NEWS AND OPINION:
Arriving Tuesday: “Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law,” by Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Janie Nitze, a visiting fellow with the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.
“America has always been a nation of laws. But today our laws have grown so vast and reach so deeply into our lives that it’s worth asking: In our reverence for law, have we gone too far?” the authors wrote in the first chapter of the book.
“Over just the last few decades, laws in this nation have exploded in number; they are increasingly complex; and the punishments they carry are increasingly severe. Some of these laws come from our elected representatives, but many now come from agency officials largely insulated from democratic accountability,” they said.
The book itself is full of well-researched examples of this phenomenon, along with an extensive list of sources of information for the book. Chapter 1 is titled “An Introduction to Law’s Empire,” and the book ends with a chapter titled “The Spirit of Liberty.”
The publisher also had a statement.
“Some law is essential to our lives and our freedoms. But too much law can place those very same freedoms at risk and even undermine respect for law itself. And often those who feel the cost most acutely are those without wealth, power, and status,” Harper Books — a division of HarperCollins Publishing — said in advance notes.
“Deeply researched and superbly written, ’Over Ruled’ is one of the most significant books of the year. It is a must-read for every citizen concerned about the erosion of our constitutional system, and its insights will be key to the preservation of our liberties for generations to come,” Harper Books said.
The book already has emerged as a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon in the “Civic & Citizenship,” “United States Judicial Branch” and “Political Freedom” categories.
SEND IN THE MEAT
“Euro News: The German men’s hockey team has panned the food served at the Olympic Village, calling it ’a disaster’, while British athletes flew an additional chef out to Paris to bridge a shortfall of the supply. Andy Anson, CEO of the UK Olympic Association, lamented the lack of protein — especially chicken and eggs — on menus in the village,” wrote Marc Morano, creator and editor of ClimateDepot.com, a nimble watchdog site the monitors trends among organizations and activists alarmed by climate issues.
“The Paris 2024 Food Vision document aimed for reduced animal protein to lower the Games’ carbon footprint,” he said, noting that the move brought applause from the European Vegetarian Union, which favors plant-based options and local sourcing.
Yes, well.
“Elite athletes are being lectured on what they SHOULD and CAN eat by non-athlete climate activists, Olympic organizers and bureaucrats. These dietary restrictions are piled on top of the Olympics attempt to impose air conditioning rationing and miserably hot bus transportation services. The absurdity of the Net Zero climate agenda is on full display at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris,” Mr. Morano said.
FOR THE LEXICON
“Kamala crash.”
This very alarming phrase dominated X and other social media Monday after the equally alarming stock-market plunge.
The hashtag version #KamalaCrash could be found on tweets from the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party, among many others.
“This is the Kamala Harris economic agenda at work. #KamalaCrash,” the GOP said in its X entry.
FOR THE LEXICON PART 2
“The teleprompter campaign.”
This handy little phrase emerged in National Review on Monday, and refers to a certain campaign style adopted by Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris.
“Kamala can’t be trusted off script. The basement campaign has been updated. Kamala Harris isn’t in the cellar of the Naval Observatory campaigning via Zoom calls a la Joe Biden in 2020,” writes Rich Lowry, editor in chief of National Review.
“No, she’s speaking to adoring crowds fired up by pop stars. She’s identifying herself with powerful (if somewhat esoteric) cultural trends. She’s clapping back against Donald Trump with panache. Indeed, in one of the great political transformations of our time, she’s gone from a sub-par vice president to the second coming of Barack Obama in the space of about two weeks,” Mr. Lowry said.
“Except Obama was a genuine political talent who was glib enough to handle almost anything. He wasn’t an intellectual but was a writer with intellectual interests — in another life, he could have been a staffer at the New Yorker instead of president of the United States (would that it had been so),” he continued.
“The people most aware that Kamala isn’t truly a new version of Obama are the people around her, who clearly fear putting her in any setting where she isn’t reading from a script. Biden’s basement campaign in 2020 kept him from having to go out and build a crowd, but he did interviews,” Mr. Lowry wrote.
“Kamala’s teleprompter campaign in 2024 is meant to limit her exposure to keep her from inadvertently bursting the media bubble that’s been created around her,” he said.
POLL DU JOUR
• 33% of U.S. adults “strongly disapprove” of the job Congress is doing; 41% of independents, 31% of Democrats and 27% of Republicans agree.
• 25% of U.S. adults “somewhat disapprove” of the job Congress is doing; 20% of independents, 25% of Democrats and 31% of Republicans agree.
• 18% of U.S. adults “neither approve or disapprove”; 21% of independents, 14% of Democrats and 20% of Republicans agree.
• 12% of U.S. adults “somewhat approve”; 6% of independents, 19% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans agree.
• 2% of U.S. adults “strongly approve”; 1% of independents, 4% of Democrats and 2% of Republicans agree.
• 10% overall are “not sure” about the issue; 12% of independents, 7% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans agree.
SOURCE: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,610 U.S. adults conducted online July 27-30.
• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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