Blog of Rights
Amanda
Simon
07/09/2009
Guantánamo

What Do Vacuums and the Military Commissions Have in Common?

By Amanda Simon at 7:10pm

This week has been a busy one for those following the military commissions debate. Congress has held not one, but two hearings on recent proposed changes to the military commissions.

Before we get into that, a brief history lesson: The military commissions were created in 2006 by the passage of the Military Commissions Act. I could write paragraph after paragraph about why this bill was unconstitutional, should never have been written in the first place and was partially ruled illegal by the Supreme Court but, for the sake of time and space, I'll just point you here.

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06/19/2009

Fool Me Once, Shame On You; Continue to Fool Us Without Anyone in Power Doing the Right Thing, Shame On Congress

By Amanda Simon at 5:57pm

The New York Times did what they do best this week with a story on the National Security Agency’s once again overstepping its bounds with its surveillance of your phone calls and emails. The story goes that the NSA is continuing its sweeping collection of our communications and, contrary to previous reporting, it’s much more pervasive than we thought. That’s shocking!

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05/14/2009

Torture Takes Over the Hill

By Amanda Simon at 5:57pm

Here in D.C. we've had back-to-back hearings touching on the use of torture. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on torture that featured testimony from former FBI agent Ali Soufan, former State Department advisor and executive director of the 9/11 Commission Philip Zelikow, and several legal experts. The spotlights were firmly on Zelikow and Soufan, who testified to the committee from behind a curtained wall in place to protect his anonymity, as they have each been in the press recently for their opposition to torture. Here's a little background.

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04/08/2009

Fusion Centers: Listen to Us Already?

By Amanda Simon at 5:41pm

The ACLU's been raising the alarm about fusion centers for a while now and it finally seems that public is slowly catching up with us. These post-9/11 phenomena have been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. Let's catch you up.

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02/05/2009

ACLU Pleased/Displeased With Stimulus Amendments. Sounds About Right.

By Amanda Simon at 7:07pm

Here in Washington it’s hard to escape the stimulus package debate. Especially if the TV in your office is set to C-SPAN. It’s an important debate and it turns out there are a few amendments that might be affecting those civil liberties we here at the ACLU Washington Legislative Office strive so hard to protect for you.

Last week, in the House version of the stimulus package, there was an amendment passed that secured privacy protections as a part of funding for health IT implementation. Nice, right?

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12/05/2008

He Says Tomato. We Say No, Seriously…That's Unconstitutional.

By Amanda Simon at 4:22pm

Stuart Taylor at the National Journal has some strong opinions on how President-elect Obama should tackle national security issues. So does the ACLU. It turns out we're not exactly on the same page.

Allow me to shoot down a few of Taylor's proposals. First up is group profiling. To advocate for profiling is to begin sliding down a perilously slippery slope, concerning both individual rights and national security. The practice alienates entire segments of the American public and has even been shunned by law enforcement professionals as ineffective. Well, bad news: that's been proven useless too. Check out this report financed by DHS (and our release praising it).

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11/20/2008

An Open Letter to Senator Specter

By Amanda Simon at 5:40pm

Dear Senator,

In reply to your remarks on MSNBC this week in regard to telecom immunity being "a festering wound," the ACLU would like to express its most enthusiastic feelings of agreement. It occurs to us, however, that you did vote for telecom immunity at both opportunities presented to you. (Remember? In February and July?) We are perplexed but also gladdened at your recent change of heart. And may we share this exciting news with you? It is within your very power to reverse this provision which so offends you. You, sir, can begin to heal this festering wound!

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11/18/2008

Telecoms Fund Their Own “Privacy” Group (ROFLMAO)

By Amanda Simon at 4:33pm

In “are you serious?!” news, the Washington Post reported yesterday that a new group, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), has been formed to “help shape standards around how companies collect, store and use consumer data for business and advertising.” Who makes up this illustrious group? Ah, well. Your usual suspects — lawyers, privacy scholars and (wait for it)…corporate officials.

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11/17/2008

Newsflash! Senators Mount Pressure on Lameduck Administration!

By Amanda Simon at 6:26pm

You may remember that this past summer the Maryland State Police Department was caught conducting illegal surveillance on non-violent, anti-war protesters. Thanks to some intrepid activists and the ACLU of Maryland, the department’s abuses came to light through a Freedom of Information Act request. You may also remember that the ACLU testified at a hearing in front of Maryland state legislators on this very topic last month.

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10/27/2008

You Win Some, You Lose Some — A Year in Legislative Battles from the ACLU's D.C. Office

By Amanda Simon at 5:52pm

With things in Washington at a near standstill as everyone eagerly/anxiously awaits next week’s election, the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office (WLO) has decided to use this time to look back at the last year in legislative battles.

Some memories are bittersweet, like our work on the Lily Ledbetter Act, and some are just bitter (FISA!). From legislation honoring Emmet Till to our work on bills that would ensure a federal reporters’ shield, the WLO has been up to our elbows in lawmaking this year.

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