Clarence Thomas and the Lost Constitution


Myron Magnet - 2019
    He found that his predecessors on the Court were complicit in the first step of this transformation, when in the 1870s they defanged the Civil War amendments intended to give full citizenship to his fellow black Americans. In the next generation, Woodrow Wilson, dismissing the framers and their work as obsolete, set out to replace laws made by the people's representatives with rules made by highly educated, modern, supposedly nonpartisan "experts," an idea Franklin Roosevelt supersized in the New Deal agencies that he acknowledged had no constitutional warrant. Then, under Chief Justice Earl Warren in the 1950s and 1960s, the Nine set about realizing Wilson's dream of a Supreme Court sitting as a permanent constitutional convention, conjuring up laws out of smoke and mirrors and justifying them as expressions of the spirit of the age.But Thomas, who joined the Court after eight years running one of the myriad administrative agencies that the Great Society had piled on top of FDR's batch, had deep misgivings about the new governmental order. He shared the framers' vision of free, self-governing citizens forging their own fate. And from his own experience growing up in segregated Savannah, flirting with and rejecting black radicalism at college, and running an agency that supposedly advanced equality, he doubted that unelected experts and justices really did understand the moral arc of the universe better than the people themselves, or that the rules and rulings they issued made lives better rather than worse. So in the hundreds of opinions he has written in more than a quarter century on the Court--the most important of them explained in these pages in clear, non-lawyerly language--he has questioned the constitutional underpinnings of the new order and tried to restore the limited, self-governing original one, as more legitimate, more just, and more free than the one that grew up in its stead. The Court now seems set to move down the trail he blazed.A free, self-governing nation needs independent-minded, self-reliant citizens, and Thomas's biography, vividly recounted here, produced just the kind of character that the founders assumed would always mark Americans. America's future depends on the power of its culture and institutions to form ever more citizens of this stamp.

Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? the Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case


Hugo Bedau - 2004
    Few controversies continue to stir as much emotion as this one, andpublic confusion is often the result. This volume brings together seven experts--judges, lawyers, prosecutors, and philosophers--to debate the death penalty in a spirit of open inquiry and civil discussion. Here, as the contributors present their reasons for or against capital punishment, the multiple facets of the issue arerevealed in clear and thought-provoking detail. Is the death penalty a viable deterrent to future crimes? Does the imposition of lesser penalties, such as life imprisonment, truly serve justice in cases of the worst offences? Does the legal system discriminate against poor or minority defendants? Isthe possibility of executing innocent persons sufficient grounds for abolition? In confronting such questions and making their arguments, the contributors marshal an impressive array of evidence, both statistical and from their own experiences working on death penalty cases. The book also includes the text of Governor George Ryan's March 2002 speech in which he explainedwhy he had commuted the sentences of all prisoners on Illinois's death row. By representing the viewpoints of experts who face the vexing questions about capital punishment on a daily basis, Debating the Death Penalty makes a vital contribution to a more nuanced understanding of the moral and legal problems underlying this controversy.

The Scopes Trial: A Brief History with Documents


Jeffrey P. Moran - 2002
    Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes brought the question of teaching evolution in schools to every dinner table, and it remains an essential topic in any course on American History, the History of Education, and Religious History. This volume’s lively interpretative introduction provides an analysis of the trial and its impact on the moral fiber of the country and the educational system, and examines the race and gender issues that shook out of the debate. The editor has excerpted the crucial exchanges from the trial transcript itself, and includes these along with reactions to the trial, taken from newspaper reports, letters, and magazine articles. Telling political cartoons and evocative photographs add a colorful dimension to this collection, while a chronology of events, questions for consideration, and a bibliography provide strong pedagogical support.

Srimad Bhagavatam: First Canto "Creation"(Chapters 1-7)


A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda - 1972
    C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, whom scholars and spiritual leaders worldwide recognize as the most distinguished teacher of Indian culture and philosophy of the modern age. Srimad-Bhagavatam is a virtual encyclopedia of yoga, meditation, and the mystic arts. It brings together in one complete source information that previously took hundreds of books to explain. "Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1" presents the first part of the first Canto as a sampler for the whole 18-volume set.

