Bringing this discussion back on topic, the ACLU is fighting culture war against the right. As such, the news that a high-level ACLU patron was deeply involved in child pornography is noteworthy. The story's downplay in the mainstream media puts the battle lines in stark contrast. Leftists in the media, leftists in the ACLU, and progressives such as the gay rights movement and NAMBLA are shown to be in alliance. Their enemy is shown to be conservative or religious organizations who take a moral stand in favor of traditional value and against sexual hedonism and deviance (such as the BSA).
Woah there. First off, gay rights and NAMBLA are not the same, nor in alliance. Most gays that I've spoken at length with, admittedly Pink Pistol types, have pretty typical attitudes towards child molesters. (ie, shoot 'em) They're not in any "culture war". They want civil liberties, and some folks don't want 'em to have rights whatsoever.
NAMBLA is a front attempting to legalize an abusive activity. They claim to want 'civil liberties', in reality, they want to sexually victimize unconsenting children.
Big difference, mate. In one case, a group of consenting adults want civil liberties and the right to be equal. It's not my lifestyle, but I can appreciate wanting freedom. It's what America is supposed to be about. The other group is a group wanting to legalize literally destroying children. It's as opposite as you can get.
You want to legislate religious doctrine, not "promote values". Your prophet did not advocate using government coercion against people that disagreed with him. As I recall, he very much disagreed with it. He talked to many people and tried to convert them by making them want to convert of their own free will. Ironically, he was killed by religious leaders who did favor government enforced religious coercion. No one is stopping you from believing whatever you want to believe.
The BSA is a cute ad lib, but the reality is that organizations that want to practice discrimination should not receive public funds. If you feel differently, why don't you open your wallet instead of trying to open mine? I prefer to donate my cash to GOA, NRA, etc.
If you want to try to convince people to give up hedonism, go right ahead. Heck, I'll buy the beer and popcorn. It'd be vastly amusing. If you want to make your religious doctrine the law of the land, that's another story. With the exception of a couple of wackjobs who do want to stomp out all religion, folks just want to be left alone to live their lives as they please. They'll all die in time, and settle accounts in the afterlife. That's between them and whatever diety they choose.
The way I see it, Christians have a right to form public organizations and seek public support on equal footing with non-Christians. Homosexuals have the same right create public organizations and for those organizations to seek out public support. Neither side has the right to restrict the other's free exercise of this right. The ACLU stands selectively behind these rights for some, and against these rights for others. The ACLU supports our liberties, so long as we all adhere to a liberal, politically correct, and progressive lifestyle.
Where is the ACLU on the 2nd Ammendment? Answer: on the leftist, statist side supporting gun control, to the detriment of the Constitution.
Christians do have a right to create any organization they want to. They can SEEK any public support they want. I don't know of any sane folks that argue differently. The ACLU is a private organization. If you don't like their views, don't donate. If enough folks don't like their views, they run out of money and go away. They're entitled to whatever opinion they want, stupid as many of them may be.
When was the last time the ACLU took down one of the myriad of constitutionally-abhorrent social programs the Fed illegally spends our tax dollars on? Answer: they don't oppose social programs, despite their utter lack of constitutional authority.
When was the last time the ACLU stood up for the right of a straight, white, Christian, male to receive equal consideration for college entrance or job-promotion? Answer: they don't oppose limitations on the rights of boring, average Joes to receive equal treatment - they generally only support the rights of politically correct minorities.
And what is stopping you from creating an organization that fights for the rights of "straight, white, Christian, males" exclusively? Start a PAC, try to raise funds, and take it from there. No one's stopping you. Obviously, folks who donate to the ACLU like the policies that the ACLU follows. Not my cup of tea, but as long as they don't break any laws, I fail to see the bad side?
When was the last time the ACLU supported a Christian organization's right to go about its business in public as freely as any non-religious organization? Answer: they oppose Christian organizations, under some contorted belief that the 1st Amendment calls for "prohibiting the free exercise of religion" in the name of "separation of church and state".
And I'm sure the ACLU even remotely compares financially or numerically to the number of Christian organizations. Again, what's your point? That you don't like their policies? They are fairly open about their opinions. Fair as I know, they're not hiding anything. You're making it out to sound like they're some evil conspiracy akin to a left-wing ZOG or whatever. They have no more and no less power than any other private organization.
And yes, unification of church and state does prohibit the free exercise of religion. Just because the exact phrase "seperation of church and state" is not in the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights does not mean that the 9th and 10th amendments do not exist.
The Constitution spells out exactly the role and limitation of the federal government. The Bill of Rights just enumerates a bunch of rights you have. It is not the beginning nor the end of your civil rights. Let me phrase it VERY clearly, the enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
