In
Our Opinion
Senator
Lieberman Jumps onto the Junk Food Wagon
"Every
third American devotes himself to improving and uplifting his fellow-citizen,
usually by force." H.L. Mencken Senator
Joe Lieberman has just become that third American. Earlier this
month, the Connecticut Senator and Democratic Presidential Candidate
announced that he is calling for a federal investigation into the
marketing practices of "junk food" companies...[more]
Your
Government (and the Ever Helpful Trial Lawyers) at Work: The Disgraceful
Saga of MTBE (Short Version)
Methyl tertiary
butyl ether (MTBE) was probably not a subject of your Thanksgiving
dinner discussions. Nonetheless, only days earlier, a provision
regarding MTBE was the primary factor in the 11th hour
U.S. Senate scuttling of this years energy bill...[more]
Affirmative
Action Aftershocks
The
legal landscape of the Equal Protection Clause is only now beginning
to feel the aftershocks of the constitutional earthquake that shook
a generations worth of jurisprudence when a bare majority
of the U.S. Supreme Court held that an applicants race could
be a factor in college admissions despite the Fourteenth Amendment...[more]
Senator
Kennedy and the Other N-Word
When
Senator Kennedy used that other N-Word last week, he did not specify
to whom he was referring. He didnt have to. The targets of
his pejorative are those nominees for the federal bench whose confirmations
are being and will be blocked by Senator Kennedy and others at the
behest of the organized left...[more]
Do
As I Say, Not As I Do: The Plight for Private Property Rights
It
is interesting to follow the developments of the newly liberated
Iraq and to compare the activities there to those happening at home.
The Iraqi Governing Council is tasked with the job of creating a
Constitution and as Jay Leno has said, "maybe we should send
them ours since were not using it." After all, how can
we as Americans guide others when we allow our own government to
infringe on our own basic rights here at home?...[more]
CFIF
Names Kay Daly Senior Fellow
The
Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) is pleased to announce that
Kay Daly has joined its team as a Senior Fellow effective November
1.
Daly is a frequently published writer (Wall Street Journal, The
Washington Times, Investors Business Daily, National Review Online,
Worldnetdaily.com, Opeds.com, Townhall.com, and many others), a
"blogger" with SouthernAppealblogspot.com, speechwriter and associate
editor of "Making Government Work: A Conservative Agenda for
the States."...{more]
Pennsylvanias
Reality Check
For
the past two years, states have repeated the same fire drill: increasing
spending while increasing taxes and threatening program cuts. Yes,
the country experienced an economic slowdown and mild recession
in 2001. But the recession is over; it has been for two years. Not
only has the U.S. Department of Commerce recently reported record
revenue collections by state and local governments for 2002 ($872
billion in 2002), Americans just received the good news that the
nations GDP grew by 7.2% in the third quarter of this year
(the highest growth rate in almost 20 years)...[more]
Wanted:
A Mute to Serve on the D.C. Circuit
Looking
for a new job? Perhaps you should watch the classified advertisements
for an employment opportunity to serve as judge on one of our Nations
most influential courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit. After all, the classifieds appear to be the only place
left where President Bush can search for a nominee who meets the
criteria of those Senators filibustering multiple judicial nominations.
Candidates who have any personal opinions espoused in a speech or
included in an article simply need not apply...[more]
The
Nuclear Option
Its
been more than a quarter century since a simple majority of the
U.S. Senate has employed a parliamentary procedure ominously known
as the "nuclear option" to effect a change in the bodys
Standing Rules. Back then, in 1975, it was a bare Democratic majority
that mustered the will to force a change in Rule XXII, the "cloture
rule," decreasing the number of votes required to break a filibuster
from two-thirds of the Senate, or 67 votes, to the current level
of three-fifths of the body, or 60 votes...[more]
Illinois,
a Dynamic State?
Armed
with the technology to finally refute the policies of tax-and-spend
politicians, the Illinois Policy Institute has the tools to separate
reality from fiction regarding Illinois state tax policies...[more]
Sports
Betting:
The National Football League Versus the Trial Lawyers
Move
over NFL, NBA, WNBA and NHL. A new betting line may soon take over
Vegas sports lounges. That new "sport" in town, NDPL,
is becoming increasingly popular on the courts. Strike that, make
it "in the courts." The NDPL, National Deep Pockets League,
has lawyers and plaintiffs racing to Americas courthouses
to file lawsuits in an attempt to score big payouts against deep
pockets, with the NFL becoming the most recent opponent of the NDPL...[more]
Colonel
Lowells Classroom
Colonel
Lowell was my first U.S. History teacher. He had a patch over his
eye and walked around with one of those long, wooden pointer sticks.
He spoke with a heavy New England accent and his tone resembled
something of a bark. We followed the same routine in every class
come in, sit down, dont talk and begin copying the
days notes from the blackboard. My classmates and I would
judge a particular day as a "good" one if only four sections
of chalkboard were filled with notes instead of the usual six or
seven. Colonel Lowell would begin his lecture as we diligently copied
the notes from the board. If you fell asleep, he smacked his wooden
stick on your desk. He kept the notes for each section of his lecture
hidden behind white screens and only revealed the contents when
he was ready. Those with slow penmanship were forced to stay after
class to finish copying the notes from the board the Colonels
orders...[more]
Driving
While Drowsy?
