A high school student's "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner got slapped down by the Supreme Court in a decision Monday that restricts student speech rights when the message seems to advocate illegal drug use.Today's ruling is additional proof - not that reasonable people who actually know what goes on in this country don't already know - that it is rightwing judges in this country who are the 'activist' judges.
The court ruled 5-4 in the case of Joseph Frederick, who unfurled his handiwork at a school-sanctioned event in 2002, triggering his suspension and leading to a lengthy court battle.
It is not the school's, or the Supreme Court's, business what a student does after school and off school grounds.
It is not the Supreme Court's business if an individual in a free society wants to 'advocate drug use'. It wasn't on school property and it wasn't during school hours. It was during some dumb Olympic Torch event.
As is the case in almost all Supreme Court rulings anymore, it was a 5-4 decision, with the '4' being the least activist, the 'liberals' on the Court who voted in favor of the Constitution and those from the 'right', the '5', who trampled on it.
But, what's new?
