Governor Pat Quinn recently vetoed a "Smart Grid" bill that was pushed through the General Assembly this past spring by ComEd and Ameren, the two biggest electric utilities in the state.

Politically, this veto was a no-brainer for the populist Quinn. The governor never tires of recounting how he helped start the Citizens Utility Board, and that dovetails nicely with his repeated claims that the utility proposal "locks in" corporate profits.

ComEd's weather-related outage problems in the Chicago area this summer seriously hurt the company's already damaged image, both in its territory and at the Illinois Statehouse. Add those outages to the possibility of legislature-approved rate hikes and then mix that in with an electorate already inflamed by the income-tax hike and the seeming inability of the state government to get its act together, and it's obvious why this thing never had a chance with Quinn.

For all intents and purposes, the Constitution is on life support and has been for some time now.

Those responsible for its demise are none other than the schools, which have failed to educate students about its principles; the courts, which have failed to uphold the rights enshrined within it; the politicians, who long ago sold out to corporations and special interests; and "we the people," who, in our ignorance and greed, have valued materialism over freedom.

We can pretend that the Constitution, which was written to hold the government accountable and was adopted on September 17, 1787, is still our governing document. However, the reality we must come to terms with is that in the America we live in today, the government does whatever it wants. And the few of us who actively fight to preserve the rights enshrined in the Constitution (a group whose numbers continue to shrink) do so knowing that in the long run we may be fighting a losing battle.

A review of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution shows that the Bill of Rights may well be dead.

(Editor's note: This opening section of this article links to other IowaPolitics.com stories on this topic. All the articles can be found here.)

Residents of Riverdale successfully sued their city three times after being denied access to public records and meetings, and now have a case before the Iowa Supreme Court.

The Ottumwa school board recently went into closed session to interview three finalists for school superintendent, leading to distrust among some residents who questioned whether the selection process was fair.

And Erich Riesenberg, 41, of Des Moines said he can't get information about stray pets taken into the city's animal-control unit, now that the shelter is operated under contract by the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, the state's largest not-for-profit animal shelter.

In battles statewide, Iowans are fighting for access to government meetings and records. While state and federal right-to-information laws are on the books to help, Iowans say they're still running into roadblocks.

"We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine; and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular. This is no time for men ... to keep silent, or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities." - Edward R. Murrow, March 9, 1954

When the World Trade Center crumbled to the ground on September 11, 2001, it took with it any illusions Americans might have harbored about the nation's invincibility, leaving many feeling vulnerable, scared and angry. Yet in that moment of weakness, while most of us were still reeling from the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of some 3,000 Americans, we managed to draw strength from and comfort each other.

Suddenly, the news was full of stories of strangers helping strangers and communities pulling together. Even the politicians put aside their partisan pride and bickering and held hands on the steps of the Capitol, singing "God Bless America." The rest of the world was not immune to our suffering, acknowledging the fraternity of nations against all those who take innocent lives in a campaign of violence. United against a common enemy, inconceivable hope rising out of the ashes of despair, we seemed determined to work toward a better world.

Sadly, that hope was short-lived.