Why is the other side of the debates I’m on always so hypocritical? They always jump on what my side says, and yet they willfully ignore all the faults on their own side. Let’s be honest about the double standard: The other side gets away with stuff that my side would never get away with. […]
Archive | 2010
Harry Reid and the Costs of Expanding the Definition of Racism
Various Republican politicians and some other conservatives are calling on Harry Reid to resign because, back in 2008, he said that Obama had a chance to win the presidency due in part to the fact that he is a “light-skinned” black who doesn’t speak in “Negro dialect.” For reasons outlined by senior Conspirator Eugene Volokh, […]
Have You Made a Racist Remark?
This flow chart will help you determine the answer. Thanks to Tom Smith over at The Right Coast for the pointer to Instapundit.
“Orthogonal”
Orin’s post about the use of “orthogonal” in a Supreme Court argument brings back memories: I used to like using “orthogonal” in that sense, too, perhaps because of my background with math. Then one day my father, who knows perfectly well what the term means — in his university days, he came up with what […]
Forging Your Urine Sample
From State v. Smothers (Mo. Ct. App. Nov. 17, 2009): Robert Smothers … was charged with one count of forgery and one count of possession of a forging instrumentality. Smothers was subject to a lawful drug test in conjunction with his bond in an unrelated matter. Upon being questioned by the police officer who administered […]
Eleventh Circuit Upholds Ban on Gun Possession by Misdemeanants Convicted of Domestic Violence
The case is United States v. White; here’s the relevant analysis: Seems pretty sketchy to me. Section 922(g)(9) is literally not a “longstanding prohibition,” since it’s quite recent, so whatever force longstanding tradition might have had in Heller, it doesn’t apply here. And while the possession of guns by violent misdemeanants may indeed be “dangerous,” […]
Sarah Palin Signs on With Fox News
I don’t think that news is a surprise to anyone, but it’s still pretty interesting.
“Orthogonal, Ooh”
From the oral argument transcript today in Briscoe v. Virginia, a funny moment in the argument of University of Michigan law professor Richard Friedman: MR. FRIEDMAN: I think that issue is entirely orthogonal to the issue here because the Commonwealth is acknowledging – CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: I’m sorry. Entirely what? MR. FRIEDMAN: Orthogonal. Right angle. […]
Liveblogging the California Same-Sex Marriage Case
Liberal blogger Teddy Partridge has been doing an amazing job liveblogging the day’s proceedings in the California same-sex marriage case over at The Seminal. Here are the four parts so far, with parts three and four the substantive ones: Part One, just an introduction to the scene. Part Two, the lawyers introduce themselves. Part Three, […]
Congratulations to Our Own Stuart Benjamin,
who has been appointed as the Federal Communications Commission’s first Distinguished Scholar in Residence! This happened a month ago, but I just heard about this now. “Benjamin will work in the Office of Strategic Planning and will focus on spectrum reform, First Amendment issues and long-term strategy.”
The Meaning of “Racist”
Prof. Ann Althouse, whose work I often agree with, writes: Is Harry Reid a racist? It depends on what the meaning of racist is. “It was all in the context of saying positive things about Senator Obama. It definitely was in the context of recognizing in Senator Obama a great candidate and future president.” So […]
Harry Reid’s “Light-Skinned” / “Negro Dialect” Comment
The complaints about Sen. Reid’s quote (“He was wowed by Obama’s oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama — a ‘light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,’ as he later put it privately”) strike me as […]
Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks YouTube Broadcast of Same-Sex Marriage Trial
The Associated Press reports: The Supreme Court is blocking a broadcast of the trial on California’s same-sex marriage ban, at least for the first few days. . . . The high court on Monday said it will not allow video of the trial to be posted on YouTube.com, even with a delay, until the justices […]
McDaniel v. Brown
It’s dog-bites-man at the Supreme Court today. The Court once again has summarily reversed the Ninth Circuit in a habeas case. Today’s decision is here: McDaniel v. Brown. The Ninth Circuit’s divided decision (authored by Judge Wardlaw and joined by Judge Hawkins, with Judge O’Scannlain dissenting) is here. Our blogging software asks us to put […]
Excluding Unfit Workers: Social Control Versus Social Justice in the Age of Economic Reform
By David Bernstein on January 11, 2010 10:48 am in Civil Rights, Constitutional History, Economic LIberties
I’ve just posted this article, co-authored with Tim Leonard of the Princeton Economics department, on SSRN. Here’s the abstract: Contrary to their modern reputation as egalitarian liberals, many of the original progressive architects of American labor reform were partisans of human inequality. The labor legislation they pioneered was, in important respects, designed to exclude immigrants, […]