[marktwain]

“Whew... That is unbelievable. That 1942 court upheld the Department of Agriculture directive which authorized the government to set production quotas for wheat. Farmer Filburn wanted to grow extra wheat on his own farm for his own use and was prohibited by the government! The communists were active even back then.”

Yes. The left in this country treat Wickard as hallowed ground. They probably rever it more than Roe v Wade. It is the foundation that an enormous amount of federal power rests on. It looked as though we were on the right course when the SC decided Lopez in 1995, but it was never followed up. The shining star in all this is Justice Thomas, who has never waivered. Majorities in the court have upheld what I would say are clearly unconstitutional expansions of federal power under the commerce clause for both the war on drugs and the EPA.

[Who is John Galt?]

The shining star in all this is Justice Thomas, who has never waivered.

From his dissent:

Respondents Diane Monson and Angel Raich use marijuana that has never been bought or sold, that has never crossed state lines, and that has had no demonstrable effect on the national market for marijuana. 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.

http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-1454.ZD1.html

One of George W. Bush's lost opportunities was his failure to nominate Mr. Thomas to be Chief Justice...