Philosophy
Now that the President has released his birth certificate, perhaps the next move for Donald Trump and the birthers is to contend that he forged the date. Maybe he was born in the U.S., maybe not; but is he really old enough to be President? The Constitution places an age limit on the Presidency, at least 35 years old, on the Senate, at least 30, and on the House of Representatives, at least 25. Grey hair can be faked, Trump will scream. After all who knows more about misleading with hair than Trump?
Are these age limits necessary or fair? Is it to save us from even the possibility of hearing the phrase "Senator Beiber"? If someone is a citizen in an open representative democracy, shouldn't the possibility to serve as one of the representatives be an open option for all? Shouldn't it be up to the electorate to decide if the person is too young and inexperienced? We trust the people to decide if he or she is smart enough, honest enough, and insightful enough, why take this out of our hands?
Is there a good argument for limiting the group of people we can vote for based on age? Limiting it to the voting age may make some sense, but limiting it beyond? What would be the grounds on which to justify it?
- Dc Congressional Representation
Today is the 51st anniversary of the ratification of the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution which granted the residents of Washington, D.C. the ability to vote electors for the Presidency to the electoral college. Folks who live in the District...
- Presidential Age Limit
On the heels of the Iowa caucus, let's ask about the requirements to be President of the United States. It is written into the second article of the Constitution that to be eligible for the position, one must be thirty five years old. ...
- Privacy, Democracy, And Deliberation
This week marked the 40th anniversary of the release of the Pentagon Papers. Daniel Ellsberg leaked the classified, massive report outlining the full history of American involvement in Vietnam to the New York Times who ran portions of it. It was the act...
- Had Been Laden, No Longer Is Laden
I suppose this is bad news for some: First there are popular uprisings demanding democratic reforms in Muslim countries and now the death of bin Laden. It's not been a good couple of months for the jihadists. Donald Trump lost his birth certificate...
- Obama & Seth Myers At The White House Correspondents' Dinner
Disclaimer: there is a chance I may have broken some ribs over the weekend. If that's the case, I'll probably slow down on the funny entries for a while because unfortunately, apart from sneezing and getting up in the morning when your ribs are...
Philosophy
Justin Beiber, U.S. Senator
Now that the President has released his birth certificate, perhaps the next move for Donald Trump and the birthers is to contend that he forged the date. Maybe he was born in the U.S., maybe not; but is he really old enough to be President? The Constitution places an age limit on the Presidency, at least 35 years old, on the Senate, at least 30, and on the House of Representatives, at least 25. Grey hair can be faked, Trump will scream. After all who knows more about misleading with hair than Trump?
Are these age limits necessary or fair? Is it to save us from even the possibility of hearing the phrase "Senator Beiber"? If someone is a citizen in an open representative democracy, shouldn't the possibility to serve as one of the representatives be an open option for all? Shouldn't it be up to the electorate to decide if the person is too young and inexperienced? We trust the people to decide if he or she is smart enough, honest enough, and insightful enough, why take this out of our hands?
Is there a good argument for limiting the group of people we can vote for based on age? Limiting it to the voting age may make some sense, but limiting it beyond? What would be the grounds on which to justify it?
- Dc Congressional Representation
Today is the 51st anniversary of the ratification of the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution which granted the residents of Washington, D.C. the ability to vote electors for the Presidency to the electoral college. Folks who live in the District...
- Presidential Age Limit
On the heels of the Iowa caucus, let's ask about the requirements to be President of the United States. It is written into the second article of the Constitution that to be eligible for the position, one must be thirty five years old. ...
- Privacy, Democracy, And Deliberation
This week marked the 40th anniversary of the release of the Pentagon Papers. Daniel Ellsberg leaked the classified, massive report outlining the full history of American involvement in Vietnam to the New York Times who ran portions of it. It was the act...
- Had Been Laden, No Longer Is Laden
I suppose this is bad news for some: First there are popular uprisings demanding democratic reforms in Muslim countries and now the death of bin Laden. It's not been a good couple of months for the jihadists. Donald Trump lost his birth certificate...
- Obama & Seth Myers At The White House Correspondents' Dinner
Disclaimer: there is a chance I may have broken some ribs over the weekend. If that's the case, I'll probably slow down on the funny entries for a while because unfortunately, apart from sneezing and getting up in the morning when your ribs are...