Obama Pundit

by Hector N. Fertig
In a recent conversation with a good friend and self-described liberal democrat, the discussion turned to economics.  My economic position, well-known to my friend, is relatively straight-forward.

I tend to view income as labor and find appealing the idea of a flat tax for everyone beginning above some threshold.  I don’t have a [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
On July 17th, Senator Jim DeMint (R – South Carolina) famously said about Obamacare:
“If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.”
Senator DeMint is wrong.  Universal Health Care / Coverage will not be the end for Obama in the sense that Waterloo was the [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
There are two fundamental issues with regard to universal health coverage: the practical issues involving costs and quality, and the moral issues involving who should be covered.  For most supporters of universal health care, the moral issues trump the practical.  Further, for many opponents of universal health coverage, moral issues are historically [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
It sounds as though the Public Option is no longer an indispensible piece of the Obama Administration’s health care plan.  If this is true, to many observers of the health care debate, this represents a substantial shift in policy from only a month ago.
“Any plan I sign must include an insurance exchange: [...]

Robin Hood provided one of taxations greatest soundbites, “rob from the rich and give to the poor.”  The real power behind soundbites comes when the phrase outlives the usefulness of its context.  The Obama Administration’s push for Universal Health Care/Coverage is being spun as just such a Robin Hood approach; increasing taxes upon the wealthiest [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
Since you are reading this, you probably have some interest in politics or at least are concerned about what is going on in Washington D.C. these days.  Knowing only this, it is likely that you are less enthusiastic about the current administration’s performance than your politically disinterested friends.

The above chart was constructed [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
I would humbly ask: why even have a Constitution at all — save for some cursory document which outlined the branches of government and procedure for passing legislation?
Isn’t your proposal nothing more than a procedure for passing legislation (with a hefty crime attached for show)??
In any case, to respond to your humble [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
If members still couldn’t digest the bill, perhaps they shouldn’t be making the laws.  Just a thought.
Fair enough, and you are certainly entitled to your opinion.
For my money, the ultimate measure of any proposed Amendment is its actual effect.  Prohibition was not a failure because it lacked good intentions, serious consequences, or [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
This reads a lot like the “Read the Bill Act” from Downsize DC.
Making it a Constitutional Amendment gets around the Constitutional issues arising from the Speech or Debate Clause (Art. I, Section 6, Clause 1), but leaves it vulnerable to the Law of Unintended Consequences.  While this is precisely the way I [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
- President Barack Obama (Inauguration Speech)

The idea of choosing hope over fear has a decidedly positive, optimistic feel to it.  As with most other people, this phrase washed over me as part of the [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
The day that Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 7,949.09 and the S&P500 was at 805.22.  These two indices are used, often blindly, to gauge the “health” of the US business environment.  On March 9th, 2009 these indices both reached [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
William, regardless of who was at fault, Didden or his lawyer, once the statute of limitations expired Didden’s cause of action was lost according to Sotomayor.  At some point during this whole affair, he had two legal theories available to him:
1. That the taking was wrongful due to pretext, in the sense [...]

by C. William Chattin
Hector, the parties in Didden submitted their briefing materials to the Second Circuit before Kelo was handed down; but, the Court (Sotomayor) - properly, in my estimation - waited until months after Kelo to issue the Didden decision.  Thus, the attorneys for Didden didn’t have the benefit of knowing what governing standard would be applied to their challenge [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
William, I agree that the analysis presented was short, it is not clear to me what more you would have her say on the property rights issue.
Your reading of Justice Stevens’ majority opinion is correct regarding the ‘mere pretext’ standard, but I think it is largely irrelevant.  The question wasn’t whether or [...]

by C. William Chattin
Hector, with regard to the statute of limitations predicate, I will assume, without checking, that Sotomayor got that portion of the opinion, and, thus, the actual result, correct.  However, because she weighed into the constitutional issue with more than mere dicta, she provided a legally-binding, alternative holding of the Court…on a very dicey issue [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
William, the McDonald’s analogy was broken out as a second point as it was not intended to address the role of Appellate Courts or how appellate proceedings work, but rather the language used in your summary of Didden.  For example:
Wasser told Didden that he would approve the project only if Didden paid [...]

by C. William Chattin
Hector, I want to address/clarify the points you raised below.
At the appellate level, and for purposes of review, the facts of a particular case have generally been stipulated to, and are a matter of record.  True, some hidden, smoking-gun fact(s) may undermine the criticism of a controversial decision.  But, the judge who authors an appellate decision will include in her opinion facts [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
Two quick points:
I apologize to those for whom this is obvious, but some readers may not be familiar with the roles that judges play at different levels in the United States.  As a Federal Appellate Court Judge, Sotomayor doesn’t really have authority to ignore any United States Supreme Court decision, including Kelo.  [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
OP, my only objection to your comment was the misnaming of the fallacy as a straw-man.  The assertion that someone (even an unnamed someone) actually holds the weakened position is a critical requirement for a straw-man argument.  It is not enough that an argument be weak to be a straw-man; behind every [...]

by Hector N. Fertig
A technical point just to get my feet wet on this site…
I don’t think I would categorize Obama’s health care argument (limited to the Drudge article) as a straw-man fallacy as he never says that anyone else holds this position and only hypothetically ascribes it to “we” – though it is close. [...]