Inside Higher Ed reports on a new study purporting to find differences between how self-identified Republicans and self-identified Democrats grade their students. A forthcoming study finds that there may be notable differences. Democratic professors appear to be “more egalitarian” than their Republican counterparts when it comes to grading, meaning that more of the Democratic grades […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
More Coffee, Please
The NYT has made my morning: “A new study says that men who are heavy coffee drinkers are at lower risk for prostate cancer.” Fill ‘er up!
Campaign Finance Law Can Be Funny
Steve Simpson and Paul Sherman of the Institute for Justice detail Stephen Colbert’s travails with federal campaign finance law. Comedy Central funnyman Stephen Colbert, like most of his friends and allies on the left, thinks that last year’s Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC is, literally, ridiculous. To make his case that the […]
Do Filibusters of Judicial Nominations Show “Disrespect” to the Courts?
Shortly after Senate Democrats failed to invoke cloture on Goodwin Liu’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, I received a press release from the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights denouncing the “use of partisan filibuster” against Liu’s confirmation. LCCHR CEO Wade Henderson called the Republican filibuster “a reckless […]
BREAKING: Cloture on Liu Nomination Fails
The vote is still ongoing, but by count there are already 40-plus votes against cloture, including one Democrat (Senator Ben Nelson). UPDATE: The vote is 52 in favor, 43 opposed, and one “present.” SECOND UPDATE: The roll call vote will be available here later this afternoon. (The Senate posts roll call votes approximately one hour […]
When Judges Decide Against Type
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has been one of the more divided appellate courts, particularly when it comes to habeas cases. Ideological splits on the court are common in such cases, especially so in capital cases or when claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are raised. Some judges on the Sixth […]
Exaggerating Species Extinction
By Jonathan H. Adler on May 19, 2011 10:45 am in Endangered Species, Environment, Politicizing Science
A new paper in Nature has sparked a firestorm of debate over species extinction rates. The paper, by two ecologists, shows how the use of the species-area curve produces inflated projections of species extinction rates. As an accompanying article in Nature explains: The most common method of predicting extinction rates relies on the species–area curve, […]
Obama Nominates Palin Pick to Ninth Circuit
Earlier today the White House announced that President Obama has nominated Alaska Supreme Court Justice Morgan Christen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Of note, Justice Christen was appointed to the Alaska Supreme Court by then-Governor Sarah Palin. In Alaska, a judicial council recommends potential judicial appointees for selection by the […]
Judge Goodwin Liu and the Downward Spiral
Senate Majority Leader has filed a cloture petition on the pending nomination of University of California at Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A vote to end debate on the nomination could come as early as tomorrow. Professor Liu is among the most […]
Are Health Care Waivers Political Favors?
The Daily Caller reports that a substantial percentage of recent health care waivers issued by the Department for Health and Human Services have gone to businesses in Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district — and not just any businesses, but swanky spas, restaurants and nightclubs. Does this story mean that health care waivers are being […]
Ronald McDonald Under Fire
Children health advocates are targeting Ronald McDonald in an effort to prevent McDonald’s from marketing to children. San Francisco has already banned “happy meals”, and other cities have tried to follow suit (sparking industry resistance). Meanwhile, a Wisconsin man has apparently eaten his 25,000th Big Mac in 39 years — that’s almost two a day […]
Was Senate Oil Subsidy Bill Unconstitutional?
On Tuesday, Senate Republicans blocked a vote on legislation to repeal $2 billion in tax breaks for the five largest oil companies. Even had the bill passed, it would not have had much effect, however. Equivalent legislation is unlikely to move in the House. More importantly, as TPM reports, passage of the bill would likely […]
How Safe Are TSA Body Scanners?
Back in March, the Transportation Security Administration’s Blogger Bob trumpeted a study that supported the TSA’s claims about the relative safety of its Advanced Imaging Technology body scanners. Case closed, right? Maybe. The study made several qualifications, and at least one of its co-authors thinks the scanners should be subject to outside testing. Now ProPublica […]
Is Fair-Trade Coffee All that Fair?
Purchasing certified fair-trade, organic coffee helps improve the living conditions of coffee farmers in developing nations, right? Not necessarily. As Lawrence Solomon reports, a new study published in Ecological Economics found that over a ten-year period certified organic and organic fair-trade producers became poorer relative to conventional producers. Solomon comments: The fair-trade business is filled […]
Don’t Fear Mama Bear
Mama bears are the most dangerous, especially when they are protecting their cubs, right? Perhaps not. A new study suggests that most black bear attacks in the United States are by male bears, according to the NYT. The study also found, contrary to popular perception, that the black bears most likely to kill are not […]