The Constitution & James Brown
The current (cover date July 29, 2002) issue of the print version of The New Yorker has two good pieces. In "James Brown Feels Good," James Gourevitch travels with the hardest working man in showbiz. It's a long, deep article, as is usual with The New Yorker; I haven't finished it all yet, but am looking forward to getting back to it.
Hendrik Hertzberg reviews Robert A. Dahl's book "How Democratic is the American Constitution?" which looks to be an excellent, if depressing, read. Of course, the US isn't a democracy; the Electoral College and the Senate are the two Constitutional institutions that prove that. Doing something about it is, of course, a different matter. A few years ago, I think after the righties swept into power in the House during Clinton's first term, there was a spate of proposals to amend the Constitution like never before (I always wondered, if the right loves it so much, why were they so eager to change it). There was talk then of a new Consitutional Convention, which makes one really shudder. Given the hysteria that met such things as Lani Guinier's very reasonable proposals, the chances of make the U.S. system of government even more democratic are pretty slim.
Also in the same magazine is a funny short piece by the always-funny Bruce McCall, "Bush, Cheney Blister Shady Business Ethics."
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