Watching the debt deal play out was not particularly good theater, as each step on the way was perfectly predictable. There was almost never a chance of actual default, and with divided government we were always going to end up with some lukewarm agreement that satisfied almost nobody. But that is the democratic process. Nevertheless, […]
Archives
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Debt Deal Done
02 Jun 2023
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Trump’s Historic Indictment A Legal Stretch
05 Apr 2023
On Tuesday, Donald J. Trump, the forty-fifth President of the United States, became the first of America’s former chief executives to be indicted in a criminal court. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office charged Trump with thirty four counts of falsifying business records. The allegations revolve around Trump’s payments to suppress damaging information during the 2016 […]
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Ginsburg’s Death Eclipses a Remarkable Life
19 Sep 2020
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday of complications from pancreatic cancer. She was 87. As a law student, Ginsburg graduated first in her class at Columbia Law, but found it difficult to land a position. Her mentor told a judge friend he would no longer send students to him as clerks if he did […]
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Richard Weaver: A Man Vindicated
21 Aug 2020
I am not so far removed from my college days as to not feel the twinge of nostalgia when the school year springs forth upon the scene. Not too long ago, I was but a humble senior presenting my research to a group of individuals, far better than myself, minds sharp with the critical thinking […]
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President Trump & the Limits of Legal Power
03 Jun 2020
President Trump has pledged to use military force if governors and mayors are unable to pacify cities across the country. As more stores, government buildings, and monuments are burned or razed, troop deployments to Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Los Angeles, or New York are still possible. President Trump has the legal power to use the armed […]
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President Obama flouted executive authority and too often politicized the law. These attitudes spilled into the transition of power, it seems, as federal agents targeted Michael Flynn, the incoming National Security Advisor of the Trump Administration. Obama and Flynn had a complicated past, and Flynn paid a heavy price. Retired Gen. Flynn, a Democrat, served […]
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The President and the Pandemic
15 Apr 2020
I have the ultimate authority. President Donald Trump, April 13, 2020 Mt. Trump was built with a shovel. It started with “rapists and thieves,” which was quickly followed by “I like people who weren’t captured.” The dirt pile became a hill and grew into an overwhelming peak. “I got a beautiful letter.” “Mexico is gonna […]
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What is a Model? Data and Covid-19
10 Apr 2020
**This is a follow-up on a previous post about Covid-19 and innumeracy** So, what’s a model? I was not much into model cars or planes as a kid, but I made a few. I had a phase that included extra glue, rubber cement, paints, and brushes. Done well, models are shiny and attractive. Expensive model […]
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**Over several posts, I hope to look at 1) what the Constitution says about impeachment, 2) presidential impeachments in history, and 3) how President Trump’s actions should be judged in light of the Constitution, history, and other standards frequently brought to bear.** The third presidential impeachment trial unfolds before us. Our Senators will soon cast […]
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**Over several posts, I hope to look at 1) what the Constitution says about impeachment, 2) presidential impeachments in history, and 3) how President Trump’s actions should be judged in light of the Constitution, history, and other standards frequently brought to bear.** Impeachment is often described as the nuclear weapon of the legislative arsenal. Though […]