It has been a rare opportunity to share with this forum my new paper, Treasury Inc.: How the Bailout Reshapes Corporate Theory and Practice, forthcoming with the Yale Journal on Regulation and available here. This week we have enjoyed a rigorous discussion about the implications of the government as a shareholder in the financial services and […]
Archive | October, 2009
Can Content Survive Online?
That’s the new IP Colloquium podcast, from my UCLA colleague Doug Lichtman. Here’s the paragraph-long summary: The music, publishing and motion picture industries are each today struggling to identify new business models that might replace existing mechanisms for funding professional content. In this edition of the Intellectual Property Colloquium, we consider the legal and strategic […]
Nineteen Eighty-Fat
… As Mickey Kaus puts it. This kind of thing is enough to remind me why, despite the fact that I consider it a beginning point rather than necessarily always the end point, I am fundamentally a libertarian. We have ways of making you stress-free: Someone should write the fictionalized dystopian nightmare of mandatory “wellness” programs […]
Sitting Today and Tomorrow, on the Ninth Circuit,
a panel consisting of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, and Judge Sandra Ikuta. The especially cool thing about this is that Judge Ikuta clerked for both of her fellow panel members. This might well have happened before with other judges, but I expect that it has been quite rare.
Justice Kennedy Temporarily Stays Release of Names of People Who Signed the Washington Anti-Same-Sex Marriage Initiative
I can’t find the order online yet, but the AP so reports: Kennedy’s ruling today temporarily blocks a federal appeals court ruling last week that ordered the release of the names. Kennedy said his order would remain in effect while he considers a request by a pro-marriage group that asked him to reverse the appeals […]
Why Justice Stevens Sees Himself as a “Judicial Conservative”
Justice Stevens has been known to classify himself as a “judicial conservative,” which has puzzled many court followers. Justice Stevens is often described as the leader of the Court’s liberal wing: He consistently tries to advance politically liberal outcomes, generally defending liberal precedents and often working to overturn conservative ones. Given that, why does he […]
A Step Toward Sanity on Medical Marijuana
The AP reports that the Justice Department will issue a memo formally establishing a new policy regarding the federal prosecution of marijuana possession and sale in states that have decriminalized medical marijuana. The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new […]
Angel Raich to Undergo Brain Surgery; DOJ Issues New Medical Marijuana Policy
On October 28th, Angel Raich–my client in Gonzales v. Raich–will undergo brain surgery at Stanford Medical Center for a tumor, one of the conditions from which she was suffering throughout the litigation. After radiation to shrink the tumor failed, a risky surgery was deemed her only option. You can read about 43-year-old Angel’s fight to […]
“Bloggers Mugged by Regulators Become Economic Libertarians”
Gordon Crovitz on the FTC’s new guidelines on endorsements and testimonials and the blogosphere’s reaction. The guidelines require people to disclose online if they have what the FTC vaguely defines as “material connections” with the sellers of a product or service. This could include getting free samples on which they base comments or reviews. Bloggers […]
Ninth Circuit Overturns Preliminary Injunction Restraining Release of Names of Anti-Domestic-Partnership Petition Signers in Washington State:
The Ninth Circuit order states that “An opinion setting forth the reasons for the court’s reversal of the Preliminary Injunction Order shall be issued expeditiously and in due course,” so I can’t speak directly to the Ninth Circuit’s reasoning. But for reasons I mentioned when the release of the signers’ names was first enjoined, I […]
Human Rights Versus Multilateralism
Human rights advocates are unhappy with the Obama administration’s foreign policy, citing three developments: (1) the failure to back the Goldstone Report; (2) the failure to pressure Sri Lanka to improve its treatment of Tamils; and (3) the willingness to deal with Sudan’s President Bashir, who was recently indicted by the International Criminal Court. It […]
Sunday Song Lyric
If recent news reports are accurate, Oasis is no longer. Gallagher brothers Noel and Liam have parted ways. While they never quite lived up to their own hype, I liked them quite a bit. Their first three albums were particularly good. Now that they are heading off into the sunset, it seems appropriate to pick […]
SuperFreakonomic War of Words Over Warming
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner’s SuperFreakonomics, the sequel to their wildly successful book Freakonomics, won’t be released until October 20, and yet it’s already managed to spark a war of words among environmental and economic bloggers. Levitt and Dubner sum up some of the controversy (and explains their side of things) here and here.
Wolfers v. Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich critiqued the recent research by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers documenting an apparent decline in self-reported happiness among women, and Wolfers is not happy. One of the things I’ve learned from Levitt is that you need a thick skin if you are going to write about controversial topics. And since Betsey Stevenson and […]
Federal Deficit in 2009 Amounts to 10% of the Entire U.S. Economy
The federal deficit for 2009 is about $1.42 trillion, amounting to about 10% of the United States economy or a little under $5,000 for each person in the United States. Wow.