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> Different US states' very unique interpretation of laws on certain things is something I have seen that needs explanation Definitely! Especially here on HN.

> Different US states' very unique interpretation of laws on certain things is something I have seen that needs explanation Definitely! Especially here on HN. A lot of the questions & criticisms I see from people outside the US likely stem from ignorance about how the government of US is constructed. The states really are very powerful, even ~250 years into the experiment.

hprotagonist 3y ago
https://nonasuch.tumblr.com/post/616921709864468480/do-non-americans-realize-that-the-united-states-is https://nonasuch.tumblr.com/post/616921709864468480/do-non-a... “Do non-americans realize that the United States is literally just a bunch of countries in a trench coat that agreed to be semi-nice to each other in order to sneak into the Big Boy Club? Because let’s be honest that’s just what the USA is”
- arethuza 3y ago
  "a bunch of countries in a trench coat that agreed to be semi-nice to each other in order to sneak into the Big Boy Club" Well the US was hardly the first to take that approach! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countries_of_the_United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countries_of_the_United_Kingdo... However, I would point that here in the UK I suspect most people are actually completely unaware of the fact that there are multiple legal and education systems in our "country of countries".
  - hprotagonist 3y ago
    one wonders who we learned it from!
Dalewyn 3y ago
>The states really are very powerful, even ~250 years into the experiment. And in fact, the states hold absolute power over the federal government because the Constitution can be amended by a two-thirds majority of the states. Absolutely noone in the federal government, including Congress and the Supreme Court, can get in their way because the federal government derives their power from the states. The only entity that the states answer to is the people, from whom the states derive their powers.
- projektfu 3y ago
  2/3 of states required to call a convention, 3/4 of the convention (which includes the states that show up, not just the callers) to amend the constitution. Or 2/3 majority of both houses to propose and 3/4 of state legislatures to ratify amendments.
  - Dalewyn 3y ago
    It would appear I had remembered the wrong specific number, so thanks for that refresher!

hprotagonist 3y ago

https://nonasuch.tumblr.com/post/616921709864468480/do-non-americans-realize-that-the-united-states-is https://nonasuch.tumblr.com/post/616921709864468480/do-non-a... “Do non-americans realize that the United States is literally just a bunch of countries in a trench coat that agreed to be semi-nice to each other in order to sneak into the Big Boy Club? Because let’s be honest that’s just what the USA is”

arethuza 3y ago
"a bunch of countries in a trench coat that agreed to be semi-nice to each other in order to sneak into the Big Boy Club" Well the US was hardly the first to take that approach! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countries_of_the_United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countries_of_the_United_Kingdo... However, I would point that here in the UK I suspect most people are actually completely unaware of the fact that there are multiple legal and education systems in our "country of countries".
- hprotagonist 3y ago
  one wonders who we learned it from!

Dalewyn 3y ago

>The states really are very powerful, even ~250 years into the experiment. And in fact, the states hold absolute power over the federal government because the Constitution can be amended by a two-thirds majority of the states. Absolutely noone in the federal government, including Congress and the Supreme Court, can get in their way because the federal government derives their power from the states. The only entity that the states answer to is the people, from whom the states derive their powers.

projektfu 3y ago
2/3 of states required to call a convention, 3/4 of the convention (which includes the states that show up, not just the callers) to amend the constitution. Or 2/3 majority of both houses to propose and 3/4 of state legislatures to ratify amendments.
- Dalewyn 3y ago
  It would appear I had remembered the wrong specific number, so thanks for that refresher!