The Philosopher's Way: Thinking Critically about Profound Ideas


John Chaffee - 2004
    Paperback ISBN-9780205776993 Used only one semester. no writing or highlight. ship fast

Eternity: God, Soul, New Physics


Trevelyan - 2013
    This is a book about how many of the 'big' philosophical and religious questions that have puzzled mankind for centuries can be answered by recent breakthroughs in science.

Garner on Language & Writing


Bryan A. Garner - 2007
    Garner has proved to be a versatile and prolific writer on legal-linguistic subjects. This collection of his essays shows both profound scholarship and sharp wit. The essays cover subjects as wide-ranging as learning to write, style, persuasion, contractual and legislative drafting, grammar, lexicography, writing in law school, writing in law practice, judicial writing, and all the literature relating to these diverse subjects.

The Great Trials of World History and the Lessons They Teach Us


Douglas O. Linder - 2017
    Inside a survey of world history's greatest trials are the key insights to critical issues we still talk about today, including freedom of speech, the death penalty, religious freedom, and the meaning of equality.Join Professor Linder for these 24 lectures that investigate important legal cases from around the world and across the centuries. From the trials of Socrates in ancient Athens and Thomas More in Henry VIII's England to the Nuremburg Trials in the wake of World War II and the media frenzy of the O. J. Simpson murder case, you'll discover what each of these trials has to teach us about ourselves and our civilization.Professor Linder takes you back in time to revisit some of history's most famous trials from fresh perspectives that ground them in the evolution of human ideas of law and justice, including the Salem Witch Trials, and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. You'll also encounter less familiar (but equally important) legal battles, including medieval trials by ordeal and the Trial of Giordano Bruno, which would impact the later trial of Galileo.For years, Professor Linder has studied the fascinating intersection between history and jurisprudence. Now he's crafted these lectures to share that fascination with you.

The LSAT Trainer: A Remarkable Self-Study Guide for the Self-Driven Student


Mike Kim - 2013
    The LSAT Trainer. Your LSAT score is the most important part of the law school admissions process. It is far more important than your essays, your recommendations, your GPA, where you went to college, or where you come from. A top LSAT score can open doors for you that would be virtually impossible to open otherwise. Most people are capable of drastically improving their scores with the right preparation. Most people score about the same on the actual exam as they do on their first diagnostic. The LSAT Trainer is the most advanced and effective LSAT learning system ever developed. No other book has ever explained the LSAT with as much depth and clarity, or presented strategies that are as simple, intuitive, and effective. But that's not what makes The LSAT Trainer truly special... Other books are designed to help you understand The LSAT. And that's what we expect our academic books to do. But the LSAT is not a test of what you know. Arguably, a super-smart eighth grader with no advanced training but great reading skills and common sense can get a perfect score on the exam. The LSAT is a test of how you think. The LSAT Trainer is a workbook--it is specifically designed to help you get better and better at thinking through and solving LSAT questions. Lessons and strategies are carefully combined with pinpointed drills and hundreds of real LSAT problems to help you transform what you read about into what you can do. Other books can help you understand the LSAT. The LSAT Trainer will help you get better at it.

The Income Tax: Root of All Evil


Frank Chodorov - 1954
    For the Amendment gives to the Federal Government first claim upon the earnings of the individual, and so infringes his natural right to own what he produces.With its graduated-tax provision, the Income Tax Amendment is a replica of that clause in the Communist Manifesto which provides for the confiscation of all property through the use of just such a tax.Not only is the individual citizen's liberty partitioned by the Amendment, but the several states are deprived of their Constitutional sovereignty, and the central Federal Government is overstrengthened at their expense. This growth of centralized power is a development which generations of Americans fought stubbornly to prevent.And the Federal Government, by the very nature of government itself, increases its "needs" in accordance with its means of revenue. Reduce Federal income, argues Frank Chodorov, and Federal "needs" will automatically be reduced.The author takes a forthright stand as he defines the immoral nature of income taxation and the fallacy of using to "level off" society. And finally he outlines what can be done to repeal the Income Tax Amendment, bearing in mind the Federal Government's legitimate need for revenue.

