I’ve always enjoyed the wit and wisdom of Joel Stein’s writings. I especially enjoyed his column outlining some of his concerns on the rapidly developing ‘interactiveness’ of all writing, entertainment, and media. For what it’s worth Stein actually has a blog (although his last update was 5 years ago and he doesn’t allow for comments). Here’s a sample of the story: Continue reading
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Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture, Uncategorized
Former president Jimmy Carter weighs in on the war on drugs in the New York Times. Here’s an excerpt: Continue reading
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Posted in Jeff, Law, Policy, politics, Presidency
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Posted in Uncategorized
Check out my 2nd post on Prawfs on the topic of decision systems here.
I’ll be guest blogging on Prawfsblawg for the month of June. My first post is about memorable trial performances in movies. You can check it out here.
Well, this should be interesting to watch. The US Supreme Court’s recent decision in Brown v. Plata indicates that California will likely have to drastically reduce its prison population rather drastically over the next couple years Approximately 32,000 inmates must be released to comport with the Court’s close-vote decision which found that the state’s overpopulated prisons were Constitutionally problematic. One upside for the state will be incarceration cost savings – if we assume that each prisoner costs about $50,000/year to incarcerate – a relatively modest estimate – then this means a cost savings of 1.6 billion dollars annually to the state. Yes, that’s billion, not million. On the other hand, we can imagine that there may be significant collateral costs to the state and that these costs may simply be shifted to other entities (expanded demands on policing, local jails, etc.). Given the changing face of California incarceration outlined in this study (document), it will be interesting to see how they go about determining who to release.
Knowledge as Power
On Prawfs Dan Markel tells us that there’s a new book in town. FSU Law Professor Wayne Logan has recently published Knowledge as Power: Criminal Registration and Community Notification Laws in America. He was also recently quoted on this subject in the New York Times. Here’s some copy from the book: Continue reading
The recent issue of Perspectives on Politics included a review of our book, “Presidential Rhetoric and the Public Agenda: Constructing the War on Drugs” by Diana Owen (Georgetown University). Here’s a selected passage:
In this important study, Andrew B. Whitford and Jeff Yates move beyond the standard focus on persuasion and build upon the established theoretical frameworks of “agenda setting” and “going public.” They explore the ways in which presidential rhetoric can not only shape opinion but also can influence policy implementation and bureaucratic action. Focusing their analysis on drug policy, the authors demonstrate that presidents can exert leadership authority and change the behavior of even entrenched administrative constituencies through public rhetoric. The detailed case study provides rich historical context documenting presidential administrations’ responses to the “war on drugs” dating back to the 1930s. The authors use a multimethod approach in order to provide empirical evidence that supports their argument that persuasion can translate into action. This study establishes a new benchmark for research on presidential rhetoric.
Darwin Award contenders?
Gawker tells us of a new bad idea – tourists can now dangle on the edge of the CNN tower.
The CN Tower, which stretches 116 stories above the Toronto skyline, its “main pod” hovering there like some sort of malevolent spacecraft, will now invite tourists to stroll around its perimeter.
See more here.
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Posted in Jeff, Policy, Pop Culture
Daniel J. Kapust (University of Wisconsin – Political Science) has recently published “Republicanism, Rhetoric, and Roman Political Thought” (Cambridge University Press). Here’s some copy for the book: Continue reading
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Posted in Academia, Jeff, politics, Pop Culture
Anthony Bertelli (USC) and Christian Grose (USC) have posted “The Lengthened Shadow of Another Institution? Ideal Point Estimates for the Executive Branch and Congress “ on SSRN. It will soon be appearing the American Journal of Political Science. Here’s the abstract:
While the president’s relationship to Congress has been carefully studied, the broader executive branch has received far less attention in that context. Scholars rely on assumptions about the relationship between the president and cabinet departments that remain untested. We construct the first statistical portrait of executive branch ideology by estimating ideal points for members of Congress, presidents, and the heads of cabinet-level departments between 1991-2004 in a Bayesian framework. We empirically assess claims about the composition of the president’s administrative team and the influence of institutions on the ideology of principal executive decision-makers. We also test an important claim regarding the tradeoff between ideological congruence and budgetary authority to demonstrate the utility of our estimates for other scholars. Our analysis reveals a new picture of the executive branch as ideologically diverse, casting into doubt some essential assumptions in a substantial body of work on the separation of powers.
