Timothy Sandefur produces important research on economic liberty. I’m pleased that the Independence Institute, where I work, recently hosted an event for him to promote his book. I’m also happy that he has become part of the team of Cato Institute writers, which I have been part of since 1988. As a contributing editor of Liberty, I […]
Archive | 2010
The Differences Between McDonald and the Challenge to Economic Mandates
In an earlier post, Orin compares the current challenges to the constitutionality of the individual insurance mandate to debates on this blog over the case of McDonald v. Chicago. But there are some marked differences between the two challenges, and I don’t believe he recollects accurately the nature of the debate we had over McDonald. […]
The Roots of Lunacy
From Andrew Ferguson’s review of Dinesh D’Souza’s The Roots Of Obama’s Rage in The Weekly Standard: The partisan mind—left-wing or right-wing, Republican or Democrat—is incapable of maintaining more than one oversized object of irrational contempt at a time. When Obama took his place in the Republican imagination, his titanic awfulness crowded out the horrors of […]
Google Cars Drive Themselves, and Robots and the Law
The idea of robotic cars that drive themselves is a good one, I think, and one whose time is rapidly coming. The New York Times reports on Google undertaking test drives of cars in the San Francisco area with robotically controlled cars, including a drive down Lombard Street, a famously hilly and difficult street. The […]
“Alito may skip State of Union”
Or so reports the Associated Press (available in the Washington Post). The justice said the annual speech to Congress has become very political and awkward for the justices, who he says are expected to sit “like the proverbial potted plant.” * * * * * The better course, Alito said, is to follow the example […]
Sandy Levinson’s Challenge
In a recent post at Balkinization, Sandy Levinson argues that the recent mostly government-funded rescue of the trapped Chilean miners proves the need for a large welfare state. He also issues a challenge to the Volokh Conspiracy: PBS reports that the cost of rescuing the 33 trapped Chilean miners was $10-20 million. A third apparently […]
A Light Springs from the Shadows
There is plenty of bad news in the world today. But one recent piece of really great news is that Peter Jackson’s film version of The Hobbit, has finally been greenlighted and is scheduled to begin filming in February 2011 [HT: fellow legal academic Tolkien fan Steve Bainbridge]. Apparently, Jackson has managed to settle the […]
Thanks — and Come Visit!
Thank you to The Volokh Conspiracy for allowing me to guest blog this week about economic liberty and the law. Economic freedom is one of the most crucial of human rights, and it is a shame that government violates this right in so many ways today, and with little serious opposition by the courts that are […]
One Perspective on the Scope of Federal Power “In the Commercial Sphere”
I recently was reminded of this quote about Commerce Clause doctrine and I thought I would put it out there for comment in light of the recent debates on the constitutionality of the individual mandate: [T]he Court as an institution and the legal system as a whole have an immense stake in the stability of […]
Of “Racist Progressives” And “Hard-Hearted Libertarians”
At Balkinization, prominent legal historian Brian Tamanaha has an interesting post on progressivism, racism, and libertarianism. He acknowledges that libertarians, including me, are right to point out that early 20th century progressivism was tarred by racism. But he also argues that libertarians have their own historical skeletons in the closet, ones he claims are more […]
A Foreclosure Moratorium?
Marty Robins has a nice column summing up the case against a foreclosure moratorium in light of the foreclosure documentation fiasco. The bottom line is that these guys screwed up royally and need to take their lumps. But equally, we should not forget that we are talking about homeowners who haven’t paid their bills. This […]
The Individual Mandate Debate as a Replay of United States v. Lopez
[With apologies to Orin.] The more I participate in discussions on the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the more it feels to me like a replay of the debate over the limits of federal commerce clause power prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Lopez. In both cases, the issue is whether […]
Update On Stossel:
Turns out I was being filmed for an upcoming Stossel special, not for the weekly show on Fox Business. So don’t look for me tonight because I won’t be there! I’m sure that tonight’s show will be great anyway, even (especially?) without me.
The Individual Mandate Debate as a Replay of McDonald v. City of Chicago
The more I participate in discussions on the constitutionality of the indivdiual mandate, the more it feels to me like a replay of last year’s discussions on the Privileges or Immunities Clause on the road to McDonald v. City of Chicago. In both cases, the issue is whether the Supreme Court will adopt limitations on […]
The AfPak Conflict and the Lead-up to the December 2010 Strategic Review
I am currently underwater with some things and won’t be posting much, despite my interest in the debates over drones, targeted killing, and much else besides. However, I wanted to suggest that, for those trying to make sense of US actions in AfPak – including the overt strikes by NATO against safe havens in Pakistan, […]