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In Texas v. Johnson (1989), Justice William Brennan wrote the majority opinion, saying:
"(I)f there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable."Former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall added:
"Above all else, the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression (regardless of its) ideas"subject matter (or) content".Our people are guaranteed the right to express any thought, free from government censorship."
Today's High Court has no Brennans or Marshalls. Attornies General like Ramsey Clark no longer exist.
No wonder Mehanna was convicted. "Secret evidence," unavailable to defense attorneys, was elaborately manipulated to do it. Justice was nowhere in sight. First Amendment rights don't matter. Without them all others are at risk.
Already gravely eroded, they're perilously close to disappearing all together. America's on a slippery slope to tyranny. Freedom hangs by a thread. Anyone challenging state power is vulnerable. Constitutional protections don't apply.
Intimidated juries most always go along with prosecutors. On December 20, Mehanna was found guilty on seven counts of "conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, conspiring to kill in a foreign country, and of lying to authorities in a terrorism investigation."
Obama got another trophy. Unpopular views may be criminalized.
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