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Tag Archives: Civil Liberties
Book Banning in Round Rock : Ta Ta to TTYL
Teen novel removed from middle school library in Texas town.By Bob Banta / November 18, 2008 A teen novel that stirred controversy when the parent of a Round Rock student complained that it is obscene was removed from the district’s … Continue reading
Supremes : Mummified Dogs, Homophobes Figure into Decision on Religious Freedom
Signs from Westbury Baptist Church in Kansas: They want to build a statue of slain gay student Matthew Shepherd, with an inscription claiming he’s in Hell. Photo from Westboro website godhatesfags.com Mummified Maggie. The Supreme Court is hearing “Pleasant Grove … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Civil Liberties, Freedom of Speech, Homophobia, Religious Freedom, Supreme Court
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Kahlah al-Marri : Supremes May Hear Major Detention Case
The Supreme court may hear the case of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri who has been detained in a brig in South Carolina for five years. Photo from www.psaonline.‘The Supreme Court is now being asked to consider the legality of Marri’s … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged ACLU, al-Qaida, Civil Liberties, Criminal Justice, Justice Department, Supreme Court, Terrorism
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Report from Nicaragua : Repression in the Revolution
Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega when he was a leader of the Sandinistas‘I met Martin Vega just after the Nicaraguan revolution when we all saw such promise there.’By Mercedes Lynn de Uriarte / The Rag Blog / October 14, 2008 Below … Continue reading
BANNED BOOKS : ‘Grapes Of Wrath’ And The Politics of Book Burning
Clell Pruett burns a copy of The Grapes Of Wrath as Bill Camp and another leader of the Associated Farmers stand by. At the time this photograph was taken, Pruett had not read the novel. Years later, after he read … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Authors, Banned Books Week, Books, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, John Steinibeck
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‘Burn Baby Burn’ : Fight Censorship During ‘Banned Books Week’
September 27 – October 4, 2008. . .Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read! See ‘Burn, Baby, Burn: On “Fahrenheit 451” and why good democracy should make you feel bad’ by Josh Rosenblatt, Below. Banned Books Week is the … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged ACLU, Banned Books Week, Books, Civil Liberties, Freedom of Speech, Libraries, Social Action
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How Fascism Happens : That Hoary Truism About Learning From History
Photo by basetree.Fascism: When bad things happen to good peopleBy Paul Fish / The Rag Blog / September 28, 2008 A good and recent read is John Dean’s Conservatives Without Conscience which is really a rather dispassionate and mildly scholarly … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged Civil Liberties, Fascism, History, Nazi Germany, Neocons, World History
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Landmark Ruling : Cell Phone Location Protected by Fourth Amendment
Boston artist Nick Rodrigues’ Personal Cell Phone Booth won’t protect him from triangulation or global positioning.Chalk up one small victory for privacyBy William Michael Hanks / The Rag Blog / September 15, 2008 A powerful and easily-implemented feature of cell … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged Cell Phones, Civil Liberties, Federal Courts, Fourth Amendment, Privacy
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9/11 : The Politics of Fear, Religious Fanaticism and Checks & Balances
‘They’ve attacked us! Turn on your TV!!’By Thomas Cleaver / The Rag Blog / September 11, 2008 I remember seven years ago today like it was yesterday: the phone call at 0545 pulling me from sleep to hear a friend … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged 9/11, al-Qaida, Bill of Rights, Civil Liberties, Privacy, Religious Fanaticism, Terrorism, War on Terror
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Go Tell Sarah : Celebrate the Freedom to Read
Banned Books WeekCelebrating the Freedom to ReadSeptember 27–October 4, 2008Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Banned Books Week, Books, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, Libraries
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Remember : This Could Be YOU (Without Warning)
Pa pilot says he’s on watch list, sues to save jobBy Peter Jackson / August 20, 2008 HARRISBURG, Pa. — A commercial airline pilot and convert to Islam who says his name is on the U.S. government’s secret terrorist watch … Continue reading
