Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Do You Swear to Uphold the Constitution? All 900 Parts of it?

In a democratic republic like ours, voting is very important. Without voting, we wouldn't know which president is more likable or who the majority of the country would have a beer with in a hypothetical situation.
Its also important for local governments, like county and state. How else would they get the permission of the people to annex the Parson House into Etowah County or tax the federal mosquito farm. In case you didn't know, the State of Alabama has the longest Constitution in the country and is the largest still-operative constitution in the world. Yeah, that mean's our state constitution has more words that India's. And don't be misled. More words doesn't mean more rights for citizens. Its mostly powergrabs and budgetary hocus pocus.
You smell that? That's what excessive and oppressive bureaucracy smells like. And in one of the most "conservative" states, no less.
Reading the constitution is like trying to read James Joyce's Ulysses through braille. It has 798 amendments, almost all of them dealing with single counties.
Well, its a thrilling read. With twist and turns that can quicken your heartbeat. Like the part where the governing body of Bullock County can raise license taxes for school purposes as listed in sections 176-180 and 182-186.
My favorite section, however, is when Amendment 692, dealing with Bingo Games in Limestone County, skips to Amendment 694, dealing with Madison County's control of the Office of Sheriff's. At first, it confuses you. Then you realize that the state is run by inept bureaucrats who have a hard time organizing the constitution effectively or, as it turns out, numerically. Also, the racist stuff is priceless.
But yeah, its probably the liberals' fault the state isn't run efficiently. God knows they've had a stranglehold on Alabama for the past twenty years.

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