The WSJ Law Blog reports on comments by former Senator Rick Santorum (unearthed at RedState) on federalism and the authority of different states to adopt different policies on moral questions. I’m a very strong supporter of the 10th amendment . . . but the idea that the only things that the states are prevented from […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
More Recess Appointments
The Consumer Financial Protection Board was not the only beneficiary of a recess appointment today. The AP reports the President also made three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board — two Democrats and one Republican. The White House release is here.
A Recess Appointment for Cordray
The AP is reporting that President Obama will give former Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray a recess appointment today to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Board. Cordray was nominated to the post some months ago but Senate Republicans have blocked his confirmation due to their opposition to the CFPB’s structure, in particular the lack of […]
The Latest Signing Statement
On December 23, the President signed an omnibus spending bill and issued a signing statement detailing his objections to various provisions and limitations contained in the bill. Here is coverage from The Hill and the NYT. Several of the bill’s provisions “raise constitutional concerns.” Accordingly, the President announced these provisions would be interpreted in a […]
Football Over Soccer
An Englishman makes a confession: He prefers American football to soccer. In its energy and complexity, football captures the spirit of America better than any other cultural creation on this continent, and I don’t mean because it features long breaks in which advertisers get to sell beer and treatments for erectile dysfunction. It sits at […]
Remembrances of Ribstein
Like Ilya, I was terribly saddened to learn that Professor Larry Ribstein suffered a stroke and died yesterday. He was on the faculty when I studied at George Mason, though I never had the good fortune to have him as one of my professors. I have, however, learned quite a bit from his scholarly and […]
Texts, Lies and Distracted Driving
The National Transportation safety Board (NTSB) is supposed to be “an independent federal agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents” that, among other things, conducts “objective, precise accident investigations and safety studies.” So why is NTSB Chair A.P. Hersman falsely claiming that 3,000 people died in traffic accidents last year due to […]
Johnson Goes Libertarian
Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson has decided to drop out of the GOP primaries and run for President as a Libertarian. (You didn’t know Johnson was running for President? Didn’t you see him in all the debates? Oh . . wait, the two-term former governor didn’t get to participate.)
The Right to Rise
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in the WSJ: The right to rise doesn’t seem like something we should have to protect. But we do. We have to make it easier for people to do the things that allow them to rise. We have to let them compete. We need to let people fight for business. […]
Is Escape from a Nonsecure Courtroom a “Violent Felony”?
Last week, in United States v. Oaks, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that escaping from a courtroom while in police custody is not a “violent felony” for sentencing purposes under the Armed Career Criminal Act if the courtroom was not a secure facility.” Judge Martin wrote […]
Is the Mandate Necessary?
John Goodman in the WSJ: ” There is nothing that can be achieved with a mandate that can’t be better achieved by a carefully designed system of tax subsidies.” Goodman’s argument is strengthened by the fact that the mandate, as structured in the PPACA, would increase coverage, but come nowhere close to achieving universal coverage. […]
Gingrich on Judicial Review
Former Speaker and presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has been turning heads with his comments on “judicial activism” and the “Arrogant overreach” of federal judges. From the WSJ: Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich came out swinging Saturday against the nation’s legal system, pledging if elected to defy Supreme Court rulings with which he disagrees and declaring […]
Calabresi & Rickert Respond to Whelan on Originalism and Sex Discrimination
By Jonathan H. Adler on December 14, 2011 4:18 pm in Constitutional Theory, Originalism, Sex Discrimination
Earlier this month, I posted on Steven Calabresi and Julia Rickert’s new paper, “Originalism and Sex Discrimination.” Published in the Texas Law Review, this article makes an originalist argument that gender discrimination, such as the exclusion of women from VMI, is unconstitutional. This is an important article, which has already received notice from Lawrence Solum […]
NLRB Drops Complaint Against Boeing
As expected, the National Labor Relations Board has dropped its complaint against Boeing in the wake of the machinists’ union’s ratification of a new labor agreement with the airplane manufacturer.
HHS Secretary Overrules FDA Decision on Plan B
So-called “Plan-B” contraception is currently available for sale over-the-counter to women age 17 and older. Those younger than 17 may only obtain Plan B with a prescription. Earlier this week, in response to a petition from Teva Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Plan-B One Step, the Food and Drug Administration decided that the age limitations should […]