Archive for the ‘Constitutional politics’ Category

February 19th, 2010

In light of the OPR report, it beggars the imagination for Judge Jay Bybee to tell us what constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment”, or for Professor John Yoo to teach constitutional law.

December 26th, 2009

There’s an easy way to get rid of the filibuster at the beginning of 2011. If the Democrats fail to do it then, then they have no right to complain.

August 20th, 2009

The use of reconciliation to pass health insurance reform would not be cheating, as the threatened “nuclear option” was. But it’s time to get rid of the filibuster altogether, and that could be done by a simple majority at the beginning of the next Congress.

August 6th, 2009

A partial defence of Sen. Conrad: no to coops, yes to regions.

May 28th, 2009

How could the California Supreme Court have overturned Prop 8 yet allowed the voters to ban same-sex marriage through a ballot measure — and done so in a principled way? Here’s how.

December 24th, 2008

The Bush Administration engaged in a a “systemic failure to take seriously the spirit as well as the letter of this country’s commitment” to the law and human rights, and therefore we should not do anything about it.

December 5th, 2008

Mysteries.

November 17th, 2008

Mark says we should prohibit the Big Three from lobbying against the public interest. Sadly, that’s almost certainly unconstitutional. Simply firing the executives, not so much.

October 14th, 2008

Jersey’s election

September 22nd, 2008

It’s time to get medieval on the Bush administration. As England’s parliament found out centuries ago, a time of crisis is precisely the right time to demand from the executive as much as you can think of.