Some Chicago Boyz know each other from student days at the University of Chicago. Others are Chicago boys in spirit. The blog name is also intended as a good-humored gesture of admiration for distinguished Chicago School economists and fellow travelers.
I listen to Bloomberg radio on XM most days when I am riding to work. They give a quick snapshot of the major markets and typically have interesting discussions that are not the usual shouting matches that you will find on the major networks.
Today in their news segment they reported some news that I had hoped I would see one day. I let out a cheer – what a great way to start out my week.
I understand that this will be a long fight, but at least it is a start.
Acorn has filed suit against the young filmmakers, who took video of Acorn employees helping them with plans on setting up whorehouses for minors. They have also sued Breitbart for distributing the video.
There is a very intersting comment thread at Volokh for those interested in the legal aspects of this case.
I am just praying that this goes to discovery.
Via Instapundit comes a story of a hate crime against a black family in Austin, Tx:
The brick, thrown through a 4-year-old boy’s bedroom window, read “Keep Westside White. Keep Westside Strong.”
The homeowner, Barbara Frische, who is black, said she has lived in the home for 10 years.
“It’s the first time anything like this has ever happened to me,” she said.
Police have not classified this incident as a hate crime, said Austin Police Sgt. Richard Stresing, because hate crimes target an individual specifically because of an identifying characteristic, like race. Police say the incident has been classified as criminal mischief and deadly conduct.
Honestly, every time I think we’ve made progress in Texas on race relations, something like this comes along to prove me wrong. How can the police not see this as a hate crime? You have a message advocating racial segregation tossed through the window of a black family who had the temerity to move into a historically all-white area of the city.
This is why African Americans have such a hard time believing that hate-crime laws will be fairly enforced and aren’t just some kind of legal fiction intended to single them out for punishment and to stigmatize them as a group. This is especially true when you consider that many people in the law and academia hold to the belief that racism and therefore hate crimes are attributes solely of African American culture. When you have such an intellectual framework, how can African Americans trust that hate-crime laws will be enforced fairly?
Clearly, America still has a lot of work to do.
[Update: It’s pointed out to me that I may have made a typo or two when I copied the quote from the original article. I’ll fix it later but in the meantime make sure to read the original before commenting.]
One small victory for an economy governed by law rather than arbitrary power.
A suit brought on behalf of Indiana pension funds claim that Chrysler deal orchestrated by Obama’s administraion illegally gave priority unsecured creditors, violating the law that gives priority to secured creditors. The Indiana brief argued:
Without a stay, Chrysler’s section 363 sale will be able to close Monday afternoon, and this case will be moot. Mootness would not only deprive the Indiana Pensioners of an opportunity for full recovery, but it would deprive the Court and the Nation of the opportunity for final determination of substantial and novel issues of law never before addressed by this Court or any other (save the decisions below). These issues include (i) whether the Sale attempted here—indisputably the fastest reorganization on record—constitutes an illegal sub rosa chapter 11 reorganization plan and violates the longstanding and fundamental rule that first-lien creditors have absolute priority in bankruptcy, and (ii) whether Treasury has the authority to direct the course of, and fund, this bankruptcy through the use of TARP funds under the EESA. The Court should stay the Sale Orders so that the Indiana Pensioners may, in good order, ask the Court to review whether the law permits such wholesale alteration of bankruptcy law, not to mention the American capital markets, by the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government acting beyond the color of Congressional authority.
From the Application For Immediate Stay Of Sale Orders Issued By The Bankruptcy Court filed by the State of Indiana. (Much of it is actually engrossing reading, especially the way the Feds bullied everyone to accept repeated violations of the bankruptcy law.)
Probably only a speed bump. But it is good to see someone speaking truth to power for a change. Obama’s high-handed and lawless takeover of the auto industry is a disgrace, directed at helping his political allies first, and all other consequences second.
It is good to see even a symbolic victory for the rule of law.
Bravo to the Indiana Solicitor General’s office. A small victory, even a temporary victory, is better than no victory at all — and in a case like this one, much better than never having fought.
UPDATE: This comment from the Althouse blog is a good summary of the situation.
Here are some items I thought might be of interest to Chicago Boyz and Chicago Grrlz and Readerz.
Megan McCardle on the moral infrastructure of capitalism.
via the Assistant Village Idiot, who adds thoughts of his own.
The seen and the unseen–an important article on political decision-making, written by a law school professor and drawing on the work of Frederic Bastiat. Highly relevant to the discussion over Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
via Betsy
A long and well-written comment on my post the age of blather by kathteach. I am (sadly) willing to believe her when she says that few students now learn the art of reading carefully and analytically: however, I remain unconvinced that jargon such as “self-to-self connections” really helps in addressing the problem. Anyhow, the comment (at the end of the thread, at least at the moment) deserves to be read.
Bill Waddell has a baseball analogy for the way in which certain F500 manufacturing companies are run. But after reading about the backround of Obama’s point man on General Motors, I’ve been racking my brains trying to extend the analogy. Maybe someone who was selected as manager of a baseball team after impressing the owner while working on his (the owner’s) campaign for the city council?
Or maybe another analogy entirely.
Now, Brian Deese is probably–unlike the political appointees mocked by Gilbert & Sullivan in the above song–a very bright guy. He may even be a briliant guy. But I venture to say he would never have been selected for this job if his career path had actually been centered around working for companies that actually make things and sell them. Nor, of course, if he had the precise background and skills that he does have but had been working for the losing campaign.