Category: Civil Liberties

Newt Gingrich Hates the Constitution and America

May 24, 2009
Civil LibertiesCongressConstitutionElectionsLegalRepublicans
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Newt Gingrich was never a successful politician.  As a talking head, he gets by.  After his failed Contract with America, Gingrich continued to point fingers, cough up empty theoretical neo-con rhetoric, and a bizarre plan to save America called American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF, or ass whiff, for short).

This morning, I watched Gingrich attempt to debate Sen. Dick Durbin on NBC’s Meet the Press.  David Gregory left every false claim by Gingrich go unchallenged.  We’ll leave that to our friends at Media Matters.

Here’s what I notice about Gingrich: the man hates the United States Constitution.

This week I started singing the Preamble to the Constitution, a la School House Rock.  Remember this?

Here it is:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Justice: the first value established.  Justice.

Gingrich wants to toss out justice, keep Gitmo, hold Prisoners of War forever, without trial, without charges. Gingrich wants the United States to continue to run gulags. The United States Constitution is too much for Gingrich, too fair.

Make no mistake, Newt Gingrich hates the United States Constition and the United States of America.  Newt Gingrich wants to continue the Bush-Cheney doctring of shredding the Constitution.

The Founding Fathers were not fools.  Gingrich is.

OUTRAGE Targets Closeted Pols Who Campaign, Vote Against Gay Community

May 23, 2009
Civil LibertiesCongressConstitutionDemocratic NewsEvangelicalsGLBTLegalReligionRepublicans
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From Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) comes OUTRAGE, a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted politicians with appalling gay rights voting records who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to. Boldly revealing the hidden lives of some of the United States’ most powerful policymakers, OUTRAGE takes a comprehensive look at the harm they’ve inflicted on millions of Americans, and examines the media’s complicity in keeping their secrets.

With analysis from prominent members of the gay community such as Congressman Barney Frank, former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey, activist Larry Kramer, radio personality Michelangelo Signorile, and openly gay congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (Representative, Wisconsin 2nd district), OUTRAGE probes deeply into the psychology of this double lifestyle, the ethics of outing closeted politicians, the double standards that the media upholds in its coverage of the sex lives of gay public figures, and much more.

Source: http://www.outragethemovie.com/

Learn more about OUTRAGE on Facebook.

Mancow Gets Waterboarded, Admits It’s Torture

May 22, 2009
ChicagoCivil LibertiesJohn McCainLegal
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Friday morning, WLS radio show host Erich “Mancow” Muller agreed to be waterboarded on his show.  He wanted to find out for himself if it was torture.  He didn’t think it was.

He lasted all of six or seven seconds before finally “throwing in the cow” and giving up.

From NBC 5 Chicago:

“I want to find out if it’s torture,” Mancow told his listeners Friday morning, adding that he hoped his on-air test would help prove that waterboarding did not, in fact, constitute torture.

The debate over whether waterboarding constitutes torture reached a fever pitch this week as re-ignited claims that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) knew as early as 2002 about waterboarding techniques being used, and former Vice President Dick Cheney and President Barack Obama gave “dueling speeches” Thursday.

Listeners had the chance to decide whether Mancow himself or his co-host, Chicago radio personality Pat Cassidy, would undergo the interrogation method during the broadcast.  The voters ultimately decided Mancow would be the one donning the soaked towel and shackles, and at about 8:40 a.m., he entered a small storage room next to his studio that was compared to a “dungeon” by Cassidy.  “The average person can take this for 14 seconds,” Marine Sergeant Clay South answered, adding, “He’s going to wiggle, he’s going to scream, he’s going to wish he never did this.”

With a Chicago Fire Department paramedic on hand,  Mancow was placed on a 7-foot long table, his legs were elevated, and his feet were tied up.

Turns out the stunt wasn’t so funny. Witnesses said Muller thrashed on the table, and even instantly threw the toy cow he was holding as his emergency tool to signify when he wanted the experiment to stop.  He only lasted 6 or 7 seconds.

“It is way worse than I thought it would be, and that’s no joke, “Mancow said, likening it to a time when he nearly drowned as a child.  “It is such an odd feeling to have water poured down your nose with your head back… It was instantaneous…and I don’t want to say this: absolutely torture.”

