Hear LBJ Talk to MLK, Jr

The NY Times has a story with related audio on a conversation between LBJ, the President at the time, and Martin Luther King, Jr., the famed civil rights leader. The conversation was taped as a part of an oval office recording system that Johnson had established. MLK, preumably, was unaware he being taped. The conversation centers on the voting rights amendment to the U.S. constitution that was eventually passed.

The link to the story w/ related audio is: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27tapes.html

What Does the Constitution Mean

Currently a case is before the Supreme Court that argues that a D.C. gun ban is unconstitutional as it violates the 2nd Amendment. The U.S. Court of Appeals said it was and now the parties are asking the Supreme Court for their wisdom. You might think that the court wouldn't be interested in arguments about policy, such as whether this ban is a good thing or a bad thing, and that all they'd be interested in is what does the constitution say. But you'd be wrong.

The court does take policy reccomendations into account, along with arguments about the text of the constitution, the original intent, etc. This can be confusing and causes many to say "the constitution says whatever 5 [of 9] U.S. Supreme Court Justices say it says." Not a bad rule of thumb, when you think about it, but I don't want to give you the impression the Supremes are just flipping coins on these important matters.

Here's an article that talks about some of the policy stuff: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=657155&category=OPINION&newsdate=1/22/2008

You can find out more simply by reading this Wiki article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution