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by rootusrootus 1071 days ago
> 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.
2 comments
Dalewyn 1071 days 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.

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projektfu 1071 days 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.

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Dalewyn 1071 days ago
It would appear I had remembered the wrong specific number, so thanks for that refresher!
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hprotagonist 1071 days ago
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”

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arethuza 1071 days 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_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".

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hprotagonist 1071 days ago
one wonders who we learned it from!
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