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Obama's willing executioners of the Fourth Amendment

It’s now painfully clear that the president has put out a contract on the Fourth Amendment. And at the Capitol, the hierarchies of both parties are stuffing it into the trunks of their limousines, so each provision can be neatly fitted with cement shoes and delivered to the bottom of the Potomac.

Some other Americans are on a rescue mission. One of them, Congressman Justin Amash, began a debate on the House floor Wednesday with a vow to “defend the Fourth Amendment.” That’s really what his amendment -- requiring that surveillance be warranted -- was all about.

No argument for the Amash amendment was more trenchant than the one offered by South Carolina Republican Jeff Duncan, who simply read the Fourth Amendment aloud.

To quote those words was to take a clear side: “_The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized._”

CBC Chair Marcia Fudge, Senators Ron Wyden, Rand Paul and OpEdNews / Rob Kall honored with the Pillar Human Rights Award

ACORN 8 and Federally Employed Women-Legal Education Fund (FEW/LEF) will co-host this year's Whistleblower Summit for Civil & Human Rights on July 29-31, 2013. The Government Accountability Project and the Pacifica Foundation will continue their support of whistleblowers and this event. Over the last seven years members from the Make it Safe Coalition (MISC) have arranged an assembly of whistleblowers in Washington, DC each year for an annual conference originally known as Washington Whistleblower's Week.

We are proud to announce that Congressional Black Caucus Chair Marcia Fudge (D-OH), Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) will be honored with a Pillar Human Rights Award for International Person's of Conscience. We will also recognize journalists with Pillar Awards this year; Rob Kall will be recognized for OpEd News (New Media) and a posthumous award goes to Ambrose Lane (Journalist) and Host of "We Ourselves" on WPFW.

The Pillar is awarded to notable civil and human rights champions; p revious recipients include Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Senator Charles "Chuck" Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

Russia’s campaign against human rights

On July 21 Russian police officers detained and interrogated four Dutch filmmakers for several hours. Arrested outside the Russian city of Murmansk, the filmmakers were shooting coverage at an LGBT camp and planned to make a documentary that tracked the gay rights movements throughout Russia. Aside from detention, each filmmaker faces a charge of 3,000 roubles and deportation.

Radiation expert exposes danger to Ohioans from fracking waste: Better public protection needed from State and Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District

The FreshWater Accountability Project Ohio (FWAPOH) today released a report on the presence and dangers of radiation present throughout the horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) industry that is extracting minerals in Ohio. The report, authored by Dr. Marvin Resnikoff, a longtime expert on radioactive waste management and since 1992, on radiation hazards from oil and gas drilling, details the serious problem associated with bringing up long-buried radium and other naturally-occurring hazards from thousands of feet underground. The radiation is associated directly with the "hottest" areas of gas and oil productivity in deep shale layers and is an inevitable and burgeoning waste problem.

Fukushima spews ever more darkness

Radiation leaks, steam releases, disease and death continue to spew from Fukushima and a disaster which is far from over. Its most profound threat to the global ecology—a spent fuel fire—is still very much with us.

The latest steam leak has raised fears around the planet. A worst-case scenario of an on-going out-of-control fission reaction was dismissed by the owners, Tokyo Electric, because they didn’t find xenon in the plume. The company says the steam likely came from rain water being vaporized by residual heat in one of plant’s stricken reactors.

But independent experts tend to disbelieve anything Tepco says, for good reason. Reactor Units One, Two and Three have exploded at Fukushima despite decades of official assurances that commercial atomic power plants could not explode at all. The company has been unable to clear out enough radioactive debris to allow it to put a cover over the site that might contain further airborne emissions.

Congress to vote on NSA restrictions. White House reinvents the English Language

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride.
It seems trite to invoke the words of the late Eric Blair these last two months. Today would have him rolling over in his grave enough to win a break dancing competition. Congress is set to vote later today on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014. This bipartisan proposal, called Amash-Coyners Amendment, would prohibit NSA funding from being used to collect data on persons who are not suspects in actual terrorism investigations. The proposal is receiving broad support from the twitter-verse, and a Washington Post poll today said that 74% of Americans believe that the NSA's programs infringe on some American's privacy rights. The same poll shows that nearly half of respondents believed their privacy rights are being personally violated.

The White House has responded by going into damage control overdrive. General Alexander held an emergency four hour briefing with members of the committee who are set to vote on the amendment. The briefing was classified and held behind closed doors.

Obama's pending homeland security appointments show his hypocrisy (again)

Stars are shifting in the constellation of command in post-constitutional America. Janet Napolitano is preparing to step down as head of the Department of Homeland Security in order to serve as chancellor of the University of California Schools system. In the interim, Obama has nominated Alejandro Mayorkas for the number two post at the department, which will leave him in day to day command until Napolitano is replaced. Alejandro Mayorkas is currently under investigation for intervening to secure a visa for a Chinese investor. Obama has indicated he may give NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly the nod for the top post, a move that Congressional Republicans heavily favor.

Obama's speech to the nation after the George Zimmerman verdict was more about scoring points than securing rights to life and limb, if his comments on Ray Kelly are any guide “Mr. Kelly might be very happy where he is, but if he’s not I’d want to know about it, because obviously he’d be very well qualified for the [Homeland Security] job,” the president said.

A call for universal education from an unlikely source

On July 12 Malala Yousafzai celebrated her 16th birthday as she delivered a riveting speech before the United Nations. A young Pakistani girl with every reason to anticipate a bright future, Malala spoke with passion and enthralling commitment about the ideals of universal education. Yet that bright future was nearly extinguished in October of last year. On October 9, 2012, the Taliban shot Malala at deadly range for the most atrocious of crimes. Her crime was simple and straightforward. Malala went to school.

American policy in Afghanistan: A crisis of imagination

After a long, enduring struggle in Afghanistan, President Obama is considering an accelerated troop withdraw from the tempestuous state. Whereas the current exit strategy includes the steady removal of troops before January 2015, recent developments between Mr. Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have led to some mild reconsideration. During the past few months, a period in which deal making was atop the priority list, the two leaders’ relationship has all but completely collapsed. Frustrated, President Obama is now considering a ‘zero option’ concerning the Afghanistan War.

Obama's escalating war on freedom of the press

The part of the First Amendment that prohibits “abridging the freedom … of the press” is now up against the wall, as the Obama administration continues to assault the kind of journalism that can expose government secrets.

Last Friday the administration got what it wanted -- an ice-cold chilling effect -- from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled on the case of _New York Times_ reporter James Risen. The court “delivered a blow to investigative journalism in America by ruling that reporters have no First Amendment protection that would safeguard the confidentiality of their sources in the event of a criminal trial,” the _Guardian_ reported [1].

The Executive Branch fought for that ruling -- and is now celebrating. “We agree with the decision,” said a Justice Department spokesman. “We are examining the next steps in the prosecution of this case.” The Risen case, and potentially many others, are now under the ominous shadow of the Appeals Court’s pronouncement: “There is no First Amendment testimonial privilege, absolute or qualified, that protects a reporter from being compelled to testify … in criminal proceedings.”

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