Search

Categories

Total Results

No Record Found

View All Results
DONATE

News & Opinion

Chicago: Christian protesters arrested for stopping pedestrians in anti-gay protest lose case

donal brown October 6, 2011

Members of the Christian ministry, Volunteers for Repent America, arrested in 2006 for allegedly blocking pedestrians during their protests at the Seventh Annual Gay Games, lost their lawsuit in federal appeals court. The ministry claimed their free speech rights were violated, but the court ruled against them, holding that the Chicago police were concerned narrowly with maintaining orderly flow of traffic and were not discriminating on the basis of the ministry’s message. -db From the

Read More »

Federal judge rules prison officials not show dangers of inmate sending manuscript

donal brown October 6, 2011

A federal district judge ruled that prison authorities at Pelican Bay State Prison had violated the First Amendment rights of an inmate who wanted to mail a manuscript with sections of his autobiography. The authorities claimed that the manuscript referred to ongoing gang activity and could provoke violence or promote gang activity. The judge pointed out that since the authorities had not provided a copy of the manuscript, they had not met the burden of

Read More »

Study suggests way to reduce government overclassification

donal brown October 6, 2011

A report by the Brennan Center for Justice proposes a pilot program for the government to insure employees are accountable for improper classification decisions. The report calls for better training for employees on what should be classified. The report also suggests building in incentives for declassifying documents. -db From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, October 5, 2011, by J.C. Derrick. Full story

Read More »

Journalists say Obama administration withholding science data

donal brown October 6, 2011

A panel of health and science journalists said that many government agencies key to their investigations are not supporting President Obama’s transparency pledge. Delays in releasing data make it impossible for reporters to meet deadlines. The journalists complained that when requests are made, decisions often have to be made at the highest level of political command by those with higher priorities than to deal with media requests. -db From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of

Read More »

A&A:Request for documents on Tax Lien Sale denied. Why?

FAC October 6, 2011

Q: How do I request in writing all records and e-mail communication on a property that was removed from a Tax Lien Sale from the time the first code enforcement violations to the present time. I have been refused an informal request without a good explanation. I would like to see the law that would remove the property from the Tax Lien Auction List. This has also been refused. A: In making your request for

Read More »