This week's filibuster by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) of the John Brennan nomination confirms just how unpredictable and fluid the politics of civil liberties are in Washington, DC these days: First we have a Republican senator leading the fight -- joined by Democrats like Ron Wyden (D-OR) -- to learn just where due process lines are drawn these days. Second, we have a Democratic White House dragging its feet before grudgingly conceding there are any liberties.

By John Knefel, Rolling Stone

Civil liberties groups led by the Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition released a new report today detailing the detrimental effects of the NYPD's spying on Muslim communities in recent years. The report, called Mapping Muslims: NYPD Spying and its Impact on American Muslims, alleges that more than a decade of surveillance of Muslims throughout the Northeast "has chilled constitutionally protected rights -- curtailing religious practice, censoring speech and stunting political organizing." They describe their communities as being under "a pervasive climate of fear and suspicion" that affects "every aspect of individual and community life."

By Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman

A McAlester native who twice was prevented from leaving Oklahoma to return to the Middle East has made it to Qatar.

During a telephone interview Friday, Saadiq Long, a U.S. Air Force veteran who converted to Islam, said he took a bus from Oklahoma City to Mexico, then boarded flights in three different countries to return to Qatar. ...