The ACLU won't avoid employing terrorists

That's the ultimate effect of the article linked above. On Saturday, the NY Times reported that the ACLU would continue to accept contributions through a government program that allows charities and nonprofit corporations to receive donations from federal employees through payroll deductions. But to do that the ACLU had to certify that it would not employ people on terrorist watch lists.

After the July 31 article appeared, the ACLU reversed itself and opted out of the program because (1) it thought the prohibition was against KNOWINGLY employing such persons and (2) the government program required some affirmative prevention (such that a failure-to-inquire defense would not work). Naturally, this is pure bunk -- the ACLU was exposed for its duplicity of opposing such watchlists and simultaneously pledging not to employ people on those lists for the sake of accepting the payroll contribution and decided against the watch lists.

The fact is the watchlists are just that: lists of people who COULD be threats to the nation. The notion that such people are actually having their civil rights harmed because the government is only calling for some extra precautions against them (no handling sensitive governmental information, and suchlike) just shows how low the ACLU has set its bar for a "civil rights violation."


Hat-tip Just One Minute.