IN CASE YOU WONDERED HOW FAR RIGHT THE COURT HAS DRIFTED:

Supreme Court rules against public employee unions (David G. Savage, June 14, 2007, LA Times)

In a setback for unions that represent public employees, the Supreme Court ruled today that states could bar them from using forced dues for political purposes unless individual employees gave their explicit approval.

"Unions have no constitutional entitlement to the fees of nonmember employees," Justice Antonin Scalia said.

The 9-0 decision overturned the Washington Supreme Court, which said the state's largest teachers' union had a right to use all dues money for lobbying and politics except when individual dissidents objected in writing.