RE: ACLU

Chuck Warman (cwarman@sol.wf.net)
Tue, 21 May 1996 21:16:39 -0500

Burgy wrote:

_________SNIP__________

>I suggest that their web page is a much better place to find out what
their
>goals are than an unattributed quotation in an LA newspaper.
>
>Burgy (ACLU member)

How about an *attributed* quote from Roger Baldwin, founder of the ACLU and
its dominant voice until his death in 1981: "We are for Socialism,
disarmament, and ultimately for abolishing the state itself as an
instrument of violence and compulsion. We seek the social ownership of
property, the abolition of the propertied class, and the sole control of
those who produce wealth."

Or this, from the ACLU's First Annual Report: "[The ACLU is] a militant,
central bureau in the labor movement for legal aid, defense strategy,
information, and propaganda."

Or this, from a subsequent Annual Report: "[T]he struggle between labor
and capital is the most vital application of the principle of civil
liberty."

Or this, from the California CLU: [T]eaching monogamous, heterosexual i
ntercourse within marriage is a traditional American value is an
unconstitutional establishment of a religious doctrine."

The ACLU:
opposes the use of airport metal detectors as a deterrent to terrorism
(Policy 270).
opposes the right of communities to conduct any sort of sobriety road
checks (Policy 217).
opposes either spousal or minors' parental consent preceding abortions
(Policies 262 & 263).
advocates legalized prostitution (Policy 211).
advocates full legalization of *all* controlled substances (Policy 210).
(emphasis mine)
advocates full legalization of all pornography, including child pornography
(Policy 4).

The ACLU Policy Guide says "The ACLU supports the right to picket in any
circumstances, by any method, and in any numbers," but it has consistently
supported restrictions on nonviolent pro-life picketing.

Again from Roger Baldwin: "Civil liberties, like democracy, are useful
*only* as tools for social change." (emphasis mine)

And finally this from the *liberal* journalist Walter Lippmann: "The ACLU
almost never goes into action when the liberties of anyone on the right are
attacked....It has missed one opportunity after another to prove that it
really stands for the thing it professes to stand for, that it cares for
civil liberty as such, as a good thing in itself and not merely because it
is a convenience for [the left].

Burgy, I think you could find a better use for your dues money.

Chuck
-------------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Warman
cwarman@sol.wf.net
"The abdication of Belief / Makes the Behavior small."
--- Emily Dickinson