From Cato @ Liberty:
By Michael F. Cannon
From the Los Angeles Times.
It works on so many levels.
Continue readingBiennial Budgeting: Baloney Budget Reform
From Cato @ Liberty:
By Tad DeHaven
I don’t recall ever agreeing with the left-liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), but their new paper on the drawbacks of the federal government switching to biennial budgeting is a good read. Continue reading
Missing the Mark on Military Commissions
From The Foundry:
Last week, I again had the privilege of traveling to Guantanamo Bay to observe a military commission proceeding as an invited representative of a non-governmental organization Continue reading
Legality of Mobile Phone Tracking Still Unclear Despite Supreme Court GPS Decision
From Wired Magazine:
The Supreme Court’s blockbuster GPS decision Monday afforded American’s new constitutional privacy protections against warrantless government tracking.
But the justices stopped short of clearly spelling out how wide those rights actually are — or when exactly a warrant would be needed.
Continue readingLandmark Supreme Court Ruling on Technology and the Fourth Amendment
From The Foundry:
On Monday, the Supreme Court issued an important ruling on the subject of surveillance in light of today’s technologies. Its opinion in United States v. Jones makes the rules for surveillance much less clear, which perhaps is not surprising given the rapid technological change and the need for further legislative and judicial action to address these complex new issues.
Continue readingJones confounds the press
From SCOTUSblog:
In this post on Monday, I summarized my understanding of the issues that the Court decided in the Jones GPS tracking decision and the other issues it left open.
The case involves a mildly complicated area of the law. The alignment of the Justices also left the issues unusually opaque. But the legal rules have very practical implications for ordinary Americans on a significant question of personal privacy. So describing the case correctly is important. Continue reading
You Can Thank The Supreme Court For Newt Gingrich’s Extended Campaign
From Talking Points Memo:
When he gets finished thanking casino magnate Sheldon Adelson's wife for plopping down $5 million into a "super PAC" supporting his run for the Republican nomination, Newt Gingrich might want to send the Supreme Court a fruit basket.
After all, without them, he probably wouldn't still be in this thing.
It wasn't so long ago, remember, that Gingrich's campaign was on the financial ropes. His campaign finance team quit in June and the latest currently available data (running through Sept. 30) showed his campaign had $353,416.71 in cash on hand and was $1,192,865.82 in the hole.
Were this 2008, that probably would have been the end of the line for Gingrich Continue reading
Stop the Madness: National Debt Threatens our Prosperity
From The Foundry:
I propose this simple New Year’s resolution for Congress, pass a budget before borrowing any more money.
Today marks the 1,000th day without a budget from Senate Democrats. The last time they passed a budget, you had never heard of the iPad. Tiger Woods was only known for his golfing abilities. General Motors had never declared bankruptcy. You had never heard of Swine flu.
Continue readingAcademic round-up
From SCOTUSblog:
The Court recently granted cert. in Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., a case which may lead the Court to revisit whether an agency’s interpretation of its own regulations merit deference. Continue reading
The Second-Day Story on U.S. v. Jones
From Cato @Liberty:
By Jim Harper
Does a more careful reading of the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Jones turn up a lurking victory for the government?
Continue reading