The WSJ‘s Jess Bravin reports on an interview with recently retired Justice John Paul Stevens in which he defended his “most unpopular opinion” — Kelo v. New London — from recent criticism by Justice Antonin Scalia (see here and here). “It’s the most unpopular opinion I ever wrote, no doubt about it,” Justice Stevens said […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
The Keystone Pipeline Precedent
Others have commented on President Obama’s decision to punt on the Keystone XL pipeline project. Ordering additional review pushes the decision past the next election and enables the Administration to evade responsibility should the project ultimately fail. As those who study environmental law know, delays of this sort are often enough to derail major projects […]
Omelas State University
Science-fiction writer John Scalzi compares the events at Penn State to Ursula LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” His comments are refreshingly direct. Tthe invocation of Omelas is apt, with a few qualifications. There was only one child who suffered for Omelas, and here it was failing to save the child(ren) that sacrificed […]
You Can Now Read This Opinion
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the release of a redacted copy of its opinion in Latif v. Obama. When the case was first decided in October, the opinion was classified. Based on his initial read, Ben Wittes thinks the opinion is “a very big deal” because it “expressly adopts […]
The Dog-Gonest Case Ever
This morning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided what could be the “dog-gonest case ever” to reach a federal appellate court, O’Neill v. Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government. Judge Gilman’s opinion for the court begins: This is perhaps the dog-gonest case ever to reach a federal appellate court. In October 2008, several […]
A Prize for Ocean Cleanup
Last month, the X-Prize Foundation announced the winners of the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup Challenge. The challenge was created to spur the development of more effective oil spill cleanup methods. Specifically, the challenge offered $1.4 million in prizes for the development of removing oil from the ocean’s surface. The aim was to double the industry’s […]
Myths About Population
Global population is believed to top 7 billion. Is this a problem? Does 7 billion people constitute “overpopulation”? Nicholas Eberstadt doesn’t think so. In today’s Washington Post, Eberstadt punctures five “myths” about global population. The myths: The world is overpopulated. Rapid population growth keeps poor countries poor. For all its ethical problems, China’s one-child policy […]
How Grade Inflation Hurts Math and Science Education
The New York Times has an interesting story on the declining number of math and science majors in universities. The article identifies many potential culprits, including grade inflation in the humanities and social sciences. It is no surprise that grades are lower in math and science, where the answers are clear-cut and there are no […]
Law School Review
The National Law Journal has a new blog, Law School Review, focusing on legal education. Contributors include Brian Tamanaha, William Henderson, Erwin Chemerinsky, John O’Brien, Lucille Jewel, Kyle McEntee, and Michael Olivas.
Poisoned Halloween Candy an Urban Myth
From today’s Los Angeles Times: Every year, parents and police departments worry about tricks in their kids’ Halloween treats: razor blades in apples, poison in candy bars. But incidents of candy poisoning are very, very rare — if they exist at all. “There have never been any substantiated cases of strangers tampering with Halloween candy,” […]
Should Obesity Be Considered in Child Custody Disputes?
The WSJ reports that concerns about childhood obesity are beginning to play a role in child custody disputes: Family-law practitioners and legal experts say mothers and fathers in custody lawsuits are increasingly hurling accusations at each other about the nutrition and obesity of their children, largely in attempts to persuade judges that their kids are […]
Solving the Student Debt Problem
Government subsidized loans have helped fuel a massive student loan bubble. Student loan debt now tops $1 trillion. President Obama has proposed a modest reform to ease the burden on some, but it will not do much. In a NY Post op-ed, Glenn “Instapundit” Reynolds has a more interesting reform idea: I think we should return […]
Another Setback for Cape Wind
In 2002, federal reguators predicted it would take between 18-months and three-years for the proposed Cape Wind energy project in Nantucket Sound to receive federal approval. Nearly ten years later, the project is still awaiting full federal clearance, and has yet to begin construction. Full operation remains at least two years away. On Friday, the […]
William Niskanen RIP
I was saddened to learn last night that economist William A. Niskanen has died. A former academic, Bill served as acting director of the President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers and later Chairman of the Board of the Cato Institute. His 1971 book, Bureaucracy and Representative Government, is a public choice classic, though hardly […]
Why Title Posts with Questions?
The Guardian reports on a new study that found scientific papers with questions in their titles are downloaded more often than others but cited less. Articles with colons in the title are both downloaded less and cited less.