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Homeowners Fight for Property Rights Against EPA

By |2023-03-10T08:04:47-05:00January 12th, 2012|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published January 10, 2012 on The Washington Examiner website.

Oral arguments were heard Monday in an Idaho case that prompted Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to ask if “most ordinary homeowners would say this kind of thing can’t happen in the United States?”

Alito’s unusual query came as the court heard from advocates on both sides of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which pits the federal Leviathan against an Idaho couple trying to build a house on land they own.

Alito continued with a perfect summary of the absurdity of this case:

“You […]

Texas Case Suggests Court May Overhaul Voting Rights

By |2020-04-23T21:58:18-04:00January 10th, 2012|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published January 9, 2012 on The Washington Examiner website.

Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement told U.S. Supreme Court justices Monday that lower federal courts cannot redraw state-approved election district maps unless they can point to concrete “identifying specific statutory or constitutional violations.”

Instead, Clement said during oral arguments on Perry v. Perez, two federal district judges have nullified the will of the people in Texas. The evident frustration of at least some of the Supreme Court justices suggests they agree with Gov. Rick Perry that state sovereignty must be restored.

Clement represented Perry […]

Obama's Inoperative Constitution

By |2012-01-09T19:15:27-05:00January 9th, 2012|

This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Robert Knight was published January 9, 2012 in The Washington Times.

Back in 1973, when the Nixon administration was under fire for Watergate, Press Secretary Ron Ziegler uttered an unforgettable response when caught in a lie during a news conference: “This is the operative statement. The others are inoperative.”

Well, the Obama administration just topped that by essentially declaring the U.S. Constitution “inoperative.” President Obama did not use that term when making an illegal recess appointment of Richard Cordray to the new post of consumer czar on Wednesday, but he might as well have.

ACRU's Supreme Court Brief Says Lack of Mandate Would Doom ObamaCare

By |2012-01-05T19:26:50-05:00January 5th, 2012|

Jan. 4, 2012 — The American Civil Rights Union filed its fifth brief challenging the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare.

The brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, authored by ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara, argues that lack of a mandate forcing individuals to purchase health insurance through government-approved exchanges would doom the entire system.

The brief states:

“Because the Affordable Care Act does not include a severability clause, if the individual mandate is found unconstitutional, then the whole Act must be struck down as unconstitutional.”

At least one lower federal court has ruled that the […]

Bloomberg Hides Government Causes of Financial Crisis

By |2012-01-05T08:11:47-05:00January 5th, 2012|

This column by ACRU General Counsel and Senior Fellow for the Carleson Center for Public Policy (CCPP) Peter Ferrara was published January 4, 2012 on The American Spectator website.

On December 21, Bloomberg News breathlessly reported, “The leading Republican candidates for president have embraced an explanation of the financial crisis that has been rejected by the chairman of the Federal Reserve, many economists and even three of the four Republicans on the government commission that investigated the meltdown.”

Reporter David J. Lynch further explained, “Both former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney lay much of the blame on U.S. government housing […]

I Love Greed

By |2020-04-23T21:57:10-04:00January 4th, 2012|

This column by ACRU Policy Board Member and Professor of Economics Dr. Walter E. Williams was published January 4, 2012 on Townhall.com.

What human motivation gets the most wonderful things done? It’s really a silly question, because the answer is so simple. It turns out that it’s human greed that gets the most wonderful things done. When I say greed, I am not talking about fraud, theft, dishonesty, lobbying for special privileges from government or other forms of despicable behavior. I’m talking about people trying to get as much as they can for themselves. Let’s look at it.

This winter, Texas […]

Hawkeye Hoopla and the Rueful Paul Reality

By |2012-01-02T15:11:12-05:00January 2nd, 2012|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Jan LaRue was published January 2, 2012 on the American Thinker website.

My New Year’s resolution is never hearing the words “Iowa caucuses” ever again.

The ceaseless and breathless media reporting about which Republican presidential candidate is leading in the Iowa polls is about as trivial as a tractor pull in Treynor. Iowans are good people, but let’s get some perspective here.

Recall that Mike Huckabee, winner of the 2008 corn caucuses, is hosting a show on Fox News rather than playing bass guitar on his “Hail to the Chief” CD.

Voter ID Terrifies Democrats

By |2020-04-23T21:48:01-04:00January 1st, 2012|

This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Robert Knight was published January 2, 2012 in The Washington Times.

The most consequential election in our lifetime is still 10 months away, but it’s clear from the Obama administration’s order halting South Carolina’s new photo ID law that the Democrats already have brought a gun to a knife fight.

How else to describe this naked assault on the right of a state to create minimal requirements to curb voter fraud?

On Dec. 23, Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez sent a letter ordering South Carolina to stop enforcing its photo ID law. Mr. […]

Holder Race-Baiting about Obama's Re-Election, Not Voting Rights

By |2020-04-23T21:59:34-04:00December 31st, 2011|

This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Ken Blackwell and ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published December 30, 2011 on Big Government.

Eric Holder’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an all-out war on voter-ID laws and other measures to safeguard the electoral process. Although Holder’s actions are purportedly to prevent African-Americans from being disenfranchised, the reality is that they serve the crass political purpose of ensuring that Holder’s boss gets reelected next year.

In the past several years states have increasingly focused on measures to protect the vote. After years of the federal government loosening voting regulations, such as through the Motor Voter […]

The Other Voting Right: Protecting Every Citizen's Vote by Safeguarding the Integrity of the Ballot Box

By |2020-04-23T21:59:34-04:00December 30th, 2011|

There is a saying that “people get the government they vote for.” The implication of the maxim is that if undesirable or unwise legislation is enacted, if executive branch officials are inept or ineffective, or if the government is beset with widespread corruption, then such unfortunate results are the consequence of the electorate’s decision regarding whom to trust with the powers and prestige of public office. The Constitution does not forbid people from enacting wrongheaded policies. If voters elect leaders that fail them, then the citizenry is saddled with the consequences of its choice until the next election. Such is the reality in a democratic republic.

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