Tonight the Philadelphia Flyers face off against the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Whichever team prevails, this will be one for the history books. The Chicago Blackhawks have gone longer than any other NHL team since their last championship — 49 years — as they last took home the Cup in 1961. […]
Archive | May, 2010
Jews, Liberalism, Nationalism–Some Interesting Historical Continuities
Ted Bromund has this interesting follow up to the Noah Pollak piece I linked to Wednesday: The problem today is not that the peace process has failed or that this reveals the failure of the liberal vision. All that is true enough. The problem is that the liberal vision itself has changed. Not all liberals […]
Drone Warfare, the CIA, and Charlie Savage’s NYT Article
By Kenneth Anderson on May 28, 2010 6:42 pm in Counter-Terrorism Policy, International Law, Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Charlie Savage reports in the NYT today that Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial execution, will be coming out with a new report next week calling on the US government to withdraw the CIA from conducting drone strikes and giving it over to the US military instead. The article has an extended and […]
Durbin Threatens Visa and Mastercard on Debit Interchange Fees:
As everyone knows, the purpose of the financial regulation reform bill is to prevent another financial crisis from occurring. That must be why Senator Richard Durbin felt it so urgent to attach an amendment to the Senate version of the bill that places new price controls on the interchange fees that can be charged on […]
It’s Not the Crime, It’s the Cover-Up — Sestak Edition
This whole Joe-Sestak-job-offer thing is getting odd — and the longer it drags on, the worse it gets for the White House. What should have been a nothing story is threatening to become an actual political scandal. Haven’t we seen this show before? Back in February, Rep. Sestak alleged that the Obama Administration offered him […]
European Commission Proposes US Surrender in Data Wars
European negotiators have struck three deals on travel reservation data with the United States, and each negotiation has turned out worse for Europe than the last. So now the European Commission has proposed a fourth negotiation. Its opening position for the fourth set of talks is even less realistic than its proposals for the first three. […]
SG Corrects Factual Record in Graham
The Blog of the Legal Times has a very interesting report about a post-decision filing by the Solicitor General’s office in Graham v. Florida, the case in which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional giving juveniles life sentences without parole for non-homicide crimes. The May 24 letter to Court Clerk William Suter, obtained by the Blog […]
Latest Mohammed Cartoon Controversy, this Time in South Africa
By Eugene Volokh on May 27, 2010 7:54 pm in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech, Mohammed Cartoons, Religion and the Law
The cartoon — Mohammed on a couch, complaining that “OTHER prophets have followers with a sense of humour!” (apparently referring to the controversy over Everybody Draw Muhammad Day — is here; it was published in the Mail & Guardian last Friday. The South African Council of Muslim Theologians tried to enjoin the publication of the […]
County Judge’s Response to Complaint About Hunters Defecating in the Woods
Pretty funny; see here (this will download a PDF), or see this Southeast Texas Record story. Thanks to Dennis Johnson for the pointer.
Light at the End of the DADT Tunnel
The Senate Armed Services Committee has just voted 16-12 to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The repeal would take effect after the release of a Pentagon study on how (not whether) to repeal the policy and after both the president and Defense Department have certified that the repeal will have no detrimental effect on recruitment, retention, […]
The VC at ACS
The American Constitution Society is holding its annual convention in Washington, D.C., June 17-19. On the roster of speakers are three contributors to the Volokh Conspiracy: Randy Barnett, Orin Kerr, and yours truly. Convention details are available here.
The Lawyer-Poet
I wanted to echo Todd Zywicki’s recommendation of the First Things profile of Michael J. Astrue, the lawyer and head of the Social Security Administration, who is also an award-winning poet (under the pen name A.M. Juster). I’m now reading Juster/Astrue’s The Secret Language of Women, and much liking it. In particular, let me suggest […]
Short Essay on Snyder v. Phelps, Part V: The Intrusion Upon Seclusion Tort
For more about the essay (for an online symposium), see here; to read the full 9 pages, see here. This week, I’m posting (and combining using the Snyder v. Phelps tag) some passages: Earlier, I blogged about Hustler v. Falwell and why it applies here, as well as about the arguments that the liability in […]
Why NFIB Is Challenging ObamaCare
Dan Danner, CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has an op-ed in today’s WSJ explaining why NFIB has chosen to join the state AGs’ lawsuit challenging the recently enacted health care reforms. Here’s a taste: Supporters say the law will significantly help small businesses, focusing on the much-talked about small business tax […]
Scalia on Kagan’s Lack of Judicial Experience
Justice Antonin Scalia does not think Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s lack of judicial experience should disqualify her from the Supreme Court. ABC News reports: When I first came to the Supreme Court, three of my colleagues had never been a federal judge,” said Scalia who joined the Court in 1986 after being nominated by President […]