Feb 12, 2009 interview with Ilya Somin

ILYA SOMIN is an Assistant Professor at George Mason University School of Law. His research focuses on constitutional law, property law, and the study of popular political participation and its implications for constitutional democracy. He currently serves as Co-Editor of the Supreme Court Economic Review, one of the country’s top-rated law and economics journals. 

  For the podcast of this segment click here.

On tap for February 5, 2009

This week we will be joined by Jeff Frederick, a member of the House of Delegates in the Virginia General Assembly, representing the 52nd district.  He is also the Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. http://www.va52.com/about.asp

Think Planning has to stay ‘in the box’ and have a strangle hold on individual rights? Mark Hinshaw has a proposition for Americans: Come out of your bunker, throw open the gate, and meet the neighborhood. True Urbanism, his passionate and highly readable appeal for re-engagement with city life, celebrates the growing number of people who reject sterile, paint-by-numbers subdivisions in favor of rich, vibrant, and often unpredictable urban neighborhoods.

Mark L. Hinshaw FAIA, FAICP (BArch University of Oklahoma ’70, MUP Hunter College/CUNY ’72) has had an influential career spanning architecture, planning, and journalism. His election to the AIA College of Fellows in 1994 recognized the unique professional fusion that had made him effective as Bellevue’s City Architect during the formative decade of his tenure there.

Now let’s talk a little about Government power at it’s worse.  Our next guests will be Jeff Benedict author of the new book ‘Little Pink House’ and Susette Kelo of the Supreme court case Kelo v New London.  They will share the story of what happened when the City of New London decided that they could get more taxes from a parcel if they seized it by eminent domain and sold it to a developer.  Hmm, so if your town needs more taxes they can seize your $200,000.00 home  to sell your property to a developer that wants to erect a $500,000.00 home so they can collect more taxes??  What’s that you say?? You don’t think that could happen in Virginia?  There is a Senate and House bill PENDING RIGHT NOW in Virginia that would facilitate this type of ‘taking’!   HB1671 and SB1094

Want to hear from a respected professor from one of our own great universities about Global Warming? Next on deck will be Patrick J. Michaels a Senior Fellow in Environmental Studies he is a research professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and visiting scientist with the Marshall Institute in Washington, D.C. He is a past president of the American Association of State Climatologists and was program chair for the Committee on Applied Climatology of the American Meteorological Society. Michaels is a contributing author and reviewer of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Capitol Hill Briefings:
“What to Do about Climate Change,” February 29, 2008 [Capitol Hill Briefing]“Global Warming: Some Convenient Facts,” May 7, 2007 [Capitol Hill Briefing]

Ok,  we may have a few more guests in between – don’t miss a minute ~ join us 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. this Thursday for “Melody Scalley ~ On the Edge of the Shore!”

Show Notes Jan. 29, 2009

We were first joined by our own Virginia Delegate Lynwood Lewis.  He shared with us the typical day in the life of a legislator and we discussed some of his current initiatives.  His visit was cut short due his being called back into a committee meeting, we hope he can join us again soon.

Riveting! That is the word that comes to mind when I try to describe my conversation with Prof. Richard Epstein.  A quick perusal of the list of books this man has authored will give you some insight into how dynamic a speaker he is: How the Progressives Rewrote the Constitution (2006); Free Markets under Siege: Cartels, Politics and Social Welfare (Hoover Institution Press, 2005), Skepticism and Freedom: A Modern Case for Classical Liberalism (2003); Principles for a Free Society: Reconciling Individual Liberty with the Common Good (1998); Mortal Peril: Our Inalienable Right to Health Care? (1997); Simple Rules for a Complex World (1995); Bargaining with the State (1993); Forbidden Grounds: The Case against Employment Discrimination Laws (1992); and Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain (1985). Epstein is also the editor of Cases and Materials in the Law of Torts (8th ed. 2004) and has written a one-volume treatise, Torts (1999). 

Our main focus this show was property rights and also the intrinsicly false thinking behind zoning and government protectionism that stem from a naive understanding of economics that leads planners and supervisors to champion restrictive zoning that will ultimately strangle the areas where it is imposed.   Richard A. Epstein,  probably has a better understanding of property rights, zoning and its relation on economics then all the planners and supervisors put together.  He is the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, is the Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Member, Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity Task Force.  A Cato Institute Adjunct Scholar, his resume is impressive and far too long to list here so please visit: http://www.hoover.org/bios/epstein.html

Then Steven Minor the Accomack County Administrator  http://www.co.accomack.va.us/index2.html joined us to discuss new happenings in the county.  I am very very envious as to the number of jobs that Accomack County has the opportunity to attract in the face of this looming recession.  Kudo’s to you all and here’s hoping that you get your zoning in order in time to actually snare those potential jobs!  If only Northampton wanted to have that type of opportunity.  But alas, your potential business endeavors do not include agriculture, aquaculture or tourism so they probably didn’t want them anyway.  Right?!

Phil Dunn and Bob Savage shared their expertise in well and septic requirements.  Mike Starling answered survey questions.

Finally, H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS, http://eteam.ncpa.org/about/sterling-burnett one of the country’s leading authorities on energy and environmental issues. He is the lead analyst of the National Center for Policy Analysis’ E-Team — one of the largest collections of energy and environmental policy experts and scientists who believe that sound science, economic prosperity and protecting the environment can go hand in hand.Burnett routinely discusses energy and environmental policy on national television and radio networks. 

Jan. 29, 2009 Show Schedule

Ok, let’s PUMP UP THE VOLUME with some talk about Economics & Property Rights.  Our first guest, Richard A. Epstein,  the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, is the Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Member, Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity Task Force.  A Cato Institute Adjunct Scholar, his resume is impressive and far too long to list here so please visit: http://www.hoover.org/bios/epstein.html

Then we’ll be joined by our own Virginia Delegate Lynwood Lewis.  Del. Lewis has a number of initiatives he is working on for 2009.  Call in and share your questions or concerns.

Steven Minor the Accomack County Administrator will be on deck to discuss new happenings in the county.

Phil Dunn and Bob Savage have some serious expertise in well and septic requirements.  Mike Starling can answer any survey or subdivision plat question you might have.  Put that expertise together and let’s chat about the difficulty and negative impact the proposed zoning ordinance in Northampton county could have on the residents there.

Finally, H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS  is one of the country’s leading authorities on energy and environmental issues.  (Oh? What’s that you say ~ you hadn’t heard that 2008 was the COOLEST since 2000?!  C’mon folks, take a deep breath and remember that Climate CHANGES.  If the ‘man made’ global warming scenario were indeed true we wouldn’t have had a COOLER year.  Sorry, I’m not buying into it, explain it as you will we’ll still come back to a simple truth.  COOLING is not warming ~ it’s COOLER. Climate goes in cycles, so CHILL out already!) He is the lead analyst of the National Center for Policy Analysis’ E-Team — one of the largest collections of energy and environmental policy experts and scientists who believe that sound science, economic prosperity and protecting the environment can go hand in hand.Burnett routinely discusses energy and environmental policy on national television and radio networks, including CNN Headline News, Fox News, and CNBC. His commentaries and articles have appeared in publications such as USA Today, The Washington Times, Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Rocky Mountain News, and the Miami Herald.
 

 Whew ~  I’ll just admit right now that we’ll probably run out of time yet again!  Tune in — don’t miss a minute! Thursday 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.