SEATTLE/ Conservative Monitor -- The American Civil Liberties Union in its own literature disingenuously calls itself "America's most conservative organization". According to four May 21 press releases the ACLU opposes vouchers, favors sodomy, frowns on privacy and defends pornography.

The American Civil Liberties Union, this week, revealed that the "ACLU has long opposed vouchers and other so-called 'school choice' measures, saying that they will create a two-tiered system of public education by limiting opportunities for some children, especially those living in the inner cities. Most vouchers programs fund all religious and private schools -- regardless of whether they discriminate against students because of learning or physical disabilities, religion or gender."

The statement failed to mention studies showing that competition among schools fostered by vouchers generally improves school performance across the board, especially in the inner-cities. Also, minorities in the inner-cities are some of the most vocal proponents of voucher programs. ACLU members have been accused of trying to preserve the segregation of the wealthy and the poor that has developed between private and public schools.

The ACLU has been working in Minnesota to strike down a law made in the 1800s that made oral and anal sex illegal. The law has been only sporadically enforced, and the ACLU is making efforts to publicize the case beyond its relative importance.

In a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on 21 May 2001, it was found that a radio broadcaster could play the private, illegally-taped phone conversation of an individual. Steven R. Shapiro, Legal Director of the ACLU, said in a statement to the New York Times, "Today’s decision once again reaffirms the First Amendment right of the media to publish and broadcast information of public concern...The ACLU believes that the constitutional way to protect the privacy of telephone conversations is to punish the people who intercept them and not for the government to interfere with what newspapers choose to publish and radio stations choose to broadcast."

There was no claim that the radio station had anything to do with the illegal wiretap itself, Shapiro noted, adding that the ACLU vigorously opposes illegal wiretapping by private parties as well as expanded government wiretapping. However, Mr. Shapiro did not make any corelation between this case and cases involving acceptance of stolen goods, nor did he comment on how such broadcasts might create an atmosphere that could encourage more illegal activities.

Finally, the ACLU acclaimed the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review a 1998 law by Congress that limits children's access to online pornography. Ann Beeson, an ACLU attorney who is lead counsel in ACLU. v. Ashcroft, No. 00-1293 asked "How...can you explain a law that makes criminals of our clients, who include the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, writers of sexual advice columns, and websites for a bookstore, an art gallery, and the Philadelphia Gay News, to name a few?”

Press releases on these items can be found at the ACLU website.