In the Dobbs case, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) sent abortion back to the states. In West Virginia v. EPA, the high court tackled the administrative state. In the wake of those landmarks, a key case to watch is Consumer Financial Protection Board v. All America Check Cashing, now in the Fifth Circuit.
My friend Helena Rosenblatt and I debated whether classical liberalism is anti-democratic, for Timbro’s Ideologi podcast, moderated by Amanda Broberg. Helena delivered an opening statement, and then I delivered an opening statement. Here is an excerpt of my opener, lightly edited.
I present the relationship between democracy and the political persuasion that in the 1770s Adam Smith and others christened “liberal.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom has spent more than $100,000 on ads urging Floridians to move to California. In his ad, Governor Newsom says “I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight, or join us in California where we still believe in freedom.”
Before the Fourth of July holiday, fellow blogger K. Lloyd Billingsley asked whether California’s new inflation relief package will reduce inflation. That’s an excellent question.
As the California Globe reports, Gov. Newsom and state legislators have approved a $17 billion inflation relief package that will pay $350 each to joint filers making up to $150,000. Those who make up to $125,000 a year, or joint filers making up to $250,000, will get $250 each. Those who make up to $250,000 a year, or $500,000 filing jointly, get $200 each. With additions for dependents, “Californians could see as much $1,050, $750, or $600 coming in per household depending on tier level.”
Last week, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Finally, the Court has struck down one of its most poorly reasoned cases: Roe v. Wade. In 1992, the Court had an opportunity to do this in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. It failed, though jettisoning Roe’s trimester system, because a progressive core of justices kept the essence of the opinion that abortion is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. The Casey decision was written by Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy and David Souter (all three less then stellar picks from Republican presidents) and joined by the Court’s old school liberals, Justices Harry Blackmun and John Paul Stevens.
Greed, a favorite movie theme of movies, can create gold when mixed with ego, power, and an artful filmmaker. Few films show this successful combination more artistically and viscerally than Baz Luhrmann’s film Elvis. The movie also seems destined for commercial success.
Luhrmann’s telling is historically faithful to the start, emergence, and decline of one of the most enduring icons of popular music. Featuring an outstanding performance by Austin Butler as Elvis Presley, the movie’s visuals are stunning. The editing is frenetic in places, but artful and reflective of the story’s tone. The imagery thoughtfully links critical themes, events, and emotionally transcendent moments in Elvis’s life.
The nation of Sri Lanka was many things. A beautiful country, international tourism was a major industry. A fertile land, it grew enough rice to feed all its people. Prosperous, it earned its place as an upper-middle income nation. Then it all went to hell.
In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. 570 (2008) and its progeny, the Supreme Court established the Second Amendment embodies an individual right–not tied with military service. Law-abiding citizens may possess handguns for the defense of their homes. What about the ability to carry guns outside the home for self-defense? In New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, decided this week, the Court recognized an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.
At least since Thomas Carlyle’s infamous put-down of economics as the “dismal science” (for economists having the temerity to oppose slavery), it has been popular to disparage economics as a discipline that fosters depression on the one hand and narrow self-interest on the other. Perhaps the two are linked, says the critic.
