The Conscience of Abe’s Turn freedom of speech, defense, and life

I have the Cato Institute’s official blog, Cato @ Liberty, listed in the “Conscience of America” links on this site. Most of the blog posts are quick, easy reading, accessible to the average American (or perhaps slightly above average) on the go. I’ve long been a fan of the Cato Institute, however, even in the many years before they had a blog. As a libertarian think-tank, Cato has long provided me with masses of valuable research on both civil rights and economic rights issues.

So for the more in-depth advocate, who wants to be deeply informed about the issues, here are just a few of the informative articles and papers I’ve read recently on civil rights, courtesy of the Cato Institute:

Understanding Privacy — and the Real Threats to It

Jim Harper documents how government snooping and data collection have eroded our Fourth Amendment civil rights and continue to do so, enabling government investigators to investigate people instead of crimes.

Back Door to Prohibition: The New War on Social Drinking

Radley Balko demonstrates that, now that drunk drivers have been successfully (and rightfully) spurned by both society and government, neoprohibitions have turned their attention to chipping away at the rights of the responsible drinker, even when he’s not behind the wheel of an automobile.

“The 1964 Civil Rights Act Is under Attack Today — from Within”

An article by David E. Bernstein explains how modern so-called “civil rights” legislation is in fact eroding our civil rights.

“In a Class Of Your Own”

An article by Roger Pilon reasons why government employers ought not discriminate against anyone, for any reason, even if they’re not a member of a protected class.

Effective Counterterrorism and the Limited Role of Predictive Data Mining

Jeff Jonas and Jim Harper explore data-mining technologies, which attempt to find patterns in masses of collected data that law-enforcement can supposedly use to identify suspected terrorists or other criminals, and why these technologies are ineffective at fighting crime and a threat to our civil rights.

Treating Doctors as Drug Dealers: The DEA’s War on Prescription Painkillers

Ronald T. Libby examines efforts by the Drug Enforcement Agency to prohibit “diversion” of prescription painkillers, using the same methods that have failed in the War on Drugs, which has cut into medical rights by chilling doctor-patient speech and bullying doctors out of offering legitimate treatment options.