Free Republic

How conservative is Mr. McCain? During his quarter century in Washington, the senator has assembled an 82% rating from the American Conservative Union, placing him 39th among senators in 2006, while drawing a 25% lifetime rating from the liberal American Civil Liberties Union. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, has a 75% ACLU lifetime rating. A scorecard by the antitax Club for Growth, a conservative political-action committee, ranked him 29th among 55 Republican senators in 2006.

Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barbara Boxer have big plans to rein in conservative radio talk shows, according to Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. He said Thursday on John Ziegler's evening radio show on KFI in L.A. that he overheard Clinton, D-N.Y., and Boxer, D-Calif., saying they want legislation to control conservative radio talk shows.

HONOLULU John Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer who helped draft memos on treatment of terrorist prisoners, said Monday that in wartime, the question is not whether to give up civil liberties but "how much is enough." Yoo, now a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, drew attention at an American Bar Association convention panel on whether tactics such as the detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay and the surveillance of phone calls may erode liberties. Unlike past conflicts, the United States isn't at war with any traditional nation state, Yoo said, but is at war with...

OTTAWA -- A new poll on attitudes toward terrorism suggests many Canadians think preserving national security is more important than protecting civil liberties. And the feeling is strongest amongst the sizeable minority who fear that they themselves could be victims of terrorism. The Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute survey, conducted by Innovative Research Group, comes on the heels of Thursday's arrest in Miami of seven men who police say plotted to blow up targets in the United States, including Chicago's Sears Tower.

The Preambles of all 50 States Of The United States: Alabama 1901, Preamble. We the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution. Alaska 1956, Preamble. We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land. Arizona 1911, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution... Arkansas 1874, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of...

The Greatest Civil Liberties Violation In America This week the Democrats have scored another huge point; sadly that point is a Democratic point, which is to say it is stupid at best; and dangerous at worst. It seems President Bush, with thorough oversight from the Democrats, authorized the NSA to spy on Al Qaeda members inside the United States. This, they have pointed out, is very bad. And, the Democrats scored again by holding up the renewal of the Patriot Act primarily because it allowed the gov't access to one's ( Al-Qaeda's) library records. So what is the real reason...

Call it situational libertarianism: Liberties should be as unlimited as possible - unless and until there arises a real threat to the open society. Neo-Nazis are pathetic losers. Why curtail civil liberties to stop them? But when a real threat - such as jihadism - arises, a liberal democratic society must deploy every resource, including the repressive powers of the state, to deter and defeat those who would abolish liberal democracy.

It was reported in the Washington Post on Monday that the civil liberties board, whose main goal is to make sure individual rights are not trampled upon during our so-called "War on Terror," has yet to meet and is under-funded by the Bush administration. Created by Congress last year, the board consists of five members nominated by the president to act as an independent watchdog against potential abuses of the Patriot Act. President Bush took six months to appoint five members to the panel as reported in the Washington Post. In his proposed budget for fiscal year 2006, he allocated...

<p>FBI agents monitored Web sites calling for protests against the 2004 political conventions in New York and Boston on behalf of the bureau's counterterrorism unit, according to FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.</p> <p>The American Civil Liberties Union pointed to the documents as evidence that the Bush administration has reacted to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States by blurring the distinction between terrorism and political protest. FBI officials defended the involvement of counterterrorism agents in providing security for the Republican and Democratic conventions as an administrative convenience.</p>

Abstract This paper examines the Council of Europe ("CoE") Convention from a human rights and civil liberties point of view. It addresses only those parts of the Convention that have been the most controversial internationally in the time since the draft was publicly released in April 2000. It is postulated that the draft Convention fails to address privacy rights and focuses almost completely on law enforcement demands. The paper examines concerns over the adequacy of privacy and data protection, surveillance proposals, international cooperation in the absence of dual criminality, and removal of the common law privilege against self-incrimination. Recent Australian...

There’s probably no single piece of writing in this country that’s as controversial or as likely to lead to fist fights as the U.S. Constitution. It’s difficult to decide which portion of the document gets people riled up the most. At times, it almost seems to change on a daily basis. On Monday, it could be gun ownership, with folks like Michael Moore frothing at the mouth at the mere thought that a law-abiding citizen might own a weapon. You’d think Moore was planning to burgle your home the way he frets over the possibility you might actually be armed....

