A.C.L.U. Board Is Split Over Terror Watch Lists

[Rose Siding]

The American Civil Liberties Union is in turmoil over a promise it made to the government that it would not knowingly hire people whose names appear on watch lists of suspected supporters of terrorism. Those lists are the very type it has strongly opposed in other contexts.

In April, for instance, the group filed suit to block the use of "no fly" lists of people barred from air travel or subject to heightened scrutiny, saying the lists were often inaccurate and violated the constitutional rights of some people.

The group made the promise not to employ people it knew to be on similar terrorism lists so that it could continue participating in a program that allows federal employees to make charitable contributions through payroll deductions.

That promise, several members of the A.C.L.U. board said, is at odds with the group's core principles and calls to mind an episode in 1940, when the board passed a resolution purging its staff of people who supported communism. With that history in mind, A.C.L.U. officials said, they had made the commitment in name only and did not intend to consult the lists.

http://nytimes.com/2004/07/31/politics/31aclu.html

[tlcandie]

1. So, what will it be?

Your conscious or your soul? Interesting dilemma!