The ACLU May Have “No Comment” But Their Record Speaks Loudly

Listen to this compendium of objections to just ONE proposed House of Representatives bill”

 (ACLU) Letter to the House Opposing H. R. 1104, the Child Abduction Prevention Act  

“Problems in H.R. 1104 in its current form include:

• Expanding the Death Penalty: Section 102 expands the type of homicide that can be punished by the death penalty.  The ACLU opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and opposes creating new death-eligible offenses. … 
• Increasing Mandatory Sentences: … The ACLU opposes mandatory sentencing because it eliminates judicial discretion and can lead to unfair punishments.  We oppose increasing mandatory sentences.  We do not oppose section 103 (a) that increases the maximum penalty, because this section maintains judicial discretion.  It allows harsh punishments when appropriate, but allows the judge to deviate from that punishment if appropriate. …
•  Criminalizing Traveling with a criminal intent: Section 105 (b) creates a new crime of “traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.”   … Furthermore, a person’s sexual conduct is highly private and the government will of necessity have to intrude on private matters to prove this crime — telephone conversations, e-mail exchanges, and travel-related purchases.  Another concern is that sub-section (e) requires punishing an attempt or a conspiracy to travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct to the same degree as the underlying offense.  Again, the danger here is that the government will be turning wholly innocent behavior into a crime….
•  Two Strikes and You’re Out: Section 106 again, creates a mandatory life sentence for certain sexual offenses.  Again, we oppose this section because we oppose mandatory sentencing. … removing judicial discretion may create unduly harsh sentences.    
• Expanding Wiretap Authority: Section 201 expands the federal wiretap law to include several new offenses.  We are concerned about expanding federal wiretap authority in general, because wiretap authority is supposed to be used sparingly for the most serious crimes.  We understand the government’s desire to expand wiretap authority in some sex crimes, but think there should be differentiation between sexual offenses that involve actual children and offenses that involve transporting pornographic materials, not children.  Two of the sections, 18 U.S.C. sections 2252 and 2252A involve transportation of materials and we oppose expanding wiretap authority to cover these two sections. This section should be limited to sexual offenses that involve actual children.   
• Eliminating the Statute of Limitations: Section 202 eliminates the statute of limitation for ANY sexual abuse case (Chapter 109A offenses) even those against adults.  Many of these offenses are not among the most serious felony offenses and do not justify the extreme measure of eliminating the statute of limitations.  If this section were truly to be limited to only child abduction cases, it would be much less troubling.   
• Eliminating Pre-Trial Release: Section 221 eliminates the presumption of bail for persons charged with certain crimes against children.  The ACLU opposes eliminating the constitutional right to bail for persons accused of crimes, at a time when they are still presumed to be innocent.  There may be times when, for public safety reasons, a judge believes that certain offenders should be detained pre-trial.  In those cases, a judge can set a high bail, making it impossible for an accused person to be released from jail.  However, as with sentencing decisions, the judge should exercise discretion over bail decisions, not Congress. “

http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_prisoners-rights_drug-law-reform_immigrants-rights/letter-house-opposing-h-r-1104-chi

The ACLU is “The Criminal Lobby”

The ACLU has a long history of opposing things that I’ll bet you support, even if you are liberal and actively (or tacitly) support the ACLU – like sex registry, on-line.

This from a 2004 article:

“We’re opposed to online registries for two reasons,” said Francisco Lobaco, the legislative director of the ACLU in California. “First, it heightens the risk of harassment and discrimination of those who have already served their time. Second, it fails to consider whether the individual continues to pose a risk to the public.”

Read More http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/05/63219#ixzz0hYKfscJp

The US Government is California, moving toward Greece and trending toward Iceland.

 “Emergency” is the Democrats excuse for over-riding the “pay as you go” concept that Senator Bunning was demonstrating in his Senatorial roadblock last week.

Surely, they jest!

An “emergency” is something unexpected. The unemployment bill was something EVERONE knew about, was on the calendar for months – and everyone knew about it when they passed “pay-go.’

That moisture on my leg is rain, right?

Gimme’ a break.

Poor planning on someone’s part does not make it an emergency on my part.

The unemployment rate for those with a college education, is 5%.

Since 4% is considered zero unemployment in normal times because of job transfers, college graduates are not suffering that badly in this environment.

Education is cheap. ignorance is costly, but ignorance does not constitute a blank check on my checking/savings account.

Proper Planning Prevents P***-Poor Performance. “Unemployment insurance” is supposed to be “insurance.” It isn’t after it goes broke — then it becomes welfare, funded by borrowing from China.

The US Government is California, moving toward Greece and trending toward Iceland.

But the President has vowed to get it all under control.

Next year!

Filed under: Liberals: Pick Your Side!

“In light of recent news that the president may instead try those five suspected terrorists before military commissions, the ACLU plans to release a full-page advertisement in The New York Times this Sunday, criticizing the White House for its change of heart.

 “If this stunning reversal comes to pass, President Obama will deal a death blow to his own Justice Department, not to mention American values,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, in a separate statement released on Thursday.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/85303-aclu-to-release-full-page-nyt-ad-criticizing-white-house-for-911-trials