<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
Carl:<BR>
<BR>
It is amazing that the Bush administration, and many other "conservatives," who for years have pushed states rights in principle over expanded federal power, pick and chose conveniently what issue they push for the states to decide, and issues they will aggressively use the powers of the federal government to enforce. <BR>
<BR>
Medical marijuana has been passed by 10 states, yet the Bush administration has used federal powers to block these state's laws. Ashcroft tried to use the powers of the federal government to block Oregon's assisted suicide law. Republicans push for federal law outlawing medical procedures regarding abortion. <BR>
<BR>
And how can we forget how Bush was appointed to the White House? The US Supreme Court blocked the counting of votes carried out under state law as ordered by state courts in Florida in Gore v. Bush 2000. This is certainly one of the most egregious examples of abuse of federal power over state control, in part engineered by Supreme Court Justice Scalia, who violated his own principles of promoting states rights in this example of abuse of US Supreme Court powers. <BR>
<BR>
The equal protection argument used to block the vote counting in the US Supreme court decision in Gore v. Bush would render void many elections held in many states all over the US due to the varying methods of vote counting, etc., in different areas of each state. So the decision was crafted with a clause declaring it only applied to this one case and was not to be used as precedent for future law.<BR>
<BR>
Can you believe it?<BR>
<BR>
Bush's Presidency started with the federal government abusing its powers to negate state law.<BR>
<BR>
Ted Moffett<BR>
<BR>
</FONT></HTML>