Correspondence
Correspondence NO DOUBTING THOMAS ANDREW PEYTON THOMAS'S article on Clarence Thomas was outstanding in many ways ("America's Leading Conservative," Aug. 30/Sept. 6). Thomas's knowledge of law, his...
...Constitutional federalism put states in competition, encouraging each to come up with effective and innovative solutions...
...STEVE CHABOT U.S...
...2005 is a modest but important first step...
...In any account of Thomas's judicial performance, space should certainly have been found for a discussion of his dissenting opinion in the term limits case U.S...
...where this implication falls apart is in the recent history of Justice Thomas...
...Therefore, compassionate conservatism needs to devise constitutive structures appropriate to our time that will again restrain the federal government and unleash the beneficence of civil society...
...Yet, I believe that we finally have the opportunity to pass an important tort reform proposal in the 106th Congress...
...durable goods manufacturers and invigorate job growth in this important segment of our economy...
...This is no mere metaphysical dispute...
...A 1998 survey by the Association for Manufacturing Technology finds that almost half of the product liability lawsuits brought against U.S...
...I recently introduced H.R...
...It does not matter whether one favors the views of the Boy Scouts or disagrees with them...
...The decision erodes the liberties of everyone—gay or straight, conservative or liberal, believer or non-believer—who wishes to associate with people who share certain values, beliefs, or points of view...
...market...
...For each man, the encounter was a life-changing event...
...So, regardless of whether one approves or disapproves of the Boy Scouts' policy concerning gay members and employees, one should acknowledge their right to engage in expressive conduct that helps fulfill their aim to teach certain values...
...Supposedly, one of the triggering events was his attendance at the Mass of ordination for Justice Antonin scalia's son...
...The problem with the New Jersey court's ruling is its attempt to establish the principle that the government (in this case the judiciary, but in another case it could be a legislature) can define for a private organization what that organization's beliefs are, and can decide for that organization how it may or may not act on those beliefs...
...True subsidiarity creates a chain of institutions in which the smallest are empowered by the slightly larger, like towns and cities, not the national government...
...If we do not stand up for the principle of freedom of association, soon we will see a homogenized civil society, in which every group looks like every other group, and in which robust debate cannot take place because disagreement is forbidden...
...DiIulio is less persuasive, however, in suggesting that a program, however laudable, by which the federal government itself enlists churches and other mediating institutions to pursue charitable purposes revives subsidiarity or the Framers' federalism...
...As I live in the neighborhood, I strolled over one Saturday evening to study the piece...
...Its enactment will improve the competitiveness of U.S...
...It is a concept that encapsulates for our time the necessary political combination of liberty and fraternity: A government that is limited yet compassionate responds to our deep need for both personal autonomy and social solidarity...
...The movement and dramatic action reminded me of the Bernini sculptures I saw in Rome many years ago...
...It is a wonderful legacy for him to have left to the city of Washington...
...The symmetry between divine creation and divine redemption is a powerful idea, and it is beautifully rendered by Hart...
...2005 is identical to the statute of repose contained in the product liability legislation that passed in the 105th Congress, and it is the end result of years of negotiation between the Congress as a whole and the White House...
...Over the past two decades, Congress has struggled with numerous tort reform bills...
...Any court decision that strengthens government at the expense of the individual deserves condemnation...
...Hart depicted each man caught in a powerful wind that blows his clothing and ruffles his hair...
...Whether one agrees or disagrees with its conclusion, the opinion is a remarkable demonstration of judicial skill...
...Each is shown when he first encountered the Lord—Peter by the Sea of Galilee and Paul on the road to Damascus...
...As a result, liability claims for injuries that occur during the use of these products have proven to be complicated and potentially endless...
...nothing was the same thereafter...
...JOHN O. MCGINNIS New York, NY TORT REFORM REDUX I WANT TO COMMEND Jay Lefkowitz for his article "A Modest Tort Proposal" (Aug...
...In Ex Nihilo, a great whirlwind of creation spills forth human beings...
...Thomas seems to indicate that this decision "proves" Justice Thomas's independence of thought and autonomy...
...All in all, though, a great article, and just the high quality I've come to expect from THE WEEKLY STANDARD...
...It is evident that our tort law system needs repair...
...H.R...
...popular views do not need such protection...
...Writing for himself, Chief Justice Rehnquist, and Justices O'Connor and Scalia, Thomas produced a brilliant 80-page argument for the textual and structural centrality of state power to the composition of national government, making a powerful case that neither history nor constitutional language supports the five-member majority's ruling that the people of a state cannot impose term limits on candidates for Congress...