Add
getting enough sleep to the lengthy list of requirements for driving,
at least on the highways and thoroughfares of New Jersey. The state
recently became the first in the nation to make it a criminal offense
for a driver to get behind the wheel while being too sleepy
committing a DWD, Driving While Drowsy, if you will...[more]
Center
for Individual Freedom Director Publishes Novel: Bruce Herschensohns
Passport
Center for
Individual Freedom Director Bruce Herschensohn has just published
Passport an epic novel of the Cold War (ibooks, $25.95) to
stunning advance acclaim from a Whos Who of American Conservatism.
Spanning
almost four decades in the lives of twelve characters intimately
caught up in the turbulent events that altered the world
and the place of the U.S. in it -- Passport is as exotic in locale
as it is sweeping in scope, as compelling in its storytelling as
it is true to history and the world leaders who made it...[more]
Eragon:
Do Try This at Home
Christopher
Paolini is the author of Eragon, an elaborate fantasy novel that
was last week number three on The New York Times bestseller list
for childrens books. Christopher Paolini was 15 years old
when he wrote the book. Christopher Paolini has been completely
home-schooled by his parents...[more]
Lies,
Damn Lies and Statistics
What
a difference reality makes. Three weeks ago, a three-judge panel
of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit unanimously told
us that California couldnt hold its constitutionally called
Gubernatorial Recall Election on Tuesday, October 7, 2003, because
"forty-four percent of the electorate will be forced to use
a voting system so flawed that the Secretary of State has officially
deemed it unacceptable and banned its use in all future
elections." The judges were objecting to Californias
continued regional use of punch card ballots and VotoMatic voting
equipment because, according to their decision, such methods are
so plagued with "inherent defects
that approximately
40,000 voters who travel to the polls and cast their ballot will
not have their vote counted at all." Fast
forward to Wednesday, October 8, 2003 or nearly eight million
votes later and exactly none of these judicial statements
are true...[more]
Center
Urges House Committee to Investigate Greenpeace
In a letter reproduced here, the Center for Individual Freedom
urged the House Committee on Ways and Means investigate and hold
hearings on abuses of tax-exempt status by non-profit organizations
in general, and violations committed by the group Greenpeace in
particular.
To read the full text of the letter, click
here.
CFIF
History & Civics Quiz
Do
you know when the Declaration of Independence was signed? How about
the U.S. Constitution? Do you know what the first ten amendments
to the Constitution are called? If
you answered "no" to any or all of the questions, you
are not alone. Sadly, most Americans do not know the basics about
our nation's history and government. Take the CFIF History &
Civics Quiz and test your knowledge...[more]
Enacting
McCain-Feingold By Buying Time
As
the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court draft the decision that will
determine the constitutional fate of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform
Act of 2002 (BCRA), also known as McCain Feingold, they probably
wont be relying on two studies commissioned and circulated
by "reformers" as unbiased scholarly evidence of the laws
constitutionality. Indeed, the rigors of the BCRA litigation have
exposed that the two studies commissioned, conducted, and
published by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University
School of Law (Brennan Center) and submitted to and relied upon
by members of Congress when passing BCRA were little more
than misinformation fed to our elected representatives with the
goal of enacting McCain-Feingold at any cost...[more]
CFIF
Assistant General Counsel Tells University of Virginia Conference
That McCain-Feingold, Legal Uncertainty Gags Advocacy Groups
The
Assistant General Counsel of the Center for Individual Freedom,
Reid Alan Cox, told a conference of academic experts on campaign
finance Tuesday that both the actual restrictions contained in and
the legal uncertainty surrounding the Bipartisan Campaign Reform
Act of 2002, popularly known as McCain-Feingold, have effectively
silenced non-profit ideological interest groups since the law went
into effect after the last Congressional elections. Cox was one
of six panelists invited to discuss the topic of "Coping With
BCRA" at the conference entitled "Reconsidering Campaign
Finance Reform"...[more]
Hold
Our Calls: Conflict over the Do Not Call List
The
Center for Individual Freedom does not have a unified position on
the Do Not Call List. In fact, internal disagreement is becoming
so heated that potential civil war looms, with one brother wearing
blue, one sister wearing gray (provided the rest of us stipulate
that gray is the new black)...[more]
The
Robed Recall
Eight
Days, eleven judges, and thirteen double-spaced pages later, the
California Recall Election is back on again. Returned to its original
calendar date of Tuesday, October 7, 2003, by an en banc (or literally
"full bench") panel of the same U.S. Court of Appeals
for the 9th Circuit from which three other judges had, just a week
earlier, ruled the race had to be put off until March 2004 because
the use of VotoMatic punchcard ballots could hypothetically disenfranchise
voters violating both the federal Voting Rights Act and the Equal
Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution...[more]
Burning
the Bridges to Madison County: Legal Reform Heats Up
Author
Robert James Waller popularized Madison County, Iowa the
birthplace of John Wayne in the novel The Bridges of Madison
County. But another Madison County, this one in Illinois, is famous
for a very different, but just as lucrative, reason. Madison County
Illinois, that is is the unofficial class action capital
of the United States; the single county where trial lawyers file
more class action lawsuits than anywhere else, and also home to
some of the countrys largest damage awards...[more]
Will
Hurricane Isabel Wash Away the Trial Lawyers?
