Utterly Meaningless

I’m rather surprised to learn you support the ACLU..they don’t seem too family or homeschool friendly. What do you think of their actions in the Washington state case regarding the woman trying to parent her 14 year old daughter. She listened in on a telephone conversation between her daughter and her 17 year old boyfriend and heard the boy implicate himself in a robbery. The court said parents can’t evesdrop on their children. What a croc. They might as well tell us not to parent!

Yeah- I don’t agree with more than about 1/2 the stances they take. That being said, the press seems to have mostly abdicated its role as watchdog over the government. But somebody has to attempt to keep it in check. If you have a better candidate than the ACLU, I’ll support them.

The ACLU started out as a pretty good organization, especially if you consider the extent to which 1st Amendment rights were abridged / denied in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1977, ACLU defended the right of neo-Nazis to march in the predominantly Jewish town of Skokie, IL. This was bad tactics, sure, but it was bad strategy as well. ACLU lost members and began to hemhorrage money, as well. Since then, they have been forced to ‘market’ themselves by digging for the most sensational stories possible. DoD / FBI are popular targets now, so that’s where ACLU is aiming. Keep in mind, though, that ACLU’s continued survival is based upon their ability to get publicity and (thereby) donations. They may do some things for the ‘right’ reason, but never forget that the real reason behind their actions is unchanged: they want your money.

OT of the OT article, but about the money….ACLU also receives government money (your tax dollars) per 42 USC Section 1988 (b) Attorney’s fees and (c) Expert fees when they win a case. So, they receive government funding, get donations and have some pro bono lawyers.

OTOH- they are not a 501(c)3 organization, so they’re not subsidized by the tax code.

Also, I disagree about the Nazi’s march being a mistake. IMO, that was the ACLU’s finest hour.

Finest hour? I can’t agree, but I see where you’re coming from. But the result of the ACLU’s decision is indisputable: they lost a lot of support after Skokie, and have struggled to regain lost ground ever since. Whereas the pre-Skokie ACLU got a lot of support from ‘middle-of-the-road’ free speech supporters and Constitutionalists, the post-Skokie ACLU had to make their pitch to the margins of society: neo-Nazis, Satan worshippers, and pornography barons. Commendable, maybe, but also somewhat cynical on the ACLU’s part. We all have bills to pay, I guess…

So, what you are saying Jason, is that the ACLU had a lot of members that really don’t support the concept of free speech. They supported the concept of free speech that they agreed with, and when the ACLU went off and supported the rights of the “enemy” it was a bad thing.

That’s a pretty harsh indictment of the ACLU membership if true.