American Civil Liberties Union

When the CIA director cannot hide his activities online, what hope is there for the rest of us? In the unfolding sex scandal that has led to the resignation of David Petraeus, the FBI’s electronic surveillance and tracking of Petraeus and his mistress Paula Broadwell is more than a side show—it's a key component of the story. More importantly, there are enough interesting tidbits (some of which change by the hour, as new details are leaked), to make this story an excellent lesson on the government’s surveillance powers—as well as a reminder of the need to reform those powers.

This week's New Yorker features the harrowing ordeal of Mark Lyttle, a U.S. citizen with mental disabilities who was deported to Mexico. Lyttle was born in North Carolina and has psychiatric and cognitive disabilities. He was inexplicably referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2008 after being misidentified as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico even though he had never been to Mexico, shared no Mexican heritage, and did not speak any Spanish. As the New Yorker article notes, "Lyttle is brown-skinned," and "the vagaries of race and ethnicity obviously played a part" in causing him to be singled out for immigration enforcement.

This week in Nebraska, a handful of senators – four in particular – used filibusters and frivolous amendments to stall a full debate on whether Nebraska is done with capital punishment. Why are these foes of justice running scared? Why were they afraid of having a real vote on the death penalty?

You. That's why. Popular support for the death penalty has waned with each passing year as more people learn the true facts about the criminal justice system's errors and prejudices. Look at the recent end of capital punishment in Maryland, Illinois, New Mexico, New Jersey and New York. These senators know that a growing number of Nebraskans are done with our state's broken death penalty system.