The Terrorists Win a Short Reprieve

The Shiites are backing out on the interim constitution. "Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, rejected provisions put into the text at the Kurds' request, said a source in the council, speaking on condition of anonymity."

I'm hoping Iraqis will repudiate this guy's influence in favor of democracy and equality. If full citizenship is dependent on being Shiite or even Muslim, they're setting themselves up for failure. On the other hand, what we Americans see as self-evident today took a lot of trial an error. Even now, we seem to be allowing our courts to take away democracy in the name of minority rights. There are some rights that the majority shouldn't be allowed to mess with, it's true. But I don't think that Howard Stern and Gay Pride parades were what the founders had in mind. If they had known about radio and broadcasting, I think they'd have worded the First Amendment quite more narrowly.