With
the mid-Atlantic Coast bracing itself under the significant threat
of Hurricane Isabel, some East Coast residents wisely are preparing
for the worst. News stations from the Carolinas to New England are
tracking the storm and reporting live from local home improvement
and grocery stores bustling with shoppers augmenting their hurricane-proof
supplies...[more]
The
Center for Individual Freedom Names Karen Bailey Vice President
of Public Affairs
The Center
for Individual Freedom today is pleased to announce that Karen Bailey
has joined its team as Vice President of Public Affairs. Karens
responsibilities will include the strategic planning and execution
of advocacy campaigns focused on state and federal legislation keeping
in the spirit of the Centers mission -- to protect individual
freedom and individual rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
The Center focuses on a broad number of issues including judicial
confirmations, legal reform, taxation, campaign finance reform,
energy and technology, among others...[more]
The
Second Monday in September
It
wont be a quiet recess day at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.
Instead, this year on September 8th, the halls will be bustling
with attorneys, reporters, and interested Court watchers, and the
justices will have already returned to our nations capital
ready to emerge from behind the curtains for their first sitting
this fall. Monday, if you dont already know, is the day the
Court will hear four full hours of arguments in the most important
political speech case to be decided by the Court in more than a
quarter century namely the consolidated constitutional challenges
to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), popularly
known as McCain-Feingold...[more]
Big
Blind Brother: Tampa
Abandons Facial Recognition Policing
While
all good liberals were undoubtedly frolicking away the remnants
of summer in the pristine wilderness of ANWR and the rest of us
were hurriedly spending our tax cuts before President Dean takes
them back, the Tampa, Florida police department made an announcement.
After a highly publicized and controversial two-year test, the city
is discontinuing the use of facial recognition technology...[more]
Center
Urges Return to Tried-and-True Civics Courses
Farmington
Public Schools recently revised the high school curriculum eliminating
the requirement of 12th grade American Government and substituting
a new required course in International Studies. In a letter reproduced
here, the Center informs public school officials about the necessities
of maintaining rigorous and thoughtful curricula that include coursework
on American history and government...[more]
Jeffrey
Mazzella Named Executive Director of Center for Individual Freedom
The
Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) today is pleased to announce
the appointment of Jeffrey L. Mazzella as Executive Director effective
August 1, 2003. For the past two and a half years, Mr. Mazzella
has headed up CFIF's legislative and public affairs department where
he was responsible for the development and implementation of the
organization's legislative and regulatory agenda...[more]
Sue
the Lawyers
"Enough
is enough."� That is the new message from corporate America.� After
suffering through the deluge of class action attacks against corporations
that sell products ranging from hamburgers to medical equipment
to automobiles, corporate boardrooms are taking the offensive against
the increasing number of vexatious litigants...[more]
'A
25-Year License to Violate the Constitution'
The
U.S. Supreme Court has spoken, and according to a slim five justice
majority in Grutter v. Bollinger, No. 02-241, "race unfortunately
still matters."� In fact, despite constitutional and statutory prohibitions
to the contrary -- namely, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- apparently
race matters enough that a majority of the High Court is willing
simply to "take [colleges and universities] at [their] word" that
they need to discriminate on the basis of skin color and ethnic
heritage in order to admit and enroll racially diverse student bodies...[more]
A
High School International Affairs Program Crosses the Line to Propagandizing
"Learn
today . . . Lead tomorrow".� That is the public relations campaign
motto adopted this year by the Michigan School Public Relations
Association, the Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan
Education Association.� A good motto in principle, but a terrible
one in practice if the public school students are learning lessons
that undermine American values and leadership...[more]
Benign
'Strict Scrutiny'?
Monday
morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the two most anticipated
rulings of this term -- decisions resolving, at least for now, the
constitutionality of race-conscious affirmative action programs
at institutions of higher education.� In split decisions, the Court
ruled that colleges and universities can consider an applicant's
race as a "plus" factor supporting admission, but, at the same time,
such racial preferences must be flexibly used "in the context of
individualized consideration of each and every applicant" and should
be part of a broader admissions policy that considers "'all pertinent
elements of diversity.'"...[more]
McDonald's
Turns to the Dark Side
We
have frequently railed against those who seem compelled by either
greed or irresponsibility to file frivolous lawsuits against McDonald's,
among a variety of favorite targets.� Whether plaintiffs or their
attorneys (mostly the latter), the offenders are usually just legal
entrepreneurs, seeking deep pocket paydays from the most tenuous
of claims...[more]
The
Criminalization of Responsibility:
Making Corporate Officers Guilty for the Acts of Their Employees
For centuries, the law in Western nations was guided
by the fundamental principle that an individual could only be prosecuted
and convicted of a crime if he willfully or knowingly committed
an unlawful act.� Classic Anglo-American legal theory reflected
this core belief in its requirement that the state prove beyond
a reasonable doubt that the accused consummated the criminal offense
with both an actus reus (a criminal act) and a mens rea (a criminal
intent).� Thus, criminal sanctions were never intended to punish
bad thoughts remaining unmanifested by action nor bad acts occurring
unwittingly or by accident.� The former category was to be resolved
by a higher spiritual authority and the latter could properly be
resolved by the civil tort liability system...[more]
Martha
Burk's Double Standard
Last week, Burk saw the lights and cameras and decided
to resurface in order to capitalize on media frenzy over Annika
Sorenstam's appearance at the PGA's Bank of America Colonial tournament.�
Burk's take on Annika: Good for her, bad for women's sports.� "I
am not an advocate of integrating sports.� It would destroy women's
sports.� What's the point of putting women at a natural disadvantage?
