Flying Pigs at the ACLU
Posted on November 17, 2008
Chalk one up on their rare right side board! Pigs are flying! Protecting privacy:
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio recently called on Gov. Ted Strickland and other officials to enact regulations protecting private information kept in state databases.
The ACLU first pressed for reform after it was revealed officials at Ohio’s Department of Job & Family Services conducted a search of private information on Joseph Wurzelbacher, also known as “Joe the Plumber,” and that such searches of those in news headlines were common protocol for the office.
Ed Morrissey is shocked, and points out the convenient timing:
They did? If so, they called for reform very, very quietly. The earliest comment made by the ACLU in Ohio came on October 29th, and hardly was a ringing call for reform. Chris Link, the executive director, did ask why the state of Ohio seemed to “be picking on this fellow”, but didn’t demand any answers, investigations, or reform until a few days ago. Given their heated rhetoric over the detention of terrorists in Guantanamo, this seems like very, very weak tea indeed.
Of course, reacting then may have impacted how the public saw this abuse. Now that the election’s over, it’s much safer for the ACLU to actually protect the civil rights of Joe the Plumber from the Democratic government in Ohio. I guess they finally found their courage in the Age of Obama.
Better late than never. I’ll give this state branch of the ACLU its props! Bravo! However, you could teach a thing or two to your parent/national organization. Perhaps the law they are rallying for here can protect other duped ACLU members by protecting their financial information from the ACLU itself?
The American Civil Liberties Union is using sophisticated technology to collect a wide variety of information about its members and donors in a fund-raising effort that has ignited a bitter debate over its leaders’ commitment to privacy rights.
Some board members say the extensive data collection makes a mockery of the organization’s frequent criticism of banks, corporations and government agencies for their practice of accumulating data on people for marketing and other purposes.
Thought we forgot about that one? Oh well…bravo ACLU of Ohio on setting the example for your parent organization.
» Filed Under 1st Amendment, ACLU, Bill Of Rights, News, U.S. Constitution
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2 Responses to “Flying Pigs at the ACLU”
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I have to agree with Ed on this one. That was my reaction before I even read your post. Joe was under attack for at least 3 weeks to a month. How long do you think they would have been silent if this was a Republican? Worse yet (to them), a CONSERVATIVE?
This is unforgivable. I was calling on the ACLU when the story first broke about this abuse. Nothing. To hell with them. They took their time so that Obama would be elected, and that’s just plain wrong. If you’re truly about civil rights for Everyone, they failed the test.
Nice post, though.
Also, Link wrote a letter to the editor of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer on 10/31/08, which was very critical of the state and called for reform.
http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2008/10/government_snoops_have_no_righ.html#more
And there are two different press releases on their site about this.