Free Republic

A report by internal investigators at the Justice Department has identified dozens of recent cases in which department employees have been accused of serious civil rights and civil liberties violations involving enforcement of the sweeping federal antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act. The inspector general's report, which was presented to Congress last week and is awaiting public release, is likely to raise new concern among lawmakers about whether the Justice Department can police itself when its employees are accused of violating the rights of Muslim and Arab immigrants and others swept up in terrorism investigations under the 2001...

One again, culture warriors are pressuring the Federal Communications Commission to crack down on "indecency" in broadcasting. Uniquely among government agencies, the FCC has the power to censor talk shows, political dialogue, and artistic endeavors on radio and television if it finds them too raunchy. But the zealousness with which it performs this job tends to vary with the political winds. The winds today are decidedly censorial. While it appears that Congress may thwart at least part of the FCC's plan to increase media consolidation, less attention has been given to its tough new stance against "indecent" words and ideas....

Courts have no higher duty than protection of the individual freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. This is especially true in time of war, when our carefully crafted system of checks and balances must accommodate the vital needs of national security while guarding the liberties the Constitution promises all citizens. —Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals judge Diana Gribbon Motz, dissenting, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, July 9 Some of the most glorious illuminations of the Bill of Rights in American history have been contained in Supreme Court dissents by, among others, Louis Brandeis, William Brennan, Hugo Black, and Thurgood Marshall. Equal to those...

American Rebels By Jack Newfield, The Nation July 3, 2003 During much of the 1960s I kept an anti-war poster on my wall that featured a quotation from Albert Camus that read, "I would like to be able to love my country, and justice too." Some of my own defining experiences took place on those occasions where I felt most free to love justice and my country at the same time-when I planted myself in a tradition that stretches from Jefferson and Tom Paine through Lincoln, Whitman, Thoreau, to the founders of the labor unions, to Eugene Debs, to the...

Dear Ann, Hey, it's me again! I'm sure you remember me from last week when I called you on your book "Treason" and the case of John Henry Faulk. My fellow Freepers won some phyrric victories on that one, which I don't mind. However, I saw your latest column on Yahoo! news only recently, "Taking Liberties." (Click the link above.) Once again, you're big on words, but short on good arguments. To begin my argument, I'll start at the end of your column, where you say, "Manifestly, there is no civil liberties crisis in this country. Consequently, people who claim...

Dear Ms. Coulter, I understand that on a West Coast radio show you praised Free Republic. I certainly hope you monitor the posts here, because I believe I have something important to say to you. Just the other day, I picked up your latest book, "Treason." I enjoyed "High Crimes and Misdemeanors;" it was an indictment of Bill Clinton worthy of a legal brief. I also enjoyed your pot-shots at liberals in "Slander." I have recently finished reading "Treason." While you certainly have a readable style (much better than many other conservative writers) I was somewhat disturbed by its premise....

American Rebels By Jack Newfield The Nation Thursday 03 July 2003 During much of the 1960s I kept an anti-war poster on my wall that featured a quotation from Albert Camus that read, "I would like to be able to love my country, and justice too." Some of my own defining experiences took place on those occasions where I felt most free to love justice and my country at the same time-when I planted myself in a tradition that stretches from Jefferson and Tom Paine through Lincoln, Whitman, Thoreau, to the founders of the labor unions, to Eugene Debs, to...