American Civil Liberties Union

Good Lookin’ Out

Undercurrents

LOLZ! ROFL! ACLU! Lawsuit Defends Student's Bitchy Facebook Page

Hey kids, good news! If you want to create a Facebook page that declares some teacher "the worst teacher in, like, the world," and then you are suspended for that, the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida will sue the damn school to protect your First Amendment rights, as ... More >>

Forgive Them, Father, For They Know Not Where to Pray

The ACLU will file suit against Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle for his proposed prayer meeting in the city commission chambers.

Undercurrents

The ACLU will file suit against Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle for his proposed prayer meeting in the city commission chambers.

Piss Off!

When the City of Hollywood told an accountant he'd have to take a drug test, he told the city: See you in court.

Undercurrents

When the City of Hollywood told an accountant he'd have to take a drug test, he told the city: See you in court.

The Hate Man

Lloyd Shank is a poster boy for free speech. The Jews are to blame.

Best Radio Commercial

Ed Kaplan

Best Political Protest

Fort Lauderdale city employees'wearing gags

As Christmassy as Spiked Eggnog

Fort Lauderdale city employees'wearing gags

Letters for September 29-October 5, 2005

Fort Lauderdale city employees'wearing gags

The Ludicrous 12 of 2004

Sure, it was the year of Bush/Kerry. But here are South Florida's really big stories.

Oom Paw Paw

Sure, it was the year of Bush/Kerry. But here are South Florida's really big stories.

Aftershock

The music industry's ongoing problems continue to affect the local dance community

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

The music industry's ongoing problems continue to affect the local dance community

United States of Jesus

The folks who are "reclaiming America for Christ" are pushing an agenda for a Taliban-like state where Scripture is law

A Queer Law

Florida's ban on gay adoption is not only unjust; it's downright homophobic

Grave Injustice

Do those who bury loved ones in Boca Raton's public cemetery have the right to decorate graves and erect markers? Apparently not.

Tides Foundation Funds Florida Culture War

We'll be seeing a lot more of this in the next three years Ruh-roh. Just when you thought you'd finally stuffed all those pesky gay people back into the closet where they belong, along comes an organization like the Tides Foundation, which has just awarded a $150,000 grant to "educate and train ... More >>

Death Penalty Case: Man Will Die August 19 for Dania Beach Murder

John Marek​On August 19, 48-year-old John Marek will be put to death by the State of Florida unless there is a major last-minute intervention by the governor or the courts. In 1983, Marek and a friend, Raymond Wigley, drove to Florida from Texas. On June 16 of that year, the two men encountered t ... More >>

Morning Juice: Let's Try a News Round-Up Sans Rothstein

​Well, it's worth a try anyway. Here's what's going on in Broward and Palm Beach counties:The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against the state for its failure to provide Floridian family with a quality education -- a point for which the Palm Beach County School District drop-out rat ... More >>

Spellbinding Jeb Bush Speech on Education Ruined by Reality-Based Journalist

FlickrJeb Bush​Your former governor was in Atlanta recently, earnestly pretending to be a frontrunner for the 2012 Republican nomination for president. Or maybe he was testing a theory about mind control: that if you keep telling people something that's false, maybe they'll come to believe that it ... More >>

ACLU Sues Crist, Atwater, and Cretul for Failing Palm Beach County Students

courtesy euthisnthat.comACLU wants graduation day to look more like this.​ The ACLU filed a class action lawsuit Friday on behalf of Palm Beach County students and parents, naming Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, House Speaker Larry Cretul, Senate President Jeff Atwater, and Florida Commissioner of E ... More >>

ACLU Defends Artist's Right to Paint at CityPlace

Bates, expressing himself​When is a city not a city? When it's a shopping center disguised as something "reminiscent of an Italian town center." Note that word reminiscent. As West Palm artist Bruce Kevin Bates found out, you may be able to set up your easel at the Villa d'Este in Tivoli or next ... More >>

