A Thumbs Up for Religious Freedom or a Sop Before the Same-Sex Marriage Ruling?

By , June 3, 2015 6:30 pm

I don’t know, but the thought occurred to me Monday.

People Are Complex, Even Vice President Joe Biden

By , May 31, 2015 4:34 pm

I don’t know what I have to remind myself constantly of the thought stated in my headline. People are complex. Too often we tend to peg people based on very little evidence or evidence from just one sphere in their lives. I do it. I’m confident you do it.

I did it with Vice President Joe Biden, who sometimes in his many gaffes becomes a caricature of a caricature. But you know what? Joe is a complex man, a man with more than one side. I saw another side of Joe today when I read this, and in an instant, he changed before my eyes.

Now you’ve read the linked-to story, what do you think?

Been There, Finally Done That

By , April 15, 2015 8:39 am

And what an experience it was–our visit to China. Being, Xi’an, and Shanghai. The Forbidden City, the Terra-cotta Warriors, and The Bund. What a treat. And the people!

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To the Source (of much conversation)

By , March 6, 2015 2:37 pm

So, I’ve mentioned Oyez.org before, but I’m going to refer you again to this great little source of entertainment–if you like to follow the Supreme Court. Today, Oyez.org published the audio of Wednesday’s oral arguments in King v. Burwell, the important challenge to the statutory construction of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. I have not listened to it, but I will be doing so in a few minutes as I run–yes, you can download the arguments.

You should listen to it too, rather than paying attention to second-hand commentary on the case.

Water (Law) Source

By , February 20, 2015 2:28 pm

Lately, I’ve become interested, very much so, in water law. Maybe it’s because Utah’s snowpack is at about 70%. Maybe it’s because the amount of water on this earth doesn’t change, but the quality of it does. Whatever the reason, water law has captured my attention. One of my favorite sources of ongoing and accessible information on the subject is the Water Values podcast, a bi-weekly offering by David McGimpsey, an attorney out of Denver.

The podcast eschews legalese in favor of broad coverage of water and water issues, principally via interviews with people who work or write about water, water rights, and the people who use it, whether in industry or in nature. Some fascinating interviews.

Looking for Something to Do?

By , January 20, 2015 2:12 pm

If you are, I suggest the following sites as worthwhile time fillers:

If you’re interested in balanced and very interesting discussions of the Constitution and federal/state relations, the Federalist Society’s website in general and it’s multi-media offerings in particular are a must. They strive to offer a view from both sides of most important legal issues, especially at their various events. I can’t recommend them enough.

Also of constitutional interest, it’s hard to beat Oyez.org, the place to go if you want to actually listen to oral arguments at the Supreme Court. No, you can’t listen to them as they happen, but I’ve seen cases where the recordings were up the same day they happened. And these recordings go waaaaay back, even as far as Roe v. Wade (where you can hear counsel from the state of Texas make a sexist joke) and New York Times v. Sullivan (where you can hear the historical beginnings of our current law of defamation).

Enjoy.

I Have No Tolerance for Zero Tolerance

By , December 31, 2014 8:59 am

Here are 10 reasons why.

Cute Kittens and Lying Memes

By , November 30, 2014 8:31 pm

Posted without just one comment: If it weren’t for memes and kittens, there would be no Facebook. The menace of memes: how pictures can paint a thousand lies

Cross posted at GregoryTaggart.com

Cat Fight: A Statistical Debate over Equal Pay for Women and Sexual Assault

By , November 30, 2014 8:11 pm

The Federalist Society regularly hosts some very interesting and fairly balanced panel discussions of topics related to the Society’s mission “to place a premium on individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law.” This past September, the Society put on a panel titled “Passion and Prudence in the Political Process: The Debate Over Federal Civil Rights Policy.”

The panel is interesting for a number of reasons, but I post about it largely because it illustrates so well the problem of “damned statistics.” Not being a statistician myself, I can only express my frustration at the way some people toss about numbers as if the act itself were sufficient to prove their point. For what it’s worth, I think Gail Heriot and Diana Furchtgott-Roth win this encounter hands down, but then, I agree with their side of the issue.

What do you think?

Cross posted at GregoryTaggart.com

Corporations, Corporations, Everywhere, Nor Any Drop to Drink

By , October 22, 2014 11:32 am

In case you don’t get the allusion in the title, it’s to a stanza in Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:

Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.

I changed a few words to reflect the thinking of Salon.com’s Lindsay Abrams in her piece Water is the new oil: How corporations took over a basic human right. Two-thirds of the article is an interview Abrams did with Karen Piper, a journalist touting her new book The Price of Thirst: Global Water Inequality and the Coming Chaos, a book now on my Amazon.com wish list, by the way.

The problem with Abram’s story, however, is that it doesn’t deliver on its headline, nor does it deliver on her claim, a claim she makes near the beginning of the piece: “While it’s shocking to watch a city [Detroit] deny the rights of its own citizens, that’s nothing compared to what could happen if private water companies are allowed to take over.” Really? Why is that? Ultimately, she doesn’t say.

Instead, she goes on (or the interview does) to report example after example of governments (Turkey, for example, LA County for another) quasi-governmental organizations (IMF and World Bank), and wannabe governments (ISIS) that are doing much or most of the water damage.

Now, I don’t doubt that water is (or will be soon) a very big problem. Nor do I doubt that some corporations are (or will be) to blame for some of those problems. But why the headline “How corporations took over a basic human right” when the proffered solution-—government-—doesn’t look so hot and when she offers so little evidence of corporate malfeasance?

Methinks it’s because the word corporation sounds oh so much more nefarious than the word government. Based on Abrams’s story, however, maybe we have more to fear from the guys and gals in the white hats.

Cross posted at GregoryTaggart.com

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