Suchergebnisse

Analyzes the Bush administration's legal strategy regarding the war on terror. Three legal errors are outlined before addressing two legal criticisms from opponents -- that terrorism requires only enhanced law enforcement & that the US is bound by international law even if that law is not incorporated into domestic law. Attention is then given to issues related to detention of suspects, interrogation methods, war crimes tribunals, & surveillance. Concluding that the Bush administration's legal strategy in the war on terror has been deeply flawed, suggestions for future administrations are offered. D. Edelman

McGinnis reviews 'Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money' by David S. Broder.

State and local governments today are, with few exceptions, in deep financial distress. While some governors can offer the recession, the housing crisis, or the loss of an important industry as an excuse for poor finances, many states are simply structurally insolvent not unlike General Motors prior to bankruptcy. Indeed, California's travails began well before the recession, and warnings about the financial health of Illinois and New York predate the present crisis. It is no secret that the primary cause of the states' long-term problems are their bloated public sectors particularly their public pension obligations. Adapted from the source document.

Intro -- Contents -- 1. Originalism: Its Discontents and the Supermajoritarian Solution -- 2. The Nature of the Argument -- 3. The Supermajoritarian Theory of Constitutionalism -- 4. The Compliance of the US Constitution with Desirable Supermajority Rules -- 5. The Continuing Desirability of an Old Supermajoritarian Constitution -- 6. Supermajoritarian Failure, Including the Exclusion of African Americans and Women -- 7. Original Methods Originalism -- 8. Original Methods Versus Constitutional Construction -- 9. Precedent, Originalism, and the Constitution -- 10. The Normative Theory of Precedent -- 11. Imagining an Originalist Future -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index.

John McGinnis and Michael Rappaport argue that the text of the Constitution and its Amendments should be adhered to by the Supreme Court because it was enacted by supermajorities. A text approved by supermajorities has special value in a democracy because it has unusually wide support and tends to maximize the welfare of the greatest number.