Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe 10 Worst Civil Liberties Violations of 2014
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/12/civil_liberties_violations_of_2014_civil_forfeiture_grand_juries_religion.htmlTrust between police and citizens fell precipitously in 2014.
10. The Supreme Court adds more sectarian religion to our lives.
In Town of Greece v. Galloway, the Supreme Courts five conservatives ruled that legislative sessions in town council meetings can open with explicitly sectarian prayers. Almost immediately, town boards began inviting Christians to speak at their meetings while excluding speakers of minority faiths (and, naturally, atheists). In short order the Galloway majoritys gauzy vision of pluralistic civic tolerance began to look a lot more like a governmental endorsement of Christianity at the expense of minority religions. Increasingly, to the conservatives of the Roberts court, religious liberty means the freedom of religious majorities to push their religious beliefs on the rest of us. Speaking of which
9. The Supreme Court invites our corporate bosses to takes away our birth control.
In the courts Hobby Lobby decision, the same five conservatives ruled that closely held corporations had a religious right to deny female employees certain forms of birth control, if those employers believe the device or method causes abortions. It matters not at all whether the device or method in fact causes abortions. Writing for the court, Justice Samuel Alito downplayed the notion that womens health and autonomy are compelling interests, leaving female employees intensely private health care choices at the mercy of their bosses. Alito reasoned that employees could rely on the governments birth control accommodation granted to religious hospitals and colleges then the court immediately suggested that the accommodation might be against the law, too.
8. Secrecy and botched executions.
In January the state of Oklahoma executed Michael Lee Wilson using a secret chemical cocktail. Twenty seconds after the injection of the drugswhich Oklahoma claimed would ensure a painless deathWilson said, I can feel my whole body burning. Three months later, Oklahoma executed Clayton Lockett with another secret drug cocktail; the procedure turned into a brutal torture session after the drugs left Lockett writhing and bucking on the gurney. In July the state of Arizona executed Joseph R. Wood III using a protocol of secret drugs. The procedure took two excruciating hours during which, according to witnesses, Wood gasped and snorted. Arizona officials insisted that Wood hadnt sufferedthen added that if he had, he wouldve deserved it.
7. The great torture shrug.
In December the Senate Intelligence Committee released a declassified summary of a historic and long-awaited comprehensive report on the use of torture techniques implemented during the George W. Bush administration, including rectal feeding, waterboarding, confinement in small spaces, and shackling in stress positions. In hundreds of partly redacted pages, the report concluded that the CIA enhanced interrogation practices were ineffective and failed to provide unique or actionable information, and that the CIA systematically misled the White House, Congress, and the public about the torture methods and program for years. The report also revealed that the CIAs tactics went beyond the generous legal terms laid out in Justice Department legal memos. The study, based on examination of more than 6 million internal CIA documents, concluded that the U.S. government engaged in what clearly amounts to torture practices and lied about it.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
0 replies, 528 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (7)
ReplyReply to this post