We're not idiots.� We know there are physical differences between
men and women," Burk is quoted as saying...[more]
Justice
At What Price? The Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel
At
a long-delayed preliminary hearing held this week, a federal judge
ruled that Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols can be
tried on state charges alleging 160 counts of first degree murder
in connection with the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building.�
Nichols was already convicted in 1997 of federal conspiracy and
involuntary manslaughter charges for the deaths of eight law enforcement
officers in the bombing.� He is serving a life prison sentence for
his federal convictions because the jury deadlocked over whether
to give him the death penalty, and the judge, to whom the sentencing
fell, could impose no more than life without parole...[more]
HMO
End Run at the FDA
Allergy
season came a little earlier and is a little more severe for most
sufferers this year. �With millions of sniffling, sneezing, sinus-clogged
Americans grabbing for their tissues, a proposal under consideration
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may have them reaching
for their wallets...[more]
Analogizing
Annika and Augusta
When
the Masters ended last month with a defeated Martha Burk hightailing
it out of Augusta, we all thought that would be the last time we
read the words "golf" and "First Amendment" in the same sentence.�
Thanks to Annika Sorenstam's courage and Vijay Singh's ignorant
comments, we again get an opportunity to educate the sports world
about our Constitution...[more]
Heartache
Over HIPAA
Churchgoers
in a small New England town were astonished by an announcement from
the pulpit last Sunday that due to new federal medical privacy legislation
there no longer would be a prayer list or mention of ailing parishioners
or family members in church. In Massachusetts, a mother's call to
her pediatrician's office grew heated recently when a nurse, citing
the new federal privacy laws, repeatedly refused to release the
results of medical tests performed on the woman's seven-month-old
son. These are but some of the countless unintended consequences
of the law known as HIPAA and its extensive privacy regulations
which took effect on April 14, 2003...[more]
Being
and Nothingness:� The Democratic Presidential Candidates' Conundrum
A
month ago, 69 percent of Democrats responding to a Pew Research
Center poll could not name any of the Democratic candidates for
president, of which there are now nine. Ho
Boy, you say.� Those folks just aren't with it.� Perhaps, but we're
betting you can't name Snow White's seven dwarfs, and that's useful
information...[more]
The
Bijudicial Campaign Reform Act of 2003
Late
last Friday, a specially appointed panel of the U.S. District Court
for the District of Columbia issued its ruling in the consolidated
constitutional challenges brought against the Bipartisan Campaign
Reform Act of 2002, popularly known as McCain-Feingold...[more]
Plagiarism:
A Sign of The Times?
They
say "history has a way of repeating itself." Especially
if you're Doris Kearns Goodwin or the late Stephen Ambrose.� These
noted historians and accused plagiarists are but two in a long line
of those who have taken liberties with the (already) written word...[more]
John
Edwards:� Stayin' Alive; Stayin' Alive
When
we wrote last week about U.S. Senator and presidential candidate
John Edwards' campaign contributions from his trial lawyer cronies,
including a criminal investigation of some of them by the Justice
Department, we omitted part of the original Washington Post story.�
We did so purposefully because that part, brief though it was, is
worth special consideration...[more]
New
Report Justifies Judicial Need to Continue to
Reallocate Fault in Product Liability Litigation
This
week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued
a notice saying that years after products are recalled or safety
warnings are issued, those same products continue to kill and injure.�
Many consumer products deemed hazardous and included on the CPSC
list have previously received substantial attention because they
were recalled or addressed under government safety standards...[more]
John
Edwards: An Oops for the Trial Lawyers' Presidential Candidate
It
is no secret that John Edwards, the Democratic U.S. Senator from
North Carolina, is the trial lawyers' anointed candidate for president.�
He was a trial lawyer himself before multimillion dollar verdicts
and audiences of only 12 people at a time no longer satisfied his
compulsion to serve humanity...[more]
Justice,
Not Magic, Returns Harry Potter Series to Library Bookshelves
With
the wave of a gavel and not a magic wand, Chief Judge Jimm Larry
Hendren of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
granted a family's request to remove access restrictions and place
the Harry Potter series back on library bookshelves available to
readers of all ages...[more]
Martha
Burk's Bad Media Day: An Up Close and Personal Account
Last
week, Augusta National Golf Club detractor and chairwoman of the
National Council of Women's Organizations, Martha Burk, demonstrated
her real face on national television.� Apparently angry that a debate
with me airing on CNNfn's "The Flip Side" had been cut short, Burk
ripped out her earpiece, made an inappropriate comment and scrambled
to exit the studio in a fit of rage...[more]
The
Collected Quotations of "Baghdad Bob," Mohammed Saeed
al-Sahaf: The Iraqi Minister of DisInformation
March
23, 2003
"In Umm Qasr, the fighting is fierce and we have inflicted
many damages.� The stupid enemy, the Americans and British, failed
completely. �They're not making any penetration."...[more]
CFIF
General Counsel Reporting From Augusta: Crying Wolf is the Only
Sound from Burk Protestors at The Masters
CFIF
General Counsel Renee Giachino is inside the gates of the Augusta
National Golf Club this week during the historic Masters tournament
to support the private club's First Amendment rights to choose
its membership, despite pressure from special interest groups
attempting to exploit the prominence of The Masters...[more]
Center
Foundation Chairman to Assist Iraq
David
M. Nummy, Chairman of the Board of the Center for Individual Freedom
Foundation, has joined a group of distinguished civilian advisors
currently preparing to provide critical transitional support to
the people of Iraq, as they seek to emerge from decades of dictatorship
and oppression...[more]
CFIF
Assistant General Counsel Debates Jesse Jackson on Affirmative
Action Admissions
The
Center for Individual Freedom's Assistant General Counsel, Reid
Alan Cox, took on the issue of race-based college and law school
admissions and, most notably, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder
of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, at a panel discussion held Monday
night at the Georgetown University Law Center...[more]
Martha:
There's a Big Difference between Iraqi Sandstorms
and Country Club Sand Traps
In
what can only be described as a vile and opportunistic attempt
to reinsert herself into the media spotlight, self-promoting feminist
Martha Burk stooped to an all-time low last week when, on the
steps of New York City Hall, she proclaimed:� "With close to a
quarter-million women in the armed services defending the values
of the United States, many of them in Iraq, we think it is offensive
to them for CBS to showcase a venue that excludes them."� Of course,
Burk was referring to the network's exclusive coverage of golf's
most prestigious tournament, the Masters, held at the private
Augusta National Golf Club...[more]
The
Not So Little Secret of Statutory Language
The
U.S. Supreme Court taught the owners of well-known trademarks
the basics of legal reading and writing last week.� (Make that
"statutory construction and drafting" for all the licensed attorneys
out there.)...[more]
What
Do Harry Potter, Captain Underpants and Huck Finn Have in Common?
