, 2013 – 17:58 UTC ]
For others, joining in the mirth has now come to mean celebrating the season of Festivus, a made-up holiday from a made-up television show. And even the Flying Spaghetti Monster adherents are getting in on the fun this year.
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[ Posted Friday, December 13th, 2013 – 19:09 UTC ]
Let's take a quick look back at the week that was, which was actually chock full of political news. We'll begin in outer space and end up with amusing holiday news, so buckle your seatbelts, it's going to be a fast ride this week. So fast that we're not even going to explain the column's title until you reach the talking points at the end, just to warn you. Ready? OK, here we go....
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