It is now early September, 2001. Today's grim story is reported from Slate reporting on other newspapers:

The WP goes inside with a government entitlement for which support is slipping: The First Amendment. According to a newly-released poll (by, admittedly, a freedom of press type group), 49 percent of Americans agreed that "the First Amendment goes too far in the rights that it guarantees." Last year, before 9/11, 39 percent of respondents agreed with that statement.

This is an awful report and is also dramatically incomplete.

I am willing to wager that half of those comprising the reported 49 per cent could not even define First Amendment freedoms.

FOr those of you similarly cloudy on your recall of it, here it is:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

I ask you, are we drifting into Facism, or what?

The First Amendment has only one flaw. It doesn't go quite far enough. It does not explicitly extend the constraint to the States. And it doesn't provide enough guidance about the Internet! :>)

But seriously, folks, what the hell is going on here?

A