Politico is reporting on Majority Leader Harry Reid’s efforts to corral enough votes for a Senate climate bill. Reid says that “cap-and-trade” is not in his vocabulary, but the whole plan is to enact something that can be conferenced with the House bill (“Waxman-Markey”) and enacted in a post-election lame duck session. The problem is […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
Sunday Song Lyric
What rock bands have the most consecutive gold or platinum albums? The Beatles and the Rolling Stones are obviously one and two, but would you believe number three is Rush?!? I was surprised (and maybe a bit gratified), but after watching the Beyond the Lighted Stage, an excellent new documentary about the 40-plus-year-old band, it […]
Administration Now Says Individual Mandate Is a “Tax”
During the debate over health care reform, the Obama Administration steadfastly denied that a statutory penalty for failing to purchase a government-approved health insurance policy would constitute a “tax.” The President himself categorically rejected the argument that the mandate is a tax in an ABC interview. Now, however, the Administration is relying upon the federal […]
Kagan Did “Just Enough” To Win Specter’s Vote
By Jonathan H. Adler on July 15, 2010 9:02 am in Judicial Nominations, Kagan Nomination, Supreme Court
Senator Arlen Specter (R D-PA) has an op-ed in USA Today explaining his decision to support the confirmation of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. He explains that it was a close call, and that he was deeply troubled by her refusal to answer more substantive questions, but will support her nonetheless. As he summarizes: […]
Defrocking California’s Rock
Some California state legislators want to remove serpentine as the state rock of California and, according to the NYT, this has some geologists up in arms. The bill to defrock the rock — which recently passed the full State Senate and is awaiting a vote in the Assembly — is sponsored by Senator Gloria Romero, […]
The “War on Science” Continues
The Bush Administration was often accused of waging a “war on science” because of various instances in which government officials sought to alter, spin, suppress, or manipulate scientific inquiries or findings for political purposes. Some of the charges were exaggeraged, but some were real enough. My favorite was the effort by a political hack at […]
Sotomayor’s First Term
Roberts Barnes of the Washington Post reviews Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s first term on the Supreme Court. The unsurprising finding is that she has been a reliably liberal justice in ideologically divided cases and, contrary to some expectations, her experience as a prosecutor has not made her noticeably more sympathetic to the government in criminal law […]
ClimateGate Revisited
Last week, the UK Independent Climate Change Email Review (aka the Muir Russell Review) released its report on the alleged scientific misconduct of climate researchers revealed by the disclosure of e-mails from the Climatic Research Unit at East Anglia University. As the NYT reports, the review rejects the claims that the ClimateGate e-mails disclosed scientific […]
Sunday Song Lyric
I don’t follow celebrity divorces much, but one recent Hollywood split inspired a reader to recommend this week’s song lyric. He writes: “In the wake of Sandra Bullock’s marital betrayal by Jesse James, I was a little startled by this lyric to “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” (sung by Linda Ronstadt, not Warren Zevon, the lyrics’ […]
Department of Energy Inefficiency
The NYT has a cute item noting that the Department of Energy has had a hard time following its own advice on improving energy efficiency, such as by installing fluorescent lighting and auto-shut-offs.
Kagan Doesn’t Like Korematsu
During her nomination hearings, Elena Kagan carefully avoided offering a personal opinion about any Supreme Court decision. In a written response to questions from Senator Cornyn, however, she was willing to identify Korematsu v. United States as a particularly “poorly reasoned” decision. UPDATE: Jess Bravin of the WSJ reports that Kagan also doesn’t like Critical […]
Keynes v. Hayek – 1932 Redux
Mario Rizzo and Gerald O’Driscoll point to dueling letters to the editor from 1932 in The London Times by John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek on whether government spending can help cure contemporary economic woes. The letters, unearthed by Richard Ebeling, show that today’s debates over economic policy are, in many respects, a rerun […]
DoJ Files Suit Against Arizona Immigration Law
Yesterday the Justice Department filed suit against Arizona’s controversial immigration law, alleging that it is preempted by federal law and seeking an injunction against its enforcement. The NYT reports: The Justice Department argues the law would divert federal and local law enforcement officers by making them focus on people who may not have committed crimes, […]
Harold, Kumar, and Health Care Reform
From today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer: The White Castle hamburger chain fears that a health insurance reform law adopted earlier this year will put its profits on a downward slide. The Columbus-based family owned restaurant chain – known for serving small square hamburgers called “sliders” – says a single provision in the bill will eat up […]
Wonder Woman Gets Pants
After sixty-nine years, Wonder Woman is getting a makeover. With issue 600 of her comic book series, she will don a new outfit, more suitable for heroic exploits — and it’s about time. As inconvenient as it may be for the fantasys of adolescent boys, it’s not easy to fight crime in a mini-skirt. The […]