Next up: George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Sean Hannity.  Hannity still has to make good on his promise to be waterboarded.  Keith Olbermann has offered to do the honors — for charity.

What’s the problem, Hannity?  Gonna let Mancow show you up?

CA Supreme Court to Issue Prop 8 Decision Tuesday

May 22, 2009
Civil LibertiesGLBTLegal
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The Human Rights Campaign issued a press release today indicating that a decision on California’s Proposition 8 is imminent:

Just moments ago, we learned that the California Supreme Court will issue its decision in the challenge to Proposition 8 on Tuesday at 10 a.m. Pacific. We’ve been awaiting this critical decision for California families for months and will have all the latest information and analysis for you then – tune in to www.hrc.org.

So the deciders have decided: will the rule of law move in the direction separate and not equal, restricting human freedom?  Or will they move toward fairness.

Tell Your Illinois Rep to Vote YES on Civil Unions

May 8, 2009
Civil LibertiesDemocratic NewsGLBT
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Passing this along from Equality Illinois.  Please contact your Rep. again even if they are already supportive:

The end of the Spring session of the Illinois General Assembly is approaching. There is a good chance that we can pass the civil union bill before the end of the session.

The civil union bill is on its’ third reading in the House which means it can be voted on at any time. Equality Illinois’ full lobbying team is in Springfield putting together the votes necessary for the passage of the bill. But we need help. Even if you have done so before, please call, write or email your state representative and urge a yes vote on HB 2234.

The Tribune, Sun-Times and Daily Herald have all strongly urged the General Assembly to pass this legislation now. Over 160 Illinois clergy from a wide range of denominations signed a letter to the General Assembly urging a yes vote on this bill. And, the Equality Illinois lobby day brought Illinoisans from every part of our state to the State House to speak with legislators.

But, our legislators still need to hear from you today.

Opponents of fairness and decency for all Illinoisans have bombarded our legislators with anti-civil union calls and letters. Our legislators need to hear from fair-minded Illinoisans in greater numbers.

We are on the threshold of passing legislation to recognize and protect same-sex couples.

Please contact your legislator today. It will make all the difference.

Click here to contact your state representative through the Equality Illinois Action Alert messaging system. Send this message to your family, friends, coworkers and associates around the state, urging them to contact their representatives also.

Gay Marriage Legal in Maine

May 6, 2009
Civil LibertiesGLBT
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From WTAE Pittsburgh:

Maine’s governor has signed a bill making the state the fifth to allow gay marriage. 

Gov. John Baldacci signed the legislation shortly after the Maine legislature passed it Wednesday. 

New Hampshire legislators are also poised to send a gay marriage bill to their governor. He has not indicated whether he’ll sign it. 

If gay marriage becomes law in New Hampshire, Rhode Island would be the sole holdout in New England.

Thank you to Gov. Baldacci and the all legislators in the state of Maine.

It’s time, Illinois.  Let’s get with it.  We’re ready.

Civil Union Bill Passes Committee, Goes to IL House

March 5, 2009
Civil LibertiesDemocratic NewsGLBT
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State Rep. Greg Harris posted a status update to his Facebook page:

Greg Civil Union bill HB2234 just approved by Committee 4-3. It now goes to the full House for a vote.

Harris adds that the Mormon churches have “pulled out all the stops” to fight passage of this bill.  “Illinois, it appears, will be the next national battleground after California.”

Illinois State House to Discuss Civil Unions Bill

March 5, 2009
Civil LibertiesDemocratic NewsGLBTIllinois
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Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) does not advance legislation that doesn’t have a chance of passing.  So, with cautious optimism, we applaud his efforts to bring Civil Unions to Illinois.

From CBS 2 Chicago:

A bill on civil unions for same sex couples goes before an Illinois House committee on Thursday, and published reports say a downstate Mormon Church plans to fight the legislation.

The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, or HB 2234, would give same-sex couples the same protections and benefits as married couples.

The legislation was introduced in February by state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago). It supplants an earlier civil unions bill, HB 1834, which Harris introduced two years ago. That bill passed out of committee, but died at the end of the legislative session due to the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The Mormon Church, always full of smiles, is fighting against the legislation.  However, as Harris says, their objections are “full of errors,” and used “exaggeration, distortion and lies.”

The California Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today to overturn Proposition 8, which banned same sex marriage.  If Prop. 8 is overturned, that bodes well for Illinois.

