06/11/2013

Checks, Balances, and the National Security Agency

Over the course of three days, the usually invisible National Security Agency has become ostentatiously visible and many Americans do not like what they see. In an effort to address the widely shared feeling that our vaunted system of checks and balances has utterly failed us, President Obama reassured the public Friday that the now-exposed spy programs were sanctioned by "all three branches of government." Is that true?

06/04/2013

The War on Marijuana in Black and White: Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biased Arrests

Marijuana has become the drug of choice for police departments nationwide -- a trend that is playing out with major consequences here in North Dakota. According to a new report released today by the ACLU, police in North Dakota made 1,381 marijuana arrests in 2010.

05/30/2013

Should Facebook Censor Misogynistic Material?

The New York Times ran an article yesterday about pressure that is mounting on Facebook to censor websites full of awful misogynistic material. The company said it was reviewing its processes for dealing with content under its hate speech policy.

05/30/2013

Immigration Reform: Where Things Stand Now and What's Next

The immigration reform bill that has emerged from the Senate Judiciary Committee is good -- not ideal, not awful, but good. It is a game changer for those who currently have no hope of realizing the Constitution's promise of equal protection.

05/24/2013

ACLU Comment on President Obama's National Security Speech

President Obama is right to say that we cannot be on a war footing forever -- but the time to take our country off the global warpath and fully restore the rule of law is now, not at some indeterminate future point.