Let me begin by saying that I am not necessarily opposed to lobbying. Organizing ourselves into motivated groups in order to gain persuasive power is human nature. The desire for change is the heartbeat of society. Being the argument addict that I am, I love listening to the various ways people reason for or against issues that face our community. I do believe that they have their place and serve their purpose. But, like everything else, I believe there should be a limit. Our founders recognized this too. They saw and despised the abuse that occurred when power was unbalanced and unchecked and developed the Constitution with this in mind.

Like many people, I gathered around a table and stuffed myself full of the festive autumn essentials alongside family and friends this past week. Thanksgiving used to be a holiday that celebrated and distorted a historic period of American brutality. And while the rest of our beloved holidays have become over commercialized and lost in political blather, the third Thursday of November now marks a day when we as a nation join together to reflect on the good fortune that has found its way into our lives. Admittedly the economy has gone to hell and we're all struggling, but this year I've found it easier to recognize the gifts that I have received.

On the 27th of last month, the Kansas City courts repealed a municipal ordinance which restricted picketing at funerals. Fred Phelps threatened to challenge the constitutionality of the law, which was put in place several years before his Westboro Baptists began picketing funerals of soldiers both locally and nationwide. Rather than putting more money in the hands of this Topeka-based hate group in a case they felt certain they would lose, the city reluctantly removed the ordinance. The news of this came only a few weeks after the ACLU announced its decision to represent the notorious Phelps cult in a case brought against Maplewood, MO for a similar ban, which I ranted about here.