Conor Friedersdorf’s Bad Arguments
In response to Rod, Conor Friedersdorf weighs in on the the matter of Carlos Romero, lover of animals, and Doodle the miniature donkey. Recalling Justice Scalia’s dissent in Lawrence v. Texas, Rod...
View ArticleIs There a Second Amendment Right to Own a Machine Gun?
Robert Wright of Bloggingheads.tv debates Jacob Sullum of Reason:
View ArticleA Natural—But Not a Second Amendment-Guaranteed—Right to Own a Gun?
Almost immediately after the the Newtown massacre, National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke mounted a vigorous defense of gun rights. “American liberties, including the right to bear arms, pre-exist the...
View ArticleGarry Wills Is Wrong About Guns, and So Is the Constitution
I’m grateful to Scott Galupo for reviving Gary Wills’s provocative interpretation of the Second Amendment. As one might expect from encounters with Wills’s other work, this interpretation is learned,...
View ArticleThe Boy Scouts, Gays, and Civil Society Minding Its Own Business
SandiMako / Shutterstock.com In the entry on judicial activism found in the classic Prejudices: A Philosophical Dictionary, Robert Nisbet wrote of the “whole web of authority that naturally exists in...
View ArticleThe Balanced Budget Amendment Rears Its Farcical Head Again
repmikehoffman / Flickr.com After the unsatisfying conclusion of the fiscal cliff saga, House GOP leaders resolved to reestablish regular order in the consideration of fiscal policy. No more secret...
View ArticleProposition 8 and Federalism
The Supreme Court heard oral argument today on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which exclusively recognized marriages between a man and a woman in the state constitution. The...
View ArticleGay Marriage: Conservatives For, Libertarians Against, & More
As the Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans, consider these classic TAC essays on this polarizing subject: Justin Raimondo — “The Libertarian Case Against Gay...
View ArticleNullification Meets State Religion in Raleigh?
In response to an ACLU lawsuit against a North Carolina county maintaining that the prayers said at the opening of county commissioners’ meetings violate the Constitution’s establishment clause, state...
View ArticleDid the Supreme Court Just Send Us to a Gattaca Future?
On Monday, the Supreme Court announced a 5-to-4 decision upholding the prerogative of the state to compel DNA samples of anyone arrested for a “serious crime.” The Anthony Kennedy majority decision...
View ArticlePresident Obama Embraces the False Choice
For those of you just joining us, there have been two big revelations about the NSA’s data-mining efforts since Wednesday, both reported by the Guardian. The first: The National Security Agency is...
View ArticleRand Paul Compartmentalizes Jim Crow Laws—But Continues Slow Crawl to Right...
Gage Skidmore / Flickr.com In her long, begrudgingly admiring profile of Sen. Rand Paul, the New Republic’s Julia Ioffe relays this anecdote from Paul’s visit to a historically black college in...
View ArticleThe Supreme Court’s Gay-Marriage Gradualism
The Supreme Court’s rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act (struck down) and California’s Proposition 8 (the court disclaimed jurisdiction) were about the only rulings one could expect from a court of...
View ArticleGay Marriage Thoroughly Considered
As the Supreme Court has just released its rulings on same-sex marriage, consider these classic TAC essays on this polarizing subject: Justin Raimondo — “The Libertarian Case Against Gay Marriage” Jon...
View ArticleA Reconstructed South Under Fire
Is the Second Reconstruction over? The first ended with the withdrawal of Union troops from the Southern states as part of a deal that gave Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency after the disputed...
View ArticleWhat’s a Law to an Executive?
Late yesterday, the Treasury Department announced that it will be delaying the employer mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) by one year. Treasury’s ostensible reason is to simplify...
View ArticleA Trial That Should Never Have Been Held
That the prosecution in the Zimmerman trial asked the judge to allow a verdict of “third-degree murder” — i.e., child abuse, since Trayvon Martin was 17 — testifies to the prosecution’s failure and...
View ArticleSuccess for President Obama in Talking Trayvon Martin
President Obama surprised the White House press corps today when he dropped into the daily briefing to deliver remarks in the wake of George Zimmerman’s acquittal in Trayvon Martin’s killing....
View ArticleBradley Manning Found Guilty of Espionage, Not Aiding the Enemy
Pfc. Bradley Manning was found guilty of more than 20 crimes, including several violations of the Espionage Act, but was significantly acquitted of the charge of aiding the enemy. The Washington Post...
View ArticleWhite House Gets Its Man for Top Surveillance Lawyer
John P. Carlin is on track to become the Justice Department’s top national security lawyer, and assume responsibility for approving the thousands of domestic surveillance requests sent to the Foreign...
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