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U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

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Re: U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

#271
post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, that precisely the opinion that the Romans came to as well.

Can you expand on this?

I was being a bit glib, and others have expanded better than I can on the theory (plus Roman politics is complicated) but here's an example of the theory: https://www.history.com/news/rome-republic-augustus-dictator

Re: U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

#272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because of the massive failure that congress is This is a conclusion I'm coming to more and more. It's easy to blame Presidential overreach or Supreme Court overreach, but the Congress seems to be steadily abdicating responsibility while still managing to get very little of substance accomplished. They are supposed to be the most powerful branch of government, but instead they have deadlocked themselves into useles…

I'm tempted to say that the uselessness of Congress is in indication of something else - we've pushed too much to the federal level. The decades-long tooth-and-nail fighting over healthcare makes me think that an effective system just can't be done federally; there's too much disagreement between states. Why not scrap most of the social programs, cut federal taxes, and let states implement their own?

Rural counties are conservative, urban counties are liberal, and never the twain shall meet.

I posit that there will always be this conflict until cities have a blue federation superimposed on a red countryside. But the constitution isn't set up that way. Maybe next time.

Re: U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

#273
post #97
post #57

> The ruling voided McGirt’s sentence of 1,000 years in prison but he could face a new trial in federal court rather than state court. Not changed by this ruling, but it strikes me as really odd that you can sentence someone to prison for that long, or that you would bother. Why not just say life in prison? If your state is 103 years old, saying anything about the next 1000 years seems ... lacking in credibility.

It is perverse, but there is a method to the madness. Some sentencing mitigations or parole decisions are based upon length of sentence. Someone who is given a 20 year sentence may be eligible for parole when, for example, 1/4 of the sentence has been served. By setting the sentence to a ridiculous length it is effectively denying any possibility for parole without directly stating that the sentence is to served with…

I figure it must have been to get around a rule that says "you can't add a no-parole rider for this kind of crime".

Re: U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

#274
post #194

Unlawful acts, performed long enough and with sufficient vigor, are never enough to amend the law. To hold otherwise would be to elevate the most brazen and longstanding injustices over the law, both rewarding wrong and failing those in the right. I disagree with this reasoning. As a counterexample I point you to squatters rights. If I live on your land long and openly enough, my unlawful act will confer ownership of…

Good. The natives deserve a fair shake and the land is roomy enough for people to get along and work together.

Forcing that is a damn good thing.

The USA has a lot to account for, and it is very sick.

Rough roads ahead. Maybe they lead to better places.

I do not feel good about the last 4 or so decades of travel.

As a people, maybe world, we may well be better for going down this road.

Re: U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

#275
post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because of the massive failure that congress is This is a conclusion I'm coming to more and more. It's easy to blame Presidential overreach or Supreme Court overreach, but the Congress seems to be steadily abdicating responsibility while still managing to get very little of substance accomplished. They are supposed to be the most powerful branch of government, but instead they have deadlocked themselves into useles…

>They are supposed to be the most powerful branch of government, but instead they have deadlocked themselves into uselessness. That's what many Americans wanted, and voted for. A government that governs least governs best, after all.

Usually those of us who have voted for less government have voted for candidates that haven’t even gotten elected. People instead are voting for-or-against abortion, for-or-against gun control, or whatever other never-been-solved issues and then letting their voted-for representatives run rampant on nearly every other issue. (Never mind the role of the two party system, the anti democratic shenanigans in those parties, and the only real choice being the lesser of two evils.) Those politicians have given us more and more government in the form of regulatory bodies, enforcement bodies under the umbrella of the executive, and bureaucracy. You may or may not like those things but to lay them at the feet of people who want less government is absurd.

Re: U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

#276
post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because of the massive failure that congress is This is a conclusion I'm coming to more and more. It's easy to blame Presidential overreach or Supreme Court overreach, but the Congress seems to be steadily abdicating responsibility while still managing to get very little of substance accomplished. They are supposed to be the most powerful branch of government, but instead they have deadlocked themselves into useles…

While in effect it is abdicating, in reality, Congress is spinlocked by indecision. There are deep divides between the branches of the electorate that have brought the representatives to office, as the United States faces a number of divisive issues. Those divides, and a preference for combat over compromise, leave us deadlocked. The center is there for the first party that chooses to leave its entrenchement. When Co…

Your comment seems self-conflicting.

As you note, when congress sees an urgent problem worth solving, they move quickly.

When I read, "congress is abdicating its responsibility", it seems to me people are just upset a law they like wasn't passed.

In other words, people want a dictator they agree with, rather than taking the time and effort to change the minds of their fellow citizens on any given issue.

Besides, inaction is often the best path to take, particularly when there isn't a clear winning idea.

Re: U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

#277

"We reject that thinking. If Congress wishes to withdraw its promises, it must say so." As with so many controversial court rulings like the ACA mandate case, our courts keep getting put into the decision because of the massive failure that congress is. Congress should either fulfill the promise or not, or whatever. instead the judicial bodies end up making legal judgements with big ramifcations that largely should b…

There are countless situations in which Congress tries to punt its responsibility to the other branches. If they want to be a responsibility-free elected TV pundit class that lives high on the taxpayer hog, then let's amend the constitution accordingly. Congress just tries to delegate responsibility to the other two branches so it can get back to fundraising, "investigating," and grandstanding.

Re: U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

#278
post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While in effect it is abdicating, in reality, Congress is spinlocked by indecision. There are deep divides between the branches of the electorate that have brought the representatives to office, as the United States faces a number of divisive issues. Those divides, and a preference for combat over compromise, leave us deadlocked. The center is there for the first party that chooses to leave its entrenchement. When Co…

Except this is demonstrably untrue. The 115th (2017-2018)[1] Congress had both a Republican House and Senate and it got extremely little done. Our Congress is completely ineffective. [1]:Fixed.

How much activity do you expect from a party whose organizing principle is to shrink government small enough to be drowned in a bathtub?

Re: U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

#279
post #130

Just a couple notes here from a person of tribal descent (I am Wasq'u, a tribe in the PNW), for those trying to make sense of it. This ruling, as I understand it, resolves a narrow technicality—but that technicality has potentially enormous implications. The Court has only decided that the federal [EDIT: state! sorry!] government has no prosecutorial jurisdiction against citizens of the so-called "Five Civilized Trib…

Thanks. You helped me understand better.
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