Geoffrey Stone, guest blogging chez ACS:
The Justice Department’s audit of the NSL program reveals, once again, the profound difference between government by executive decree and government by checks and balances. From 2003 to 2005, the FBI issued more than 140,000 NSLs. Although the FBI is required by law to report its use of this authority […]

John McCain the Presidential Candidate is a very different person from John McCain the Senator. Though it’s not clear that McCain is doing anything illegal, his behavior with regards to funding is campaign finance is certainly outside the spirit of the legislation he authored with Russ Feingold to limit the influence of soft money […]

I first learned about Progressive States Network when they were still PLAN (Progressive Legislative Action Network) and more often than not I’ll still refer to the organization that I get weekly emails from as PLAN. I’ll try my best not to slip up in this post. Progressive States is an organization that is taking the […]

Bob Geiger, the blogosphere’s resident expert on all things Senate related, has authored a comprehensive analysis of how Senator Christopher Dodd’s Effective Terrorist Prosecution Act (S.4060) fixes the Military Commissions Act of 2006, how it works, and what it does. The MCA is more commonly known as the torture bill or the habeas corpus […]

Today is the final day to weigh on this issue. It is imperative. Please check out the Common Cause site and their Protect Net Neutrality campaign.
And to learn more about the historical context that set all this in motion, including Bill Clinton’s onerous Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was a $72 billion boondoggle […]

Almost without realizing it, we have become accustomed to institutions being exactly the opposite of what they are meant to be: those responsible for guaranteeing our safety are the main source of insecurity; those in charge of justice defend abuse and injustice; those called on to enlighten and guide are the first to deceive and […]

Twelve years ago the Gingrich revolution thrust the modern conservative agenda upon us. By now we’re pretty familiar with its laundry list–essentially, they pick something they hate and legislate it. Call it the cringe agenda: gay marriage, abortion, civil rights, social safety net, tort reform—wait, what was that last one? Tort reform? […]

Voting machines aren’t really an issue Emboldened writes about much, but maybe we should. Diebold is one of the big players in electronic voting machines. It is also huge in ATMs. Apparently it’s business model is to profit on the American way: capitalism (cash) and democracy (voting). Unfortunately, they seem to […]

Progressive States reports that California (woot!) has joined the movement to bypass the Electoral College without passing a constitutional amendment:
California’s State Senate has approved a plan for the union’s largest state to join an interstate compact that would effectively end the electoral college and allow the victor of the popular vote to become the President.
The […]

Via the Hurricane Law Blog:
On August 18, 2006, Louisiana Governor Kathleen B. Blanco issued two Proclamations extending the State of Emergency for areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These Proclamations extend the previously declared State of Emergency through Wednesday, September 20, 2006.
One would hope that a proclamation about a state of emergency issued a […]