I just got my ballots for Directors of the Harvard Alumni Association and Overseers of Harvard College. I know absolutely nothing about what issues are involved in these positions, nor do I want to spend much time finding out. The candidate statements provide no useful information on the subject. If I don’t get any information […]
Archive | 2010
I Pity the Fool
Mr. T. v. Ms. T, 662 S.E.2d 413 (S.C. Ct. App. 2008), interesting chiefly for the caption.
Bloggers unite against finance bill bipartisanship. Split on Obama effect in November
This week’s National Journal poll of political bloggers asked the Right-leaning bloggers “Is it in Republicans’ interest to work with Democrats on Wall Street reform?” Left bloggers were asked the same question about Democrats. Seventy-one percent of the Right and 67 percent of the Left opposed bipartisan cooperation. In the minority, I imagined the possibility that […]
District Attorney Suggests That It May Be a Crime for Teachers to Follow the New State Law Mandating Certain Forms of Sex Education
The letter, from Juneau (Wisconsin) County District Attorney Scott Southworth, is here. The D.A. is complaining about the new state statute on sex education; some of his objections: [T]he new law … [p]romotes the exual assault of children — §118.019(2)6 requires schools to provide instruction on how to utilize contraception. However, it is a crime […]
District Court Upholds Ban on Possessing Guns While an Illegal User of a Controlled Substance
From United States v. Hendrix (W.D. Wis. Apr. 6): After a confidential informant bought 1.9 grams of crack cocaine from defendant Brandon Hendrix on April 21, 2009, law enforcement officers obtained a warrant to search his residence. When they arrived, they found defendant present and under the influence of marijuana, crack cocaine and alcohol. Their […]
U.S. Denying Entry Visas to People Who Work on Israel’s Dimona Nuclear Reactor?
[UPDATE: Please note that the White House and the State Department has denied this story, and apparently Israeli officials have done the same; more in this update post.] [FURTHER UPDATE: The scientist on whom the Maariv story relies now reports that the story was incorrect; I’ve posted the correction — which was blogged by Roger […]
Goodwin Liu’s Incomplete Questionnaire
On Tuesday, two weeks after the Senate Judiciary Committee had origianlly planned to hold a confirmation hearing on his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Professor Goodwin Liu submitted a supplement (his fourth) to his Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire, identifying several dozen lectures, talks, and other items he had failed […]
Remarkable Window into Amnesty International’s Worldview
Despite widespread condemnation from many of its own allies and fellow-travelers (e.g.), Amnesty International continues to have no compunctions about its close association with the pro-Taleban former Guantanomo detainee Moazzam Begg. According to Amnesty Secretary General Claudio Cordone, Amnesty may disagree with Begg on the “role of jihad in self-defense,” but otherwise Begg’s support of […]
Public radio program on the modern states’ rights movement
By David Kopel on April 8, 2010 12:22 am in Constitutional History, Constitutional Theory, Federalism
Today KUER, Salt Lake City, devoted an hour to discussion of the current surge of interest in states’ rights. The four participants each appear in a different quarter of the program. The guests were Utah State Representative Ken Sumsion, me, Chip Ward (who claims that the state’s rights advocates are not sincere) and Alison LaCroix of the University […]
Opinio Juris Discussions of Targeting of US Citizen
By Kenneth Anderson on April 7, 2010 8:35 pm in Counter-Terrorism Policy, Targeted Killing, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
Scott Shane’s report in this morning’s NYT on the Obama administration putting the radical cleric, but US citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki, on the kill or capture list has stirred a lot of discussion. (Update: let me add Max Fisher’s Atlantic discussion as well.) Scott Shane: The Obama administration has taken the extraordinary step of authorizing the […]
A Crime to Repeatedly Insult a Minor
That’s what draft Suffolk County Resolution No. 1390-2010 would do (some line breaks added): “CYBER-BULLYING” shall mean [(a)] engaging in a course of conduct or repeatedly committing acts of abusive behavior over a period of time [(b)] by communicating or causing a communication to be sent by mechanical or electronic means, posting statements on the […]
Thoughts on the Revolution (?) in Kyrgyzstan
1. I know where Kyrgyzstan is! Roughly. I feel good about that. 2. Its capital — Bishkek, right? [Checking.] Woohoo! 3. Any place that ends in -Stan is a place I suppose we should be at least slightly worried about. 4. This having been said, and my “knowledge” of Kyrgyzstan having been exhausted, whom in […]
Virginia “Confederate History Month” Proclamation
[UPDATE: Gov. McDonnell has just apologized, and said that he would add an anti-slavery paragraph to the resolution: “WHEREAS, it is important for all Virginians to understand that the institution of slavery led to this war and was an evil and inhumane practice that deprived people of their God-given inalienable rights and all Virginians are […]
A Reminder About Comments
As we’ve mentioned before, we want comments on our site to be polite. First, polite commentary tends to encourage substantive and thoughtful responses. Rude commentary tends to drive away the substantive responders, and instead just yields more rudeness. Second, I just don’t like rudeness, and I don’t want my site to be a vehicle for […]
Prosecutorial Subpoena to Unmask Blogger — Without Any Good Faith Interest in Criminal Investigation — Would Violate the First Amendment
So holds Rich v. City of Jacksonville (M.D. Fla. Mar. 31). Of course the decision rests on the plaintiff’s claim that the prosecutor in fact was just trying to unmask the blogger so he could be subjected to private retaliation — the blogger posting things critical of the leadership of his church — rather than […]