Thursday, December 30, 2010

Old and retarded

I actually thought that Angus must be making up the thing about "old people should be ignored because they were retarded." After all, Arnold Kling is hardly a left-wing goober.

But the left-wing goobers are saying the same thing! Check this bon mot from the aggressively useless Ezra "History Begins With Me!" Klein:


He actually says that the reason no one should read the Constitution is that it is old, and no one can tell what it says.

To be fair, I'm sure he means that one has to read the "midrash" of Supreme Court decisions before you can know what the "torah" of the Constitution actually means. (At least, I hope he means that.)

But, consider the 2nd Amendment. Ten years ago I had lunch with a friend who teaches Con Law. I mentioned that the 2nd Amendment clearly creates a personal, individual right to have and bear arms. The only question is how much the state can regulate and limit the size and use of such weapons.

My "friend," with amazing condescension, suggested I should read some undergraduate books to learn what the Constitution really means. Clearly, given what the Court had said in Miller (for example) there is NO right to individual ownership. It doesn't really matter what I think the Constitution says, he told me in the patient tone of a parent lecturing a wayward and willfully ignorant child.

Well, my good friend Prof KM, given the recent decisions in Heller and in McDonald...HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW, SWEETIE! Maybe YOU should go read that old Constitution. It has some really cool parts.

Of course, some of it is very hard to understand, I admit. Take the first Amendment, where it says, "Congress shall make no law..." Opaque language, that, as Stephen Gutowski notes. Must mean that Congress can make pretty much any law it wants, right? As long as a majority approves, like in McCain-Feingold?

(Nod to Angry Alex)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Klein is a perfect specimen of what poli sci programs around the country are producing. He was the guy the econ students used laughed at, sadly he is still providing laughable material.

Anonymous said...

Thanks. The Klein vid made me puke in my mouth.

Richard Stands said...

And:

"The Congress shall have Power...To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes"

means:

"The Congress shall have Power...To stop Roscoe Filburn from growing wheat on his own farm to feed his own chickens."


Those are spelled almost identically. I can see the confusion.

Anonymous said...

weird to find a smart person using the word retarded. can you be smart and ignorant at the same time?

eightnine2718281828mu5 said...

---
He actually says that the reason no one should read the Constitution
---

Funny, I don't see that quote in the video.

But if he did, you would so totally p0wn his a$$!!!!!