We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
This page contains links only from 2004 or earlier.
Research and Resources
General News Reports
- Faulty 'No-Fly' System Detailed
Sara Kehaulani Goo, Washington Post, 9 October 2004
- Support of first freedoms back to pre-9/11 levels
press release, First Amendment Center, 30 June 2004
- Law students buy full-page ad to protest Bush civil rights policies
Kelly St. John, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 February 2003
- Conferees in Congress Bar Using a Pentagon Project on Americans
Adam Clymer, New York Times, 12 February 2003
- SF supervisors oppose PATRIOT Act
San Francisco Chronicle, 22 January 2003
- Ashcroft's extremism undermines U.S. security measures
Bruce Shapiro, Salon, 11 September 2002
- Foundations are in place for martial law in the US
Ritt Goldstein, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 July 2002
- Ashcroft's control looks like the political witch hunt of yesteryear
Robyn E. Blumner, St. Petersburg Times, 16 July 2002
- Reagan-appointed judge has words for Ashcroft
Joel Connelly, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 15 July 2002
- Bush, Ashcroft Run Roughshod Over Bill Of Rights, Study Says
Cato Institute, 21 June 2002
- Civil wrongs
Maya Jaggi, The Guardian, 22 June 2002
- Supreme Court affirms agents' right to 'stop and search'
Warren Richey, Christian Science Monitor, 15 January 2002
- The day Ashcroft censored Freedom of Information
editorial, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 January 2002
- ACLU Exec Voices Concerns
Ben Polen, Wired News, 31 December 2001 January 2002
- As Public Learns More About Anti-Terrorism Orders, Support Wanes
Robin Toner and Janet Elder, New York Times, 12 December 2001
- Support for Bush's Antiterror Plan Comes from His and His Father's Administration, Conservative Groups
William Glaberson, New York Times, 5 December 2001
- Rights Groups Gird for Long Legal Fight on New Bush Anti-Terror Powers
William Glaberson, New York Times, 30 November 2001
- US anti-terror laws draw fire
Kevin Anderson, BBC, 26 October 2001
- Bush Law-Enforcement Plan Troubles Both Right and Left
Robin Toner, New York Times, 28 September 2001
- A Nation Still Learning What Madison Knew
Jack Rakove (professor of history and political science at Stanford), New York Times, 11 March 2001
PATRIOT Act and PATRIOT II
- Crime Database Misused for Civil Issues, Suit Says
Nina Bernstein, New York Times, 17 December 2003
- Toledo City Council votes to express opposition to PATRIOT Act
Toledo Blade,13 December 2003
- U.S. is pulling back on terrorism laws
Paul Koring, Toronto Globe & Mail, 5 December 2003
- Patriot Act is attracting fierce opposition in the US
Christopher Reed, The Guardian, 7 October 2003
- Senate Deal Kills Effort to Extend Antiterror Act
Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, 9 May 2003
- New Patriot Act creates uproar, brings together uncommon allies
Michelle Mittelstadt, Dallas Morning News (in the Seattle Times), 15 April 2003
- Patriot Act's Big Brother
David Cole, The Nation, 27 February 2003
- Patriot II means Permanent National Emergency
Black Commentator, 1 March 2003
- Key Republican blasts new FBI guidelines
CNN, 1 June 2002
- Both Parties Try to Revive Privacy Issue in Congress
Adam Clymer, New York Times, 28 April 2002
- He knows what you've been checking out
Christopher Dreher, Salon (complete article available to subscribers only), 6 March 2002
- Will Potential Surveillance Chill Churches?
