On Friday, MSNBC announced that Nation editor Chris Hayes would temporarily replace suspended host Keith Olbermann on its prime time “Countdown” program. Then it learned that Hayes, too, has given money to political campaigns. Oops. The reality is that quite a few cable news opinionators have given money to political campaigns, including several who host […]
Archive | 2010
“New Stimulus Plan Without Congressional Approval”
Jack Balkin provides the details in an excellent post on the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will buy $600 billion in Treasury bonds. As Balkin puts it, “Last Tuesday, the people made clear: no more big bailouts to banks, no second stimulus, no runaway federal spending.” Yet the Federal Reserve is doing all three. Balkin […]
Olbermann Suspended on Grounds of Possible Bias
Via the New York Times: Keith Olbermann, the pre-eminent liberal voice on American television, was suspended Friday after his employer, MSNBC, discovered that he made campaign contributions to three Democrats last month. . . . The contributions came to light in an article by Politico Friday morning. Mr. Olbermann acknowledged in a statement that last […]
George W. Bush on When Senior Officials Threatened to Resign Over the Warrantless Wiretapping Program
Via his new memoir, as reported by Charlie Savage, here is George W. Bush’s recollection of his decision to modify the “Terrorist Surveillance Program” when FBI Director Bob Mueller threatened to resign over the President’s decision to continue the program even after DOJ concluded that parts of it were illegal: Some in the White House […]
One Parent’s Denial of Access to the Other Parent, and the Best Interests of the Child
Chris and Pat have a daughter. They split up. The basic child custody rule is that the choice of which parent should have custody must be based on the best interests of the child. And if one parent has taken the lead childrearing role, and had the most contact with the child, that tends to […]
Federal Government Acknowledges Constitutional Limits on Housing Discrimination Law
By Eugene Volokh on November 5, 2010 5:05 pm in Freedom of Association, Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
From the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Determination of No Reasonable Cause in Fair Housing Center of West Michigan v. [Redacted] (paragraph break added): [A]n individual complained to Complainant about a rental advertisement posted on a bulletin board at the [Redacted] Church … stat[ing] (in relevant part): “I am looking for a female christian […]
Audio From A Fun Oral Argument
The oral argument audio from Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Assn., a First Amendment case on regulating violent video games argued earlier this week, has been posted here. It’s a very entertaining argument, with the Justices at their best. Recommended.
CardHub Study on the Effects of the Durbin Amendment Debit Price Controls
CardHub has a new study that assesses the effects of the Durbin Amendment and its likely unintended consequences:
Heinzerling Back to Georgetown
Professor Lisa Heinzerling will be leaving her post as Assistant Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation at the end of the year and returning to the Georgetown University Law Center, Politico reports. Heinzerling has been very active in pushing the EPA to move aggressively to regulate greenhouse gases under […]
The Political Economy of the Roman Republic
One of my longstanding interests is the political economy of ancient Greece and Rome. Former VC-er Eric Posner has an excellent new article on the political economy of the Roman Republic: The constitution of the Roman Republic featured a system of checks and balances that would eventually influence the American founders, yet it had very […]
Global Geoengineering Moratorium
Last week, delegates from 193 nations agreed to a moratorium on geoengineering at the tenth conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan. Specifically, the parties agreed that all parties should: Ensure . . . , in the absence of science based, global, transparent and effective control and regulatory mechanisms […]
Is It Rational to Bar Troopers from Practicing Law?
Some New Jersey state troopers got law degrees with the help of a state-sponsored loan repayment program. Then sought to practice law on the side — doing wills, real estate closings, etc. Then the State Ethics Commission for the Department of Law and Public Safety decided that it was unethical for troopers to engage in […]
Ammunition Ban (With Affirmative Defense for Properly Registered Gun Owners) Violates Second Amendment
From Herrington v. United States, decided today by D.C.’s highest court (the D.C. Court of Appeals): Appellant Kevin Herrington was convicted in 2006 of unlawful possession of ammunition (UA), in violation of D.C. Code § 7-2506.01 (2001) (now § 7-2506.01(a) (Supp. 2010)). His conviction was based solely on evidence that he possessed handgun ammunition in […]
Commerce in the Commerce Clause: A Response to Jack Balkin
By David Kopel on November 4, 2010 6:39 pm in Commerce Clause, Constitutional History, Economy, Originalism
A recent issue of the Michigan Law Review features Jack Balkin’s article Commerce. (109 Mich. L. Rev. 1 [2010].) The article argues that in the original meaning of the Constitution, “commerce” was understood to include a broad variety of social relationships, including relationships that had nothing to do with economic activity. Accordingly, writes Balkin, the original meaning […]
Life Imitates Law School Exams
From a recent case I just read: “Respondent has four children: A.W. (“Abbey”) …, B.W. (“Betsy”) …, Clay …, and Darcy.” I’ve heard of many same-first-letter families, but I hadn’t seen the alphabetical approach before (not that there’s anything wrong with it).