And perhaps all the Mormons won’t be smiling as much any more — except, of course, those Mormons who are gay.

Update March 5, 2009, 12:15 p.m. –  State Rep. Greg Harris posted a status update to his Facebook page:

Greg Civil Union bill HB2234 just approved by Committee 4-3. It now goes to the full House for a vote.

Harris adds that the Mormon churches have “pulled out all the stops” to fight passage of this bill.  “Illinois, it appears, will be the next national battleground after California.”

Good work, Greg!

Obama to Close Gitmo: Nicely Done, Mr. President

January 22, 2009
AmericaBarack ObamaCivil LibertiesDemocratic NewsPhilosophicalViolenceWhite House
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In one day and a few strokes of the pen, President Obama signed an executive order that will close Guantanamo Bay prison within a year and prosecute terrorism suspects in the United States.

Granted, closing Gitmo is easier said than done:

Underscoring the difficult decisions Obama must make to fulfill his pledge of shutting down Guantanamo, the plan could require the creation of a new legal system to handle the classified information inherent in some of the most sensitive cases.

The issue is only so difficult because the Bush Administration dispensed with Habeas Corpus, and much of the United States Constitution with it.

With a few more strokes of the pen, President Obama banned torture.

To think that in 2009, it would take an act of the President of the United States to ban torture by the United States.

“Both civil libertarians and ex-CIA officials involved in interrogations and detentions policies hailed the changes,” says the Washington Independent.

Under the executive orders issued Thursday, the CIA’s interrogators cannot question detainees using “any interrogation technique or approach, or any treatment related to interrogation, that is not authorized by and listed in Army Field Manual 2 22.3.” That manual was rewritten by the Army in 2006 to reemphasize its compliance with the Geneva Conventions and U.S. laws banning torture. The Bush administration took an unyielding stance toward exempting CIA interrogations from that manual and those laws. But the Obama administration revoked all Bush administration executive orders from September 11, 2001 onward “concerning detention or the interrogation of detained individuals,” and directed the attorney general to conduct a thorough review of all other “directives, orders, and regulations” on the subject issued by the Bush administration that are no longer applicable.

Remember the Geneva Conventions?  They’re worth reviewing.  Seems we have a president who knows them, and desires to uphold them.

We all stand taller today.

Nicely done, Mr. President.

Rush Limbaugh Wants America to Fail

January 22, 2009
AmericaBarack ObamaCivil LibertiesCongressConstitutionEconomyRantRepublicansStrange
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Flaming Comedian Rush Limbaugh

Comedian Rish Limbaugh wants America to fail.

Even before President Barack Obama (love the sound of that) took office, Limbaugh was hoping for his failure.  According to Faiz Shakir at Think Progress, last Friday, Limbaugh told his radio audience, ““I disagree fervently with the people on our [Republican] side of the aisle who have caved and who say, ‘Well, I hope he succeeds.’”

According to Shakir, Limbaugh said he was asked by a “major American print publication” to offer a 400-word statement explaining his “hope for the Obama presidency.”  His response?

So I’m thinking of replying to the guy, “Okay, I’ll send you a response, but I don’t need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.” (interruption) What are you laughing at? See, here’s the point. Everybody thinks it’s outrageous to say. Look, even my staff, “Oh, you can’t do that.” Why not? Why is it any different, what’s new, what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what’s gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here. Why do I want more of it? I don’t care what the Drive-By story is. I would be honored if the Drive-By Media headlined me all day long: “Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails.” Somebody’s gotta say it.

Really, Rush?  As bad as things are now, you want the president to fail?

If this president fails, America fails.  There is no other alternative.  The country is in an almost unprecedented financial crisis, inches away from another Depression.  The only people not suffering are the filthy rich who lack empathy, like Limbaugh.

Over 500,000 people lost their jobs last week.  That’s right — 500,000 people lost their jobs last week.

There aren’t enough pain pills in the world for them, Rush, even if you donate some of your stash.

The majority of Americans get it — the time for screaming matches is over.  Limbaugh’s audience will fade.  People will see him for what he is: a comedian in search of an audience.  Barack Obama is not the polarizing figure Bill Clinton was at times.  President Obama is an honest, likeable guy.And he’s honest.

It’s going to be tough being Rush the next four years.  And it’s about time.