Still
three months away from the scheduled release of the fifth in the
best-selling series by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter is back in the
news and topping the charts.� But this time it's not The New York
Times Bestseller List or the weekend box office numbers.� According
to the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual
Freedom, Harry Potter tops the list of books most challenged in
2002...[more]
9th
Circuit Upholds Pledge Decision
Solidifying
its reputation as a "runaway train of liberal activism," the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit last week refused to reconsider
its controversial decision over the Pledge of Allegiance...[more]
Warning!�
The
following poem contains language deemed sufficiently offensive by
a judge to warrant the civil trial of a young Southwest Airlines
flight attendant...[more]
McLawsuit
Reheated: It Doesn't Taste Any Better
The
McFatties are back. A month after a federal district judge dismissed
their class action lawsuit against McDonald's, a group of overweight
children and their parents filed a new complaint against the fast
food giant maintaining that Ronald, Grimace and the Hamburglar must
pay up for childhood obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and
heart disease...[more]
When
Dinner with the Governor Could Be a Felony
McCain-Feingold
101:� (For Those Who Passed It)
It
is not uncommon for the U.S. Congress to pass measures that those
voting for them have neither read nor understood.� Rarely does that
matter much to those doing the passing, since the impact is predominantly
on the rest of us.� Besides, all legislation is for our own good,
even when we don't comprehend that, and we should just be grateful,
shoulder the consequences and accept the wisdom of the ignorant
and inept...[more]
Random
Observations on Politics and Culture
An estimated 40 million Americans watched the conclusion of "Joe
Millionaire," establishing basic qualifications to become crash
test dummies, human shields or lemmings. Boycotting french
fries is not precisely the point. Those of you who need snow
removal, potholes repaired or traffic lights calibrated will just
have to wait a while.� Your city council is too busy issuing resolutions
condemning war, pestilence and famine...[more]
Martha
Burk's Constitutional Lesson Continues
You'll
have to forgive Martha Burk; she's no constitutional scholar.� For
months, the Center for Individual Freedom has been trying to teach
the Chairman (meant gender-neutrally, of course) of the National
Council of Women's Organizations about those 45 words known as the
First Amendment, specifically, the freedom of association...[more]
A
Legal System Going to the Dogs
"Who
Let the Dogs Out" may be an entirely different tune if animal rights
advocates get their way in Colorado.� In fact, dogcatchers, veterinarians,
pet groomers, pet sitters and even those chic new pet salons could
find themselves facing increased liability for letting the dogs
out should harm then come to Lassie, Benji, Spike or Fluffy...[more]
The
Road to Democracy Starts at the Schoolhouse Door; Teaching our Children
Beyond the "Three Rs"
Gone
are simpler days when students were taught the "Three Rs" -- reading,
writing and arithmetic.� Today, the schools confront children with
complicated social algorithms involving issues such as dress codes,
bans on "junk food," zero tolerance disciplinary policies, and political
correctness.� Undoubtedly, these "educational" changes have come
at the expense of more objective lessons that might actually improve
academic performance.� But, more importantly, the "new curriculum"
has sacrificed vigorous public education founded on free expression...[more]
Smallpox:�
The Risk of Attack vs. the Risk of Vaccination
Smallpox,
considered to have been the worst disease known to man, is the only
one ever to be eradicated.� That is an unparalleled accomplishment
of progressive medicine, organization and worldwide commitment.�
In the horrifying, potentially cataclysmic new world of terrorism,
it may also be temporary...[more]
Law
School Admissions to the University of Michigan... By the Numbers
100% ... the percentage of African-American, Hispanic, and Native
American applicants admitted in 2000 with grade point averages between
3.00 and 3.24 (B) and LSAT scores between 156-158 (between the 70th
and 80th percentiles nationally) 0%
... the percentage of Asian and Caucasian applicants admitted in 2000
with grade point averages between 3.00 and 3.24 (B) and LSAT scores
between 156-158 (between the 70th and 80th percentiles nationally)...[more]
CFIF
Executive Director to Discuss Campaign Finance "Reform" at 30th
Anniversary of CPAC
Center
for Individual Freedom Executive Director Eric Schippers will be
joining Judge Kenneth Starr of Kirkland & Ellis and election
law expert Cleta Mitchell of Foley & Lardner for a panel discussion
on the ongoing lawsuit over the McCain-Feingold/Shays-Meehan Bipartisan
Campaign Reform Act (BCRA).� The panel, Campaign Finance Reform:
Does the 1st Amendment Mean Anything, will be featured at the 30th
anniversary of CPAC on Saturday, February 1 at 11:00 a.m. at the
Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia.� The discussion
will be moderated by Southeastern Legal Foundation President Phil
Kent...[more]
Legacies:
The "Where's Waldo" of Constitutional Law
Having
filed what we believe is a fairly cogent brief against the University
of Michigan's unconstitutional admissions policies, we have a modicum
of interest in the public debate that is as inevitable as the sun
rising...[more]
Undergraduate
Admissions to the University of Michigan... By the Numbers
100...
