We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Corrections Corp. of America Pays Damages, Attorney Fees to Settle Censorship Lawsuit

from American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). A corporate prison enterprise felt it had the right to determine what its prisoners read. Sometimes our justice system works, thanks to the ACLU and grass roots organizations like Prison Legal News.
"The fundamental right to send and receive written material is basic for an informed society," added Dan Pochoda, Legal Director of the ACLU of Arizona. "[Prison] administrators too often act as if prisoners check their constitutional protections at the prison door, and the ACLU was pleased to assist PLN in challenging that view in this case."
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