Our pal Instapundit, who we read religiously every day, posits today that maybe Ashcroft isn't so dumb after all-- the Justice Department's shift in position on the Second Amendment just might turn liberal criminal defense attorneys and public defenders into a new constituency for him.

Many criminal defense attorneys are supporters of the Second Amendment, particularly in the West. They have joined forces many times with Second Amendment groups in recent years to lobby on privacy, forfeiture and civil liberties issues.

Being for the Second Amendment doesn't mean defense lawyers are not liberals. It means they won't give up any constitutional right, even ones they may not exercise personally. Give 'em an inch and.....besides, the Second Amendment is only one away from the Fourth.

As to supporting Ashcroft, we'd say, not in this lifetime. Well, okay, maybe if he pushed to end mandatory minimums, provide counsel and hearings to the detainees, argue against military tribunals, oppose the Victim's Rights Amendment, sponsor grand jury reform, endorse the Innocence Protection Act, restore discretionary relief to aggravated felons facing deportation, end the war on drugs, and last but most importantly, agree to a moratorium on the federal death penalty.

If Mr. Ashcroft were to do all that, we'd bet criminal defense attorneys and public defenders would become the biggest constituency he's ever had.

Arthur Schlessinger, Jr. has an excellent op-ed piece in today's New York Times called "When Patriotism Wasn't Religious."

In tracing the history of the Pledge since its creation by Francis Bellamy in 1892, turns out the words "under God" weren't added until 1954 when Congress decided "to emphasize the antagonism between God-fearing Americans and godless Communists," which he points out was hardly necessary in the Joe McCarthy era.

Bellamy's granddaughter says he would have objected to the change because it changes the fundamental meaning of the Pledge. "One nation indivisible" was a reference to the Civil War, after which Bellamy thought our nation could not be divided. She also says the change ruins the "rhythmic cadence."

Another great fact: Nowhere does the word "God" appear in the Constitution.

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For those who haven't read it recently, here is the Declaration of Independence.

There are some good reads in the July 22 The Nation now on line:

Re-thinking the Death Penalty by Bruce Shapiro posits that politicians are taking their cues from growing public opposition to capital punishment.

John Nichols talks about how the White House is "packing the judiciary with extreme rightwingers like Texas judge Priscilla Owen" in Karl Rove's Legal Tricks

And a variety of writers express their feelings about patriotism. Many on the left apparently doesn't like patriotism, believing it to be a blind devotion to the government. Others just feel awkward about it.

Our belief, at least with respect to America's criminal justice system, which is the focus of this weblog, is that despite all its faults, and there are many (failure of Congress to abolish the federal death penalty, pass the Innocence Protection Act or eliminate mandatory minimum drug sentences to name some,) it is still the best criminal justice system in the world.

Think of the alternatives--countries without the presumption of innocence, the right to confront one's accusers, trial by jury requiring unanimity of verdict, or proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

We like the portion of the comments by Erwin Kroll, Editor of the Progressive , in explaining how he started celebrating Independence Day. "It's something we started doing when Richard Nixon and his pals were sporting American flag pins in their lapels. Damn it, we thought, it's not their flag, it's not their country, and we're not going to let them steal America from us."

We don't see patriotism as supporting war but supporting the freedom to dissent from war and other uncacceptable government practices. Along this line, and far more eloquently stated, read Sharon Basco's Tom Paine interview with Historian Howard Zinn titled "Dissent In Pursuit Of Equality, Life, Liberty And Happiness." To paraprhase, dissent is the highest form of patriotism. Patriotism does not mean support for the government. Government is a but an artifical creation to carry out certain ends, like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and when it acts contrary to those ends, it is our duty to disobey it and nothing could be more patriotic.

TalkLeft would like to turn this page over to you readers through this holiday weekend. Mail us your thoughts on civil liberties, the Patriot Act , the state of the nation, the death penalty, the terrorism trials, whatever you think is relevant, and we'll post as many as we can with links back to your sites if you wish. Anonymous is fine too.

Happy Independence Day from us here at TalkLeft