the minimum number or points an applicant needs to be guaranteed
admission 20...
the number of points an applicant receives for being African-American,
Hispanic, or Native American 0... the number of points
an applicant receives for being Arab, Asian, or Caucasian...[more]
From
Bang to Whimper:� Final Rites for Arming America
When
we last wrote on the shameful saga of Emory University history professor
Michael Bellesiles in October, 2002, he had just resigned that job.�
His book, Arming America:� the Origins of a National Gun Culture,
had been discredited as a work of falsified, misrepresented and
exaggerated research...[more]�
"Beating
a Dead Horse"
Chief
Justice William Rehnquist kicked off the New Year with a familiar
mantra, pleading with Congress to help extricate the federal judiciary
from its current crisis of overcrowded dockets, too few judges and
inadequate resources.� "The 2002 Year-End Report on the Federal
Judiciary is my 17th," Rehnquist wrote.� "As I look back on these
reports, I am struck by the number of issues that seem regularly
to crop up, or perhaps never go away - judicial vacancies, the need
for additional judgeships, judges' salaries, judicial appropriations."...[more]
Medical
Professional Liability Crisis Bleeds Across America
Get out the
tourniquet because the shark bites have America bleeding again.�
From Pennsylvania to Florida to Texas, and most states in between,
victims of the shark (AKA trial lawyer) attacks are drowning in
the Litigation Sea. National headlines make it increasingly apparent
that a rise in malpractice lawsuits has caused a swell in professional
liability insurance premiums, with the current medical liability
crisis driving up health care costs and resulting in less access
to care...[more]
Bigfoot
Cloned and Other Before Breakfast Beliefs
Ray
Wallace, a creator of Bigfoot, died late last year.� His family
subsequently revealed the origin of the hoax that at times since
1958 has enthralled a nation, enriched tabloid newspapers and sent
hordes of Bigfoot Believers tromping through the woods of the Pacific
Northwest in quest of the mythical creature...[more]
Guest
Commentary
Tyranny
of the Minority: Newdows Methods Threaten Far More than the
Pledge of Allegiance
By
Erin Murphy: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit drew
criticism from both ends of the spectrum last year when it ruled
that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance
are unconstitutional. Even Congress managed to unite on the issue,
and most Americans anxiously anticipate an overruling next year
when the case is decided by the Supreme Court. But more troubling
than the possibility of the High Court declaring us a Godless nation
is the legitimacy such a ruling would grant to the Rev. Dr. Michael
Newdow, who brought the case...[more]
Send
in the Clowns: Atheist Reverend to Argue His "Under God"
Challenge Before High Court
By
Erin Murphy: The
Court recently granted atheist Michael Newdow permission to represent
himself in his suit to remove "under God" from the Pledge.
Newdow lawyer, medical doctor and founder and reverend of
the First Amendmist Church of True Science doesnt technically
have standing to argue before the High Court because he has been
a member of the bar for less than the required three years, but
the Court agreed to let him argue anyway...[more]
Pass
on the Tofurky, Please
PETA Calls for Pardoning of All Turkeys This Thanksgiving
By
Erin Murphy: As with many aspects of American society,
Thanksgiving dinner just wouldnt be complete without a healthy
helping of guilt. For most, the purported hypocrisy of celebrating
our friendship with a people whose land and lives we allegedly stole
will suffice. But in the spirit of Thanksgiving excess and abundance,
PETA has cooked up another accusation to stir our consciousness:
capital punishment of turkeys...[more]
Boxer
Breaks a Promise: The Expected Filibuster of 9th Circuit Nominee
Carolyn Kuhl Perpetuates a Partisan Temper Tantrum
By
Congressman Darrell Issa: Earlier this year, during the
confirmation process of Federal Appeals Court nominee Miguel Estrada,
Sen. Barbara Boxer made a promise. Boxer said that while she supported
the filibuster of Miguel Estrada she would not use the filibuster
to block the President's nominees if they would simply answer the
Senate's questions...[more]
The
Judicial System Is Anything But Just
By
Paul LaRose, M.D: Finally, we have a medical liability reform
bill in Florida, for what its worth. By all accounts, it doesnt
appear to be worth much. Well just have to wait and see if
our insurance premiums stabilize and if we even have insurance companies
left in the state...[more]
Intellectual
Diversity Endangered
By
Anne Neal: One pundit on higher education has described
our colleges and universities as islands of oppression in a sea
of freedom. While the comment is humorous, the observation is quite
serious. The lack of intellectual diversity on our college and university
campuses is increasingly troublesome and of profound concern to
all of us interested in the education of our next generation of
leaders...[more]
Accessing
the Internet
By
Senator George Allen: The Senate will soon vote on The
Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act (S. 150), my bill that permanently
prohibits taxes on a consumer's ability to access the Internet.
