SUPREME COURT RULINGS TRAMPLE OUR RIGHTS

In the past few weeks, the Supreme Court has voted on two issues that should
wake up some of the more passive citizens we have. By a vote of 6-3, the
court decided to keep marijuana away from the sick and dying in this
country. And by a vote of 5-4, the court decided local government officials
can send you a check in the mail, and then take your home.

The medical marijuana question is always a splintered issue. The sick say
they want to use it to help keep pain at bay. U.S. attorneys, backed by the
large drug companies and their lobbyists, seem to work night and day
convincing courts that the sick and dying users are lying. That somehow, by
growing some marijuana, they help terrorism.

And when the court voted against several homeowners from Connecticut,
justice Sandra Day O'Connor argued that cities should not have unlimited
authority to uproot families, even if they're provided compensation, simply
to accommodate wealthy developers. But federal attorneys convinced the same
usual suspects that sit on that bench in Washington.

Freedom and tolerance taken away in bits and pieces, under the radar of the
uninformed, has been easier in this country since 2000. By the way, the
justices willing to protect our freedoms include William H. Rehnquist,
Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O'Connor and Clarence Thomas.