first amendment

Eight years after it was passed, the USA Patriot Act remains among the most controversial pieces of counterterrorism legislation in the so-called “war on terror.”

The Michigan Messenger’s Ed Brayton reports a convoluted tale involving all of the above. Long story short, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) — whose name you may know because he lives at the GOP sex scandal-connected “C Street” house — has introduced a bill to transfer a piece of U.S. Coast Guard-owned property in Cheboygan, Mich.,  [...]

The media have overlooked substance and context to focus on her style, but Judge Sonia Sotomayor has provided a window into her views on executive power and national security along the way.

Noting that most of the criticism from the right of Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor has completely ignored her long written record as a court of appeals judge, SCOTUSblog offers a detailed analysis of “an obviously serious candidate to serve on the Supreme Court.”

In an interview with Katie Couric, Eric Holder dodged specifics on Justice Department plans.

Here’s an insightful observation from Harper’s Scott Horton today about Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz’s latest defense of the academic freedom of John Yoo, who reportedly may be asked to leave his tenured professorship at the University of California at Berkeley if an internal Justice Department report finds him guilty of ethical violations, as is [...]

As expected, the U.S. Senate today confirmed David Ogden to be the deputy attorney general of the United States, the second highest-ranking position in the Department of Justice. After two days of debate that included serious objections by some Republicans, the Senate voted 65-28 to confirm Ogden.

David Ogden is expected to be confirmed as deputy attorney general today, despite Republican objections that he supports abortion and pornography. 
As Phyllis Schafly’s Eagle Forum put it, the nominee should be rejected because “Ogden has built his career by advancing abortion, denying its harm, protecting pornographers while removing protections from children, and he believes [...]

Via Politico’s Ben Smith. Have you ever wanted to try your hand at investigative reporting? If so, now’s your chance.
The city of Wasilla, Alaska, has posted online a collection of documents from Gov. Sarah Palin’s six-year stint as the town’s mayor, as well as her two previous years on the city council. You, too, can [...]

ANCHORAGE — We’re still going through documents from the time Sarah Palin served as mayor of her hometown, Wasilla, that I picked up from the clerk’s office on Tuesday. We’ve got about seven years worth of city council meeting minutes, agendas, resolutions and other related local government paperwork in all. Four of us have tackled [...]