In a what the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) considers a “first of its kind” lawsuit, the ACLU has filed a motion seeking a ruling from a federal district court in Oregon on the constitutionality of the United States government’s secret No-Fly list. The ACLU argues the list violates citizens’ Fifth Amendment right to due process.

The ACLU represents fifteen citizens and lawful residents, who were prohibited from flying to and from the United States. They were not informed of why they were being put on the list and were given no chance to clear their names.

There are a lot of questions for John Brennan’s confirmation hearing today and only a few hours scheduled to ask them. Many questions have been published by various news organizations and blogs. I very much want answers to their questions but I have one big, obvious question as well. This is my question:

What has changed since 2008-9 when John Brennan was considered to be too toxic to be confirmed as Director of the CIA?

Just ahead of today’s CIA director confirmation hearing President Obama has ordered the release of memos that were written by his administration to justify the killing of American citizens without due process.

Given that Congress has decided to let the President kill people – including American citizens – without any due process it seems once again America will only face its problems due to outside pressure.

Missing here is any understanding of who controls the timing of a so-called foreclosure wave. Banks do the foreclosing, after all, and it’s really up to them whether or not to put inventory on the market or to foreclose at all. And in both cases, they haven’t moved forward for very specific reasons.

Existing-home sales rose 2.1% in October, with the number coming in slightly above expectations, although the previous month’s numbers were revised down. Inventory has decreased 21% year-over-year (in no small part due to structural factors like trapped borrowers not putting their houses on the market, as well as artificial constraints on supply from banks keeping homes off the market).

I went on RT America to talk about the significance of the permanent injunction and the Obama Administration’s decision to appeal the permanent injunction. I highlighted the fact that Forrest agreed with the plaintiffs that, given how the government was presenting the NDAA provision in court, journalists reporting on terrorist groups might find themselves subject to the provision.

A federal judge issued a ruling on September 12 that permanently enjoined a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was signed by President Barack Obama codifying indefinite military detention into United State law last year. She found that the writers, journalists and activists who were plaintiffs in the lawsuit had demonstrated actual and reasonably that their First Amendment-protected activities could subject them to indefinite military detention and ruled the public had a greater interest in preserving the First Amendment and due process rights than allowing law enforcement to have this tool.

Pressured by a coalition of activists and state Attorney General Kamala Harris, the California legislature completed a months-long project yesterday to significantly improve its foreclosure process. The measure gives homeowners a new right to sue over fraudulent practices, ends dual tracking – where servicers process foreclosures while negotiating loan modifications – and extends a single point of contact at all borrowers.

The Federal Reserve has decided to put their thumbs on the scales of justice, explicitly attempting to overturn state-based anti-foreclosure laws on the spurious grounds that requiring foreclosures to meet due process standards hurts the economy.