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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

History’s on Our Side

posted by on May 15 at 7:41 AM

I re-read one of my favorite books this weekend, The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89, a 1956 standard by brainiac U.S. historian Edmund S. Morgan.

There’s a lull in the third-to-last chapter—between the end of the war and the Constitutional Convention. But then it’s a page-turner until the very last paragraph. And what a paragraph! Check this, the last three sentences:

The Constitution was a bulwark to protect what they had gained, but it was also a base from which to continue the exploration. The bulwark still stands, and in spite of halts and pauses along the way the exploration still goes on. As long as any man remains less free than another, it cannot hardly cease.

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1

In our state the laws and the constitution are no “bulwark.” That is because the politicians on the Supreme Court do not apply the law fairly.

Our justices let their biases dictate outcomes in certain cases. They disregard legal arguments raised, and they lie about what citizens argue. Sheehan and Larson are examples. These are cases in which governments would lose big money if citizens’ rights were upheld.

Posted by foursquare | May 15, 2007 8:18 AM
2

"long as any man remains less free than another"

Ah, the '50s. Isn't that the decade that brought us "the household" as an income unit?

Not that I'm arguing with your point. It's just all those grandiloquent sentiments about "all men created equal" and the like seem to present such an obvious contradiction when we look at them with modern eyes.

Posted by Judah | May 15, 2007 9:22 AM
3

@2,

You modern smarty pants. They weren't as stupid in the 1950s as we so smugly like to think. Morgan is well aware of all the contradictions and discusses them with serious brain power.

And, btw, the 1950s is the decade that brought us the Civil Rights Movement.

Posted by Josh Feit | May 15, 2007 9:24 AM
4

Well fine, I'll read the book.

And of course people in the ‘50s weren’t generally any stupider than the people of any other time-- but I would argue that the socioeconomic backlash Rosie the riveter after WWII made 1950s America an unusually sexist time and place.

Posted by Judah | May 15, 2007 10:05 AM
5

...There was meant to be an "against" in there somewhere.

Posted by Judah | May 15, 2007 10:05 AM
6

@ 1 – I know both cases. The results are in line with the values of the majority of the citizens. Nothing more, nothing less. The fact that your three right-wingers lost (badly) last November is evidence enough of this.

Posted by Artemis | May 15, 2007 10:14 AM
7

Gerry Alexander speaks to the press: “Chief Justice Gerry Alexander of the state Supreme Court praised the commission's decision to boost judicial salaries.”

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Salary_Hikes.html

This tool helps his comrades lie in order to screw hundreds of thousands of citizens. Tens of millions more dollars in illegal taxes then go to the state (his employer). So he gets a fat raise. Alexander is a corrupt knob.

Posted by Court Watcher | May 15, 2007 9:34 PM
8

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Posted by kxuvy ujxrlgt | May 18, 2007 4:26 PM
9

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Posted by kxuvy ujxrlgt | May 18, 2007 4:27 PM

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