...There is still not universal approval, for instance, for religiously or racially mixed marriages, even though no legal impediment to such unions exists...
...Thomas's knowledge of law, his scholarship in researching Justice Thomas's history of opinions, and his ability to explain why Justice Thomas could very well be America's leading conservative, all combined to make a cohesive and intelligent piece...
...Reading it prompted me to return to the National Cathedral for another look at Hart's masterpiece, Ex Nihilo...
...It extends government power that already dictates whom we may (or may not) employ, what wages we may accept from an employer, which customers we may choose for our products and services, and whom we may marry...
...As Adam Smith observed, the spirit of benevolence is much more likely to operate at short distances...
...My only point of contention with Thomas would be in his omission of fact with respect to Justice Thomas's faith...
...A properly conservative assessment of any judge should give at least as much attention to the quality and integrity of his legal analyses as it does to the results he reaches...
...Because the reforms were extremely broad in scope, some of the provisions drew controversy that could not be overcome...
...The current system has cost too many jobs and too much money, with the principal beneficiaries being the lawyers on both sides of the counsel table—not the injured parties...
...In fact, sales of workplace equipment are considered to be a leading indicator of economic growth, and continued industry competitiveness is essential to healthy economic expansion...
...2005 addresses the problem of longtail liability by establishing an 18-year statute of repose for durable goods...
...It seems a mighty wind—the divine breath—is blowing across the land and creating life...
...In a pluralistic society such as ours, there will never be perfect agreement about questions of personal morality, particularly sexual morality and intimate associations...
...How fine it is...
...MICHAEL W SCHWARTZ New York, NY SCOUTS' DISHONOR IN HIS ARTICLE about the New Jersey supreme Court's ruling against the Boy Scouts of America, Larry P Arnn misses the point of why the decision is pernicious ("Dishonoring the Boy Scouts," Aug...
...What I liked best, however, was seeing its themes repeated and refined in the associated statues of Peter and Paul...
...HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (R-OH) Washington, DC HART AND SOUL I AM WRITING to thank THE WEEKLY STANDARD for running Tom Wolfe's essay on the work of recently deceased sculptor Frederick Hart ("An American Sculptor," Aug...
...In many cases, decades-old or obsolete workplace goods have been resold and subsequently modified without the original manufacturer's knowledge or control...
...The same God, the same mighty force that created the human race, "re-created" each man at the moment of his conversion...
...The two apostles, located below and to the sides of Ex Nihilo, also seem caught in the great wind...
...Of course, the American machine tool industry is the foundation of our manufacturing economy, providing essential products and thousands of crucial jobs...
...he returned to the Catholic Church in 1996 after 28 years...
...He is also correct that the operational principle of compassionate conservatism is subsidiarity, and its instantiation in our constitutional system is federalism...
...Unpopular views deserve protection from government interference...
...machine tool manufacturers involve overage equipment...
...RUDY A. GARCIA VICE PRESIDENT, GAYS AND LESBIANS FOR INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY Washington, DC COMP-CON CONUNDRUM PROFESSOR JOHN DIIULIO is right that compassionate conservatism is more than a convenient slogan ("The Political Theory of Compassionate Conservatism," Aug...
...PAUL NOWAK Denver, CO ANDREW PEYTON THOMAS'S article on Justice Clarence Thomas was marred by a noteworthy omission bearing on the quality of his judicial performance, as distinct from his ideological purity...
...This bill is a modest tort proposal that deals with only one aspect of the law—the issue of liability for injury caused by overage workplace equipment...
...Justice Thomas did indeed leave the Catholic Church as a seminarian...
...2005, the Workplace Goods Job Growth and Competitiveness Act of 1999...
...The 105 th Congress finally passed a comprehensive package, but, after much negotiation with the administration, the president vetoed the bill...
...Factory-installed safety devices are often removed by the new purchasers to increase efficiency—an event that cannot be regulated by the original manufacturer...
...Likewise, the original doctrine of enumerated powers would have put the states, not the federal government, in charge of relief to the poor...
...BILL SAUNDERS Washington, DC...
...Presently, in contrast, at the federal level interest groups unrestrained by competition are likely to impose restrictions and mandates that serve themselves rather than the poor...
...That competition generated real devolution to even smaller units and mediating institutions...
...This is not a problem faced by our Asian and European competitors because of well-established 10-year statutes of repose in those countries and because of their more recent entry into the U.S...
...Term Limits v. Thornton (1995...
Vol. 5 • September 1999 • No. 1
