By Bill O'Reilly

On Wednesday the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of the vicious Westboro Baptist Church protesters who roam the country screaming hatred at military funerals and other places.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WESTBORO CHURCH MEMBER: God hates fags, God hates fag enablers. Therefore God hates America and all of the U.S. military. America is doomed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

These loons say they are protesting because the United States does not persecute gay people. They believe God is punishing America, and these vile idiots are happy that our soldiers are coming home dead.

Enter Albert Snyder, whose son Matthew, a lance corporal in the Marines, was killed in Iraq. Mr. Snyder sued the Westboro Church for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and initially won $11 million from a jury. But judges overturned the verdict, even making Mr. Snyder pay court costs. And on Wednesday, the Snyder family received the ultimate insult: The vicious Westboro crew won in the Supreme Court. Kind of shocking.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said: "As a nation we have chosen … to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate."

Noble in theory, but what about the rights of Mr. Snyder and his family to bury their son in peace?

The lone dissenter was Justice Samuel Alito, who said: "Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case."

"Talking Points" believes Justice Alito is correct, and the Supreme Court needs to think about what is happening in the real world. Because of the Internet, anonymous sociopaths can now smear and bully anyone they want. And the media has picked up on this. We all know people who make millions of dollars simply by defaming other people.

Recently, the actress Katie Holmes filed a $50 million lawsuit against a tabloid paper that told its readers Ms. Holmes is drug involved. Ms. Holmes may very well lose her suit because it's almost impossible for famous people to prevail in these cases.

But Mr. Snyder and his family are not famous. They're everyday Americans who simply wanted to bury their son in peace, but these animals, the Westboro people, wouldn't allow that.

The First Amendment is in place to protect the rights of Americans, but free speech can be abused. Slander is real. Bullying is real. Inflicting pain on others through words is real. But the Supreme Court does not seem to get that.

With the rise of the Internet, cowardly sociopaths are running wild with hateful invective, outrageous smears and bullying tactics that have caused some kids to commit suicide.

The Supreme Court needs to wise up. It's not just about free speech anymore. It's about personal destruction.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

The actor Matthew Perry, Chandler from "Friends," has a new program on ABC that is not doing very well. So he popped up on "The View" to promote it:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Would you like to tell us about your own experience?

MATTHEW PERRY, ACTOR: Sure. I feel like I've had a...

WALTERS: Lie down on our couch.

PERRY: What happened?

WALTERS: No. You were going to tell us about your mid-life experience. I said, "Lie down on the couch."

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Making a joke.

WALTERS: Another joke that didn't make it. All right.

GOLDBERG: I caught it. I caught it.

PERRY: I'm just glad two of you have not walked off.

ELISABETH HASSELBECK, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Don't speak so soon.