Congratulations to our own John Elwood, who briefed, argued, and just won Nevada Commission of Ethics v. Corrigan. The Nevada Supreme Court had held that a statute that required public officials to recuse in certain cases in which they had an interest was an unconstitutional violation of the official’s First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court […]
Archive | June, 2011
No Opinion in Flores-Villar
Today the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Flores-Villar v.United States, 4-4. (Justice Kagan did not participate.) The case raised the question whether the Court’s decision in Nguyen v. INS allowed for gender-differentiated citizenship rules that are not grounded in biolgocial differences between men and […]
Elwood Wins
This morning the Supreme Court issued a near-unanimous opinion in Nevada Commission on Ethics v. Carrigan, reversing the Nevada Supreme Court. Justice Scalia wrote the opinion for the Court. Justice Kennedy concurred, and Justice Alito wrote a separate opinion concurring-in-part and concurring in the judgment. The Court held that Nevada’s Ethics in Government Law was […]
Unleashing the FBI
The NYT reports on pending revisions to the FBI’s Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide that will give agents more leeway in their investigations. The F.B.I. recently briefed several privacy advocates about the coming changes. Among them, Michael German, a former F.B.I. agent who is now a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that […]
States Back Boeing Against NLRB
Law.com reports that the attorneys general of sixteen states have filed an amicus brief supporting Boeing against the National Labor Relations Board. Although the Boeing-NLRB dispute has become something of a partisan issue, the brief represents AGs from both parties and both right-to-work and non-right-to-work states. It was co-authored by the AGs from Texas ans […]
The Return of the Mavericks
In 2008, self-proclaimed “mavericks” had a terrible year in both sports and politics. This year, however, the underdog Dallas Mavericks just won the NBA title. Does that mean it will be a good year for political mavericks too? If so, who will benefit? Perhaps it will be vintage 2008 maverick Sarah Palin. But I’m skeptical […]
Immigration and the Welfare State
Conservative and libertarian critics of immigration like to cite Milton Friedman’s observation that “[y]ou cannot simultaneously have free immigration and a welfare state,” which co-blogger Ken Anderson recently endorsed. The fear is that, given relatively open borders, immigrants from poor countries will flock to wealthy ones and undermine their economies by consuming huge amounts of […]
Durbin’s Innovation Killer
Hmmm, I’m starting to think this whole Durbin Amendment thing might not be such a great idea. For still further reasons why I think that, you can check out my article in The American, “Durbin’s Innovation Killer.”
Renewable Energy Sprawl
A new California law mandate that one-third of the state’s electricity come from “renewable” sources by 2020. What will this mean in practice? Robert Bryce explored some of the numbers in an NYT op-ed last week. The state’s peak electricity demand is about 52,000 megawatts. Meeting the one-third target will require (if you oversimplify a […]
City-Displayed Sculptures, Religious and Otherwise
The Spokesman-Review reports: [A] Ganesha sculpture, created by Spokane metal artist Rick Davis, is one of 14 being dedicated today throughout downtown Coeur d’Alene as part of the city’s new “ArtCurrents,” a public art program. In ArtCurrents, which will reoccur annually, artists own the sculptures, which remain in place for a year and are offered […]
Modesty and Women’s Sports Uniforms
Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) summarizes three recent disputes related to women athlete’s desire to wear clothing that departs from regulations: In the wake of the disqualification of Iraq’s women’s soccer team by international sports officials because of the team’s insistence on a uniform that meets religious requirements (see prior posting), two more challenges to […]
You Can Have a Welfare State, or You Can Have Open Borders, But …
Christopher Caldwell does not quote Milton Friedman’s famous observation in this New York Times opinion piece, but it underlies it. Caldwell is a senior editor of the Weekly Standard and columnist for the Financial Times – as well as being the author of the most important book on Europe that I’ve read in years, Reflections […]
Podcast on the Politics of Battlestar Galactica
The Institute for Humane Studies has posted a podcast I did for them on the politics of Battlestar Galactica. It is available here, and covers both the recent series and the original from the late 1970s. The podcast is a follow-up to my IHS podcast on political themes in Star Trek. For previous blogging on […]
Emily’s Student Loan Bondage and Discipline, or, ‘Story of Owe’
A publisher of erotic e-titles for Kindle has sent me the following book blurb for a new offering on Kindle, Emily’s Debt. It’s addressed to self with a bcc list, so it appears to be a marketing blurb possibly addressed to bloggers who have written about student loan debt: In the very near future, where […]
Plastic Bag Makers Sue ChicoBag for Exaggerating Environmental Claims
Several manufacturers of disposable plastic bags have filed suit against reusable bag maker ChicoBag for false and misleading claims about the environmental superiority of its reusable bags over disposable bags. The complaint claims that ChicoBag’s advertising and promotional materials violate the federal Lanham Act and the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act. According to the […]