CityPlace Then and Now: a Decade of Not-So-Free Speech

CityPlace lawyers didn't like the smell of protest.​It all depends on what your definition of free is. A decade ago, just as CityPlace was planning its grand opening in downtown West Palm Beach, lawyers and developers were debating just how much democracy, in the form of public speech, the new li ... More >>

Reform Event: Tea Party, Libertarians, and Greens Get in Bed Together

When it comes to electoral reform, you're the boss.​ Cast your mind back to your seventh-grade Civics class, when Mrs. Brown drew that sprawling chart on the blackboard detailing the branches of government. That's when you first found out you had something like a moral duty, as a citizen of this g ... More >>

This Weekend, Pridefest of the Palm Beaches Has More to Celebrate

You could theoretically travel around the world for twelve months attending gay pride festivals, from Melbourne in January to Manila in December. Blackman: Getting wet at tomorrow's Pridefest​The big US celebrations, in New York and San Fransisco, are scheduled to coincide with the historic Stone ... More >>

Arizona Sheriff's Reign of Terror Becomes State Policy

You could theoretically travel around the world for twelve months attending gay pride festivals, from Melbourne in January to Manila in December. Blackman: Getting wet at tomorrow's Pridefest​The big US celebrations, in New York and San Fransisco, are scheduled to coincide with the historic Stone ... More >>

An Opportunity to Stand Up

You could theoretically travel around the world for twelve months attending gay pride festivals, from Melbourne in January to Manila in December. Blackman: Getting wet at tomorrow's Pridefest​The big US celebrations, in New York and San Fransisco, are scheduled to coincide with the historic Stone ... More >>

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Reign of Terror Becomes State Policy, Thanks to State Sen. Russell Pearce and Gov. Jan Brewer

You could theoretically travel around the world for twelve months attending gay pride festivals, from Melbourne in January to Manila in December. Blackman: Getting wet at tomorrow's Pridefest​The big US celebrations, in New York and San Fransisco, are scheduled to coincide with the historic Stone ... More >>

An Opportunity to Stand Up

You could theoretically travel around the world for twelve months attending gay pride festivals, from Melbourne in January to Manila in December. Blackman: Getting wet at tomorrow's Pridefest​The big US celebrations, in New York and San Fransisco, are scheduled to coincide with the historic Stone ... More >>

CityPlace Now a Venue For Protesters; Let's Protest CityPlace

Flickr: livingonimpulseCityPlace: Where they deliver lattes to the picket line​Do you have an issue close to your heart, but don't want to go anywhere scary to protest it? Do you define "scary" as any place without valet parking? Then have we got news for you! For the low, low fee of permanent yup ... More >>

The Dark Side

A bizarre, disputed, cocaine-fueled mania is killing Floridians, especially when they're jolted with a Taser.

Get Out! Arizona and America Join Joe Arpaio in Rushing to Inquire: Are Your Papers in Order?

A bizarre, disputed, cocaine-fueled mania is killing Floridians, especially when they're jolted with a Taser.

Florida ACLU Backs Right of Church to Burn Qu'ran, Suggests Counterprotest as Remedy

FlickrThe Constitution allows Terry Jones to burn the Qu'ran, but it also gives you the right to call him a flaming asshole.​The September 11 Qu'ran burning at the Dove World Outreach Center places the American Civil Liberties Union in an awkward but familiar position: Its desire to protect the fr ... More >>

Ten Things You Should Say to the TSA Employees Who Want to Touch You

flickr.com​This week the Transportation Security Administration announced that travelers who don't want strangers to see their naked form in a full-body scanner and also don't want a stranger groping them will not be fined $11,000 for their refusal to cooperate. (If you decline the searches and th ... More >>

The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants, But What's Been Unearthed Reveals a Culture of Cruelty

flickr.com​This week the Transportation Security Administration announced that travelers who don't want strangers to see their naked form in a full-body scanner and also don't want a stranger groping them will not be fined $11,000 for their refusal to cooperate. (If you decline the searches and th ... More >>

