I have been working on a preliminary presentation (“paper” would be nice, but so far not true) for a meeting in a couple of weeks at the Hoover Institution on hegemony, legitimacy internal and external, and, by implication, China. It arises out of my book manuscript on US-UN relations which, unsurprisingly, touches on the questions […]
Archive | 2010
New Federal Guidelines for “Scientific Integrity”
On Friday the White House issued a memorandum for the heads of all federal departments and agencies on “Scientific Integrity.” The NYT reports: Under the guidelines, government scientists are in general free to speak to journalists and the public about their work, and agencies are prohibited from editing or suppressing reports by independent advisory committees. […]
Mitch Daniels and Criminal Sentencing Reform in Indiana
I’ve mentioned before that Mitch Daniels is my favorite pick for the GOP Presidential nomination, so I’ve been watching some of what he has been doing in Indiana recently. One fascinating development has been reform of criminal sentencing policy. Indiana’s prison population has spiked in recent years, and state officials realized that they were going […]
The University of Hawaii Marching Band Kicks Off
This is awesome: h/t Laura Barnett and Jonathan Turley
My Appearance on C*SPAN’s Washington Journal
By Randy Barnett on December 19, 2010 4:47 pm in Commerce Clause, Constitutional Law, Health Care, Uncategorized
Here is my discussion of the constitutionality of the individual mandate with Simon Lazarus on C*SPAN’s Washington Journal this morning: I was a little frustrated with the format. Lazarus, who is a perfectly nice man, was able to make long speech-like points, but because the host then moved to a phone call or tweet without […]
DADT Is History
The Senate voted 63-33 to cut off further debate on a bill already passed by the House to begin repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the ban on military service by gay men and lesbians. A final vote will be held soon. (Watch the final debate and vote here.) The president will sign the bill, which […]
Picture Books for Teaching Economics Concepts to Young Children
Greg Mankiw’s blog points us to a discussion about picture books that teach basic economic concepts to very young children, by Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, including recommendations offive picture books for children ages pre-school to age 8 or 10. She is an international economist mostly addressing women’s labor market issues, but with young children […]
California Trial Court Holds Second Amendment Protects Nunchakus
So reports Alice Marie Beard — apparently the judge (in Placer County) just ruled from the bench, with no written opinion. California law generally totally bans all possession of nunchakus, except “on the premises of a school which holds a regulatory or business license and teaches the arts of self-defense.” I assume the state will […]
“Rich Bully” Lee Bollinger “is Getting His Way”
The takings clause reads “nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.” When Kelo v. City of New London upheld the power of takings for economic development, many used the political backlash to that decision as a vindication of “judicial restraint.” See, we were told, this sort of dispute should be […]
The Conglomerate Book Club on ‘All the Devils Are Here’
Over at the business law professor blog, The Conglomerate, the book club has been reading Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera’s book on the run-up to the financial crisis, All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis. David Zaring introduces the book, his brief take, and the book club discussion here – then […]
Two Variations on “Could the Government Make You Buy A GM Car?”
One of the popular hypotheticals used in public debates over the individual mandate is the “Buy GM” hypo. Whenever someone describes existing commerce clause doctrine as very broad, the response quickly comes: “Do you think the federal government could mandate that everyone must buy a GM car?” The idea behind the question is that if […]
The Law of Dungeons and Dragons
Earlier this year, I wrote about a Seventh Circuit decision that denied inmates the right to play Dungeons and Dragons. In addition to being regulated by the law of the state, D&D also has an elaborate legal system of its own. For some thirty years, Dragon magazine ran a “Sage Advice” column where readers could […]
Cities May Not Ban Federal Military Recruitment Targeting Minors
So the Ninth Circuit holds today in United States v. City of Arcata: The [Arcata, Cal. and Eureka. Cal.] ordinances purport to bar the federal government from “recruit[ing], initiat[ing] contact with for the purpose of recruiting, or promot[ing] the future enlistment of any person under the age of eighteen into any branch of the United […]
Linda Greenhouse on the Individual Mandate Litigation and the “End” of the “Federalism Revolution”
By Ilya Somin on December 17, 2010 4:36 pm in Commerce Clause, Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Necessary and Proper
Famed Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse has a very uneven New York Times blog post on the individual mandate litigation and the Supreme Court’s federalism jurisprudence. Some of her points are at least reasonable. For example, I too think it’s quite possible that the Supreme Court will ultimately uphold the mandate; I even agree with […]
Bank Ordered to Take Down Religious Displays [UPDATE: The Order Has Now Been Revoked]
By Eugene Volokh on December 17, 2010 4:07 pm in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom
KOCO-TV reports, A small-town bank in Oklahoma said the Federal Reserve won’t let it keep religious signs and symbols on display. Federal Reserve examiners [who came for a regularly scheduled inspection visit] deemed a Bible verse of the day, crosses on the teller’s counter and buttons that say “Merry Christmas, God With Us.” … inappropriate. […]