“The founding fathers were scared to death of the old athenian democracy. That’s why we had the checks and balances and the arcane method of selecting senators pre-17th amendment.” — Chaz

It worked. But, in conjunction with SCOTUS Reynolds v. Simms (1964), it has destroyed the power of the State and shifted it towards the more ‘democratic’ system that resulted in the collapse of Athens.

Now, only majority vote means anything at the state level. SCOTUS Reynolds v. Simms (1964) destroyed the balance of power between metropolitan and rural areas by making the state senate an over-paid/over-glorified version of the state house of representatives. Gone is the classic balance of power found at the federal level and affectionately referred to as “The Great Compromise”.

Now the vast majority of legislative power, including the ability to appoint judges and commissioners, is vested in the large cities.

We’re experiencing the disaster of that ruling at the local level, as Denver sucks up more and more resources to serve itself.

Indeed. I sit on a county commission overseeing the transportation infrastructure and we’ve had a major east-west highway in dire need of attention. Meanwhile Denver builds it’s mega-lane I-25 corridor.

Why?

Because our east-west corridor does not serve Denver. The same is true for another east-west corridor 100 miles south of here.

If we, as states, want to return to an honest form of government, we need to have SCOTUS Reynolds v. Simms (1964) overturned.

Regards,

Chuck(le)

“That our country’s form of government is a republic instead of a pure democracy is no accident, according to Hamilton. The constitutional framers “expressly rejected direct democracy. Instead, the Constitution constructs a representative system of government that places all ruling power in the hands of elected officials.”” — Machett-PI

As was stated by one of the Founding Fathers….

Democracy… while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide. — John Adams

Look at the Athenian direct democracy.

And even representative republics have a hard time of it in the long run. Look at the Roman Republic.

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[The great atrocities of our civilization have rarely been the acts of generals or presidents or kings. They have been the doings of petty bureaucrats acting within the strict confines of the law. -- Alain Simon]

“Whenever I meet someone who claims to find faith in God impossible, but who persists in believing in the essential goodness of humanity, I know that I have met a person for whom evidence is irrelevant.” ~ Dennis Prager ( Ultimate Issues , July- September, 1989)

Emory Report 11/29/99 Vol.52. No. 13 http://www.freerepublic.com/~matchettpi/ Excerpt:

“…Marci Hamilton … [is] a nationally recognized expert on constitutional and copyright law. ….

Her forthcoming book, Copyright and the Constitution, examines the historical and philosophical underpinnings of copyright law and asserts that the American “copyright regime” is grounded in Calvinism, resulting in a philosophy that favors the product over the producer.

Calvinism? Hamilton’s interest in the intersection of Calvinist theology and political philosophy emerged early in her career when she began reading the work of leading constitutional law scholars. She was puzzled by their “theme of a system of self-rule.” “They talked about it as if it were in existence,” she said. “My gut reaction was that direct democracy and self-rule are a myth that doesn’t really exist.”

What Hamilton found was that a “deep and abiding distrust of human motives that permeates Calvinist theology also permeates the Constitution.” Her investigation of that issue has led to another forthcoming book, tentatively titled The Reformed Constitution: What the Framers Meant by Representation.

That our country’s form of government is a republic instead of a pure democracy is no accident, according to Hamilton. The constitutional framers “expressly rejected direct democracy. Instead, the Constitution constructs a representative system of government that places all ruling power in the hands of elected officials.”

And the people? Their power is limited to the voting booth and communication with their elected representatives, she said.

“The Constitution is not built on faith in the people, but rather on distrust of all social entities, including the people.” …

..Two of the most important framers, James Wilson and James Madison, were steeped in Presbyterian precepts.

It is Calvinism, Hamilton argued, that “more than any other Protestant theology, brings together the seeming paradox that man’s will is corrupt by nature but also capable of doing good.”

In other words, Calvinism holds that “we can hope for the best but expect the worst from each other and from the social institutions humans devise.”

We’re distracted at present by our own election & the Olympics, while Putin’s tyranny pushes forward and Al Qaeda advances its “new” agenda to become dominant in North Africa.

Tragedy in North Africa

Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. See….

http://www.amazon.com/Lucifers-Hammer-Larry-Niven/dp/0449208133/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219099191&sr=1-1

…for details.

I think you’ll find a lot of useful information relating to this topical thread in there. Not to mention a better understanding of some things written about in that Old Book; think Great Flood.

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[To understand things written in that Old Book, look at them from the perspective of the original writer trying to explain a vision to his contemporaries in terms they would understand.]

“….had to come up with what they thought the state of nature was….” — Byron Perez

…the ’state of nature’. It’s not as difficult to surmise as you might like to think. Indeed. It’s VERY easy to find. And here are some steps for you to discover it….

[1] Drive up to a wildness area nearest you.
[2] Get out of your car.
[3] Strip off ALL of your clothing.
[4] Taking nothing with you, walk for seven days into the wilderness area.
[5] If you encounter any human being, hide from them or run away if they detect you.

You’ll figure it out….

Regards,

Chuck(le)
P.S. When you get hungry, eat a bug….