Free Republic

...I heard Senator Charles Schumer, somber and self-righteous, reach, as he so often does, for the microphone, to announce that gilt-edged credentials are not enough. In his view, all nominees must be vetted for the soundness of their ideological positions.... I hope that Judge Roberts resists the temptation to talk too much about past cases lest he prejudge future ones. Frankly, I care more about his willingness to listen than his ability to declaim at length. And I enthusiastically support his candidacy even if he rejects, publicly or silently, every outlandish position I hold dear. The fate of his nomination...

E-mail Author Send to a Friend Version June 09, 2005, 7:41 a.m. The Ninth Circuit’s Revenge In Gonzales v. Raich, the circuit court won big. By Randy Barnett The Ninth Circuit finally got its revenge on the Supreme Court justices who seemed to delight in reversing it. In Gonzales v. Raich, it gave the conservatives a choice: Uphold the Ninth Circuit's ruling favoring individuals engaged in the wholly intrastate non-economic activity of growing and consuming cannabis for medical purposes as recommended by a doctor and permitted by state law, or retreat from the landmark Commerce Clause decisions of U.S....

We've never supported drug legalization, even in its "medical marijuana" drag. Still, we can't help but feel uneasy about the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision Monday in Gonzales v. Raich, which held that the federal government can trump state laws permitting the possession and cultivation of small quantities of cannabis for purely personal use. As Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his dissent: "If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually anything, and the federal government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers." By "enumerated powers," Justice Thomas means the idea that the federal...