This discussion is getting astray from the content requirements of the list. If, after this posting, anyone wishes to continue this discussion, I invite you to take it off the list. I'd be pleased to participate.
Still not quite correct, John, but I can see how an outsider might consider it semantical. The arrangement is bottom-up, rather than delegated from the top down. In fighting occurs when the higher level of government oversteps its bounds. It's kind of like, "you're not the boss of me," that we bloody colonists told Mother. As to delegation, the US Constitution spells out the authority of the federal government and everything else is left to the state and local governments. Each state has a similar constitution that more or less does the same thing with county and municipal governments. For instance, the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution makes it clear that whatever authority is not explicitly given to the federal government is reserved to the states (I suppose this could be interpreted as delegation, but delegation implies "you will do this," whereas the Constitution says, "we're not going to do that, but you can if you want to."). Where this gets muddled is when the Hamiltonians get a wild hair that "there oughtta be a law about this and that," and in the process infringe on states rights or individual rights of the citizenry. Sometimes by unfunded mandate, sometimes by directly trying to increase the centralization of government, sometimes by blatant usurpation. Usurpation most often occurs by the Executive Branch departments' issuing edicts from their lesser, included bodies that, where through the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution, Congress has given their regulations "the power of law." Regards, Peter L. Tarver, PE Product Safety Manager Sanmina-SCI Homologation Services San Jose, CA [email protected] > From: John Woodgate > Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 1:04 PM > > OK, this is a semantic issue. IMHO, 'delegation' > is the appropriate word > if there is a written law that prescribes how > authority is allocated. > If, OTOH, it is a situation like English 'common > law', which is not > necessarily written as a statute but stems from > tradition and case law, > then 'supersession' may be the better word. I > *think* that the autonomy > of the US states is of that nature, the federal > Constitution simply > affirming what was already established. > -- > Regards, John Woodgate This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: [email protected] with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: [email protected] Dave Heald: [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] Jim Bacher: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://ieeepstc.mindcruiser.com/ Click on "browse" and then "emc-pstc mailing list"
