Scalia writes for the majority. Meanwhile, John Paul Stevens demonstrates that he has absolutely no clue:

In a dissent he summarized from the bench, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the majority "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons."

He said such evidence "is nowhere to be found."

Really? There is no evidence that the framers of the Constitution "made a choice to limit the tools available" to government to intrude into the lives of citizens?

Really?

Justice Stevens: THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THE CONSTITUTION. To LIMIT the power of government. That's why we have the government we have: divided into different branches on multiple levels, so that too much power can't accumulate in any one area. LIMITED GOVERNMENT. Perhaps you've heard that phrase before, somewhere, back in the mists of history.

It'd be really cool if the more left-leaning members of the Court (and Congress, and various state offices, etc) could at least make some sort of effort to be informed of basic facts and principles of American governance and history.

We head north once again to Canada, land of human-rights trampling "human rights commissions," to examine the case of the York University student union's effort to ban pro-life groups from campus, citing their inherently "sexist" nature:

In response to a series of controversies over abortion debates on Canadian campuses, the student government of York University in Toronto has tabled an outright ban on student clubs that are opposed to abortion.

Gilary Massa, vice-president external of the York Federation of Students, said student clubs will be free to discuss abortion in student space, as long as they do it "within a pro-choice realm," and that all clubs will be investigated to ensure compliance.

"You have to recognize that a woman has a choice over her own body," Ms. Massa said. "We think that these pro-life, these anti-choice groups, they're sexist in nature ... The way that they speak about women who decide to have abortions is demoralizing. They call them murderers, all of them do ... Is this an issue of free speech? No, this is an issue of women's rights."

The school's administration condemned the decision as contrary to its academic mission.

I realize that Canada doesn't have the First Amendment, and as such the freedom of speech isn't as protected there as it is here in the US. But come on. To simply preempt any discussion of the issue of abortion unless it comes from a "choice" perspective? These people can't be serious.

And yet, there it is in black and white. The horror of being exposed to a contrary view - one that views abortion as morally wrong to boot (imagine that!) - is just too much for these tender souls to bear. So rather than expose the student body to the dangers of persuasion, the student union is going to preemptively ban the offending speech.

Do these people have no clue how clueless this makes them look? How dictatorial? How fascist? Ah well, this can at least serve as yet another example of the vaunted "tolerance" of the left.

Uncalibrated Irony Meter Alert: It turns out that Ms. Massa, the spokesperson for the York Federation of Students, has a pretty selective idea of what constitutes "free speech":

Gilary Massa, the vice-president, external, of the York Federation of Students and the driving force behind the proposed ban on anti-abortion groups, earlier this year defended free speech as she called for the lifting of a ban on the phrase "Israeli Apartheid."

In a letter to McMaster's provost and the Students Union Executive, Ms. Massa said she was shocked and dismayed to hear that the administration and McMaster Students Union had banned the use of the phrase "Israeli Apartheid" on campus.

The letter called for the ban on the phrase to be rescinded "in accordance with a basic commitment to freedom of expression and organization in the democratic context of the public university."

The letter added, "This strange and unprecedented ban is a blatant violation of democratic freedoms of speech and dissent, and an attack on students' right to organize. It is the position of the YFS and GSA [Graduate Students] that universities are sites where discussions and debates about difficult geopolitical questions should be promoted, not stifled. International controversy about use of the phrase 'Israeli Apartheid' cannot be resolved through repression, but through ongoing intellectual exchange."

Here's some free speech for you: Massa is DUMBER THAN A SACK OF HAMMERS.

"Science, simply put... cannot account for human equality, and does not offer reasons to believe we are all equal. Science measures our material and animal qualities, and it finds them to be patently unequal."

Via the Corner:

Obama was born with his sun in Leo, and his story exemplifies the quest of the Solar Hero. His father, who joins with his mother on an island, conceives a child, and soon thereafter leaves the child and mother to continue his own journeying. Obama, a 'special 'child, left to create his own internal image of 'father', and related meanings of strength, protection, leadership, etc.

The Holmes comet appears just as the presidential race is kicking into high gear, illuminating the concept of the hero vanquishing the monster, a monster that turns people into stone if they gaze upon her. Does it not seem as if our country today is all locked up, constricted, restricted, with ever shrinking mobility and freedom of movement?

Perseus had help from the gods. Does it not feel as if some special hand is guiding Obama on his journey, I mean, as he has said, the utter improbability of it all?

