DOJ seeking information concerning anti-Trump Facebook users.

Courtesy of Law Newz:  

The ACLU-DC is trying to stop three search warrants that’d let the Department of Justice snoop around protesters’ Facebook accounts over Inauguration Day protests. They filed in D.C. Superior Court on Thursday, saying the government’s demands violate the Fourth Amendment because they are so broad, and threatening First Amendment speech. These warrants ask for too much information not directly relevant to the federal probe, argues the ACLU. This includes information on the plaintiffs’ friends, associates, and the approximately 6000 individuals who just “liked” an anti-Donald Trump Facebook page. 

Requested data would go back to Nov. 1, 2016, a week before the presidential election. “The warrants make no provision for avoiding or minimizing invasions into personal and associational/expression information, for preventing such information from being shared widely within the government, or for destroying irrelevant material when the investigation is concluded,” said the ACLU filing. In other words, this might chill First Amendment speech by giving the government means to observe anyone who were simply linked to anti-Trump protesters. 

This fight stems from arrests made Jan. 20. Demonstrators came to Washington D.C. to protest President Donald Trump‘s inauguration, and over 200 ended up getting charged with felony rioting. In investigating the alleged criminality, the federal government later got three search warrants from the D.C. Superior Court against three Facebook accounts: the disruptj20 page (now known as Resist This) owned by Emmelia Talarico, and personal accounts owned by Lacy MacAuley, and Legba Carrefour. According to the ACLU, these people didn’t initially know about warrants because of a gag order. Facebook fought this gag order, which was later dropped by the government shortly before the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled on it. Talarico, MacAuley, and Carrefour hadn’t even been charged with Inauguration Day-related arrested by the US Attorney, said the ACLU. 

The DOJ declined to comment.

Well on the plus side the Trump Administration seems to finally be recognizing "domestic terrorism," but on the negative side they seem to think that domestic terrorism includes people who "like" a page that says mean things about Orange Hitler.

At this point I am afraid that the outcome of all this attention being paid to Russia's use of social media to impact our election will be that the Trump Department of Justice can then use it to make Facebook and Twitter hand over user information that can then be used to go after critics of the administration.

As much as I want something to be done to protect our democracy from hostile foreign governments using social media to alter the outcome of elections, I have absolutely no confidence that Trump and his lackeys will not use any governmental control provided to them for their own nefarious plans.

After all the greatest threat to the future of this country does not reside in the Kremlin, it resides in the White House.

ACLU to sue Donald Trump over his ban on transgender military personnel.

Courtesy of AP:  

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender individuals joining the military. 

The federal lawsuit , Stone v. Trump, was filed in Maryland on Monday by the ACLU of Maryland on behalf of Petty Officer First Class Brock Stone, an 11-year Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan, and several other transgender members of the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines. 

Trump directed the Pentagon on Friday to implement the ban on transgender individuals joining the military, which he first announced in a tweet. He also gave to the Pentagon the authority to decide the future of openly transgender people already serving. 

The lawsuit says Trump’s policy violates the equal protection rights of transgender service members who now have “grave reason to fear for their careers.”

I guess that Trump thought if he did this while the country was distracted by watching Hurricane Harvey drown Texas that nobody would notice.

Well wrong again Cheeto Hitler. 

After Charlottesville the ACLU decides to stop representing hate groups that bring guns to protests.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

The American Civil Liberties Union took a new stance on firearms Thursday, announcing a change in policy that it would not represent hate groups who demonstrate with firearms. 

ACLU executive director Anthony Romero told The Wall Street Journal that the group would have stricter screenings and take legal requests from white supremacist groups on a case-by-case basis. 

“The events of Charlottesville require any judge, any police chief and any legal group to look at the facts of any white-supremacy protests with a much finer comb,” Romero told the Journal. “If a protest group insists, ‘No, we want to be able to carry loaded firearms,’ well, we don’t have to represent them. They can find someone else." 

The ACLU has come under fire after it filed a lawsuit in defense of the organizers who planned the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., after city officials denied them a permit to hold the rally around a statue of Robert E. Lee, which is set to be removed. 

The group was ultimately granted the permit for the Saturday rally, which later turned violent and resulted in one death and more than a dozen injured.

The ACLU just learned a valuable lesson that yes everybody deserves to have their rights protected, but fuck those gun toting assholes!

And why do these sacks of shit feel the need to bring a gun to a protest anyhow.

I go hiking in bear country all of the time with NO gun.

Are they trying to tell me that there is something at a protest that is scarier than a Grizzly Bear?

Because absolutely no, there is not!

Donations to the ACLU come pouring in as response to Donald Trump and his Muslim ban.

