Though faithful readers of the VC will realize that my fondest wishes will come true only when someone explains how my book (on Thomas Jefferson and the Internet) really explains the world of soccer, I’m pretty happy with the connections Samir Chopra draws, over at ESPN, with the world of cricket . . .
Archive | 2010
A Chance, Not an Embrace
In his victory speech last night, Senator-elect Marco Rubio said: We make a great mistake if we believe that tonight these results are somehow an embrace of the Republican party. What they are is a second chance, a second chance for Republicans to be what they said they were going to be not so long […]
Vulcans and Video Games at the Supreme Court
Josh Blackman has posted some fascinating excerpts from the oral argument in Schwarzenegger v. EMA, the violent video games case. I’ll leave the analytical heavy lifting to our resident free speech experts, such as Eugene. My own view (uncharacteristically in line with conventional wisdom) is that the state government should lose this case and probably […]
Political Ignorance and the 2010 Election
Even before the election ended, some liberals argued that public ignorance explains the big Republican victories that just occurred. There is, I think, some truth to that contention. For example, a recent Bloomberg poll shows that 52% of voters thought that “middle class” federal income taxes have gone up in the last two years, even […]
The Return of Divided Government
Not all the electoral returns are in yet. But one outcome is very clear: The Republicans have taken control of the House of Representatives, and therefore we will get a return of divided government. I advocated divided government in 2006 (when its return forced Bush to curb some of his excesses and adopt a more […]
Good News and Bad News
The good news is that the Democrats lost the House. The bad news is that the Republicans won it. I’ll focus on the good news for now, because it will be portrayed as a victory for a small government agenda (thought I wonder how many seats turned because of senior anger over Medicare cuts). But […]
Election Night Open Thread
Your thoughts?
2d Amend. Results
Senate: +6 House: +18.75 Governors: +.5 Constitutions: +4 Hawaii Gov. Dem. Abercrombie wins open seat, vacated by Linda Lingle. -75. Undecided Governor races: Connecticut (potential +1), Repub. Foley leads by 3%, with 87% in. Florida (potential -1), Repub. Sink leads by 1% with 99% in. Minnesota open seat (potential -1), Mark Dayton leads by 1% […]
Virginia’s Worst University Speech Code?
By Ilya Somin on November 2, 2010 4:56 pm in Academia, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities
Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Barton Hinkle has a column surveying speech codes at Virginia public universities {HT: co-blogger Todd Zywicki]. It turns out that George Mason University may have the worst of a bad lot: Free speech is one of those values to which everyone gives lip service. Nearly no one considers himself pro-censorship. Yet as […]
“That Would Be Very Nice”
Quintessential Justice Scalia, from the oral argument in the First Amendment violent video games case: JUSTICE GINSBURG: Is there — you’ve been asked questions about the vagueness of this and the problem for the seller to know what’s good and what’s bad. California — does California have any kind of an advisory opinion, an office […]
Would Repeal of the 17th Amendment Help Limit Federal Power?
In a recent post and a forthcoming National Review article, co-blogger Todd Zywicki argues that repealing the Seventeenth Amendment would be an important step towards protecting federalism and limiting federal power. Todd is one of the leading academic experts on the Seventeenth Amendment. But I respectfully disagree with him on this point. I outlined my […]
Interesting Free Exercise Clause Petition
A lot of ink has been spilled over the years about how much the Free Exercise Clause should keep courts from addressing employment disputes between houses of worship and clergy. Because such employment disputes frequently hinge on matters implicating faith, courts are often loathe to become involved. Such concerns arise most obviously when a house […]
Second Amendment election returns
I’ll be providing them here tonight, once the polls close, and results start coming in. I’ll also be doing updates via Twitter, @davekopel. Besides the candidate races, there are five important ballot issues. Kansas will be voting on whether to restore the individual right to keep and bear arms to state constitution, undoing the judicial […]
The Relationship Between the 17th Amendment and Other Parts of the Constitution
Several commenters on my post that I have a new article on the 17th Amendment in National Review argued that rather than repealing the 17th Amendment they instead would prefer more vigorous enforcement of the Commerce Clause and 10th Amendments, which would (they presumably would argue) bring about many of the same benefits without offsetting […]
A Couple of Unrelated Items … on Speeding Tickets, and Stuff I’m Reading
The post below from Conspirator Ilya on speed traps rang a bell with me because I managed to get my first speeding ticket in fifteen years two weeks ago, driving in Virginia. Madison County, to be exact, at 6:30 am on a weekday, driving on Highway 29 between DC and Charlottesville. I’ll be a visiting […]