Dr. J.W. Stansell
--- On Sat, 1/2/10, bbroom@sc.rr.com <bbroom@sc.rr.com> wrote:
From: bbroom@sc.rr.com <bbroom@sc.rr.com>
Subject: ACLU from 200-2001
To: "Buddy Broom" <boneratler1@hotmail.com>, "J.W. Stansell" <drjwstansell@yahoo.com>, "James Dean" <jdean3123@hotmail.com>, "Ken Carnes" <ckcarnes@yahoo.com>, "Richard Creed" <creedrs@bellsouth.net>, "Spencer Timms" <sltimms@yahoo.com>
Date: Saturday, January 2, 2010, 3:13 PM
(I wrote this around 2000-2001, with a small update in 2002. Received 1 class credit. Had to research and write on three more subjects to receive 4 "research" credits. Read to the end to find out how the ACLU ranked your congressman, and my personal comments sprinkled throughout.)
THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION (ACLU)
(Quotes, facts, paraphrases and personal comments from a variety of sources)
Barry Lynn, the ACLU's legislative council, was head of the Committee Against
Registration and the Draft (CARD), whose members not only dodged the draft, but
poured glue into the locks of numerous post offices and won prizes for registering
Donald Duck for the draft.
Lynn is a regular on television talk shows that often ridicule and belittle Christians. On
public television, he ridiculed Cassie Bernall, the young girl who was shot at Columbine
High School for refusing to denounce her faith. Lynn said, "It was a shame that she had
to die in vain, when her claim to fame was to die senselessly and to have her death
exploited by those she left behind."
From the information on their web-site, the ACLU wants to:
* remove "In God We Trust" from our currency
* end Christmas as a national holiday
* remove chaplains from our armed services
* remove all crosses and symbols from military cemeteries
* ban congress from opening each session with a prayer
* abolish the tax exempt status of all churches
The ACLU also has a thing about suing the Boy Scouts and the public schools and
colleges. It is their intent to remove all traces of or references to, God.
1. The ACLU sued the Chicago public school system to ban any Boy Scout activities on
school property because the Scout Oath includes the word "God". ("On my honor, I will
do my best, to do my duty, to God and my country.")
2. In Dale vs Boy Scouts of America, the ACLU backed a lawsuit to force the Boy Scouts
of America to accept homosexual scout leaders.
3. They filed a lawsuit against the Louisiana State Department of Education and Dan
Richey, head of the state's abstinence-before marriage program. The ACLU claims that
the program is "abusing our tax dollars by preaching religion at the abstinence-only
education programs."
4. The Cobb County, Georgia school district is being sued by the ACLU in federal court
to be forced to remove disclaimers on evolution from their middle and highschool
textbooks.
5. Since the 1950s, VMI has required cadets to march into the mess hall and stand at
attention while a "non-sectarian" prayer is read. While it makes mention of God, the
prayer does not mention Jesus Christ. However, two cadets complained about the prayer.
They were Neil Mellen, who was raised Catholic and Paul Knick, who claims to be a
"church going" Lutheran.
When the school refused to stop the time-honored tradition, the two cadets contacted the
ACLU, who wrote a letter to VMI Superintendent Josiah Bunting III, saying, "religious
activities sponsored or directed by the school are unconstitutional and should be stopped
immediately."
Update May 2002: The ACLU won in their attempt to have the mandated prayer declared
unconstitutional.
7. They called the "quiet room" at the Cumberland High School in Harlan KY,
"unlawful" because, "Public schools can't have chapels." A local couple, with the
support of the community, asked the school to set aside a place for quiet meditation for
their granddaughter and her fellow students. The room once served as a storage room and
does not promote religion. (Across the nation, Muslims are provided "prayer rooms" in
the name of "tolerance", yet it is called "unconstitutional" if the same thing is done for
Christians.)
8. In Rocklin, Calf., two parents complained and the ACLU filed a lawsuit that the Breen
Elementary School's display of "God Bless America" on the school marquee was "a
hurtful, divisive message".
9. The ACLU threatened to sue the town of Norwood, Mass. unless the town abandons
plans to display nativity scenes at a local school and at a town hall. After years of
tradition, the display drew but a single complaint last year. Attorney Gary Lee said the
nativity was part of a larger Christmas scene which the town has displayed for years
without offending anyone.
10. In Feb. 1999, the ACLU sued in Manateo, Florida to evict the 15 churches that were
allowed to hold services on different school properties after hours.
11. The city of Elkhart, Ind. erected a granite marker of the Ten Commandments on the
lawn of the city office building back in 1958. On behalf of two residents, the ACLU sued
to have the marker removed. Lower courts ordered the marker removed, and the city
officials asked the Supreme Court to overturn the case. However, the Supreme Court
refused to hear the case.
"Today's announcement should help bring the religious right's Ten Commandments
crusade to a screeching halt." said Barry Lynn.
12. A federal judge threatened the city of Bedford, Ind. with a $1,000 a day fine, plus
$200 for each commissioner, if a monument containing the Ten Commandments was not
removed from the lawn of the local courthouse. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker
issued the ruling based on arguments set forth in an earlier case involving the same
monument at the statehouse building in Ind. The ACLU accused governor Frank
O'Bannon of endorsing religion on government property after he proclaimed his intent to
display a limestone monument that included carvings of the Ten Commandments, the
U.S. Bill of Rights and the preamble of the state's constitution.
13. The Mississippi state legislature has passed a new law, without opposition, requiring
a sign reading "In God We Trust", to be posted in Mississippi public schools. It would be
at no cost to the schools, as the American Family Assoic. would distribute 32,000 copies.
The basis of this law, which was signed by Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, is that "In God We
Trust" is our nation's motto and has never been declared illegal. However, Mississippi
American Civil Liberties Union board member Jane Hicks contends the law violates the
U.S. Constitution.
14. A self described pagan complained that Shawnee County, Kansas treasurer Rita Cline
had a poster "In God We Trust" in her office and refused to remove it. With the help of
the ACLU, she sued to have the poster removed. While treasurer Cline reminded the
pagan that "In God We Trust" is our nation's motto, the pagan said that "It is not my
national motto." Federal Judge Sam Crow scolded the ACLU for bringing a lawsuit in
"bad faith" and reminded them that the motto was adopted in 1956 and the courts have
generally agreed that it is not unconstitutional.
15. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard an argument against Ohio's state motto,
"With God, All Things Are Possible". ACLU attorney Mark Cohn told the judges, "The
state of Ohio has taken the words of Jesus Christ" for its motto, which should be illegal.
The judges are reviewing the case.
The follow-up is that the Ohio motto is constitutional and does not promote Christianity.
The ACLU actually represented Matthew Peterson, a Presbyterian minister in Cleveland
who objected to the motto. The motto was adopted in 1959. In 1998, a lower court ruled
the motto did not promote Christianity because the words were not from the New
Testament. However, in 2000, three judges reversed the prior ruling, saying that the
motto was unconstitutional.
16. The Man-Boy Love Assoic. is being sued by a Mass. couple for having inspired a
pedophile to rape their son. The ACLU supports the organization.
17. Laura Murphy of the ACLU and Barry Lynn of the AUSCS, protested that our
Attorney General John Ashcroft is "running the department like a church". His offense;
holding a daily prayer session at 8:00 AM. While no one is pressured or required to
come, everyone is welcome. Career lawyers in the Department of justice, who naturally
want to remain anonymous, complained to the Washington Post that hosting a prayer
group strikes them as "offensive, disrespectful and unconstitutional". One Justice
Department lawyer complained, " He is using public spaces to have a personally
meaningful event to which I would not be welcome or would not feel welcome".
18. The ACLU has attacked the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" which passed the
house on April 26, 2001. The ACLU says it is "a cunning attempt to separate the fetus
from the mother in the eyes of the law and in the court of opinion." In the standard
medical text, "The Unborn Patient: The Art and Science of Fetal Development" (W.B.
Sanders), the fetus is an individual patient and should be considered as such, as much a
patient as any other patient." If, under 68 already defined crimes of violence, an attacker
has injured a woman, and in that act, has injured or killed the unborn child (a fetus) the
perpetrator can be charged not only with violence against the woman, but also with the
death of or injury to the unborn child. Twenty-four states have already enacted laws that
recognize unborn children as victims of violent crimes, and these laws have been upheld
by the courts. A further definition of the violently killed fetus is " a member of the
species homo sapiens at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb. (Taken
from Nat Hentoff's, "Pro-abortion extremist")
19. The ACLU denies that they are an anti-Christian organization. However, on March 2,
2002, the FMU carried two stories on the same page. The ACLU sued the town of
Franklinton, La. (Population 4,000) because four signs proclaiming "God is Lord over
Franklinton." were on public property.
20. Linton Carney, a resident of New Orleans, 55 miles south of Franklinton, said he was
offended when he drove through the town and saw the signs. (It actually backfired,
because residents replaced the four signs on public property with 1,000 signs on their
private property.)
21. The other story on the same page took place in the Byron Union school district of
CA. In the same month,( Jan.) that the ACLU filed suit against Franklinton, seventh
graders in the Byron Union school district were studying Islam, dressing up in robes,
playing games about Islam, pretending to go on pilgrimages and taking Muslim names.