NEW: @ACLU now says it has received 290,000 online donations totaling $19.4 million since Saturday morning. Average per year is $3-4 million

— Dustin Volz (@dnvolz) January 29, 2017

Courtesy of The Hill: 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has received more than $19 million since Saturday, and has hundreds of thousands of new members since it took action against President Trump's executive order calling for a 90-day ban on nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries entering the United States and an indefinite pause on admitting refugees from Syria. 

The ACLU announced Sunday evening it had raised $19.4 million from 290,000 donations since Saturday. 

The average it takes in per year is $3 million to $4 million, according to Reuters reporter Dustin Volz. The donations and membership growth is “unprecedented,” Anthony Romero, the ACLU’s executive director, told Yahoo News. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Romero said. “People are fired up and want to be engaged. What we’ve seen is an unprecedented public reaction to the challenges of the Trump administration.”

Journalists have been wondering out loud if the Women's March after the inauguration was a one time thing, or whether the momentum would carry forward.

I think we have our answer. 

Trump gets handed his first defeat over Muslim ban.

So yesterday started out like this.

Courtesy of Slate:  

There appears to be lots of chaos and confusion in airports around the world after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively bans travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries— Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—from entering the United States for 30 days.(Update at 4:30 p.m. Eastern: Contrary to initial reports, the ban is for 90 days.) It also places a four-month halt to the country’s refugee program. There are now scattered reports that the order is affecting those who already have green cards and visas. 

Some travelers are being turned away at airports around the world and not allowed to board flights to the United States despite having valid travel documents. Reuters, for example, hears word from sources at the airport in Cairo that six travelers—five from Iraq and one from Yemen—were forbidden from boarding a flight to the United States even though they had valid visas.

Hours after Trump signed the executive order a mosque was set on fire in Texas.

All of this inspired multiple protests.

And caused world leaders to condemn his actions: 

European leaders, the United Nations and international groups have condemned US President Donald Trump's measures against refugees and travellers from several Muslim-majority countries. 

Oddly enough Trump's executive order only included countries that he does NOT do business with.

Interesting, don't you think?

Ultimately the ACLU and others filed a class action lawsuit, and this was the result: 

The American Civil Liberties Union announced Saturday evening that a federal court in New York had issued an emergency stay on President Trump’s executive order banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The court’s decision, which will affect people who have been detained in airports, came after the ACLU and other activist groups filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of two Iraqis who were held at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as a result of the order. 

“I hope Trump enjoys losing. He’s going to lose so much we’re going to get sick and tired of his losing,” ACLU national political director Faiz Shakir told Yahoo News shortly after the decision was announced.

I think I agree with that statement.

The America people are fired up like I have never seen them before, and it seems very likely that they are willing to fight Donald Trump every step of the way on his agenda to destroy our country and undermine its values.

P.S. If you enjoyed this please go to our Facebook page and hit like.

John McCain gives impassioned speech in support of the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on CIA torture.

Courtesy of CNN:

Republican Sen. John McCain broke with members of his party Tuesday, lauding the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on torture and decrying the use of torture as having "stained our national honor" and doing "much harm and little practical good." 

McCain, a survivor of torture himself from his Naval service during the Vietnam War, said from the Senate floor that the techniques outlined in the report "not only failed their purpose — to secure actionable intelligence to prevent further attacks on the U.S. and our allies — but actually damaged our security interests, as well as our reputation as a force for good in the world." 

McCain said that while "the truth is a hard pill to swallow...the American people are entitled to it." And he acknowledged that violence against the U.S. from the "Muslim world" is "possible..perhaps likely," but argued that America's enemies "hardly need an excuse" to attack the nation, so the good done by the release of the report should trump any security concerns. 

"This report strengthens self-government and, ultimately, I believe, America's security and stature in the world," he said. 

You know it has been a long time coming, but finally there is something good to report about Senator John McCain.

I have long said, and I still believe, that much of McCain's legacy was  wiped out after he snatched Sarah Palin from the wilds of Wasilla, hosed her off, and plopped her on the national stage.

However at least in this case McCain has partially redeemed himself.

And it is particularly striking considering how many other politicians and Right Wing pundits are reacting to this report.

Of course the next question is what do we do next?

For the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the answer is obvious: 

“In all countries, if someone commits murder, they are prosecuted and jailed. If they commit rape or armed robbery, they are prosecuted and jailed. If they order, enable or commit torture – recognized as a serious international crime – they cannot simply be granted impunity because of political expediency. When that happens, we undermine this exceptional Convention, and – as a number of U.S. political leaders clearly acknowledged yesterday – we undermine our own claims to be civilized societies rooted in the rule of law.” 

