Ever Wonder Why or Constitutional Law

Ever Wonder Why?: And Other Controversial Essays

Author: Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell takes on a range of legal, social, racial, educational, and economic issues-along with "the culture wars"-in this latest collection of his controversial, always thought-provoking essays. From "gun control myths" to "mealy mouth media" to "free lunch medicine," Sowell gets to the heart of the matters we all care about with his characteristically unswerving candor.

Sowell skewers the "mealy mouth media" that calls terrorists "insurgents" and rioters "demonstrators." He reveals how "the idiocy of relevance" in learning has been particularly destructive in the education of minority students at all levels. He explains how a free market and a strict construction of the 14th Amendment would never have permitted the laws that asked Rosa Parks to give up her seat to a white man. And he clarifies the confusion between equal opportunity and equal results that resides behind many kinds of "spoiled brat politics."

With Ever Wonder Why?-drawn from the best of his popular syndicated newspaper columns-Sowell once again takes dead aim at the self-righteous and self-important forces in government, media, education, and other areas of our society, offering the thoughtful perceptions, commonsense insights, and straightforward honesty we have come to expect from one of conservatism's most articulate voices.

About the Author:
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Table of Contents:

Preface     xiii
The Culture Wars
Ever Wonder Why?     3
Animal Rites     6
"Us" or "Them"?     9
Twisted History     12
Explaining to the Grand Kids     15
Human Livestock     18
The Wright Stuff     21
The Legacy of Eric Hoffer     24
One-Uppers versus Survival     27
The Equality Dogma     30
The Inequality Dogma     33
Equality, Inequality, and Fate     36
Hiroshima     39
The Tyranny of Visions     42
The Tyranny of Visions: Part II     45
The Tyranny of Visions: Part III     48
The Immigration Taboo     51
The Left Monopoly     54
I Beg to Disagree     57
4th Estate or 5th Column?     60
Economic Issues
Why Economists Are Not Popular     65
Housing Hurdles     68
The "Cost" of Medical Care     71
Subsidies Are All Wet     74
A Taxing Experience     77
Profits without Honor     80
Profits without Honor: Part II     83
Two Earthquakes     86
Peter Bauer (1915-2002)     89
Journalists and Economics     92
Stock Crash Aftermath     95
Milton Friedman at 90     98
"Price Gouging" in Florida     101
Economic "Power"     104
A Relic of the Recent Past     107
Who Can Afford It?     110
Free-Lunch Medicine     113
Free-Lunch Medicine: Part II     116
Free-Lunch Medicine: Part III     119
Manufacturing Confusion     122
A Cold Shower     125
An Old "New Vision"     128
Third World Sweatshops     131
Third World Sweatshops: Part II     134
Privatizing Social Security     137
Privatizing Social Security: Part II     140
"Living Wage" Kills Jobs     143
A Happy Birthday?     146
Legal Issues
Calculated Confusion     151
Judges and Judgment     154
Justice for Little Angelo     157
Property Rites     160
Property Rites: Part II     163
Property Rites: Part III     166
Foreign Law Is Not Law     169
Medical Lawsuits     172
Fixing the Jury System     175
Half a Century after Brown      178
Half a Century after Brown: Part II     181
Half a Century after Brown: Part III     184
Umpires, Judges, and Others     187
Big Business and Quotas     190
The Grand Fraud     193
The Grand Fraud: Part II     196
The Grand Fraud: Part III     199
The Grand Fraud: Part IV     202
Saving Quotas     205
The High Cost of Nuances     208
The Polio Fallacy     211
Political Issues
Spoiled Brat Politics     217
Spoiled Brat Politics: Part II     220
The "Compassion" Racket     223
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)     226
Gun Control Myths     229
Gun Control Myths: Part II     232
A Painful Anniversary     235
The High Cost of Shibboleths     238
"Why Do They Hate Us?"     241
Foreign "Allies"     244
My Platform     247
The Oldest Fraud     250
The Left's Vision     253
The Left's Vocabulary     256
Abstract People     259
Looking Back     262
Social Issues
Mealy Mouth Media     267
Achievements and Their Causes     270
Talkers versus Doers     273
Talkers versus Doers: Part II     276
Liberals and Class     279
Liberals and Class: Part II     282
Liberals and Class: Part III     285
The Autism "Spectrum"     288
The High Cost of Busybodies     291
The High Cost of Busybodies: Part II     294
The High Cost of Busybodies: Part III     297
The High Cost of Busybodies: Part IV     300
"Partial Truth" Abortion     303
Lying about Yosemite     306
Growing Old     309
April Fools' Party     312
Education Issues
Choosing a College     317
The Idiocy of "Relevance"     320
Julian Stanley and Bright Children     323
For What Purpose?     326
School Performances     329
School Performances: Part II     332
School Performances: Part III     335
College Admissions Voodoo     338
Summer De-Programming     341
Fat in California's Budget     344
A Scary Report     347
"Teaching to the Test"     350
"Teaching to the Test": Part II      353
"Teaching to the Test": Part III     356
Smart "Problems"     359
Vouchers Vindicated     362
Artificial Stupidity     365
"Good" Teachers     368
A Sign of the Times     371
Suspicious Stats     374
Peers and Pied Pipers     377
Racial Issues
Older Budweiser     383
Rosa Parks and History     386
"Friends" of Blacks     389
"Friends" of Blacks: Part II     392
Recycled "Racism"     395
Dangerous Democracy?     398
Are Cops Racist?     401
Rattling the Chains     404
Roasting Walter Williams     407
"Diversity" in India     410
Race and IQ     413
Race and IQ: Part II     416
Race and IQ: Part III     419
An Old War and a New One     422
Silly Letters     425
Black History Month     428
Bravo for Bill Cosby     431
Quota "Logic"     434
Quota "Logic": Part II     437
Random Thoughts
Random Thoughts     443

