Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency denied ten petitions seeking reconsideration of its December 2009 finding that emissions of greenhouse gases cause or contribute to air pollution that can be reasonably anticipated to endanger human health or welfare. (Hat tip: Legal Planet) This so-called “endangerment finding” is the trigger for the regulation of greenhouse gases under […]
Archive | 2010
How Bad Is the BP Spill?
Time has an interesting article by Michael Grunwald suggesting that the environmental effects of the BP spill have been exaggerated. The Deepwater explosion was an awful tragedy for the 11 workers who died on the rig, and it’s no leak; it’s the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. It’s also inflicting serious economic and psychological […]
More Thoughts on the AZ Immigration Ruling
A few more thoughts on Judge Bolton’s ruling in the Arizona immigration case. As noted below, on Wednesday Judge Bolton issued a preliminary injunction blocking several key provisions of Arizona’s law from taking effect on the grounds that the federal government is likely to succeed in arguing that some of its provisions (but not others) […]
“A Discussion [About Race] … Around … Water Coolers”
Yesterday I heard about President Obama’s National Urban League speech on NPR, and one particular item struck me. (I’m sure it’s not the most important item, but it’s just the one about which I have something to say.): We should all make more of an effort to discuss with one another, in a truthful and […]
Ken Is Off the Grid
More or less. The Anderson family is out west at the moment, combining some college visits for our daughter with a little bit – a far too little bit – of hiking in the Sierra Nevada, up out of Bishop on the eastern side, on God’s finest highway, Highway 395. Daughter will do some climbing […]
The Second Amendment and Unmarked Firearms
The Third Circuit has handed down an interesting Second Amendment decision, United States v. Marzzarella. It begins: This appeal presents a single issue, whether Defendant Michael Marzzarella’s conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(k) for possession of a handgun with an obliterated serial number violates his Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. We hold […]
Self-Defense as a Defense Against a Charge of Being a Felon in Possession of a Gun
Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court handed down an interesting case — People v. Dupree on this. The case is not novel, and my sense is that the defense is generally recognized: Just as what would otherwise be the crime of murder, attempted murder, battery, and the like might be justified if done in defense against […]
Can we have your liver then?
Geologic time makes you feel so sort of insignificant, doesn’t it? Via Tom Smith.
Human Events’ ridiculous “Obama the Muslim” article
Ronald Reagan once said that the conservative D.C. weekly Human Events was his favorite newspaper. And with good reason. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, there were few significant alternatives to the then-hegemonic MSM. Along with National Review, which was Reagan’s favorite magazine, Human Events was an essential source for stories that the MSM refused to cover, and […]
Multicultural Literacy Quiz
I think that in our multicultural time, all Americans should be able to answer some basic questions about various minority groups. Here are three that come to my mind: 1. In December, most African-Americans celebrate a winter holiday called __. 2. Most American Jews organize their lives around the __ calendar. 3. People in the […]
Important Case on Public Universities’ Charging Speakers Security Fees (Especially in Anticipation of Possible Hostile Reaction by the Audience)
By Eugene Volokh on July 29, 2010 12:49 am in Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities
From Sonnier v. Crain (5th Cir. July 27): Sonnier argues … that SLU’s speech policy violates the First Amendment because it gives the University the “sole discretion … in determining both the need for, and the strength of the security” at the public assembly or demonstration, and assesses the cost of additional security on the […]
Content-Neutral Speech Restrictions on Public University Campuses
By Eugene Volokh on July 29, 2010 12:30 am in Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities
Sonnier v. Crain (5th Cir. July 27) has an interesting discussion, in which the Fifth Circuit panel (by a 2-to-1 vote) defers considerably to universities’ prerogatives, even without deciding that the university locations are not public fora. The appellate court upholds the trial court’s denial of a preliminary injunction of a policy that required all […]
Interesting Fourth Circuit Free Speech vs. Information Privacy Case
It’s Ostergren v. Cuccinelli (4th Cir. July 26). I’m on a trip with my son and can’t blog much this week, and the case is complex enough that I can’t quickly summarize it, though the short answer is that the speaker won. But if you’re interested in free speech vs. information privacy questions, you should […]
(Very) Preliminary Thoughts on the Arizona Immigration Case
I just read the opinion. This probably isn’t very helpful, but here are some quickly-assembled thoughts nonetheless. The first thing to know is that Judge Bolton’s opinion is based on a preemption theory. That is, her view is that some of the sections of the state law are preempted by federal immigration law. The gist […]
A Quick Response to Jim
A quick response to Jim on BirthdayCardGate: Whether we should be disturbed by a mass e-mail sent by the Obama campaign has no relationship I can identify to the particular means by which Jim’s voluntary contact with the Obama campaign led to his name being added to the campaign e-mail list. As a result, my […]