Scott Lemieux

PUNITIVE DAMAGES AND LESSONS ABOUT THE COURT. The Supreme Court today will hear oral arguments in Philip Morris USA v. Mayola Williams. The case concerns a $79.5 million punitive damage claim against Phillip Morris that was upheld by the Oregon Supreme Court. (See here and here for more background.) There’s a good chance that the […]

AND THEN WHAT? I have a lot of problems with Amy Sullivan‘s recent piece about the opportunities allegedly presented by David Kuo‘s new book. First of all, I reject her entire premise that Democratic politicians don’t reach out to religious believers, and since she never mentions the names of prominent Democrats who treat believers with […]

THE MAJORITARIAN DIFFICULTY II. Looks like it’s Jonah Goldberg Monday here on Tapped. Kevin Drum finds him claiming that the last “100 years” of liberalism has been about “shoving things down people’s throats.” Drum identifies the most obvious problem: the core elements of the liberal accomplishments of the last century — most importantly the New […]

SEPERATE AND UNEQUAL. To follow up on my general concerns about federal rules intended to make single-sex education more common, Brad Plumer cites the details of the ACLU’s suit against gender-based education in Louisiana, which persuasively cites evidence that this education reinforces gender sterotypes. More concerns expressed here and here. I also agree that it’s […]

IF YOU LIKE THE WAR ON (SOME CLASSES OF PEOPLE WHO USE SOME) DRUGS, YOU’LL LOVE ABORTION CRIMINALIZATION. Jill Filipovic, while discussing the incredibly draconian new abortion ban set to be enacted in Nicaragua (which doesn’t even have an exemption of the life of the mother), points us to data which reinforces a point that […]

PROCEDURE MASKING SUBSTANCE. Tom Maguire objects to my suggestion that objections to the Supreme Court of New Jersey ‘s recent decision from (nominal) supporters of civil unions are, at bottom, substantive rather than procedural: My personal opinion is that gay marriage or civil unions is fine if enacted by the state legislature but wrong if […]

THE MAJORITARIAN DIFFICULTY. Glenn Greenwald makes a very important point about yesterday’s judicial decision in New Jersey: The decision today is entirely consistent with the democratic will of New Jersey residents. The New Jersey legislature already enacted a domestic partnership bill two years ago which recognizes, and grants a whole array of marital rights to, […]

THE COMING COUNTERMOBILIZATION ARGUMENT. In the wake of the decision of the Supreme Court of New Jersey that same-sex couples are entitled to the same benefits as heterosexual married couples (although not necessarily under the rubric of “marriage”), we’re bound to hear a lot of speculation about how this will affect the upcoming election (which […]

A MOST CYNICAL APPRAISAL. Nothing if not shameless, rather than letting his appalling behavior in 2000 lie in dignified silence, Antonin Scalia has decided to speak on the issue again: Georgetown students attending the lecture had questions not only about Scalia�s views on education, but on hot topics such as the sale of medicinal marijuana, […]