This law should and must pass to advance Internet access and digital
opportunity for all people in the United States...[more]
Setting
the Record Straight on Judge Pickering
By Senator
Orrin G. Hatch: In 1962, the Governor of Mississippi
violated an order of the United States Supreme Court and personally
barred James Meredith, a black student, from enrolling at the University
of Mississippi. It took hundreds of United States Marshals
and National Guard soldiers, acting under the direction of President
Kennedy, to ensure his enrollment. Wide-scale rioting ensued.
Dozens of U.S. Marshals were shot; hundreds of people were injured;
two men were killed. This is the Mississippi that still existed
when Judge Charles Pickering sent his young children to newly integrated
public schools in Jones County, Mississippi, in the 1960s...[more]
Globalizing
the Supreme Law of the Land?
By
Christopher Armstrong: In a rare television interview on ABCs
Sunday morning public affairs show "This Week," Supreme
Court Justice Stephen Breyer commented in July that "[t]hrough
commerce, through globalization, through the spread of democratic
institutions, through immigration to America, it's becoming more
and more one world of many different kinds of people. And how they're
going to live together across the world will be the challenge, and
whether our Constitution and how it fits into the governing documents
of other nations, I think will be a challenge for the next generations."...[more]
An
Econ Lesson for Governor Blagojevich
By
Greg Blankenship: When government hikes taxes government
tends to receive less revenue than expected, and when government
cuts taxes government tends to lose less revenue than opponents
of tax cuts contend. This is because changes in tax policy
influence the way economic actors behave. Its simple
really if you want less of something tax it,
if you want more, dont...[more]
Patriot
Day
By Bruce
Herschensohn: A few nights ago I came home late and turned
on television and there was a movie, a comedy filmed in New York
made maybe about a decade ago. The skyline was behind the lead actor
and actress who were talking to each other, and there in the far
distance in lower Manhattan were the two towers of the World Trade
Center standing high above the rest of the city. It was chilling
to suddenly see those towers standing alive...[more]
Counting
the Cloture Votes: Analyzing Senators Support for Judicial
Nomination Filibusters
By
Thomas L. Jipping: In the days prior to adjourning for
its August 2003 recess, the U.S. Senate voted against ending debate
on three nominations to the U.S. Courts of Appeal. Some say these
filibusters, and the others said to be coming in the months ahead,
are part of an unprecedented Democrat-led obstruction campaign.
But Democrats say Republicans have done the same thing in the past.
These competing claims, and the certainty that efforts to end judicial
nomination filibusters will continue when the Senate returns in
September, make this a good time objectively to examine the historical
record.
To
read more, visit the Center
for Individual Freedom Foundation.
Religious
Freedom and Educational Choice Don't Conflict
By
Christopher J. Armstrong For reasons that defy understanding,
opponents of school voucher programs have resurrected a thoroughly
defeated argument -- namely, that the use of public funds for tuition
at religious schools is unconstitutional...[more]
Affirmative
Action Debate Continues In Dueling Dispatches
Reprinted
below are letters exchanged between U.S. Congressman John Dingell
(D. MI) and Mr. Ward Connerly of the American Civil Rights Coalition.�
We were informed by Mr. Connerly that prior to receiving Rep. Dingell's
"butt-out" letter, Mr. Connerly had "no direct and personal contact
with the man."� According to Mr. Connerly, Rep. Dingell "was responding,
without solicitation, to my announcement that I would assist in
trying to qualify for the ballot an initiative much like California's
209 to eliminate race preferences in Michigan."...[more]
University
of California Rejects 'Reason in the Schools'?
By
Stephen I. Miran: In
the liberal tradition, students ought not to be indoctrinated, but
rather presented with careful analyses of various perspectives,
eventually to analyze things themselves. As Thomas Jefferson said
in his first Inaugural Address, Error of opinion may be tolerated
where reason is free to combat it. This was, until recently,
an underlying tenet of the University of Californias academic
freedom policy, which advocated dispassionate analysis and dissection
of polarized viewpoints. But new proposals by University officials
seek to revise its academic freedom policy to allow greater passion
in the classroom, all while throwing away students rights
against indoctrination...[more]
Judicial
Nominees: Levin, Stabenow must help end deadlock; it clogs up courts
By Michigan
Attorney General Mike Cox: "He broke it." "No, she did."
