Author Archive | David Bernstein

I look forward to Ilya’s next post on the rise of conservative public interest law. Meanwhile, I though I’d chime in with my own comment on Steve Teles’s take on the Institute for Justice and the Center of Individual Rights. First, let me acknowledge that I’m a huge fan of both organizations, and have friends […]

The Times today has a story about Obama and the Jews. I have the following comments: [UPDATE: I just caught the transcript of Obama’s meeting with Jewish community leaders in Cleveland last week. Unfortunately, Obama lies pretty blatantly, to wit (referring to the award his church’s magazine gave to Farrakhan): “An award was given to […]

It seems that everyone I know, Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, thinks that Barack Obama is wildly popular and a virtual shoe-in to become president if he receives the Democratic nomination. At least one poll suggests otherwise. According to Rasmussen, Thirty-four percent (34%) of all voters say they will definitely vote for John McCain […]

As ‘a cover-up for a failing economy.’” Guess who said that. Answer below. (show) State Senator Obama, as quoted in the Chicago Defender, Sept. 26, 2002, at 1. Apparently, before the “politics of hope” came the “politics of cynicism.” (hide)

One of my students has a bumper sticker on her laptop that says: “Vote No on Directive 10-289.” It looked like this t-shirt, without the smiley face.

Jeff Rosen: “over the course of history, former politicians have made not only the best chief justices–think of John Marshall, Charles Evans Hughes, and Earl Warren.”

Comments for that post aren’t working, and I don’t seem to be able to fix it. So, if you want to comment, you can do so here. UPDATE: The short version of my previous post is, Bush got around 25% of the Jewish vote in 2004. There are reasons to believe that McCain will be […]

Ann Althouse deconstructs Obama’s answers to questions about Louis Farrakhan and Rev. Jeremiah Wright here. Which brings me to the subject of the Jewish vote in November. Jewish Republicans overwhelmingly favored Rudy Giuliani for president, and as a pro-choice candidate–Jews overwhelmingly and strongly favor abortion rights–with strong ties to the New York Jewish community, he […]

In The Rise of the Conservative Legal Movement, Steven Teles discusses the success of the John M. Olin Foundation programs in helping to establish law and economics as a force to be reckoned with in American law schools, especially at the elite schools. Undoubtedly, the Olin programs were a great success on many levels. Teles […]

I’ve just read this book, and it’s very interesting, and recommended to anyone interested in, well, the rise of the conservative legal movement. I should note, however, that the book is not a comprehensive look at its subject matter. The book focuses on the intellectual and organizational history of law and economics, select (non religiously […]

My colleague Michael Krauss explains why Israel is not violating international law when it declines to trade with Gaza.

Via Mike Rappaport at The Right Coast, I discover the following ode to Castro from a self-described “egalitarian liberal.” So let’s hear it for universal literacy and decent standards of health care. Let’s hear it for the Cubans who help defeat the South Africans and their allies in Angola and thereby prepared the end of […]

The scene: an older, establishment Democratic Senator running for president has lost momentum to a younger, handsome, charismatic Senator who has tapped into the American people’s desire for change. The older Senator, once thought to be the inevitable Democratic nominee, is now frustrated, struggling over how to effectively articulate the belief that the younger candidate’s […]

A while ago I recommended the “MagicJack” device, which allows unlimited U.S. internet calls from anywhere in the world. I still like the device, but I must report that the company’s customer service leaves a lot to be desired [But see updates below]. My daughter pulled my MagicJack out of its USB port, and broke […]

Cass Sunstein, perhaps the most prolific and influential legal scholar of his generation, is leaving the University of Chicago for Harvard. A huge blow for Chicago, and a huge gain for Harvard. I may have some more thoughts on this later.