Check it out here. H/T ELS blog and Michael Heise. Continue reading
David Pozen has recently posted “What Happened in Iowa” on SSRN. It examines the role of out of state interests in judicial elections. Here’s the abstract: Continue reading
We were very pleased to see a new review of our book, Presidential Rhetoric and the Public Agenda: Constructing the War on Drugs, in The International Journal of Press/Politics (by Brandon Rottinghaus). The review is not available online, but here’s a small sample:
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Posted in Academia, Jeff, Policy, politics, Presidency
University of Tennessee law professor Thomas Davies has posted “Can You Handle the Truth? The Framers Preserved Common-Law Criminal Arrest and Search Rules in ‘Due Process of Law’ – ‘Fourth Amendment Reasonableness’ is Only a Modern, Destructive, Judicial Myth” on SSRN (download it here). The abstract is available below the fold: Continue reading
Blue is most peaceful; red is least peaceful.
The minds behind the Global Peace Index have now put an index together for the US states. I really thought that Oklahoma would have scored better – what with the farmer and the cowman being friends and all …. See the index in table form below the fold (h/t buzzfeed). Continue reading
Posted in Data, Jeff, Policy, politics, Pop Culture
The Tesla Roadster
No, not Tesla’s “The Great Radio Controversy” — this Tesla is upset about a car. The Tesla automobile manufacturing company is famous for it’s high performance all-electric Roadster, but it’s pricey – over $100,000. Of course, who likes to very publicly evaluate hot rods? The BBC’s television show “Top Gear” – who was not kind to the Roadster – and that’s being generous. Suffice it to say, Tesla was not pleased and has filed a lawsuit – USA Today reports: Continue reading
Posted in Jeff
On The Volokh Conspiracy Kenneth Anderson posts on the question of whether high debt makes a person less marry-able. Certainly SES can affect marriage rates, although not always in intuitive ways. However, I’m not aware of a good empirical study on this specific question and I imagine that it’s a complicated concern. You might check out the comments to the post – they are pretty amusing. For some reason this thread brings to mind TLC’s song “No Scrubs” .
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h/t reddit
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Posted in Policy, politics, Pop Culture, Presidency
Corey Rayburn Young (John Marshall Law School) has posted “How Judges Decide: A Multidimensional Typology of Judicial Styles in the Federal Courts” on SSRN. Here’s the abstract: Continue reading
The author of “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable,” Nassim Nicholas Taleb, has posted “Why Did the Crises of 2008 Happen?” on SSRN. The paper “while a standalone invited essay written for a special crisis issue of New Political Economy – synthesizes the various technical documents by the author as related to the financial crisis. It can also be used as a technical companion to The Black Swan (2007-2010). “
I’ll summarize his causes of the crises here, but it is certainly worth reading for yourself (just 5 pages): Continue reading
On the marketing of ideas and technology:
… in the movies we watch. It’s been documented by Moki TV – they explain: Continue reading
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Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture
In Florida it is apparently feasible to obtain a search warrant for all persons entering a general area (in this case, a parking lot). While I sympathize with the state on the facts of this particular situation, this sounds a lot like the types of actions that led to a Revolutionary War – although I’ll admit that the light sabers in the above picture are a bit of a stretch on historical accuracy. The Volokh Conspiracy has more – here’s a sample: Continue reading
Personally, I think I’ll wait for the Broadway musical, but for lovers of opera there is “Nixon in China”. Here’s some wikipedia background for those not familiar with this thrilling musical endeavor:
Nixon in China (1987) is an opera with music by the American composer John Adams and a libretto by Alice Goodman. It is about the visit of United States President Richard M. Nixon to China in 1972, where he met with China’s Chairman Mao Zedong and other Chinese officials.
