The Worst Case Scenario: Another Look
Earlier this year, I posted four pieces about the potential for another Trump term and what I've called Civil War 2.0. I thought the worst-case scenario I wrote on February 5 was dire enough. It wasn't.
Latest
How Far Will They Go?
This is the relative calm before the storm.
D Minus 1
Millions of Americans are about to vote in the most important election since 1860. A currently unknown number of others are preparing to engage in political and possibly actual guerilla warfare if Donald Trump is defeated by VP Kamala Harris. If you've not yet voted, please do so
Ignoring The Long-Term Threat: POLITICO's Unserious Take On "Never Trumpers" And A Post-Trump Era
If our Republic manages to escape a second Trump presidency (a big "if" at this point), the lessons of the last fifty years should not be squandered by a return to the kind of "politics as usual" bullshit being offered in the latest edition of POLITICO Playbook.
The PATRIOT Act Turns 23: Constitutional Subversion Begets Political Repression
In the hands of an authoritarian president, the PATRIOT Act could be wielded as an instrument of domestic terror and political repression at scale.
Out Of Control Cops: Two Reports You May Have Missed
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice's Inspector General released two reports that, in the pre-Trump era, would've sparked outrage and at least public Congressional hearings.
Surveillance News Update: A Conference And a Lawsuit
Cato Surveillance Week 2024 kicks off on October 7. Also, late Friday we filed yet another FOIA lawsuit against the FBI over FISA Section 702 violation records.
From "Police State Lite" to an American Gestapo: What a Trump Victory Might Bring
What makes the prospect of a Trump victory even more chilling is the kind of law enforcement and data collection tools that would be at Trump's disposal if he wins - tools he would be eager to use against his political opponents.
When Congress Becomes The Oppressor: From The McCarran Act To The "China Initiative"
Earlier this month, the House passed a bill in the spirit of the McCarran Act that would revive the odious and discredited Trump-era "China Initiative.
At 237, the Constitution Is Showing Its Age And Vulnerability
The current political climate makes amending the Constitution impractical, dangerous, or both. Even so, legal and structural changes to our existing, vulnerable governing institutions are possible. All that's required is the will to make it happen.
The Threat Response Differential: 9/11 versus January 6
Our failure to roll back 9/11-driven executive power grabs and "coup proof" our government against internal authoritarian political threats may come back to haunt us, and soon.
The 118th Congress's Unfinished Business: Civil Liberties Protections
The institutional threats to our constitutional rights left unaddressed by the federal legislature are major, long standing, and perfectly exploitable by a would-be authoritarian like Trump.
FBI
COINTELPRO: The Legacy
It was a secret, and unconstitutional, assault on the First Amendment protected activities of the persons and entities involved, a state-sponsored form of "divide and conquer" aimed not at the Soviet Union, but a segment of the far left public in America.
2024 election
Will Democrats Leave The Republic At Risk Of A Future Right Wing Coup Attempt?
The DNC party platform reflects a pre-Trump era mindset, ignoring the need to eliminate legal and institutional vulnerabilities that leave us at risk of another "MAGA movement" coup attempt. Kamala Harris must act to "coup proof" the institutions of the Republic.
Al Qaeda
All But Memory Holed: How the 9/11 Commission Failed America
The most recent revelations in the 9/11 families' court action against the Saudi government provide the most powerful public evidence yet that at least some Saudi government officials in D.C. and Los Angeles played a direct role in facilitating the 9/11 attacks.
Border Patrol
Supreme Court Follies: Internal Checkpoint Edition
Marshall and Brennan were certain that the majority's ruling in the case would ultimately lead to Fourth Amendment rights violations at scale at these internal checkpoints. History has proven them right.
2024 election
Book Review: "Before the Badge: How Academy Training Shapes Police Violence," by Samantha J. Simon
A University of Arizona sociologist provides a provocative but selective and ideologically tinged look at how police in four Texas law enforcement agencies are trained and fielded and what it tells us about the viability of police reform efforts.
2024 election
A New Race, A Fresh Start
In light of the mortal threat Trump poses to the Republic, Democrats must now unite behind the person best positioned to beat him: Vice President Kamala Harris.
2024 election
On Reaping What Is Sown
President Biden now faces the single greatest crisis of his presidency less than four months before what's likely to be the most contentious national election in decades. Given Trump's stated intentions for another term in office, it's hard to imagine how the stakes could be higher.
2024 election
Election 2024: Paradigm Shift
Two events in the space of five days altered the contours of the fall national election and the stakes for the survival of the Republic in 2025 and beyond. To avert catastrophe, anti-Trump forces must shift their focus from the presidency to Congress.
Freedom of Information Act
America's Citizen Government Oversight Tool: The Freedom of Information Act Nears Sixty
Enacted on Independence Day 1966, the venerable open government law is hated by federal bureaucrats who waste no opportunity trying to find new ways to thwart its use. While still a valuable government oversight tool, FOIA needs rejuvenation if it is to remain viable.
political repression
American Big Brother: A Century of Surveillance
Sometimes, it's helpful to look at a phenomenon over time to understand how pervasive it is in reality. That's especially true of surveillance-enabled political repression.
Dogs
A Rare Civil Liberties Win (For Now) and Dogs That Need Your Help
For the first time in the post-9/11 era, the House delivered a clear cut win against the use of indefinite detention by U.S. military forces in the "War on Terror." In other news, dogs suffering via a horrific Pentagon medical experimentation program need your help.
Warner's FISA "Fix": The Oxymoron of "Secret Law" in a Republic
The Senate Intelligence Committee leader just released his "fix" for a new, radically overbroad Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authority signed into law two months ago. The public may not know for years--or ever--if it worked. And a new provision on American's geolocation info should worry