The benefits and costs of mandatory disclosure for grassroots lobbying campaigns are not limited to the question how much does the public need to know about a speaker versus how important is the safe harbor of anonymity for some speakers. The process of disclosure has its own costs, a point that is not well-appreciated by […]
Archive | 2010
Does Kindle change everything?
I prefer reading books on paper (“pagebooks” in 23d century parlance). So I initially thought that Kindle (and similar products from other companies) was an interesting novelty, but not greatly important. However, some ancillary aspects of Kindle are making me reconsider. To wit: 1. Text to speech. Only a very small percentage of books are […]
And a Final Word on USA-Algeria:
Here’s the goal, if, like me, you want to watch it over (and over) again … In reference to some of the comments on my earlier posting about the game , I’ll just say this: If you come to soccer with the mindset that the goal of sports is to create a playing field in […]
Youtube wins Viacom Lawsuit:
Judge Stanton in the SDNY has granted Youtube’s motion for summary judgment in in the long-running copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Viacom (and, in a nice soccer-related twist, The English Football Association’s Premier League was another (losing) plaintiff). [The full text of the decision is here] The case was/is enormously important — Youtube was asserting […]
Family Research Council vs. the Second Amendment
A new piece from the Family Research Council blasts Grover Norquist (President of Americans for Tax Reform; Member of the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association) for joining the board of GOProud, an organization of conservative gay Republicans. Among the alleged sins on the GOProud agenda : Equalize “concealed carry reciprocity” amendment with […]
Property Rights Five Years After Kelo
By Ilya Somin on June 23, 2010 4:23 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Today is the fifth anniversary of Kelo v. City of New London, one of the most controversial decisions in Supreme Court history. In Kelo, a narrow 5-4 majority of the Court ruled that the condemnation of private property for transfer to other private individuals for purposes of promoting “economic development” was permitted by the Fifth […]
Liberty Guard Amicus Brief in VA Challenge to Health Care Bill:
The organization Liberty Guard has filed an amicus brief in support of the state of Virginia in its challenge to the health care bill. Most other constitutional critiques have focused on the issue of whether the individual mandate is beyond the scope of proper powers of the federal government. Instead of focusing on the government’s […]
If You Haven’t Watched the US-Algeria Match Yet . . .
. . . stop reading immediately, go to ESPN3.com, and watch. Do not read further – you’ll thank me later. If you watched it . . . that was not only the greatest moment in US soccer history (without question), but I’m thinking it may well have been the greatest moment in US sports history […]
Sec. Salazar to Reimpose Drilling Moratorium
In response to yesterday’s judicial decision granting a preliminary injunction against the Interior Department’s moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico at depths greater than 500 feet, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that in the next “few days” he would issue a new order, reimposing the moratorium and providing a more detailed explanation of […]
Why Regulate Grassroots Lobbying?
Grassroots lobbying involves communicating to the public about public matters; so what justifies government intervention in this area? Statements of intent from lobbying statutes in the states indicate that the primary rationale espoused for regulating grassroots lobbying is that the public has a “right to know who is speaking” and an interest in preserving “the […]
Evaluating Student Evaluations
In a recent New York Times essay, famous English and law professor Stanley Fish takes aim at student evaluations of professors: [T]hey measure present satisfaction in relation to a set of expectations that may have little to do with the deep efficacy of learning. Students tend to like everything neatly laid out; they want to […]
Free Speech That Helps Bad Foreign Military Groups, and the Coordinated/Independent Advocacy Distinction
I blogged several items yesterday about Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project. I’m still digesting the implications of the majority opinion, but it tentatively strikes me as somewhat troubling: It does allow a content-based restriction on speech by Americans, and while I think it can be limited to speech coordinated with designated foreign terrorist organizations — […]
Massachusetts Trial Court Holds That “Safe Storage” Law Bars Storage in a Locked Box That Is in a Place from Which It Could Be Easily Stolen; Appellate Court Disagrees
It’s Commonwealth v. Lojko (Mass. App. Ct.), decided today (one paragraph break added): On February 20, 2008, Hyannis police Officer Eugene Desruisseaux was dispatched to the defendant’s residence as a result of a report that the defendant was suicidal and was threatening to harm himself and others with a firearm. After speaking with the defendant, […]
The Politics of Zombies
By Ilya Somin on June 22, 2010 8:56 pm in International Law, Libertarianism, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Political scientist Dan Drezner has an interesting essay in Foreign Policy magazine that explores how different international relations theories would cope with an invasion of zombies. It’s based on his forthcoming book Theories of International Politics and Zombies, scheduled to be published by the Princeton University Press. Drezner analyzes the possible responses to a zombie […]
Thinking about the 2d Amendment standard of review and McDonald
That’s the topic I discuss in a new Cato Institute Daily Podcast. (9 1/2 minutes). I also discussed related topics with Cam Edwards on NRA News (June 21 show, last segment of the show, 22 minutes).