‘One never knows what to say in speaking to our great diplomats,’ said Julien. ‘They have a mania for starting serious discussions. If one confines oneself to the commonplaces of the newspapers, one is reckoned a fool. If one allows oneself to say something true and novel, they are astonished, they do not know how […]
Archive | 2010
Why “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Is Doomed
Now that top military officials have said that the presence of openly gay service members will not undermine unit cohesion, David Rivkin and Lee Casey argue there is no legal basis upon which the policy can be maintained. Congress, of course, has broad constitutional power to adopt rules and regulations for the armed forces that […]
“Wait, don’t change the channel! We left Fox News out of the Privacy Assessment.”
By Stewart Baker on February 13, 2010 1:11 pm in Libertarianism, Privacy, Terrorism, Uncategorized, War on Terror
With his usual nudge-and-wink, Matt Drudge invites us to be dismayed that “BIG SIS” — his moniker for Janet Napolitano — is “Monitoring Web Sites for Terror and Disaster Info.” Drudge links to a story saying that DHS will be monitoring social media like Twitter, as well as websites like Drudge, to keep abreast of […]
Court Clerk-in-Chief
In response to political blowback over the Administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York City, President Obama has decided to become personally involved in determining where KSM should be tried. The Washington Post reports: President Obama is planning to insert himself into the debate about where to try the accused mastermind of […]
Thoughts on the Oral Argument in the Third Circuit Cell-Site Records Case
The Third Circuit held oral argument today in the case on the legal standard for historical cell-site information. I blogged about this important case here last week, and the oral argument audio from this morning has been posted here at the Third Circuit’s website. It was a very unusual and free-ranging argument that went for […]
My Forbes Op Ed on Political Ignorance
Forbes has just published my op ed explaining how political ignorance and irrationality cut across both sides of the political spectrum: A recent poll sponsored by the liberal Daily Kos Web site shows that many self-identified Republican voters hold irrational and extremist views–a finding that Kos founder Markos Moulitsos deems “startling.” Unfortunately, too many commentators […]
Bans on Discharging Firearms, Without a Self-Defense Exception
A reader asked about a city code provision (Baltimore City Code Art. 19 § 59-2, but there are many others like it) that bans discharging firearms, with no self-defense exception. How can that be? It’s common for criminal laws — including laws prohibiting murder and assault, and not just the discharge of firearms — to […]
If You Brandish a Gun in Self-Defense in Kansas, You’d Best Shoot It
From State v. Flint, 2010 WL 445934 (Kan. App. Jan. 29): [A]fter leaving a bar in Emporia where [Brandon] Flint’s fiancee and another man exchanged angry words, Flint walked to his car. Outside, Flint’s fiancee and two men continued to talk in a heated fashion. Flint’s fiancee fell to the ground during the scuffle. At […]
The Myth of Lost Financial Virtue:
One of my favorite books on consumer credit–and one that dramatically reshaped the way I think about policy questions involving consumer credit–is Lendol Calder’s marvelous book, “Financing the American Dream.” Among Calder’s insights is his observation that every generation of Americans has believed that the current generation wasn’t as frugal and financially responsible as earlier […]
Free Speech on Campus: Michael Oren at UC Irvine
Michael Oren, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States recently gave a speech — or at least tried to give a speech — at UC Irvine at the invitation of UCI’s law school and political science department. A group of students at UC Irvine, apparently all members of the Muslim Students Union , decided to […]
Assertions Weakened by an Obvious but Largely Irrelevant Counterexample
The “if U.S. and Russian borders were only 100 miles apart” item reminded me of a very interesting article draft that I once saw, which began, The patent clerk is not known for his genius. I suspect this is generally quite true, and the counterexample that will come to many people’s minds — a patent […]
Immortality (of a Sort)
What U.S. law journals are named, wholly or in part, after a donor?
“If U.S. and Russian Borders Were Only 100 Miles Apart,
it’s doubtful we could have survived the Cold War without a ‘nuclear exchange.’” So reports what strikes me as an otherwise very sensible Slate article by a very sensible columnist; and the broader point being made even by this sentence may well be correct, so this is just a technical quibble, and one based on […]
Interpretation/Construction Again
Mike Rappaport updates his original post on the interpretation and construction distinction with this: What is clear is that the four constructionists emphasize different things, appear to be motivated by different concerns, and describe their positions differently. That is what I meant by saying that the different scholars “had different conceptions of construction.” Larry [Solum] […]
Edwards’ Affair Spawns Litigation
I have not been paying much attention to the sordid details of former Senator John Edwards’ personal life, and it seems I’ve missed quite a bit — and there are even some interesting legal issues. For instance, this morning I learned that Elizabeth Edwards is threatening to sue Andrew Young, a former aide to Senator […]