Allison Benedikt’s Slate essay arguing that if you send your kids to private school you are a “bad person” who is undermining the “common good” has drawn many responses. Art Carden, Kevin Grier, Kevin White, and Megan McArdle have pointed out most of the flaws in her logic. But both Benedikt and her critics have […]
Author Archive | Ilya Somin
Additional Thoughts on the Draft Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Syria
Here are a few additional thoughts on the Obama administration’s draft authorization for the use of military force in Syria, beyond those I put forward in my last post. First, as Jack Goldsmith and others have pointed out, the constraints on presidential power created by the resolution’s limitations on the range of objectives the president […]
Thoughts on the Text of the Obama Administration’s Proposed Authorization to Use Military Force in Syria
Co-blogger Dale Carpenter rightly poses the question of what an authorization to use military force in Syria would actually authorize. The Obama Administration has just released the text of its proposed congressional resolution, which might help answer that question. Here is the most important part: AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES (a) Authorization. […]
Obama Will Seek Congressional Approval for Military Intervention in Syria
By Ilya Somin on August 31, 2013 2:57 pm in Congress, Constitutional Law, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
President Obama announced today that he will seek congressional approval for US military action against Syria in retaliation for the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons [BUT SEE IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW]: President Barack Obama said that the United States “should take military action against Syrian targets” in a Rose Garden address Saturday. However, he said […]
Obama May Plan Only a Very Limited Intervention in Syria
In reaction to Britain’s refusal to take part in military operations against the Syria government, Obama administration officials are saying that the operation they plan is so limited that they won’t need much allied support: President Barack Obama is prepared to act without Britain, officials said, noting that unlike U.S. involvement in the 2011 military […]
Size Still Matters in the Federal Government’s War on Marijuana
Co-blogger Will Baude makes a good point in noting that the Justice Department’s new memo on federal marijuana enforcement takes a more favorable tone towards large state-licensed marijuana businesses than its 2011 predecessor. Unfortunately, however, this is only a very minor shift. The new memo states that prosecutors should not use “the size or commercial […]
Originalism and the Constitutionality of Military Intervention in Syria
By Ilya Somin on August 29, 2013 6:58 pm in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Originalism, War and Armed Conflict
At the Originalism Blog, Prof. Michael Ramsey, a leading academic expert on constitutional war powers, has an excellent post on the implications of the original meaning for the constitutionality of an attack on Syria without congressional authorization (quoting, in part, from a 2011 post he wrote during the debate over the Libya conflict): Every major […]
British Parliament Votes Against Military Intervention in Syria
British Prime Minister David Cameron recently lost a vote in the House of Commons that would have authorized British participation in a military strike on Syria: British MPs have voted to reject possible military action against the Assad regime in Syria to deter the use of chemical weapons. A government motion was defeated by 285 […]
Justice Department Finally Announces its Response to the Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado and Washington
Understandably overshadowed by the debate over a possible US military intervention in Syria is the Justice Department’s long-awaited announcement of its response to the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington. Criminal law experts, legalization advocates, and others have long wanted to know whether and to what extent the DOJ intends to continue federal marijuana […]
Many Members of Congress Call on Obama to Seek Advance Authorization for Military Intervention in Syria
Over 100 members of Congress have signed a letter to the President stating that the Constitution requires him to seek congressional authorization for any military intervention in Syria: More than 100 lawmakers, including 18 Democrats, have signed a letter that says President Obama would violate the Constitution by striking Syria without first getting authorization from […]
Jack Goldsmith on the Constitutionality of Military Intervention in Syria
Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith has an excellent Lawfare post on the constitutionality of a US intervention in Syria undertaken without congressional authorization. While I disagreed with Goldsmith’s position on the Libya intervention two years ago, I think he is mostly right on here: I have a pretty broad view of presidential power to use […]
Democratic Members of Congress Press Holder for Answers on Use of NSA Surveillance Data in the War on Drugs
Eight Democratic members of Congress are pushing Attorney General Eric Holder to answer questions about the use of NSA surveillance data in the War on Drugs: Eight Democratic senators and congressmen have asked Attorney General Eric Holder to answer questions about a Reuters report that the National Security Agency supplies the Drug Enforcement Administration with […]
Would a US Military Intervention in Syria be Constitutional?
The US and its allies are considering a military intervention in Syria in response to the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against civilians. If President Obama decides to go in, it will likely be without congressional authorization. Such a step would create serious constitutional problems similar to those arising from the intervention in Libya […]
Time to Stop Using “Hobbit” as an Insult
Two years ago, John McCain derided “Tea Party hobbits.” Now Tulane University assistant dean Jim Letten is using the same insult against conservative “guerrilla journalist” James O’Keefe: Former U.S. attorney and assistant Tulane University Dean Jim Letten unleashed a barrage of verbal abuse at conservative “guerrilla journalist” James O’ Keefe and his film crew in […]
Public Ignorance About Crime Rates
By Ilya Somin on August 26, 2013 6:42 pm in Criminal Law, Democracy and Political Ignorance, Political Ignorance, Politics, Public Opinion
CNN recently published an interesting article about how most of the public believes that violent crime is rising, despite the fact that it has actually fallen dramatically over the last twenty years: You can’t escape the headlines. An Australian going to college in the United States is gunned down by teens who police say killed […]