Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: July 9, 2018

SCOTUSBlog – Live blog of nomination with First Mondays

Andrew Hamm on Jul 9, 2018 at 7:45 pm – “We live-blogged with First Mondays as President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. The transcript is available below and at this link.”

The New York Times – Kavanaugh Is Nominee for Supreme Court Confirmation Would Create Conservative Hold on the Court

  • President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, a member of Washington’s conservative legal establishment, will set off a furious battle.
  • Replacing Justice Anthony M. Kennedy with a committed conservative will fundamentally alter the balance of the court.”

Washington Post – Trump picks Judge Kavanaugh for Supreme Court – Conservative stalwart has deep ties to the Republican establishment. “Brett Kavanaugh, 53, served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and worked in George W. Bush’s White House before moving to the federal bench. He served as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy in the early 1990s alongside Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, whom Trump nominated for the Supreme Court last year. Kavanaugh has endorsed robust views of presidential powers The record of the federal appeals court judge suggests he would be more to the right than retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.”

EU – 3D printing: sorting out the legal issues

EU Parliament News: “3D printing is transforming how products are made, but many legal issues such civil liability and intellectual property rights still need to be clarified. Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, is changing how products are designed, developed, manufactured, and distributed. By 2021, the 3D printing market could be worth €9.6 billion,… Continue Reading

The Book of Hope

Rockefeller Institute of Government – Nancy Zimpher: “Working together, good people are changing the world. In his new book Reclaiming the American Dream: Proven Solutions for Creating Economic Opportunity for All,[1] Ben Hecht spotlights efforts that are successfully addressing some of the country’s most pressing issues: meaningful employment, economic empowerment, impactful civic involvement, education that… Continue Reading

Inclusive government forms

govfresh: “According to analytics.usa.gov, government forms such as the U.S. Transportation Security Administration TSA Pre✓® application and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services case status are two of the most accessed federal government web pages. The ‘Select One’ chapter in Sara Wachter-Boettcher’s book, “Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech,” emphasizes… Continue Reading

Hardest Colleges to Get Into in Every State

“Completing college on time is a significant achievement that can set the stage of a young person’s entire life. The application process itself is a major undertaking, as applicants grapple with finances, paperwork, and scheduling campus visits — on top of what are likely already busy high school schedules. And acceptance is no guarantee. The… Continue Reading

HHS Report – Economic Opportunity and the Opioid Crisis: Geographic and Economic Trends

“This study examines relationships between indicators of economic opportunity and the prevalence of prescription opioids and substance use in the United States. We have three primary findings: The prevalence of drug overdose deaths and opioid prescriptions has risen unevenly across the county, with rural areas more heavily impacted. Specific geographic areas, such as Appalachia, parts… Continue Reading

The Watchdogs After Forty Years: Recommendations for Our Nation’s Federal Inspectors General

POGO: “Forty years ago, the U.S. Congress enacted the Inspector General Act of 1978. This landmark law established a greater stature for government oversight by our federal watchdogs. Congress granted the government agency inspectors general (IGs) new authorities. The new law promised more powerful, independent, and effective oversight than under previous law. Federal IGs have… Continue Reading

June 2018 ranks third warmest on record for U.S.

NOAA – Nation hit with 6 billion-dollar disasters so far this year “We’re halfway through 2018 and the U.S. has already experienced six billion-dollar weather disasters. These include four severe storms and two winter storms that were responsible for 36 deaths combined and caused significant and costly damage. The average June temperature across the contiguous U.S. was… Continue Reading

NBER paper – economists attempt to infer demographics based on people’s consumer behavior or media consumption

BusinessInsider: “A new paper from University of Chicago economists attempts to infer demographics based on people’s consumer behavior or media consumption. The researchers found that “no individual brand is as predictive of being high-income as owning an Apple iPhone” based on 2016 data. In the United States, if you have an Apple iPhone or iPad,… Continue Reading

Box CEO says mistrust of Google and Facebook is a ‘contagion’ that could spread to every tech company

Recode: The worst-case scenario for us is that Silicon Valley gets so far behind on these issues that we just can’t be trusted as an industry. “Aaron Levie isn’t worried about his company, Box, being regulated — but he is worried about what happens if the government has to do something about Facebook. “It’s a… Continue Reading

The Economist – What if people were paid for their data?

Advocates of “data as labour” think users should be paid for using online services [paywall – you may read this free if you have not visited the site this month]: “DATA SLAVERY.” Jennifer Lyn Morone, an American artist, thinks this is the state in which most people now live. To get free online services, she… Continue Reading