Why not emigrate?

Justin Schwartz jkschw at hotmail.com
Tue Jun 4 08:56:23 PDT 2002



>
>Justin Schwartz wrote:
>
>>Still, despite our anachrobistic Federalism, states are largely
>>admistrative regions.
>
>Some patriot you are! The federal system is so essentially American - part
>of the stupid separation of powers - that to dismiss it so makes me wonder
>just what you love about the U.S.

Oh, I like the separation of powers, but that's horizontal--it means that the executive is not supposed to mess with the judiciary. Federalism is vertical, defining the relationwhip between the states and the feds, and aside from providing amusement for jurisdictionally minded lawyers like myself, basically a huge pain in the tuchus.

Most patriots love
>the Constitution, and since that document is all about the separation of
>powers,

An expression that occurs nowhere in the document . . . . But it is a doctrine embodied in the thing.

it's kind of weird to dimiss this essential
>feature as an anachronism, and the states as merely administrative regions.

Couple years ago I nearly gave one of Posner's then-clerk's (now a NWU Law prof.) a heart attack by saying that, he agreed with you. Still, I'll stand my it. If you want a constitutional justification, see Amendment XIV.

The whole Constitution is an anachronism, but I'm guessing
>you don't think so.

You know I don't.

So what do you like? Not the tune of the SSB,
>which is pretty awful, or the lyrics, which are too. Jazz? You don't have
>to love the rest of the package to love that. The Declaration? The
>Interstate Highway System? I'm confused.

As I said, the SSB is a pretty poor song. For the rest, do you love NYC? If so, why? Justify, please.

I don't apologize for my sentiments. I don't insist that anyone share them. And I don't find this conversation productive anymore. As I say, y'all can write me off as a really poor leftist. But probably you have anyway.

jks

_________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list