Archive | September, 2009

I won’t speak for David, but as I’ve also blogged in support of the idea that legislators have an obligation to read legislation before they vote on it, I’ll answer Orin’s questions. 1. I believe no legislator should vote in favor of substantive legislation that he or she has not read or does not understand. […]

N.Y. City Admin. Code § 10-131(e) requires a permit to possess or carry “any lachrymating, asphyxiating, incapacitating or deleterious gas or gases, or liquid or liquids, or chemical or chemicals.” But I’m getting mixed information — including from police precincts — about whether such permits are available, and whom I need to ask for such […]

has, it turns out, been celebrated by Wisconsin’s Citizen Soldier Highway (“in recognition of the right of the citizens of this state to keep and bear arms and as a tribute to all Wisconsin veterans, members of the national guard and any other reserve component of the U.S. armed forces, law enforcement officers, and fire […]

Political scientist Steven Teles has an interesting article in National Affairs on the history and possible future of “compassionate conservatism, which he defines as an effort to change the image of onservatism by linking it to “concern for the poor and minorities.” Teles is one of the leading academic experts on conservatism. He is the […]

What does this Latin phrase mean? No fair peeking (and if you need to peek, the answer is here).

As a follow up to David Post’s post below, I have some practical questions for those who think that legislators should “never vote on any bill unless they have read every word of it.” 1. Would you also require the legislator to understand the bill? Or is mere reading, with no comprehension, enough? And if […]

Sounds like something you’d ask in a third-grade civics class. But an odd editorial in today’s Washington Post, takes to task “a group of well-meaning professional activists — and, so far, over nearly 60,000 online petitioners” who have demanded that members of Congress sign a pledge “never to vote on any bill unless they have […]

Various people defended the Department of Health & Human Services “instruct[ing]” Humana to stop distributing allegedly “misleading and confusing” political advocacy, on the grounds that Humana gets huge benefits from participating in various DHS programs. But while the government has substantial control over how government program dollars are spent by people and institutions hired to […]

So says this press release; I blogged about the name controversy last week. Thanks to Alykhan Velshi, Communications Director for Canadian M.P. Jason Kenney, for the pointer.

Jonathan mentioned it below; the text of the policy is here. This gist of the policy is that DOJ will invoke the privilege only where it’s reasonably needed, not reflexively, and that a lot of high-ranking DOJ officials need to evaluate and review each internal DOJ request to invoke the privilege, with the final decision […]

and a brief note on the UN General Assembly meeting, the G-20 meetings, Eric’s state-rational-interests view of international law, and the effect of the US security guarantee on UN collective security calculations. Random thoughts, pretty much. (You can read a much more sanguine view of international law and the General Assembly opening by my Opinio […]

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday ruled that the Hindu Temple of Georgia must allow creditors onto its property to inventory its assets and must not spend its income. Attorneys for the temple, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month to avoid foreclosure of its Norcross facility, had sought […]

The WSJ‘s Mary Anastasia O’Grady cites a new report by the Congressional Research Service on recent events in Honduras: a report filed at the Library of Congress by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides what the administration has not offered, a serious legal review of the facts. “Available sources indicate that the judicial and legislative […]

William Saletan on the new paternalism: Weisberg put his finger on the underlying trend: “Because Democrats hold power at the moment, they face the greater peril of paternalistic overreaching.” Today’s morality cops are less interested in your bedroom than your refrigerator. They’re more likely to berate you for outdoor smoking than for outdoor necking. It […]

Reason‘s Radley Balko supports the creation of a new federal agency, and it might actually be a good idea.