One cannot help but be impressed by Senator Max Baucus’s ability to coherently rant while obviously drunk. (H/T Glenn) UPDATE: At least one reader thinks this extended clip shows that Baucus was not under the influence since he seems more clear spoken at the beginning of his rant. Readers can reach their own conclusion, but […]
Author Archive | Randy Barnett
The Unorganized Militia Once Again is Needed
According to press reports, a passenger helped subdue the terrorist who was attempting to bring down Northwest #253. This again highlights the importance of the unorganized militia in asymetric warfare. In Saved by the Militia, I offered this analysis in the wake of the success of the general militia on United Airlines #93 in defending […]
Ron Radosh on Hanhah Rosenthal
This is thought provoking. (HT Powerline)
Uh-Oh: New Screening Procedures from Canada
According to this story, there are new enhanced security procedures on flights from Canada. The next steps are to raise the security vigilance at North American airports. As a result of an alleged terrorist incident on Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit, additional security measures have been put in place at Canada’s airports for […]
Merry Christmas!
As a Jew growing up on an overwhelmingly Catholic town–there were 4 Jews in my high school class of 400–I experienced considerable antisemitism. Although I played a shepherd in my grade school’s Christmas play and Scrooge in my junior high school’s production of A Christmas Carol, as I got older, I came to find the […]
Liberty Magazine
I’ve noticed that Liberty Magazine, a monthly libertarian periodical, has been advertising on the VC. Coincidentally, I’ve been meaning to post something suggesting that libertarian readers subscribe to this magazine. (Non-libertarians might enjoy it, too, but Liberty is meant to be a “movement” magazine by and for libertarians). I’ve been reading it for over a […]
IWV Health Care Video Contest Entries
The Independent Women’s Voice is sponsoring a video contest on the problems with current health care legislation. Here are the three entries for which you can vote by posting your “vote” as a comment at YouTube page for each video (this link will take you to the IWVVoices YouTube page that links to all three […]
Senator Hatch & Stuart Taylor on the Constitutionality of an Individual Health Insurance Mandate
By Randy Barnett on December 14, 2009 10:00 am in Commerce Clause, Constitutional Theory, Health Care, Supreme Court
On Friday, Senator Hatch gave a major speech on the floor of the Senate on the unconstitutionality of a federal health insurance mandate that readers may find very interesting. Although the Senator favorably mentions my Heritage legal memorandum and introduced it into the Congressional record, his presentation of the constitutional problems with a mandate is […]
Average Federal Salaries Now 76% More Than Average Private Sector Salaries
From USA Today: For feds, more get 6-figure salaries The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data. Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession’s first 18 months — […]
Reply to Balkin on Unconstitutionality of a Health Insurance Mandate
In response to my posts on the unconstitutionality of a personal health care mandate, Jack Balkin passes along the link to his debate on this issue with David Rivkin and Lee Casey in PENNumbra. I strongly encourage readers interested in this debate to read their detailed exchange. There, Jack presents the most powerful defense of […]
Video of Heritage Session on Constitutionality of Health Care Mandate
By Randy Barnett on December 9, 2009 6:45 pm in Commerce Clause, Constitutional Theory, Uncategorized
Senator Hatch, Eugene Volokh and me.
Why the Personal Mandate to Buy Health Insurance Is Unprecedented and Unconstitutional
Why the Personal Mandate to Buy Health Insurance Is Unprecedented and Unconstitutional by Randy Barnett, Nathaniel Stewart and Todd F. Gaziano is now available on the Heritage website. Eugene and I had a very spirited exchange of opinions on this subject this afternoon at Heritage, after some excellent remarks by Senator Hatch. When there is […]
Is Health Insurance Mandate Constitutional?
Head conspirator Eugene Volokh and I will be on a panel today at the Heritage Foundation at 12:30pm discussing the constitutionality of the proposed individual health insurance mandate. Senator Orrin Hatch will deliver opening remarks. I will question the constitutionality of such a mandate; I expect Eugene to be skeptical that a constitutional challenge would […]
“Saved or Created 4 Turkeys”
Belated Happy Thanksgiving to Volokh readers. Although I probably should have posted this yesterday, here is a video of the President’s annual turkey pardon first initiated, as he notes, by the George H.W. Bush. In a moment of self-deprecating humor, he refers (at 2:20) to his having “saved or created four turkeys.”
Joyce Foundation Funded OSU 2nd Amendment Center Expires
Professor Joseph Olson has confirmed that the Ohio State University’s Second Amendment Research Center has apparently expired. In the words of Monty Python, it is an ex-Center. Its URL [http://www.secondamendmentcenter.org] is out of service and the OSU operator had no information. The Center’s director, historian Saul Cornell, this year moved on to a chair at […]