Ian Underwood, Author at Granite Grok

Virtue Compelling Devices

November 26, 2022 Ian Underwood

President* Biden has declared that he is ‘going to try to get rid of assault weapons.’ Of course, there isn’t really any such thing as an ‘assault weapon.’ There are assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons, but the term assault weapon doesn’t really mean anything other than a weapon that certain people find frightening for reasons they … Read more

school room classroom Photo by Jeffrey Hamilton on Unsplash

While We’re Breaking up Monopolies…

November 24, 2022 Ian Underwood

A bunch of people had trouble getting tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert tour, and the United States Senate has decided that it has to spring into action to address the cause of the problem: a lack of competition.

Free Speech Absolutism in 2022

November 20, 2022 Ian Underwood

So, Donald Trump’s Twitter account has been reactivated.

Because everyone should be free to speak in the ‘digital town square’?

No.

Democracy Isn’t the Solution. It’s the Problem.

November 12, 2022November 12, 2022 Ian Underwood

It’s astonishing, as you look down the list of election results, how often the races are evenly split: 51 to 48, 49 to 47, 48.3 to 48.1, and so on.

The Bluebeard and Redbeard Parties

November 11, 2022November 11, 2022 Ian Underwood

Explaining the election results to the grandkids (ages 9 and 7), I decided to use a metaphor.

What Government Should Learn from Sports, Part 2

November 2, 2022 Ian Underwood

A recent guest on Tucker Carlson’s show asked a fascinating question: Why don’t we have affirmative action in the NBA, or the NFL, or the NHL, or MLB, or other professional sports leagues?

Things You Never Expect to Hear

October 31, 2022 Ian Underwood

A pro-gun state senator in New Jersey recently testified against a bill that would expand concealed carry in the state, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Bruen.

What Government Should Learn from Sports

October 30, 2022October 29, 2022 Ian Underwood

Major League Baseball (MLB) recently announced some changes to the Rules of Baseball. Setting aside for the moment the particular details of the changes, or the wisdom of making them, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind people of how the process they went through is a valuable demonstration of how separation of powers should work in government.

Free Speech Conditions apply Flickr Creative Commons

Free Speech Requires Censorship

October 23, 2022 Ian Underwood

Speaking about Elon Musk’s impending takeover of Twitter, David Kaye, a professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, had this to say:

The Best Reason to Vote for Don Bolduc

October 24, 2022October 23, 2022 Ian Underwood

Mitch McConnell would rather see Maggie Hassan returned to the Senate, than see Don Bolduc sent there.

Sidearm pistol handgun holster open carry

Revisiting the San Jose Doctrine

October 19, 2022 Ian Underwood

The city of San Jose, California, is about to begin fining gun owners for not carrying the liability insurance that the city requires them to have.

Don Vixote Rides Again

September 22, 2022 Ian Underwood

Several years ago, Andru Volinsky and John Tobin did a little road show, in which they went around the state pushing for increased state funding for schools in New Hampshire.

Reading education sunset Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

The Parental Bill of Wrongs

September 21, 2022 Ian Underwood

Not so long ago, after the Parental Bill of Rights was narrowly defeated in the legislature, I suggested that instead of trying to use politics to change a failed system, parents should just pull their kids out of the public schools.

Are Owners and Employees Equals?

August 28, 2022 Ian Underwood

The Knead pizza chain in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, recently decided to close for good.

This may have been in response to an effort by its employees to form a union. The owners aren’t saying. (They did say that the closure would happen regardless of how the vote to unionize came out.)

$10,000 Is the Going Rate for a Vote

August 25, 2022August 25, 2022 Ian Underwood

H.L. Mencken said that ‘every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods’.

As you process news of the (First) Great Student Loan Giveaway over the next few days, keep that in mind. Along with this:

Judge Reinhart’s Jedi Mind Trick

August 23, 2022 Ian Underwood

I’m reading an article on the deliberations being undertaken by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart over how much of the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago can be released to the public.

A Nation of Outlaws

August 20, 2022 Ian Underwood

There is an idea that many people — but especially constitutional law students, who then go on to be public officials — have not been exposed to, which is that there is a proper order to the questions that should be asked when formulating public policy.