 | | Reason.tv: Wheat, Weed, and ObamaCare: How the Commerce Clause Made Congress All-Powerful
The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to "regulate commerce . . . among the several States," and for more than 100 years federal lawmakers invoked it for a very narrow purpose-to prevent states from imposing trade barriers on each other. But today members of Congress act as if it gives them the authority to do just about anything-including forcing you to eat your vegetables.
During her Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Elena Kagan seemed to accept that the Commerce Clause could, in theory, give Congress the power to dictate what Americans eat. And what about ObamaCare's "individual mandate," which forces Americans to purchase health insurance? ObamaCare opponents are lining up to challenge its constitutionality, but supporters say it's justified-you guessed it-under the Commerce Clause.
How did a clause intended as a restriction on states wind up giving Congress a green light to regulate noncommercial, local, and purely private behavior? How will ObamaCare stand up against the legal challenges brought by the states? Legal titans John Eastman (Chapman University Law Professor) and Erwin Chemerinsky (Founding Dean, University of California, Irvine School of Law) slug it out to to determine whether or not Congress has been abusing the commerce clause.
Click here to watch.
Gridlock Is Our Greatest Hope: The case for divided government
Get ready for the most productive and decent political condition known to man: sweet gridlock. As David Harsanyi explains, it means we get nothing from the government. And after what we've been through these past few years, we deserve it.
http://reason.com/archives/2010/08/25/gridlock-is-our-greatest-hope
Join Nick Gillespie, Matt Welch, Ron Bailey, and Jacob Sullum on Reason's weeklong Caribbean cruise in February 2011. Sign up today!
http://www.reasoncruise.com
Guilt by Complication: The Blagojevich blowout shows a long indictment may signal weakness.
Last week the jury in the federal corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich failed to reach verdicts on 23 of 24 counts, convicting him only on an ancillary charge of lying to the FBI. Senior Editor Jacob Sullum says U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald tried to compensate for a shaky case by piling on largely redundant charges in the hope that some of them would stick. Sullum sees the failure of this strategy as a salutary rebuke to overzealous prosecutors.
http://reason.com/archives/2010/08/25/guilt-by-complication
Hit & Run, Reason's Staff Blog
Six Drug Czars, and Between Them They Can't Muster a Decent Argument for Marijuana Prohibition
"Our opposition to legalizing marijuana is grounded not in ideology but in facts and experience," say drug czar Gil Kerlikowske and his five predecessors in a Los Angeles Times op-ed piece that urges Californians to vote against Proposition 19. They argue that voters should listen to them because they are "experts in the field of drug policy, policing, prevention, education and treatment." If this is the best case the experts can make against marijuana legalization, they had better call in the amateurs....
Read the rest here.
Posted by Jacob Sullum
http://reason.com/blog/2010/08/25/six-drug-czars-and-between-the
Daily Brickbat
Wash That Man Right Out of Your Hair
Australian customs officials say they will apologize to a man they arrested for bringing bottles of shampoo and conditioner into the country. Neil Parry was arrested at Darwin Airport after field tests indicated the bottles contained drugs. He spent three nights in jail and had his boat and the houses of two friends searched before other tests showed the bottles didn't contain drugs and the government dropped all charges against him.
http://www.reason.com/brickbat/
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