An Anti-ACLU Rant for 7/21/05

The ACLU and Terrorism Today

There are many examples of how the ACLU opposes efforts by our government to fight terrorism, and how they show support towards the enemy today.

A few examples of this are the ACLU's opposition to the no-fly list, border control, and the CFC Watch List which would require charities to check their employees and expenditures against several government watch lists for "terrorist activities".

But one issue in particular catches my attention. In October of 2004, the ACLU turned down $1.15 million in funding from two of it's most generous and loyal contributors, the Ford and Rockefeller foundations, saying new anti-terrorism restrictions demanded by the institutions make it unable to accept their funds.

"The Ford Foundation now bars recipients of its funds from engaging in any activity that "promotes violence, terrorism, bigotry, or the destruction of any state."

The Rockefeller Foundation's provisions state that recipients of its funds may not "directly or indirectly engage in, promote, or support other organizations or individuals who engage in or promote terrorist activity."Source

Does this strike anyone else as odd? The ACLU states that the language of the grants are too vague and could have a "chilling effect" on civil liberties. Vague? I don't know how the organizations could have been more clear. They didn't want thier money going to support or promote terrorist activity. The ACLU obviously had a problem with this.

So what does the ACLU use its money to do?

Ben Johnson of Front Page Magazine points out:

The ACLU has also shown itself a willing tool of the terrorists, waging a massive anti-anti-terrorism legal campaign. This pillar of the legal Left denounced the government's requirement that men aged 16-25 holding "temporary visas" from nations with known ties to terrorism register with the INS; represented Sami al-Arian, the North American fundraiser and co-founder of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (filing a brief upholding his inalienable right to fresh briefs!); rallied on behalf of convicted al-Qaeda benefactor Maher Mofeid Hawash; urged local communities not to cooperate with federal anti-terror investigations; and opposed the FBI's monitoring Islamist mosques. As David Horowitz notes in his book Unholy Alliance, radical Center for Constitutional Rights lawyer Ron Kuby notes the "passionate...identification" most lawyers feel with their clients, such as that of convicted terror enabler Lynne Stewart for World Trade Center bomber Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman. Given her aid for international Islamic terrorism, the government is right to keep a watchful eye on those who perpetually side with the enemy.Front Page Magazine

One of the most revealing occurances towards the ACLU's absolutist position on national security and its recent evolution can be seen in the action the board of directors took at its Oct 1989 meeting: It dropped section (a) from its policy, "Wartime Sedition Act." Before, the ACLU held that it "would not participate (save for fundamental due process violations) in defense of any person believed to be "cooperating" with or acting on behalf of the enemy." This policy was based on the recognition that "our own military enemies are now using techniques of propaganda which may involve an attempt to prevent the Bill of Rights to serve the enemy rather than the people of the United States." In making its determination as to whether someone were cooperating with the enemy, "the Union will consider such matters as past activities and associations, sources of financial support, relations with enemy agents, the particular words and conduct involved, and all other relevant factors for informed judgement."

All of this has now been dropped from the official ACLU Policy. Twilight Of Liberty

The absolute tragedy is that it is not only the nations's security the ACLU's absolutist philosophy puts in danger, but the very cause of liberty itself.

I don't know about you, but positions like this makes me suspicious of the ACLU's intentions, and what their money goes towards. As a matter of fact, I've shown you a history of how they use their funds to defend terrorists, and they still do so today. The sad thing is they are using your tax money to do so.

The United States Congress, roughly thirty years ago, passed a provision in United States Code section 1988 that requires taxpayers to pay attorneys in civil rights cases. I don't want my tax money supporting an organization that defends terrorists organizations and the sworn enemies of the United States.

Please join me in signing this Petition To Stop Taxpayer Funding of The ACLU

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