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: Politics
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
Notes in Support of the Liberal Arts Law School
Here 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
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
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
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
Ryan’s Scariest Lie
I 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
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
2 Comments
Tracking for Law Students: Solution or Abdication?
Professors, journalists, and, most saliently, students have raised national awareness about the steep rise in college and post-graduate tuitions over the last thirty years. As someone who has a hard time remembering statistics, for me the easiest math on the … Continue reading
Could the Gender Gap Save Affirmative Action?
Abigail Fisher sued the University of Texas, Austin, arguing that UT’s admissions policies violate the Equal Protection Clause of the XIVth Amendment. Abigail Fisher is white. UT automatically accepts Texas residents who graduate in the top 10% of their high … 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
If Satan is Coming, Should I Bother to Recycle?
Rick Santorum, in a speech at Ave Maria University in 2008, asserted that Satan had set his sites on America. Santorum recently deflected questions about the speech by saying it was not relevant to his campaign. But hold on. If … 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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The Monty Python Example No. 2 (With Special Reference to Constitutional Interpretation)
As suggested in a prior post, the British comedy troupe Monty Python is generally under-acknowledged for its jurisprudential insights. Nonetheless, these are occasionally quite sharp. Here, for instance, in the “The Argument Clinic:” we have a demonstration of a basic … Continue reading
Posted in Experimental, Politics, Random Jurisprudence
Tagged constitutional law, interpretation
2 Comments
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
Mitt Romney’s Product Placement
Legal education has its detractors, but most law schools would fare well when compared to Full Sail University, the for-profit school offering various degrees in the entertainment field. As reported in the New York Times, Full Sail U offers, among … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Uncategorized
Tagged marketing, media, politics, presidential election
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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
Coase and “The Problem of Social Cost” (Again)
I don’t know if other academics experience this, but I find that, in scholarship, I am drawn to certain texts or problems over and over again for reasons that remain elusive. And so here I am again, writing yet … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Random Jurisprudence, The BAT Cave
Tagged academia, economics, jurisprudence
1 Comment
David Segal’s Paper Chase and Some Musings on Legal Education
Legal education has changed a lot since its depiction in The Paper Chase, in which the imposing Professor Kingsfield grilled James T. Hart into “thinking like a lawyer.” But you could be forgiven for thinking that all law professors stalk around … 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
1 Comment
Theoretical Unspecifiables (Theory Moves)
Theoretical Unspecifiable: [thee-uh-ret-i-kuhl un-spes-uh-fahy-uh-buhl] Noun Phrase In a theory or a mode of thought, an unspecified (and unspecifiable) term used to resolve gaps, contradictions, incommensurabilities and paradoxes. A theoretical unspecifiable is conceptually nearly vacant (and inaccessible to theorization) but at the same … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Random Jurisprudence, Theory Moves
Tagged aesthetics, jurisprudence, Teaching Moment
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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
Remembering Derrick Bell
Derrick Bell died last week at the age of 80. Though his passing was overshadowed by the death of Steve Jobs, Bell’s achievements were recounted in the New York Times and elsewhere: First African American law professor to be tenured … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Random Jurisprudence, The BAT Cave
Tagged jurisprudence, legal academia, politics, race
1 Comment
Middleness, Moderation, Compromise, and Other Inflexible Positions
Some Democratic politicians and commentators are wistfully wondering whether Occupy Wall Street and its national counterparts might not be a progressive equivalent of the right’s Tea Party Movement. A bit late–dontcha think? And ironic as well. Because it signifies a … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Random Jurisprudence, Uncategorized
Tagged law, moderation, politics, pragmatism
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