Not a Bad Week…

It remains unclear where we are heading in Iraq and whether the IRS investigation will gain much traction. But this was a pretty good week for the Supreme Court. Wednesday, SCOTUS decided unanimously that police need warrants to search cellphones. As the New York Times reported: "While the decision will offer protection to the 12 …

Affirmative Action: Unequal Protection?

The Economist has come out against race-based affirmative action in the United States, a surprising (to me) move given the magazine's socially left-of-center outlook (e.g., for legalizing drugs and banning handguns). Indeed, the way in which affirmative action as currently practiced discriminates against Asians even more than against whites is difficult to justify. (I argued …

NYS Supreme Court Judicially Amends the State Constitution

The New York Constitution prohibits pork-barrel spending and corporate welfare: government money for private projects. Here's what the clause says: [T]he money of the state shall not be given or loaned to or in aid of any private corporation or association, or private undertaking. Couldn't be clearer, right? Wrong. The state supreme court today ruled …