The recent UN Human Rights Council Resolution endorsed by the Obama Administration exemplifies a key weakness of international human rights law that John McGinnis and I have focused on in our academic work (e.g. here and here): the heavy influence of repressive authoritarian governments over its content. In this case, the resolution was initially promoted […]
Archive | November, 2009
Interest Group Capture of the Proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency
A few weeks ago, I warned that one of the problems with the Administration’s proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency is that it could easily be captured by interest groups who would use its powers to exploit the general public for their own benefit: [Voter] political ignorance opens the door to interest group “capture” of the […]
The Non-Contradiction of Rand’s Capitalism
Adam Kirsch reviews Anne Heller’s Ayn Rand and the World She Made in the NYT. As others have noted, the review contains a curious passage. Nor would Rand, sooner than any other desert prophet, allow her message to be trifled with. When Bennett Cerf, a head of Random House, begged her to cut Galt’s speech, […]
Is the Honduran Political Crisis Over?
The United States has agreed to recognize the results of this month’s election. Ousted President Zelaya will be allowed to return to Honduras, and the legislature will vote on whether to allow him to serve out the remaining three months of his term, albeit without control over the military. Meanwhile, it seems some members of […]
Sunday Song Lyric
What’s scarier, alleged Illuminati puppet Lady Gaga sung by Daughtry or sung by Cartman? Covers can be scary things. Occasionally a cover is completely unexpected, but still works. Sometimes they are simply inspired, and the cover artist seems to own the song as much as the original. One of my absolute favorite covers is Joe […]