In case you did not see this, it is my Senator’s opening comments at the Gorsuch hearings. He sums up just what a 5/4 split court has been doing.[embedded content] This is his discussion on Cspan about his book: Captured: The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy
Read More »Top 100 Economics blogs
Top 100 Economics blogs The Angry Bear blog is a very popular multi-author blog. This left-leaning blog provides incisive commentary on U.S./Economics, law and politics.
Read More »Pence Makes Deciding Vote Allowing States to Defund Planned Parenthood
Second time Pence has cast the deciding vote in the Senate. Last VP to do so was Cheney in 2008. VP Pence has made it no secret he is opposed to allowing women the right to decide on having an abortions. While in Congress, Pence sponsored the first bill to defund Planned Parenthood in 2007 and when it did not pass then he continued the effort until it did pass in the House in 2011. More recently a Federal Court blocked a bill signed by then Indiana Governor...
Read More »March 7 historical note
On March 7, 1965, a march by civil rights demonstrators was broken up in Selma, Ala., by state troopers and a sheriff’s posse.
Read More »Trump’s Cabinet Picks Are A Sorry Lot
Lifted from ataxingmatter from Jan 18: by Linda Beale Trump’s Cabinet Picks Are A Sorry Lot As the Friday inauguration date draws near, most ordinary Americans who read, stay informed, pay attention to history and events, and engage in critical thinking are, understandably, aghast at the poor job Mr. Trump has done so far in putting together a workable Cabinet of high-level appointees with the expertise, experience and values that can lead the country. We...
Read More »PPACA Repeal and How to Make Reconciliation Work for You.
In this post, I am going to expand upon the impact of the new House Rules H. RES. 5 upon the Repeal of the PPACA. As I explained here Paul Ryan deliberately changed the House Rules and the Republicans following party line approved them with the exception of 3 who voted with the Democrats. The House Rules went from just this: “The Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall, to the extent practicable, prepare an estimate of whether a bill or joint resolution...
Read More »Constitutional Crisis ?
To Recap what everyone knows now (in case anyone reads this months from now) On January 27th Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending the refugee admission program for 120 days and blocking US entry for citizens of 7 countries for 30 days.The order was written without input from the Justice, Homeland Security, State and Defence departments. As written it banned entry for legal permanent residents (with green cards) who were travelling abroad when it was...
Read More »The Right to Have Rights
By James Kwak There’s a story you hear often these days. The story is that America has too many lawsuits: too many lawyers, too many people filing frivolous suits, too many excessive damages awards by juries, and so on. This story is the reason for all the “litigation reform” in recent decades: the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, the state-level tort reform movement, Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, Ashcroft v. Iqbal, and so on. There are...
Read More »The Right to Have Rights
By James Kwak There’s a story you hear often these days. The story is that America has too many lawsuits: too many lawyers, too many people filing frivolous suits, too many excessive damages awards by juries, and so on. This story is the reason for all the “litigation reform” in recent decades: the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, the state-level tort reform movement, Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, Ashcroft v. Iqbal, and so on. There are...
Read More »Economism and the Law
By James Kwak Economism—the simplistic, unreflecting application of Economics 101 models to complex, real-world issues—is particularly influential in the law, including both legal academia and actual court opinions that decide important questions. The "economism" that @jamesykwak talks about is at its worst in the legal profession: https://t.co/84oUoNl49r — Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) January 17, 2017 Noah Smith, for example, points to a paper by a law professor arguing that forced...
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