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January 5, 2018|Ben Bradlee, Katharine Graham, Media Madness, Meryl Streep, Pentagon Papers, Steven Spielberg, The Post, Tom Hanks, Washington Post

The Washington Post’s Brief Encounter with Honor

by Mark Judge|

Steven Spielberg’s new film about the publishing of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 has two themes. The first is in the main plot of the film: journalism as a crucial safeguard against official secrecy and abuse of power. The second, which is barely touched on, is the corruption of journalists who protect powerful people and interests due to friendships or political bias.

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January 27, 2014|Jeff Bezos, Libertarianism, Washington Post

Has there been a political turn at the Washington Post?

by Mike Rappaport|

Interesting things are happening at the Washington Post. 1. The Volokh Conspiracy has moved to the Post’s website. 2. Libertarian reporter/blogger Radley Balko has moved to the Post. 3. Ezra Klein, an influential progressive columnist/blogger is leaving the Post. Together, these represent a significant change in the Post’s website from progressivism towards libertarianism. It is true that the Post, although a clearly liberal newspaper, has included conservative voices among its columnists, such as George Will and Charles Krauthammer. But this appears to be a move towards libertarians on the web. The most obvious explanation for the change is that Jeff Bezos is changing the direction of…

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December 29, 2013|California, competitive federalism, Dan Balz, Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government Is Smarter, Ilya Somin, Political Polarization, Sectionalism, Texas, Washington Post

Our Polarized States: Two Cheers

by Michael S. Greve|

The Washington Post’s Dan Balz is a well-informed observer of (among other things) political polarization among states. One of his earlier pieces is here along with a few comments by yours truly. Yesterday’s Post has another long-front page Balz article on the subject, along with a companion piece on Texas and California –mega-states that have adopted very different social models.

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September 4, 2013|Affordable Care Act, Cato, New York Times, Nullification, Robert A. Levy, Washington Post

Resistance Yes, Nullification No

by Michael S. Greve|

This week, I’m drumming my ConLaw students through the nullification debates. Also, the local newspaperman decided that the Greves are probably entitled to some paper(s), though not necessarily the one(s) they ordered. Though probably unrelated, the events invite reflection. Trust me: there’s a point.

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April 18, 2013|Boston, Boston Marathon, Christopher DeMuth, E.J. Dionne, George Will, TLF, Washington Post

Will on DeMuth

by Michael S. Greve|

The one and only George Will has a Washington Post column today on the one and only Chris DeMuth’s speech on “Executive Government and Bankrupt Government,” delivered at GMU’s Transatlantic Law Forum this past February. I’ve blogged and linked to the talk here. Go read if you haven’t already. You now have it on Mr. Will’s authority that this is big—the deepest, most sober reflection on the state of our politics you’ll find. In the printed Post, George Will’s column appears underneath a rare E.J. Dionne column that’s not only not inane or infuriating but right on, and moving. The Boston…

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August 24, 2012|household income, Sentier Research, Washington Post

The Constitution of Affluence: An Update

by Michael S. Greve|

Today’s Washington Post covers a Sentier Research report on median household incomes in the United States. Predictably, the number dropped during the last recession. A bit less predictably but more distressingly, it has continued to drop since. Here’s the trendline as shown by Sentier (indexed to January 2000): In 2012 dollars, median household income was $55,470 in January 2000; bottomed at $49,538 in August 2011; and has since recovered a bit ($50,964 in June 2012). Note of caution: these are pre-tax dollars. If you account for several rounds of tax cuts, the numbers would probably look a bit better—to the extent that…

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January 17, 2012|California, Federalist 1, GAO, high-speed rail, high-speed train, Jerry Brown, Washington Post

High-Speed “Federalism” Goes Off the Rails

by Michael S. Greve|

The Washington Post reports that federal-state plans for a high-speed train connecting San Francisco with Los Angles and points in-between may never come off the ground. In the face of public resistance, the state may have to decline some $3.5 billion in federal “stimulus” funds dedicated to an initial segment of the line, connecting the thriving metropolises of Bakersfield and Merced. We may be witnessing an outbreak of fiscal and institutional sanity.

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Book Reviews

A Mirror of the 20th-Century Congress

by Joseph Postell

Wright undermined the very basis of his local popularity—the decentralized nature of the House—by supporting reforms that gave power to the party leaders.

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The Graces of Flannery O'Connor

by Henry T. Edmondson III

O'Connor's correspondence is a goldmine of piercing insight and startling reflections on everything from literature to philosophy to raising peacocks.

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Liberty Classics

Rereading Politica in the Post-Liberal Moment

by Glenn A. Moots

Althusius offers a rich constitutionalism that empowers persons to thrive alongside one another in deliberate communities.

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James Fenimore Cooper and the American Experiment

by Melissa Matthes

In The American Democrat, James Fenimore Cooper defended democracy against both mob rule and majority tyranny.

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Podcasts

Stuck With Decadence

A discussion with Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat discusses with Richard Reinsch his new book The Decadent Society.

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Can the Postmodern Natural Law Remedy Our Failing Humanism?

A discussion with Graham McAleer

Graham McAleer discusses how postmodern natural law can help us think more coherently about human beings and our actions.

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Did the Civil Rights Constitution Distort American Politics?

A discussion with Christopher Caldwell

Christopher Caldwell discusses his new book, The Age of Entitlement.

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America, Land of Deformed Institutions

A discussion with Yuval Levin

Yuval Levin pinpoints that American alienation and anger emerges from our weak political, social, and religious institutions.

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About

Law & Liberty’s focus is on the classical liberal tradition of law and political thought and how it shapes a society of free and responsible persons. This site brings together serious debate, commentary, essays, book reviews, interviews, and educational material in a commitment to the first principles of law in a free society. Law & Liberty considers a range of foundational and contemporary legal issues, legal philosophy, and pedagogy.

The opinions expressed on Law & Liberty are solely those of the contributors to the site and do not reflect the opinions of Liberty Fund.
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