Some argue that it would be hypocritical for the United States or other Western nations to support the recent military coup against radical Islamist Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. After all, we supposedly champion democracy, and Morsi was democratically elected. Whether the US should endorse the post-coup government, oppose it, or take a wait-and-see attitude is […]
Archive | July, 2013
Two Perspectives on Egypt
Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman bemoans the coup as a defeat for democracy. The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg has a more ambivalent reaction but ultimately seems to think the coup was a good thing, because “the Muslim Brotherhood is a totalitarian cult, not a democratic party,” and totalitarian cults are hardly likely to respect democratic outcomes […]
Justice Ginsburg Vows to Resist Pressure to Retire
Joan Biskupic has the scoop: In a Reuters interview late on Tuesday, [Justice Ginsburg] vowed to resist any pressure to retire that might come from liberals who want to ensure that Democratic President Barack Obama can pick her successor before the November 2016 presidential election. In her interview, Ginsburg referred to past liberal commentary [urging […]
O Say Can You See
Happy 4th of July, everyone. This is a holiday in which I think about the Declaration of Independence, but sometimes find myself, like today, drifting to think about America’s national anthem. Views on the Star-Spangled Banner usually start – very sensibly – from the concession that as a piece of music, it’s mostly un-singable and […]
Lose-Lose Situations
Who are the good guys in the following conflicts in the Arab world? (1) The various Libyan factions fighting each other (2) The Palestinian Authority vs. Hamas (3) The Syrian government and Hezbollah vs. Sunni Islamists (4) Hezbollah versus Sunni Lebanese and Palestinian militas in Lebanon (5) The Egyptian army vs. the Muslim Brotherhood government […]
A Real Live Third Amendment Case
The Third Amendment, which forbids the “quarter[ing]” of “soldiers” in private homes in peacetime without the owner’s consent, is often the butt of jokes among lawyers, because it generates so little litigation. But the Amendment has come up in this ongoing Nevada case, along with the Fourth Amendment and state law claims [HT: my former […]
Foreign Judgments in American Courts Based on Overseas Solicitation of Religious Donations
Ohno v. Yasuma (9th Cir. July 2, 2013) offers a very detailed discussion of the matter. Here’s the introduction, the statement of facts, and the conclusion; look at the opinion itself for the reasoning: Our case involves novel issues concerning the enforcement of foreign-country money judgments that assertedly implicate the defendant’s freedom of religion. Naoko […]
Updated Reflections on the Revolution in Egypt
When the Egypt’s Mubarak dictatorship began to collapse two years ago, I wrote a post entitled “Reflections on the Potential Revolution in Egypt,” shamelessly copying Edmund Burke. I suggested that the rebellion could easily end up establishing a regime even worse than Mubarak’s was. Unfortunately, the new radical Islamist government of Mohammed Morsi did indeed […]
The Implications of Delaying the Employer Mandate
The Obama Administration’s decision to delay enforcement of the PPACA’s employer mandate could have far-reaching implications for PPACA implementation and the politics of health care reform. First, it’s important to recognize what the Administration’s decision does not do. Contrary to some suggestions, this decision does not affect the so-called “contraception mandate” that is currently the […]
More Policy-Based Evidence-Making at CFPB
The Community Financial Services Association has submitted a petition for withdrawal of the latest bit of policy-based evidence-making at the CFPB, its White Paper on Payday Lending and Deposit Advance Products. Ballard Spahr’s CFPB Monitor blog summarizes the petition. The critiques are clearly correct to me, most notably the lack of any support whatsoever for […]
Frederick Douglass on How We Should Remember the Civil War
On Civil War anniversaries, like today’s 150th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, it has become traditional to commemorate both sides equally. There is some logic to this practice. We do not want to unnecessarily perpetuate sectional grievances, or be seen as somehow blaming today’s white southerners for the wrongs of earlier […]
The 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg
Today is the 150th anniversary of Pickett’s Charge and the last day of the Battle Gettysburg. Many modern historians take issue with the traditional view that this Union victory was the decisive battle of the Civil War. They point out that the Confederacy still had a chance to win by demoralizing northern public opinion during […]
ObamaCare Employer Mandate Delayed Until 2015
This afternoon the Obama Administration announced that it would delay implementation and enforcement of the requirement that employers provide health insurance for their employees until 2015. Bloomberg reports: Businesses won’t be penalized next year if they fail to provide workers health insurance after the Obama administration decided to delay a key requirement under its signature […]
Judge Holds That Particular Sorts of Yoga Classes in Public School Are Constitutionally Permissible
The L.A. Times reports: Dean Broyles, president and attorney for the Escondido-based National Center for Law and Policy, had filed a lawsuit on behalf of a couple with two children in the [Encinitas Union School District]. The suit sought to have the program ousted as a violation of state law prohibiting the teaching of religion […]
Colorado Inside-Out 1973 Time Machine
By David Kopel on July 2, 2013 4:08 pm in Constitutional Amendments, Media, Politics, Presidency, Television, Voting Rights Act
This Friday, July 6, at 8 p.m. Mountain Time, is Colorado Inside-Out’s annual Time Machine episode, on Colorado Public Television, channel 12. These episodes have won three regional Emmy Awards. This year’s episode takes us to 1973, with discussions of Equal Rights Amendment ratification, political violence, the energy crisis, and Watergate. The characters are, from […]