Freedom is ours to protect

NY Times: Rehnquist Resumes His Call for Judicial IndependenceBy LINDA GREENHOUSE Published: January 1, 2005
ASHINGTON, Dec. 31 - Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, delivering his 19th and most likely his last year-end report on the federal judiciary, returned on Friday to one of his longtime themes: a need to safeguard the independence of federal judges from intrusive Congressional oversight.

This year he took account of more recent developments: "There have been suggestions to impeach federal judges who issue decisions regarded by some as out of the mainstream. And there were several bills introduced in the last Congress that would limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts to decide constitutional challenges to certain kinds of government action."
There have been calls in Congress to strip the federal courts of jurisdiction to hear challenges to the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, to the display of the Ten Commandments on government property and to the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that permits states to withhold recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states.

The US citizens must pay attention to what our elected representatives are doing. With the moves they seem to be pushing, together the Patriot Act the basic freedoms we are fighting for so bravely in the Middle East are being eroded away right under our noses.

Pay attention to what they are doing. Do not let the people we elected take away our basic rights. We elected them to serve us and protect us, not to betray us.

This is the USA. Many have died to give us our freedom. Do not let misguided politicians take them away.