“I know the capability that is there to make tyranny total in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and under proper supervision, so that we never cross over that abyss. That is the abyss from…

“Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficent.” — Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis There was a time when the census was just a head count. That is no longer the case. The American Community Survey (ACS), sent to…

“Whether the mask is labeled fascism, democracy, or dictatorship of the proletariat, our great adversary remains the apparatus — the bureaucracy, the police, the military.” — Simone Weil, French philosopher It’s hard to say whether we’re dealing with a kleptocracy (a government ruled by thieves), a kakistocracy (a government run…

“Autocrats only understand one word: no, no, no. No you will not take my country, no you will not take my freedom, no you will not take my future… A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able to ease the people’s love of liberty. Brutality will never…

“If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison. They’ll have enough to eat, a bed and a roof over their heads. But if an American wants to preserve his dignity and his equality as a human being, he must not bow his neck to any dictatorial…

Step away from the blinders that partisan politics uses to distract, divide and conquer, and you will find that we are drowning in a cesspool of problems that individually and collectively threaten our lives, liberties, prosperity and happiness. These are not problems the politicians want to talk about, let alone…

“This is warrior policing on steroids.” — Paul Butler, law professor That the police officers charged with the beating death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols are Black is a distraction. Don’t be distracted. This latest instance of police brutality is not about racism in policing or black-on-black violence. The entire institution…

“Children are being targeted and sold for sex in America every day.” — John Ryan, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children It takes a special kind of evil to prostitute and traffick a child for sex, and yet this evil walks among us every minute of every day. Consider…

“We live in a surveillance state founded on a partnership between government and the technology industry.” — Law Professor Avidan Y. Cover In this age of ubiquitous surveillance, there are no private lives: everything is public. Surveillance cameras mounted on utility poles, traffic lights, businesses, and homes. License plate readers…