John McGinnis reviews Erwin Chemerinsky’s new book, Enhancing Government: Federalism for the 21st Century, and finds a blueprint for unchaining government power at all levels. In “Enhancing Government,” Erwin Chemerinsky provides a kind of holograph of what federalism — as the federal-state relation is confusingly called — would resemble if the U.S. were to enter […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
Chicago Opposition to MFI – Another View:
Jacob Levy offers an alternative take on UChicago faculty opposition to the creation of a Milton Friedman Institute: Now, if you model academic behavior as rational, mutually-distinterested self-interest, you find that everyone should welcome an inflow of $200 million into another part of their university. You predict that there will be no opposition. If, however, […]
Covering 2,691 Opinions:
Linda Greenhouse reflects on her many years covering the Supreme Court. Her concluding thought: “The court is in Americans’ collective hands. We shape it; it reflects us. At any given time, we may not have the Supreme Court we want. We may not have the court we need. But we have, most likely, the Supreme […]
If Candidates Cared about Economists:
What policies would presidential candidates support if they sought to court the support of economists? Greg Mankiw has a list (all but the last one I basically support): Support Free Trade Oppose Farm Subsidies Leave Oil Companies and Speculators Alone Tax the Use of Energy Raise the Retirement Age Invite More Skilled Immigrants Liberalize Drug […]
Sunday Song Lyric:
Tony Snow died yesterday at 53. He had a varied an impressive career as a journalist, editorialist, speechwriter, talk show host and White House Press Secretary. As anyone who knew tony could attest, he was full of life, optimism and good cheer, devoted to his family, self-effacing and generous. As Juan Williams notes here, Tony […]
Law Profs for the Bench:
Rick Hills is proposing a professorial non-aggression pact for judicial nominations of law professors. Law profs agree to support any academic appointment to the federal district or appellate bench, full stop. Left law profs will endorse, say, Professor Doug Kmiec for the Ninth Circuit when a Republican occupies the White House [but Kmiec endorseed Obama […]
Chicago Profs Oppose Milton Friedman Institute:
A proposal to create a Milton Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago appears to have created some controversy, as reported here and here. 101 professors at the University signed a letter raising concerns about the new center. In particular, they raised concerns that it would be a “right-wing think tank” and would reinforce popular […]
Anti-Drilling Group Supports Drilling:
The 1969 oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara was a major catalyst for environmental reforms, and spurred the creation of GOO! (Get the Oil Out), an environmental group dedicated to opposing offshore oil drilling. But something has changed in the intervening decades. Thirty-nine years later, GOO! is still around. But this April the […]
Hands Off Prediction Markets:
John McGinnis fears the federal government may squelch prediction markets. An obscure government agency will soon decide whether citizens can get hold of information essential to modern democratic decision making. On Monday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission began to analyze whether to create a safe harbor for prediction markets in the U.S., as these markets […]
Choosing Corn Over Conservation:
It looks like the USDA is going to allow farmers to plant crops on land that was set aside for conservation purposes. “We need more corn. That’s all there is to it,” said Dave Warner, spokesman for the National Pork Producers Council, one of many agricultural trade groups pressuring Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer to change […]
Kicking the Climate Can:
It is now official. The Bush Administration will not take any action to regulate greenhouse gases before 2009. Instead it is punting the issue to the next Administration. The WaPo reports here.
Trouble at the North Pole:
The WSJ reports on conflict among Santa impersonators. The Amalgamated Santas, one of the nation’s largest Santa groups, are dealing with a schism in their ranks. The rift has left burly bearded men accusing one another of bylaw violations, profiteering and behaving in un-Santa-like ways. Some Santas have filed complaints of wrongdoing against others in […]
Voter Fraud in Alabama?
The NYT has an interesting story about a voter fraud investigation in Alabama.
“No Beer, No Civilization”:
George Will thinks some folks underestimate the importance of beer. UPDATE: Professor Bainbridge thinks it’s really “No Wine, No Civilization.” Redheadlaw7 likes that story better.
More Signs of a Non-Delegation Doctrinal Revival?
It turns out that Judge Janice Rogers Brown is far from the only one concerned provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act violates the non-delegation doctrine. As noted by an astute reader and this commenter to my prior post, over a dozen states have been actively pushing non-delegation challenges to the IRA, and it appears they […]