Jessica Reaves, Time, 3 December 2001
Military Tribunals
- Refining Military Tribunals Does Not Make Them Acceptable
editorial, New York Times, 22 March 2002
- The Military Tribunals on Trial
Aryeh Neier, New York Review of Books, 14 February 2002
- Critics Say Tribunals Would Violate International Law
William Glaberson, New York Times, 26 December 2001
- Rumsfeld Offers Assurances About Use of Military Courts
Steven Lee Myers and Neil A. Lewis, New York Times, 16 November 2001
- Closer Look at New Plan for Trying Terrorists
William Glaberson, New York Times, 15 November 2001
- Senior Administration Officials Defend Military Tribunals for Terrorist Suspects
Elisabeth Bumiller and Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, 15 November 2001
- Defenders of Military Tribunal Order Trying to Throw Dust in Our Eyes
Anthony Lewis, New York Times, 4 December 2001
- Military Tribunals Would Violate Right to Defense Counsel
Stephen Gillers, New York Times, 3 December 2001
- ... But tribunals are wrong, illegitimate
Anthony Lewis, New York Times , 28 November 2001
- Questioning the President's Authority
Senator Arlen Specter, New York Times , 28 November 2001
- The case against military tribunals
Robert A. Levy, Wall Street Journal, 25 November 2001
- The Last Time the Military Tried Terrorists
Viveca Novak, Time, 14 November 2001
- Kangaroo Courts
William Safire, New York Times, 26 November 2001
- Secrecy taints plan for trying suspected terrorists
editorial, USA Today, 16 November 2001
- Rumsfeld Offers Assurances About Use of Military Courts
Steven Lee Myers and Neil A. Lewis, New York Times, 16 November 2001
- Terrorist trials to be by military commission
USA Today, 13 November 2001
- Bush wants to use secretive 'terrorism' court in criminal probes
William Carlsen, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 October 2001
Guantánamo Prison Camp
- The Geneva Convention on P.O.W.s
New York Times, 29 January 2002
- Guantanamo has 'failed to prevent terror attacks'
Martin Bright, London Observer, 3 October 2004
- U.S. Said to Overstate Value of Guantánamo Detainees
Tim Golden and Don Van Natta Jr., New York Times, 21 June 2004
- US guards 'filmed beatings' at Guantánamo
David Rose and Gaby Hinsliff, London Observer, 16 May 2004
- No Rights, No Charges, No Lawyers ... Life in the Cuban Camp Beyond the Law
Vikram Dodd and Michael White, The Guardian, 20 February 2004
- Military-appointed lawyers challenge Bush's authority to plan detainees' trials
Neil A. Lewis, New York Times, 16 January 2004
- A Guantanamo-Size Hole in the Constitution
Joanne Mariner, FindLaw's Writ, 1 December 2003
- Foreign Officials Question Guantánamo Prisoners
Elizabeth Becker, New York Times, 25 June 2002
- Legal limbo of Guantanamo's prisoners
Monica Whitlock, BBC, 16 May 2003
- Rumsfeld Defends Plan to Hold War Detainees
David Stout, New York Times, 28 March 2002
- Pentagon Says Acquittals May Not Free Detainees
Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, 22 March 2002
- Mother loses Guantánamo Bay court challenge
Audrey Gillan, The Guardian, 16 March 2002
- The Continuing Debate Over The Legal Status Of Guantánamo Detainees
Joanne Mariner, FindLaw's Writ, 11 March 2002
- Who Is a Prisoner of War? You Could Look It Up. Maybe.
Thom Shanker and Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, 10 March 2002
- Why We Should Not Use Guantanamo Bay To Avoid The Constitution
Anupam Chander, FindLaw's Writ, 7 March 2002
- Washington broods over X-Ray prognosis
Matthew Engel, Guardian (UK), 28 February 2002
- Rumsfeld Lists Outcomes for Detainees Held in Cuba
Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, 27 February 2002
- Rumsfeld attacked over Cuba prisoners
Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian (UK), 25 February 2002
- Behind-the-Scenes Clash, Allies' Protests Led Bush to Reverse Himself on Applying Geneva Conventions
Thom Shanker and Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, 22 February 2002
- Red Cross Man in Guantánamo: A 'Busybody,' but Not Unwelcome
Elizabeth Becker, New York Times, 20 February 2002
- Suit to Be Filed on Behalf of Three Detainees in Cuba
Philip Shenon, New York Times, 19 February 2002
- Ted Olson Heads Legal Team Formed to Handle Detainee Suits
Philip Shenon, New York Times, 13 February 2002
- Geneva Convention to Be Applied to Captured Taliban Fighters
David Stout, New York Times (requires registration to view), 7 February 2002
- A P.O.W. Tangle: What the Law Says
Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, 29 January 2002
- Powell urges PoW status for al-Qaeda captives
Ed Vulliamy, Guardian (UK), 27 January 2002
- Don't mistreat Taliban prisoners
Helen Thomas, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 25 January 2002
- Criticized, U.S. Brings Visitors to Prison Camp
Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, 26 January 2002
- Powell Asks Bush to Reverse Stand on War Captives
Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, 26 January 2002
- Fate of 'detainees' hangs on US wording
Peter Ford, Christian Science Monitor, 26 January 2002
- Treatment of Taliban Raises Concerns, Europeans Say
Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 23 January 2002
- Blair's warning on prisoners
Kamal Ahmed and Peter Beaumont, Guardian (UK), 20 January 2002
- The Fate of Qaeda Prisoners
William F. Schulz, New York Times, 19 January 2002
- How the Bush administration is breaking the rules of war
Scott Shuger, Slate, 7 December 2001
- Kangaroo courts can't give justice
Geoffrey Robertson, Guardian (UK), 5 December 2001
Domestic Intelligence Gathering
- F.B.I. Scrutinizes Antiwar Rallies
Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, 22 November 2003
- F.B.I. Tells Offices to Count Local Muslims and Mosques
Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, 28 January 2003
- Planned Databank on Citizens Spurs Opposition in Congress
John Schwartz, New York Times, 16 January 2003
- Congress Criticizes F.B.I. and Justice Department Over Actions Before Secret Wiretap Court
Philip Shenon, New York Times, 11 September 2002
- The Societal Costs of Surveillance
Michele Kayal, New York Times, 26 July 2002
- Citizen Snoops Wanted
Andy Newman, New York Times, 20 July 2002
- Leahy Likens TIPS to Soviet Repression
Kathryn Casa, Brattleboro Reformer (in CommonDreams), 17 July 2002
- US planning to recruit one in 24 Americans to spy within U.S.
Ritt Goldstein, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 July 2002
- Colin Powell's List
Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation, 7 March 2002
- The C.I.A.'s Domestic Reach
Tim Weiner, New York Times, 20 January 2002
- The FBI's House Calls
Emil Guillermo, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 December 2001
Right to Legal Defense
The First Amendment
- To Be Silenced, Or Not to Be: That is the Question
Debi Smith, CommonDreams, 21 October 2004
- Secret Service Suppress Protesters, Journalists
Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 10 September 2004
- Utah man's anti-Bush sticker prompts visit by Secret Service
Associated Press (in the First Amendment Center), 4 September 2004
- Credentialed columnist denied access to Cheney speech
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 27 August 2004
- Ex-chief of Park Police denounces firing as silencing of dissenting views
CNN, 10 July 2004
- Bush protesters want investigation of police
Reid Magney, La Crosse Tribune, 20 May 2004
- Cities move to limit protests at political conventions
Noel C. Paul and Ron Scherer, Christian Science Monitor, 13 May 2004
- An Antiwar Forum in Iowa Brings Federal Subpoenas
Monica Davey, New York Times, 10 February 2004
- Antiwar stance led to eviction
Dan Shingler, Albuquerque Tribune (in Information Clearing House), 19 May 2003
- Secret Service Questions Students
KRON-Oakland, 10 May 2003
- Spooked
Fredric Alan Maxwell, New York Times, 27 April 2003
- Mounting attacks on free speech in US
Henry Michaels, World Socialist Web Site, 23 April 2003
- "Shut your mouth"
Tim Grieve, Salon, 24 March 2003
- Strange Way to Protect a Democracy
Clyde Haberman, New York Times, 14 February 2003
- Country deserves tough love from citizens
Lynn Willeford, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 27 January 2003
- Post-9/11 researchers fear muzzle from U.S.
Wyatt Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 January 2003
- Back to the Blacklist Era
Alan Gathright, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 September 2002
- Judges reaffirm right to protest at Capitol
Washington Post (in the San Francisco Chronicle), 1 June 2002
- Cops stop traffic to arrest protestors at Golden Gate
Jim Herron Zamora and Kelly St. John, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 May 2002
- Act Would OK Snail Mail Searches
lan McCullagh, Wired.com, 23 May 2002
- Big
Brother Is Watching, Listening
CBS News, 16 May 2002
- Pro-Palestinian student group suspended following University of California-Berkeley protest
Andrea Cappannari, World Socialist Web Site, 7 May 2002
- Political Dissent Can Bring Federal Agents to Your Door
Kris Axtman, Christian Science Monitor (in CommonDreams), 8 January 2002
- In Sacramento, a Publisher's Questions Draw the Wrath of the Crowd
Timothy Egan, New York Times, 21 December 2001
- Ashcroft Seeking to Free F.B.I. to Spy on Groups
David Johnston and Don Van Natta Jr., New York Times, 1 December 2001
- Many people saying bad things
Jon Carroll, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 November 2001
- New attacks on academic free speech in U.S.
