I’ll be part of a lunchtime program tomorrow at the Heritage Foundation in DC on “Protecting Consumers in the Financial Marketplace: Thinking Outside the Boxes.” Program and registration info is here. I’m looking forward to hearing New Jersey Congressman Scott Garrett who is also on the program and is very knowledgeable about financial reform issues.
Archive | March, 2010
Lawyers, Treason, and Deception: A Response to Andrew McCarthy
Over at the New York Times Room for Debate Blog, Andrew McCarthy comes close to accusing pro bono lawyers for Guantanamo detainees of treason. In his words, such lawyers, “assist[ed] the enemy . . . against the American people during wartime.” McCarthy writes: Here is the legal profession’s message for the American people: “We’re just […]
Epstein Contra Krugman
Richard Epstein responds to this Paul Krugman column criticizing Republican positions on the estate tax, unemployment benefits, and health care reform. For Krugman, Epstein argues, “it seems, scarcity has become a dirty word.” (HT: Tom Smith)
Democracy and the Appeal of Socialism
Economist Bryan Caplan wonders why socialism ever developed any broad appeal, given the weaknesses of the idea of the “New Socialist Man”: The classic argument against socialism is that it gives people bad incentives. What’s the point of working, conserving, saving, quality control, and/or taking out the garbage if they don’t pay? The classic socialist […]
The State of the Union Clause
It does read, “He [the President] shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient” (emphasis added). So it’s actually unconstitutional for the Justices to show up. Shame on them! They should go back […]
A Federal Receivership for a State?
Query to readers. Over at Slate Explainer, Christopher Beam explains that although municipalities and cities and such can go bankrupt under the Federal bankruptcy code, states are not included under Chapter 9. Right, got it. He then adds something I don’t doubt is true, but wonder if readers can point me to the relevant legal […]
Two Views of Credit Default Swaps
Two items in today’s Wall Street Journal (Tuesday, March 9, 2010) capture two different views of regulatory reform of credit default swaps. The first is the emerging European view: European leaders pushed for a ban on speculative bets against government debt following recent financial turmoil in Greece … German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that […]
Chief Justice Roberts on Attending the SOTU
Very troubling, indeed.
Joseph Asch ’79 For Dartmouth Trustee:
Another Dartmouth Alumni Trustee election is upon us. Voting starts tomorrow. And even though the Board of Trustees eliminated parity a few years ago, alumni still elect one-third of the non ex-officio trustees. This year there are two seats open. Journalist Morton Kondracke is running unopposed for one seat. Petition candidate Joe Asch ’79 and […]
Pennsylvania State Police Raid Bars Looking for Unregistered Beers
Rise up, beer drinkers of Pennsylvania: The State Police want to confiscate your Pliny the Younger. Thanks to Instapundit for the link.
“Black Barbie Sold for Less Than White Barbie at Walmart Store”
So reports ABC News: A photo first posted to the humor Web site FunnyJunk.com and later to the Latino Web site Guanabee.com shows packages of Mattel’s Ballerina Barbie and Ballerina Theresa dolls hanging side by side at an unidentified store. The Theresa dolls, which feature brown skin and dark hair, are marked as being on […]
Drone Warfare and the Harvard National Security Conference
By Kenneth Anderson on March 9, 2010 1:51 pm in Counter-Terrorism Policy, Robotics, Targeted Killing, Terrorism, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
I’m writing from Cambridge, where I just finished a great short conference on targeted killing and drone warfare put on by the Harvard Law School National Security Law Society and Journal. The presentations should go up as video one of these days I hope!) and I highly recommend them if you are studying this topic. […]
Debating Green Jobs
The Economist hosts an online debate on the wisdom of government efforts to promote “green jobs.” In this corner, law professor and economist Andrew Morriss. In the other corner, one-time “green jobs czzar” Van Jones. I know them both, but I’m pulling for Morriss.
“Google’s Computer Might Betters Translation Tool”
A suboptimal newspaper headline, reported by the Language Log. The post closes with a simple but important bit of applied linguistics: An “extra second or two … is a long time in sentence processing.”
An Unusual Exclusionary Rule Case
Wilson v. State, decided March 3 by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (the highest Texas court for criminal matters), involved two Texas statutes. The first is a Texas statutory exclusionary rule (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. § 38.23), first enacted in 1925: No evidence obtained by an officer or other person in violation of any […]