[clue-talk] national ID card

[Dennis J Perkins]

On Sat, 2007-06-30 at 12:04 -0600, Sean LeBlanc wrote:

> That's the problem exactly. You have to imagine the most debased sort of
> people will try to rise to the top, which is probably not too far off from
> the mark when it comes to most politicians, and then think about what might
> happen in a given system. 

Exactly.  Whenever a bill is proposed or a politician says "Trust me.
This is for the public good", you need to consider and weigh all angles.
How does it benefit society as a whole?  How does it benefit you?  How
does it benefit the people supporting or crusading for the bill (very
important!) ?  How does it hurt society?  How does it hurt me?  How can
the final law be misused or abused by later politicians or political
group?

The founding fathers probably never envisioned states leaving the union
or other states preventing it.  They certainly never intended gun
control laws, desegregation, judges making laws, a vicepresident
claiming he is not part of the executive branch, etc.  They did foresee
the necessity of being able to remove a president, so they included a
section about Congress trying a president.  

They argued long and hard, partly to make sure other states couldn't
leave their state without a voice in Congress.  Read the Constitution
and the Federalist Papers to see their views.
 
> I think it was Madison who said the government is designed with enough
> checks and balances so that it could be run by devils.  If Hillary is your
> idea of someone that belongs to that group, consider what she might do with
> such capabilities.  

They crafted well that it has succeeded in working for over 200 years,
despite missteps and some abuses.  But each generation must be taught
why checks and balances, etc., are important.  My American history
teacher spent a lot of time on the Constitution and what each section
meant.  I don't know how many teachers did that or do that today.