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Jaidness
04-06-2005, 09:55 AM
On "The Point," Hyman falsely claimed ACLU "abhors individual religious freedom"

On the March 31 edition of "The Point," Sinclair Broadcast Group commentator Mark Hyman falsely attacked the American Civil Liberties Union, claiming: "Not unlike the Communist Chinese, the ACLU abhors individual religious freedom, and it supports only those civil liberties that fit its narrow political agenda."

In fact, the ACLU has supported religious freedom on numerous occasions, including the following:

The ACLU joined with the Rev. Jerry Falwell to successfully challenge the constitutionality of a Virginia law that prevented churches from incorporating, on the grounds that the law "violate[d] the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of free exercise of religion."
In June, 2004, the ACLU threatened legal action against a park manager who had not permitted a Baptist church to perform a baptism in a Stafford County, Virginia, public park.
After the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an argument by two American Indians that their use of the hallucinogen peyote was protected under the First Amendment (Employment Division v. Smith, 1990), the ACLU joined a number of other secular and religious organizations in requesting a rehearing of the case.
According to a September 22, 2000, press release, the ACLU "heralded President Clinton's plan to sign into law today legislation that will protect religious freedom from unfair government restrictions."
In addition, while Hyman did not offer a definition of "individual religious freedom," the ACLU website presents the group's definition: "The free exercise clause of the First Amendment guarantees the right to practice one's religion free of government interference. The establishment clause requires the separation of church and state. Combined, they ensure religious liberty." The website also declares the group's intention to protect religious liberty: "The ACLU will continue working to ensure that religious liberty is protected by keeping the government out of the religion business."

The ACLU website lists numerous instances in which it has defended the religious liberty of individuals and organizations.

Media Matters for America leads SinclairAction.com, a coalition of groups and individuals protesting Sinclair's continued misuse of public airwaves to broadcast one-sided, politically charged programming without a counterpoint.

— S.S.M.

http://mediamatters.org/items/printable/200504010005

what? Sinclair broadcasting is one sided? Hmmph I guess ya do learn something new everyday

Jolie Rouge
05-10-2006, 12:50 PM
ACLU Windfalls
YOUR TAX DOLLARS DOLED OUT TO THE ACLU
Monday, 24 October 2005

The following information was taken from the web site of the Center for Reclaiming America, an arm of Coral Ridge Ministries in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. And at the bottom of the page is a sample of a letter you can use to write newspaper editors to publish regarding the ACLU's legalized theft of your tax dollars.

ACLU Generates Revenue in Courtroom Campaign

$156,960 = Nebraska (1)

The ACLU was awarded $156,960 after a judge overturned an amendment to the Nebraska Constitution defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The amendment was approved by 70 percent of Nebraska voters.

$790,000 = San Diego

The ACLU was given $790,000 after suing to nullify a lease between the city of San Diego and the Boy Scouts of America. A federal judge sided with the ACLU, ruling that the Boy Scouts are a religious organization because they require kids to pledge an oath to God and promise to live a “morally straight” life.

$150,000 = Barrow County (Ga.) (2)

The ACLU was awarded $150,000 after suing to remove a display of the Ten Commandments from the Barrow County Courthouse.

$615,500 = Florida Supreme Court

The Florida Supreme Court established the Florida Bar Foundation and then commissioned the foundation to provide $615,500 to the ACLU of Florida between the years of 1990 and 1997.

$121,500 = Kentucky

The ACLU was awarded $121,500 after suing to remove a monument outside of the Kentucky Capitol building.

$277,000 = Kentucky

The ACLU was awarded a whopping $277,000 after suing to overturn a state law against abortion in 1994.

$299,500 = Kentucky

In 2001, the ACLU was awarded more than $299,500 after suing to overturn abortion regulations in Kentucky.

$50,000 = Tennessee

A Tennessee County was forced to pay the ACLU $50,000 after losing a legal battle to preserve a display of the Ten Commandments.

$37,037 = Loudoun County (Va.)

The ACLU was awarded $37,037 after winning a lawsuit to prevent a Loudoun County (Va.) from installing pornography filters on public library computers.

$175,000 = Alabama

Following the lawsuit, involving former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court building, state taxpayers were forced to pay nearly $550,000 in attorney fees and court costs. Of that, $175,000 went to the ACLU.

63,000 = California

Taxpayers were forced to give the ACLU a whopping $63,000 after their lawsuit to remove a World War One Memorial Cross from the Mojave National Preserve.

$74,462 = Habersham County (Ga.)

The ACLU received $74,462 from Georgia taxpayers after suing to remove a Ten Commandments display from the Habersham County (Ga.) Courthouse.

$25,000 = Pulaski County (Ark.)

The ACLU was awarded $25,000 after suing an Arkansas county for telling the child’s parents that the 14-year-old boy was living an openly gay lifestyle in school.

$135,000 = Cobb County (Ga.)

The ACLU is scheduled to receive $135,000 from Cobb County taxpayers, after suing the county to remove warning stickers from the district biology books. The stickers simply read, “Evolution is a theory, not a fact.”

$75,000 = Pasco (Wash.)

The city of Pasco, Washington was forced to pay the ACLU $75,000 after they lost a lawsuit to remove the painting of a naked woman from the Pasco City Hall.