Shannon Jones, World Socialist Web Site, 22 November 2001
- First State Porn Czar, in Utah, Is Set to Draw a Fine Line
Michael Janofsky, New York Times, 24 March 2001
Freedom of the Press
Separation of Church and State
'A well regulated militia'
Detention of Immigrants
- Abuse of Detainees Is Detailed in Justice Dept. Report
Paul von Zielbauer, New York Times, 19 December 2003
- False Terrorism Tips to F.B.I. Uproot the Lives of Suspects
Michael Moss, New York Times, 19 June 2003
- The INS runaround is causing innocent men to be imprisoned indefinitely
Laura McClure, Salon, 23 January 2003
- Encounter with the Secret Service
Shawn Zeller, Government Executive Magazine, 30 September 2002
- Focus of US fear: A legal refugee is recast as enemy
Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 5 September 2002
- Why Attorney General Ashcroft's Plan To Create Internment Camps For Supposed Citizen Combatants Is Shocking And Wrong
Anita Ramasastry, FindLaw, 23 August 2002
- Abuses Plague Sept. 11 Investigation
Human Rights Watch, 15 August 2002
- Courts roll back secrecy in war on terror
Seth Stern, Christian Science Monitor, 15 May 2002
- War on civil liberties
Edward Helmore, The Guardian, 7 May 2002
- War on civil liberties
Edward Helmore, The Guardian, 7 May 2002
- Ashcroft's power to detain without charges continues without oversight
Robyn E. Blumner, St. Petersburg Times, 5 May 2002
- Judge Rules Against U.S. on Material-Witness Law
Benjamin Weiser, New York Times, 1 May 2002
- Defying Court Rulings, INS Tells Officials to Keep Detainee Information Secret
Danny Hakim, New York Times, 19 April 2002
- The U.S. war against immigrants
George Monbiot, Guardian (UK), 5 March 2002
- Truth set ex-detainees free in terrorism probe
Dale Lezon, Houston Chronicle, 29 January 2002
- A.C.L.U. Tries to Guide Consulates Through a Thicket
William Glaberson, New York Times, 2 January 2002
- Appeals Court Overturns Policy on Detaining Immigrants
Tamar Lewin, New York Times, 20 December 2001
- U.S. Seeks New Use for Secret Evidence Against Immigrants
William Glaberson, New York Times, 9 December 2001
- Closed Immigration Hearings Criticized as Prejudicial
William Glaberson, New York Times, 7 December 2001
- Justice Department Bars F.B.I. From Records on Detainees' Gun Buying
Fox Butterfield, New York Times, 6 December 2001
- Portland, Oregon, Views on Curbs on Freedoms Range From Qualified Support to Outrage
Sam Howe Verhovek, New York Times, 4 December 2001
- Legal Experts Question Legality of Questioning Recent Immigrants
William Glaberson, New York Times, 30 November 2001
- Justice Department Defies Federal Court to Keep Immigrant in Custody
David Firestone, New York Times , 28 November 2001
- Ashcroft Offers Inadequate Accounting of 641 Charged or Held
Neil A. Lewis and Don Van Natta Jr., New York Times , 28 November 2001
- Detentions After Attacks Pass 1,000, U.S. Says
Neil A. Lewis, New York Times, 30 October 2001
Balance of Powers
- Lawmakers: Bush Bypassed Congress on Military Spending
Dan Morgan, Washington Post, 11 May 2004
- Ashcroft Exerts Political Control Over Crime Statistics
Fox Butterfield, New York Times, 23 September 2002
- A Penchant for Secrecy
Linda Greenhouse, New York Times, 5 May 2002
- What About the War Powers Act?
Jules Witcover, CommonDreams, 1 May 2002
- Shouldn't Somebody Tell George W. to Stop Acting Like Nixon?
