Teleporting with horses

Once upon a time, so-called public schools¹ were largely a response to two constraints: scarcity of educational resources, and difficulty of travel.  But those constraints are no longer as significant as they once were.

Ask Different

Apparently, research has established that this is the funniest joke in the world:

Contempt of General Court

As the members of the Croydon school board wait to hear whether they’ll be held in contempt of court for doing exactly what the court ordered them to do, let’s take this opportunity to reflect on just how they ended up in this situation.

Friends don’t let friends amend the Constitution (Part 2)

Recently I tried to explain why, until we fix the ‘judicial review’ problem, trying to amend constitutions is pointless.   Today I’d like to go a little further, and discuss why it’s actually much worse than pointless.   

Friends don’t let friends amend the Constitution

Recently, there’s been some talk about amending the federal constitution, much of it inspired by Mark Levine’s book The Liberty Amendments.  Whenever I hear this, I wonder whether these people have heard the story of the 14th Amendment. 

Felling an oak to get an acorn

When I tell someone that I’m running for state representative, I’m almost always asked:  Are you a Democrat or a Republican?

It always makes me think of a story told by Joseph Campbell.  

The Lewis Carroll School of Law

The legal battle that Croydon has been waging to protect its school choice program is demonstrating how difficult it is to have a straightforward discussion regarding school funding in New Hampshire, because no one seems to agree on what the rules are, or even how basic English words and phrases (like ‘and’ or ‘but not limited to’) are being defined by different branches of government.

Courcruxes

Suppose you buy a car made by General Motors.  And there is a problem with the car — the brakes aren’t designed properly, and you’re severely injured in a car crash.  So you want to sue GM.

And suppose you’re required to do that in a court that is owned and operated by GM.  In particular, the judge and the other officers of the court are employees of GM.

Crimefighters

Every once in a while, even an Ivy League law professor can surprise you by saying something sensible.  For years I’ve been quoting Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School on the dangers of using judicial review to circumvent the formal constitutional amendment process:

Wasted by your vote

Suppose you’re asked to vote, and your choice is between having one of your arms broken, or one of your legs.  Which do you vote for?  And later, when you want to protest, how do you respond to the fact that you did, in fact, vote for one of those?