Just saw the film It Was Just An Accident by Jafar Panahi. I was blown away. It's a must-see for anyone who cares about democracy and human rights. While other films this year yell loudly about revolution, this actually lives it, and asks us all what it means to live by a certain set of values.

More attention needs to be paid to the importance of establishing an international stabilization force in Gaza. Set aside the politics & work together to build a force that helps build the foundation for future Palestinian state, stops Hamas from returning to power, and helps protect Israel's safety

Iran bas executed the 13th man this year for alleged espionage for Israel. Like many others, Aghil Keshavarz was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court without a fair trial and on basis of torture-tainted confessions. It's an extrajudicial killing deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/2025/12/iran...

While the world faces unprecedented challenges, there was a $31.1 billion fall in aid in 2025, mostly due to U.S. and German cuts, although others, including France and the UK, have cut aid as well. 83% of USAID programs were cancelled, including most funding for health programs

There are more conflicts happening today than at any other time since WWII. 117 million people are forcibly displaced; nearly 40 million people are facing such severe hunger that urgent action is required to save lives. While crises grow, global humanitarian funding has shrunk by 50%.

The cruelty in Florida when it comes to the death penalty is only worsening. Now the Florida Supreme Court has upheld sentencing someone to death even when several jurors vote for life sentence. Michael Jackson was sentenced to death by an 8-4 jury & the court upheld it www.aclu.org/press-releas...

To quote the EO: "The Federal Government’s long delay in recognizing the medical use of marijuana does not serve the Americans who report health benefits from the medical use of marijuana to ease chronic pain and other various medically recognized ailments." 👏 www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

This is an important step forward by President Trump to bring commonsense to our nation's drug laws by rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III. Biden began effort but never finished. Trump's support cements this as true bipartisan issue. More needed but important step www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...

Federal immigration authorities continue to violate constitutional law by arresting US citizens, this time in Minneapolis. The US citizen in this case yelled “I’m a citizen” and “I have my ID” before masked ICE agents placed him in an unmarked vehicle. www.startribune.com/mubashir-min...

Let's not repeat the mistakes of the past: In the 1990s, following a spike in youth and adult violence, nearly every state made it easier to try juveniles as adults. The results were disastrous. www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2025...

Why fusion voting? Because it gives people agency — a chance to sit at the table and shape the discussions that matter. It’s not the only reform we need, but it’s a key step toward a healthier, more representative democracy.

The right way to analyze what the Trump administration is doing in the Caribbean, killing at least 83 people by blowing up boats, is through the lens of criminal law, not the law of war. Supplying illegal drugs to Americans, as the president alleges, is a crime and should be handled by criminal law

For years, civil libertarians like myself warned cities, which are overwhelmingly governed by Democrats, about dangers of creating massive government surveillance tools that track daily activities. They mostly ignored us until they met the second Trump administration www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

don't miss Lauren's big story from right before Thanksgiving:

While fewer women than men are incarcerated, their numbers are rising faster. Up to 80% of women in prison worldwide have an identifiable mental illness & in Europe, suicide rates for women in prison are 9x higher than for the general population, according to WHO www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

New DOJ report finds that the rate of violent crime in the United States fell by 5% from 2022 to 2023. Rates of homicide fell 11%, rape fell 10%, and aggravated assault fell 4%. Robbery rate was not significantly different from the rate in 2022. bjs.ojp.gov/document/ckl...

The US deported 252 Venezuelans to El Salvador and paid its government to imprison them, despite clear evidence of human-rights abuses. Now @hrw.org and Cristosal have found that all the men were physically abused www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

US citizen high school student arrested by ICE during school lunch period. A follow up report suggests he was arrested after filming ICE agents in a parking lot. (A) You have a constitutional right to film ICE. (B) ICE doesnt have legal authority to arrest US citizen www.opb.org/article/2025...

This is an affront to the basic civil rights of all people in Israel, but especially anyone that the government labels a terrorist. Proposed law would impose the death penalty within 90 days, without an ability to appeal the decision www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Most incarcerated women are the primary caregivers for their children. When they are jailed, their children are 12x more likely to end up in foster care and face long-term psychological and educational harm. www.rstreet.org/commentary/l...

Big kudos to @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social for continuing to model good leadership by requesting a meeting with President Trump. This speaks volumes about his willingness to focus on what's best for New Yorkers, and not to let some silly notion of pride get in the way www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

Granted that Texas gerrymandering maps appear to unconstitutionally rely on race and CA's did not, if the whole justification for CA gerrymandering was to respond to TX gerrymandering, what's the justification for CA if the TX efforts are struck down by the courts? www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-r...

I took my @princeton.edu Policy Advocacy Clinic students to Washington State as part of their research on solitary confinement. We met with @chriswblackwell.bsky.social in prison, whose writing brings solitary to life, and we attended symposium of families w/ loved ones in prison. All very powerful

Ending Isolation: The Case Against Solitary Confinement (out Sept 20) is “a searing indictment and urgent call to action.” — Udi Offer, Princeton School of Public & International Affairs. Preorder + read more reviews here: www.amazon.com/Ending-Isola...

The Zikim border crossing, which separates Israel and northern Gaza, has reopened after being closed for two months, allowing more than 5,400 metric tonnes of aid to be collected between Thursday and Sunday, including shelter, medical and food items, according to OCHA news.un.org/en/story/202...

