'It's like Hanging a Portrait of Hitler in a Synagogue Or In a Jewish Community'

Just imagine if it were a Hitler banner. Or better yet, savor the umbrage were someone hanging a 52-by-35 image of that most evil of all creatures, Dick Cheney. The crestfallen indignity if George W. Bush were immortalized in such fashion would have protests in the streets. But since the most gruesome mass murderer of the 20th century is an idol of the ACLU and their offshoot, the NYCLU, they're apoplectic over the removal of Uncle Joe Stalin.

The New York Civil Liberties Union has demanded that city officials explain why they ordered a private art school to remove a banner displaying an image of Josef Stalin.

In a letter Thursday to the Department of Buildings, NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman expressed concern that the banner was taken down from The Cooper Union after some residents of the local Ukrainian community complained that it "seemed to promote" the Soviet dictator on the 75th anniversary of a famine he imposed. The famine, called the Holodomor, killed millions of Ukrainians.

The banner was part of an art exhibit, "Stalin by Picasso, or Portrait of Woman with Mustache." Lene Berg, the artist who created the banner, said it was intended to provoke discussion about the relationship between art and politics.

The 52-foot-by-36-foot banner features a reproduction of a 1953 Pablo Picasso portrait of Stalin. At the time, the image was viewed as a critique of the Soviet leader.

But the Ukrainian community found it offensive, said Tamara Olexy, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

"It's like hanging a portrait of Hitler in a synagogue or in a Jewish community," she said.

After receiving several complaints, the Department of Buildings investigated the banner's legality and determined it violated construction and zoning regulations, the agency said Friday.

"We determined the sign was too high, too large, lacked a permit and blocked the building's windows," buildings spokeswoman Kate Lindquist wrote in an e-mail. "The department does not regulate sign content."

Indeed, the do not. Since I know enough folks at the Buildings Department, they can vouch for me.

How pathetic is it the ACLU worships this genocidal maniac?

Here's a random thought: Maybe if we start erecting 52-by-36 images of Barack Obama (and frankly, are we that far from that?), will they just STFU for the next four years and go back to Free Mumia rallies?

I couldn't locate an image of this banner (if someone does, feels free to link it or email me), but found a fascinating image of a 1902 Stalin here that I don't recall seeing before. A young greaseball-looking Stalin, only a couple decades before he decided to exterminate millions of people.

NYCLU Sues NYPD Over Alleged Harassment

The New York Civil Liberties Union is doing their part in the war on terrorism.

Apparently there is nothing they won't do to assist terrorists.

New York City sued for harassing photographers

New York City police officers need better training to distinguish between law-abiding citizens who snap pictures of city landmarks and those suspected of plotting terrorism, a lawsuit filed on Thursday by the New York Civil Liberties Union said.

The lawsuit was filed against the city and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on behalf of Arun Wiita, 26, a Columbia University graduate student of Indian descent who said he was handcuffed and detained after a police officer spotted him snapping pictures near a Manhattan subway station in July.

I guarantee these jerks would be the first one filing dereliction of duty lawsuits against these same officials if a bomb goes off.

So what specifically was this Wiita fellow doing?

Wiita had undertaken a project to photograph all 468 subway stations and their surrounding streets and post them on a Web site.

But the humiliation of being held in handcuffs for almost half an hour had convinced him to scale back the project, he said.

"Most reasonable people would say that you shouldn't be able to slap handcuffs on someone just because they're holding a camera near a New York City subway station," Wiita said.

In other words, Wiita was photographing the buildings and approach/escape routes and posting them on the web. I think most reasonable people would say Wiita was doing a scouting project for potential terrorists.

And the NYCLU is doing everything they can to make that happen.

It's not as if Al-Qaida hasn't thought already about attacks on the NYC subways.

More from the NY Times

If You're Unsure, Don't Join the Army

The military is designed to kill people and break things, a noted philosopher once said.

Which is why you need to get the soul searching out of the way before you join.

Otherwise, you wind up becoming an ACLU mascot.

"Love thy enemy" -- U.S. soldier gets discharge

A U.S. soldier who said his Christian beliefs compelled him to love his enemies, not kill them, has been granted conscientious objector status and honorably discharged, a civil liberties group said on Tuesday.

Capt. Peter Brown -- who served in Iraq for more than a year and was a graduate of the elite U.S. military academy West Point -- said in a statement issued by the New York Civil Liberties Union that he was relieved the Army had recognized his beliefs made it impossible for him to serve.

"In following Jesus' example, I could not have fired my weapon at another human being, even if he were shooting at me," said Brown, who plans to continue seminary classes he began by correspondence while in Iraq.

While in Iraq, Brown processed insurgents and detainees, the NYCLU said.

Brown said he had no conflict between his faith and military service until after he graduated from West Point in 2004 and began to study scripture and his belief.

UPDATE: More from Allahpundit.