The executive order Trump signed on Friday does the opposite of what it aims for: it belittles American law, projects a nation in cowardly fear, alienates its own Muslim communities and endangers our security.
civil liberties
Cops Aren’t Under Siege.
Civilians and Liberties Are.
It’s a widely accepted but dangerous myth: that cops are under siege, handcuffed by “new restrictions.” The reality is the opposite, with more unbridled and brutal policing than we care to admit.
Housing Restrictions on Sex Offenders Spread Even as Evidence Shows They Don’t Work
The restrictions can make offenders’ lives less stable by severely limiting their housing options, and can push them away from family, jobs and social support — all of which make it more likely they will abuse again.
In a First, Flagler County Will Prohibit Legal Tobacco Use On and Off the Job For New Hires
It is the first time a local government has made new employment conditional on the prohibition of use of a legal substance, though numerous governments and private employers are increasingly taking the same approach, and Palm Cast and the school board may soon hop on board.
President Barack Aux Scandals
The Benghazi story is a bogus scandal. IRS targeting of conservative groups and the Justice Department’s hacking of reporters’ phones is not. The Obama presidency is getting derailed, and that’s without going down the path of even more serious scandals Washington and the electorate are accepting as business as usual.
Friend of the Court: How Anthony Lewis Influenced the Justices He Covered
To a remarkable degree, Anthony Lewis, who covered the Supreme Court for the New York Times, set the agenda, and established the arguments for all that was to follow during the constitutional revolution of the Earl Warren court.
Rather Than Allow Middle School Gay-Straight Alliance, Lake Board Plans Ban on All Clubs
A group of students at Carver Middle School in Lake County, Fla. have tried to establish a GSA, saying the student-led club is needed to address name-calling, bullying and harassment in school. In response to the students request, the Lake County School Board has begun the process of banning every non-curricular club at every school in the district rather than follow their legal obligation to recognize the GSA at Carver Middle School.
Drones Among Us: Florida Police Want Video Surveillance Power Over Big Sports Events
Bill sponsor Sen. Joe Negron and police couldn’t agree on the use of drones as extra eyes in the sky at large-crowd events, such as a football game, with Negron saying monitoring crowds goes too far – and that he’d vote against his own bill (SB 92) if it were changed to allow that.
Amend the Second Amendment
If we want to transform American society for generations to come, tinkering with our existing patchwork quilt of federal, state, and municipal laws dealing with firearms is a waste of time. The only transformational vehicle for meaningful action, writes Angel Castillo, is to change the Constitution.
Amendment Shock: A More Tolerant Nation Is By-Passing Smug, Regressive Florida
Many of Tuesday’s 176 popular referendum that passed speak of a more tolerant, more freedom-loving nation. Except in Florida, where the Legislature’s 11 proposals put the state at odds with national trenbds–and the Florida Legislature at odds with the people it claims to represent.