The State of American Federalism, 1992-1993

In terms of federalism, the year 1992-1993 was interesting inits ambivalence. The new president and a somewhat reconstitutedCongress took actions that reverberated through the intergovernmentalsystem; yet there was no hint of a coherent theory of federalismunderlying those actions. Two trends held steady: the federaldeficit continued to constrain new domestic initiatives andstates and localities continued to be subjected to un(der)fundedmandates. A review of U.S. Supreme Court rulings in cases withintergovernmental implications, does not reveal a discerniblefederalism philosophy in that branch of the government. If anything,1992–1993 further underscored the pulling and tuggingbetween the nation and the states that has characterized Americanfederalism for the past several years.     

Splitting the Atom of Sovereignty: Term Limits, Inc.'s Conflicting Views of Popular Autonomy in a Federal Republic

In his concurrence to U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thorton, JusticeAnthony Kennedy described federalism as an attempt to "splitthe atom of sovereignty." As Term Limits demonstrates, the taskis an incredibly difficult one, which deeply rends the Court.One block, currently composed of Justices John Paul Stevens,David Souter, Ruth Baider Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer, viewthe source of constitutional authority as residing in the peopleof the nation as a whole; the other block, made up of ChiefJustice William Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor,Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas, argue that the constitutionalwellspring is the people of each individual state. Justice Kennedy,now occupying the Court's middle ground, stresses the "dualcharacter" of federal government. The debate is much morethanacademic. Depending on how it is played out, the argument mayhave profound implications for the understanding and practiceof U.S. federalism.     

Hemolyzed blood and serum levels of delta 9-THC: effects on the performance of roadside sobriety tests

A pilot study was conducted to ascertain the range of induced hemolyzed blood/serum delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 9-THC) concentrations in 58 human subjects. Subjects were tested within 5 min of smoking a delta 9-THC cigarette and then at half-hour intervals to 150 min. The subjects initially demonstrated a broad range of delta 9-THC hemolyzed blood levels, which settled within an hour to levels comparable to those measured in California drivers who had been stopped for impaired driving, arrested, and tested for delta 9-THC. Serum levels, when correlated with performance or roadside sobriety tests, demonstrated a broad range (5 to 183 ng/mL) of delta 9-THC levels and an "adaptation" effect in the subjects' perception of their own impairment. Although this preliminary study was not a double-blind placebo experiment, the overall performance of human subjects demonstrated the "adaptation" effect, which may be a significant factor in making judgments while performing such complex tasks as driving. Also, the effects of the drug extended beyond the period of elevated delta 9-THC blood levels, perhaps because of THC metabolites that may contribute to impairment or the persistence of THC in the central nervous system. This pilot study will lay the groundwork for a program designed to determine the epidemiology and behavior correlates of marijuana use in motorists.     

A Letter Sent,Waiting to be Received: Queer Correspondence,Feminism and Black British Art

Abstract

This article examines what the published letter does as a form that is both intimate and public, and how it is particularly resonant when dealing with the silences and absences around queer and feminist artist of colour histories. Connections are made between three letters published in feminist and queer journals and books, written for readers who may include the writers’ loved ones, friends, contemporaries, and future readers. These three letters are contained within the following publications: Surviving Art School (2016) by the group Collective Creativity, a QTIPOC artist group who made the publication as part of a wider project examining the history of Black British Art (members are: Evan Ifekoya, Raisa Kabur, Rudy Lowe and Raju Rage); a special issue of FAN (Feminist Arts News) edited by Lubaina Himid and Maud Sulter in 1988, the precursor to the more well-known collection Passion, edited by Sulter in 1990; ending with Himid's recent reflections on her curation in the 1980s through a series of ‘Letters to Susan’ published in the 2011 catalogue for the exhibition Thin Black Line(s) at Tate Britain. Through close examination of these examples, this article explores the particularities of the letter form, asking if it allows feminist and queer artists of colour to present their experiences in a manner that encourages all their readers to take part in the conversation, whilst prioritizing calls for other people of colour to respond. The article proposes that the published letter form keeps feminist histories alive and creates a counterpublic that speaks to and for a community that is imagined as both geographically and temporally diffuse.