Category Uncategorized
The Ratings Are Through the Roof!
Marco Polo describes a bridge, stone by stone. “But which is the stone that supports the bridge?” Kublai Khan asks. “The bridge is not supported by one stone or another,” Marco answers, “but by the line of the arch that they form.” Kublai Khan remains silent, reflecting. Then he adds: “Why do you speak to […]
Imagine A Boot Stamping On A Human Face, Occasionally
George Orwell once pointed out that fascism, in contemporary usage, no longer held any meaning beyond “thing I do not like.” He published that essay in 1944. Matters have not improved much since. To clarify for the record: Fascism was a European movement of the 1920s and 1930s, particularly in Italy, in part in Spain. […]
The Privilege or Immunities Clause, Originalism, and Gender Equality
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States . . . . U.S. Const., amend. XIV In 1873, in The Slaughter-House Cases and Bradwell v. Illinois, the Supreme Court took a sledgehammer to the idea that the Privileges or Immunities Clause of […]
Federalism 2: The Revenge
In 1993, Congress passed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Among its various initiatives, it provided for the creation of a national background check system by which to screen prospective gun purchasers. This created a dilemma, however: the United States is a mess of separate and overlapping jurisdictions, and most crime is dealt with at […]
The Dangers of Democracy: Human Rights and Majoritarianism
Introduction Last week, on December 15, we celebrated the 225th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. While many Americans find good reason to celebrate the first ten amendments to the Constitution, not as many pause to appreciate that it is the amendments’ anti-democratic character that makes them so effective. Democracy, after all, […]
Least Dangerous Blog 