[Phlyer]

. . .a state suddenly deciding to take over . . .

Nothing in my post said that the states could 'suddenly decide to take over . . ." anything. They formally deliver notice (requiring an act of the State legislature - never a 'sudden' thing) that they no longer consent to the occupation, and then pay compensation (requiring money from the State - never a sudden thing). This is a formal, legal procedure that is - as I read the words - Constitutional.

Your post said, "You can't . . ." and I interpreted that as the generic "you" as in "One can't . . ." But if it truly were up to me - and I am a strict Constitutionalist - this would happen quite a bit. I wouldn't start with miliary bases and courthouses, but there is a lot of land claimed by the Federal government that they are not using responsibly. I used "National Monument" in my first post because - unlike National Parks, National Monuments are off-limits to ordinary citizens. National Forests were described by a Forest Ranger as different from National Parks because the National Forest was considered a resource area and it was the responsibility of the Park Service to help develop them economically. He was asked how many logging leases they currently had authorized . . . and the answer was none.

But my primary contention was that if South Carolina had followed, or at least tried to follow, what the Constitution said, then the War Between the States might have been avoided. The Constitution is our contract with ourselves and I always look to see what it says, particularly with the view of finding a non-violent way to resolve issues.

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National Monuments are off-limits to ordinary citizens.

How so? The Statue of Liberty is a National Monument and hundreds of thousands of people go there every year.

Nothing in my post said that the states could 'suddenly decide to take over . . ." anything. They formally deliver notice (requiring an act of the State legislature - never a 'sudden' thing) that they no longer consent to the occupation, and then pay compensation (requiring money from the State - never a sudden thing).

It's nice to offer to pay money, but unless the federal government agrees, that is indeed "taking over." Saying that the federal government can't do the things you have been contracted to do by the Congress, the voters, and the Constitution is essentially leaving the union unconstitutionally.

The Constitution is our contract with ourselves and I always look to see what it says, particularly with the view of finding a non-violent way to resolve issues.

The federal government is part of that contract and state governments are bound by the contract.