Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:April fools (Score 1) 470

This could be a response to any number of comments in this thread, but the fact is that the Bible does not say how old the world is. The 6000 year theory is just someone's interpretation. As a Christian, it boggles my mind why other Christians hold on to that idea so strongly, when the Biblical evidence for that interpretation is so weak.

Comment Re:Supremacy Clause (Score 1) 601

The case you cite deals specifically with traffic law and can't be generalized to all situations, but let's look at it anyway.

That a Federal employee is not immune from arrest for noncompliance with State traffic regulation where performance of his duties did not necessitate such noncompliance is well illustrated by the following excerpt from the opinion of the court in Oklahoma v. Willingham, 143 F.Supp. 445 (E.D.Okla., 1956, (p. 448):

          The State of Oklahoma has not only the right hut the responsibility to regulate travel upon its highways. The power of the state to regulate such travel has not been surrendered to the Federal Government. An employee of the Federal Government must obey the traffic laws of the state although he may be traveling in the ordinary course of his employment. No law of the United States authorizes a rural mail carrier, while engaged in delivering mail on his route, to violate the provisions of the state those who use the highways.

          Guilt or innocence is not involved, but there is involved a question of whether or not the prosecution is based on an official act of the defendant. There is nothing official about how or when the defendant re-entered the lane of traffic on the highway. There is no official connection between the acts complained of and the official duties of the mail carrier. The mere fact that the defendant was on duty and delivering mail along his route does not present any federal question and administration of the work of the Post Office Department does not require a carrier, while delivering mail, to drive his car from a stopped position into the path of an approaching automobile. When he is charged with doing so, his defense is under state law and is not different from that of any other citizen.

          Where, on the other hand, the Federal employee could not discharge his duties without violating State or local traffic regulations, it has been that he is immune from any liability under State or local law for such noncompliance.

(emphasis mine)

Basically, the whole case boils down to this: Federal agents cannot violate state laws and are not immune to prosecution normally. However, when there is no other choice, then the agent is held immune for a particular act. In the case it mentions a Federal agent in pursuit of a suspect that broke traffic laws and ended up hitting someone with his vehicle. He is held immune to that, the same way a cop or fire engine would be held immune for speeding and running lights on their way to a scene.

None of this has anything to do with the discussion of the TSA. Try again.

Comment Re:Supremacy Clause (Score 2) 601

That is only so because so many people accept that. I think a more sane interpretation (one that the Supreme Court, itself, used to follow before FDR) does not give Congress powers as broad as they are claiming. It is still possible to reverse that interpretation, and while I don't really expect it to happen, I will continue to advocate for it.

Comment Re:Supremacy Clause (Score 1) 601

That doesn't give the TSA the right to assault people. If a TSA agent punches someone in the stomach, that is obviously assault and that agent will be arrested and prosecuted under state law. If the state defines assault in a way that makes their pat downs assault (or some other crime), they can legally do that to protect their citizens.

Comment Re:Supremacy Clause (Score 2) 601

Treaties are a loophole. They don't need to have a delegated power behind them. I parse the clause this way: The Constitution and laws made in pursuance thereof shall be the supreme law of the land, and all treaties made under the authority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land.

There was a Supreme Court case that dealt with this. Congress passed a law that regulated some migratory birds in some way (gave them certain protections or whatever). A state objected and took it to the Supreme Court and had the law overturned as unconstitutional because the Federal government doesn't have that power (they even tried to argue that the birds crossing state borders constituted interstate commerce, ha!) In response, they made a treaty (with Canada maybe? I can't quite remember) that made the same protections for the birds. The state objected again, but the court said, nope, sorry that is now the supreme law of the land.

I don't really like that, because it bypasses the House of Representatives completely and it makes it much easier to essentially amend the Constitution by treaty. This is what makes things like ACTA so fracking dangerous!

Comment Re:Supremacy Clause (Score 5, Informative) 601

In order for Federal Law to trump state law, it has to be made in pursuance of its Constitutionally delegated powers. If Congress passes a law which they are not granted the power to do as part of their enumerated powers, then it does not trump state laws. That is why there is no federal drinking age, speed limit, etc. Those powers are not granted to it, so instead they simply bribe the states into passing laws to their intended effect by threatening to withhold transportation money.

Powers that are not enumerated to the Federal government belong to the states to begin with, and therefore cannot be trumped by Federal law. Laws concerning criminal activity such as assault, cannot be trumped by Congress. Therefore, if a state passes a law that classifies what the TSA is doing as assault, it definitely is within their power. That is why the feds have to resort to threatening to shut down their airspace if the law is passed rather than challenge the law in court.

"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding." (Article VI, Clause 2)

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." (10th Amendment)

Comment Re:Subsidies inflate pricing. (Score 2) 1797

See, his education got paid for back in the 1950's. Probably by his parents. So, he's got his. Fuck the rest of us.

He paid for his own education by working over the summers. He wants people to be able to do that again, and NOT be in debt for life for a degree.

I think he is right. Government subsidies tend to make prices go up.

Comment Re:Great (Score 2) 392

In addition to the national income tax, most states have their own state income tax. In addition to that most, have property taxes, school taxes (also paid by property owners). Counties, towns, and other localities can also levy their own property taxes and sales taxes.

The national income tax goes directly to the federal government (which they then use to bribe the states into passing laws they can't pass nationally), everything else is local to the state and/or municipalities.

When you add everything up, I'm not sure it is so certain that our taxes are lower than anywhere else, but I have not looked at the numbers closely.

Comment Re:probably should have been lowered anyway (Score 1) 1239

Money wouldn't even have the same real value today compared to a hundred years ago without inflation, since it would experience deflation.

You're right, it wouldn't be worth the same. Deflation would cause it be worth more.

Even an entirely gold-based economy would experience inflation.

It would only experience inflation if the amount of gold being mined and added to the money supply substantially outpaces the addition of new labor into the workforce.

Comment Re:Mod parent up. (Score 1) 1239

I think you are absolutely right.

We are entering an era where individuals have unprecedented access to information and have a much greater ability to innovate. However, go ahead and try to do that and see how far you get.

As soon as you start to make any kind of money with something, the IRS will consider your little venture to be a business and you will have to pay self-employment taxes (that is, all the taxes you would normally pay if you worked for someone else PLUS the employer-paid portions). If, despite that and all the hoops you have to jump through to make your business legal, you still manage to grow successfully, you will have to hire employees (paying more taxes, more regulations, etc).

If you STILL have the gall to be successful, why we'll show you! We'll just raise your taxes! Anyone making over $250k a year (that's enough for a business to hire, what, one or two employees?) is rich and needs to pay more!

Ok, ok. I'm a little frustrated at how hard it is to start a business. I guess it doesn't help that I live in New York state.

Comment Re:if he's so concerned (Score 1) 949

He is not necessarily advocating anarchy, but liberty.

Government's main role is to protect the people's rights, but the philosophy of liberty says that people cannot delegate authority to another agent that they don't have to begin with. So, if you don't have the right to use violence against others to take away their possessions, neither can you delegate that ability to the government.

In your example, the person raping and pillaging the countryside does not have the right to use violence against others. However, the victims of his actions do have the right to defend themselves, using force if necessary. Therefore, those individuals can delegate the task of protecting them to the government, who can use force and the law to prosecute that individual.

Slashdot Top Deals

Love may laugh at locksmiths, but he has a profound respect for money bags. -- Sidney Paternoster, "The Folly of the Wise"

Working...