Pursuit of Truth


Willard Van Orman Quine - 1990
    V. Quine gives us his latest word on issues to which he has devoted many years. As he says in the preface: "In these pages I have undertaken to update, sum up, and clarify my variously intersecting views on cognitive meaning, objective reference, and the grounds of knowledge?'The pursuit of truth is a quest that links observation, theory, and the world. Various faulty efforts to forge such links have led to much intellectual confusion. Quine's efforts to get beyond the confusion begin by rejecting the very idea of binding together word and thing, rejecting the focus on the isolated word. For him, observation sentences and theoretical sentences are the alpha and omega ofthe scientific enterprise. Notions like "idea" and "meaning" are vague, but a sentence-now there's something you can sink your teeth into.Starting thus with sentences, Quine sketches an epistemological setting for the pursuit of truth. He proceeds to show how reification and reference contribute to the elaborate structure that can indeed relate science to its sensory evidence.In this book Quine both summarizes and moves ahead. Rich, lively chapters dissect his major concerns-evidence, reference, meaning, intension, and truth. "Some points;' he writes, "have become clearer in my mind in the eight years since Theories and Things. Some that were already clear in my mind have become clearer on paper. And there are some that have meanwhile undergone substantive change for the better." This is a key book for understanding the effort that a major philosopher has made a large part of his life's work: to naturalize epistemology in the twentieth century. The book is concise and elegantly written, as one would expect, and does not assume the reader's previous acquaintance with Quine's writings. Throughout, it is marked by Quine's wit and economy of style.

Landmark Judgments That Changed India


Asok Kumar Ganguly - 2015
    Of these, it is the judiciary’s task to uphold constitutional values and ensure justice for all. The interpretation and application of constitutional values by the judicial system has had far-reaching impact, often even altering provisions of the Constitution itself. Although our legal system was originally based on the broad principles of the English common law, over the years it has been adapted to Indian traditions and been changed, for the better, by certain landmark verdicts.In Landmark Judgments that Changed India, former Supreme Court judge and eminent jurist Asok Kumar Ganguly analyses certain cases that led to the formation of new laws and changes to the legal system. Discussed in this book are judgments in cases such as Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala that curtailed the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution; Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India and Others that defined personal liberty; and Golaknath v. State of Punjab, where it was ruled that amendments which infringe upon fundamental rights cannot be passed.Of special significance for law students and practitioners, this book is also an ideal guide for anyone interested in the changes made to Indian laws down the years, and the evolution of the judicial system to what it is today.

5 Rules for White Belts


Chris Matakas - 2018
    A simple conceptual framework of Jiu Jitsu for beginners seeking to use Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as a vehicle for personal development.

Bodhisattva Blues


Edward Canfor-Dumas - 2014
    Funny, moving and inspirational, it is just as delightful as Canfor-Dumas’ first novel, ‘The Buddha, Geoff and Me’. When we catch up with our hero Ed, he’s abandoned his Buddhist practice and is stuck in a rut – no career, no love life and no cash.Plunged unwittingly into a world of street crime and dodgy property deals, Ed finds himself dusting down his beads and reluctantly picking up his Nichiren Buddhist practice to guide him through a series of dramas, dilemmas and big decisions. Spiritual insights then emerge from the grit, grime and SNAFUs of Ed’s everyday life. By turns unsettling and uplifting, this is a book that will also get you thinking about complex issues of our time such as depression, racism, bereavement, suicide and youth crime.And it gives possibly the best ever explanation of the wisdom that comes from chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo: “Like sending a truffle hound to root around in the leaf-litter of my subconscious and dig up what’s bothering me.” The description by the publisher is spot on – this absolutely is a book “for everyone who's ever wondered whether enlightenment really is compatible with the daily commute.” Welcome back Ed, lovin' yer truffles…

The Art of Being Mindful


Kate Pickert - 2015
    We answer a colleague's questions from the stands at a child's soccer game; we pay the bills while watching TV; we order groceries while stuck in traffic. In a time when no one seems to have enough time, our devices allow us to be many places at once--but at the cost of being unable to fully inhabit the place where we actually want to be. Mindfulness says we can do better. This TIME Spotlight Story explores The Art of Mindfulness.