billl4's blog

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 5, 2010
Contact: Nikos Leverenz 916/248-0338 or ACLU-Sac public affairs 916/996-9170

ACLU warns that attacks on ‘disfavored groups’
at universities one more challenge for students
already hit hard by drastically-rising costs

SACRAMENTO – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Sacramento County today said recent “bias-related incidents” at California schools – including one at the University of California Davis where a Jewish student had a swastika carved into her door – ought to result “in a heightened commitment to student safety.”

The ACLU said the attacks are just one more challenge for California students, who have faced drastically increased student fees and tuition costs, which were protested throughout the state Thursday.

Need to Trim Corrections Spending, Governor? Stop Wasting Money on the Death Penalty!
Created 01/11/2010 - 1:27pm
By Natasha Minsker

If Gov. Schwarzenegger thinks he can cut $3.5 billion from state spending on corrections, he is being unrealistic and impractical.

In his state of the state address Wednesday, Gov. Schwarzenegger promised to restore the California dream by increasing funds for education and cutting funds for prisons in the budget proposal he releases today. That’s a great theory. But his only real proposal is to outsource prison administration to private companies. The state’s powerful prison guards’ union will ensure that plan fails. Meanwhile, the governor continues to slash education, health care, and other vital services.

So let’s consider something the governor can actually do right now to make a serious dent in the corrections budget: convert all 700 death sentences in California to permanent imprisonment saving the state $1 billion over the next five years.

We couldn't have done it without you!

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, we wanted to stop and take a moment to express our gratitude for all you do for the ACLU.

This year, you and the entire ACLU online community have taken action on a host of issues in every state across the country. We hope you’ll take a moment and watch a quick video about some of the civil liberties battles you have helped the ACLU fight -- and win -- in 2009.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 11, 2009

ACLU-Sacramento condemns ‘hate crime' against Temple Beth Shalom, deplores violation of rights

SACRAMENTO – The ACLU of Sacramento released a comment Wednesday regarding the "hate crime" at Temple Beth Shalom in Sacramento. Jim Updegraff, Sacramento chair of the board of directors, commented:

"The Sacramento County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union deplores and condemns the desecration of Temple Beth Shalom on Tuesday. This hate crime occurred on the 71st anniversary of the Kristallnacht program when Nazi thugs destroyed most all the synagogues and Jewish businesses in Germany and Austria, murdered Jews, and sent thousands of Jewish men to concentration camps.

"This action was the beginning of the genocide of European Jews. Only a person(s) with a sick twisted mind would ‘celebrate' this horrific event by defacing a synagogue with Nazi symbols.

"Certainly one of the important civil rights we enjoy is the ability to attend a place of worship of our choice and to peaceably worship without fear of government or private adverse actions. The congregation of Temple Beth Shalom has had this right violated by a hate-monger(s). The perpetrator(s) will have to face the consequences of this action."

Justice Denied: Voices from Guantanamo

The men in this video were held at Guantánamo for years without charge and denied any meaningful opportunity to challenge the legality of their detention. But now they are finally free. This is their story.

The ACLU and Religion: Don’t Believe Everything You Read On the Internet

A malicious and factually inaccurate e-mail accusing the ACLU of not standing solidly on the side of religious liberty – an e-mail that was first circulated six years ago – has once again reared its ugly head and popped up in the e-mail inboxes of people across the country. In an effort to set the record straight, below are two myths the e-mail passes off as truth, followed by the facts which effectively debunk the e-mail’s claims.

MYTH: The ACLU has filed a lawsuit to have all cross-shaped headstones removed from federal cemeteries.

FACT: The ACLU has never once advocated for or initiated any litigation in favor of removing cross-shaped headstones from federal cemeteries. In fact, as the website Politifact.com makes clear, there are no cross-shaped headstones at VA national cemeteries. The headstones and markers the government issues are rectangular.

Bengs distorts in ACLU piece
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2218759.html

Re "ACLU runs amok in crusade against cross" (Viewpoints, Sept. 26): Margaret A. Bengs rehashed misleading statements about the law and the American Civil Liberties Union's case concerning a cross in the Mojave National Preserve.

It's the government that has shown contempt for free speech, allowing private citizens onto federal land to erect a cross but preventing other private citizens from erecting a Buddhist memorial on the same site. And the ACLU doesn't argue that a land transfer in this case could never be constitutional, only that the proposed transfer has clearly been manipulated so that the cross will remain in exactly the same place.

Many Christians are offended by Bengs' argument that this particular cross is supposedly a nonreligious commemoration of war dead, rather than a symbol of the divinity of Jesus. And thousands of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and members of other faiths who have served their country with honor do not regard the cross as a "universal symbol." That's one reason the military allows soldiers and their families to choose which religious symbol to put on headstones in military cemeteries, a position the ACLU staunchly supports.

URGENT
Tuesday, 9:39 p.m., Sept. 29, 2009
Contact: ACLU press office 916/996-9170

ATTN: News Desk

Sacramento City Council accepts surveillance camera grant Tuesday, but won't implement project until ‘guidelines' are produced by police, says ACLU

SACRAMENTO – The Sacramento City Council – following a presentation by the ACLU of Sacramento warning about the dangers to privacy of surveillance cameras – voted Tuesday evening to require the Sacramento Police Department submit "guidelines" about how 32 new surveillance cameras and four mobile units would be used before they are implemented.

The cameras are funded via a $614,994 grant from Homeland Security to Sacramento, which the City Council accepted Tuesday with the condition that concerns by the ACLU about privacy be addressed.

"We still believe that the cameras will do little to combat crime, as studies show, and that they are a threat to privacy," said Jim Updegraff, chair of the ACLU board of directors in Sacramento. "However, we are pleased that the council, in particular Steve Cohn and Rob Fong, understood that the police - no matter how well meaning - cannot be allowed to utilize these high tech tools without at least guidelines to protect everyone's basic rights."

The ACLU has been asked by the City to work with the SPD to produce the guidelines, he said.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009
Contact: Cres Vellucci, ACLU/Sacramento 916.996.9170
Rebecca Farmer, ACLU of Northern California 415.621.2493, ext. 374

ATTN: Assignment Desk

ACLU warns of invasion of privacy if City Council approves Homeland Security grant to install cameras on city streets; Vote Tuesday night

SACRAMENTO – The ACLU of Sacramento said the Sacramento City Council risks invading the privacy of average citizens – and doing little to combat crime – if it accepts a grant from Homeland Security for 32 surveillance cameras and four mobile units at its Tuesday meeting.

The hearing is set for City Hall Tuesday, 6 p.m, with an ACLU press briefing at 5:30 p.m.

The Sacramento City Council is expected to be presented with a proposal to accept the grant Tuesday after no real public hearing, something that is bothersome to civil libertarians. The ACLU is recommending a series of community town halls to allow citizens to comment.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, Sept. 28, 2009
Contact: ACLU press office 916/996-9170

ATTN: Assignment Desk

ACLU sets news conference Monday to oppose Mayor Johnson's plan to set up dozens of surveillance cameras in Sacramento; City Council weighs project Tuesday

SACRAMENTO – The ACLU of Sacramento will hold a major news conference here Monday morning – and then hand deliver a letter to Mayor Kevin Johnson – opposing a nearly $615,000 grant by Homeland Security to provide dozens of surveillance cameras to spy on Sacramento citizens.

The briefing will be held at 10 a.m. Monday in front of City Hall.

The Sacramento City Council is expected to be presented with a proposal to accept the grant Tuesday after no real public hearing, something that is bothersome to civil libertarians.