The Washington Post reports that the Obama Administration has concluded it may have to detain Khalid Sheik Mohammed indefinitely, and that it has the power to do so under the laws of war. Administration officials do not want to try him before a military tribunal and there is substantial political opposition to trying KSM in […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
Over 100 Waivers and Counting
The NYT reports: As Obama administration officials put into place some of the new rules that go into effect under the federal health care law, they are issuing more waivers to try to prevent some insurers and employers from dropping coverage and also promising to modify other rules because many of the existing policies would […]
Lame-Duck Hunting
The 20th Amendment provides that the terms of Senators and members of Congress end on January 3. Its passage in 1932 severely curtailed the potential for Congress to enact measures in lame-duck sessions by limiting the time between elections and the existing Congress’ expiration to approximately two months or less. Seventy-five years ago, travel […]
Stewart v. Maddow
An interesting exchange between Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart.
Are Republicans Serious about the Debt?
Does greater conservative representation in Congress auger well for getting America’s fiscal house in order? Reacting to comments by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) on “Meet the Press” last week, Peter Wehner raises some concerns: It is simply not tenable for public officials to portray themselves as courageous voices for fiscal sanity while simultaneously fencing off […]
Would Repealing DADT Undermine Troop Readiness?
The Washington Post reports that a Pentagon Study Group has concluded that repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would have minimal lasting effects on troop readiness or military effectiveness. These conclusions are from a draft report based upon surveys of active and reserve military personnel, and would seem to undermine the only serious objection to lifting […]
FDA Proposes New Cigarette Labels
For the three people on the planet who aren’t employed by cigarette companies but haven’t heard that smoking bad for you, the FDA is proposing new, graphic labels, like the one below. Story here.
IG Confirms White House Edits of Moratorium Report
A draft report of the Department of Interior Inspector General has confirmed what many suspected: High-level White House officials edited an Interior Department report to create the false impression that Interior Secretary’s Ken Salazar’s decision to impose a deep-water drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico had been peer reviewed and approved by outside experts. […]
How Progressives Misunderstand Much Conservative Skepticism of Climate Policy
By Jonathan H. Adler on November 8, 2010 6:51 pm in Climate Change, Conservatism, Environment, Uncategorized
In yesterday’s Washington Post, Bracken Hendricks of the Center for American Progress laments widespread conservative opposition to “government action on climate change.” Responding to the threat posed by global warming should be a conservative cause, Hendricks argues, because a warmer world will breed bigger government. Many conservatives say they oppose clean-energy policies because they want […]
Federal Government Fights Obesity, Pushes Cheese
I love cheese. I really do. But I recognize that it, like many things, is best enjoyed in moderation. This is also a message pushed by the federal government — or at least one part of it — as part of efforts to encourage healthy eating and fight obesity. Yet another part of the federal […]
A Business Law Agenda for the Next Two Years
The folks at Conglomerate are hosting a “Masters Forum” on “A Business Law Agenda for the New Congress and President.” The resulting collection of posts, with contributions from Tom Joo, David Zaring, Leandra Lederman, and Erik Gerding , among others, can be found here.
Quixotic Iraq War Litigation
The AP reports that the Rutgers-Newark Law School clinic has filed a cert petition seeking review of a case challenging the constitutionality of the Iraq War. Filed on behalf of an Iraq war veteran, two mothers of deployed soldiers and an anti-war group, the suit maintains that the invasion of Iraq was not constitutionally authorized […]
Political Contributions Common among Cable Pundits
On Friday, MSNBC announced that Nation editor Chris Hayes would temporarily replace suspended host Keith Olbermann on its prime time “Countdown” program. Then it learned that Hayes, too, has given money to political campaigns. Oops. The reality is that quite a few cable news opinionators have given money to political campaigns, including several who host […]
Heinzerling Back to Georgetown
Professor Lisa Heinzerling will be leaving her post as Assistant Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation at the end of the year and returning to the Georgetown University Law Center, Politico reports. Heinzerling has been very active in pushing the EPA to move aggressively to regulate greenhouse gases under […]
Global Geoengineering Moratorium
Last week, delegates from 193 nations agreed to a moratorium on geoengineering at the tenth conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan. Specifically, the parties agreed that all parties should: Ensure . . . , in the absence of science based, global, transparent and effective control and regulatory mechanisms […]