Elena Kagan, Five Years of Kelo and Offshore Oil Drilling
More details about Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan come to light.
Today is the 5-year anniversary of the landmark property rights decision in the case of Kelo v. New London.
A Louisiana judge blocks an oil drilling ban imposed by the Obama administration.
1. POLITICS
More details about Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan come to light.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Counsel Hans Bader on the implications of the rulings, and what we’ve learned about Kagan.
“Earlier, Obama’s most recent Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, failed to properly defend federal laws protecting crime victims while serving in the Justice Department as Solicitor General. Obama nominated a radical law professor to one important appellate judge position, and a judge who made excuses for a sexually-sadistic Roadside Strangler to another important appellate judgeship.”
2. LEGAL
Today is the 5-year anniversary of the landmark property rights decision in the case of Kelo v. New London.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Marc Scribner reflects on the consequences and implications of the Kelo decision.
“Municipal planners wrongly believe that they have some sort of predictive power regarding future economic conditions—and that they are able to better plan for the future than actual market participants. This is completely ridiculous. How can a career bureaucrat in local government be in a better position to evaluate economic investment decisions than actual investors who put their own money on the line?”
3. ENVIRONMENT
A Louisiana judge blocks an oil-drilling ban imposed by the Obama administration.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Counsel Hans Bader on how the Obama administration is putting politics before progress when it comes to cleaning up the oil.
“Obama also delayed the clean-up of the Gulf of Mexico by blocking foreign crews from operating sophisticated clean-up vessels. The Jones Act bans foreign vessels and crews from working in U.S. waters, but it gives the President the authority to completely waive that ban if he wishes. Obama refused to lift the ban, even though American shippers who generally support the ban said they wouldn’t object to lifting it to fight the spill. As a result of the ban, the U.S. has rejected a lot of foreign aid from counties with expertise in fighting oil spills, and accepted only a small amount of foreign equipment to fight the spill.”