Civil Liberties

American Crusade for Life Unhallowed

By Justin Katz | February 5, 2005 |

Miguel Guanipa’s voice of reason has been trapped on my To Post list for a while: Wherever there are children who dare recite the Pledge of Allegiance in a public school, judges who think the Ten Commandments should be displayed in the halls of justice, school principals who dare recite a prayer at a commencement…

A General Cloud of Suspicion

By Justin Katz | January 14, 2005 | Comments Off on A General Cloud of Suspicion

Dan Yorke railed against this possibility on Wednesday: Under pressure from law-enforcement officials who want to use the roadblocks again, Governor Carcieri is deciding whether to ask the state Supreme Court to reconsider a 1989 decision that sobriety checkpoints violate the state Constitution. If Carcieri goes along with Attorney General Patrick Lynch, who wants him…

You Can’t Remove the Commandments

By Justin Katz | January 5, 2005 | Comments Off on You Can’t Remove the Commandments

Although I have more to say about this issue (and will hopefully do so in the near future), the Providence Journal editorial page’s position on the removal of the Ten Commandments from Roger Williams Park is worth a separate cheer: It would be as easy to expunge our Judeo-Christian heritage as it would be to…

Something to Ponder over Christmas Break

By Justin Katz | December 9, 2004 | Comments Off on Something to Ponder over Christmas Break

In a move that is surprisingly redolent of politics as usual, the Student Organization Advisory and Review Committee of the University of Rhode Island Student Senate threw a controversial proposal into the agenda of the senate’s final meeting that delayed the re-recognition of student groups until next semester, according to The Good 5¢ Cigar: A…

Why Was Molly Little Searched?

By Carroll Andrew Morse | December 2, 2004 |

On Sunday, Bob Kerr wrote about Rhode Island native Molly Little’s experience with airport security. Here’s the one sentence summary: Kerr believes she was hassled at the airport because she is a “peace” activist (quotes are mine). Let me begin with the slight note of hypocrisy that Kerr ends with. Kerr writesIt might never be…