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Author Archives: David
Federalist No. 84
In his penultimate federalist paper, Federalist No. 84, Hamilton ties up a few loose ends and once again shows his prescience. As I was reading this thought on the need (or lack thereof) for a Bill of Rights: a minute … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged Bill of Rights, change congress, civic participation, documents, federalist, history
1 Comment
Federalist Nos. 80 – 83
Some of the items of discussion in the federalist papers are so obvious that I must conclude that the purpose of these papers was not onyl to answer critics of the proposed constitution, but also to endeavor to generally educate … Continue reading
Federalist Nos. 78 – 79
I had always been taught that the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches were fundamentally equal in power within the federal government (checks and balances etc.) but Federalist No. 78 says otherwise: the judiciary is beyond comparison the weakest of the … Continue reading
Judicial Appointment
Yesterday I wrote about the president’s power to nominate people for important positions in government. Today we get the news that Justice David Souter will be retiring. (This is doubly convenient as the remaining federalist papers deal with the judicial … Continue reading
Federalist Nos. 76 – 77
Federalist Nos 76 and 77 discuss the power of the president to nominate people for high government offices. I notice that these papers use some of the very same arguments in defending these powers of the president as were used … Continue reading
Obama’s First 100
Today is day number 100 for the Obama Administration. This has been a benchmark of measurement for every administration since FDR. There will be lots of stories in the political media attempting to measure how he is doing as a … Continue reading
Hoping History Holds
Nobody with a political pulse in Utah could be surprised at the news that Sens. Bennett and Hatch plan to run again, especially considering that they both have their campaign websites up and running already (yes, even Hatch for 2012). … Continue reading
Posted in State
Tagged 2010, 2012, Arlen Specter, Bob Bennett, connections, Deseret News, Orrin Hatch, Pennsylvania, senate, seniority, Utah
8 Comments
Considering Secession
An intriguing discussion erupted after a recent post by Connor. I was soon asking what history would have looked like if the South had been allowed to secede rather than fight the Civil War. Later another commenter asked an even … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged Articles of Confederation, connections, Constitution, history, questions, secession
5 Comments
Federalist Nos. 74 – 75
Federalist No. 74 discusses the power of the president to command the military and grant pardons. Federalist No. 75 discusses the power of the president related to the making of treaties. Neither of the papers is particularly remarkable unless you … Continue reading
Federalist No. 73
Federalist No. 73 demonstrates two instances where the framers of the Constitution designed not for a virtuous system, but for a system riddled with human fallibility. The static nature of executive compensation helps mitigate the human fallibility of the executive. … Continue reading