(Kenneth Anderson) Temple University law professor Duncan Hollis, and my co-blogger at Opinio Juris , has a provocative new paper on SSRN addressing the question of cyber-threats and why he believes the threats need new forms of regulation.  Duncan titles his article at SSRN, “An e-SOS for Cyberspace,” and of course I can’t resist adding ‘Sending Out An…  Read More →

(David Bernstein) Earlier today, I received a robocall from a DNC-affiliated pollster asking whether I plan to vote for the Republican or Democratic congressional candidate in my district, and also asking my opinion of Barack Obama’s performance as president. The rub is that I live in Arlington, Virginia, represented in Congress by Rep. Jim Moran. Moran won reelection with almost 70% of the vote in 2008, and his district is one of the few areas... 

(Orin Kerr) A while back, I blogged at length about the Third Circuit’s pending case involving government access to historical cell-site records. The issue in the case is what legal standard the government must satisfy to obtain orders requiring phone companies to disclose such information. The district court had ruled that a warrant was required, and the government argued that the correct standard under the law was a “specific and articulable... 

(David Bernstein) Froom the comments section on Nate Silver’s 538 blog , where he notes a 1 in 4 chance of the GOP taking the Senate:  October is known for its surprises, but I would not be surprised if the electorate became more informed about the facts, and the distortions prevalent on both Network and Cable TV, and of course Talk Radio, as we approach this crucial election. And please don’t underestimate the effect of C-span.org on independent... 

(Jonathan H. Adler) Adam Liptak reports on the apparent polarization of Supreme Court clerks.  According to Liptak, Supreme Court justices increasingly hire only those who clerked for judges who share their ideological disposition.  Justices appointed by Democratic presidents hire those who clerked for lower court judges appointed by Democratic presidents and justices appointed by Republican presidents hire those who clerked for lower court judge... 

(Jonathan H. Adler) The NYT reports on studies on effective study habits.  Among other things, the it discusses studies showing that some simple, and potentially counter-intuitive, techniques can enhance recall and retention.  In particular, it suggests that varying study environments and mixing up content in study sessions enhance the effectiveness of studying.  So don’t always study in the same cubicle or space and don’t focus on a single... 

(Orin Kerr) It is common in the author footnote of law review articles — you know, the footnote that follows the author’s name that tells you who the author is — to thank people who have read drafts of the articles and offered comments to help improve it. It is also common to follow that expression of gratitude with a remark that the errors in the article are responsibility of the author rather than the people who helped with it. Here are a... 

(Jonathan H. Adler) Once virtually eliminated in the United States, bedbugs are back with a vengeance.  Earlier this summer Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  reported the little pests had made an “alarming resurgence,” possibly due to increased resistance to available pesticides and a decline in local pest control programs.   Some pesticides once used for bedbug control have been phased out from... 

(Ilya Somin) At Econlog, GMU economist Bryan Caplan and Princeton economist Bill Dickens have been debating the signaling model of education. See this post for Bryan’s most recent contribution and links to earlier parts of the debate. Bryan argues that a large part of our education spending (perhaps as much as 80%) is socially wasteful “signaling.” It is a kind of arms race where students try to get more education than than their rivals…  Read More →

(David Bernstein) Jerusalem Post : The Jerusalem District Labor Court last week rejected a temporary appeal by a Muslim teacher at a private Christian school to allow her to continue working after she decided to wear a hijab in class after teaching without one for 27 years. Essentially, the court rule that as a private Christian school that sought to maintain a strict equality between its Muslim and Christian students, the school was entitled to... 

(David Bernstein) The category of “Best Rosh Hashanah Video on YouTube” is probably not that competitive, but here’s a favorite of mine. The Hebrew is actually PG-13 or so, and not especially profound. But I love how the “author” worked with a popular and very catchy Muppets song.  Shanah Tovah, for the uninitiated, means “Happy New Year.” Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts Wednesday night.  Read More →

(Kenneth Anderson) Althouse notes the following , in a discussion of Megan McArdle criticizing a book while only half-way through it: A rule against criticizing books you haven’t finished would overprotect authors, since you  shouldn’t finish a bad book, and it would also  underprotect authors, since the critics wouldn’t disclose that they hadn’t read the whole thing. I think Althouse is right; she goes on to talk about the difference between... 

(Orin Kerr) On August 19th, Justice Kennedy gave an address that included an interesting passing remark about the role of blogs. Justice Kennedy was talking about how law review case comments generally come out too late to be of use to the Court (especially in the context of deciding whether to grant certiorari in a case). As a result, when Justice Kennedy asks his clerks to look to see  Read More →

(Orin Kerr) Three important voices in national security law — Jack Goldsmith, Bobby Chesney, and Benjamin Wittes — have launched a new blog: LAWFARE: Hard National Security Choices . There’s a bunch of interesting content up already. Here’s the intro to the blog from Ben’s first post on Wednesday: Welcome to Lawfare, a new blog by Robert Chesney, Jack Goldsmith, and myself. For those readers familiar with our prior writings, our subject... 

(Ilya Somin) John McWhorter has a good column at Root urging African-Americans to make a priority of opposing the War on Drugs {[HT: here ]: The Reclaim the Dream March “recaptured the flavor” of the March on Washington. But it isn’t an accident that this brings to mind popping an old piece of gum from the underside of a desk into your mouth to see how much “flavor” might still be left in it. The 1963 March on Washington, of course, was...