These United States

I think it's important to remember that the original 13 states that formed the United States were each sovereign and independent to start with, the United States did not spawn them. First there were states, and then they became united. The only two other states that started that way are Texas and California. Although the rest of the states were carved out of U.S. territories, there would not have been a U.S. to have territories if the original 13 had not formed the United States. Nowadays we have come to think of each state as a subdivision of the United States, but that's not how it started, and that's not how it still is legally. I think that's why we still haven't gotten rid of the Electoral College, it makes the individual states feel important, lest we forget that they are individual states. It would take a constitutional amendment to change that, and you can't pass a constitutional amendment unless three fourths of the state legislatures ratify it. For the same reason, you are unlikely to see the senate become just another house of representatives any time soon.

Maybe the congress can't exactly over rule the supreme court, but they can regulate it and set limits on it's powers. For it is written: "In all the other cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make." - Constitution of the United States of America, Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 2.

The argument about whose fault is the current state of American politics is kind of like an argument about whose fault is the proliferation of illegal drugs. We usually think of the drug dealers as being responsible, which is why there are harsher penalties for dealers than for users. When you think about it, though, if the users didn't use, the dealers would soon be out of business. Well, some dealers lure little kids into the habit by giving them free or cheap drugs to start them off, but still, the kids could just say no. Hey, wouldn't that be a great anti drug slogan? "Just say no!" I wonder why nobody has ever thought of that before. (I make small joke.)

The only reason I brought up the gun issue was I was trying to think of some recently passed laws that have actually benefitted me. The more I think about it, though, there haven't been a lot of recently passed laws that have actually harmed me either. There are certainly some laws that have pissed me off, like Obamacare, but truth be known, most of them don't materially affect me one way or the other. It's like that old Chinese saying: "When the sun rises, I work. When the sun sets, I sleep. I plow the earth to eat. I dig the well to drink. What has the emperor to do with me?" Nevertheless, we both have opinions about stuff like that. If we didn't, what would we have to talk about?

Speaking of politics, I forgot to tell you how I single handedly elected a member of the Cheboygan County road Commission. This wasn't in the recent election, it was back in the August primary, but if this guy hadn't gotten the Republican nomination, he likely wouldn't have been elected to office because all our local stuff usually goes Republican. Anyway, this guy initially lost by five votes, but he asked for a recount and won by one vote......my vote! So don't let anybody tell you that one vote doesn't matter.