Ian Haney López quoted in CBC News, Sept. 14, 2015
“People don’t realize they are being manipulated, they don’t realize their basest instincts are being appealed to,” he says. “Staying silent and not addressing that is an absolute failure.”
To help smokers quit, make them vapers
Stephen Sugarman writes for Los Angeles Times, Sept. 10, 2015
Blanket laws discouraging the use of e-cigarettes are the wrong policy move. E-cigarettes have already shown themselves to be an appealing alternative to many smokers who are trying to quit. Because almost 500,000 Americans die annually from tobacco-related diseases, a lot is at stake.
Is a Supreme Court surprise coming on affirmative action in college admissions?
Richard Rothstein blog post reprinted in The Washington Post, Sept. 9, 2015
College admissions officers, ostrich-like, can favor students of all races and ethnicities whose families have little wealth for whatever reason. Such favoritism, however, is an inefficient means of remedying de jure segregation: it will round up many non-black students from low-wealth families. That is a worthy social policy goal, but is no substitute for remedying a history of state-sponsored racial injustice.
Gavin Newsom is no Kim Davis
John Yoo quoted in San Francisco Chronicle (registration required), Sept. 9, 2015
“If you’re a state officer, you have an obligation under the Constitution to carry out federal law.” You don’t have to agree with all Supreme Court rulings, Yoo added, you just have to abide by them.
The Tianjin explosions: a signal for reform
Stanley Lubman writes for The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 7, 2015
The massive explosions in Tianjin should challenge the state to take useful steps to improve legality, which would also enhance the legal environment needed for the promised economic reforms. Failure to do so will mean more loss of life and further erosion of government credibility. China can’t afford more Tianjin fireballs.
Ignore Trump—the issue of birthright citizenship has been settled
John Yoo writes for Los Angeles Times, Sept. 6, 2015
“The 14th Amendment settled the question of birthright citizenship once and for all. Conservatives should not be the ones seeking a new law, or even a constitutional amendment to reverse centuries of American tradition.”
Flat tax sounds simple, but it comes with complications
Alan Auerbach quoted in San Francisco Chronicle (registration required), Sept. 5, 2015
“The sales pitch sounds great,” said Alan Auerbach, a professor of economics and law at UC Berkeley. … “Then you’re going to have to tell people how you’re going to do it.”
I went looking for the uptick in murders in U.S. cities. Here’s what I found.
Franklin Zimring quoted in The Washington Post, Sept. 4, 2015
“Crime and violence in most big cities in the United States are pretty much as they’ve been lately,” said Franklin Zimring. “Boy, is that good news.”
Why some activists want Netflix held to a higher labor standard
David Rosenfeld quoted in The San Francisco Chronicle (registration required), Sept. 4, 2015
“Netflix is going to stand firm and take their licks on it,” he said. “In these lower-paid jobs, people come and go all the time. That’s the way they function. There’s no incentive to offer big perks to keep people around.”
Picture of Syrian refugee boy on beach prompts humanitarian action
Jamie O’Connell quoted on KTVU.com, Sept. 4, 2015
“This is one the most severe refugee crises seen anywhere at least since World War II,” said Jamie O’Connell, a senior fellow at UC Berkeley School of Law. “For, I think, any human being, it (the photo) brings home the tragedy, the human tragedy that this involves.”