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Your Facebook Like is now legally protected speech Photo: Mashable Whether you "like" it or not, Facebook "likes" are considered to be a vital component of free speech protected under the First Amendment, a U.S. appeals court holds. The decision reverses a lower court ruling that Facebook likes are not "actual statements," ruling in favor of a former Virginia deputy sheriff who claimed he had lost his job over "liking" his boss' opponent on Facebook during the 2009 city sheriff race. But, is

spirit of america / shutterstock.com A recent study by the American Bar Association found several flaws in Virginia's death penalty, and made recommendations for reform. While the study did not call for a suspension of capital punishment until reforms are made (as previous studies have), the team of legal experts did suggest changing interrogation procedures and policies regarding biological evidence. Requiring all interrogations in capital cases to be video recorded is one such improvement a

The goal for a national core curriculum, like Common Core, is to ensure that all students who graduate with a U.S. education are capable of participating in the national economy. Proponents argue students should be prepared for the demands of an increasingly globalized workforce or higher education, no matter where they were educated. However, indicators show states with historically lower quality education systems are falling farther behind in spite core curriculum's implementation. In states

Dear IVN Readers, While much of the mainstream media is covering the same old stories with tired talking points, check out some of the discussions on IVN, like: The Alternative Minimum Tax is and how it affects the Middle Class? Did the Supreme Court just rule that cell phone companies own your personal information? What do the results of the special election in New Jersey mean to the rest of us? As always, we look forward to seeing you on IVN.us. - Shawn and the IVN Team What You Missed

Rule number one in effective communication is to establish the relevancy of the topic to the audience. Why should they care? How does it affect their quality of life? Truthful accounting might do just that. For one measure of the states’ quality of life, we turn to the recent work done by Ballotpedia, a “collaborative encyclopedia designed to connect people to politics.” The site focuses on providing a comprehensive and non-partisan analysis of numerous candidates and political efforts. The Lu

credit: University of Georgia If states are to rebuild and retool their economies, they must establish innovative and cost-effective solutions to increase student access to public colleges and universities, according to a recent report. Researchers at the nonpartisan think tank, the American Enterprise Institute, released a study titled, “Taking Charge: A State Level Agenda For Higher Education.” In it, the organization argues that governors and state legislatures must leverage the two-year an

Two weeks after key parts of the Defense of Marriage Act were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, the American Civil Liberties Union announced it would pursue a lawsuit against Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia, challenging their bans on same-sex marriage. "The ACLU has been a leader on this front since bringing our first marriage lawsuit in 1970 and we've been deeply involved in opening marriage up to same-sex couples in each of the 13 states plus the District of Columbia that now

In Minnesota, the recent decision which overturns the congressional affirmation of the provisions of the Voting Rights Act from the 1960s provoked an inappropriate tweet from a democrat in the state legislature, Rep. Ryan Winkler. I find myself torn between respect for the office of Justice of the Supreme Court, and what has appeared to me to be a long series of poor opinions, inaction, and extreme ideological decisions that are consistently harmful to the progress of legislation and efforts to

So California’s Proposition 8 is gone. A coalition of liberal and conservative justices decided today that they did not have to decide the question they had just decided because the party that they authorized to stand up for Proposition 8 lacked the standing to stand there. At the same time, a very different Supreme Court majority, split along traditional liberal-conservative-Kennedy lines, invalidated the Federal Defense of Marriage Act—not, as some people anticipated, on narrow procedural grou

credit: Votecitizens.org Gerrymandering has become a prevalent hurdle to meaningful political participation across the country (with few exceptions, including California*). The duopoly at their finest: if you can’t win by playing fair—CHEAT. The third most important electoral reform—thy name is gerrymandering. Attention Democrats and Republicans these are Independents exhibiting open derision to your sleazy ways. Before we go on let’s review the first two important electoral reforms. The first