The work was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Houston Grand Opera and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It premiered at the Houston Grand Opera, October 22, 1987 in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris.
The opera focuses on six key personalities: Nixon and his wife Pat; Jiang Qing (spelled “Chiang Ch’ing” in the libretto) and Chairman Mao (“Mao Tse-tung”); and the two close advisors to the two parties, Henry Kissinger and Zhou Enlai (“Chou En-lai”). It is composed of three acts. The first details the anticipation and arrival of the Nixon cortege and the first meeting and evening in China. The second act shifts focus to Pat Nixon, as she makes tours of rural China, including an encounter at a pig farm. The second scene includes a performance of a Communist propaganda play, in which first Pat Nixon, then her husband and then Jiang Qing, intercede in the performance. The last act chronicles the last night in China, in which the characters dance a foxtrot, their thoughts wandering to their own pasts.
Musically, the opera owes more influence to minimalism than any Asian styles. (John Adams adapted the foxtrot theme from the last act into a concert piece entitled “The Chairman Dances“, published before the opera in 1985. In the intervening period, Adams switched publishers, hence the Foxtrot for Orchestra being published by G. Schirmer and the opera by Boosey & Hawkes.) The libretto, by contrast, was written completely in rhymed, metered couplets, reminiscent of poetic and theatrical styles native to China.
Here’s a clip from a “Nixon in China” production (Airforce One never looked so good) — Enjoy!
Posted in Jeff, Policy, politics, Pop Culture, Presidency
University of Tennessee law professor Ben Barton has recently penned The Lawyer-Judge Bias in the American Legal System (Cambridge 2010). He explains the premise of the book below in an interview with Instapundit and fellow UT Law Prof Glen Reynolds. (H/T Tax Prof Blog)
This is, quite simply, an audio clip (with accompanying animated video) of President Johnson ordering pants from Haggar Clothing. Caution: LBJ (and the accompanying animation) gets a bit bawdy in places. H/T Buzzfeed
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Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture, Presidency
Robert Sapolsky and an olive baboon share a quiet moment on the Talek River, July 2007 (Credit: John Heminway)
A lot, apparently. National Geographic has a fascinating look at stress via the research of Stanford neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky. Here’s a bit of it: Continue reading
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Posted in Academia, Data, Jeff, Policy, Pop Culture, Uncategorized
… namely, the states’ representative foods – I’ll leave the coding to you 
(Some of these don’t make sense to me at all. Hat tip Buzzfeed)
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This is underwater footage from a valley in Australia that floods annually – pretty amazing.
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I recently came across two papers on SSRN that might be good reading for pre-law undergraduates. The first – “How To Read a Legal Opinion: A Guide For New Law Students” is by Orin Kerr. He outlines how to effectively read a legal opinion – While it’s aimed at first year law students, it is likely helpful for undergrads taking law oriented classes and anyone who wants to be well-read in legal matters. The second paper “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be … Lawyers” is by Herwig Schlunk. It outlines some of the considerations that students should take into account in deciding whether law school is a good investment. While I am not one of those professors who attempts to talk students out of going to law school, I do emphasize the investment of time and money involved and encourage them to think critically about this career choice.
Actually, it rarely is incredibly popular. But recently it hit its all-time low mark since its popularity started being systematically measured in the 1970s. Perhaps puzzling is why we don’t obsess over congress’s popularity as we do with the president – perhaps with the president it’s personal and with congress it’s just business. It will be interesting to see who fares relatively better as we move our way toward the 2012 elections – President Obama or congress. See more on NPR here.
