Law & Public Safety
Inconsistency Has Its Uses
Unlike many of my colleagues, I’ve never been an admirer of Oliver Wendell Holmes. Not only were many of his opinions wrongly decided, even the ones that were right were…
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
American jurist (1841–1935); US Supreme Court justice from 1902 to 1932
Liberty
Pelosi’s not the only one who misuses a quote about free-speech limits
Eric Boehm writes at Reason that U.S. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi offers just the latest example of a political leader misusing a famous quotation about proposed exceptions to free-speech…
Research Brief
Law & Public Safety
Long May He Serve!
It was recently reported that “Justice Clarence Thomas, a reliable conservative vote on the Supreme Court, is mulling retirement.” In response, Thomas’s wife Ginni posted the following message on her…
Law & Public Safety
A focus on Scalia’s writing
Amid widespread discussion of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia‘s constitutional record, Joseph Bottum writes for the Washington Free Beacon about another notable element of Scalia’s legacy. Even his…
Liberty
‘The fact that the minimum wage destroys jobs was once its main selling point’
The New Republic reviews an important new book by Thomas C. Leonard: Illiberal Reformers: Race, Eugenics & American Economics in the Progressive Era. Among his revelations: The minimum wage was created to destroy…
Liberty
Don Willett for the Supreme Court!
At Forbes.com, George Leef asks, “Who would you like to see as the next Supreme Court justice?” He recommends Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett, and I wholeheartedly agree. As I…
Liberty
An Ensemble Performance by the Texas Supreme Court
Last Friday, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Patel v. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. This was another great win for the Institute for Justice, which described…
Liberty
The impact of World War I on American liberties
In his latest column, Sheldon Richman looks at the impact of World War I on American liberties. The impact, of course, was dreadful. Most of the “progressives” quickly jumped on…
Law & Public Safety
Leef tackles the ‘living Constitution’ argument in his latest Forbes column
George Leef explores for Forbes readers the history of the constitutional argument in favor of a “living Constitution.” The “living Constitution” theory amounts to saying that Supreme Court justices should…
Liberty
Sowell’s take on ‘social justice’
Unsure what “social justice” means? Thomas Sowell shares your plight. It has the prime virtue of political catchwords: It means many different things to many different people. In other words,…
Liberty
No compensation this year for North Carolina’s forcible sterilization victims
View in your browser. I was disappointed to find out that the continuation budget this year would not contain any compensation for victims of the state’s forcible sterilization program. A…
Liberty
More proof that Reagan was no ‘amiable dunce’
Fans of our 40th president might enjoy a new book that compiles The Notes: Ronald Reagan’s Private Collection of Stories and Wisdom. Reviewing the book for Boomberg Businessweek, Christopher Buckley…