Archives for September 2011

Jake Laperruque

The Huffington Post has a history of causing controversy by maneuvering to acquire free labor.  Now, the news website is again raising eyebrows, this time for its use of a new type of employee to keep its blogs updated: Unpaid children.

The issue brought forth by this policy is whether blogging constitutes labor (which in this case would be unpaid child labor).  On the one hand, the vast majorities of bloggers write on their own time, without receiving any form of compensation (not that we’re complaining).  On the other hand, many bloggers invoke the rights and protections of professional journalists, and the Huffington Post is certain to do so if the legal rights of its bloggers were ever challenged.  But the issue I want to discuss is not that of child labor. [Read more…] about Working-(For Free)-Class Americans

Peter Dunne 

Over last the last week, there has been considerable discussion about the movement for marriage equality.  An interesting, but rarely addressed question is the role that foreign precedent might play should any of the current live actions make it to the Supreme Court.

Lawrence v Texas is obviously one of the most important federal court decisions for the LGBT movement.  In his majority opinion, Justice Kennedy struck down Texas’ same-sex sodomy law as violating both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.  A major criticism of Lawrencewas that it relied too heavily on foreign precedent, particularly the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.  In his decision, Justice Kennedy makes reference to cases such as Dudgeon v United Kingdom, both to question public attitudes towards homosexuality in 1986 and to show how Western Thought had evolved in the intervening years. [Read more…] about Invoking Foreign Precedent: A Dead End for Marriage Equality?

Billy Corriher 

There’s been a lot of discussion recently about a perceived assault on voting rights. There have been media reports on a campaign by Republicans and their supporters to enact stricter voting laws. Many states have implemented shorter early voting periods, stricter rules for absentee ballots, and tougher registration requirements. Twenty states have considered new voter ID requirements, and others have strengthened existing ID rules. Why are state legislatures suddenly so concerned with voting? Republicans warn of voter fraud, but there has been no evidence of widespread fraud.

Civil rights advocates say these voter ID laws will prevent certain groups from voting, including students and minorities – two groups that heavily favored President Obama in the 2008 election. Rep. John Lewis, a hero of the civil rights movement, warned of “a deliberate and systematic attempt to prevent millions of elderly voters, young voters, students, minority, and low-income voters from exercising their constitutional right to engage in the democratic process.” The Department of Justice (DOJ) is being pressured to stop these laws under the authority granted to it by the Voting Rights Act. [Read more…] about New State Laws Threaten Voting Rights

Frank Housh

Georgia authorities executed Troy Davis by lethal injection Wednesday night. He was declared dead at 11:08 EDT.

Jessica Jackson 

Last night the world sat silently holding its breath as it once again waited to hear whether Georgia would be allowed to kill Troy Anthony Davis.  Troy’s case, unlike most death row inmates, received international attention, extensive media coverage, and celebrity awareness.  In fact, the hashtags #TroyDavis and #TooMuchDoubt were tweeted by over fifty thousand people in the days leading up to Troy’s execution.

After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to issue a stay on Troy’s behalf, prison officials moved quickly to execute Troy within the night.  Troy’s last statement proclaimed his innocence and urged the family members of the victim’s family to continue to seek the truth.  In a letter to his supporters, Troy stated “this movement began before I was born, it must continue and grow stronger until we abolish the death penalty.” [Read more…] about Life after Troy

Jonathan Peters

The more students use social media, the more they support free expression, according to a report released last week.

Policy researcher Kenneth Dautrich surveyed 12,090 high school students and 900 teachers about free expression, from April to June. His findings, published Friday in a Knight Foundation report, were many and varied—and contextualized, because the survey was the fourth in a series that began in 2004. [Read more…] about Are Social Media Good for Democracy?