"The fantasies of Ministers Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben-Gvir & other fanatics in Netanyahu's coalition have been put to rest, replaced by international plan that includes Arab forces in Gaza and path to Palestinian statehood. That by itself is important development" www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

The UN Security Council resolution states that the International Stabilization Force will operate in Gaza until the end of 2027. It's our job to make sure that this international force will be used to lay the foundation for a future Palestinian State

UN Security Council resolution authorizes Member States to establish International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza in cooperation with Egypt and Israel and along with Palestinian police force. As ISF establishes control, Israel will withdraw from Gaza Strip: www.middleeasteye.net/news/full-te...

2025 is among the dead­liest years for vet­er­ans on death row. And over 40% of vet­er­ans lat­er sen­tenced to death expe­ri­enced addic­tion at some point in their lives, com­pared to 11% of all vet­er­ans and 12% of the general public. deathpenaltyinfo.org/research/ana...

Just as President Trump's mass deportation program becomes even more aggressive, with more arrests and detentions, government detention data goes dark. Even if shutdown ended today, it's unclear how long it would take agencies to start producing data again austinkocher.substack.com/p/ice-and-eo...

Palestinian Authority has reached an agreement with Hamas that the committee to administer Gaza will be headed by PA minister, most likely Majed Abu Ramadan, currently the PA health minister, originally from Gaza and a former mayor of Gaza City. www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent...

BREAKING: Mark Wolf, appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan, writes that he is resigning as a judge to have the freedom to speak out against the president's assault on the rule of law. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

sometimes an Oxford comma can make all the difference

When the pandemic began in 2020, New Jersey had the nation’s highest COVID-19 death rate in prisons. The Public Health Emergency Credit (PHEC) allowed people nearing their release dates to leave prison up to 8 months early, and it saved lives. Read more: www.aclu-nj.org/news/releasi...

This week marked 30 years since Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by right wing zealot at a rally where Rabin delivered a speech about importance of peace between Israelis & Palestinians. In his pocket were lyrics to Shir LaShalom, Song for Peace. This image of the bloodstained lyrics breaks my heart:

Wall Street Journal editorial board not convinced by the Trump administration's legal argument that tariffs are not taxes. Congress clearly has the power to raise taxes, not the president. You would think that more conservatives would be outraged by such unilateral action www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...

Aymen Oden, Arab Israeli Knesset member, head of far-left political coalition: "Rabin's courage didnt stop at extending hand for peace. It also included the simple recognition that the Arab community's representatives are legitimate, especially when it comes to peace" www.haaretz.com/opinion/2025...

Congressional lawmakers finally beginning to take a stand against Trump's completely illegal murder operations against suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea. Growing bipartisan frustration that the Trump administration has left Congress in the dark. www.politico.com/live-updates...

I remember back in 2017 when Larry Krasner first ran as a DA committed to ending mass incarceration. He made history then winning in a city that historically had a DA committed to more prisons and more death penalty. And now he made history again being elected a 3rd time 6abc.com/amp/post/res...

Democrats sweep three supreme court elections in Pennsylvania, defeating high-profile Republican bid to unseat them. They won large statewide victories, centered largely on the court’s role in defending voting and abortion rights. boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...

The civil war in Sudan has displaced 12 million people and may have killed about 400,000. It is “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” Read more here: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/w...

Annual Gallup poll on crime is always packed with interesting facts. As in past, Americans' perception of whether crime is up/down largely depends on whether their party is represented in WH. Democrats are now more likely since last year to say there's more crime news.gallup.com/poll/697124/... 1/2

"After more than 30 years of incarceration experience, I am convinced that people leave prison unhealthier, mentally, than when they come in, which is vastly intensified for those subjected to solitary confinement." solitarywatch.org/2025/10/28/e...

What are the rights of dead people when they pass away in government custody? This is an issue my Policy Advocacy Clinic is researching for the United Nations this year. And here's an example: what happens to the possessions of people who die in prison? www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/30/t...

The data show that NJ bail reform has been a great success, but that doesnt prevent it from being a political punching bag by both parties. Since implementation of bail reform in NJ: - There has been no increase in court no-shows - Recidivism rates of those released are equal or better 1/3

Great reporting by @mattfriedmannj.bsky.social: does Mikie Sherrill have a problem with progressives? Nope. A fake progressive PAC launched days before Election Day is in fact operated by Republicans: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Enacted in 1988 during the height of the war on drugs, the Thurmond Amendment allows landlords to deny housing based solely on a drug distribution conviction — regardless of how long ago it occurred and the person’s current circumstances. PA can end this injustice. www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...

Such a compelling piece on the experiences of children whose dads were executed by the state. In at least one case, the victim's family opposed the death penalty, yet the state moved forward with execution anyway. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/14/m...

"And like the Irish Republican Army and Sinn Féin, Hamas might reinvent itself as a new political body...Some gunmen seem amenable. “Gaza needs a break and a respite,” says Jamil Mazhar, the deputy leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine" www.economist.com/middle-east-...

As Hamas' security forces return to the streets, Gazans who voiced criticism during the war now face arrests and even death. Khader Mahjaz, who once belonged to the organization, said: "I can no longer bear not to speak out against Hamas, even at the cost of my life." www.haaretz.com/middle-east-...