Civil Liberties

Here Are Yer Angry Mobs!!!

By Marc Comtois | August 7, 2009 |

Dana Loesch has some pictures of the “angry mobs” showing up at the Health Care Town Halls (you know, where there is supposed to be an open discussion, yada yada yada). Here’s an example: Scary! Peggy Noonan: The leftosphere and the liberal commentariat charged that the town hall meetings weren’t authentic, the crowds were ginned…

The End Game of a “Public Option”

By Justin Katz | August 3, 2009 |

Given the political philosophies of some of the strongest supporters of a “public healthcare option,” it would be reasonable to suspect that this sort of invasion is a desired outcome, not an unfortunate development, in the quest to engineer a healthcare and well-being system for the people’s own good: The Children’s Secretary set out £400million…

Free Speech and the Fourth of July in Florida

By Carroll Andrew Morse | July 15, 2009 |

In yet another blow to the nascent movement by local officials from Rhode Island to Florida to regulate freedom of speech and freedom of the press at Fourth of July celebrations, city officials of Port St. Lucie, Florida have apologized to members of the Treasure Coast Tea Party (h/t Instapundit)…“It was not our intent to…

I Hope I’m Not Going Soft, But…

By Carroll Andrew Morse | July 9, 2009 |

…I think the Rhode Island Chapter of the ACLU is right, as I said a year ago, about the town of Narragansett’s “orange-sticker” policy for regulating house party nuisances being unconstitutional. I know the penalty of having an orange sticker placed on your door is a small one, but in our system of government, no…

Confiscating the Constitution

By Justin Katz | July 9, 2009 |

If nothing else, this illustrates how the celebration of an event can become more about the tradition of celebrating than about the event itself: In a temper-filled tempest, the Bristol Fourth of July Committee has barred the Rhode Island Tea Party from taking part in the annual Independence Day parade next year — or any…

Shield Speech in General

By Justin Katz | July 1, 2009 |

Bloggers have an awkward perspective when it comes to shield laws protecting journalists’ sources. The difficulty arises with the following statement from Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani, as described by Projo columnist Ed Fitzpatrick: As he concluded his comments Thursday, Taricani said, “The Founding Fathers carved out a very special place for freedom of the…

Society Needs Religious Organizations That Transcend the Political

By Justin Katz | June 17, 2009 |

The Roman Catholic Church has been under veritable government attack in Connecticut, and its travails highlight the need for religious organizations, Catholic and otherwise, to be selective and to tread carefully with political activism: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport sued Connecticut officials in federal court Friday, after being told it needs to register as…

Ban Legislation Crawling

By Justin Katz | June 13, 2009 |

With emphasis on the likelihood that it would stick, Governor Carcieri should veto this nonsense: Five years after a college student was struck and killed by a bus during a pub crawl in Newport, Rhode Island lawmakers have voted to impose a statewide ban on such events with the onus on bar owners to enforce…

“Free Speech” Zones in Providence

By Monique Chartier | June 10, 2009 |

First of all, ya gotta love the name. Some spin meister someplace was on all sixteen cylinders when s/he thought of that term for curbing the speech of protesters by herding them away from the action. “Free speech zones” have featured at the national conventions of both the Democrat and Republican parties, where the phrase…

An Interesting Convergence of Issues

By Justin Katz | June 5, 2009 |

This story confounds categorization: Eastern District of Michigan judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff handed down the decision, in a case involving an alleged violation of the constitutional separation of church and state. The issue is whether a government-owned company, AIG, can market sharia-compliant insurance products. (To be sharia-compliant, an investment vehicle must be created and structured…