Governor DeSantis and the Rule of Law—Part I
America’s success is due partly to our traditional respect for the rule of law.
Understanding the Constitution: Why it doesn’t protect the unborn
As Justice Samuel Alito pointed out in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health (pdf)—and as the late, great Justice Antonin Scalia said repeatedly—the Fifth and 14th Amendment Due Process Clauses really have nothing to do with abortion.
Understanding the Constitution: The Great Forgetting
All of these false assertions emerged from a historical process—primarily during the 19th century—that I’ve labeled “The Great Forgetting.”
The Constitution’s rules for relations with Indian tribes: part II
The leading myth in Indian law is that the Constitution gives Congress “plenary” (absolute) authority over Indian affairs.
The Supreme Court’s recent—and sweeping—Indian Law cases: part I
One reason the votes in these cases were so close is that the law of tribal sovereignty is chaotic.
The Montana Supreme Court’s Anti-Firearms Decision was Wrong
Mass shootings tend to happen in so-called “gun free zones” where law-abiding people are disarmed. . . . [Yet] all the justices on the court voted for this misguided decision.
Why overturning Roe v. Wade causes so much rage
For the pure political operative, the truth of a statement or its value as public policy is entirely irrelevant. For the pure political operative, issues are just weapons.
The deeper significance of Justice Thomas’s 2nd amendment opinion
Justice Thomas’s opinion affirms that the scope of the right to keep and bear arms is fixed by the words of the amendment. The law is reflected in those words, not in some judge’s idea of what is important.
The Supreme Court’s ‘American Hospital’ case: A view of the DC swamp
The case is a small victory against the administrative state.
University toxicity: America should stop nursing the viper
Middle Americans are the givers. The professors and bureaucrats . . . are the takers. Gratitude is a rare commodity: It is human nature for the takers to resent the givers
State over federal power: The 100th anniversary of the Colorado River Commission
The Colorado River Commission was one of the most successful conventions of states ever held. Its achievement debunks uninformed claims that interstate conventions are “unprecedented” or cannot follow a pre-set agenda.
The Founders and the Twitter Mob
As the Founders recognized, the human impulse toward mob behavior is not going to disappear. But reforms can limit its influence.
