Small government was Re: [extropy-chat] EMP Attack?

[Adrian Tymes]

--- spike <spike66 at comcast.net> wrote:
> I
> see nothing in the U.S. constitution that gives the federal 
> government the right to cede any of its sovereignty to any 
> entity such as the UN.

Technically, it can - and, arguably, it has to entities such as the
WTO, although whether the UN counts is arguable.  But the authority is
there in the US Constitution, Article VI Paragraph 2:

> This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be
> made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be
> made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme
> Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound
> thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the
> Contrary notwithstanding.

The critical bit is that treaties are considered equal to the
Constitution in terms of determining the supreme law.  Thus, the US's
signature on the treaty establishing the WTO means the US agrees to
follow the WTO's judgements.

I'm not sure whether the text of the treaty establishing the UN gives
it any authority, but it is technically legally possible for the US to
cede sovereignty if the President and the Senate are talked into doing
so.  (Thus, rejecting treaties like Kyoto is more than just rejecting
lip service.  Foreign citizens really could have argued in US courts
that we were bound by the treaty, and used our law enforcement
mechanisms to force compliance, even if no other law passed by Congress
or the states made any mention of the topic.)