Peggy Green, superintendent of the school district said some children wore robes with
Muslim name cards. One Christian parent complained that her son was asked to imagine
himself as a Muslim soldier and that the text gave a glowing review of Islam but
criticized Christianity.
The book has been used in California class rooms for several years. (I wonder if the
book covered such things as how Christians are treated in Muslim countries, that is
persecuted, jailed and abused just for practicing their religion. And maybe how there are
no Christian churches in Muslim countries and even our troops in the middle east cannot
eat pork or openly practice their religion. Finally, would such a class been allowed in a
Muslim country if it were to study Christianity?)
Where has the ACLU been for the past several years while this has been going on? Why
haven't they sued to stop it?
22. The ACLU asked the Kanawha County, W. Virginia school board to abolish the
policy of allowing student-led prayers. Because one atheist, Tyler Deveny, complained to
principal Tom Williams, US District Judge John T. Copenhaver issued a restraining
order on behalf of the senior. However, 100 students took it upon themselves to stand
during the ceremony and recite the Lord's Prayer.
Update from Fed Up and Fighting Back by James Dobson, May 2002:
1. The ACLU has threatened to sue in Nebraska to nullify a state constitutional
amendment banning same-sex "marriage" that was overwhelmingly approved by 70% of
the voters.
2. The ACLU has filed suite to attempt to force Georgia to recognize a Vermont-style
"civil union" as a full-fledged marriage.
3. In California, the ACLU was a major backer of an effort to legalize Vermont-style
"civil unions" that give homosexual behavior the same benefits and protection as
traditionally married couples.
4. In Bess vs Ulmer, the ACLU attempted tp prevent Alaska citizens from voting on a
constitutional amendment, like Nebraska's, which defines marriage as the union of one
man and one woman.
If the ACLU is successful in overturning state marriage laws;
1. Public schoolchildren must be taught that the same-sex "marriage" is no different than
the traditional one between a man and a woman.
2. Pastors could be forced to "marry" same-sex couples, just as justices of the peace in
Vermont are now required to issue "civil union" certificates to homosexual couples.
3. Every law concerning marriage, from real-estate to inheritance, will have to be
rewritten.
The ACLU has put out a two page pamphlet to inform Tennessee residents what to do if
they are stopped by law enforcement in response to government efforts to question U.S.
residents about their possible connection to terrorism.
Comment: If the terrorist were Christian, Caucasian males, over 50 years old, I would
expect to be searched for "the greater good" of the majority. Everyone I know would do
everything they could to bring the terrorist to justice. Not the ACLU. They're putting the
majority at risk in order to protect the minority that fit the terrorist's profile.
The ACLU has a website where they rate our legislators. To get a favorable rating, you
must agree with the ACLU's agenda. On 05-04-2001, their "National Freedom
Scorecard" gave the following ratings:
SENATORS
Strom Thurmon (R) 14%
Ernest Hollings (D) 50%
REPRESENTATIVES
Floyd Spense (R) 21%
Jim Demint (R) 21%
Mark Sanford (R) 29%
Lindsey Graham (R) 29%
John Spratt (D) 36%
James Clyburn (D) 79%
In the Morning News, Oct.10, 1998, James Clyburn called the inquiry into Clinton, a
"charade". He is quoted, "All lies are not perjury." ..... "That's just something that is
almost accepted in our society." The article says that Clyburn "believes that lying
about sex under oath is different." And "It is still not a major offense because in
Clinton's situation, the lie was not material to the case in question."
On 09-13-2000, there was a vote on the bill entitled Marriage Tax Penalty Relief
Reconciliation Act. The purpose as to give tax relief to legally married couples that have
been paying more of their income in taxes than couples living together "out of wedlock".
All 220 (100%) of the Republicans voted to give equity to married couples. 76% of the
Democrats voted to allow legally married couples to pay higher taxes than
non-married couples. This penalizes couples who make the legal commitment to each
other and their children. James Clyburn voted to leave this penalty in tact.
James Clyburn, based on his ranking by the ACLU, is no friend of responsible, law
abiding, married, heterosexual, pro family, Christians.
While this paper is about the ACLU, we must face the fact that for almost a generation,
the ACLU, along with liberal politicians, has done everything possible to put and keep
liberal, "anti-Christian values" politicians in office and keep them there. The ACLU
proclaims to be a protector of our Constitution and the "American way of life".
Unfortunately, the "American way of life" for many can seen on television every night.
My views might be deemed radical by many. However, in my lifetime I have seen the
deterioration of morals and values in our country. The more the ACLU "protects our
constitutional rights", the more God is pushed from our lives. What was once shameful
and embarrassing behavior or activities has gradually become acceptable and in many
cases, rewarded. The original purpose of the ACLU might have been honorable.
However, I personally view them as an enemy of God, especially Christians and this
American's way of life.
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