John Dean, History News Network, 29 April 2002
- Bush Trying to Exclude Congress from Government
transcript, CNN, 5 March 2002
- Letter to Ridge Is Latest Jab in Fight Over Balance of Powers
Alison Mitchell, New York Times, 5 March 2002
- Cheney, Enron, and the Constitution
Akhil Reed Amar, Time, 2 February 2002
- There's a Small Matter Of Checks and Balances
David E. Sanger, New York Times, 27 January 2002
- Judge Allows Unusual Bid to Get Data From Census
David E. Rosenbaum, New York Times, 26 January 2002
- Judge Voids a Union Rule Issued by Bush
Steven Greenhouse, New York Times , 8 January 2002
- Of checks and balances and government secrecy
Joan Ryan, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 January 2002
- Executive Privilege Again
William Safire, New York Times, 3 January 2002
- The History of, and Challenges to, Presidential Lawmaking
John Dean, FindLaw, 21 December 2001
- Appear to Be Dangerous
Michael Ventura, Austin Chronicle, 14 December 2001
Commentary
- One Liberty at a Time
Anthony Lewis, Mother Jones, May/June 2004
- McCarthy's ghost: Democracy is under threat in the United States
Gary Younge, The Guardian, 27 March 2003
- How The War On Terrorism Is Shrinking Congressional Powers: Part One
John W. Dean, FindLaw, 11 October 2002
- One year since September 11: an unprecedented assault on democratic rights
World Socialist Web Site, 11 September 2002
- In the Wake of 9-11, the American Press Has Embraced a 'Demented Caesarism'
Mark Crispin Miller, Democrats.com, 10 September 2002
- Security and Freedom
Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times, 10 September 2002
- King George Creating East-Bloc Amerika
Chuck Baldwin, Baltimore Chronicle, 30 August 2002
- Here's a TIP: We don't want police state
Marianne Means, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 26 July 2002
- Ashcroft's power grab brings Joe McCarthy to mind
Joel Connelly, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 1 May 2002
- Taking Our Liberties
Anthony Lewis, New York Times, 9 March 2002
- The Threat to Patriotism
Ronald Dworkin, New York Review of Books, 28 February 2002
- Eternal Fascism: Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt
Umberto Eco, The Modern Word, June 1995
- The Next Chapter of our post-Starr Lives
Julie Hiatt Steele, Bartcop.com, 7 February 2002
- Striking a balance against terrorism
Chuck Marson, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 January 2002
- Listening to Our Inner Ashcroft: The right not to watch what you say
Michael Kinsley, Slate, 3 January 2002
- Human Rights at Home
John Shattuck, New York Times, 25 December 2001
- Now's a good time to speak up on behalf of all in this country
Helen Thomas, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 14 December 2001
- Under cloak of 'security'
editorial, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 December 2001
- Confessions of a Traitor
Frank Rich, New York Times, 8 December 2001
- The USA PATRIOT Act and the US Department Of Justice: Losing Our Balances?
Professor Susan Herman, Jurist, December 2001
- 'Voices of Negativism'
William Safire, New York Times, 6 December 2001
- Hermann Göring: Civil Libertarian
P.M. Carpenter, History News Network, 10 December 2001
- Bush using attacks to justify power grab
Jack M. Balkin, Los Angeles Times (in Pakistan Dawn), 2 December 2001
- Justice Deformed: War and the Constitution
editorial, New York Times, 2 December 2001
- Wake Up, America
Anthony Lewis, New York Times, 30 November 2001
- Taking Liberties
Jacob Weisberg, Slate, 29 November 2001
- The Bush Administration and Secrecy
Edward Lazarus, FindLaw, 27 November 2001
- President Bush and John Ashcroft trample the Bill of Rights
Helen Thomas, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 16 November 2001
- The Justice Department rewrites the Bill of Rights
Dahlia Lithwick, Slate, 15 November 2001
- Seizing Dictatorial Power
William Safire, New York Times, 15 November 2001
- Democracy held hostage
David Talbot, Salon, 29 September 2001
- In Patriotic Time, Dissent Is Muted
Bill Carter and Felicity Barringer, New York Times, 28 September 2001
- We need information, please
Helen Thomas, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 28 September 2001
Copyright © 2001–2006 by M. E. Cowan. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to link to this page or to reproduce the contents if (and only if) proper credit is given to the author. Failure Is Impossible is a noncommercial site and is not responsible for content in linked external sites. Links and other information are provided for educational purposes consistent with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. All rights to content remain as specified in the linked sites.