$52,000 = Seattle (Wash.)

Residents in Seattle, Washington, were ordered to pay $52,000 to the ACLU — for defending a student’s “right” to mock the assistant principal in a sexual online parodies … sodomizing Homer Simpson and appearing in Viagra commercials.

$6,000,000 = American taxpayers (3)

The ACLU, along with other pro-abortion organizations, have shared in court awards estimated to be worth roughly six million dollars following the Supreme Court’s decision in which they declared the Nebraska partial birth abortion ban unconstitutional. Reportedly, these lawsuits affected thirty states.

$18,000 = London (Ohio)

After suing London, Ohio, for allowing their football coach to host a voluntary prayer for athletes, the ACLU was awarded $18,000 in attorney fees.

$110,000 = Multnomah County (Oregon)

Incredibly, Multnomah County taxpayers were asked to pay a whopping $110,000 after the ACLU sued them for allowing the Boy Scouts of America to recruit on public school campuses.

$111,000 = Operation Rescue (4)

Operation Rescue was ordered to pay the ACLU $111,000 after losing a lawsuit in which the ACLU sought to prevent the organization from picketing near abortion clinics.

$230,000 = San Diego (California)

San Diego residents were forced to pay $230,000 in legal costs in an effort to defend the Mount Soledad Cross (a memorial to the Korean War) from an ACLU lawsuit. The Korean War Memorial had been established in 1952.



Editor's notes below:

(1) Order stayed pending appeal to state Supreme Court

(2) Not paid yet as of 8/11 but due out any day

(3) Exact figures unavailable but a reasonable assumption would be a split between the ACLU and the likes of Planned Parenthood and NARAL, hence $3,000,000.

(4) Not paid thru tax dollars but a rape (no pun intended) of an organization that has broken it financial back to save unborn children from the horrors of abortion.

It should be noted, as a small comfort, that a lawsuit against the ACLU of Louisiana, their national gay rights division and an ACLU plaintiff by a Louisiana mom is working its way thru the courts and is still active, per a recent personal conversation with the plaintiff. However, beyond a confirmation that the suit is ongoing, the mom declined to provide further information on advice from her attorney.

Nonetheless, more of these lawsuits are needed against the ACLU. The ACLU has intimidated states and citizens too long and it is time to fight back.

Assuming the ACLU received $3 million (half the total) in tax dollars from the U.S. government in partial birth abortion ban ruling above and subtracting the money paid by Operation Rescue, the amount paid or pending to be paid in all the above cases by the taxpayers comes to almost $6.5 million dollars. Most Americans do not appreciate having their hard earned tax dollars go towards an organization hell bent on the destruction of American values.

It's also worth noting that the ACLU often complains about taxpayers footing the bill in their suits against the 10 Commandments and other religious artifacts when cities and states attempt to stand up to their tactics. However, the ACLU doesn't think twice about suing states and the U.S. government when passing laws to add restrictions for abortion such as parental notification or consent or as noted in the list above, banning partial birth abortion.

Contact your U.S. Senators and Congressmen today and tell them to support HR 2679 and defund the ACLU, Americans United and others who are getting our tax dollars to work against us. To find who they are and to send your message to them, click here and bookmark this page for future reference.

Also on this page is a section titled "Reps" Votes by E-mail. I highly recommend you get this weekly service via the Washington Times. It's the easiest way to find out how your lawmakers voted on all the issues during the previous week. I get it and it is well worth it

Here is a sample of a letter you can use to write a letter to the editor of your local and state newspapers regarding the ACLU. You may wish to modify a few points so it doesn't come across canned but the bottom line is it gets the message out on the ACLU. Feel free to use any or all of it. If at all possible, try to keep the mention of our web site in the letter. Some papers do not want the display of web addresses on their pages



Most newspapers want you to keep your comments between 200 & 300 words. This one is 250 and should be adequate for most papers' requirements. And if your letter is published and available online for viewing, by all means, let us know .



Dear Editor:

For quite some time, many Americans have been concerned about court rulings on the 10 Commandments , "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, traditional marriage and our government being ordered to release documents and photos regarding the Abu Ghraib scandal. The common denominator in these cases is the American Civil Liberties Union.

We're led to believe by the media and the ACLU itself that the ACLU is America's vanguard of civil liberties. But nothing is further from the truth. The ACLU has served to squelch America's religious heritage and patriotic values by its assaults on highly popular American traditions like the Boy Scouts because they refuse to allow avowed homosexuals and atheists as Scoutmasters. Yet the ACLU unabashedly backs positions unpopular with large segments of Americans such as its support of unrestricted pornography, abortion and same sex marriage.

What is most troubling is in many ACLU's cases against America's cities and counties, taxpayers pick up the tab on ACLU's legal fees, due to provisions in the Civil Rights Act of 1976 not written with the ACLU in mind. Not all Americans agree on all issues but most people would agree the ACLU is not entitled to taxpayer money in the event of adverse court rulings.

One group is bringing national attention to the ACLU's actions, the Stop the ACLU Coalition at www.stoptheaclu.org. Visit the website for more information and urge Congress to pass legislation to prevent the likes of the ACLU from receiving our tax dollars to advance its liberal agenda.

http://www.stoptheaclu.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=31