Time to dust off this old graphic. The Patriot Act is headed for renewal, with only meager privacy protection reforms.
4th Amendment
Libertarians are Cool on Kavanaugh
Liberals don't like Kavanaugh, they are deathly afraid of him overturning Roe v. Wade, and would prefer a justice who believes in a "living Constitution". Conservatives like him because they think he won't legislate from the bench. Libertarians are concerned that he will opt for an interpretation of the Constitution that favors the government over individual rights.
Remembering our fallen heroes on Memorial Day: Are we worthy of their sacrifice?
How would those who died in the War of 1812 react to football players not honoring the Star Spangled Banner, a song written about the flag some of them literally died to defend?
Constitution Memorial Day
When the Constitution gets to the point where it can mean anything the justices need it to mean, it will at once come to mean nothing. We will be living in a post-constitutional America. The three Supreme Court justices that our next president is expected to appoint, if they are liberal, activist judges, will be more than enough to effectively end the era of the United States as a constitutional republic.
Rand Paul Was Right
The now famous dust-up between Rand Paul and Chris Christie during Thursday's Republican debate over our fourth amendment rights versus national security was a microcosm of the one held nationally in the months leading up to the PATRIOT Act's renewal in June.
The Fourth Amendment Just Caught a Break
Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act was allowed to expire thanks to Rand Paul's objection to the vote on the U.S.A. Freedom Act compromise passed by the House. Some in the Republican party have predicted doom if this happened. We're now on day two of no Sec 215 and are still alive.
Deadline Looms for Patriot Act
In a few days, we commemorate the 71st anniversary of Normandy landings known as "D-day". On that day, thousands of Americans risked all so our rights here at home would not be lost to an evil adversary who would have done away with them. Today marks another "D-Day" of sorts, a day not nearly as dramatic or dangerous, but one that will require some of our fellow Americans to show courage and a willingness to sacrifice themselves for our rights.
Words as true today as when Ben Franklin first spoke them…
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” - Ben Franklin
Debate on PATRIOT Act Continues (Constitutionalist Prepare to be Disappointed)
Fans of the Constitution, and the Fourth Amendment in particular are going to be disappointed. The plain text of the Fourth Amendment would suggest that Rand Paul's argument should prevail, but as a realist, I believe it won't.
Mass Data Collection Discussed
When I saw the Privacy & Civil Liberty Oversight Board was going to hold a public discussion at the National Constitution Center I was very interested. Our First and Fourth Amendment rights are very much in the news with mass data collection being declared illegal by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month, and the PATRIOT is set to expire at the end of the month.
Liberty Relearned 