Some time back I wrote in depth about the implementation of something called Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12 (HSPD#12)which threatened my wife's rights as well as the rights of every Federal employee and contractor (my initial coverage was picked up by the Huffington Post). The directive per se isn't bad, merely requiring a uniform system of issuing IDs to all Federal employees and contractors across all agencies. But, under the Bush Administration, no good idea went unexploited for opportunities to deny people their basic civil liberties. The implementation of HSPD#12 became a wholesale attempt to get anyone with access to a Federal facility (including my wife who was a grad student in a NASA run building) to agree to allow the government to investigate every aspect of their lives from medical records, financial records and interviewing their neighbors. Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with top secret materials. EVERYONE from the Board of Ed to NASA etc. would have to comply. This invasion of privacy is back.

Don't get me wrong. I remain impressed that we are far better off in all ways under Obama than we were under Bush, and I have considerable confidence that even when Bush-era polcies are continued under Obama, they will be applied more intelligently. However, there are definitely many Bush-era attacks on our civil liberties that the Obama Administration wants to continue. And no matter how intelligently they apply it, it remains an attack on civil liberties. One such attack impacts my wife directly.  read more »

In looking over what I have written about the Public Advocate's race, it strikes me that what I originally wrote about Public Advocate candidate Norman Siegel back in 2005 still applies now and is worth reviewing why I think there is only one candidate in the race worth considering. Since 2005 I have watched Norman defend the rights of bloggers, firefighters and so many othres and to stand up during each and every major civil liberties battle in the city that to me it is inconceivable that anyone else should be our Public Advocate. But my best piece on him was back in 2005 and best expresses why I still think he is the ideal Public Advocate for NYC. So I want to update a piece I wrote back in 2005 when my son first went out campaignig with me:

Public Advocate: this office is, as far as I am aware, unique to NYC. In a city where the mayor has so much (almost dictatorial) power, the Public Advocate is the counterbalance to the mayor--the person who stands up to the mayor on behalf of the people. At least that is the ideal. Our current PA is Betsy Gautbaum. I voted for her when she first ran. For the life of me I have no idea what she has done for the past 8 years. When Bloomberg refused to give people permits to protest the invasion of Iraq, Betsy wasn't there for us. When Bloomberg arrested and illegally held hundreds of protestors during the Republican Convention, Betsy wasn't there. When Bloomberg wanted to use eminent domain to take private property to give it to developers, Betsy wasn't there. When Bloomberg started routinely arresting the Critical Mass bicyclists, Betsy wasn't there. Many New Yorkers have felt helpless as financial scandals eat away at our pension funds, slush fund scandals run rampant, the school admissions process becomes increasingly insane and divorced from the actual needs of children (as opposed to the needs of companies Bloomberg outsources the process to), ground zero remains an empty hole in the ground, the subway system gets cut back more and more while fees climb...all under the watchful eyes of Michael Bloomberg, Betsy Gotbaum and Christine Quinn.

You know who WAS there at each of those violations of civil rights that Bloomberg was responsible for? Norm Siegel. He was out there defending protestors when Betsy was nowhere to be seen. Norm Siegel has helped communities fight to keep firehouses open from Williamsburg to Staten Island. Norm Siegel has helped communities from Prospect Heights to Harlem try to stop the government from using eminent domain to take their homes for the enrichment of private developers. Norm Siegel has helped firefighters seeking the implementation of a skyscraper safety program and provisions for our firefighters to guarantee they have proper working communication equipment. Norm Siegel has helped families who lost a loved one on September 11th, 2001, as they seek the public release of materials from that day, including 911 emergency tapes and transcripts. And, here in 2009, Norm Siegel stood up against Michael Bloomberg's putch to arbitrarily extend term-limits against the explicit vote of the people. Norman has been there for protesters, bloggers, bicyclists, firefighters, 9/11 families, homeowners, renters and just about every single New Yorker at one time or another.

Back in 2005 when I met Norman Siegel, I also met another man, Paul Wooten. Paul Wooten was one of the people who wrote the law that created the Public Advocate's position, or so he told us. He said that when they wrote the law, they envisioned someone just like Norman Siegel in the position. Now, I had the impression that he also thought Mark Green had been a reasonable Public Advocate, so I can't speak to how the writers of the law creating the Public Advocate's position would choose between Green and Siegel. But Wooten specifically mentioned Norman Siegel as the perfect Public Advocate as the job was originally written.  read more »

Many of you will remember by blogging about my wife's potential run in with Homeland Security. This took the form of a NASA-wide, potentially Federal government-wide, ID system that would have been unacceptably intrusive. I discussed this in a widely read, three part blog that covered Homeland Security Presidential Directive #12, the very intrusive and potentially anti-gay Suitability Matrix, and a Resignation Letter. I also did a few followups on the court challenges to Homeland Security. The whole series was a testament to just what was wrong with Republican Bush America and why we so desperately needed a change.

Well, it seems the threat has been stopped in the Ninth Circuit Court. This comes from the plaintiffs in the case against Homeland Security's intrusive tactics:  read more »

Surprised no one else has written about this one. Awhile back I wrote about a case where the NYPD arbitrarily denied three bloggers press credentials. Those three bloggers were Rafael Martínez Alequin, a long-time critic of Tsar Bloomberg's, who publishes the New York City Free Press, Ralph E. Smith, who publishes The Guardian Chronicle, and David Wallis is founder and CEO of Featurewell.com. Gary Tilzer also had an excellent analysis of this situation.

Norman Siegel, the attorney representing the three bloggers, has won their case and they have been issued press credentials. From Your Free Press:  read more »

From this morning's email batch :

NYCLU Hosts Candlelight Vigil to Reflect on Bush’s Dismal Rights Record as Administration Comes to a Close

January 12, 2008 – The New York Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International are sponsoring a candlelight vigil on Jan. 13 at Federal Hall to reflect on the Bush administration’s legacy of human rights abuse and look with hope to the future.

Sunday marked seven years since the Bush administration began indefinitely imprisoning terrorist suspects at the U.S. naval facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Next week a new president will be sworn into office pledging to restore the nation’s commitment to human and Constitutional rights. Tuesday’s vigil will remind President-elect Obama that New Yorkers expect him to keep that promise.

What: Remembering Yesterday, Looking Toward Tomorrow: A Vigil to Reflect on Guantánamo, Torture, Detention and the Legacy of Rights Abuses of the Bush Administration

Where: Federal Hall, 26 Wall St. in Manhattan

When: Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 4:30 p.m.

Bring candles!