The New York Times reports on the Andrew Sullivan vs. Leon Wieseltier controversy. The report is not quite right; it says that Wieseltier accused Sullivan of anti-Semitism, when Wieseltier actually accused Sullivan of recklessly engaging in venomous rhetoric that gives aid and comfort to anti-Semites and stokes anti-Semitism. This may be cold comfort to Sullivan […]
Archive | 2010
The Case for Snow-Control Legislation
Wednesday’s Philadelphia Inquirer published this very funny commentary about snow-control legislation. It begins: As the mid-Atlantic region faces yet another massive blizzard, the problem of unregulated snow can no longer be ignored. It’s time for Congress to set limits on the crystalline mayhem descending through the atmosphere and disrupting the lives of hardworking Americans. Certainly, […]
On Which Planet?
“In the complaint, [plaintiff] alleged, inter alia, that the couple was married outside the United States ‘in the town of Yoshkar-Ola the Republic of Mari El.’” 2007 WL 2473281 (N.C. App.). A sign of a crank litigant? No, it turns out. But the quote, including the internal quotation marks — UPDATE: and including, without an […]
“Poll Finds Edge for Obama Over G.O.P. Among the Public”
That’s the headline on the N.Y. Times’s home page. Of course, headlines don’t always reflect the actual article, but here’s how the article starts: WASHINGTON — At a time of deepening political disaffection and intensified distress about the economy, President Obama enjoys an edge over Republicans in the battle for public support, according to the […]
“The ABA Should Get a New Life”
David Ingram has an interesting post on The BLT on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s criticism of the American Bar Association’s criteria for evaluating judicial nominees. “I think the ABA should get a new life and look at whether people are qualified, not whether they have judicial experience,” Reid said at a hearing of the […]
“Kids and Computers”
Over at Less Than the Least, David Skeel has an interesting post on parental efforts to limit their children’s time on computers — and employers’ efforts with employees.
“The Superior Court Then Petitioned Itself for a Writ of Prohibition”
A phrase you don’t hear often, but it does appear in Superior Court v. State of Delaware Public Employee Relations Board (Del. Jan. 19, 2010).
Adjusting to Expectations
This Washington Post article about having a snowblower during a snowy winter has a particularly interesting passage: When Marcia Nilson and her husband, Pete, bought the first snowblower on their block 20 years ago, they were the toast of their Silver Spring neighborhood. But the expectations ended up being too much. “We’d do our driveway […]
Against “I”-Counting in Speeches (Whether President Obama’s or Others’)
Prof. Mark Liberman (Language Log) has long been on the warpath against claims that the number of “I”‘s in some speech are a proxy for narcissism or some such. His latest contribution is here, though there are many others here. Prof. Liberman’s view strikes me as quite sound.
Gun Nuts vs. Constitution Nuts
Brian Doherty reports on the jockeying between the gun owners challenging Chicago’s gun ban and the NRA in McDonald v. Chicago.
Hey, Don’t Worry – The Judge is My Friend!
The Florida Supreme Court has issued a judicial ethics opinion in which it answered the question “Whether a judge may add lawyers who may appear before the judge as “friends” on a social networking site, and permit such lawyers to add the judge as their “friend.” in the negative. The Committee concluded that allowing this […]
On the Ethics of Charging to Shovel Snow
This is the update from my post below, in which I asked how much my teen daughter should charge to shovel out snow. I’m putting it up as a separate post mostly on account of the discussion of pro bono service regimes among the children of the upper middle class: So: The daughter, who is […]
Whatever It Is, He’s Against It
Last week, I was at the University of San Diego at a marvelous conference on originalist works in progress, which was organized by Professors Michael Rappaport and Michael Ramsey of the USD faculty. Today, on The Right Coast, Mike Rappaport posts this: One particular highlight of the conference was the last session, in which Larry […]
Weather Is Not Climate
What does the “snowpocalypse” tell us about the likelihood of climate change? Nothing. As Roger Pielke Jr. explains: What happens in the weather this week or next tells us absolutely nothing about the role of humans in influencing the climate system. It is unjustifiable to claim that a cold snap or heavy snow disproves or […]
Professor-Politicians:
Eugene asks about successful Professor-Politicians. Commenters add several he omitted, most notably Dick Armey. To the list we can also add former Mercer Law Prof Jim Marshall of Georgia and the late Paul Wellstone (oddly, if you type in a Google search for “Was Paul Wellstone ___,” Google suggests the word “murdered” instead of “a […]