The facts for this, but not the legal conclusions, come from an article posted on “Eyewitness News,” Channel 24, in Memphis. Tennessee, on 12 January, 2007.

One of the objectives of the ACLU is to transfer taxpayer funds into ACLU hands by force, using the courts as the mechanism. After losing a suit to the ACLU over its display of the Ten Commandments, the Rutherford County Commissioners voted to end the case by approving the payment of $50,000 to the ACLU. This happened despite the fact that the most recent US Supreme Court decisions on the display of the Ten Commandments were split on whether that was a violation of the First Amendment.

Perhaps we should review the origin of the word “blackmail”. Back inn the Middle Ages, knights who were good at fighting, but who lacked money, would travel from one jousting tournament to another, defeating the locals. (Defeat meant just unhorsing one’s opponent, not killing him.) The winner was awarded the armor of the loser, which he would then “sell” back to its owner.

This was called “black mail” because these professional fighters lacked the money for a squire to polish their armor, so it was painted black to prevent rust. Other than the fact that it is done in a court room, rather than a courtyard, what the ACLU is doing to earn money today is every bit the equivalent of medieval “black mail.”