Prof. Ben Zimmer (Language Log) has an interesting post about this glitch — and its Obama/Biden analog from four years ago — with a stab at an explanation. UPDATE: I hear Thomas Jefferson made a similar mistake, but it took a while to correct.
Archive | August, 2012
Paul Ryan May be About to be Named the GOP Vice Presidential Nominee
Mitt Romney is about to name Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice presidential nominee, at least according to various highly plausible leaks. If the rumors are true, I am happy with the pick on policy grounds. Ryan is very knowledgeable about economic policy and spending, and he has a genuine commitment to cutting federal […]
Brief Blogging Hiatus
I have posted very little over the last week, and may continue in that vein for a few more days because of looming article deadlines. But I hope to be back in action soon. VC readers may be interested to know that one of the pieces I am working on is an article on federalism […]
Obliviate!
I’ve blogged before about people trying to force others to stop talking about the people’s past arrests or convictions; but Jason Lee Neiman wants to force others to stop talking about his past lawsuits. From Neiman v. Versuslaw, Inc. (C.D. Ill. Aug. 3, 2012): Plaintiff is an insurance claims industry professional with over 20 years […]
The Revenge of Richard Nixon
I have a long piece at the Law Liberty blog today in honor of the first anniversary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: “The Revenge of Richard Nixon: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Spreads Its Tentacles.”
“Civil Rights Agenda” Files Antidiscrimination Complaint Against Chick-fil-A Based on Chick-fil-A’s Speech
By Eugene Volokh on August 10, 2012 4:54 pm in Freedom of Speech, Hostile Environment Harassment Law, Religion and the Law
The complaint, filed with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, alleges that Chick-fil-A discriminated against gays in public accommodations. Now none of the allegations suggest that Chick-fil-A employees refused to serve gays, or treated gay customers differently from straight ones. Rather, the argument is that “the company’s widely published corporate philosophy, culture and policies make […]
Commentary on the OT2011 Fourth Amendment Docket
My review of the Supreme Court’s Fourth Amendment cases from the recently-completed Term appears here at SCOTUSblog.
Another Economic Liberty Victory for the Institute for Justice
These sorts of economic liberty rational basis cases are very hard to win, but the Institute for Justice is remarkably good at winning them. Here’s IJ’s summary: In a major victory for economic liberty, a federal court ruled late yesterday that Utah’s requirement that hairbraiders have a government-issued cosmetology license is unconstitutional. Jestina Clayton, a […]
University of Delaware Students Barred from “Ridiculing” with the Intent of “Excluding or Degrading a Person”
From the Code of Conduct ban on “bullying”: 1. Statement of Policy A student shall not impair, interfere with, or obstruct the orderly conduct, process, or function of the University or any of its students, faculty members, University officials, guests or the surrounding community. 2. Prohibited Activities Specific violations of this standard include, but are […]
Switchblades
A puzzle, which I just learned about (see Clayton Cramer & Joseph Olson, Knives and the Second Amendment): Federal law generally bans the manufacture for interstate commerce and transportation and distribution in interstate commerce of switchblade knives, as well as possession of switchblades on federal territory. It exempts, however, common carriers, the military, and military […]
Tennessee County Seeks to Identify Authors of About Ten Thousand Comments
So reports Paul Alan Levy (Public Citizen Consumer Law & Policy Blog), with links to various documents, including the letter objecting to the subpoena, which in turn includes the subpoena as Exhibit A: Shelby County, a government body in the southwestern corner of Tennessee that contains the city of Memphis, has subpoenaed Memphis’ daily newspaper, […]
Study of Genetic Origins of Middle Eastern and North African Jews
Ha’aretz has the details. Reading this and other accounts of this and other studies, it now seems well-established that: (1) The mainstream Ashkenazic and Mizrahi (“Eastern”) Jewish communities share a genetic heritage tracing back about 2,500 years. (2) These communities maintained sufficient separation from the local non-Jewish populations that despite vast geographic distances, to this […]
Engagement Ring Law
A commenter on the breach of promise to marry thread raised the perennial question: When an engagement is broken, does the bride have a legal duty to return the engagement ring to the groom? States divide into three camps on this. (I will assume the ring is given by the groom to the bride, but […]
Pronouncing Dictionary of the Supreme Court of the United States
It’s out, in the Green Bag (PDF) and at the Yale Law Library site (HTML) — looks like it will be a very valuable resource. The material was “compiled by [Yale Law School] students Usha Chilukuri, Megan Corrarino, Brigid Davis, Kate Hadley, Daniel Jang, Sally Pei, and Yale University Linguistics Department students Diallo Spears and […]
Breach of Promise to Marry
This tort — straight out of Gilbert & Sullivan — turns out to remains theoretically alive in a few states, though apparently very rarely litigated. And though some cases involve lawsuits over the cost of the canceled wedding, in principle the damages can be a good deal broader. Bradley v. Somers (1984) tells us that, […]