The Udall Amendment would have removed the legislation’s unconstitutional power of imprisonment without criminal charge. This afternoon, that amendment failed to pass. It was rejected by a coalition of Republicans and Democrats who have become comfortable with the existence of totalitarian government powers. The vote wasn’t even close: 37 for Udall’s protection of American freedom, 61 opposed to the Udall amendment, and 2 senators who didn’t show up to vote.

A roll call of the names of 47 senators who voted to protect accused terrorists from being put on trial for their crimes is presented in this article.

Representatives and senators will all offer conspicuous memorials of the relatively small number of deaths from terrorist attack, because those deaths fit nicely within their chosen political frame: The idea that Americans have to fear evil foreigners, and spend huge amounts of money on military machines to provide for defense.

To confront the much more dangerous threat from smog is less convenient to their political agendas. To reduce the threat of smog would, after all, require Americans to look at their own behaviors, and for powerful corporate donors to restrain their impulse to seize profit regardless of the consequences.

The bioterrorist threat has turned out to be a fantasy. That makes the The Weapons of Mass Destruction Prevention and Preparedness Act an ineffective response to a threat that doesn’t exist.

Yesterday’s markup was an opportunity for reform of the abusive law, with amendments that could have brought the Patriot Act closer to compliance with the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment guarantee of protection from unreasonable search and seizure. Yet, every single reform that was offer was rejected by the House Judiciary Committee.

On June 24, Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas took to the floor of the House to explain why the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution needs to be canceled so that people born in the USA can be stripped of their citizenship: There are people coming into this country who want to destroy our way [...]

With the Gulf oil spill, Joseph Cao is using a classic Republican tool of distraction: Whenever you want to change the subject, tell Americans that terrorist evildoers are out to get them.

Why isn’t our government engaging with the much more deadly threat of cars on the road with the same zeal and expense with which it’

On Thursday, May 6, Senators Joseph Lieberman and Scott Brown introduced S. 3327, the “Terrorist Expatriation Act.” Where you read “Terrorist” in the title, insert “American.” The bill (read full text here) provides that any American who is engaged with terrorist activity, supports a terrorist organization, or is engaged in activity against any country that [...]

Not one of these members of Congress issued any statement at all about the arrests of Hutarree Christian radicals over the weekend, or the indictments of these radicals on charges of conspiracy to wage war against the federal government. Why?