I just ran across Nero v. Kansas State Univ., a very interesting 1993 Kansas Supreme Court case that I excerpt below. My question: Say that you’re a landlord in Kansas, and you learn that a tenant of yours is accused of a violent crime (rape, assault and battery, and the like), of a sort that […]
Archive | April, 2010
Creative Writing Assignment
A few weeks ago, I was walking in the Miami airport, and I found a green business card on the floor (I’ve changed the names). The front of the card announced J&P Tree Service. The card belonged to Guillermo “Steve” Smith. On the otherwise blank back of the card was a handwritten note, in black […]
Add Bad Ethics to the Problems of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”?
By Dale Carpenter on April 6, 2010 5:29 pm in Afghanistan, Don't Tell (DADT), Executive Branch, Military, Sexual Orientation
My colleague Richard Painter, former chief ethics counsel to President Bush, thinks so because it “institutionalizes dishonesty.” Last fall, he sent a letter outlining his concerns to President Obama, whose administration has been lumbering toward pushing for a congressional repeal. “It is the only instance I know of,” writes Painter, “in which an employee of the United States government […]
Orin’s Blog Post Cited in Sixth Circuit Majority Opinion
See United States v. Everett, p. 12. This is one of the few appellate decisions that I know of that cites a blog, other than Sentencing Law & Policy (the undisputed champion of this field, which has been cited at least 10 times by appellate decisions). Congratulations, Orin!
Competing Explanations for the Oppressive Nature of Socialism
Economist Bryan Caplan has an interesting post summarizing three competing explanation for the oppressive nature of socialist regimes: Lord Acton and F.A. Hayek have inspired the two most popular explanations for the crimes of actually-existing socialism. While Acton never lived to see socialists gain power, their behavior seems to perfectly illustrate his aphorism that, “Power […]
“Church-Owned Cow”
Not a phrase you hear often, but I came across it in the syllabus for Hornsby v. Corporation of Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 758 P.2d 929 (Utah App. 1988): “Motorcyclist sued church and farm workers for injuries sustained when motorcyclist attempted to avoid collision on a public highway with […]
Dartmouth Trustee and Alumni Elections End April 7:
Dartmouth’s election for trustee and Executive Committee of the Association of Alumni concludes on April 7. I voted for Joe Asch and explained my reasons for doing so here. His website is here. I also voted for the petition slate in the Executive Committee election headed by Michael Murphy. Their website is here. If you […]
“P/n/g”
Legalese puzzle: What is the meaning of “p/n/g,” which is sometimes used in case captions in Pennsylvania and occasionally New York? I’m not asking about “PNG,” which sometimes stands for “p/n/g,” but more often for Papua New Guinea, the Professional Numismatists Guild, or other things. UPDATE: Bleh and D.J., in the comments, were the first […]
Congrats to David Lewandowski, VC March Madness Champ:
Winner of the Third VC March Madness competition. Although David picked Ohio State to win the championship, he did pick Duke for the final and that apparently was enough. David took a huge lead around the time of the Sweet 16 and held on. To his credit, he nailed Cornell in the Sweet 16. Given […]
Verizon FIOS
A while back, I blogged in praise of Verizon FIOS, and especially my happy experiences with its customer service relative to Comcast. I’m not as happy now. First, I switched to a Triple Play plan. I was promised a mini-computer. I never received the minicomputer. I called twice. Both times I was told that I […]
Duke vs. Butler Post-Game Open Thread
Go ahead and vent.
Against the NCAA Cartel
Most sports fans are currently watching the NCAA basketball championship game. Since my own basketball interests are usually confined to the NBA, I am instead going to take this opportunity to denounce the NCAA’s cartel-like effort to use the power of government to keep its members from paying student athletes for their labor. Economist David […]
Debating Textualism
The University of Pennsylvania Law Review’s online journal, Pennumbra, has a debate on the future viability of textualism. The debate focuses on Professor Jonathan Siegel’s important recent article, “The Inexorable Radicalization of Textualism,” which contends that textualism necessarily leads to unacceptable results and is therefore doomed to lose the “interpretation wars.” Here’s a summary of […]
Toyota Facing $16 Million Fine …
From an entity that is probably best described not as the US government but as the competition’s board of directors. Your humble blogger Professor Anderson and his Beloved Wife, on the other hand, went out and bought a Camry on the last day of the 0% financing sale. Although mostly engaged in Rational Ignorance on […]
Student Internships and Minimum Wage Laws
The New York Times has a story today essentially noting that many unpaid internships for young people and students violate minimum wage laws. Are any VC readers of the view that enforcement of these minimum wage laws will lead to increased employment of the interns? I’m not being cute; I’d be curious to know if […]