“When the government has the power to deny legal rights and due process to one vulnerable group, everyone’s rights are at risk.” So says the American Civil Liberties Union on the section of their website dedicated to the issue of immigrants’ rights. “No Human Being Is Illegal” reads the banner at the top of the […]
As someone with the highly unusual task of researching old, declassified Soviet and Communist Party USA archives, I often get quizzical looks as to why certain things from the distant past still matter. Well, it’s indeed true that past is often prologue. And it’s striking to see how something in communist archives from, say, the […]
Irony is defined as “the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning.” The term doublespeak means “evasive, ambiguous language that is intended to deceive or confuse.” There is perhaps no greater example of ironic doublespeak than inclusion of the phrase “civil liberties” within the inapt designation: “American Civil Liberties […]