Book about:

Constitutional Law

Author: Erwin Chemerinsky

In its first edition, Erwin Chemerinskys CONSTITUTIONAL LAW proved that a casebook does not have to be simplistic to be student-friendly. Revised and updated for its Second Edition, this class-tested casebook is a comprehensive, accessible, and current alternative that will enliven your class and enlighten your students.

The book retains its distinctive characteristics:

thorough, yet concise to avoid overwhelming students with superfluous detail

presents the law solely through case excerpts and author-written essays

provides both background information and context on constitutional law doctrine

flexible organization, no chapter assumes that students have read other chapters for adaptability in the classroom

straightforward, accessible writing style

Look for these changes in the Second Edition:

new subsection, Presidential Powers and the War on Terrorism, in the chapter on federal executive power, which examines executive authority, detentions, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, and the constitutionality of military tribunals

expanded treatment of sovereign immunity, to better reflect the way the topic is taught

enriched coverage throughout the book, with fuller presentation of some cases and the inclusion of some dissents

This careful revision also presents the most recent and significant cases in a number of areas, such as:

partisan gerrymandering and the political question doctrine (Vieth v. Jubelirer)

sovereign immunity (University of Alabama v. Garrett, Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, Tennessee v. Lane)

preemption (Lorrilard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly, American Insurance v. Garimendi)

state action, emphasizing entwinement (Brentwood Academy Secondary School v. Tennessee Athletic Association)

the taking clause (Palazzolo v. Rhode Island, Tahoe Sierra Preservation Counci, Inc.l v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington)

the overruling of Bowers v. Hardwick in Lawrence v. Texas

affirmative action (Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger)

the First Amendment (Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, Ashcroft v. The Free Speech Coalition, Virginia v. Black, McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, Good News Club v. Milford Central School)

the Establishment Clause as it pertains to vouchers (Zelman v. Simmons Harris), the Pledge of Allegiance (Elk Grove Unified School Dist. v. Newdow), and the question of whether the government must allow its scholarships to be used by students studying for the clergy (Locke v. Davey)