Unfortunately I do not believe that is going to happen here, especially with the Republicans about to take  back the Senate.

So what other option do we have?

Well Anthony Romero of the American Civil Liberties Union has a novel idea.

Pardon the torturers: 

The Obama administration could still take measures to hold accountable the officials who authorized torture. Some of the statutes of limitations have run out, but not all of them have. And the release of the Senate’s report provides a blueprint for criminal investigations, even if that’s not what the intelligence committee set out to do.

But let’s face it: Mr. (President) Obama is not inclined to pursue prosecutions — no matter how great the outrage, at home or abroad, over the disclosures — because of the political fallout. He should therefore take ownership of this decision. He should acknowledge that the country’s most senior officials authorized conduct that violated fundamental laws, and compromised our standing in the world as well as our security. If the choice is between a tacit pardon and a formal one, a formal one is better. An explicit pardon would lay down a marker, signaling to those considering torture in the future that they could be prosecuted. 

Mr. (President) Obama could pardon George J. Tenet for authorizing torture at the C.I.A.’s black sites overseas, Donald H. Rumsfeld for authorizing the use of torture at the Guantánamo Bay prison, David S. Addington, John C. Yoo and Jay S. Bybee for crafting the legal cover for torture, and George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for overseeing it all. 

While the idea of a pre-emptive pardon may seem novel, there is precedent. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson pardoned Confederate soldiers as a step toward unity and reconstruction after the Civil War. Gerald R. Ford pardoned Richard M. Nixon for the crimes of Watergate. Jimmy Carter pardoned Vietnam War draft resisters. 

The spectacle of the president’s granting pardons to torturers still makes my stomach turn. But doing so may be the only way to ensure that the American government never tortures again. Pardons would make clear that crimes were committed; that the individuals who authorized and committed torture were indeed criminals; and that future architects and perpetrators of torture should beware. Prosecutions would be preferable, but pardons may be the only viable and lasting way to close the Pandora’s box of torture once and for all. 

This is something that I admit would never have occurred to me, but it would be quite the spectacle don't you think?

Could you imagine the outrage that would come from the conservatives over this?

Fox News broadcasts would consist simply of one long primal scream.

What do you think?

Oklahoma cancels Hobby Lobby bible course in response to protests.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

An Oklahoma school district scuttled plans to offer an elective religion course developed by the head of the Hobby Lobby retail chain. 

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) said on its website on Tuesday that the Mustang Public Schools district canceled the course, “The Book: The Bible’s History, Narrative and Impact.” 

“The topic of a Bible course in the Mustang School District is no longer a discussion item nor is there a plan to provide such a course in the foreseeable future,” superintendent Sean McDaniel was quoted as saying. 

The district’s decision came after the foundation made a second open-records request in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United. 

Hobby Lobby allegedly did not provide the district with “legal coverage” for offering the course, nor did it allow the district to review the final curriculum beforehand.

Though I am very glad that this course will not be offered in Oklahoma public schools, I am still more than a little concerned that it might have been offered at all.

If students wish to learn about Christianity there are these almost impossible to miss buildings called "churches" where that information is readily available.

I also understand that there might be some kind of a handbook available that explains it as well.

I wonder if the people who decided to introduce this class had even considered that doing so would open the schools up to challenges from OTHER religious groups demanding equal time?

Could you imagine a class schedule that offered "Islam 101?" Or "Buddhism for Beginners?" Or "An Introduction to Scientology," with guest instructor Tom Cruise?

No I think the Oklahoma public school district really dodged a bullet with this one. And the students certainly did.

This Wisconsin ad from the ACLU featuring Lewis Black may the best thing you'll see today.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

Comedian Lewis Black blasted voting restrictions in Wisconsin in an ad posted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Thursday. 

“Elected officials shouldn’t get to choose who gets to choose elected officials,” Black rants. “Look, people marched and fought and died for the right to vote. And they want to legislate away that sacrifice to stay in power? Not on my watch, baby.”

In my opinion any time you can get Lewis Black in an ad for ANYTHING, you should do exactly that. 

And I think in this ad he perfectly reflects my feelings concerning anybody who would suppress our right to vote in this country.

Louisiana District Court judge delivers smackdown against teacher who pushed Creationism in classroom while ridiculing other religions, and the school district who defended him.

Judge Elizabeth Foote

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

The parents of a Buddhist student in Louisiana ridiculed by a creationist teacher won their lawsuit against the school district, the American Civil Liberties Union revealed Friday. 

