brazenandtenured- The New NormalSo is this the New Normal? The question gets asked about lots of things—Washington politics, the economy, terrorism, infrastructure, the financial markets. And the question gets asked anxiously because as a normal—as a baseline—this new normal (whatever it may be) … Continue reading →Pierre Schlag
- Notes in Support of the Liberal Arts Law SchoolHere are a few ideas for how law schools that are not in the top ten (or not in the fifteen that are in the top ten) might respond to the structural forces bearing down on legal education. For those … Continue reading →Sarah Krakoff
- Facts (The)These little items are trouble. Let me state right off that I have not always been on entirely friendly terms with “the facts.” We have had a long and, at times, uneasy relation. Things took a bad turn early. I … Continue reading →Pierre Schlag
- Gun Culture, Part 2The national spotlight is on Colorado, where Governor John Hickenlooper, a moderate democrat, has endorsed the idea of tightening gun control regulations. Hickenlooper and members of the democratically-controlled state legislature have indicated plans to introduce laws that would require universal … Continue reading →Sarah Krakoff
- Mayan End of the World Canceled (A Brazenandtenured Exclusive)Apparently, through some rather incredible and oddly parallel set of mistakes, the ending of the world will not happen on December 21st. Instead, it appears the world has already ended on November 10th. The mistake is a moment of some … Continue reading →Pierre Schlag
- The Great GOP Identity SearchIn the wake of the great Republican defeat (and despite the distraction of the Petraeus Affair) pols and pundits continue to offer advice to the Republican Party as to how it might reform itself in order to…. well, do better … Continue reading →Pierre Schlag
- Sustainability and Equity in a Climate Changed WorldA small group of environmental law professors gathered recently for a two-day workshop on the concept and practice of sustainability. I was asked to lead a discussion about the relationship between sustainability and equity. The group decided to take the … Continue reading →Sarah Krakoff
- Book Review (and subtext)The recent publication of [.......] by Professor X marks a moment in the history of [.......]. It establishes him as one of the leading, if not the leading, authority on the subject of [.......]. Professor X works at Zip Code Law … Continue reading →Pierre Schlag
- We Built It (Part II–Factors of Production)“We built it.” So runs the mantra of the GOP. To which there is only one possible response: Well, actually no you didn’t. And let me explain why since it’s not addressed in my last post on this subject. … Continue reading →Pierre Schlag
- Ryan’s Scariest LieI know sub-three hour marathoners, I am friends with sub-three hour marathoners, and I have run a sub-three hour marathon. Paul Ryan, you are no sub-three hour marathoner. To many, Paul Ryan’s marathon lie is probably the most innocuous one … Continue reading →Sarah Krakoff
- The New Normal
Category Archives: Nature/Culture
The New Normal
So is this the New Normal? The question gets asked about lots of things—Washington politics, the economy, terrorism, infrastructure, the financial markets. And the question gets asked anxiously because as a normal—as a baseline—this new normal (whatever it may be) … Continue reading
Facts (The)
These little items are trouble. Let me state right off that I have not always been on entirely friendly terms with “the facts.” We have had a long and, at times, uneasy relation. Things took a bad turn early. I … Continue reading
Gun Culture, Part 2
The national spotlight is on Colorado, where Governor John Hickenlooper, a moderate democrat, has endorsed the idea of tightening gun control regulations. Hickenlooper and members of the democratically-controlled state legislature have indicated plans to introduce laws that would require universal … Continue reading
Mayan End of the World Canceled (A Brazenandtenured Exclusive)
Apparently, through some rather incredible and oddly parallel set of mistakes, the ending of the world will not happen on December 21st. Instead, it appears the world has already ended on November 10th. The mistake is a moment of some … Continue reading
The Great GOP Identity Search
In the wake of the great Republican defeat (and despite the distraction of the Petraeus Affair) pols and pundits continue to offer advice to the Republican Party as to how it might reform itself in order to…. well, do better … Continue reading
Sustainability and Equity in a Climate Changed World
A small group of environmental law professors gathered recently for a two-day workshop on the concept and practice of sustainability. I was asked to lead a discussion about the relationship between sustainability and equity. The group decided to take the … Continue reading
We Built It (Part II–Factors of Production)
“We built it.” So runs the mantra of the GOP. To which there is only one possible response: Well, actually no you didn’t. And let me explain why since it’s not addressed in my last post on this subject. … Continue reading
Lance Armstrong and Our Illusions
Lance Armstrong “gave up his fight against doping accusations.” This is how it is being reported, based on Armstrong’s bristly and defiant letter of concession. Presumably, Armstrong thinks that he maintains plausible deniability (and millions of dollars in sponsorships) this … Continue reading
Gun Culture
Whatever the Second Amendment means, the problem for our society is that we have internalized the notion not only that we have the right to own guns, but we all should actually own one. The NRA’s political and legal successes have … Continue reading
