Fox News Segment on my research on policing and affirmative action

Investigators blame last month’s deadly Atlanta courthouse shooting on a series of mistakes and missteps. But some affirmative action critics say it boils down to the fact that there was a woman deputy escorting accused gunman Brian Nichols (search).

Video link of the television segment is also available if you click on the link marked "Video" in middle of the page next to the photographs.

Yet another reason to pass restrictions on law suits against gun makers

The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that gunmakers can be sued for shootings in the District that are carried out with a broad range of automatic weapons. . . .

Courts across the country have rejected nuisance and negligence claims against the gun industry, but the District's Assault Weapon Manufacturing Strict Liability Act added another element to the city's case that is keeping it alive. Passed in 1990, the law makes the manufacturer, dealer or importer of any assault weapon or machine gun strictly liable for the damages arising from injuries or deaths resulting from the firearm's discharge in the District.

The first paragraph makes it appear as if the law only applied to machine guns, but it isn't clear until the fourth paragraph that this includes "assaul weapons." Unfortunately, the reporter and much of his readership may not realize that so-called assault weapons are the equivalent of hunting rifles.

Steve Jobs lashes out against Environmental Activists

A defiant Steve Jobs lashed out for the first time publicly against activists who claim Apple Computer Inc. has irresponsible environmental policies for recycling products like old Macintoshes and iPods.

Speaking at an annual shareholders meeting at the company's Cupertino headquarters, Apple's chief executive said environmental activists are spreading false information about the company's policies and using the popularity of the iPod digital music player to gain publicity for themselves. . . .

But Jobs, responding to a shareholder's question about the issue, flatly refuted each claim in a flyer being circulated by the protesters.

Soros on campaign finance

OpinionJournal.com's Political Diary notes that in Washington yesterday Soros made some comments about campaign finance regulations:

Mr. Soros agreed that McCain-Feingold was imperfect legislation but argued that it had been needed to curb special-interest money in politics. "There will always be loopholes," he added. "People will be imaginative, so I think we have to keep working at it. I think we need a new McCain-Feingold."

I have two questions. It is nice to know that Soros acknowledges that people will find ways around the regulations just has he already has, but how exactly would campaign finance regulations stop him from creating loopholes? For example, Soros can surely buy whatever media outlets that he wants. Also, is Soros considered a special interest?

Southern Utah University

Normally I don't make a big deal about the talks that I have given at Universities (especially having given a couple of dozen over the past academic year), but the four presentations that I gave at Southern Utah University were quite enjoyable. It is in a very beautiful part of the country and the people at the school were especially nice and enjoyable to talk to. It was a lot of fun, if quite tiring.

Letter in Thursday's WSJ

My letter on the claims linking abortion and crime can be found here. Obviously in only 250 words or so one is pretty limited on what one can discuss, but at least this makes a start. My work with John Whitley on this topic can be found here.

Additional note: The Federalist Society chapter at the University of Chicago Law School is trying again to set up a debate between myself and either Steve Levitt and/or John Donohue and/or Stephen Dubner on their abortion research discussed in my WSJ letter. Donohue is apparently free on May 25th to do the debate, but it is not clear whether he will show up. John Donohue cancelled our debates that were scheduled at the University of Chicago for December 2 on November 30th last fall and our April 13th debate on April 7th. Hopefully the fact that this debate will be on abortion and not guns as our two previous debates will ensure that one of the two actually show up. It is my understanding this time I will make a presentation sometime during that week whether they show up or not.

Transcript of my debate with Michael Barnes from the Brady Campaign

Here is a transcript of an entertaining debate that I had with Michael Barnes from the Brady Campaign last month on MSNBC.

Arizona Right-to-carry reform goes to Governor's desk

Carrying your loaded gun into a nightclub, bar or restaurant that serves alcohol could soon be legal as long as you don't drink under a bill that emerged from the Legislature on Monday.

Liberal Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackman in a pretty bad light

The late Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun ceded so much of his authority to his law clerks during his 24-year tenure that it amounts to "a scandalous abdication of judicial responsibility," Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Garrow asserts in a magazine article out today.

The article in Legal Affairs, based on research done by Garrow in Blackmun's papers released last year at the Library of Congress, recounts numerous cases in which memoranda from clerks and other documents show an outsized influence and assertive tone by clerks that Garrow says is unmatched by other justices whose papers are available. . . .

" In the 1990 Cruzan right-to-die case, Garrow quotes a memo in which a law clerk tells Blackmun she "does not really know" his views -- an indication, says Garrow, that "by the spring of 1990, he was giving his law clerks little explicit direction in the court's most notable cases." . . .

Clerk Stephanie Dangel . . . referred to Justice Antonin Scalia as "evil Nino" and worried that even though Casey would preserve Blackmun's Roe v. Wade decision declaring a woman's right to an abortion, the ruling "may have the effect of removing abortion from the political agenda just long enough to ensure the re-election of President [George H.W.] Bush." . . .

Dangel told Legal Times she had mixed feelings about the release of the memos, which she said she wrote in part to cheer Blackmun up. . . .

This is a very long article and I suggest that you read the whole thing, but some of these quotes are pretty shocking. Dangel's explanation that she made these last statements to 'cheer Blackmun up" are hardly reassuring. New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse's forthcoming book doesn't come off very well.

"Lott to be next speaker at SUU Convocations"

The Southern Utah University free Convocation Series will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the SUU Auditorium, 300 W. Center St. John R. Lott, Ph.D., resident scholar American Enterprise Institute, will speak on "The Bias Against Guns."

Two appearances on Fox News today

Today I will be on The Big Show with John Gibson at 5:50 PM and the Fox Report with Shepard Smith sometime during the 7 O'clock hour. (Both are EDT.) The first segment will be on my work on the judicial confirmation process while the second is on my noncontroversial work on affirmative action and policing.

UPDATE: With the selection of JOSEPH RATZINGER as the Pope, it looks like that my appearances tonight will be cancelled.

Ohio's Right-to-carry law

Howard Nemerov has a new piece on the changes in crime rates after the passage of Ohio's right-to-carry law.

My friend Ted

I probably would have phrased things a little differently, but you have to say that Ted Nugent sure has his way with words:

Ted Nugent urged National Rifle Association members to be "hardcore, radical extremists demanding the right to self defense." . . . . "Remember the Alamo! Shoot 'em!" he screamed to applause. "To show you how radical I am, I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. I want 'em dead. Get a gun and when they attack you, shoot 'em."

How quickly those "Watch Lists" can expand

For those concerned about "watch lists" to prevent people from selling guns, it is informative to see how quickly other watch lists can be expanded:

The no-fly list created by U.S. authorities, which singles out passengers who are potential terrorist threats, is the target of frequent criticism that it's incomplete and unreliable. But that hasn't stopped it from expanding dramatically. Aviation sources say the list has grown to more than 31,000, up from 19,000 last September.