LH> of the best known guards was a built in balance of powers that doesn't really exist now (according to, e.g., Robert Dahl: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Dahl http://www.yale.edu/polisci/dahl/index.htm ) >Perhaps at the present time one can most clearly > see the Judicial branch usurping some of the Legislative powers a stench has emanated from the Court since Bush v Gore, but the "judicial activism" thing is a right-wing mantra > Our economy is doing well. European economies are not doing quite so well :) (Please try to trim posts. Thank you.) Judy Evans, Cardiff, UK ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html