Below press Release announcing tomorrow's hearing was just posted today on a congressional website. PATRIOT Act Oversight Hearing Tuesday What: Oversight Hearing on Sections 201, 202, 213, and 223 of the USA PATRIOT Act Who: Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security - Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.), Chairman When: 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, May 3, 2005 Where: 2141 Rayburn Building House Press Release posted here: http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/PATAct201etc5305.pdf

As Anil Adyanthaya of the Boston Globe points out in an article this morning, the ACLU is again operating outside its stated mission and instead is simply a critic of the Bush administration. The case brought against Donald Rumseld proves his point. "On its website, the ACLU says its 'job' is to 'defend the rights of every man, woman and child in this country' and 'defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.' Yet, none of the eight plaintiffs for whom the ACLU is...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - With violence in Iraq returning to pre-election levels, the U.N. secretary-general warned the Iraqi leadership and American military Thursday to take care not to step on the civil liberties of an increasingly frustrated population while fighting to crush the revitalized insurgency. Kofi Annan also said in his report that the scale and sophistication of insurgent attacks were increasing, worrying signs as Iraq's new leaders prepare to take power. Earlier Thursday, a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque killed at least 47 people, and on Feb. 28, a suicide car bomber killed 125 people, mostly Shiite police...

Businessman wants site for Ten Commandments monument. CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- A man who says he represents an atheist group is planning to bid for a small plot of the county courthouse lawn that a businessman has said he wants to buy as the site for a Ten Commandments monument. Earl Myler, who heads a company that designs and builds churches, has proposed to Montgomery County commissioners a plan to buy the property in order to return a Ten Commandments monument to the lawn, where a previous monument was removed in 2001. Ken Lewis said his atheist group would bid...

I think that it has been well established that "conservatives" or whatever it is they call themselves these days (e.g., storm troopers) in matters concerning politics value little more than the state's power in which they imagine themselves to participate and the supposed glory that war and domestic national securitism brings to them. Now strictly speaking this is a delusion, because their only access to power lies in the accidental agreement of their opinions with those of the managers of the state. This access will evaporate as soon as the state does something that displeases our conservatives. It is always...

On January 17, I posted a First Look column titled "The ACLU's Very Own Constitution." In it I commented upon an item that I had first been made aware of in a "Best of the Web" column by James Taranto of the Opinion Journal. The subject of my column was how the ACLU had distorted, edited, "censored" the 1st Amendment on its website in order to support its claim that the Framers considered the freedom of speech so important that they put it at the very tip-top of the Bill of Rights. But now the ACLU has changed its website...

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) - Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans, according to a nationwide poll. The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims' civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious. Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim Americans. "It's sad news. It's disturbing news. But it's not unpredictable," said...

Under the new Surveillance Devices Act passed last week in Australia, law enforcement officials Down Under will be allowed to use various spyware applications to gather evidence during investigations. After obtaining a warrant, police will be able to install malware such as keystroke loggers, trackers, and other unwelcome applications on PCs of those targeted in some criminal investigations. Under the Act, warrants can be obtained if an officer has "reasonable grounds" and feels such surveillance methods are necessary to gather evidence. Australian civil rights groups have been quick to criticize the new law, saying that the legislation does not do...

He is viewed with some suspicion by Democrats, who promised on Wednesday to question him aggressively about his role in setting administration policy on detaining and questioning people captured in the effort to combat terrorism. And he is seen as unreliable by many conservatives, who said he has not been sufficiently hard line on the issues of most concern to them, including abortion and affirmative action.

Of the many disastrous consequences of the Bush reelection to the White House, none are more alarming than the potential impact to the United States Supreme Court. Currently, the Supreme Court is closely divided between liberals and conservatives. One appointment could change the balance of the Court and alter decisions on crucial issues such as abortion, gay rights and the death penalty.

      NewStandard Home Iraq in Crisis Civil Liberties & Security U.S. Business & Economy News ArticleHouse About to Strip More Civil Liberties in Name of Anti-terrorismby Madeleine Baran (bio) Oct 6 - Civil liberties and immigrant rights advocates say House Republicans are using legislation based on the 9/11 Commission's recommendations as cover to implement a series of troubling, un-related reforms condoning torture, limiting immigration and increasing surveillance of both non-citizens and citizens.The House will vote on the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act this week. Opponents say the Republican leadership rushed the legislation to the floor without much time...

A CONTRACT WITH GEORGIA A Bold Vision to Bring Conservative Common Sense to the United States Senate by HERMAN CAIN Republican Candidate for U.S. Senate The United States is being challenged by the war on terror, the war on our moral foundation and the war on our economic infrastructure. But America is still the greatest country in the world because of the bold leadership of the past and the American Dream that is still alive today. In 1994 we had a vision for a better America and a desire to "restore the bonds of trust between the people and their...

My uncle started an email thread among my family members about countering Moveon.org and George Soros. In the course of the discourse it occurred to me that we are living in a time where are liberties are disappearing at an alarming rate. My uncle lives in California, where the Ninth Circuit has ruled that he has no second amendment rights, and the Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal, so he no longer has the right to keep and bear arms. As we all know the politicians are becoming a ruling class, with the BCRA or McCain-Feingold Act ensuring...

The second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks seemed the perfect occasion for President Bush (news - web sites) to ask Congress for expanded anti-terror investigative powers. Yet the response was downright chilly. Republican leaders in Congress said they would hold lengthy hearings to assess the plan's impact on individual rights. Meanwhile, civil liberties groups accused the administration of ramming an expansion of the controversial USA Patriot Act through Congress with the same haste lawmakers showed in passing the original law in the wake of 9/11. For all of the furor stirred up by the administration's request, two reassuring...

<p>HOW SPECIAL: Some of the very people who are attacking the Patriot Act on civil libertarian grounds are raising questions as to whether Attorney General John Ashcroft has the right to lobby in its favor.</p> <p>Here's an idea for a new slogan: Free speech -- Ashcroft need not apply.</p>

Groups like the ACLU claim they are filing lawsuits against the appearance of religion in society in order to prevent violations of the Constitution's Establishment Clause. In reality, their lawsuits are taking away the right to the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment.The ACLU and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State assert that they filed lawsuits against Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore out of concern that a monument of the Ten Commandments located in the Alabama state courthouse violated the First Amendment’s prohibition against any law respecting the establishment of religion. But the monument...

Groups like the ACLU claim they are filing lawsuits against the appearance of religion in society in order to prevent violations of the Constitution's Establishment Clause. In reality, their lawsuits are taking away the right to the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment. The ACLU and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State assert that they filed lawsuits against Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore out of concern that a monument of the Ten Commandments located in the Alabama state courthouse violated the First Amendment’s prohibition against any law respecting the establishment of religion. But...

It used to be said, before gays "came out," that they were in "the closet." I wish they would go back into it. The rest of us have been in "Pandora's Box ever since. Not that long ago, in kinder, gentler times, when grown adults actually kept their private business private, and fringe rebels did not get in everyone's face to make their point, what is now considered to be an alternative lifestyle" was in fact, a deviancy. The only thing that has changed is that in 1973, (the same notorious year that also gave us Roe vs. Wade) the...

It used to be said, before gays "came out," that they were in "the closet." I wish they would go back into it. The rest of us have been in "Pandora's Box ever since. Not that long ago, in kinder, gentler times, when grown adults actually kept their private business private, and fringe rebels did not get in everyone's face to make their point, what is now considered to be an alternative lifestyle" was in fact, a deviancy. The only thing that has changed is that in 1973, (the same notorious year that also gave us Roe vs. Wade) the...

In his ESR editorial last week, James Antle called for a broad discussion concerning recent attempts to redefine marriage. "That's why this discussion must be about more than politics," he writes. "We are not just thinking of ourselves – we are thinking about how future generations will be raised and shaping the institutions that will mold them." Antle raises an excellent point. This debate is not merely over individual rights and freedoms, but about the well-being of children as well. As a canon lawyer working full-time within a Catholic marriage tribunal, I see almost daily how marriage impacts both future...

When my Mother took a job with the census bureau she was instructed to find every nook and cranny where there might be a dwelling. If she even suspected that something looked like a onetime path in the woods of PA, she was to follow it. Every cabin and abandon shack was to be recorded on a map to be easily located. Because of her naivety, she naturally did not question the reasoning behind this "head counting" job. After all, census taking establishes the population of a community and the country as a whole - makes sense to me. However,...

This must be stopped, the police would be able to pull over anyone any age not wearing a seatbelt. Pay at least a $75 fine, huge tax. Violation of civil liberties. It has been sent to the Governor but not by a veto proof majority in the Senate.

The Foreign Menace & Civil Liberties (Speech Transcript) By Joseph J. Sabia The following is the transcript of a speech I delivered to students at Ithaca High School on Monday, March 24, 2003. Thank you very much for the invitation to return to Ithaca High School. I last spoke here in 1999, when I was invited to give a lecture on conservative media at Cornell University. I recall that we had a spirited discussion that ended with a girl bursting into tears and screaming at me. So, basically, the experience was like every first date I’ve ever had. But I...

Federal V.I.P. Penn - 11/13/02 Last Thursday I was flying to LA on the Midnight flight. I went through security my usual sour stuff. I beeped, of course, and was shuttled to the "toss-em" line. A security guy came over. I assumed the position. I had a button up shirt on that was untucked. He reached around while he was behind me and grabbed around my front pocket. I guess he was going for my flashlight, but the area could have loosely been called "crotch." I said, "You have to ask me before you touch me or it's assault." He...

