An Unbearable And Choking Hell: The Loss Of Our Freedom In The Wake Of 9/11

“I tell you, freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in — and the West in general — into an unbearable hell and a choking life.”—Osama bin Laden (October 2001), as reported by CNN.

John Whitehead
By John Whitehead
9/11

What a strange and harrowing road we’ve walked since September 11, 2001, littered with the debris of our once-vaunted liberties. We have gone from a nation that took great pride in being a model of a representative democracy to being a model of how to persuade a freedom-loving people to march in lockstep with a police state. What began with the

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Rise Of The Police State: “Commando Cops” Proliferating in the US

More SWAT teams exist than ever and the line between police officer and soldier is becoming more obscured.

Les Neuhaus
By Les Neuhaus
Police break up demonstrators at the end of their march through the streets of Chicago to protest the NATO Summit taking place in the city on May 20, 2012. (Photo Norbert Schiller/MintPress New)

The combination of a post-9/11 America and a government bent on prosecuting a war on drugs has not only expanded law enforcement powers in recent years, it's created a new breed of police officer -- commando-cops. Now the police officers and sheriff deputies are armed with a grade of equipment previously reserved for the military, such as

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At Zero Hour, Who Will Protect The People’s Rights?

Which leaders will rise to the challenge of defending the people’s rights? Here is MintPress’ list of six politicians likely to stand up to power -– and five likely to cave in.

Matthew Heller
By Matthew Heller

It's zero hour in America as the nation teeters on the brink of becoming a surveillance state. Any last shackles on the government's ability to spy on its citizens have been removed. At this crucial moment, which leaders will rise to the challenge of defending the people's rights? Here is MintPress' list of six politicians likely to stand up to

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Does A Wider Definition Of Racial Profiling Protect Civil Liberties?

The U.S. Department of Justice is considering expanding its rules against racial profiling in order to protect more Americans from having their civil rights violated, an unnamed government official said Wednesday.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke
police (AP Photo/Colleen Long)

The U.S. Department of Justice is considering expanding its rules against racial profiling in order to protect more Americans from having their civil rights violated, an unnamed government official said Wednesday. Encouraged by civil rights groups who say that law enforcement unfairly targeted Latinos when it came to immigration cases and

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NY Governor Pledges To Change State’s Outdated Juvenile Justice Laws

Cuomo promised to change the age of criminal responsibility, so 16-year-olds won’t be charged as adults and 7-year-olds will no longer be charged as juveniles.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke
police (AP Photo/Colleen Long)

Each year in New York state, about 50,000 16 and 17-year-olds are prosecuted as adults, since the legal age of responsibility in New York is 16. Most of them, about three-fourths, committed misdemeanors, such as shoplifting, or were found to be in possession of marijuana, and are largely black or Latino teens. During his State of the State address

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Let The Electoral Hunger Games Begin

Taken as a whole, the issues likely to be of importance in 2014 do not appear to give Republicans a systematic advantage over Democrats.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh

It may seem a tad early to begin pontificating about the 2014 Congressional elections as 2013 has only just concluded, but election season – like Christmas – seems to come earlier and earlier every year. So with that unfortunate fact in mind, what are the issues that are set to make news in November? First, and it may seem like going out on a limb

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