The events of November 1963 and their aftermath are described in Chapter 9 of my undergraduate thesis The Highbrow in American Politics: Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. and the Role of the Intellectual in Politics. In brief: Schlesinger, John Kenneth Galbraith, and most of the rest of the White House immediately leaped to the conclusion that “the radical […]
Archive | November, 2013
Nukes for the NYT, But Not for Thee
In May 2005, the NYT editorial board insisted that the filibuster of judicial nominations was “part of the Senate’s time-honored deliberative role and of its protection of minority rights.” Invocation of the “nuclear option,” the Times insisted, would “desecrate” this tradition. “The damage would be incalculable,” the Times warned. Fast forward eight years and, as Patterico notes, the […]
Is There a New Filibuster Rule?
What has the Senate actually done so far, with respect to the filibuster? Some of the reports of what happened today say that the Senate has adopted “new rules” eliminating the filibuster for some purposes. I’m not sure that’s true, in a formal sense. As I understand what happened, the Senate voted to ignore the […]
VC Reader Poll on Today’s Change in Senate Procedure (aka “the Nuclear Option”)
Time for a VC Reader poll, asking for your views and your politics: Do you support today’s filibuster reform in the Senate? Yes, and I tend to vote Republican No, and I tend to vote Republican Yes, and I tend to vote Democratic No, and I tend to vote Democratic Yes, and I don’t tend […]
Remarkable Take on JFK’s Assassination
This is really amazing to me. The New York Times and the Washington Post each manages to publish a piece on the Kennedy assassination, by two different authors, focusing on what they see as the right-wing extremist environment in Dallas in 1963, and while never saying so directly, implicitly blaming Kennedy’s assassination on that environment. […]
When Can Custodial Parent’s Terminal Illness Justify Change of Custody?
Not until the parent becomes unable to care for the children, holds the New Jersey Superior Court in A.W. v. T.D. (N.J. Super. Ct. Ch. Div. Nov. 19, 2013). (Note that this relates to a change in custody, and does not necessarily govern an initial custody decision.) [UPDATE: I now include a link to the […]
Senate Goes Nuclear, Expect Fallout
As threatened, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid invoked the so-called “nuclear option” to end the filibuster of presidential nominations. The Washington Post reports: The vote to change the rule passed 52 to 48. Three Democrats — Sens. Carl Levin (Mich.), Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) and Mark Pryor (Ark.) — joined 45 Republicans in opposing the measure. Levin is […]
Senate Rules Change and Noel Canning
Although most of the coverage of the Senate Rules change has concerned the immediate effect on the composition of the D.C. Circuit, it occurs to me that it is also relevant to NLRB v. Noel Canning. Many recess appointments in recent years were of nominees who enjoyed majority support, but a Senate minority prevented a […]
Restoring the Lost Constitution Just Got Much Easier
This is an historic moment on our constitutional history. With the change of Senate rules today by a simple majority to [allow a simple majority to] close debate on judicial nominations, a Rubicon has been crossed. Restoring the Lost Constitution has now been made far more feasible, and will make the 2014 & 2016 of enormous […]
The “Enigmatic and Elliptical” “Dope!”
Not in a drug case, or a slander case, but a contract case, Beastie Boys v. Monster Energy Co. (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 4, 2013). The relevant question was whether a response of “Dope!” conveyed a license to use copyrighted work; here’s the heart of the court’s analysis (paragraph breaks added): In proper context, the word “Dope!” […]
Damn, It Feels Good to be a Gangsta (update)
Alan K Henderson offers this Photoshop contribution:
My Federalist Society Debate with Judge Wilkinson on Whether Judges Are Too Deferential to Legislatures
It was an honor, and a real hoot.
A Time to Go Nuclear?
In February 2003, Miguel Estrada became the first ever nominee to a federal appellate court to be successfully filibustered when a majority of Senate Democrats voted against cloture on his nomination. Estrada had been nominated to fill on a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and was widely seen as […]
The EU Supports Exploitation of Resources in the Occupied Territories
The Occupied Sawahari Territories that is (aka Western Sahara). Global Post runs my commentary today on the European Union’s new treaty with Morocco, which does everything the EU has been claiming in its increasingly hostile recent dealings with Israel that international law forbids. The EU’s position regarding Western Sahara is consistent with its practice in […]
Cell Phone Search Cases Calendared for 12/6 Conference
Back in August, I wrote about two pending cert petitions before the Supreme Court involving when the Fourth Amendment allows the government to search a search phone incident to arrest. Today the Court scheduled the two cases for the December 6th conference. In other words, it’s likely (but not certain) that we’ll find out then […]