Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Launching the Nine-ther Movement

by Bruce Webb Conservatives have long been 2nd Amendment Absolutists (unless you are a black man carrying a stick outside a mostly black precinct in Philadelphia, somehow ‘open carry’ doesn’t apply there). Now they have doubled down with the Tenther Movement, which they have tied together with an Enumerated Powers doctrine which mostly doesn’t actually […]

Constitutional Originalism and Immigration

by Bruce Webb Something has been bugging me. Why is it that the same people that indignantly claim that a requirement for people to show proof of insurance is unconstitutional but that it is perfectly fine, nay imperative that people show proof of citizenship or legal residency? Exactly where in the Constitution does it give […]

A Question About Gaza

by cactus A Question About Gaza I’m trying to understand the situation in Gaza. I understand that Israel manages to exert some control over Gaza’s borders and airspace. Israel has also tried to choke off the flow of weapons into Gaza and this embargo is being blamed for much of the hardship that residents of […]

Michelle Malkin Will Get the Vapors When She Sees This

As a direct result of the six-Republican, one Democrat California Supreme Court’s decision last week, people who have shared everything for 21 years now get to marry. Pull quote: As a Japanese American, I am keenly mindful of the subtle and not so subtle discrimination that the law can impose. During World War II, I […]

Psycological Kevlar

Psychological Kevlar Act of 2007 introduced by Patrick Kennedy was to help PTSD and brain trauma research expand. It has come to my attention that the DoD is thinking about using propranolol as a prophylactic to help reduce ptsd symptoms during conflict and after. I had found this articlefrom a wife of a soldier who […]

Milton Friedman on Sarbanes-Oxley

Phil Kerpen & Mallory Factor attack the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation citing two sources: The staggering costs of Sarbox bear repeating. An analysis by Sarbanes-Oxley Ivy Xiying Zhang of the University of Rochester measured the total stock market impact of the law, and found that it has cost over $1 trillion, with a “T.” About a third […]

Libby’s Lawyers: Our Client is Above the Law

Perhaps you may recall the greymail tactics of Scooter Libby’s defense team. When Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald called the defense team on these tactics, the defense attorneys accused Mr. Fitzgerald of lying and were insulted by the allegation – even though the allegation is clearly true. The latest tactic from the defense team seems to […]

Pat Roberts: FISA Flip-flopping

Kevin Drum is hoping Senator Roberts does the right thing: Apparently Roberts now feels not only that his committee should be briefed, but that the program itself should be overseen by the FISA court. If Roberts follows up on this, then good for him. On both scores, I have my doubts. CNN is still suggesting […]

Why Not Have Gonzales Testify Under Oath?

CNN reports: The hearing began with a sudden and sharp partisan dispute when Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter ruled that Gonzales did not have to be sworn in to testify. After Democrats strongly objected and demanded a roll-call vote, Republicans prevailed and the attorney general did not testify under oath. Before one asks why […]

Can Congress Deny Birthright Citizenship?

Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times argues that it can and it should: “There is a general agreement about the fact that citizenship in this country should not be bestowed on people who are the children of folks who come into this country illegally,” said Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, who is participating in the […]