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Justice Don Willett’s Uncontroversial Commitment to the Constitution
The 1905 Supreme Court case Lochner v. New York has long been a lightning rod for the claim that unelected judges have no place in our Constitutional system striking down laws purporting to ensure public health and safety. The periled precedent played its part this week as UT Law student Noah Horwitz dutifully deployed it against […]
Down On My Knees, I’m Beggin’ Ya Please.
Last November, then Vice President Elect Mike Pence took his family to a production of the Broadway musical Hamilton. The Broadway audience being what it is, his entrance was met with a spattering of boos. The Broadway cast being what it is, they took the opportunity to make a special entreaty to the victorious candidate […]
Taxation Tuesday: Don’t Try to Pass a Wealth Tax
Good morning; let’s talk about tax policy! One of the ways Senator Bernie Sanders has offered to finance his suggested health care plan is a wealth tax. A wealth tax does what it says on the box: taxes assets, as opposed to our current tax structure, which taxes income. This is far from the first […]
Conservatarian Kitsch in Service of the Greater Good
I will save you and you shall be a blessing. –Zechariah 8:13 From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. –Luke 12:48 With great power comes great responsibility. —Benjamin Parker As we explain elsewhere, we here […]
The First Amendment: A Right Against Bared Arms
The past weekend’s white nationalist rally in Charlottesville meant déjà vu all over again regarding the status of “hate speech” under the First Amendment. As a positivist matter this debate is a nonsense: uncountable cases made it quite clear over the past hundred years that bigots are entitled to speak their mind. “Hate speech” is […]
Jurisdiction, “Indian Country,” & A Critique of Murphy v. Royal, –F.3d–, (10th Cir. Aug. 8, 2017)
On August 8, 2017, the State of Oklahoma suffered a major jurisdictional defeat. In Murphy v. Royal, —F.3d—, 2017 WL 3389877 (10th Cir. Aug. 8, 2017), it was held that a large swath of Oklahoma, including the Tulsa metropolitan area, falls within a reservation of the Creek Nation; that the Creek Reservation has never been disestablished […]
Joe Arpaio, Thug Life
“Know, then, that now, precisely now, these people are more certain than ever before that they are completely free, and at the same time they themselves have brought us their freedom and obediently laid it at our feet…they have finally overcome freedom, and have done so in order to make people happy.” – The Brothers […]
The Proposed “Ad Tax” Would be Unconstitutional Under Central Hudson
[This post originally appeared here on The Hill’s Opinion Blog on August 4, 2017.] Fox News and CNN have something in common: they both rely on advertising to promote their journalistic messages and to help generate revenue needed to carry out their missions. Historically, the expenses associated with such advertising have not been subject to […]
House Member Chaffetz Wants You To Buy Him A House
Retiring Congressman Jason Chaffetz announced, on his way out the door, that he believes Congress should provide themselves a $2,500 housing allowance, in order to better cope with the obnoxious cost of DC accommodations. Since congressmen maintain a residence in the District in addition to their household commitments back home, the logic goes, the excessive […]
Crying Havoc
Continuing the long tradition of hackneyed attempts to “make Shakespeare relevant,” Shakespeare in the Park this summer chose to stage its production of Julius Caesar with an eye towards current events. The conqueror of Gaul was therefore rendered with ginger hair and a red tie worn long enough to conceal ones manhood. Considering the probable […]
Least Dangerous Blog 