Posted in Nature/Culture, Politics
Tagged cognition, culture, guns, law, politics, presidential election
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Wild-ish: Self and Community on the Trail
A lot of wilderness narratives go like this. A man walks alone into the woods/desert/mountains. He confronts nature in all its glory and terror. He barely escapes grave danger and returns to tell the tale or/He does not escape grave … Continue reading
Posted in BAT Reviews, Nature/Culture
Tagged aesthetics, culture, environment, nature, romanticism
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Waiting
I have been waiting. In an airport. For my flight. Before that I was waiting in line. For security. For passport control. For baggage drop-off. I have been waiting all morning. In line. My passport and my boarding pass … Continue reading
Too Much Information, Not Enough Knowledge
If you wanted to disappear, where would you go? A small town in southern Utah is a good bet, at least according to its reclusive inhabitants. Yet they know that their days of being off of the information grid are … Continue reading
Santorum on Religion
On Sunday, Santorum gave what the NYtimes called a full-throated defense of religion in politics. In particular, Santorum said that John F. Kennedy’s speech on separation of church of state made him want to “throw up.” I quote: “To say … Continue reading
Santorum Rising
No, not that Santorum. Come on people. Senator Rick Santorum, who is taking his turn as the Not-Romney republican candidate du jour. If Santorum wins in Michigan, he may be more than just the Not-Romney of today; he could be … Continue reading
Posted in Nature/Culture, Politics
Tagged environment, politics, presidential election
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Gingrich Rising
Some days you just know it’s going to be a really good day: The Sunday Times on the table. Espresso frothing in the kitchen. Sourdough pancakes on the griddle. And Newt Gingrich winning in South Carolina… Could things … Continue reading
Posted in Experimental, Nature/Culture, Politics
Tagged character, politics, presidential election
3 Comments
Indians and Jews in Italy
Playing Indian in Rome Piazza Navona, one of Rome’s iconic public spaces, was dressed down for Christmas. The Piazza’s three renaissance era fountains, two designed by the incomparable sculptor Bernini, were overwhelmed by street vendors selling candy, t-shirts, fried dough … Continue reading
The Iraq War is Over
It’s over. And yet no one is talking about it much publicly. Perhaps it’s because it was never our war. We were supposed to go shopping. Remember? It was Bush’s war. And it was (like virtually all his lifetime … Continue reading
Blue Nights, Lockerbie and the Solstice
It is that time of year. The light is dying. The trees are skeletal. The sky is low and grey around the edges. Rather than seeming full of possibilities, the world narrows in scope. Climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa … Continue reading
Simula Life
My local bookstore is a pretty good one—as book stores go. It regularly brings in authors (both renowned and good). Its reader recommendations are generally excellent. It purveys only a minimum of kitsch (greeting cards and such). Its shelves are … Continue reading
Is Neuroscience the Death of Free Will?
So reads the title of a recent opinion piece in the New York Times by Professor Eddy Nahmias. It warrants a bit of attention if not for its substance, then at least for what it illustrates about the contemporary state of … Continue reading
Cain, Cows, the Economy and the Environment
Herman Cain unleashed an advertisement in Iowa, claiming that the EPA’s plans to regulate methane from cows and dust from farms would be the death knell for Iowa farmers. Truth, or even truthiness, as Steven Colbert would say, do not … Continue reading
Posted in Nature/Culture, Politics
Tagged economics, environment, methane, nature, recession
1 Comment
The Economy versus the Environment? Not! (Or Why to Be Tigger Instead of Eeyore this Halloween)
Jobs versus the Environment. It’s an old rhetorical battle that has recently acquired new life. Here are some examples of its past. In the 1970s and 80s, when the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts were passed and initially enforced, … Continue reading
Posted in Nature/Culture, Politics
Tagged economics, environment, politics, recession, time
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Jobs, Death, Philanthropy and Taxes
As a former user of pc’s and various other non-Apple tech products, I still have the fervor of the newly converted. I love my MacBook Pro, my iPhone and iPad, and think everything Apple is faster, more intuitive, less buggy, … Continue reading
Posted in Nature/Culture, Politics
Tagged decadence, economics, environment, politics, recession
3 Comments
Narcissistic Interpretation (Theory Moves)
Narcissistic Interpretation: [nahr-suh-sis-tik in-tur-pri-tey-shuhn] Noun Phrase A tendency to systematically misread the work of others in a way that confirms one’s world view or satisfies one’s psychological, political or professional needs. Antonym: charity in interpretation See also: déformation professionelle; taking … Continue reading
Posted in Nature/Culture, Random Jurisprudence, Theory Moves
Tagged cognition, interpretation, Teaching Moment, theory moves
2 Comments
America—The Young? (Full-On Decadence)
It is a commonplace that America is a young country. The idea rests on an implicit frame of comparison (Europe) as well as the ascription of an origin in 1776 or 1789 or some such date. The idea also rests on … Continue reading
