constitution news stories on Newser

North Dakota May Not Be a State

Evann Gastaldo — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 19:00:05 CDT

North Dakota has been a state since 1889—or has it? An 82-year-old government watchdog and local historian has been trying, for 16 years, to get someone to notice an important flaw in the state's constitution that he says renders North Dakota's very statehood invalid. The state constitution omits the...

Iceland Lets Facebook Fans Help Write New Constitution

Kevin Spak — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:35:05 CDT

The council drafting Iceland’s new constitution is out to bring new meaning to the term “by the people.” They’re essentially crowdsourcing the document, the Guardian reports, using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to solicit ideas and get feedback from citizens. “I believe this is the first time a...

Egypt's Military Dissolves Parliament

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 08:04:08 CST

Egypt's military leaders dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution on Sunday, meeting two key demands of protesters who have been keeping up pressure for immediate steps to push forward the transition to democratic, civilian rule after forcing Hosni Mubarak out of power. In their latest communique, the military rulers that...

Tea Party Pushes 'Repeal Any Law' Amendment

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 07:55:01 CST

It could be the law to end all laws. The Tea Party is pushing a constitutional amendment that would allow any act of Congress to be overturned by a vote of two-thirds of state legislatures. It already has backing of legislative leaders in 12 states and incoming House Majority Leader...

Average Joes Will Rewrite Iceland Constitution

aarontco — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 06:20:05 CST

Hundreds of ordinary people, from truck drivers to teachers, are vying to be elected to one of up to 31 spots on Iceland's Constitutional Assembly, which will convene early next year to perform the first major rewrite to the charter since Iceland gained independence from Denmark in 1944, reports AP...

More States Shoot for Guns in Bars

Emily Rauhala — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 04:00:31 CDT

Mixing guns and alcohol may seem like a bad idea, but more American states are now allowing people to carry registered guns in bars and restaurants, finds the New York Times . Four states—Tennessee, Arizona, Virginia and Georgia—have recently made it legal to carry a loaded weapon in a...

Sorry, Tea Partiers, You Don't Get All the Founders

Kevin Spak — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:48:00 CDT

The Tea Party loves to claim solidarity with the founding fathers, as though they’d all endorse the current Republican agenda. (Remember this craziness ?) Well, not so fast, says historian Ron Chernow. “The truth is that the disputatious founders—who were revolutionaries, not choir boys—seldom agreed about anything,” he...

Nicaragua's Ortega Rewrites Constitution Overnight

Kevin Spak — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:25:13 CDT

What do you do when your country’s pesky constitution won’t let your buddies have another term in office? Why, declare a national holiday, and then rewrite the darn thing while everyone’s vacationing, of course. That’s what Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega did last week, reports the Christian Science Monitor . When lawmakers...

Nothing Wrong With Czars, Experts Testify

Kevin Spak — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:41:17 CDT

The anti-czar crusade hit quite the speed bump yesterday, when five constitutional scholars testified in a Senate hearing that it was indeed perfectly legal for the president to have policy advisers. They said the principle dated back to FDR and that, assuming the czars didn’t have any actual legal authority,...