Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures." -- Daniel Webster
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 :::
I think of the American Spectator as a little less mainstream than the Weekly Standard and National Review, but I don't know them to get their facts wrong. Philip Klein reports that a federal judge has ruled that Obamacare is constitutional because the Interstate Commerce clause applies to the regulation of "mental activity".
Before some time around the New Deal, insurance was not considered regulatable under the Interstate Commerce clause because it is not "commerce", whether or not it is interstate. But now the Interstate Commerce clause has expanded to encompass thought crime. Which can not possibly be either interstate (unless maybe your head is on the state line) or commerce (unless you are either telepathic or engaged in trade with yourself).