The freedom to marry is secure in Massachusetts for now, but a victory for opponents in California could embolden attempts to try again here. The national ACLU, which works with the No on Prop 8 campaign, has produced this video featuring … [Read more...]
FYI: FBI
The ACLU and others condemn the guidelines as a major step backward toward FBI abuses of the past, such as surveillance of civil rights and anti-war activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In August, we urged people to contact … [Read more...]
Read a Banned Book — CORRECTED
... or at least this illustrated history of book banning in honor of Banned Books Week, which is now, Sept. 27 - Oct. 4. Here, too, is Ban this Booklist, a top-50 from the ACLU of books that touch on civil liberties themes -- and which have … [Read more...]
When Checks and Balances Fail
WHAT: When Checks and Balances Fail: The Media and Civil Liberties in the 2008 Election WHO: Eric Alterman, The Nation Ellen Hume, MIT Center for Future Civic Media Callie Crossley, Program Manager for the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, … [Read more...]
War crimes conference in Andover this weekend
Laura Rótolo, Attorney and Human Rights Fellow for the ACLU of Massachusetts, will take part in a conference this weekend called The Justice Robert Jackson Conference on the Planning for Prosecution of High Level American War Criminals. … [Read more...]
Comic Relief: Problems that don’t exist
As the election gets closer, here's the latest comic that artist Matt Bors does for the ACLU: Problems That Don't Exist: Flag Burners … [Read more...]
Sloppy DNA databanks
If you weren't sure what would happen to it or how it might eventually be used, would that make you more likely or less likely to voluntarily provide a DNA sample for a criminal investigation? That's the point behind a great Globe editorial … [Read more...]
Are newspapers doomed?
And no one really seems to know what to do about it. Over the last year, I've had the chance to go to a couple of panel discussions about the future of the news business, and the dominant themes seemed to be:People don't want to read … [Read more...]
Kennedy takes lead against new FBI spying powers
The only good news is that, last week, along with Sen. Russ Feingold (Wis.), Sen. Richard Durbin (Ill.), and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Sen. Kennedy signed a letter asking Mukasey to delay issuing the new guidelines until they have … [Read more...]
Judge lifts gag order on MIT students who found Charlie Card flaws
Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU of Massachusetts convinced a federal judge to lift a gag order on three MIT students who researched flaws in the MBTA's fare payment system. Essentially, the students had found a … [Read more...]