Individualism Versus Government The Perpetual War For Freedom Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. George Washington Thomas Jefferson said: "The government that governs least governs best." If we follow Jefferson's thought to a logical conclusion it would reveal the absence of government in any form to be perfection. The desire for government will always be the yearning of the weak to impose their will on the strong. A strong individual strikes fear in the heart of the coward. Therefore, the coward will always seek...

Maryland TRT members were on the frontlines, in the cold, pouring rain, until the jublilant end! Some of the many Maryland Tyranny Response (TRT) patriots and FReepers celebrate with other grassroots campaign volunteers at the Ehrlich/Steele for Governor victory celebration in Gaithersburg, Maryland, right after the polls closed Tuesday night. Maryland TRT members worked 13 hour shifts at key swing voter polling places for the Ehrlich/Steele (R) gubernatorial campaign in Montgomery County, Maryland on November 5, 2002. The evening rush hour shifts were worked outside during the cold, pouring rainstorm that hit this area last night. This explains the bedraggled...

Despite negative criticism and attacks on them by certain Republicans here in Maryland (and nationwide), Maryland Tyranny Response Team patriots (TRT), Asian Pacific Americans (APA) and Muslim Americans, nonetheless showed up at the Ehrlich/Steele rally that featured former NYC Mayor, Rudy Giuliani.  Members of these three major groups of UNDECIDED voters for tomorrow's mid-term elections MIGHT still give Maryland's Republican candidates the benefit of the doubt tomorrow.  This is despite the political compromising and selling out of the civil/constitutional rights and civil liberties of gunowners, APAs and Muslim Americans since the immigrant-bashing and campaign finance scandals of the mid-'90s, plus...

<p>The School Committee has voted to offer parents the opportunity to have their children videotaped, fingerprinted, and ''toothprinted'' at school as a way to give police more to work with in the event of an abduction or lost child.</p> <p>Milford will become the 29th school system in the Commonwealth to join the Massachusetts Child Identification Program, also known as CHIP. Sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, it is considered by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to be one of the most aggressive child-identification programs in the country.</p>

(snip) I was reminded of my blessings while visiting Pittsburg last week.Shortly after I arrived on Saturday afternoon, I briefly joined my parents and their neighbors for a block party. The block party is a fine invention. The streets were blocked off, allowing kids to play. An abundance of food and drink is set out. And parents, friends and families mingle freely. (snip)We Americans have always been free to do as we please. We are free to buy and sell property. Free to start our own business or shut it down. Free to create, innovate and invent. (We're also free...

Group warns of massive EU surveillance By Graeme Wearden Special to CNET News.com August 20, 2002, 5:34 AM PT Privacy advocates claim that the European Union plans to make sweeping changes to laws that govern communications-related data retention and privacy, requiring the long-term storage of such information and making it available to governments. Statewatch, a U.K.-based Internet organization that monitors threats to civil liberties within Europe, said Monday that European governments are planning to force all of the continent's telephone carriers, mobile network operators and Internet service providers to store details of their customers' Web use, e-mails and phone calls...

Civil Hysteria 07/29/2002, Volume 007, Issue 44 ONCE THERE WAS A TIME, while America was at war, when our government refused to grant its captured enemies, very much including the oddball U.S. citizens among them, access to the regular criminal courts. And the nation's leading newspapers and other such purveyors of advanced opinion rose up as one in reaction--and cheered. Then the Supreme Court announced it would review the situation. And the newspapers turned grumpy. Then the Supreme Court reversed course, lickety-split, and said the government's detentions and planned secret trials were a-okay. And everybody cheered again. "The niceties of...

Congress approves life sentences for crackers By John Leyden Posted: 07/16/2002 at 07:29 EST The US House of Representatives has approved a bill which raises the penalty for computer crime to a maximum of life imprisonment. Crackers who put lives at risk, either knowingly or through "reckless" behaviour, could be sent to jail for life under measures in the Cyber Security Enhancement Act, which the house yesterday passed an overwhelming majority by 385 votes to three. The bill also seeks to impose tougher sentencing regimes for computer criminals. Controversy, however, centres on measures designed water down ISPs responsibility to protect...

Court Clean Air Ruling impacts property rights, individual freedoms and the economy!!! Please work with us to get hearings on the Clean Air Regulations!!!! A federal appeals court decision Tuesday upheld rigorous limits imposed by the Clinton Administration on the amount of soot and smog (particulate matter - referred to as PM) in the nation's air. The court's decision will result in many more cities and counties in Texas struggling to meet the tougher standard. Many localities haven't been able to clean up their air enough to meet the less stringent limits currently in place. Yet the air quality has...