"ACLU Withdraws From U.S. Charity Program"

[GreenPartyVoter]

NEW YORK (AP) - The ACLU withdrew Saturday from a program that allows federal workers and military personnel to contribute to charities because it requires participating nonprofit groups to check their employees' names against a government watch list of suspected terrorists.

The American Civil Liberties Union called the Combined Federal Campaign's policy unconstitutional and said it would reject more than $500,000 in donations from the program rather than submit to the requirement, which was instituted under the Patriot Act, said Anthony Romero, the ACLU's executive director.

Romero withdrew the ACLU from the program and said the organization plans to sue the government over the policy. The group says the watch list is filled with errors that people listed on them have no way of correcting.

"The Patriot Act and the government war on terror now threatens America's nonprofit organizations," Romero said. "We believe the new requirement violates our fundamental principles as well as the constitutional rights of our employees."

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040801/D8463Q0O0.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. ACLU walks their talk n/t

[DODI]

2. So glad I renewed my membership yesterday!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. They piss me off sometimes but I'm still a member.

Just like the Democratic Party.

[bain_sidhe]

4. GREAT strategy!!

Makes me proud to be a "card carrying" member! Yes, they withdrew, but not before they raised the visibility of the issue! And not before they got a copy of the list, which ordinary people aren't allowed to see!

Think about it... the gov't maintains a list of suspects, but refuses to disclose the reasons for which a person is placed on the list - which makes it impossible for "suspects" to challenge their designation because they aren't allowed to know what caused them to be so designated. Then the gov't requires charities to enforce this unchallengeable designation as a condition of doing business with the government, by "blacklisting" the "suspects" - all without telling the charity why those people are suspects.

By signing the agreement, and then having a very public "fight" over having done so, they have put this issue on the radar screens of both the media and a BUNCH of activists who might not have been aware of it. I'd also venture to say that most Americans weren't aware of this this secret, unchallengeable list either, let alone that the gov't was forcing "blacklisting" of the people on it. Now they are.



**My inner grammar nazi forced me to edit this post.**