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Posted in Data, Jeff, politics, Presidency
I was reading the Huffington Post (did I just say that?) and came across this curious graphic (above). It’s a stunning depiction of the times in which we live, but I’m still wondering – does moving back in with your parents have the same stigma that it did, say, twenty years ago? I’m guessing that it doesn’t but I can’t really come up with a good reason why – it’s just a feeling. You can find the rest of the post here.
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Posted in Jeff, Policy, politics, Pop Culture
A recent paper posted to SSRN discusses conducting behavioral research with Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. What is the Mechanical Turk? Well, here’s some copy from Amazon:
As a member of the BU political science departments’ graduate committee I am going to blatantly use my blog platform to promote our graduate program. We offer a competitive stipend, have a good team of faculty scholar/mentors, and have placed Ph.D. students pretty well in academic (and other field relevent) positions. And, as you might recall from a prior post, we scored very well in the NRC’s recent ranking of political science programs.
You can check out the basics of our graduate program here. Information on our Ph.D. placements in recent years can be found here and a list of our current students on the market here.
Essential? Really?
Esquire Magazine has a list of skills for men — things that all men should master. First, I think that many of these skills are really gender neutral — everyone should master them. Second, I’m not sure that all of these skills are essential. Consider the bow tie skill displayed above – I have nothing against bow ties, but it’s just not something that rates on my list of essential skills. Listed below are some of the more choice skills (in my humble opinion – and, again, gender neutral).
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Posted in Jeff
A review of our book by Chad Murphy can be found in Political Communication. Here’s an excerpt: Continue reading
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Posted in Academia, Data, Jeff, Law, Methods, Policy, politics, Presidency, War on Drugs
A hijacker points his pistol from the cockpit of TWA Flight 847 as an ABC news crew approaches the jet for an interview at Beirut International Airport on June 19, 1985.
Check out this scenario: Continue reading
I can’t get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications
Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know I’ll be alright
Perhaps it’s just imagination
Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Alone between the sheets
Only brings exasperation
It’s time to walk the streets
Smell the desperation
At least there’s pretty lights
And though there’s little variation
It nullifies the night from overkill
Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Come back another day
I can’t get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications
Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know I’ll be alright
It’s just overkill
Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Ghosts appear and fade away
Ghosts appear and fade away
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Posted in Jeff, Policy, politics, Pop Culture
Here’s an excerpt of a review of our book, “Presidential Rhetoric and the Public Agenda: Constructing the War on Drugs,” in the journal Contemporary Sociology. Continue reading
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Posted in Jeff, Law, Policy, politics, Presidency
President Eisenhower signing HR7786, changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has a nice summary of the history of Veterans Day. Check it out here. Also, a lot of restaurants (including Krispy Kreme, Outback Steakhouse, and others) have done their part and offer very nice deals to veterans and active duty members on their well deserved day – get more information here.
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Posted in Jeff
This graphic from Buzzfeed gives you the favorite TV shows by political party. Everyone has something to be ashamed of here.
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Posted in Jeff, politics, Pop Culture
The New York Times investigates the controversial process of ‘fracking’ for natural gas. (Not to be confused with the popular Battlestar Galactica use of the word). — [h/t property prof blog]
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… can be yours! Specifically, you can bid on JFK’s 1962 birthday cake (yes, the one where Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday to You” to him). Check it out on Boing Boing.
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Posted in Jeff, Presidency
Often times perception is arguably as important as reality. Indeed the perception of the Rule of Law may influence important real world outcomes. How do citizens come to perceive the viability of the Rule of Law in their country? In a recent paper we (myself, Andy Whitford and David Brown) address this concern. The title of the paper is “Perceptions of the Rule of Law: Evidence About the Impact of Judicial Insulation.” Check out the syllabus below and, of course, feel free to download the paper via SSRN here. Continue reading
Having not done much international traveling, I found this post on Tim Ferriss’ blog very interesting – you may or may not agree with all aspects of the points made by the guest poster – Gary Arndt (of Everything Everywhere), but they are certainly worth a look — here’s a taste of the first three: Continue reading
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Posted in Jeff, Other, politics, Pop Culture
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