The Absurd File

Part 1: US National Absurdity

The Capitol Visitors Center

Plenty of critics have accused Congress of forgetting the Constitution from time to time.

But a constitutional scholar who has toured the new Capitol Visitor Center, a monument Congress built to itself which is to be dedicated Tuesday, goes even further, with exhibits that mangle the founding document by claiming constitutional backing for powers that are still very much in dispute.

Matthew Spalding, Director of the Center for American Studies at the Heritage Foundation, says the visitor center selectively cuts passages from the Constitution, weighing in on a long-running debate about the scope and limits of federal power by taking the liberal side of that debate, envisioning broad congressional powers that the founding fathers never intended.

“I started looking at this stuff and it’s just patently absurd,” he said. “The dominant message when you walk though the doors in this exhibit you’re hit with is the role of Congress is to fulfill our greatest aspirations. So the message you’re teaching these millions of visitors each year is the Constitution really isn’t what we thought it was, it’s the open-ended thing that’s up to Congress to decide what it means.”

The top leaders from each party in the House and Senate are expected to host an opening ceremony Tuesday morning for the new center.

Part 2: Global Absurdity

The International Court of Environmental Justice

Stephen Hockman QC is proposing a body similar to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to be the supreme legal authority on issues regarding the environment.

The first role of the new body would be to enforce international agreements on cutting greenhouse gas emissions set to be agreed next year.

But the court would also fine countries or companies that fail to protect endangered species or degrade the natural environment and enforce the “right to a healthy environment”.

The innovative idea is being presented to an audience of politicians, scientists and public figures for the first time at a symposium at the British Library.

Mr Hockman, a deputy High Court judge, said that the threat of climate change means it is more important than ever for the law to protect the environment.

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