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Defending Rights & Dissent

Working to make the promise of the Bill of Rights a reality.

Constitution in Crisis :: April Newsletter

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Dear Troublemakers, The fact that the nomination of a known torturer to be head of the CIA hasn’t been rejected out of hand even by Democrats in the Senate is truly shameful. Not only did Gina Haspel oversee torture when she was head of a CIA blacksite in Thailand, she later ordered the destruction of… [Read More]

Who’s a Foreign Agent? The Answer May Surprise You

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As Congress seeks to counter Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election, lawmakers have turned for help to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, an 80-year-old law that requires agents of foreign principals to register with the Attorney General. Several bills have been introduced to strengthen enforcement of the law, which has been rarely used.

Toxic Brew: State Politicians, Gas & Oil Lobbyists, and ALEC Join Forces Against Environmental Protesters

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Politicians in some states are none too pleased with the environmental movement, particularly with protests against pipelines and fracking. Aided and abetted by extractive industry lobbyists and the powerful and secretive American Legislative Exchange Council, they have started to pass legislation to stifle the protests. The bills are part of a larger wave of anti-protest… [Read More]

What the Heck is Going On?

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Dear Troublemakers, What the heck is going on? If you don’t applaud for the president, you are accused of treason? Meanwhile, across the aisle, critics of the president are latching onto the FBI and CIA as the saviors of democracy, and casting anyone who criticizes them as unpatriotic? Earlier this month, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA),… [Read More]

Constitution in Crisis :: February Newsletter

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Dear Troublemakers: Every month you get this newsletter, filled with shocking accounts of the latest assaults on our right to political expression and our Bill of Rights. But it’s also filled with accounts of how Defending Rights & Dissent is part of a powerful grassroot movement that is fighting back and winning. You know that… [Read More]

Celebrating Fred Korematsu in an Era of Racism and Fearmongering

by Senator Maizie Hirono (D-HI) has introduced a resolution honoring Fred Korematsu, who fought President Roosevelt's internment of Japanese Americans. Her resolution declares January 30, 2018 as "Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution."

Senator Maizie Hirono (D-HI) has introduced a resolution honoring Fred Korematsu, who fought President Roosevelt’s internment of Japanese Americans. Her resolution declares January 30, 2018 as “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution.” The resolution is co-sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (CT), Chris Coons (DE), Tammy Duckworth (IL), Dianne Feinstein (CA), and Sheldon Whitehouse… [Read More]

It’s Bill of Rights Day. Celebrate. Mobilize. Remember.

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Seventy-six years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt designated December 15 to be “a day of mobilization for freedom and for human rights, a day of remembrance of the democratic and peaceful action by which these rights were gained, a day of reassessment of their present meaning and their living worth.” Just months after issuing those inspiring… [Read More]