Scribbling, scribbling, scribbling on the Internet.
Kudos to the New York Times for recognizing the harm that has been done to press freedom by the Obama administration. And the harm, it should be noted, is quite real: The United States has dropped 29 spots in the annual Reporters Without Borders press freedom ranking since 2009, when President Barack Obama took office. The …
Continue reading "The “Most Transparent Administration Ever” Helps Bring about Less Transparency"
"Money Rules Elections--Except When It Doesn't." Read the whole thing. I guess it's too much to think that people who believe Citizens United is destroying the fabric of Western Civilization will reconsider their beliefs upon reading Walter Olson's post. But hope springs eternal.
The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) systematically limited the ability of individuals and groups to criticize the people who run the government. It was a Draconian law, severely capping the amount of money that could be contributed to political candidates, spent by candidates and campaigns, and even by individuals and groups totally independent of any …
Stephen Bainbridge takes the young Kennedy to task for pretending that corporations can somehow be given some kind of "death penalty" for not agreeing with Kennedy's views on climate policy. Of course, to say that Professor Bainbridge has forgotten more about corporate law than the young Kennedy will ever learn is to understate matters (and you …
No, seriously: First lady Michelle Obama appeared with [Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary] Burke later Monday in Milwaukee, praising her for starting a program to help students get to college, before recalling the challenges President Barack Obama faced when he took office. The crowd cheered as Mrs. Obama talked about restoring the economy and overhauling the …
Did you know that if you are involved in educating people about the Constitution, you might end up in the sights of the Internal Revenue Service? It's true. I am sure that the "be on the lookout" criteria that Nicholas Rosenkranz references are based on keywords and key phrases that are meant to indicate certain …
Continue reading "More IRS Abuses to Keep You Up and Fretting at Night"
Those who are closely tracking the Steven Salaita affair know that Corey Robin--who is a "political theorist" at Brooklyn College--has perhaps been Salaita's most ardent defender and champion. This article profiles Robin. Note the following: In the Salaita case, Todd Gitlin faults Mr. Robin for failing to engage with the substance of Mr. Salaita’s tweets, at least …
Continue reading "How to Be Utterly Unreasonable (Corey Robin Edition)"
As I have written before, Steven Salaita likely has both a breach of contract claim and a First Amendment claim against the University of Illinois for revoking his job offer. But that doesn't mean that he should have been offered a job in the first place, and one would hope that the University of Illinois--and …
Don't know who Steven Salaita is? Read this for background. And this, as well.Done? Good. And now, for my own take: Tablet Magazine has been on a roll with its coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas, and how big media news outlets have reported on the war. But in this editorial, I think they are …
The riots in Ferguson have brought to the forefront issues concerning race relations in the United States, police brutality, the possible over-militarization of police, crime, violence and the fragility of First Amendment rights of free expression. And naturally, Hillary Clinton has absolutely nothing whatsoever to say about the entire matter. Not that anyone should really …
Continue reading "Hillary Clinton Continues to Live Down to Expectations"
