The Three Whisky Happy Hour, with Special Guest Robert Bryce
Friday was cap and gown day for Steve at Pepperdine’s commencement for the School of Public Policy class of 2025, while John Yoo is on the road somewhere at an undisclosed location, so Steve and Lucretia kick around a couple of seemingly unrelated stories about the Amish (the ultimate opt-out community) and the latest Supreme Court argument involving human nature and the right of parents to opt-out from public school nihilism. And even though John was absent, instead of beating him up we praised his New York Post article on how and why Trump should prevail at the Supreme Court over what might be called the onslaught of Lawfare 2.0.
And then as a change of pace we offer Steve’s recent conversation with energy journalist extraordinaire Robert Bryce (whose Substack is very much worth following). Bryce always has a way of explaining the often eyes-glazed-over numbers of the energy world, but in this interview he extends himself into a one-man DOGE, revealing who is the number-one leftist advocacy group fattening at the federal funding trough.
The Three Whiskey Happy Hour
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Amending the Constitution, Biden's "farewell address," and more.
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The Three Whisky Happy Hour: Special Happy New Year’s Edition
Discrimination and the 14th Amendment, predictions of 2025, and more.
The Three Whisky Happy Hour: Band Reunion Time
John Yoo is back this week, bringing the 3WHH up to full strength again after last week’s astonishingly congenial episode, which can mean only one thing—not even high tariffs, which this week’s host (Steve) vainly tried to impose on ths discussion—could stop a vigorous free trade in ideas.
Constitutionalism
Amicus Brief: Hon. William P. Barr and Hon. Michael B. Mukasey in Support of Petitioners
Former AGs Barr and Mukasey Cite Civitas in a SCOTUS Brief
Rational Judicial Review: Constitutions as Power-sharing Agreements, Secession, and the Problem of Dred Scott
Judicial review and originalism serve as valuable commitment mechanisms to enforce future compliance with a political bargain.
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State Courts Can’t Run Foreign Policy
Suncor is also a golden opportunity for the justices to stop local officials from interfering with an industry critical to foreign and national-security policy.
Supreme Court tariff ruling should end complaints that justices favor Trump
John Yoo writes on the Supreme Court’s decision on President Trump’s tariff case.
The Temptation of the Inferior “Imperial Judiciary”
This status quo is not sustainable. Either the President will retain his role as the chief of the executive branch, or he will not. Either the Supreme Court will retain its position as the Supreme Court, or it will not.
Major Questions Doctrine and Its Bipartisan History
Administrative law is important because it provides the framework for so many significant fights about policy. Unfortunately, it is also often misunderstood.
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