According to to 28 U.S.C. § 2, today is the first day of “a term of court” at Zip Code 20543. Happy First Monday, everyone. To read up on the cases currently on the Supreme Court’s docket, go here.
Archive | Uncategorized
Political Ignorance and Political Parties: Two Questions for Ilya
I’ve enjoyed Ilya’s posts on his new book, which I look forward to reading, and I hoped he wouldn’t mind two questions about his argument. My first question is about political parties, and my second question is how he deals with majority preference for bigger government. 1) My first question considers whether political parties overcome […]
CRS on Debt Limit History
For those interested in the history of the debt limit and votes to increase the limit over the past 35 years, there are two Congressional Research Service reports that provide useful background. The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases Votes on Measures to Adjust the Statutory Debt Limit, 1978 to Present Of note, the second […]
Justice Ginsburg on the 2016 Presidential Election
A notable quote from an interesting profile of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Robert Barnes in the Washington Post: Ginsburg understands politics but does not feel she faces a deadline to leave so that Obama, whom she admires, can choose her successor. “I think it’s going to be another Democratic president” after Obama, Ginsburg said. […]
Fast & Furious Document Trial Delayed by Shutdown
Judge Amy Jackson may have refused to dismiss the House Government Operations and Oversight’s suit for documents related to the “Fast and Furious” scandal, but she was willing to delay the case until the federal government reopens. As the WSJ law blog reports, she issued a sharply worded order announcing her decision. “There are no exigent […]
My Third Balkinization Post on Democracy and Political Ignorance
My third Balkinization post about my book Democracy and Political Ignorance is now up. This one explains why political ignorance is a serious problem, caused in large part by the fact that ignorance is actually rational behavior for most voters. It also often turns out be rational for most of us to do a poor […]
Wittes, Vladeck, and Kerr Debate NSA Surveillance, Edward Snowden, and the FISC
Last week, the GW Law chapter of the Federalist Society hosted a debate, Should You Be Angry about the NSA Surveillance Disclosures — And if so, At Whom?, featuring Benjamin Wittes of Brookings and Steve Vladeck of AU. I played a mixed role as partial moderator and partial participant. The event was audiotaped and has […]
Europe’s Proposed Circumcision Ban: How Far Back We’ve Gone While Making Progress
By Eugene Kontorovich on October 4, 2013 10:12 am in Anti-Semitism, Circumcision Bans, Democracy, Jewish Culture, Religion, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom, Uncategorized
The Council of Europe in Strasbourg has recommended nations consider banning child circumcision. Jewish groups, and the State of Israel, are predictably outraged by the recommendation, which if adopted would make traditional (and not just religious) Jewish life impossible on the Continent. Thus the law has been denounced as anti-Semitic. While I have recently criticized […]
Why Treasury Won’t Try the Trillion Dollar Coin Gambit or Disregard the Debt Limit
Ezra Klein interviewed Mark Patterson, who served as the Chief of Staff of the Department of the Treasury from 2009-2013. Here’s the relevant tidbit: EK: If you’re this worried and the consequences are this bad, why not do something like declaring the debt ceiling unconstitutional under the 14th amendment or minting the coin? MP: It’s […]
The Occupy Wall Street Prepaid Card: Designed by 1%’ers for People Who Don’t Use Prepaid Cards
So you may have read that there is a new card affiliated (not quite sure how to describe the relationship) with the Occupy Wall Street movement, the Occupy Card, a new prepaid card product. The only problem? The experts at Cardhub.com have reviewed the card and aren’t all that impressed. The card turns out to be much more […]
“Upcoming U.S. Supreme Court Term ‘Crammed With Blockbuster Cases,’ Say Incredibly Biased People”
From Kyle Graham at NonCuratLex, some humorous commentary on Supreme Court commentary. For what it’s worth, so far the constitutional criminal procedure docket of the Court is sparse and the cases look pretty minor. That may change if the Court accepts one of the cell-phone search cases. But at least right now, it’s a quiet […]
The Ubiquity of Andrew Tutt
It seems like every time I turn around, I’m reading about another new article by somebody named Andrew Tutt. In the past two months, I’ve seen a lot of different articles go up on SSRN (usually via the inimitable Larry Solum). Most recently was Blightened Scrutiny, whose abstract begins with the hyperbolic claim that “There […]
100 Years of Federal Income Tax
Bruce Bartlett notes that today is the 100th anniversary of enactment of the Federal Income Tax.\ The new tax applied only to those with very high incomes. There was a personal exemption of $3,000 for individuals (equivalent to $71,000 today) and $4,000 for married couples (about $94,500 today) but none for dependents. Additionally, all interest […]
Should There Be a Debt Ceiling at All?
As Washington nears yet another debt ceiling crisis, it’s worth pondering why the U.S. has a debt limit in the first place. It’s a good question. While I am not wholly settled in my opinion on the matter, I think some commentators have been too quick to dismiss the debt limit as anachronistic (or worse). […]
Why the 14th Amendment Option Is Not on the Table
Garrett Epps argues that if Congress refuses to increase the debt ceiling, the President will have little choice but to invoke Section 4 of the 14th Amendment and act unilaterally to pay the federal government’s fiscal obligations. The White House, however, has a different view. As in 2011, the Obama Administration has dismissed this option. […]