In Yuba City, California, of all places. The Appeal-Democrat, a local paper, reports: The day after a violent encounter at the Tierra Buena Sikh Temple in Yuba City left two men stabbed and a third assaulted, temple leaders were trying to move on and figure out how to prevent a reoccurrence. Firstpost (India) adds: The […]
Archive | November, 2012
Thoughts on Ten Years of Blogging
I realized recently that I joined the Volokh Conspiracy a little over ten years ago. The blog started in April 2002, but I joined in late October of that year. A few thoughts on ten years of blogging: 1. When I started posting, I did not expect that I would still be blogging ten years […]
The Answer: Two and A Half Months
The Question: How much time elapsed after Cass Sunstein left the Obama Administration before he posted a new draft article on SSRN? (Welcome back, Cass.)
IQ2US Debate: Legalize Drugs
Intelligence Squared is hosting a debate on the motion “Legalize Drugs” tomorrow evening, Wednesday, November 14, 6:45-8:30pm, at the Kaufman Center, 129 West 67th Street (btw Broadway and Amsterdam), New York City. For the motion: Nick Gillespie, Editor-in-Chief of Reason.com and Reason TV, and Prof. Paul Butler, my colleague at Georgetown Law. Against the motion: […]
What Should You Do When Someone Incorrectly Cites Your Academic Work?
At CoOp, Lawrence Cunningham ponders how academics should respond when someone else incorrectly cites their work. Wonderful as it is to be cited, being cited incorrectly poses a dilemma. If your article is referenced for a proposition it does not support, what should you do? Should you alert the author of the piece or the […]
Posner Defends the Electoral College
The ever-iconoclastic Judge Richard Posner has a column in Slate defending the Electoral College. Although the Electoral College is somewhat undemocratic, in that a candidate may win the election without securing a majority of the popular vote, Posner identifies five practical reasons for keeping it in place. I am not sure I agree with all […]
Case Fracking Symposium
This Friday, the Case Western Reserve Law Review is sponsoring a full-day symposium on “The Law and Policy of Hydraulic Fracturing.” Columbia’s Tom Merrill is delivering the keynote. Other presenters will include Joseph Tomain (Cincinnati), John Nolon (Pace), Elizabeth Burleson (Pace), Heidi Gorovitz-Robinson (Cleveland-Marshall), Kalyani Robbins (Akron), Tim Fitzgerald (Montana State), Nick Schroeck (Wayne State), […]
Thank You to the Society For the Development of Austrian Economics
I wanted to make sure to express a heartfelt and humble thank you to the Society for the Development of Austrian Economics for winning its 2012 prize for Best Article in Austrian Economics for my co-authored article (with Ed Stringham) “Hayekian Anarchism.” And, of course, special thanks to Ed for collaborating with me on the […]
Starting a Column with a Lie?
Thomas Friedman in the New York Times: “Israeli friends have been asking me whether a re-elected President Obama will take revenge on Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for the way he and Sheldon Adelson, his foolhardy financier, openly backed Mitt Romney. My answer to Israelis is this: You should be so lucky.” I’m pretty sure it’s […]
“Libertarianism, Law and Economics, and The Common Law”
I’ve posted a new article on SSRN that will be part of a symposium on “Libertarian Legal Theory” organized by the Chapman Law Review, “Libertarianism, Law and Economics, and The Common Law“: Abstract: This article was prepared as a contribution to the Chapman Law Review’s symposium on “Libertarian Legal Theory.” While libertarian legal theory and […]
When Should Government Suppress the Truth About Powerful Men?
That’s a trick question. Government is always tempted to punish those who reveal unwelcome truths, just as it’s always tempted to protect the rich and powerful by selective enforcement of vague laws. But even good liberals and libertarians seem to have trouble seeing the problem when suppression of truth and protection of the powerful is […]
Putting Together the Pieces of the Petraeus/Broadwell Investigation
There have been a lot of news stories about the investigation that led to the resignation of General Petraeus for having an affair. From what I can tell, it was a pretty surprising series of events that led to the General’s resignation. At the same time, one of the key issues remains unresolved. The story […]
Ricochet Podcast on Freedom of Speech
Adam Freedman put together this podcast on the freedom of speech with the Institute of Justice’s Paul Sherman and with me; check it out.
More Secular Blasphemy — Crime to Burn Poppies (or Post Pictures of Burning Poppies) in England
The Guardian (UK) reports: A teenager arrested on Remembrance Sunday on suspicion of posting a picture of a burning poppy on Facebook is being questioned by police. The 19-year-old was held after the image of a poppy being set ablaze by a lighter was reportedly posted online with the caption: “How about that you squadey […]
Secular Blasphemy
From Peta Deutschland v. Germany (Eur. Ct. Hum. Rts. Nov. 8, 2012): 6. The applicant association is the German branch of the animal rights organisation PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). It pursues, inter alia, the aims of preventing animal suffering and of encouraging the public to abstain from using animal products. 7. […]