The student, known as C.C., was asked by sixth-grade teacher Rita Roark to answer the following question on a test: “ISN’T IT AMAZING WHAT THE _____________ HAS MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

When C.C. failed to respond “Lord,” Roark responded “you’re stupid if you don’t believe in God.” She also frequently denigrated his Buddhist faith, as well as the Hindu faith, referring to both as “stupid.” When his parents complained to Sabine Parish Superintendent Sara Ebarb, they were told that “this is the Bible belt,” so they should expect to find the Christian God in the classroom. Ebarb advised them that if they wanted an ungodly classroom, they should transfer C.C. to a school where “there are more Asians.” 

Judge Elizabeth Foote of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana sided with C.C. and his parents, citing that Roark’s behavior — and the school’s decision to defend it — clearly violated “the Free Exercise and Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.” 

With regard to the specific behavior of Roark, Judge Foot wrote that “[t]he District and School Board are permanently enjoined from permitting School Officials at any school within the School District to promote their personal religious beliefs to students in class or during or in conjunction with a School Event.” Furthermore, “School Officials shall not denigrate any particular faith, or lack thereof, or single out any student for disfavor or criticism because of his or her particular faith or religious belief, or lack thereof.” 

The judge also ordered all the members of the school board to undergo training to make them more sensitive to their responsibilities with respect to the First Amendment.

And remember THIS happened in Louisiana, home of Bobby Jindal who has been pushing Creationism into the public school system for some time now. 

This is a huge reality check for them, and hopefully for others in the religious right that they can no longer force their belief system onto others with impunity.

Yay, for Albuquerque!

Courtesy of Aljazeera America:  

In a closely watched, first-of-its-kind municipal election, voters in New Mexico's largest city have defeated a proposed ban on late-term abortions. 

Voters in Albuquerque on Tuesday rejected the measure 55 to 45 percent, following an emotional and graphic campaign that brought in national groups and hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising. The campaign included protests that compared abortion to the Holocaust and displayed pictures of aborted fetuses. 

A coalition of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and Planned Parenthood, called the results a huge victory for Albuquerque women and families. 

"Albuquerque families sent a powerful message today — they do not want the government interfering in their private medical decisions," Micaela Cadena, of the Respect ABQ Women campaign, said in a statement. 

"Dangerous, unconstitutional laws like the one we rejected today have no place in Albuquerque, no place in New Mexico, no place anywhere in our nation," she added.

This is great news!

I have to admit that I was worried that this law was going to pass and that it would set a precedent for a number of southern cities to follow suit. 

But damn if logic, common sense, and rational thinking didn't save the day again.

Steve Schmidt is now working for the ACLU. As if Sarah Palin needed ANOTHER reason to despise him.

Courtesy of the ACLU:

Within hours of the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act in the landmark United States v. Windsor case, the American Civil Liberties Union announced a nationwide campaign to bring Republicans into its efforts to strike down barriers to the freedom to marry in states across the country. 

"Today's historic Supreme Court decision will pave the way for full equality for gay and lesbian couples across America," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "But for a full civil liberties victory, we need broad-based support from coast to coast. That's why the ACLU is joining with Republican leaders to fight to end state-based limits on the freedom to marry." 

With the goal of working both with and within the Republican Party, the ACLU has hired Steve Schmidt, vice chairman of public affairs at Edelman. 

Schmidt's role will be to help spearhead the campaign to strike down state-based laws prohibiting same-sex marriage. The campaign will, over the next four years, challenge legislative and constitutional provisions in states such as Illinois, Oregon, Hawaii, Montana, and others. The ACLU aims to spend roughly $10 million through 2016 and will officially announce the initiative with an ad in tomorrow's edition of The Wall Street Journal.

So Schmidt has finally finished his evolution from advising John McCain and using baling wire and duct tape to turn Sarah Palin into a presentable VP candidate, to working with one of the most hated by conservative groups in the country.

And worse yet, doing it in order to help spread "the gay agenda."

I can only imagine how dented that refrigerator in Wasilla Scottsdale will end up after a certain bewigged lunatic gets a load of this news.

ACLU tells Bush to stop making everything a secret.

The American Civil Liberties Union is pressing the Senate to rebuke the Bush administration's over-eager invocation of its state secrets privilege to block all manner of judicial oversight of its most controversial programs, including extraordinary rendition and warrantless wiretapping.

The Bush administration uses the argument that they are keeping us safe from terrorists by making these things secret.

Bullshit! They are only concerned with keeping themselves safe.

They know they have broken the rules and that if anybody ever finds out all that they have done they may face impeachment or imprisonment.

So I applaud the ACLU's efforts to expose this criminal regime and allow the bright light of scrutiny to reveal their many crimes.