A column by Tom McNamee in today's Chicago Sun Times offers a window of hope for those of us concerned with attacks on the Constitution by the Bush Administration. Too often, politicians and pundits call for -- or support -- measures like warrantless wiretapping, stripping habeas corpus for detainees and intrusive investigation measures without adequate oversight and review. Many of us puzzle at how these proposals and policies can be discussed without any discussion of their constitutional impact.

Well, I guess the question is, Are you smarter than a seventh grader? McNamee's column today higlights submissions to Constituion contest sponsored by the Evanston League of Women Voters. About 300 seventh grade students submitted essays, songs, skits, sculptures, paintings and pomes to the contest. As McNamee notes, the theme that runs throughout these submissions is simple: "Don't let fear trump freedom."

Let's hope that some members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate listen to these students. You can read McNamee's column at http://www.suntimes.com/news/mcnamee/666869,CST-NWS-mcnamee26.article.