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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
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Its not ignoring, its reinterpreting
But you can only reinterpret the more obscure part.
edited 26th Oct '12 8:45:12 PM by DeviantBraeburn
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016Heh, I thought conservative justices like Scalia were supposed to be originalists. They're really just bullshitting with rhetorical and semantic tactics to justify a self-serving agenda. At this point in history the non-fundamental views of the founding fathers should be somewhat irrelevant. I think all founding fathers would agree that theft is wrong, no? Plagarism of one man's compositions as one's own is pretty much a dick move, but in these days things are a lot more gray. Look at our copyright system these days. You've got the Old Media shutting down New Media in a panic to keep technological progress backward. I mean, it's not like the record industry has no right to make money, it's just not our fault that engineers created a format (.mp3) that, by nature, is very easy to steal with little reprecussion. Any attempts at policing this theft have come across as ridiculous (Laying ludicrious million-dollar fines on people and ruining lives because of a few downloaded .mp3s), or incredibly authoritarian to the point of destroying modern infrastructure (SOPA and related bills). Can you imagine trying to explain the iPhone to someone in the 1700s? Honestly, they had no way to predict how things would turn out, and for all they knew people would be tilling the land for at least a few centuries more, like any other civilization at the time. The vast majority could not grasp the full realities of industry, globalization, communication, fast travel, or the rights of people other than rich white guys. My point is that they're not infallible, and we need to embrace the constitution as a living document, subject to change with the times, while upholding timeless principles proven to work.
edited 26th Oct '12 9:10:40 PM by AmateurPolymath
@Deviant Braeburn: You can "reinterpret" [[Literature/{{1984}} black to mean white]]. It wouldn't be the first time people did that.
... y'know, good point actually. Should've thought before I said that.
"Timeless Principles" (I guess you can find fault in anything these days):
—-
1.) Freedom Speech - Has been used to justify unlimited campaign advertising.
2.) Freedom of Religion - BUT NOT FREEDOM FROM RELIGION, ABSTINENCE ONLY, GIT PRAYER BACK IN SCHOOLS!!!1!1
3.) Freedom of Elections - Except to felons, people working for companies that force them to vote a certain way, people who cannot afford to own ID, and people we BELIEVE are illegal immigrants.
4.) Right to a Fair Trial - Circumvented by NDAA and a disturbing number of new laws that violate due process.
etc.
edited 26th Oct '12 9:26:12 PM by AmateurPolymath
Yes, the Supreme Court pretty much never just rides straight over the constitution without plenty of precedent. Constitutional provisions that have been watered down into irrelevancy have generally gone that way slowly over time, as the exceptions have been allowed to swallow them.
The controversial decisions taken by the Court in 2000 over the Florida recount were not simply a matter of the Court ignoring the constitution and precedent. Rather, they found a defensible constitutional argument. Whether or not one agrees with the decision, one cannot argue that it simply ignores the Constitution; one can differ on interpretation, but the Court's decision, as one would expect, stands up and is defensible.
Indeed, a large majority found that the recount in Florida was held unconstitutionally. A narrow 5-4 majority decided that the best remedy was to simply accept the original count, while the others felt a constitutionally-solid recount could have been performed.
The fact is, the margin between the candidates in Florida that year was way smaller than the margin for error in the voting processes used, making it an effective dead heat. A decision that satisfied everyone as to its fairness was impossible.
A brighter future for a darker age.IIRC the group that did it came from India, actually, though it was rooted in post-WWII free love movements. Which I guess explains why they thought moving to Oregon was a good idea. And...doesn't explain the bioterror attack
and assassination plot
when the rigged voting failed.
edited 27th Oct '12 12:32:02 AM by Pykrete
Majority of Americans have anti African-American and Hispanic sentiments.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2012/10/27/poll-black-prejudice-america/1662067/
Post racial society, they said. >_>
It's only the ignorant and naive who truly believe that "post-racial society" bullshit.
Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.

They'd all vote that way.
When the language is clear, there is no difference in interpretation.
There's no partisan hacking about it. The Supreme Court is bound by the constitution and cannot contradict it, especially one of the most clear parts of it - the way elections are held.
You can't rule the constitution unconstitutional.
edited 26th Oct '12 8:38:54 PM by Completion