At least one judge understands the Constitution:

A judge dismissed all charges Thursday against four members of a conservative Christian group who were arrested last fall while picketing a street festival for gays.

KW Associates, Realtors After watching video footage of the event, Common Pleas Judge Pamela Dembe said that while the protesters' message that homosexuality is a sin clearly enraged the crowd, the bullhorn-wielding demonstrators did not incite violence.

"We are one of the very few countries that protect unpopular speech. And that means that Nazis can March in Skokie, Ill. ... That means that the Ku Klux Klan can march where they wish to," Dembe said. "We cannot stifle speech because we don't want to hear it, or we don't want to hear it now."

The First Amendment survives, and for that I am glad. I fully support the right of Americans to display messages like this, even though I may not agree with the message itself.

I'm genuinely glad that a friend of mine could go to the Inauguration and then turn his back as the Presidental motorcade rolled by. Were I there, my expression would have been different, but I believe it is crucial that both he and I have the freedom to express ourselves.