I would've never considered joining this organization until the last 14 months.

] "But since Sept. 11 and the government's expansive
] campaign of monitoring and detention, people are turning
] to the 82-year-old organization to help safeguard their
] liberties. Among them are conservatives who made the
] phrase "card-carrying member of the ACLU" a political
] insult, but who are signing up. "

This is good to hear... Conservatives spent a decade talking smack about the ACLU because the Christian right likes perpetuating misconceptions about the first amendment with the goal of establishing religion. This obviously conflicts with the general conservative notion of upholding "individual liberties." This is the most central contradiction in modern conservative thought. Of course the Libertarians have been saying that for years.