A.C.L.U.'s Search for Data on Donors Stirs Privacy Fears

[Rose Siding]

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 mocks the organization's frequent criticism of banks, corporations and government agencies for their practice of accumulating data on people for marketing and other purposes.

Daniel S. Lowman, vice president for analytical services at Grenzebach Glier & Associates, the data firm hired by the A.C.L.U., said the software that the organization was using, Prospect Explorer, combed a broad range of publicly available data to compile a file with information like an individual's wealth, holdings in public corporations, other assets and philanthropic interests.

The issue has attracted the attention of New York's attorney general, who is looking into whether the group violated its promises to protect the privacy of its donors and members.

http://nytimes.com/2004/12/18/national/18aclu.html?hp&ex=1103346000&en=7887ddb4b6c05bbf&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[proudbluestater]

1. Pretty bizarre! Violating ones own rules!

[JohnOneillsMemory]

17. One man, the executive director did something the board objects to.

The new executive director signed the ACLU up with a fund-raising firm that uses Patriot Act guidelines for vetting donors.

Just this one guy who used to be executive director for the Ford Foundation, kinda suspicious.

And the ACLU board is at odds with him because they're outraged that he did this.

[WindRavenX]

2. Wow, isn't THAT ironic

Stupid, too.

[Just Me]

3. Psy-ops at work. Fascism at work. Destroy "human causes",...

,..."human protections", "human strengths", "human creativity and intelligence and hope",...at every opportunity.

The NYT is now a participant.

Oh My God. Oh My God. Oh My God.

What are we becoming?

[MisterCompletly]

6. The NYT exposes the hypocrisy of the ACLU and you blame the NYT?

What on earth have we become when we blame the media for exposing one of our cornerstones for something they should NOT be doing?

OMG**6

[Cocoa]

8. I agree, it has to be exposed

we need the ACLU, the worst thing in the world would be to ignore this hypocrisy. If this was Romero's doing, then he has to go, and I'm writing them to tell them that.

[sweetheart]

14. bagged 'em right on!! good work

The job of the article is to attack the revenue stream of the ACLU
for doing their job.... and according to the thread, it worked even
with some folks at DU (freeper test unapplied...)

The best way to fight this, is to write a christmas cheque to the
ACLU, to Amnesty International, to Human Rights Watch, to OXFAM and
World Wildlife Fund.

God Bless the good guys.

[Thurston Howell IV]

4. Funny, I was just about to renew my membership

I just put the envelope in with the pile of bills I'm going to be paying. Until further notice, they can go screw themselves -- which is exactly the message I'm going to write across their gift form.

[NashVegas]

5. Who Were the Big-Name Republicans That Joined Last Year?

remember that?

[MisterCompletly]

7. I suppose it could be an inside aside

My money is on the power got to the heads of the leaders and as per usual power corrupts absolutely everyone including those that pontificate to us meager minion followers of all things socially correct. It happened to many before them (Castro, Stalin, Mao, Chavez etc) and will continue until they exit their glass houses and live among the tried and true people of reality.

[Massachusetts]

10. Yes Sireeeeee..........................

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :hippie:

[rooboy]

9. Bob Barr. n/t

[Rose Siding]

12. Dick Armey too

I've thought before how screwed we'd be if the ACLU were ever to become corrupted- not that this has gone so far, but what if...?

[susanna]

15. Bob Barr and Dick Armey,

IIRC?

[despairing optimist]

11. Sounds like another Skokie-type snafu . . .

DUers of a certain age will recall ACLU in the doghouse for defending the right of neo-nazis to stage a march through the (then?) predominantly Jewish town of Skokie, Illinois, in the seventies. Lots of members tore up their cards and refused to donate. I was one of them.

After the Patriot Act became law, I relented and once again became a member. I urge people to keep their eyes on the prize, i.e., civil liberties, and remember this: keeping ACLU strong will help us all regardless of this relatively rare though significant lapse of judgment regarding the collection of members' personal information.

And if some Republicans see the light and want to join ACLU, so much the better. ACLU promotes civil liberties regardless of where the chips may fall. No political party is right or wrong all of the time; it's ACLU's bad luck to have to point that out over the years regardless of which party is in power. And yes, even ACLU makes mistakes, but don't throw out the baby with the bath water.

[TahitiNut]

16. That's when I joined.

A nation cannot be 'free' when it only protects the popular.

[genieroze]

13. Good grief

:wtf: