Monday, September 17, 2007

Volokh Guest-Blogging

For those interested, Stuart Taylor and I are guest-blogging this week at the Volokh Conspiracy, a prominent legal blog. We will have two posts up each weekday this week.

33 comments:

gak said...

Dr. Johnson
About midway through the book, you discussed a legal strategy on the part of Kirk Osborn wherein he filed several motions with the court that were direct attacks on Nifong and the case. This was called a turning point in that it woke some people up to the problems that Nifong had created and was continuing to push. Later in the book you have a chapter about the turning points. Do I understand it correctly that Kirk started it slowly and then after the summer the flood gates opened. The two by themselves seems almost contradictory. I'm sorry to be splitting hairs on this but I've followed the case sincel last year and only now after reading the book is the entire timeline of events starting to make sense to me. I'm about 35 pages shy of finished with the book and the writing is excellent.
Thank you in advance

gak

Debrah said...

KC on Volokh:

"Nifong Before Lacrosse
The basic tale of Mike Nifong -- the disbarred, disgraced, jailed-for-a-day former Durham DA who may yet face a felony prosecution -- is widely known. But news reports have barely begun to plumb the depths of what may be the worst prosecutorial misconduct ever exposed while it was happening."


Which is why KC has to start on another book!

mac said...

Checked into the other blog, only to see someone rambling on about "privileged white boys" and that sort of crap. Most of the comments were fairly astute - (especially in response to this racialist) - but it's obvious that it's not DIW.

I prefer present company.

Anonymous said...

12:25
Me, too. There is no comparison to DIW and I get depressed everytime I "go over to the dark side" and see what we will have as a replacement unless KC stays with us!

Steven Horwitz said...

IMO, Mac, VC's commentariat is among the better ones on the Web. Lots of smart folks there (some not so smart) and a pretty good spectrum of opinion, with the smarts pretty equally divided among them all. Plus, the VC's line up of regular bloggers (disclaimer - several of whom I know personally) are among the smartest legal minds in and out of academia.

One Spook said...

Steven Horwitz writes @ 12:57:

IMO, Mac, VC's commentariat is among the better ones on the Web. Lots of smart folks there (some not so smart) and a pretty good spectrum of opinion, with the smarts pretty equally divided among them all.

Amen! VC is typically an excellent Blog and I've read it for years. KC's postings will help acquaint folks there with the issues most of us know by having read DIW ... this is good for both the VC Blog and DIW.

Don't judge them too harshly, people; they have a learning curve to deal with initially.

One Spook

mac said...

As I said: there were some astute commentators there. And some predictably dull ones, too, with the usual dog 'n pony show on display. I'll check out other topics there at another time, when and where I might be more impressed.

Anonymous said...

Obviously, it is a blessing that those posters who are dull - don't know it.

Debrah said...

Nice that KC is lending his expertise to Volokh this week.

They can use a boost from someone who is simply the best!

But we can't allow him to stay over there too long.

LIS!

Anonymous said...

There are some pretty decent commentators among the Volokh folks. James Lindgren is a heavy hitter, and he hit this one out of the park with his welcome post to KC's post today on Volokh Conspiracy. Lindgren notes that there are many academics who still will not give up on the race / class / gender metanarrative. Professor Lindgren should know. Like KC, he has some experience with pointing out the failings of the academy to academic emperors who do not like to have their lack of clothes pointed out to the public. Professor Lindgren was one of the folks who helped document the academic failings of Michael Bellesiles.

In case Mr. Burke or SEK are reading: Gentlemen, the point is simply this: There is much evidence that agenda driven research fails frequently because it ignores facts. Many people outside the academy are not buying the metanarrative that has been carefully nurtured by the race / class / gender theorists. The evidence stacked up by people investigating the work of Michael Bllesiles, Ward Churchill, the 88 Duke faculty, and others shows that there are very sound reasons to question the practice of treating advocacy as a legitimate form of scholarship.

Gary Packwood said...

KC said...

...Stuart Taylor and I are guest-blogging this week at the Volokh Conspiracy.
::
Hooboy.

You've not had enough with the blogging, already!

Sheesh.
::
GP

Anonymous said...

Orson, thanks for the insight. I can't imagine that decent prof's everywhere won't ferret out the weak, biased local members of their respective schools. This event has to have gotten alot of people thinking.
KC, you have shaken the trees! Something good may yet come of all of this.

Anonymous said...

Off-topic, but there's a nice plug for UPI and for Jeffrey Rosen's review in the NY Times Book Review, along with another well-deserved backhand to the NY Times, in yesterday's Powerline blog.

Anonymous said...

I don't have enough time for another blog. KC, come home to DIW. I'm jealous.

Anonymous said...

NEWS FLASH

HARVARD WINS BIDDING WAR FOR ACADEMIC SUPERSTAR

the "discipline"?

H I P H O P

KC--Mr. Harvard--how does that--uh huh--grab you?

Anonymous said...

Prof. KC,

Glad you're finding something useful to do with all of your free time.

-RD

Gary Packwood said...

Suggestion.

For those of us who Reade helped become interested in the Innocent Project, why don't you and Reade write a piece together and advise us what we could do to support the project until Reade graduates or has time to 'bulk up' their work and move it along.

Reade need NOT comment on any aspect of the case.

Just a little direction of what we can do besides donating funds, to help the Innocent Project grow and succeed over the rest of this decade though perhaps...2013.

Is their an Innocent Project blog?
::
GP

Anonymous said...

I know this is way off topic ... but I just learned that, in effect, the United States is using mercenary soldiers in Iraq.

I am stunned. I am aghast.

I am now going to rethink my support of a policy that would resort to hired guns.

I have always considered myself a patriot. My 4th great Inman grandfather served under Washington at Valley Forge. My family tradition vocally supports our nation and its interest.

But now I am stunned and aghast. How is it that war to protect and expand freedom and liberty can be reduced to the hiring of mercenaries?

Where is the moral authority? Oh my God!

Anonymous said...

6:58

At first I thought it was a joke. But then I thought again. Its Unreal.

Hip Hop Scholar Offered Tenure

Anonymous said...

Orson Buggeigh said...
"There are some pretty decent commentators among the Volokh folks. James Lindgren is a heavy hitter, and he hit this one out of the park with his welcome post to KC's post today on Volokh Conspiracy. Lindgren notes that there are many academics who still will not give up on the race / class / gender metanarrative. Professor Lindgren should know. Like KC, he has some experience with pointing out the failings of the academy to academic emperors who do not like to have their lack of clothes pointed out to the public. Professor Lindgren was one of the folks who helped document the academic failings of Michael Bellesiles.

In case Mr. Burke or SEK are reading: Gentlemen, the point is simply this: There is much evidence that agenda driven research fails frequently because it ignores facts. Many people outside the academy are not buying the metanarrative that has been carefully nurtured by the race / class / gender theorists. The evidence stacked up by people investigating the work of Michael Bllesiles, Ward Churchill, the 88 Duke faculty, and others shows that there are very sound reasons to question the practice of treating advocacy as a legitimate form of scholarship."

9/17/07 4:44 PM

"Anonymous said...
NEWS FLASH

HARVARD WINS BIDDING WAR FOR ACADEMIC SUPERSTAR

the "discipline"?

H I P H O P"

I am ready to go screaming off into the streets! Thank goodness my "children" are almost out of the clutches of "higher" education. My eldest daughter has a master's degree in music, speaks German, French, Italian and has worked hard to become a musician of intelligence and talent. "HIP HOP" and "SCHOLAR" are mutually exclusive, IMO.

Having read an article today by Kathy Kristof, writing for the Los Angeles Times, entitled "A parent gets a hard test in the cost of college," I am tempted to suggest that she read DIW, UPI and buy the F.I.R.E.'s guide to students rights before she sends her daughter to college. It is no wonder to me why we are lagging behind other nations in higher education if we are financially supporting idiots like the newly tenured "HIP HOP SCHOLAR" and the likes of Ward Churchill, Cornel West, Wahemeena, etc.

How did we become so intellectually, ethically and morally BANKRUPT? It was NOT overnight!

Texas Mom

Anonymous said...

How many cold slaps in the face do some Durhamites need to see how seriously flawed they've behaved? Are these civil suits not enough? Take this blog by Dependable erection (a Durham townie) who has previously complained that the Duke 3 bringing civil suits are just being greedy. Now he posts about the endorsement of Victoria Peterson (by some silly group) for City Council and makes no criticism whatsoever?! When are these people going to realize their days of lackadaisical business-as-usual pretend-nothing-happened are over? http://dependableerection.blogspot.com/

Gary Packwood said...

Texas Mom 9:19 said...

...It is no wonder to me why we are lagging behind other nations in higher education if we are financially supporting idiots like the newly tenured "HIP HOP SCHOLAR" and the likes of Ward Churchill, Cornel West, Wahemeena, etc.

...How did we become so intellectually, ethically and morally BANKRUPT? It was NOT overnight!
::
It is not unlike any of us feeding a uninvited guest Thanksgiving dinner with the rest of the family.

If we feed him or her on Thanksgiving day...you can bet the farm that he or she will be back for much more.

Legitimate university faculty have become terrorized of these faux scholars and their political agendas over the last ten years and when they show up for dinner at the academy, even our best professors just serve up the soup; smile and wait for them to go wherever it is that they go...to.

We are in desperate need of new performance measures for universities that result in hard questions about paychecks being cut to people who do nothing and have nothing to do.

Rather like a return on investment (ROI) report for university alumni and parents of students.
::
GP

M. Simon said...

KC,

This one is for you and Stewart:

Will Blog For Abuse .

M. Simon said...

*

Innocence Project Site

*

Here is a bit on why Humanities Professors Don't Get No Respect inspired by commenter anon. from here.

*

Anonymous said...

Inman: 7:11

Impressed by your pedigree and grateful for your patriotism. But wonder what the validity of your source is about the mercernaries.

Did we have some mercernaries fighting in our War of Independance, historians?

Gary Packwood said...

Anonymous 11:49 said...
...Inman: 7:11
...Impressed by your pedigree and grateful for your patriotism. But wonder what the validity of your source is about the mercernaries.
...Did we have some mercernaries fighting in our War of Independance, historians?
::
Ah. I thought he was talking about our all volunteer US military.
::
GP

Anonymous said...

KC> I'm reading the book and thought I knew everything as I have been following the blog since last spring. It's clear more than ever that all suits have to be pursued, 30 million isn't enough and every police officer involved with the case should face jail time.
I really hope the Duke settlement was huge, though I doubt it. The outrageous advice given by the dean of students> the whole way the school acted, esp. Brodhead is just really disgraceful. Reading all the details together is so powerful.
Thanks again for diligent search for the truth.

mac said...

ANON 6:58

"HARVARD WINS BIDDING WAR FOR ACADEMIC SUPERSTAR" - re Hip Hop.

Yup. You know when a fad is dead when the old fogeys join in the fun.

Anyone remember "Disco Duck?" A death-knell, it was. Next thing you'll see is Hoppity Hooper, brought back as Hippity Hoppity Hooper.

Anonymous said...

Re: Mercenaries

There was a news item on NBC last night that referred to "contractors" in Iraq having "security" responsibilities ... it's in the morning news -- NYTimes etc.

mac said...

Inman,

That's old news. Old, old news. And the term "mercenary" is unneccessarily negative.

The UN has used such forces in Africa,
illustrating the clear difference between "peacemakers" and "peacekeepers." If you've seen the blue-helmeted UN types, you know just how impotent they are - except when they're raping schoolgirls and stealing from supplies. The UN "peacekeepers" are worse than useless, and more akin to the guys with blanks in the movie "Southern Comfort."

The security forces, meanwhile, are much better organized, trained and so forth. It's in their best interests to be professional. Problem is, they have a high attrition rate (compared with our own Servicemen.)

Someone asked - you haven't answered yet: haven't we used independant operators over the course of our nation's history?

Lots and lots of times. Do the research. You'll see. In some cases, it hasn't always been good - (assuming that these actions, the Tonkin Gulf incident, the explosion on the Maine, were performed by someone at our behest.)

We also lent flyers to the Burma theatre prior to Pearl Harbor, and many of our own aviators entered both WWI and WWII prior to our entrance in those wars.

So what else is new?

Anonymous said...

KC - now that you're over on VC, are you going to comment on the Bellisles post?

It seems to me to fit in both with your profession (historian) and your investigation of PC-driven academic malpractice.

Debrah said...

I don't like it when KC goes somewhere else.

Although, I have read some of the posts on Volokh and they're helpful to the people on that blog.

I still don't like it.

:>)

Anonymous said...

mac...with all due respect ...

...the extent to which the US is now using 'contractors' -- the equivalent of mercenaries -- is unprecedented.

Further, it is clearly a way of financing "off balance sheet" -- in other words, (potentially) without accountability.

I respect your view that this has occured in the past, but I submit...current practice and related financing has no precedent.