Category «Civil Liberties»

The Dangerous Legal Strategy Coming for Our Books

The Atlantic – Our picture book was pulled from library shelves in Florida [no paywall]: The argument being used to defend the ban threatens the right to read. By Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. “In 2023, our book was one of thousands pulled from library shelves around the country, and as we write, an evolving …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Government Documents, Legal Research

What the Smithsonian actually is

Dean Blundell – “The Smithsonian is not one museum, and it isn’t a partisan project. It’s the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex: 21 museums, the National Zoo, and a network of research centers. Created by Congress in 1846, it receives federal support but is governed independently, with a public mission to collect, conserve, …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Education, Knowledge Management

Trump Threatens to End Mail in Voting and Use of Voting Machines

“Robert B. Hubbell: On Monday [August 18, 2025], Trump contradicted a provision of the US Constitution that has remained unchanged since its effective date in 1788. Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 states: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Open Source Tool That Has Preserved 150,000 Pieces of Online Evidence

bellingcat: “bellingcat’s Auto Archiver is a tool aimed at preserving online digital content before it can be modified, deleted or taken down. Publicly launched in 2022, it has preserved over 150,000 web pages and social media posts to date. The Auto Archiver has been used by Bellingcat’s journalists to preserve information on dozens of fast …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines

America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State

The Atlantic – no paywall – “This article appears in the May 2025 print edition with the headline “A Warning Out of Time.” It has been updated to clarify that Ernst Fraenkel deployed with the German army in World War I to Poland and the Western Front. As Fraenkel explained it, a lawless dictatorship does …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Economy, Education, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

White House to Vet Smithsonian Museums to Fit Trump’s Historical Vision

WSJ exclusive [paywall] “The White House plans to conduct a far-reaching review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of America’s 250th anniversary to ensure the museums align with President Trump’s interpretation of American history. See also The New York Times: “The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it would begin a wide-ranging review …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Legal Research

Veteran fact-checker says Trump made it ‘acceptable for politicians to lie with impunity’

Poynter: “The Washington Post Fact Checker is leaving the field. After close to 15 years of fact-checking, Glenn Kessler took a buyout as part of the Post’s recent newsroom overhaul. Kessler’s work helped rejuvenate fact-checking journalism in the United States, along with organizations like PolitiFact (owned by Poynter) and FactCheck.org. Kessler elevated fact-checking to a …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Thousands of formerly secret files on police misconduct in CA made public through searchable database

The Independent: “Thousands of previously secret files on alleged police misconduct in California have now been made public through a searchable database. The Police Records Access Project database, painstakingly assembled over seven years by journalists, activists, and data scientists, went public on Monday with documents from more than 400 government agencies across the Golden State. …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Legal Research, Search Engines

The most valuable data in the world

Claire Berlinski – If data is the new oil, Elon Musk is the new Persian Gulf – “The list below is part of the second installment of The MechaHitler Reich. In a better world, it would be a sidebar to that newsletter—something you could glance at while you were reading it. But alas, this is not …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Data Governance, E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines, Social Media

NPS Flags Book About George Washington in Trump Crackdown

Daily Beast – …In a March 27 Executive Order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” President Donald Trump claimed that under the Biden administration the parks “advanced this corrosive ideology.” National Park Service employees have been directed to weed out “corrosive ideology” from their gift shops…National Park Service employees have flagged several books …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Freedom of Information, Legal Research, Libraries

New Investigative Report on Trump’s Failure to Use Sanctions and Export Controls to Help End Russia’s War in Ukraine

Report outlines how Trump’s inaction has weakened U.S. leverage, enriched bad actors, and emboldened Putin to keep war going – Read the full report (PDF) Washington, D.C. – Ahead of President Trump’s latest self-imposed deadline for Russia to end its war against Ukraine, today, the minority staffs of the Senate Banking and Foreign Relations Committees—led by …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Economy, Energy, Government Documents, Legal Research