The instructions to not directly look at her, but to look at her reflection in his shield. What is Obama's shield, in essence? I propose it is his belief in hope, redemption, and his ability to channel the essential goodness of the American people. The Perseus myth clearly indicates he should not confront his opponent by face-to-face, tit-for-tat combat.

Of especial significance for me is the star Mirfak, the elbow of Perseus's sword arm. At some point, he does need to utilize his elbows, and when the moment comes, cut strongly and swiftly.

And lastly, let us not forget that the comet is BLUE.

So let us have hope, the gods are on our side, and the Hero will prevail.

Great. Now they're actually wrapping the guy in pagan mythology. Honestly, I'm not sure if that's better or worse than pretending Obama is Jesus.

The whole post is great, but Stephen Bainbridge really nails this paragraph:

When I think about Obama, I am reminded of Richard Epstein’s observation that in order to remain politically viable modern socialists no longer advocate direct government ownership of production. Instead, modern socialism operates on two different levels: “At a personal level, it speaks to the alienation of the individual, stressing the need for caring and sharing and the politics of meaning. At a regulatory level, it seeks to identify specific sectors in which there is a market failure and then to subject them to various forms of government regulation.” Sounds a lot like Obama’s stump speech to me.

Now he's Luke Skywalker too!

In a move that is about as surprising as the sun rising in the morning, Rolling Stone magazine has joined the media choir to sing the glorious praises of the holy one, Obama! And as a delightful bonus, they've created this creepy, semi-fascist looking image of the Chosen One emitting what appears to be force-lightning from between his shoulder blades.

Basking in the warm afterglow of what must have been an especially satisfying session of endorsement writing, the genius copywriters at our premier journal of crap had this to say about our new political messiah:

Illinois senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama graces the cover of the new issue of Rolling Stone, which hits newsstands today. Having galvanized an exciting new movement and shattered the conventions of typical beltway politics, Obama has sparked a social revolution the likes of which haven’t been seen since the 1960s.

Really? You mean that chanting "hope" and "change" while channeling Walter Mondale's politics is all it takes to start a revolution? Damn. Too bad Walter Mondale didn't catch on to that.

To the staff of Rolling Stone, each and every one of you record and movie industry pimps and pushers, I say: Welcome to the cult of the Obamentarians.

I think that's Jann Wenner on the podium.

Who does Rolling Stone think Obama is? Via Ace, a commentary from The Onion:

Based on their latest cover, here's a short list of who Rolling Stone thinks Barack Obama is:

• Jesus
• Superman
• The totally awesome, glowing, superhero/savior spawn of Jesus and Superman
• The radioactive president of America's dreams
• A dewy Venus, majestically stepping forth from a serene ocean mist, but, like also a guy who's running for president.
• The late-90s sitcom character, Teen Angel.
• Not just the president of the ShinySuit 3000 Club For Men, but also a client.
• Zeus for a new age.
• Some kind of space hero, or whatever
• Mr. Cloudo, President of Heaven

I'd say either #3 or #4...

The more I read about Barack Obama's campaign, the more, well, creepy it seems...

• By Obama We Were Saved
• "we need a leader who is going to touch our souls, because the truth is, our souls are broken"
• "heal America and change the world"
• Oh, Obamaaaaaa!
• Obama's First Coming
• And Obama Wept
• Reanimating Camelot's Corpse

For all the talk that the left likes to engage in about how conservative Christians are trying to impose a theocracy and how fearful they are of such a (ridiculously remote) possibility, once they figure out that they need religious voters to take them seriously in order to win elections they go and nominate a candidate who appears to think that he's Jesus Christ.



More: a downright creepy op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal today:

But this collective cathexis that created Obamamania is obviously a deep desire for authenticity, and he is the natural repository of our hidden hopes.

Mr. Obama is what the future looks like: a biracial child of divorce, schlepped halfway around the world by a conscientious but confounded single mother, abandoned by a wayward but winning Kenyan father, international but somehow still all-American, a party-hardy Harvard Law graduate. That is, an ordinary extraordinary guy, the dreamiest of all our dreams. If only every kid from a broken home could turn out to be such a fine gentleman! How can we not love him? With a million other things he could be doing, Mr. Obama actually wants to lead us. Us? What did we do to deserve him?

Goodness! And this from the author of Prozac Nation, who seems to need Lithium more than an antidepressant...