The Government Printing Office’s reprint of the Constitution provides, in article I, section 9, clause 4: No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census of Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. Many books say the same, as do a few law review articles. But the National Archives […]
Archive | 2010
“If you don’t want us to see you naked, maybe we’ll just put bees down your pants.”
TSA is facing new challenges from powerful explosives hidden in areas that usually can’t be searched until after dinner and a nice wine. No one is wild about the millimeter wave and backscatter machines that show how we’d look on the beach if we were dumb enough to wear Speedos. The “puffer” machines that tried […]
President Makes Fifteen Recess Appointments
President Obama made fifteen recess appointments today, including two to the National Labor Relations Board and four to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Embattled Justice Department nominee Dawn Johnsen was not on the list. These were the President’s first recess appointments of his term, and if not confirmed by the Senate, they will be eligible […]
Not a May Day Parade
I’ve seen several references online to American troops’ marching alongside Russian troops in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, which the references label “May Day” (for instance, see here). But that’s a mistake: May Day is May 1, and is a Communist/Socialist/labor holiday, depending on which country you’re in. May 9 is the Russian V-E […]
Drone Warfare Subcommittee Testimony, Up at SSRN
By Kenneth Anderson on March 27, 2010 2:45 pm in Counter-Terrorism Policy, International Law, Robotics, Targeted Killing, Terrorism, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
After getting a number of email requests for this testimony, I’ve posted it up for convenience at SSRN, although it is also available through the hearing page as well. I submitted along with it my earlier Weekly Standard article, Predators Over Pakistan. As I have said here earlier, however, this hearing on March 23 came […]
24 No More
Fox has announced that it is canceling the series “24” after eight seasons. I have not watched the show in years — I stopped at some point in season 3. I suppose there were only so many ways one man can save the nation in 24 hours.
The Wave of Corporate Writedowns
In the past several days, several major corporations have announced substantial writedowns in response to the new health care law. These include Deere & Co. ($150 million), Caterpillar ($100 million), AK Steel Holding ($31 million), and 3M ($85-90 million). Yesterday, AT&T joined the list, announcing it would take a $1 billion charge against future earnings. […]
Amendments are Hard: Thanks for the Comments
Thanks for all the comments on the two drafts of potential constitutional amendments. My post was stimulated by my reading this wonderful book on the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, which is a really remarkable and counter-intuitive saga. Every time I have dabbled in this sort of enterprise I gain renewed respect for the framers […]
Outrageous Treaty Nonsense, or The Copyright Tail Wagging the Internet Dog
I’ve been remiss, as the VC’s (sort-of) copyright/Internet law guy, in not commenting previously about a truly outrageous bit of executive branch over-reaching on Hollywood’s behalf. I am referring to the ongoing negotiations about ACTA, the multilateral “Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.” [See Jonathan Adler’s posting earlier today about ACTA here] The US Trade Representative’s office has […]
District Court Upholds D.C. Registration Requirement, “Assault Weapon” Ban, Ban on Large-Capacity Magazines
The opinion is here (Heller v. D.C.); thanks to Josh Blackman’s blog for the pointer. I hope to post a few thoughts on this soon. In the meantime, my short summary: 1. The court reached the right answer on the constitutional question, at least insofar as we’re talking about the right to keep and bear […]
Is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Unconstitutional?
By Jonathan H. Adler on March 26, 2010 2:39 pm in Copyright, Executive Branch, International Law, Internet
Harvard’s Jack Goldsmith and Lawrence Lessig have an interesting op-ed in today’s Washington Post arguing that it woudl be constitutionally dubious for President Obama to adopt the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) as an executive agreement. Here’s a taste: The president has no independent constitutional authority over intellectual property or communications policy, and there is no […]
Age Discrmination Against Child Prodigy?
Here’s an interesting story about an age discrimination complaint filed by a 13-year-old college student against the University of Connecticut. Colin [Carlson] is a sophomore at the University of Connecticut, seeking a bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology and another in environmental studies. But he’s been knocked off course by the university’s rejection of […]
Federalism Restoration Amendment: Take 2
Thanks to readers for their comments on the proposal I posted earlier. Having read them, I am now curious about reader reaction to a more structural approach to restoring constitutional federalism. FEDERALISM RESTORATION AMENDMENT Section 1. The legislative power of Congress shall not be construed to include mandating, regulating, or prohibiting the private health insurance […]
“Freedom Vigil” Permit Issued
The Freedom Vigil will be held on Saturday evening at 9:00pm in Senate Park on Constitution between New Jersey and Delaware very close to Union Station metro (click link for Google map). Details are here. Bring your glow sticks (or cell phone).
D.C. Circuit Strikes Down Caps on Contributions to Independent Expenditure Committees
The case is SpeechNow.org v. FEC (en banc) (unanimous): The contribution limits of 2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(1)(C) and 441a(a)(3) violate the First Amendment by preventing plaintiffs from donating to SpeechNow in excess of the limits and by prohibiting SpeechNow from accepting donations in excess of the limits. We should be clear, however, that we only […]