Eric Holder’s left many baleful legacies: being censured by the House of Representatives; withholding subpoenaed documents, proving untruthful about a failed gun-walking caper in Mexico; failing to enforce laws on the books, from immigration to the elements of the Affordable Care Act; illegally billing the government for his own private use of a government Gulfstream jet; snooping on Associated Press reporters; giving de facto exemptions to renegade IRS politicos; and trying to create civilian trials for terrorist killers like KSM, one of the architects of the 9/11 attacks. But he will be known mostly for re-teaching Americans to think of race as essential, not incidental, to our characters.
I’m taking part in a media colloquium at the Hoover Institution today — what should be a fun and informative back-and-forth over what to look for in the 2014 election: surprise races, likely November outcomes, plus lessons for the two parties.
As we start the final stretch before the midterm elections, many analysts are convinced that Obamacare isn't the hot political issue it once was. While the flood of negative publicity about the law has subsided of late, a majority of people still oppose it, according to a Real Clear Politics average of polls taken from Sept. 2-15.
Diane Webber, a British lawyer who recently did a lengthy study of detention law in a variety of countries, writes in with the following account of the European Court of Human Rights decision earlier this month in Hassan v. United Kingdom(ECHR Application No. 29750/09, Judgment of Grand Chamber, September 16, 2014):
Martha Nussbaum of the University of Chicago and author of Creating Capabilities talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about an alternative to GDP for measuring economic performance at the national level. She is a proponent of the capabilities approach that emphasizes how easily individuals can acquire skills and use them, as well as the capability to live long and enjoy life. Nussbaum argues that government policy should focus on creating capabilities rather than allowing them to emerge through individual choices and civil society.
Every new school year starts with great excitement and anticipation for students, teachers, and parents alike. This year will carry special significance throughout much of the country, including Utah, as schools complete the transition to the Common Core standards (a.k.a., Utah Core State Standards).
Below is the audio of a recent Russian language interview I did with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on the legality of US military intervention against ISIS. The program also includes commentary by foreign policy experts Mikhail Bernstam of the Hoover Institution, Anna Barshefsky, and Daniel Goure. I know we have some readers who understand Russian; the audio may be of interest to you.
Following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address in January, Rep. Ami Bera joined in delivering a response on behalf of the group No Labels, a bipartisan coalition he says is working to build trust, find common ground and break the gridlock in Washington.
