It’s too bad that Sen. Charles Schumer wasn’t in the 25 minute demonstration lesson I taught this morning about the constitutional basis of Congress. He might have found out that the Vice-President casting the tie-breaking vote in the senate is not White House “interfer[ence] with the Senate to reduce checks and balances,” but is actually permitted by the Constitution (Article I, Section 3, Clause 4 to be precise). It’s quite amusing to watch opponents of the ‘nuclear option’ of changing internal Senate rules try to claim that the filibuster is necessary to sustain the constitution, when quite obviously the constitution doesn’t even mention it.
Archive for April 22nd, 2005
Basic Civics
Friday, April 22nd, 2005Life From Rotten Eggs
Friday, April 22nd, 2005This is absolutely fascinating. If they can manage to induce hibernation in humans, it really has many good medical benefits. Imagine first responders keeping equipment in their ambulance to suspend injured people — you’d be able to keep them going far longer, and likely increase survival rates. Same with battlefield conditions. And hey, there’s always the space trips to distant stars in suspended animation!