"But he started it." Is this the typical "conversation" I hear every
night when I get home to my three youngest kids? Nope. Unfortunately,
this is the essence of the debate that the U. S. Senate, including
our own U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, is having
over blocking a vote on President George W. Bush's judicial nominees
to the federal court of appeals...[more]
Extra
Innings for Baseball Litigation
By
Christopher J. Armstrong: Alex Popov went to a ballgame,
caught a ball, lost the ball, filed a lawsuit, lost the ball again,
and at the end of the game may end up losing his shirt. The dispute
began in October 2001 when baseball star Barry Bonds hit his record-setting
73rd homerun. The feat marked a major league record for
single-season homeruns, and is a moment which will be enshrined
in baseball history...[more]
Filtering
the First Amendment
By
Christopher J. Armstrong: On Monday, the Supreme Court
held that the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) does not
violate the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause.� The decision,
United States v American Library Association, No. 02-361, paves
the way for the Act to be enforced against public libraries across
the nation...[more]
The
New Glass Ceiling
By
John C. Eastman: Stellar credentials and a "well-qualified"
rating from the American Bar Association, its highest, following
her nomination to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals should have
made the road to confirmation an easy one for Judge Carolyn Kuhl...[more]
Class
Action Reform Gets Verdict in the House, Jury Still Out in the Senate
By Christopher
Armstrong: The U.S. House of Representatives this week
passed the Class Action Fairness Act of 2003 (CAFA) by a vote of
253 to 170.� The bill would make it easier for defendants to move
class actions into federal court by expanding federal jurisdiction
and is a necessary first step in providing uniform standards for
such lawsuits and preventing forum shopping by plaintiffs' attorneys.�
Nevertheless, despite this much-needed reform, CAFA faces considerable
opposition in the Senate...[more]
Unveiled
by Mugshots, Not the DMV
By
Christopher J. Armstrong: The case of a Muslim woman
in Florida who sued the state to keep her face shrouded with a veil
in her driver's license photo took an interesting turn last week.
�Sultaana Freeman already had posed for full facial photographs
-- albeit in jail -- when mugshots were taken following two arrests
in her former home state of Illinois.� Of course, the other event
in the case was that the state judge hearing this latest crusade
taken up by the ACLU ruled that Florida could require Freeman to
remove her niqab -- a Muslim veil which covers everything but her
eyes -- for her driver's license photo in order to protect public
safety and security interests...[more]
Slay
the Withholding Beast
Joseph
Pickett: Few
Americans under 65 realize the withholding box on their pay stubs
is a relatively recent addition. Federal withholding of income taxes
was a 'temporary' measure enacted during the Second World War as
a means to ensure that the government received desperately needed
revenue to fund the war effort...[more]
Wishing
Our Rights, and America, Away
Joseph
Pickett: The San Francisco Gate recently ran this blaring headline,
"9th Circuit Rules Individuals Have No Right to
Bear Arms." So that's that for the 2nd Amendment?
Not quite yet. This is, aftes all, the 9th Circuit Court...[more]
Civil
rights guardian, outstanding nominee
By
Willie J. Huntley, Jr. (Courtesy of the Mobile Register 2003 � All
rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.): The Washington-headquartered,
liberal witch-hunt against President Bush's federal judicial nominees
has targeted its next victim, and it is one of our own: Bill Pryor,
the attorney general of Alabama...[more]
'Assault
Weapons' Bait-and-Switch
By Christopher J. Armstrong:
On Capitol Hill, an effort is underway to renew the "assault weapons"
ban passed as part of the Federal Violent Crimes Act of 1994, set
to expire in September of 2004.� The debate is being framed -- most
notably in the media -- with images of villainous machine-guns and
talk of automatic weapons "flooding our streets."...[more]
Fixing
a Broken Confirmation Process:
Ending Permanent Judicial Nominee Filibusters
By Thomas
L. Jipping, J.D:. The Center for Individual Freedom joined
Concerned Women for America and more than 30 other organizations
in submitting this report to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the
Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights following Chairman
John Cornyn's (R-TX) hearing: "Judicial Nominations, Filibusters,
and the Constitution: When a Majority is Denied Its Right to Consent."
To download
the report, click
here (PDF)
Nike
v. Kasky: The
Argument that Just Didn't Do It for Me
By
Erik S. Jaffe: Oral argument yesterday in Nike v. Kasky
was both more and less interesting than expected. On
the plus side, several Justices seemed to be considering either
substantially narrowing or shunting to the side the commercial speech
doctrine, a position strongly supported by the Center for Individual
Freedom in its amicus brief...[more]
Burning
to Say Something
By
Professor Eugene Volokh: Monday, the Supreme Court partly
upheld and partly rejected a Virginia ban on cross-burning.� It's
tempting to see this case as a victory for those who want to restrict
"hate speech" -- tempting but incorrect...[more]
Hate
Speech at Columbia is Academic
By
U.S. Congressman J.D. Hayworth: Columbia University Assistant
Professor of Anthropology Nicholas DeGenova does not like the U.S.
military, to say the least...[more]
Malpractice
Awards Must Be Brought Under Control
By U.S. Representative Jeff Miller:
"President Bush says frivolous lawsuits have never helped anyone.
Yeah, tell that to my new house in Georgetown." This quote,
cited from the Raleigh News and Observer, are the words of Sen.
John Edwards, presidential candidate and former trial lawyer, speaking
at the annual Gridiron dinner at the Capital Hilton in Washington.
Although said in jest, this gives some insight to the mindset of
many in Congress who oppose medical professional liability insurance
reform...[more]
Senate
Math 41 Is Greater Than 59!
By
U.S. Senator Zell Miller: A portly British statesman
once famously said that "Democracy is based on reason and fair
play." But there's nothing reasonable or fair about what's
been happening in the Senate recently. The filibuster against Bush-nominee
Miguel Estrada is not just an expensive waste of time and taxpayer
money, it's also an affront to majority rule, the principle that
Democracy operates on everywhere. Everywhere, that is, but the Senate,,,[more]
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