This Has Been A Pretty Good Week

Over the past few days the amnesty-immigration bill has been decisively defeated, the “Fairness Doctrine” has lost ground, the horrendous McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law has been trimmed, events in Iraq have turned more positive and the use of race in college admissions has been curtailed. In addition, a small step back to the idea of “in loco parentis” was taken in the case before the Supreme Court known as Morse v. Frederick (popularly known as Bong Hits 4 Jesus). Traditional Americans should celebrate.

Narrow Victories Move Roberts Court to Right
Decisions Ignore Precedent, Liberal Justices Contend
By Charles Lane, Washington Post, June 29, 2007 (Excerpt)

“The Supreme Court's decision overturning school desegregation policies in two U.S. cities yesterday culminates a fractious term in which the new Roberts court moved the law significantly to the right, legal analysts said.

In a series of 5 to 4 decisions this term, the court also upheld a federal ban on a late-term abortion procedure and gutted a key provision of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. Along with yesterday's schools case, each of these decisions left open the possibility of more change in areas of the law on which the court had seemingly ruled definitively within the past decade.

"Conservatives got everything they could reasonably have hoped for out of the term," said Thomas C. Goldstein, a Washington lawyer who specializes in Supreme Court litigation. "The table is set, particularly if there are more changes in the court, for wholesale changes in constitutional law. There were some incremental steps, but they were in a distinct direction and a uniform direction."”

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Bong Hits 4 Jesus--Final Episode
By Daniel Henninger, Real Clear Politics (Excerpt)

“….You have guessed by now that we are going to discuss the famous case known as "Bong Hits 4 Jesus," a k a Morse v. Frederick, decided by the Supreme Court this past Monday. Juneau, Alaska, high-school principal Deborah Morse defeated high-school troublemaker Joseph Frederick in a split decision, 5-4.

Years back, as the Olympic Torch parade passed by her Alaskan high school, Principal Morse ran across the street from the school's front door and ordered Student Frederick to lower his "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner, judging it a violation of the school district's anti-drug policy. A "bong" is a marijuana water pipe. A "hit" is the extraction of marijuana smoke from the bong. The meaning of "4 Jesus" remains in dispute. Mr. Frederick demanded his constitutional rights. On Monday, the High Court said, not this time.

It is no exaggeration to say the basis for the decision was akin to passing a camel through the eye of a needle. For space reasons, I will briefly "interpret" Chief Justice Roberts's ruling. What he said is that the list of things the Constitution forbids a child to say in our public schools is very short. You can say almost anything. But as of Monday, the list is a little longer: You can't engage in speech "promoting illegal drug use." Hereafter, speech "promoting illegal drug use" may be regarded as "disruptive" to school life, as defined by the Supreme Court in Tinker (1969), Fraser (1986) and Kuhlmeier (1988)…..”