Is the U.S. Constitution a mortmain?

[BaalChatzaf]

The U.S. Constitution in its original form was passed and ratified by 1789... It has been modified since, but it is largely in the form it had at the time of its ratification. 225 years have passed. Should any government be bound by a document that has not been approved in each generation. The constitution should liquidate itself every 30 years or so, This way each and every citizen would have a hand (by representation) in a convention that either held the constitution as it is or replaced it in every generation.

You can see what has happened by letting the constitution go unreconstructed. It has been reconstructed piecemeal and not in a very sound manner. My proposal is to have a time limit on the constitution. Every 30 years or so the document should be reviewed. It can then be modified, let alone or abolished out right and replaced once every generation. Virtually ever citizen will have some say, direct or indirect in the supreme law of the nation.

Ba'al Chatzaf

[Brant Gaede]

The Supreme Court has been doing this at least since the late 1930s. No need for your proposal.

--Brant

[syrakusos]

Ba'al, it is an interesting theoretical point and I regard it as valid. I assume that you have no intention of launching such a campaign in the real world, but are only exploring an idea. If you ever form your own country, consider this an option.

Brant, by what Constitutional process did Jefferson purchase the Lousiana Territory? It's an old story. By what Constitutional process did West Virginia become a state? Do not blame the liberal courts of the 20th century. That is too easy, too shallow. US Constitutional history is complicated.

[jts]

Anyone who gives a rodent's posterior about the Constitution runs the risk of being put on the list of terrorist suspects. If you can't be re-educated, you will be eliminated.

[Brant Gaede]

Ba'al, it is an interesting theoretical point and I regard it as valid. I assume that you have no intention of launching such a campaign in the real world, but are only exploring an idea. If you ever form your own country, consider this an option.

Brant, by what Constitutional process did Jefferson purchase the Lousiana Territory? It's an old story. By what Constitutional process did West Virginia become a state? Do not blame the liberal courts of the 20th century. That is too easy, too shallow. US Constitutional history is complicated.

Complications go as far into infinity as you want to go. I didn't go very far, only as far as the thread deserved. The Constitution was made to be busted--look at what Lincoln did--simply because by itself it has no power, no force. It's always been in the hands of judges and other politicians determined to have their way. Politicians vs politicians = (result). I was specifically referring to the collapse of the Supreme Court to the executive (and federal legislative) branch after the attempt of Roosevelt to pack the court giving the President a de facto victory with subsequent de jure rulings continuing to the present day with Roberts' caving in on Obamacare last summer.

--Brant

[BaalChatzaf]

The Supreme Court has been doing this at least since the late 1930s. No need for your proposal.

--Brant

I would rather the people (as a political body) did the reconstruction rather than a few overweight men in the Court.

Ba'al Chatzaf

[BaalChatzaf]

Ba'al, it is an interesting theoretical point and I regard it as valid. I assume that you have no intention of launching such a campaign in the real world, but are only exploring an idea. If you ever form your own country, consider this an option.

Thank you for appreciating the question. No, I have no such intention. Life is short and time is precious (to me, anyway) and I have no intention of trying to found a new nation or trying to prove that Obama is really a Kenyan.

However, a day is coming that the people of the United States (our hunk of North America) will have to consider and reconsider how they wish to be governed (or ruled, as the case may be). I propose that the next Constitution has a self destruct mechanism built into it (like all the Star Ships of the Federation). Having the possibility of the money and prior debt go bye bye will encourage the many, to come up with a sounder kind of money that can survive the transition of constitutions and governments. Also as destruction day approaches the government in its final years will not be able to borrow promiscuously since the lenders will have no guarantee of collecting.

ruveyn

[syrakusos]

Robert, I don't know how you are at fiction, but you might want to imagine living in a society where the constitution expires. Some will find advantages in that, knowing that the whole structure can change seemingly overnight (maybe within a year). It would make a difference if this were 30 years or 50. Also, imagine a few generations later when you will have had major upheavals and rubberstamp continuations.

There's the old story about the guy who had the original ax that Abe Lincoln used to split rails. It had three new heards and five new handles, but it was the same ax. On the other hand, you get new cells all the time and remain Robert. Just to say, the Constitution may have been altered, may have been ignored, but it is the same Constitution. What happens when that is not the case?

[Steve Gagne]

"If I command others to do what they do not want to do, then I am no longer King."

[caroljane]

The Supreme Court has been doing this at least since the late 1930s. No need for your proposal.

--Brant

I would rather the people (as a political body) did the reconstruction rather than a few overweight men in the Court.

Ba'al Chatzaf

Assuming "men" to denote "humankind" here Sir, I would have you know that in Court circles I am considered voluptuous.

-Sonia S.

[Selene]

http://s657.beta.photobucket.com/user/Selene44/media/FucktheState.jpg.html

http://s657.beta.photobucket.com/user/Selene44/media/FucktheState.jpg.html

[Selene]

The Supreme Court has been doing this at least since the late 1930s. No need for your proposal.

--Brant

I would rather the people (as a political body) did the reconstruction rather than a few overweight men in the Court.

Ba'al Chatzaf

Assuming "men" to denote "humankind" here Sir, I would have you know that in Court circles I am considered voluptuous.

-Sonia S.

The Latina has spoken...

I guess, without a DNA test Kagen cannot be classified as man or woman.

And certainly Ruth "Buzzie" Ginsberg is an alien, be she legal or undocumented...

A...

[caroljane]

The Supreme Court has been doing this at least since the late 1930s. No need for your proposal.

--Brant

I would rather the people (as a political body) did the reconstruction rather than a few overweight men in the Court.

Ba'al Chatzaf

Assuming "men" to denote "humankind" here Sir, I would have you know that in Court circles I am considered voluptuous.

-Sonia S.

The Latina has spoken...

I guess, without a DNA test Kagen cannot be classified as man or woman.

And certainly Ruth "Buzzie" Ginsberg is an alien, be she legal or undocumented...

A...

I'll let Sporty and Scary speak for themselves.

SS

[Selene]

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