Author Archive | David Bernstein

Blog 702, generally an excellent resource for Rule 702-related matters, rather harshly condemns my theory that Rule 702 is stricter than the the Daubert trilogy. Here’s what Joiner says about methodologies and conclusions: But conclusions and methodology are not entirely distinct from one another. Trained experts commonly extrapolate from existing data. But nothing in either […]

Federal Rule of Evidence 702 was amended in 2000 to provide that expert testimony is admissible only if:(1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case. […]

Washington Post real estate chat: The Lovely Penn Quarter, D.C.: My friends and I came up with the idea last year that we could make a living by buying condos, living in them for two years, selling for a big profit and repeating. The appreciation would be more than we could make by working and […]

An official explanation from a Brandeis spokesman: The decision to take down the Palestinian picture exhibit has been seriously misunderstood and mistakenly characterized as censorship. Brandeis encourages serious discussion of all issues, including many that are sensitive, controversial or even painful. For that very reason, the University pays careful attention to the time, place and […]

My own, perhaps idioyncratic libertarian view, is that because most public spaces (streets, sidewalks, etc.) should actually be private (owned, e.g., by homeowners’ association), but are nevertheless public, the government can and should try to mimic the rules for public spaces that private owners would impose. There is no doubt that the vast majority of […]

Following up on Dale and Eugene’s posts, below, on the Arlington Human Rights Commission investigating a business owner who refused to duplicate gay rights videos, I wanted to point out a few other, similar cases I noted in You Can’t Say That! Some time agok, the Vermont chapter of the ACLU sued Catholic publisher Regal […]

Boston Globe: “University officials said the paintings depicted only one side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Lior Halperin, the student who organized the exhibit, said the university censored an alternative view…. Brandeis officials said they wanted to make sure the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is presented in a balanced manner. ”It was completely from one side in the […]

I’m no voting rights expert, but can it really be illegal to recruit a black candidate to run a against a white because he’s white? [not clear that this is actually part of the DOJ complaint.] And can it really be illegal, as the Justice Department complaint reportedly says, to “participate[] in numerous racial appeals […]

Last week, I pointed out: “Some pro-Israel activists try to undermine their opposition by calling them anti-Semites, even when it’s not justified. Some who are unsympathetic to Israel try to undermine their opposition by claiming that perfectly legitimate criticism of their views is the work of pro-Israel hysterics” who claim all criticism of Israel is […]

As reported here at the VC, last March a realtor told the N.Y. Times that “South Florida is working off of a totally new economic model than any of us have ever experienced in the past.” The realtor also predicted that “a limited supply of land coupled with demand from baby boomers and foreigners would […]

Playwright Tony Kushner is to be receive an honorary degree at Brandeis University, a Jewish-sponsored, nonsectarian university (and my alma mater). Various groups, led by the Zionist Organization of America, are criticizing Brandeis for honoring Kushner, because of his harsh anti-Israel views. The interesting thing, though, is Brandeis president Jehuda Reinharz’s response to the controversy: […]

[Welcome Instapundit readers! If you have not been following this story and want some further background information, you can read my previous posts on the subject here. Ironically, Professor Garoian, responsible for censorship in this incident, previously wrote a series of articles condemning censorship of the arts, including at Penn State!] A very strong statement […]

In Jewish tradition, it’s a “mitzvah” (commandment/good deed) that when someone you know goes to Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), you give him money to dispense to charities there. The first time I went to Israel in 1985, various relatives gave me cash to give away while there. I’ll be in Israel once again […]

16 year-old Daniel Wultz, critically injured in the terrorist bombing in Tel Aviv two weeks ago, is fighting for his life at Sourasky Medical Center.

Variety reports yet another attempt to film Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. Variety tags Angelina Jolie as a potential Dagney Taggart. Isn’t her public persona a bit, er, altruistic for a role as Taggart? She’s a bit young for the role, too. Maybe Sigourney Weaver or Sharon Stone. Meryl Streep as Lillian Reardon? Jane Fonda as […]