Missing: Competence and the Constitution
I was going to write a whole navel gazing post about how it made me feel when my friend noted that we’re both acting like “joy will soon be scarce.” Lucky for you, the US legal order continues to implode, so I can talk about that instead.
This month’s issue: the 2.5 sections went missing from the US Constitution on the Library of Congress’ website early this morning. The Library of Congress, in a completely bs line (just like the White House when they deleted the Constitution from their websites months ago) blamed a “coding error.”
Let’s go!
What is Article 1?
The first Article of the US Constitution establishes the Legislative Branch. It is the first listed because it is supposed to have the most power over domestic affairs (that’s why Congress has control of the money). Why? Because Congress is the “people’s branch.” The people in the Senate are elected by the population of a state, the members of the House of Representatives are elected by the people in their district. These folks are the closest (and theoretically most accountable) to the people. So, they get all that sweet sweet We the People power.
What went missing?
What went missing? Well, before they were called out for their fascism and incompetence….I mean, before they noticed their coding error, everything after the middle half of Article 1, Section 8 was missing. Below was the end of Article 1 this morning.
What is Article 1, Sections 8.5-10?
Section 8 is the Enumerated Powers and Implied Powers (“necessary and proper clause”). It lists what Congress can do and how much discretion they have (it’s more complicated, but that’s the basics).
Section 9 talks about what Congress can’t do, especially the section on Habeas Corpus (also known as law). “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”
Section 10 talks about what the states can’t do (namely, form treaties with other states). For more on this the National Constitution Center explains things really well.
Why these topics?
It’s important to remember that this is our second Constitution. Our first constitution was the Articles of Confederation, and it failed badly. Much of what you see in the Constitution we have is a result of the failures of the Articles of Confederation.
Before, the federal government couldn’t collect taxes, states could print their own money or form their own treaties, and there were really limited obligations for states to work together. Much of Article 1 is meant to rectify that and maintain a government of “expressed and limited powers” with enough distinction to give the federal government power to keep the union together while reserving co-equal federalism with the states (which is why, contrary to popular opinion in Texas, all state flags can fly at the same height as the federal flag).
Was deleting the sections from the Library of Congress a coding mistake?
I highly doubt it. Even so, it doesn’t matter. The current Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of our government could not possibly care less about the rule of law in this country. Whether the deletion was on purpose or an accident only highlights the gross incompetence of the technofascists and Christian nationalists attempting to (and in some cases actively engaged in) overthrowing the US government.
My friend was right about joy being scarce in the future. My daughter says I have “true sight” (from Stranger Things) because I see these moments of kids playing while I also see that this is a precarious moment of innocence and joy denied to children around the world (including here). The relentless creep of fascism will not stop just because we’d rather not look at it; rather, our strategic blindness is what got us into this mess in the first place. My suggestion: react every time they try to pull something like this, even if it really is a “coding error” and let them know that you won’t tolerate their malice or their incompetence.
