“It’s become commonplace among observers of U.S. politics to decry partisan polarization in Congress. Indeed, a Pew Research Center analysis finds that, on average, Democrats and Republicans are farther apart ideologically today than at any time in the past 50 years. But the dynamics behind today’s congressional polarization have been long in the making. The… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
The Post Post-Cold War World
Axios: “Bruce Mehlman— founder of the government relations firm Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas — sketches how the two parties can spin Ukraine during this year’s midterm campaigns.” See his deck – The Post Post-Cold War World Russia-Ukraine War & Its Consequences Continue Reading
Publicizing Corporate Secrets for Public Good
Morten, Christopher, Publicizing Corporate Secrets for Public Good (February 13, 2022). University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 171, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract= “Federal regulatory agencies in the United States hold a treasure trove of valuable information essential to a functional society. Yet little of this immense and nominally “public” resource is accessible to the public.… Continue Reading
Jan. 6 committee says Trump violated multiple laws in effort to overturn election
Politico: “The Jan. 6 select committee says its evidence has shown that then-President Donald Trump and his campaign tried to illegally obstruct Congress’ counting of electoral votes and “engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States.” In a major release of its findings, filed in federal court late Wednesday, the committee suggested that… Continue Reading
Text of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address
March 1, 2022 – Full text Remarks of President Joe Biden – State of the Union Address As Prepared for Delivery, United States Capitol. “Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President, our First Lady and Second Gentleman. Members of Congress and the Cabinet. Justices of the Supreme Court. My fellow Americans. Last year COVID-19 kept us apart. This year we… Continue Reading
How Do You Seat A Jan. 6 Jury When Everyone Knows Something About It?
BuzzFeedNews: “Every person who appeared in court Monday as a prospective juror in the first Jan. 6 trial knew something about the Capitol attack, if only that it happened. But that wasn’t enough to get them sent home. Instead, the judge and the lawyers spent hours painstakingly parsing exactly what they knew, where they got… Continue Reading
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spotlights the urgent need for crypto policy
Fortune – Jacob Carpenter, Data Sheet: “For the vast majority of those watching the rapid rise of cryptocurrency, its emergence has been something of a curious novelty. Is crypto a high risk-reward investment? A shiny new tech toy? The future of money? A pyramid scheme? Russia’s nascent war against Ukraine, however, shows that it’s time… Continue Reading
The Long Crusade of Clarence and Ginni Thomas
The New York Times Magazine: “The Supreme Court justice and his wife battled for years for a more conservative America. New reporting shows how far she was willing to go after Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. The call to action was titled “Election Results and Legal Battles: What Now?” Shared in the days after the… Continue Reading
Trump’s Presidential Records Act Violations: Short- and Long-Term Solutions
Lawfare: “…As in various other situations in which Trump has flouted well-established laws and norms that typically constrain the president, his apparent brazen disregard of the PRA [Presidential Records Act] presents two sets of questions: First, what are available mechanisms for accountability against a president who violates these rules? And second, what future reforms would… Continue Reading
Poverty in the United States in 2020
CRS Report – Poverty in the United States in 2020, February 10, 2022: “Calendar year 2020 saw the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and an accompanying risein the poverty rate—the percentage of the population living in poverty (economic hardship characterized by low income). Under the Census Bureau’s official poverty measure, the nation as a whole… Continue Reading
Upcoming US Law Webinars – March 2022
In Custodia Legis: “In March, we are introducing a new addition to our orientation to legal research webinars. To date, this series has included recurring classes on navigating legal resources from the U.S. government’s three branches: statutes, administrative laws, and court opinions. Our new class on federal legislative history will offer a deeper dive into… Continue Reading
Google to overhaul ad tracking on Android phones used by billions; French watchdog says Google Analytics poses data privacy risks
Washington Post: “Google announced it will begin the process of getting rid of long-standing ad trackers on its Android operating system, upending how advertising and data-collection work on phones and tablets used by more than 2.5 billion people around the world. Right now, Google assigns special IDs to each Android device, allowing advertisers to build… Continue Reading
