Thank you, ACLU and Judge Diggs.
Referring back to Marsha West's attack on the ACLU, as a strong proponent of human rights and social justice, a former member of the ACLU, a former Methodist (turned independent practitioner of personal spirituality), and an Eagle Scout who also earned his God and Country award, I felt moved to address some of the absurdities and misconceptions in her piece.
Ms. West begins her article by stating that the ACLU has been called "the most dangerous organization in America".
On June 2, 2004, Bill O'Reilly (one of the corporate media's most enthusiastic cheerleaders for the Bush administration's war crimes and violations of Constitutional law) did indeed blather:
"Finally, the ACLU -- we talked about this yesterday and I -- and, you know, I have to pick on the ACLU because they're the most dangerous organization in the United States of America right now. There's by far. There's nobody even close to that. They're, like, second next to Al Qaeda."
Enough said on that point.
Marsha West's opinion piece goes on to assert that the "ACLU is a secular organization that exploits the law to impose their anti-God agenda".
Interestingly, my research uncovered that the ACLU has fought on behalf of the rights of Christian persons or entities on over twenty separate occasions. Some examples of the ACLU waging its "anti-God agenda" include filing suit (or filing an amicus curiae brief) on behalf of:
1. a Christian Valedictorian whose yearbook entry was deleted by a public school because it contained a Biblical passage
2. a second grader whose public school prohibited him from singing "Awesome God" in a talent show
3. a New Mexico street preacher who was arrested for proselytizing to passing motorists
4. a member of Operation Rescue who was prevented from protesting against abortion
5. a Christian church attempting to run "anti-Santa" ads that were rejected by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
6. a Baptist minister whom local park authorities had prohibited from performing baptisms on public property
7. a group fighting to prevent the city of Boca Raton from forcing the removal of religious symbols from their family members' graves
8. and (none other than) Jerry Falwell in his battle against a Virginia Constitutional prohibition against churches incorporating.
Referring back to Marsha West's attack on the ACLU, as a strong proponent of human rights and social justice, a former member of the ACLU, a former Methodist (turned independent practitioner of personal spirituality), and an Eagle Scout who also earned his God and Country award, I felt moved to address some of the absurdities and misconceptions in her piece.
Ms. West begins her article by stating that the ACLU has been called "the most dangerous organization in America".
On June 2, 2004, Bill O'Reilly (one of the corporate media's most enthusiastic cheerleaders for the Bush administration's war crimes and violations of Constitutional law) did indeed blather:
Enough said on that point.
Marsha West's opinion piece goes on to assert that the "ACLU is a secular organization that exploits the law to impose their anti-God agenda".
Interestingly, my research uncovered that the ACLU has fought on behalf of the rights of Christian persons or entities on over twenty separate occasions. Some examples of the ACLU waging its "anti-God agenda" include filing suit (or filing an amicus curiae brief) on behalf of:
1. a Christian Valedictorian whose yearbook entry was deleted by a public school because it contained a Biblical passage
2. a second grader whose public school prohibited him from singing "Awesome God" in a talent show
3. a New Mexico street preacher who was arrested for proselytizing to passing motorists
4. a member of Operation Rescue who was prevented from protesting against abortion
5. a Christian church attempting to run "anti-Santa" ads that were rejected by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
6. a Baptist minister whom local park authorities had prohibited from performing baptisms on public property
7. a group fighting to prevent the city of Boca Raton from forcing the removal of religious symbols from their family members' graves
8. and (none other than) Jerry Falwell in his battle against a Virginia Constitutional prohibition against churches incorporating.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).