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Daily Archives: July 1, 2012

A Visual Guide to NFIB v. Sebelius

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Follow up to The Health Care Law – Government Resources, Commentary and Analysis, see A Visual Guide to NFIB v. Sebelius: Competing Commerce Clause Opinion Lines 1789-2012, Colin P. Starger, University of Baltimore School of Law, June 30, 2012 – Download via SSRN.

  • Though Chief Justice Roberts ultimately provided the fifth vote upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) under the Tax Power, his was also one of five votes finding the ACA exceeded Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause. The doctrinal basis for Roberts’ Commerce Clause analysis was hotly contested. While Roberts argued that the ACA’s purported exercise of Commerce power “finds no support in our precedent,” Justice Ginsburg accused the Chief Justice of failing to “evaluat[e] the constitutionality of the minimum coverage provision in the manner established by our precedents.” These diametrically opposed perspectives on “precedent” might prompt observers to ask whether Roberts and Ginsburg considered the same cases as controlling. This Visual Guide shows that though the justices agreed on relevant cases, they disagreed on which opinions within those cases properly stated the law. Both Roberts and Ginsburg implicitly adopted the reasoning of prior dissents and concurrences as well as majority opinions. The map illustrates how competing lines of Commerce Clause opinions constitute a long-running doctrinal dialectic that culminated – for now – in NFIB v. Sebelius. This Visual Guide is a single-page PDF “poster” designed to serve as quick reference to the doctrinal debate.”

    • Pew – The Future of Smart Systems

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    The Future of Smart Systems, by Janna Anderson, Lee Rainie. June 29, 2012 “By 2020, experts think tech-enhanced homes, appliances, and utilities will spread, but many of the analysts believe we still won’t likely be living in the long-envisioned ‘Homes of the Future.’ Hundreds of tech analysts foresee a future with “smart” devices and environments… Continue Reading

    The Other, Other Half: Changes in the Finances of the Least Wealthy 50 Percent, 2007-2009

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    The Other, Other Half: Changes in the Finances of the Least Wealthy 50 Percent, 2007-2009, Arthur B. Kennickell. June 26, 2012 “In discussions of household wealth, it is not surprising that discussion often tends to focus on the upper half of the wealth distribution: According to the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), that group… Continue Reading

    The Externality of High Frequency Trading

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    Ye, Mao, Yao, Chen and Gai, Jiading, The Externality of High Frequency Trading (May 25, 2012). Available at SSRN. “Exogenous technology shocks that increase the speed of trading from microseconds to nanoseconds dramatically increase order cancellation/execution ratio from 26:1 to 32:1 but do not have real impact on liquidity, price efficiency and trading volume. We… Continue Reading

    Recyled tires added to pavement around the world for noise abatement

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    The Economist: “Around one heart attack in 50 in rich European countries is caused by chronic exposure to loud traffic, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The ill-effects of noise pollution in such countries are second only to those from dirty air, says the WHO. Long-term exposure can cause hormonal imbalances as well as… Continue Reading

    EIA Country Analysis Brief – Libya

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    Country Analysis Brief, Libya, June 2012 “Libya is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the holder of Africa’s largest proven oil reserves, and an important exporter of oil and natural gas. Libya’s oil production has begun to resurge since the overthrow of the Qadhafi regime. Libya’s oil production was disrupted for much… Continue Reading

    Annual Energy Outlook 2012

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    Annual Energy Outlook 2012, DOE/EIA-0383(2012) | June 201 – “The projections in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) Annual Energy Outlook 2012 (AEO2012) focus on the factors that shape the U.S. energy system over the long term. Under the assumption that current laws and regulations remain unchanged throughout the projections, the AEO2012 Reference case provides… Continue Reading

    The 10 Largest Hispanic Groups: Characteristics, Rankings, Geography

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    The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups: Characteristics, Rankings, Top Counties, by Seth Motel and Eileen Patten, June 27, 2012 “Among the 50.7 million Hispanics in the United States, nearly two-thirds (65%), or 33 million, self-identify as being of Mexican origin, according to tabulations of the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) by the Pew Hispanic Center,… Continue Reading

    UN – World Drug Report 2012

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    UN Office on Drugs and Crime: “Illicit drug markets have global dimensions and require coordinated responses on a comparable scale. In this context, the World Drug Report 2012 aims to improve understanding of the illicit drug problem and contribute to more international cooperation for countering it. This year’s edition begins with an overview of recent… Continue Reading