The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants, But What's Been Unearthed Reveals a Culture of Cruelty

flickr.com​This week the Transportation Security Administration announced that travelers who don't want strangers to see their naked form in a full-body scanner and also don't want a stranger groping them will not be fined $11,000 for their refusal to cooperate. (If you decline the searches and th ... More >>

Bill Nelson Warns Rick Scott to Veto Election Bill or Face a Federal Investigation

State lawmakers want to keep people from having sex with animals. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson wants to keep lawmakers from screwing voters.​Although it seems like Gov. Rick Scott will make the bold and progressive move of banning bestiality, he still plans to screw voters. The election overhaul bill, wh ... More >>

21 Jump Street Bust Sent Narcs in School for Small Target: Weed

Palm Beach County cops went all Johnny Depp in three schools.​Back when Johnny Depp played an undercover cop on 21 Jump Street, it seemed that gangs were the big problem in schools. Depp's character regularly infiltrated some murder-hungry group with the intention of bringing them down from the in ... More >>

ACLU To Florida: "Two Lawsuits. Three Days Apart. And It's Only The Beginning."

aclufl.orgACLU of Florida's Howard Simon​The American Civil Liberties Union says Florida is "ground zero" in their fight for civil liberties -- which explains why it filed two lawsuits in three days against Gov. Rick Scott-approved legislation.The ACLU filed two federal lawsuits last week -- o ... More >>

Gov. Rick Scott Invents A Scientific Study On Drug Use During Nationally Televised Interview

​Now for Gov. Rick Scott's charade of the day -- making up a scientific study on drug use by welfare recipients on a nationally televised CNN interview.As you know, the governor signed H.B. 353 into law last week, requires Floridians on welfare to pass a drug test before they get their cash.On ... More >>

Rick Scott Suspends Drug Testing for Most State Employees, Saying It "Does Not Make Sense" Yet

personalmoneystore.comThe governor may have just found out it could take 30 days to get any THC out of his system.​If you're a state employee -- not in the Department of Corrections -- you don't have to detox quite yet to get those doobies out of your system.Gov. Rick Scott sent out a memo to agen ... More >>

Florida Teachers Union Hops on the "Sue Rick Scott" Train

menwithfoilhats.com​In the fourth recent lawsuit targeted at policies of Gov. Rick Scott, the Florida Education Association is now suing over a 3 percent pay cut to the salaries of teachers and other school workers.According to a news release from the union, the lawsuit was entered today in circui ... More >>

A Tour of Gov. Rick Scott's Dirtiest Deeds

menwithfoilhats.com​In the fourth recent lawsuit targeted at policies of Gov. Rick Scott, the Florida Education Association is now suing over a 3 percent pay cut to the salaries of teachers and other school workers.According to a news release from the union, the lawsuit was entered today in circui ... More >>

Jeb Bush and Newt Gingrich Agree With ACLU on Something: Criminal Justice Needs a Tweak

flickr.comHey, wasn't Cool Hand Luke a nonviolent offender?​Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is the latest to sign GOP group Right on Crime's Statement of Principles. It's being framed as a conservative approach to reforming the criminal justice system.Other conservative backers include Newt Gingrich, ... More >>

We Get Letters: The Sheriff and Sexism and AK-47s

flickr.comHey, wasn't Cool Hand Luke a nonviolent offender?​Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is the latest to sign GOP group Right on Crime's Statement of Principles. It's being framed as a conservative approach to reforming the criminal justice system.Other conservative backers include Newt Gingrich, ... More >>

Dear Federal Court: Please Help Florida Suppress the Vote

Racism? Not here.​To: U.S. District Court From: Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning We're having a small problem with voting down here in Florida. In May, our Legislature passed some brilliant new requirements designed to crack down on unnecessary voters -- specifically, people who are poor, ... More >>

Boca Raton Teenager, ACLU of Florida Suing to Let Kids Donate More Money to Candidates

Toddlers for Rick Scott.​With the way campaign-financing laws are going these days, this may not even be surprising -- the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and a 17-year-old girl from Boca Raton are challenging a state law that prohibits minors from giving as much money to state and local ... More >>