What war on terrorism?
Oddly, the ACLU board decided by voice vote on July 9 to observe the agreement, but three weeks later, the day the story of this ACLU adventure hit the newspapers, Romero terminated the arrangement with the government (apparently without another vote by the board). With the word hypocrisy still hovering over the ACLU, Romero decided to go on the offensive, which, as usual, meant railing against John Ashcroft and the Patriot Act. A press release, threatening to sue, announced that the ACLU would not be intimidated by Ashcroft and his "black list." Romero said the list threatens many Americans, particularly those in children's services, religious groups, and organizations concerned with health and the environment. He predicted "uproar" among postal workers and other government employees when they learn about the "knowingly" issue.
This presumes that federal workers and social service groups generally share the ACLU's reflexive hostility to almost every program dealing with the threat of terrorism. The ACLU usually puts "war on terrorism" in quotation marks, apparently to show disdain for antiterrorism efforts. According to testimony in the Senate, the ACLU is likely to sue any airline that deviates from "random screening" and questions more than two passengers from any ethnic or geographic group. (Will terrorists agree to fly only in groups of two?) The ACLU has raised a hullabaloo about CAPPS II, the Transportation Security Administration's new customer screening system. Most Americans understand that there will have to be trade-offs between individual liberties and the need to prevent a major catastrophe. But some people do not believe in trade-offs. For the ACLU it is still 1955, and the mission is to oppose the government, no matter what.
advertisement
