If there's one thing the United States stands for, it's unfettered free speech. It is vital to a functioning democracy. Unfortunately, the increasing use by government and law-enforcement officials of "free speech zones" and other stifling tactics to purge dissent has largely undermined the First Amendment's safeguards for political free speech.

We have a president who does just about whatever he wants, the Constitution be damned. He has, among other things, asserted unchecked unilateral power, conducted surveillance on American citizens in violation of federal law, and ignored universal prohibitions on torture. And although years from now historians may refer to the "Bush Doctrine" in much the same way that they talk about the Monroe or Truman doctrines, they will most likely not hold it in the same esteem.

"Our country is insolvent, and bankruptcy will come."

- U.S. Representative Ron Paul

I've never seen our country in worse shape - culturally, constitutionally, or financially. Marriages and families are falling apart, our liberties are being eroded, and the U.S. economy is in serious trouble. We are, as author Robert B. Reich noted in a recent New York Times editorial, "totally spent." All we're managing to do now is keep our creditors at bay.

Most Americans, when asked for a photo ID, will pull out a driver's license and not think twice about it. We have to show proof of our identity when we drink, when we drive, and when we fly. Identification can also be required to rent a movie, borrow a book, or write a check. So why shouldn't we be required to show a photo ID to vote? That's the question presently before the U.S. Supreme Court.