Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler

The Wall Street Journal editorial page has revived its long-dormant tradition of having a “house liberal” grace the page with a weekly editorial. Filling this role, once played by Al Hunt, is Thomas Frank, author of What’s the Matter with Kansas? and other books. His column, which appears on Wednesdays, is called “Fighting Words.” Frank’s […]

The ACLU has a new blog, Blog of Rights. It currently features a symposium on “Torture and America.”

The NYT reports on the reaction among the blind and visually impaired to the D.C. Circuit’s ruling that the Treasury Department’s failure to accommodate the visually impaired violates the Rehabilitation Act. About 16.5 million Americans are blind or partly blind, a number that is expected to double by 2030 because of an aging population and […]

Bruce Bartlett ponders the political impact of the Libertarian Party and its relevance to advancing libertarian ideas in this WSJ op-ed. Libertarians respond that their message of an immediate end to the Iraq war, legalization of drugs, and opposition to the Bush administration’s undermining of civil liberties appeals as much to Democrats as their advocacy […]

An e-mail is circulating (again) comparing two interesting homes. House #1: A 20 room mansion ( not including 8 bathrooms ) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool ( and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American […]

Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a district court opinion finding that “the Treasury Department’s failure to design and issue paper currency that is readily distinguishable to the visually impaired violates section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.” Judge Judith Rogers wrote the majority opinion, and was joined by Judge Thomas […]

An Ohio state AG office attorney’s Blackberry was mysteriously stolen just hours after the Inspector General’s office swept the AG’s office, locking down staff computers. What a weird coincidence. UPDATE: The missing BlackBerry has been found.

This morning the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the a federal law prohibiting soliciting the sale or purchase of child pornography by a vote of 7-2. Justice Scalia wrote the majority opinion. Justice Stevens wrote a concurrence, joined by Justice Breyer (both of whom also joined the Scalia majority). Justice Souter dissented, joined by […]

The Bush Administration appears to lost an awful lot of environmental cases in federal court. That’s the impression of many environmental law experts, as reported in this Sacramento Bee story. There has yet to be any systematic study of the Bush Administration’s record defending its environmental policy decisions across the board, but it is unlikely […]

Last week, the Interior Department announced its decision to list the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) as a “threatened species” under the Endangered Species Act due to the expected loss of polar bear habitat, specifically arctic sea ice, due to global warming. The listing decision and other related documents are available here. This is the first […]

The imposition of caps on carbon dioxide emissions will impose substnatial costs on much of American industry. It will also create substantial winners. Alternative energy producers, such as solar and wind, will benefit, as will lower-carbon fuels sources, such as natural gas. the nuclear power industry is also expecting to profit handsomely from carbon dioxide […]

The Washington Post reports that the Bush Administration has created a new category of controlled information — “Controlled Unclassified Information.” The new category will replace “Sensitive but Unclassified.” Sometime in the next few years, if a memorandum signed by President Bush this month ever goes into effect, one government official talking to another about information […]

Today is commencement at Case Western Reserve University and many other schools. Accordingly, I suppose I could post some saccharine graduation song. Instead I thought I’d post a classic song with at least some tangential connection to education: “Teach Me Tonight” by Gene De Paul and Sammy Cahn. I believe the first recording of the […]

The Columbus Dispatch reports on how disgraced Ohio Atorney General Marc Dann’s mismanagement of his office could make the state liable in several expected and potential lawsuits.

WSJ editorial writer Jason Riley, author of the new book, Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders, argues that immigration is less of a problem than ideological opposition to assimilation by some American elites. At the outset, Riley ponders why immigration appears to have receded as a campaign issue, and suggests this is due […]